Thursday, January 23rd, 2014.
Please note that this page contains a collection of links to equipment and activities to support and enhance classroom teaching and learning.
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Connecting your iPad to a projector.
By: Nathan MacGregor
Method #1 - VGA Cable
You will need:
VGA adaptor [ 30pin adaptor $39.00 ] [ Lightning adaptor $59.00 ]
VGA extension cord [ two meters $19.95 ]
External speakers [ Varies. Any external speaker with a 3.5mm plug will do ]
You will need to access the back of your computer. Pull out the blue VGA cable that is connecting your projector to the back of your computer tower.
You will need:
VGA adaptor [ 30pin adaptor $39.00 ] [ Lightning adaptor $59.00 ]
VGA extension cord [ two meters $19.95 ]
External speakers [ Varies. Any external speaker with a 3.5mm plug will do ]
You will need to access the back of your computer. Pull out the blue VGA cable that is connecting your projector to the back of your computer tower.
With the blue VGA cable removed, connect it to the female end of your VGA extension cable.
On the other end of your VGA extension cable, plug your VGA adaptor into the male end.
Finally, plug the end of your VGA adaptor into the bottom of your iPad. You should now get a projection of your iPad screen on your board. No, you cannot control the iPad via the board.
Don't forget to plug your speakers into the top of the iPad if you desire sound.
Pros:
Great for rooms that do not have wifi access.
The projection covered the entire board.
Cons:
Tethered to a cable.
If the cable comes out slightly due to movement, unplug the loosened section and reconnect.
Need to switch between computer projection and iPad projection by unplugging the blue VGA cable.
On the other end of your VGA extension cable, plug your VGA adaptor into the male end.
Finally, plug the end of your VGA adaptor into the bottom of your iPad. You should now get a projection of your iPad screen on your board. No, you cannot control the iPad via the board.
Don't forget to plug your speakers into the top of the iPad if you desire sound.
Pros:
Great for rooms that do not have wifi access.
The projection covered the entire board.
Cons:
Tethered to a cable.
If the cable comes out slightly due to movement, unplug the loosened section and reconnect.
Need to switch between computer projection and iPad projection by unplugging the blue VGA cable.
Before we continue, a quick note on how to use AirPlay - Apple's streaming and mirroring function. This is based assuming you're using iOS7+.
Method #2 - Apple TV
You will need:
Apple TV [ $107.00 ]
Kanex ATV Pro [ $79.95 ]
RCA to 3.5mm audio cable [ $9.95 ]
Wifi access
Apple TV [ $107.00 ]
Kanex ATV Pro [ $79.95 ]
RCA to 3.5mm audio cable [ $9.95 ]
Wifi access
From left: RCA to 3.5mm audio cable, Apple TV and the Kanex ATV Pro.
Once everything is unboxed, have a look at the backs of each component. You'll notice that the cables, based on their size and shape, will only fit into one plug. So connection is really simple.
Again, you will need access to the back of your computer. As noted in Method #1, you will need to pull out the blue VGA cable and, this time, plug it into the back of the Kanex ATV Pro.
Again, you will need access to the back of your computer. As noted in Method #1, you will need to pull out the blue VGA cable and, this time, plug it into the back of the Kanex ATV Pro.
Now that everything is plugged in together, switch the electricity on at the wall, turn on your projector and turn on the Apple TV via the remote it came boxed with. It may take a few minutes to start up if it's the first time, but once it's running, you'll need to connect it to your school's wifi network.
How to connect your Apple TV to your school network.
To get sound, you'll need to connect the RCA connections from your audio cables into the white box found commonly beside the SMARTboard.
[[[IMAGE COMING]]]
Pros:
Free roaming use of a projected iPad.
Portable from room-to-room and school-to-school.
Cons:
Expensive setup.
Projection does not fill the entire screen.
Need wifi access.
Need to switch between computer projection and iPad projection by unplugging the blue VGA cable.
[[[IMAGE COMING]]]
Pros:
Free roaming use of a projected iPad.
Portable from room-to-room and school-to-school.
Cons:
Expensive setup.
Projection does not fill the entire screen.
Need wifi access.
Need to switch between computer projection and iPad projection by unplugging the blue VGA cable.
Method #3 - AirServer
You will need:
AirServer licence [ varies ]
Wifi access
Administrator access
You will need:
AirServer licence [ varies ]
Wifi access
Administrator access
If you have everything listed above, then this is the best option for projecting your iPad. The licence cost is not annually, but a one off payment. That's it. No more.
You'll need administrator access to install Airserver, or ask your local admin to do it for you. Airserver will fill the entire projection screen and also project your sound. You can have multiple projections up on your screen via split screens.
A quick note about Airserver's settings which can be found in your system tray.
You'll need administrator access to install Airserver, or ask your local admin to do it for you. Airserver will fill the entire projection screen and also project your sound. You can have multiple projections up on your screen via split screens.
A quick note about Airserver's settings which can be found in your system tray.
You can change the computer name to your class name so it can be easily found from your iPad's AirPlay menu.
Setting a password will not allow anyone and everyone to AirPlay to your board. This is a common mistake when there are multiple Airservers running in the one school.
Rebroadcasting can help with finding your Airserver in the event it crashes or not all iPads are locating it.
There's really not that much more to it. Download, install, setup, done. It's so simple!
Pros:
No need for equipment.
No wires.
Installs directly onto your computer.
Multiple iPads projected onto the same screen via split screen.
Very affordable.
Cons:
Need administrator access to install.
Need a credit card or Paypal account to purchase.
Can crash unexpectedly, requiring a complete restart of the program.
Setting a password will not allow anyone and everyone to AirPlay to your board. This is a common mistake when there are multiple Airservers running in the one school.
Rebroadcasting can help with finding your Airserver in the event it crashes or not all iPads are locating it.
There's really not that much more to it. Download, install, setup, done. It's so simple!
Pros:
No need for equipment.
No wires.
Installs directly onto your computer.
Multiple iPads projected onto the same screen via split screen.
Very affordable.
Cons:
Need administrator access to install.
Need a credit card or Paypal account to purchase.
Can crash unexpectedly, requiring a complete restart of the program.
Apps to Create.
By: Laura Chaffey
This session I revisted many of my favourite apps that allow students to create eye-catching multimodal texts and shared some student work samples. Below is the PowerPoint presentation shared.
To see more student work samples visit my ICT With MIss C webpage and check out the Lessons Using iPads section.
Quick links to the apps presented:
Quick links to the apps presented:
Apple Configurator.
By: Laura Chaffey
I've attached the Apple Configurator guide that I followed when setting up our new iPad minis. I completed some of the steps in a different order (such as importing all apps to iTunes before I even started the process) but the guide is fairly comprehensive as a start up.
A few words of advice: I recommend setting up iPads at home using your own wifi. Many have found it difficult in the school setting due to the need to access the proxy server to complete the set up process. I've recently been informed that by the knowledgeable Greg Norris, that by pressing the home button twice when it prompts for wifi setup will allow you to put in the proxy details.
{Document removed due to request of owner} - Sorry I'll type up some notes when i get a chance.
If your school is headed down the Configurator and VPP (Volume Purchasing Program) path then you'll need to have a number of Apple ID accounts set up. Neralie Chappell has created a guide to each of the accounts, how they are used and suggestions for naming them. I've updated her document with the steps to importing paid apps purchased within VPP into Configurator.
Configurator and VPP account guide
A few words of advice: I recommend setting up iPads at home using your own wifi. Many have found it difficult in the school setting due to the need to access the proxy server to complete the set up process. I've recently been informed that by the knowledgeable Greg Norris, that by pressing the home button twice when it prompts for wifi setup will allow you to put in the proxy details.
{Document removed due to request of owner} - Sorry I'll type up some notes when i get a chance.
If your school is headed down the Configurator and VPP (Volume Purchasing Program) path then you'll need to have a number of Apple ID accounts set up. Neralie Chappell has created a guide to each of the accounts, how they are used and suggestions for naming them. I've updated her document with the steps to importing paid apps purchased within VPP into Configurator.
Configurator and VPP account guide
Weebly.
By: Joel Alexander, Kathryn Dunbar and Nathan MacGregor
Weebly is a powerful and very easy to use website creator. It's what was used to build this website you're reading now! Weebly allows for basic site creation, blogs and stores, but we were only concentrating on sites and blogs.
Weebly's What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor allows beginners to make professional looking websites in a matter of minutes. By clicking and dragging elements to the empty site page, you can edit the content however you like.
You can add:
|
How to make a website using Weebly.
During this session, we went through a basic introduction and how you could use Weebly for your classroom website or for student blogs. It is recommended to use education.weebly.com for student access. You can link an education.weebly.com account to your main account for student use.
Once you make an education.weebly.com account, or link it to your original Weebly account, you'll notice an additional button on your top row tabs.
You can now add your class by name, grade and if you'd like their sites to be public or private. A password option is available for private sites.
Now it's just a matter of adding your students' details for their accounts.
For teachers, education.weebly.com comes with forty (40) free student accounts to use in the year. If more are needed, they'll cost $US1.00 per student.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Weebly sites are blocked for K-6 students. Students are able to access the Weebly website builder but will be unable to view their published site and any others until they have been unblocked via ICT Service Desk. There is no need to make a separate unblock request for each site, simply list all of your student sites in one request application. To make an unblock request head to:
Your Portal -> ICT Service Desk in My Essentials -> Request IT Support -> Click here to start your request
Weebly can also be used for digital programming, as Kathryn Dunbar will detail below.
I choose Weebly as the tool to develop my digital program as it allows me access to all teaching documents anywhere without carrying my heavy paper program. It also provides for quick registration, adaptations and reflection while keeping it neat without my rushed handwriting all over it.
When on class, I have my Weebly URL on my desk so any casual staff for the day will have access to my day plan and units to continue the day with minimal disruption. I have any confidential class information password protected, this is a Pro feature but definitely worth the money.
I use SkyDrive to embed all my programming documents as it directly linked to Microsoft Office 365, you will need a Hotmail or live email to have access, it keep all formatting the same and is easy to embed. It is also very easy to update as, when you edit the document in SkyDrive or from your desktop at home it will update on Weebly as well.
A tip I was told was to change the width to 100% in the embed code as this makes it easier to read once embedded, Google Drive works the same way
For teachers, education.weebly.com comes with forty (40) free student accounts to use in the year. If more are needed, they'll cost $US1.00 per student.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Weebly sites are blocked for K-6 students. Students are able to access the Weebly website builder but will be unable to view their published site and any others until they have been unblocked via ICT Service Desk. There is no need to make a separate unblock request for each site, simply list all of your student sites in one request application. To make an unblock request head to:
Your Portal -> ICT Service Desk in My Essentials -> Request IT Support -> Click here to start your request
Weebly can also be used for digital programming, as Kathryn Dunbar will detail below.
I choose Weebly as the tool to develop my digital program as it allows me access to all teaching documents anywhere without carrying my heavy paper program. It also provides for quick registration, adaptations and reflection while keeping it neat without my rushed handwriting all over it.
When on class, I have my Weebly URL on my desk so any casual staff for the day will have access to my day plan and units to continue the day with minimal disruption. I have any confidential class information password protected, this is a Pro feature but definitely worth the money.
I use SkyDrive to embed all my programming documents as it directly linked to Microsoft Office 365, you will need a Hotmail or live email to have access, it keep all formatting the same and is easy to embed. It is also very easy to update as, when you edit the document in SkyDrive or from your desktop at home it will update on Weebly as well.
A tip I was told was to change the width to 100% in the embed code as this makes it easier to read once embedded, Google Drive works the same way
<iframe src="https://SkyDrive.live.com/embed?cid=BB560AA89D714CCE&resid=BB560AA89D714CCE%21397&authkey=AOkLPkPikR5IEoc&em=2" width="100%" height="288" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
You can also use Scribd or Box to embed your documents.
Benefits:
The following is by Joel Alexander.
I'd like to add an F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions) on digital programming. Considering F.A.Q.s in essence are very wordy, my digital programming F.A.Q. can be found on this separate page. I'll add more to it as the questions come.
Benefits:
- Any links needed throughout the day can be linked to the KLA page or directly within my weekly overview, so I didn’t need to worry about losing that post it with a link or if there was a room change I still had the link ready.
- Easily shared with stage members while collaborating on units of work.
- Casual staff had access when I was not there.
The following is by Joel Alexander.
I'd like to add an F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions) on digital programming. Considering F.A.Q.s in essence are very wordy, my digital programming F.A.Q. can be found on this separate page. I'll add more to it as the questions come.
Q.R. Hunt.
By: Laura Chaffey
Helpful Blogging Tools.
By: Laura Chaffey
Below is a list of websites that are designed to link you with other schools in the world or involve you in a global project.
100 Word Challenge
Quadblogging
The Global Classroom Project
Projects By Jen
Skype in the Classroom
ePals
Save the Rhinos
100 Word Challenge
Quadblogging
The Global Classroom Project
Projects By Jen
Skype in the Classroom
ePals
Save the Rhinos
Creating a School News Production.
By: Scott Dunn and Nathan MacGregor
You will need (what we used):
iPad Mini(s) [ $346.00 ]
iMovie for the iPad [ $5.49 ]
Intro Designer for the iPad [ $2.99 ]
iMotion HD for the iPad [ free ]
Tablet holder for a microphone stand [ varies ]
Microphone stand [ varies ]
Optional:
Apogee MiC [ $279.95 ]
Curtains [ varies ]
Background props [ varies ]
We wont lie to you, doing a school news production is very time consuming when done correctly. It's something that, in most cases, will fall under the banner of 'extra curricular', so not only are you, the teacher, going to have to give up a lot of your time, but the students are as well. Spare time in a public school is rare enough, so if you can somehow fit this into your weekly (yes, weekly) routine, the payoff at the end is priceless.
As noted above, this is not a one day activity if done correctly. This is how Nathan did it with his class:
iPad Mini(s) [ $346.00 ]
iMovie for the iPad [ $5.49 ]
Intro Designer for the iPad [ $2.99 ]
iMotion HD for the iPad [ free ]
Tablet holder for a microphone stand [ varies ]
Microphone stand [ varies ]
Optional:
Apogee MiC [ $279.95 ]
Curtains [ varies ]
Background props [ varies ]
We wont lie to you, doing a school news production is very time consuming when done correctly. It's something that, in most cases, will fall under the banner of 'extra curricular', so not only are you, the teacher, going to have to give up a lot of your time, but the students are as well. Spare time in a public school is rare enough, so if you can somehow fit this into your weekly (yes, weekly) routine, the payoff at the end is priceless.
As noted above, this is not a one day activity if done correctly. This is how Nathan did it with his class:
Monday
> Sit down with class > Nominate and assign roles > Prepare basic storyboard |
Tuesday
> Students research potential stories |
Wednesday
> Anchors and Events presenters recorded during entire RFF block > Field reporters begin their stories |
Thursday
> Continue from Wednesday during recess and lunch if needed |
Friday
> Conclude week's recording > Students edit work in iMovie* for presentation at school assembly. |
* Teacher would do editting at home during the early weeks while the students were still learning how to use iMovie.
This is a very engaging exercise for all students involved. During any given week, we would have over ten (10) students in my class involved. We used a rotating roster for the more unique roles. Speaking of roles, we had:
Two anchors acting as 'the face' of the week's presentation;
An events presenter. Similar to a weather presenter, but focused on what is happening in the school this coming week;
Field reporters. Our field reporters would cover a variety of topics. Most common being school sports, but other topics included the Premier's Sporting Challenge, a tour of our school, a demonstration of how to play with the large Chess pieces, student interest stories and many more.
As with all learning experiences, there will be growth. Long story short, though, by the end of my time with this class, everyone who was involved became a more confident reader, writer, presenter, public speaker, visual artist, improviser and team player.
Below is an episode from Term 2, Week 7 of 2013. Presented by Year 4 students.
Two anchors acting as 'the face' of the week's presentation;
An events presenter. Similar to a weather presenter, but focused on what is happening in the school this coming week;
Field reporters. Our field reporters would cover a variety of topics. Most common being school sports, but other topics included the Premier's Sporting Challenge, a tour of our school, a demonstration of how to play with the large Chess pieces, student interest stories and many more.
As with all learning experiences, there will be growth. Long story short, though, by the end of my time with this class, everyone who was involved became a more confident reader, writer, presenter, public speaker, visual artist, improviser and team player.
Below is an episode from Term 2, Week 7 of 2013. Presented by Year 4 students.
Year 4 students presenting the weekly school news at Cardiff North Public School.
The learning experiences didn't end there. We also collected all of the blooper shots when a student would forget their line, interviewee would stall or anything else not to plan. These were put together in a blooper reel that we'd all watch as a class after presenting the final presentation to the school. We'd laugh and discuss what we did wrong to justify it as a blooper so not to make the same error again.
Here is the blooper reel for Term 2, Week 7 of 2013.
Here is the blooper reel for Term 2, Week 7 of 2013.
Term 2, Week 7 of 2013's blooper reel.
At the end of each week, on top of all of the learning experiences involved, we all had a great time!
The following is from Scott Dunn.
Extra items we use for our productions are:
Digital camera stand [ $16.00 from eBay ] If this item is not available via the link, a search for "camera tripod" will bring up similar results.
Tablet PC holder [ $60.00 from eBay ] If this item is not available via the link, a search for "microphone stand" will bring up similar results.
Teleprompter app [ varies from iTunes ]
Simple Transfer app [ free ]
Animoto app [ free ]
Tellagami app [ free ]
I use the smartboard as my teleprompter and use the app Teleprompter on another Ipad to reflect using ‘Reflector’ or ‘AirServer’ this is a great app that scrolls down at a speed you set for easy reading. You can use a PDF or word or even just your smartboard and have a children scroll down manually.
I place a desk in front of the Smartboard and sit the children behind the desk. To block out the rest of the class I put a sheet over a portable whiteboard. See photos attached of behind the scenes.
Extra items we use for our productions are:
Digital camera stand [ $16.00 from eBay ] If this item is not available via the link, a search for "camera tripod" will bring up similar results.
Tablet PC holder [ $60.00 from eBay ] If this item is not available via the link, a search for "microphone stand" will bring up similar results.
Teleprompter app [ varies from iTunes ]
Simple Transfer app [ free ]
Animoto app [ free ]
Tellagami app [ free ]
I use the smartboard as my teleprompter and use the app Teleprompter on another Ipad to reflect using ‘Reflector’ or ‘AirServer’ this is a great app that scrolls down at a speed you set for easy reading. You can use a PDF or word or even just your smartboard and have a children scroll down manually.
I place a desk in front of the Smartboard and sit the children behind the desk. To block out the rest of the class I put a sheet over a portable whiteboard. See photos attached of behind the scenes.
Once the news is shot we record our outdoor entries and use the app Tellagami to record our 100WC normally in our storeroom as it’s a little quieter. Next we showcase any art or children’s work by using the App Animoto. We use IMovie to put the whole presentation together before uploading to YouTube.
Tip: If you want to upload to YouTube through the DET Server use Chrome and disable ‘Flash Player’ by typing ‘chrome://plugins/’ into the URL then disable Adobe Flash Player by unticking the box. Remember to tick box again after uploading to YouTube.
Tip: If you want to upload to YouTube through the DET Server use Chrome and disable ‘Flash Player’ by typing ‘chrome://plugins/’ into the URL then disable Adobe Flash Player by unticking the box. Remember to tick box again after uploading to YouTube.
Students from Lisarow Public School preparing and working on their presentation.
A final product from Lisarow Public School.