Quizlet

Cool study/flashcard tool available across platforms (Win/Mac/iOS/Android)

http://youtu.be/n7QgCZAkIk8

iPads lead to Web2.0 discoveries

As our iPad initiative evolves, we're finding teachers are now asking for collaborative tools that may have been around in the past, but now have applicability on our new mobile devices. Thanks to the person(s) who put this comprehensive list of collaborative tools together:

http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Collaborative+Tools

The iPads are coming! The iPads are here!

Through a generous gift of the Trustees of Phillips Exeter Academy, full time faculty will begin their teaching year with an iPad2 in hand. About two thirds of them have already been picked up by faculty over the summer. The agenda for Faculty Week will include an iPad training session later this month to give all of our teachers a jumpstart on using these handy devices. In addition to the faculty devices, two sets of iPads will be circulated to classes this term to give teachers a chance to test the merits of the iPad in class and to give students a chance to put them through their paces as a course tool for texts, research and project creation. The Academy Library has also purchased eight iPads to use in the pursuit of bibliographic research. It will be great to see what this creative community does with such an innovative tool readily available. Check out the Exeter iPad cover below:

Summer Fun

Now that Summer is coming to a close (a moment that makes me simultaneously sad to see the daylight hours shortening and excited to see colleagues and students returning again soon), I've finally set aside a moment to write a post about how we began summer this year at the Academy: Tech Camp!

Formally called the Technology Workshop, "tech camp" was a three-day event, organized by a group of faculty and ITS staff chaired by Director of Studies Laura Marshall. The agenda included workshops taught or facilitated by our own faculty on topics including Skype and other video, Blogs and Wikis at School, iPad and Digital Readers, and Facebook and other social media. The series included a fascinating (both technically and with regard to content) Skype conference with W. Brian Arthur, author of The Nature of Technology: What it is and how it evolves. The culminating event was an open discussion on Harkness Teaching in the 21st Century, to which we invited via videoconference Howard Levin, Director of Educational Innovation and Informational Services at San Francisco's Convent and Stuart Hall Schools of the Sacred Heart. Mr. Levin will make a return appearance in person at our opening of school faculty workshops.

The workshop series came together quickly under Ms. Marshall's guidance, and through a significant amount of collegial collaboration at a very busy time of year by faculty who have been innovators in their use of emerging technologies. Susan Keeble, Eimer Page, Johathan Wang, Tom Seidenberg, Lundy Smith, Elena Gosalves-Blanco, Brian Sea, John Blackwell and I co-taught sessions, under the helpful support of ITS instructional tech staff Marilee Tuomanen and director Shelley Nason. It was GREAT to hear how colleagues used these tools, how enthused students have been about them, and to think about how they might be applied across the curriculum. And, of course, the rare opportunity to spend three days with faculty from various departments was priceless. Thanks to Kathleen Curwen (former Dean of Faculty) for conceptualizing this fun workshop. About 30 people participated in the workshop series this June.

iPad Adventures

Having recently spent a week at home recuperating from a back injury, I found the iPad extremely convenient! First of all, it lasted three days before I had to recharge it. Second, I could read and respond to all of my email conveniently. Of course I could search the web to my heart's content. And, finally, I played around with my favorite apps and added a few more.

Our other iPad "piloteers" (is that a word?) are having equal fun. This week at our iPad meeting we learned how to take a screenshot (hold down power and home buttons until the screen flashes, then look in Photos for the screenshot). A swimming coach, Lundy Smith, shared how he's capturing video on a camera and then uploading the videos to the iPad, which he described as a very convenient and timely way to review swimming form and progress with students poolside rather than waiting until later. Since the kids are at the pool, they can immediately take note of suggestions and apply them to the rest of their practice.

At the iPad meeting, we also took a look at some of the great resources available on iTunesU: archival film, audio, lectures, performances of every kind, arts. Wow. So much to explore. I almost wish I had another week of recuperation (not really). :)

eReaders

Here's a very interesting post on how to use (mostly free) software with a Kindle for organizing and reading professional digital materials. I agree with the author: my eyes sting after a whole day of reading my computer screen, so I may check this out. If you read the comments section, you'll also find some iPad tips for doing the same thing.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/integrating-an-e-reader-into-your-workflow/30668

iPads at Exeter

Watch this blog for more on our iPad experiments

Cartooning Software as Educational Tool

Here's an interesting article in The Chronicle on the use of Cartooning sites in academia.

eBook readers

Well, we broke down and bought a Nook for Christmas, so I've been thinking about how I would create my class materials for students who have an eBook reader to prevent their having to carry around a messy, spiral-bound paper copy that falls apart regularly. Probably wouldn't be hard to make a PDF of the whole thing on our snazzy multifunction copier that scans to PDF.

So that got me to thinking how great it would be for publishers to turn those ginormous science books that cripple the kids into ebooks. And how less expensive distribution and order processing would be for the publishers.

Today I came across this article on a listserv:

Where are all the ebooks?