Category Archives: Quick Tips

Quick Tips

Download YouTube videos on your iPad

May 24, 2012 – 9:45 am

Have you ever found the perfect YouTube video for class, only to realize that you do not have an internet connection in the classroom? Or, worse yet, the promise of a LAN or WiFi connection, but insufficient bandwidth to stream videos for your students. I know that I have been stuck up at the podium stalling for time more than once while students stared expectantly at a ‘buffering’ message…

Well, there is an easy solution to that. Rather than go to your desktop or laptop to download the video, only to struggle to find a way to copy it to your iPad, just open up YouTube.com in iCabMobile. iCabMobile, in case you have not noticed from previous posts, is my go-to browser on the iPad. One of the reasons I love it is that it allows for file downloads. This includes YouTube videos as well.

Watch the video below to see how it is done.

Homework: Download this video with iCabMobile and share it with your colleagues. ;^)

 

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Quick Tips

Fun folder names

April 30, 2012 – 12:09 pm

One of the added perks of the variety of international keyboards available on the iPad, is that you can have some fun with your folder names. You can choose from foreign languages (I have used Japanese for work-related and Japanese study folders), Emoji, or even Kaomoji. This is exactly what I was playing with this afternoon (instead of completing that pesky grant proposal).

So, this is what my homescreen looked like before having fun with the folder names.

After taking this screenshot I tapped the Settings app up in the right corner to check that my keyboard settings included “Emoji” (General / International / Keyboards: Emoji).
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Quick Tips

A Personal Touch

April 22, 2012 – 3:37 am

Is it ironic that I am suggesting the use of technology here to add a “personal touch” to your course materials? It certainly seems odd to me, but it just makes sense. We use so much technology to create the materials we use, but we often limit ourselves to interesting photos, clip-art, and different fonts to make it ‘ours’. Well, if you have the new app Paper, from  FiftyThree Inc, then technology has brought you full circle. What makes this app so useful is that you are able to share images with an alpha channel. This means that the background becomes transparent, so you are able to overlay your image over other things.

I have been using Paper recently to save sketches, text, and charts to add to my course materials. I have used it on my course websites, Keynote presentations, and classroom handouts. It is simply a great way to make your materials more personal.

Check out this short Youtube video to see how I added a self-portrait and some text to a Keynote presentation.

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Quick Tips

Cleaning up your homescreen

November 17, 2011 – 3:52 pm

It seems fitting that the first post to this blog on iPads for Teachers is about starting fresh. One of the advantages of the mirroring ability of the iPad when used with external displays and projectors is that you can share everything. However, this can also be a disadvantage, as your students may be distracted by the full screen of folders and apps on your homescreen.  This is what my homescreen used to look like:

Distracting Homescreen

 

The problem with this is that it is not really suited for display in the classroom, as the students are certain to react to the background image, and possibly start commenting on the different apps and games they may recognize. While I might welcome this as a conversation starter with a one-on-one interaction, this is not as suitable when the students begin chatting amongst themselves. I learned this the hard way, so I decided to clean things up a bit. read more »

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