Waffle Bytes

Witness: The Story of Our Times Told By the People Who Were There Witness Black History: Interviews with people who were there at key moments in black and civil rights history If you are looking for first person accounts of key moments in black and civil rights history to use in your curriculum, you should check out BBC's Witness Black History podcasts (a portion of their larger Witness segments).  Each podcast is an approximate 8 minute interview with people that witnessed these events.  Events span the globe.   Currently there are 47 episodes available. Episodes available include: Ruby Bridges attends an all-white school The Mississippi burning case Mixed race marriage victory in US (the film Loving is based on this) Black Congresswomen Shirley Chrisholm The children's crusade "I Have a Dream" Muhammad Ali and the draft The Los Angeles riots Available at iTunes Available on the BBC Website (iPlayer Radio)

Dink  - "Become a Master Animator" Basics : Dink is an app for creating animations.  The user creates the animation using stop frame (or stop motion) animation, allowing the user to customize on a frame by frame basis.  Creativity is only limited by the user, as the user creates all the content. Educational Uses:   If you are looking for an app for animation that is easy for students to pick up and learn very quickly, this app may be the one.  I was able to create a simple 15 frame animation - with layers - in under 15 minutes.  That was without looking at any tutorials or examples.  Very easy to learn and use.  Overall, very powerful....however, you might want to read the drawbacks before purchasing for your classroom set of devices. Drawbacks in Education:  The link to MyDink.net within the app is a serious concern - not the site itself, but that it connects to animations created by others and many of these are not appropriate fo...

How to Enable Mobile Secure Browser Using Configurator The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium provides directions for how to access the secure testing environment on individual devices. They even provide a pdf document specifically " About the Secure Browsers for iPad and Android Tablets ."   But what about if you manage your devices using Apple Configurator? Here are the directions for setting it up using Configurator - and the beauty is you don't have to touch each device individually! First, the device must be supervised for this to work.  If it isn’t, you will first need to supervise it.   Please remember - that when you supervise a device it is completely wiped to factory settings. Setting up: Download AIRSecure Test https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/airsecuretest/id607002517?mt=8 Add AIRSecure Test to your apps list in Configurator Select the device(s) or the group(s) of devices Add AIRSecure Test as one of the apps on the device ...

Let me begin by saying I am not a lawyer, nor am I speaking as a representative of Apple.  However, in my job I am consistently having to educate teachers on the how the terms and conditions apply in these situations: how their personal Apple Accounts work with devices they own versus how their personal Apple Accounts work with devices supplied by a school how a device is used personally versus how it is used in a school setting the different rules concerning where apps can be downloaded, and how many devices a singly purchased app can be used on I've color coded the information so that green text is a direct copy/paste from the Terms and Conditions.  That is followed by my interpretation of the it, why it is important and how it might impact a teacher. If you see any inaccuracies, please feel free to let me know as this is certainly a work in progress. (Terms & Conditions Version - updated December 3, 2012) APP STORE PRODUCT USAGE RULES: “ (iii) You s...

Haiku Deck App - "Set Your Story Free" Basics : Haiku Deck is a FREE app for creating presentations very quickly and easily.   While only 5 of the themes are provided (others can be in-app purchased), they are very modern looking.  The app is very intuitive to use, offering easy to change layouts.  There are fewer choices than many other presentation creators, meaning the user stays more focused on the content.  Also, text space is limited forcing the user to focus in on the main ideas of their presentation. You can either add your own photos or use the app to search a photo service where you can select a word/phrase from your slide and have it find  pictures that are tagged as such.  Some of the built in messages are quirky, funny or annoying depending on your sense of humor (such as: "Patience grasshopper downloading a large file"). Educational Uses:   This is a great free alternative to other paid presentation apps (such as Keynote). Link...

Aurasma App  - "See and Interact with the World in a New Way!" (Currently free in the iTunes Store) Basics : From their site: "Thanks to Aurasma, every image, object and even place can have its own Aura. Auras can be as simple as a video and a link to a web page or as complex as a lifelike 3D animation. Use the Aurasma app to unlock Auras and share the experience with friends. Or get experimenting and use the simple tools within the app to create and share your own Auras." Educational Uses : Aurasma is a great introduction to using augmented reality as you can make simple "auras" for any object - whether a student piece of work or everyday object.  Some examples: student work can connect to an audio file that has them reading the piece or explaining their work in their own words (Thank you to  @bcteacher  for introducing this type of project to me!) teacher instruction can connect to a website, audio file or other resource that may be used ...

Explain Everything (Currently $2.99; available in the VPP store for $1.49) Many thanks to David Malone (@dwmalone on Twitter) of CUE for introducing me to this app at MACUL! Basics:  From their site: "Explain Everything is an easy-to-use design, screencasting, and interactive whiteboard tool that lets you annotate, animate, narrate, import, and export almost anything to and from almost anywhere. Create slides, draw in any color, add shapes, add text, and use a laser pointer. Rotate, move, scale, copy, paste, clone, and lock any object added to the stage....Add new or existing photos and videos.... No account is necessary to use Explain Everything and share creations." Educational Uses :  So many possibilities!  Demos, tutorials, animations, annotated videos, screencast - created by teachers or students - to just name a few.  There is a showcase page you can read about & check out some examples:  http://www.explaineverything.com/ee-showcase...

I've create a series of videos to help users starting out with Apple Configurator.  These can be found in two locations: via a YouTube playlist via a series in Michigan's MI Learning on iTunes U Perhaps these can help others avoid some of the pitfalls I've experienced in helping schools set this up locally!

Photo Transfer App (Currently $2.99) Basics : Photo Transfer App is just that, an app to transfer photos AND videos between devices.  I have tested transfers between: two iPads or iPhones (and each other) iPad/iPhone & pc computer iPad/iPhone & Mac computer (The site says it will work with Linux, as well.  And there is now an Android app out. I have not tried those.)   Some points: you can transfer up to 200 photos (I did over 2000 one day, and it is a firm 200 at a time) it transfers the full resolution videos, not compressed video of reduced quality preserves photo metadata both devices need to be on the same wireless network (I did note that the new version says you can use bluetooth to transfer photos between iOS devices) Educational Use:   As I have seen more iPads go into classrooms, one of the big questions has been the ability to share or move photos between devices and the teacher's computer.  I know there are o...

A week ago I spent 5 hours at one of our local schools playing with Apple's new tool for managing iPads - Apple Configurator.  I have to say that it was time well spent - I can see this being a viable tool for school districts struggling with managing large numbers of iOS devices. Some of the pros & cons (as some people might see them) to using this: Pros Cloning devices is easier to do using this tool than iTunes, especially as it is easier to do multiple devices at the same time. Devices can be uniquely named very quickly & easily Updating can range: now you can fully restoring all the devices, make smaller updates, just add a profile, or even simply rename them Changes can be set up in the tool, and will be applied when/as the devices are connected Can manage multiple groups of devices in a more visual easy to see way VPP redemption codes can be managed via the tool - codes can even be removed from one device and loaded on another Profiles can be "s...

If you have an existing account and would like to change it so it is not connected to a credit card, you can do this by accessing the payment information on the account.  To do this in iTunes: On a computer, go to the iTunes Store in iTunes Click on the account name in the upper right corner Select to display the account information Click on Edit Payment Information Select None Click Done at the bottom of the page

If you have an existing account and would like to change it so it is not connected to a credit card, you can do this by accessing the payment information on the account.  To do this on an iPad: Go to the App Store, scroll to the bottom of the screen Click on the left box showing the Apple ID, a pop-up should appear Click on View Account Click on Payment Information Click on Credit Card and choose None Click Done

Coach's Eye (Currently $4.99) Basics : Coach's Eye is an app to use for recording video... but it takes your video way beyond simple playback.  What makes this app exceptional are what you can do to the video AFTER the recording.  You can: use a flywheel to inspect the video frame-by-frame add annotations in specific locations of the video add voice over share the video with others, either via YouTube or TechSmith's server space Educational Use : This app was developed for coaches - as in athletic coaches - to use with their athletes. However, the number of uses for educators is very large.  Just think of the material you can provide for students that are absent or need to see something multiple times.  OR think of the power of it in student's hands, where they can self-assess their own or each others work.  I see applications in all curriculum areas.  Here are my brainstorms on ways Coach's Eye could be used to record/anno...

Do you want to use an Apple account without a credit card (only going to use fee apps or apps redeemed from the volume purchase program)?  You can either create a new account OR modify an existing account so that no credit card is listed as a form of automatic payment. This can be useful if it is in the hands of children (it is how we set up the account we use on our own kids' iPod Touches) as there is no fear of them "accidentally" purchasing apps and charging it back to a credit card.  Set up a new Apple account not associated with a credit card: On a device,go to the iTunes Store and find a free app (this is while the device does not have any account signed in) Click on the free button next to the app Click on Install App Select Create New Apple ID Select your Country, then accept the User Agreement Fill out the information for the new account (name, password, birthday, etc) The next screen will have Billing Information.  If you click on Visa (the ...

Sketch Pad 3 - Unlimited Canvas (Currently Free) Basics : User is provided with a canvas to write & draw on.  What makes this app exceptional are all the advanced features.  You can also: add a picture, resizing and rotating it to fit where you want on the canvas make the background lined or graph paper, change the color of the background add typed in notes select, move, layer and change the style of individual elements on the screen extend the canvas size as much as needed, using a tooled in scroll control to move in exactly where needed add a size customizable palm rest to prevent unwanted marks ability to export out in multiple ways (email, photos, print & app) and formats (jpg, png, pdf, file) Educational Use : This is one of the most flexible "drawing" apps I have explored.  Because everything on the canvas is an individually controlled item there is a lot of flexibility in creating materials that can be used by students.  Additi...

Recently we have had to add another facilitator account for one of our buildings.  Unfortunately, when trying to get the account setup it snagged at the "verify" stage. Essentially, after a new facilitator account has been created by the VPP Manager, the person acting as facilitator goes to the VPP store to login with the new facilitator account.  The first time the account is used, the password recovery process must be used to set the password for the account.  (This means you click on "Sign in," then on the Volume Purchase Program sign-in page select "Forgot Password" to set the password for the account.  The person gets an email with a verifying link to finish the password setting process.)  After the password is set, the user is required to provide additional security. When clicking on this link currently, the user gets a "Secure Connection Failure" that prevents him/her from finishing this process.  However, there is a work-around t...

We have recently had the situation occur where the computer that our iPads were synced to had some issues, and we needed to sync the iPads to a different computer.  The first iPad we tried to restore resulted in a muddled mess.  It took us a couple days to figure out the most efficient way of getting our cloned iPads updated. That process made us back up and reconsider how everything works. Here's what to remember, and the process that worked for us. First - some key points to recall at a time like this: A device can only be synced to one iTunes Library App purchases (downloads) are tied to an Apple ID (formerly known as iTunes Account) App downloads are in the iTunes Library the device is synced with Next - what had to happen: The devices needed to be tied to the new iTunes Library The iTunes Library had to be logged into the Apple ID we used for the cloned iPads All apps had to be downloaded onto the new computer in this new iTunes Library Now - the process ...

Candy count (Currently Free) Basics : Users play with candy - sorting it by color, counting the sorted item, then making comparisons (most, least, more, fewer) and ordering them. Educational Use : This can be used with young students to learn color sorting, counting and basic comparisons using "candy" in this app. It's very easy to use, colorful and appealing to children. Drawbacks in Education : The app does have connections to FaceBook and Twitter, which can be a drawback with young students...they can easily accidentally leave the app when touching those buttons.

ScreenChomp   (Currently Free) Basics: Record your explanation along with your "markings" on the device at the same time.  Called a "doodling board," you use some simple drawing tools to explain or bring to life a problem or picture.  You can start with either a blank screen or a picture from your Photo Library.  The recordings are uploaded to "the cloud," and give you access to a url link you can use to either email out or post to a site for easy access; you can also download the video as a mp4 file for editing or local storage. Educational Use: Teachers and students can easily create short tutorials, sample problems, diagrams with explanations, etc that can be shared with each other.  As a teacher, this can be used to help reinforce concepts taught OR (if a student created the material) to check for learning.  As a student, I could have a site to go to if I need to revisit the material and I can view it at my own pace as many time as needed....

 iTunes U (Currently Free)   Basics: iTunes U has LOTS of curriculum material created by educators categorized by subject area, submitting institution, and grade level.  All the material is vetted through the submitting organizations, mostly Colleges, Universities and K-12 Education groups.  There is a Beyond Campus area that also has materials from museums, libraries (think Library of Congress!), and other educationally minded organizations.  Best of all - all material is available for  FREE . Educational Use: iTunes U is all about education as a majority of the information has been created by educational institutions.  Find the material needed to introduce, reinforce or supplement topics you are teaching about.  If you are in a situation where your students have the devices, as a teacher you can now push out the material you choose within iTunes U to the student devices using a common Apple Account (as long as students leave it l...