Forget "the New iPad". Go Mini

So I've had an iPad2 for about a year and half. It's great. Mobile, powerful, multi-functional. Everything I thought I'd want in a tablet. But then our team received iPad Mini's to review just before winter break. Now I'm not sure where the old iPad is because it means nothing to me now. The Mini has taken over all my needs. 

Now before you say that the new mini must be a system upgrade, let me tell you the stats. The iPad2 I was using was 32 gig with 3G capability. The Mini is 16 gig, wifi only. Because I am usually in wireless zones at work and home, losing 3G wasn't an issue. In fact, I never signed up for any data plan on the old iPad. I was a bit concerned about losing half my storage capabilities when I moved to the Mini. But that hasn't been an issue. 

We've only deployed 16 gig iPads to our teachers and schools. There are usually between 120 and 160 apps on the iPads I help deploy to our schools. Space has not been a problem. Personally, I loved the need to start over on my work iPad. When I set up the Mini, I was able to only install the apps that I use the most, not the hundred others that I thought would be cool but don't use regularly. With my work, I demo a lot of apps for teachers. Apple's Cloud fits my needs perfectly here. If I need an app, I visit my purchased content and install it. Then I can delete it if necessary. At this point, I have 4.8 gig of storage left on the Mini. And that includes 159 songs.

The size of the Mini is perfect. I can fit the Mini into my coat pockets quite easily. It's so thin, even in a case. And the screen size isn't an issue. In fact, it's not a lot smaller than the full sized iPad. It didn't take me long to start thinking that the normal iPad was too big. The first thought I have when I pick up an iPad2 now: it's so huge. 

The most surprising aspect of my switch as been with typing. On the iPad2, I was always a one finger typist. Inefficient, yes, but it got the job down. With the Mini, I'm splitting the keyboard and using the dual-thumb approach, or the "teenage-girl texting method". Because of my demographic, I can't compete with your junior high daughter. But I'm getting better. In fact, I think I'm faster in the end because I'm not trying to go quickly. 

Other features that are superior on the Mini:

• The Mini's camera is much better: 5mp back camera with full HD
• 1024x768 screen resolution. It's not retina display, but it allows better pixels per inch than the full sized iPad2. It's noticeably crisper.
• Siri
• It's less expensive: $309 if you are buying ten-packs for schools

Everywhere I go, teachers ask my opinion when they see the Mini. My answer is always the same: go with a Mini for students, no question about it. It's a perfect size for the little hands of elementary students and for the mobile needs of secondary students. Teachers might be a different because, well, teachers are different. But the majority of teachers who already have iPads have said they would prefer the Mini. 

Basically, I'm over the "New iPad". Go Mini. 

App Review: Pixntell

Ever use Photostory to make video projects with students? If not, you need to. Just in case you aren't familiar with Photostory, it's free software for combining pictures and narration into a video. Finally, there is a great app to create similar projects, all on your iPad. It's called Pixntell, and you should download it immediately because it's free and awesome. 

Pixntell is very easy to use. You create a new project and name it. Then you can add images. Students can take pictures from inside the app. Images can also be added from your camera roll. Choose up to five images per project with the free version. The images will appear on your project screen. You can even perform some editing of those images similar to what you'd find in Instagram. Choose "next". This is where you can add narration. Press the microphone button to start recording. When you are ready to switch slides, swipe left or right to move to the next slide. You can go backwards to revisit slides. When you are finished, choose the option to save your project. And that's it. Videos can be exported to Dropbox, Facebook, YouTube or through email.

Now that's the description of the free version. For $.99, you can upgrade to pro. The pro version will let you add more than five images. You can also create custom slides that include text. Those are great features, but probably not something you have to purchase. 

Pixntell is a great app. I'm really glad that I found it. It's easy to use and the instructional possibilities are endless. Check it out. 

App Review: MyOn Reader

This year, our school district purchased the online reading program called MyON Reader. Basically, it's a database of electronic books that students can read online or download to a mobile device to read locally. Students are loaded into classes and teachers can assign books, create book groups, and monitor reading activity. In theory, it's a really nice setup. I say "in theory" because we are just starting to learn how to use it. But I'm only going to focus on the iPad app for this post.

So let's just assume that a teacher is a MyON expert. He or she has all students enrolled in the class, book groups are created based on reading ability, and book sets are created to assign to specific book groups based on interest and levels. Students log in to a computer and can access the content that is designated for them. So it only stands to reason that when a student picks up an iPad to access the app, he or she would be able to do the same. Wrong.

There is none of the functionality you would expect in the app. You can access thousands of books through the app. But students won't see their reading groups, don't have access to assigned book sets, and worst of all, have no good way to search for books that are suited to their instructional level. Inside the app, you find and download books based on a "visual search". You choose a category, such as animals, then choose from more specific categories. Once the books are found, you choose the book that most interests you. Except you don't know the reading level until you choose the book. And as a parent of a kindergartner in the district, I find it a bit annoying that I have to continually hunt to find a book that would fit his needs. 

Now, my favorite media specialist/English teacher who sits behind me would argue that those features don't matter. All that matters is the access to reading materials. We are going to agree to disagree on this one. In my elementary world, it's important that I direct students to reading materials that are developmentally and instructionally appropriate. Right now, the MyON app doesn't do it for me. 

I can only imagine that MyON is currently working on this issue. I find it almost unbelievable that they would have so much functionality on their website, but not on the app. With so much computing going to the tablet format, MyON really needs to get these changes applied so they can continue to serve the needs of students and teachers. 

App Review: Camera Awesome

This app comes as advertised: awesome. For years, one of the best features of the iPad was the camera. And with good reason. There are endless instructional possibilities for the front and rear camera. But there have always been limitations. Easy to use, yes. But limited. Until now...

You need to download Camera Awesome right now. I wouldn't be surprised if they start charging for it. There are a lot of features with this app. But the best features are the different camera modes. There are four different options that I'll mention here.

1. Timer: So simple, but where has it been? Set the timer from 3 seconds to 59 seconds. Just in time for special family pictures during the holidays.
2. Interval: I love this feature. Set the camera to shoot at a regular interval. So if you want to document a scientific process, set and record. It will keep taking shots at that interval until you manually stop it. 
3. Slow burst: Hold down the button to record images at a rate of 3 frames a second. The key is you have to hold it down.
4. Fast burst: Same as above, but faster: 5 frames a second. 

Now there are some other features that are worth mentioning. Pinch to zoom is built in. And zoom works on the front camera, unlike the native camera app. There is a level you can add to the screen to make sure your images are level. There are also effects, similar to Instagram, that you can add to your pictures. 

I know you have already come up with ideas about how this could be used in your classroom. I bet all you science teachers out there are going to love it. What a great way to pull images from a quick process so students can analyze what happened. Or set up the interval feature to record images on a regular basis. You can now do time lapse photography on your iPad to analyze situations. So many possibilities...

That's likely going to be it for 2012. Hope everyone has a great holiday season. See you in 2013.

Finally, YouTube for iPad again

One of the biggest complaints of people who upgraded to the new iOS6 was the missing YouTube app. The ongoing competition between Google and Apple left a lot of people out in the cold with the lack of YouTube app and Google Maps. Well, Google has finally addressed that issue with the release of a new YouTube app.

It's not tough to find right now. Check out the number 1 spot in the Top Charts. Happy viewing. 

App Review: AppsFire

There are a lot of apps out there that are designed to help you get more apps. One that I really find to be useful is Appsfire. It keeps you up to date on deals for popular apps. Navigation is pretty easy. The apps are sorted out by category. Examples of some of the categories include music, navigation, social networking, photo and video, news, staff highlights, best deals of the day, and more. So many more. Searching through the categories is very user-friendly. You can swipe left and right to see more apps in each category. It shows you the regular price and sale price. If you want to purchase the app, simply select it and you'll be sent to the app store to complete the transaction. 

But here's the best part about Appsfire. Is there an app that you really want to try out but don't want to spend the money on? Let Appsfire keep an eye on it and let you know when the price drops. Here's how easy it is. Search for the desired app inside Appsfire. When you find it, save the app to your wish list. Appsfire will send you a notification when the price of your apps is reduced. 

The best example of how I've used Appsfire is with the app Splashtop2. It's a popular app that teachers want, but the price is all over the place. It's typically $6.99, but drops to $.99 every now and then. And when it does, you get 24 to 48 hours to get it purchased. So it's great to have Appsfire keep an eye on the price and let me know when it drops. 

This type of app is a dime a dozen. So give Appsfire a chance and you won't be disappointed. 

Create a digital course in iTunesU

I created my first iTunesU course this week. It's a course about how to use iTunesU Course Manager. I was amazed at how easy it was. If you are looking for a way to upload your digital content to a course that students can access on an iOS device, then you need to try out iTunesU. 

If you have an Apple ID, then you can get started immediately. On a personal level, anyone can create courses and enroll up to 50 students in each course. Your institution does not need to be enrolled for you to create your course. Just use your personal Apple ID or another one that you created just for this purpose. It might be helpful to create an Apple ID without using a credit card.

Now the first step for most teachers new to iTunesU is to download the Safari web browser. Yes, it can run on a PC. Once it's downloaded, open up Safari and visit the iTunesU Course Manager site. Log in with your Apple ID and you are ready to go. 

Setting up your site is a step-by-step process that I won't go into here. Instead, I'll pass along a helpful link to walk you through the process. This is Apple's iTunesU Support page for creating courses. Instead, I'll talk you through some of the features that I think are really simple and powerful for delivering your content. Here are my top-5 features in iTunesU.

1. Linking to podcasts from iTunes - Course Manager makes it simple. Find the content in iTunes and right-click on the name. Copy the link and paste it to your materials page in your course. Done. One thing I learned in creating my course is that you can only link to specific podcasts, not the full subscription. But as a teacher, this is what I would want anyway. 
2. Linking to other iTunes content - Teachers can send students to audio books, movies, shows, or apps. And the content can be free or paid. So you'll have to figure out a process for having students download paid materials. But it's so simple to point students to different resources to support learning. 
3. Posts - The posts are the meat of the course. Teachers can create posts for any part of their course outline that contain text to inform or describe the next step. Along with the posts, you can add assignments. Link the assignments to materials that you've added like podcasts or eBooks. Students can check off their progress as they finish each assignment
4. Adding your own content - Upload your already-made PDFs, Word Documents, videos, web links, Google Docs, or anything else. So you don't have to recreate what you already have. 
5. Dynamic updating - I found this feature to be pretty handy. If you forget to add an assignment or post, just add it in. It will update automatically on everyone's device. But don't expect it to happen instantaneously. Mine took several minutes for the changes to appear. 

When you are ready to invite students to your course, iTunesU gives you an enrollment link. Simply email the link to your students or include it as a link on your class webpage. When students open the link, it sends the teacher a request to enroll. In your course manager page, you'll see the students who have requested enrollment and can approve admission from there. 

That's iTunesU in a nutshell. For students with iOS devices, it's great. I wish that you could access courses through any device using Safari. Hopefully that's coming up soon. But for me, it was easy to see how powerful iTunesU could be to organize a course and push your content to students. 

Good luck.