Monday, December 5, 2011

Laptops as Netbooks

This year at the Creeks, we have reimaged our laptops to work like Netbooks. This holds some benefits (faster computers, automatic login, etc.), but also means we have to get creative with saving documents as students do not have access to their H or S drives.

Here are some ways to save documents from laptops!

1. Flash Drive - Encourage students to bring flash drives or use one "class" flash drive to pass around. This option allows for minilessons on saving to a flash drive and safely ejecting a flash drive, which are two valuable skills for our students!

2. Google Apps - Since Google Apps automatically saves in the cloud on the Internet, have students complete projects within Google. Google has comparable products to the Microsoft suite. Below is a comparison chart:
  • Documents - Word
  • Presentation - Power Point
  • Spreadsheet - Excel
The best part of Google Apps? It allows students to focus on content since the products are a lighter version of the Office products. Instead of getting caught up in animations, students can focus on their thoughts and ideas.

3. Fileway and Edmodo - If your students are creating projects in Microsoft Office or Smart Notebook on the laptops, try using a storage tool like Fileway or Edmodo to keep the files. Students can save their documents to the desktop of the computer (short term only), upload the document to one of these tools and then delete the file from the desktop. When ready to work on the file again, they can return to the storage tool and download the file, again saving as a temporary file that will be deleted once the student uploads the new version of the document to the storage space.

For more information about Fileway and Edmodo, check out the links below.

Fileway

Edmodo

Happy saving! As always, let me know if you have questions or need help!

Friday, December 2, 2011

App Smackdown of the Week - Vol 3

This week, I again got to work with my awesome teammate, Sarah Daugherty, on an Appy Hour. This time, we focused on Math apps.

What I love most about these sessions is that the teachers are give TIME - to play, explore and think about what will work in the classroom. We get to be true facilitators, asking questions, providing ideas and joining in the collaboration. I'll be offering sessions like these at the Creeks once a month in the spring.

Want to see some of the awesome apps the teachers found? Check out their favorites by following the link below!

www.wallwisher.com/wall/appyhourmath

What are your favorites? How do you use iDevices in Math?