Recording voice

Technology integration doesn't have to be overly complex to be effective.  Here's a simple idea that can be very powerful-- ask students to share something in a voice recording.  This might be their reaction to some reading or explaining a concept in their own words.  Think of how what you get might compare to what they would write.

image from pixabay.com

How is this done?

To record:

1. For students with smartphones, use the built in voice memo app (or try one of the many free apps available for iOS or Android).
2. For students with laptops, use the built in microphone to record to TwistedWave (web app) or Audacity (installed app).
3. Other students can borrow a handheld digital recorder or a mic to connect to a computer (from 118).  

To share:

1. Smartphones-- install the Google Drive app (for iOS). Share the audio file to Google Drive
2. TwistedWave-- File..Send..Google Drive
3. Audacity-- save as mp3, then upload to Google Drive
4. Once in Drive, share the file just as you would a Google Doc.
5. The audio will play inside Google Drive.

Here's a screencast on using TwistedWave and sharing from Google Drive:

Removing cvuhs.org addresses

Now that we at CVU have joined the cssu.org Google domain, it's a good idea to get rid of cvuhs.org addresses.  Here's how to do that:

On the computer:

1. In GMail, click on Mail and change it to Contacts.
   
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2. Enter @cvuhs.org in the search box and search.
   
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3. Check the box at the top to select all the results.
Go to More..Delete Contacts.

4. If you still see results from the search, repeat until they're all gone (Google may do them in batches).
5. That's it! Now, when you go back to Mail and compose a message, Google won't offer the old cvuhs.org addresses as options.

Here's a brief screencast on how to do it.

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 Purging CVU Contacts.mp4

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On your iPhone/iPad:

Your iPhone remembers email addresses you've contacted in the past, whether or not you add them to your Contacts.

When you get set to send an email and start typing an address, a list of options may appear.
1. If you see a cvuhs.org address, click the blue i to the right (if there is no i, it's because the person is in your Contacts and needs to be edited there).

2. Click Remove From Recents

3. Now when you go to compose a new email, the cvuhs.org address won't pop up.

On your Android device:

I could use some help here...anyone use an Android device who can tell us how it's done? Please comment below! Thanks.

More ways to get video from your iPhone or iPad to a PC

Using your iOS device to capture video and need it to get it onto a PC* at school?  Last year I postedmethod of using Google Drive to do this.  I heard back from some students that the process could take a long time.

So, here are some other approaches:

1. Find the USB cable that attaches to your phone or iPad (best if it's the one from Apple) and plug it into your computer.  Click Computer in the Start Menu and look for an icon for the device.  Right-click on this and choose Import pictures and videos.  Note: this method does not always work.  If it doesn't, try restarting your device, or using a different cable or USB port.


2. Use a wireless transfer app.  I just used WiFi Album (free version) and it worked great.

3. If you don't need to actually save the video on your computer (but just need to share it), you can also simply upload to YouTube.  Lots of sites let you then incorporate the video from YouTube.  To do this, click the share icon and choose YouTube.  Once it's on YouTube, you can edit, as necessary.  You can make the video unlisted, but don't set it to private if your intent is to use it on a website or other project.

Two iPad note-taking apps free today

For those students and teachers who use iPads, here's a heads-up that two nice note taking apps are free today in the App Store. These are each normally $4.99. The first is Notability. Notability is a versatile app that lets you take notes with handwriting (it actually makes my penmanship look better than it is!) or by keyboard. It is quite popular. The other is a newer kid on the block. It's called NoteLedge. I don't know much about this one, but I just downloaded it and will try to out. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/notability/id360593530?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/noteledge-take-notes-sketch/id493913166?mt=8

Sharing video from your phone or tablet

Have you ever used your phone or table to record video, then gotten stuck sharing it?

Frustrated with trying to email video to yourself, only to have it broken up into small clips?  

There’s a better way!

Use Google Drive.

Uploading:

1. Download the (free) Google Drive app. (iOS , Android)
2. To sign into Drive with your school Google account, see IT to set your password (if you haven’t already).  You can also use a personal Google account.
3. In the Drive app, click the + sign to upload.
4. Choose the video from your Camera Roll.

Sharing:

You can share right from the app, but only with specific people (to do this, click on the grey “i” icon, then Sharing).  

If you want to share with “anyone with the link” (which is how I prefer to do it), just hop on a computer, log into Google Drive and do it from there.

Remember-- you can store and share any kind of file in Google Drive.  One nice thing about putting video there is that it plays right in the browser (just like YouTube).

Questions?  See Charlie in 127 or cmacfadyen@cvuhs.org

Google Play for Education

In a recent post, I noted that the Apple App Store has introduced a section specifically for teachers.  Google Play (which is the Android version of the app store) now also has an Education section.  It is not as extensive as what's offered for iOS, but I expect it will grow as more Android tablets hit the market.
Whether it's Apple or Android, though, it seems that many of the education content-specific apps are geared toward K-6.  Take a look at most "top-ten" list of apps for high school students (such as this one), and you'll see that they tend to be "productivity" and "reference" apps.   In other words, while a 4th grade student may be learning math and language arts via an app, a high school student will more likely have a periodic table app, a graphing calculator app, a thesaurus app, etc.  High school students are also more likely to use apps for planning and organization.  The advantage is that many of these apps are used beyond education, so there are excellent choices available, whether on iOS or Android.

Apples Launches Apps for Teachers Category

Thanks to my Williston colleague Bonnie Birdsall for sharing this... If you have an iPad, you're probably always on the lookout for new educational apps.  Apple has recognized this and there is now a special category in the App store for teachers. Read about it here.
Speaking if iPads, we have a Google Group for teachers here at CVU.  If you're interested in joining (no iPad required), click here.

iPad apps

We have a group of iPad-using teachers at CVU who have formed a group, both in person and in Google.

After posting something to the group recently, I realized it would be good to share more widely.  If you're not a member of the group and would like to join, please let me know.  Either way, feel free to reply here with favorite apps and classroom uses. A reminder that Comment As: Name/URL works best...

Here's a simple idea that I find very useful. If you install a scanning app on your ipad, you can scan paper documents. I just did that for my juniors' Grad Challenge contracts, for example. That way, you have access to the documents digitally. For someone like me (have you seen my desk?!), it's a great organizational help.
I've used GeniusScan but have switched to JotNot (the paid version lets you access your files in the cloud and shares with Google Drive). There's also an app called TinyScan that's free* right now.


*Speaking of free apps, there are even apps that let you know when other (normally paid) apps have are free.  One such app is AppsGoneFree.