Thursday 28 February 2013

iPad models for the future - 1:1? BYOD? What's your position?

When it comes to 1:1 programs with iPads and other tablets there are a number of ways to go. The school can buy and manage them all, it can be school bought and parent managed, or entirely the responsibility of the parent.

In my current situation our school owns and manages our classroom iPads. It by no menas the ideal situation. Managing large numbers of iPads in regard to file management, syncing, app organization and purchasing in a school environment is a nightmare for the school. This is mainly because of the individual nature of the iPad, and in part because Apple really haven't worked out an elegant solution for managing iPads in large numbers.

In my ideal world, parents would purchase the iPad, the school would provide a list of apps that they would install and manage much the same as a common booklist. This would also allow the same iPad to move on with the child, carrying with it all of their work.

The iPad, and other tablets really create the opportunity are vastly changing the way that classrooms operate, and give students the opportunity to create and experience education in a whole new way. It will be interesting to see what the dominent 1:1 model becomes in the next few years.


60 seconds to save an hour

Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference. For me this is particularly so with keyboard shortcuts. They have become so much a part of my workflow that I often forget which menu the commands come from when I try to show someone with the mouse.

To help people get started with some of these little tips and tricks I have started to put together some 60 second videos explaining how these work.

Once you get underway with keyboard shortcuts there's no looking back, you really will save yourself many hours for the sake of letting your fingers control the action for a moment.

If there's an instructional video you'd find useful message me and see if I can put one together for you.