Category Archives: Apple

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Apple, Apps, Review, Technology

PS (Photoshop) Touch for iPhone: Review

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PS Touch

Firstly, I have got to say, I’m a massive fan of Adobe Photoshop and I love using it with my students. I was curious how a stripped down version would work on my iPhone 5, after all, the screen is pretty small. It has to be said, after using it, its clear that a lot of work has gone into this . I’m very impressed.

When I first opened the App I wasn’t sure what to expect or how it would compare to the iPad version. The interface is very similar, with changes only made to take into account of the screen size. From what I can see all the functionality is the same. The UI is simple and not too overwhelming, it looks clean and it is easy to navigate.

So what is it like to use…

In order to give it a proper test, I decided to try and replicate an album cover that I produced in Photoshop for school a couple of months ago. I wanted to see how it compared. You can see the original below:

Original Photoshop Version

Original Photoshop Version

As a Creative Cloud user, I was able to download the images the original cover was made from, onto my iPhone from the cloud. Easy. You can also import images from your camera, photo library or clipboard.

Cutting out the original image of Jay-Z was a bit awkward, but I was impressed with the various option available to do it.  You can use the lasso tool or use your finger to trace around the parts that you want. What really blew me away was the ‘Refine Edges’ tool. Very similar to ‘big’ Photoshop. But, again, a little bit awkward because of the screen size. If I was a bit more patient and with practice I am sure it would get easier.

Some of the editing tools

Some of the editing tools

Once I cut Jay-Z out I then added more layers which are images from the cloud. The laters can all be arranged as you would do in the desktop version of Photoshop. You can even change the blending options of each layer. Happy days.

The layers

The layers

You can add adjust each layer by changing things like Brightness/Contrast, Saturation, Levels, Curves and many more.

Adjustment Options

Adjustment Options

And of course, Photoshop would not be the same without some image effects. The effects available are pretty good, but I am sure we will see more added in the future.

Effects

Effects

Once I had added my layers, made some adjustments my album cover was ready. I was even able to add some lens flare. I love lens flare and there are several options, even a JJ (Abrams option).  There are several options for export, you can upload to creative cloud, save to Camera Roll, share in different ways or save to iTunes.

The final album cover looked pretty good, compared to the original. I found it quite difficult during the cutting out the image process and you can see it isn’t perfect. The screen size is not ideal for this sort of editing, the iPad is obviously far better for this sort of thing. I would also like to see more fonts available. However, for an iPhone App I am very impressed and really enjoyed using it. The available tools and options are amazing for a iPhone App. I would definitely recommend. It is especially good for anyone who wants to quickly mock up a design for a larger project. To be honest though, the results can be really professional.

Final Album cover made in PS Touch for iPhone

Final Album cover made in PS Touch for iPhone

As you can see the image created on my iPhone is impressive when you compare it to the one I created on my MacBook Pro on Photoshop CS6.

My verdict: 4 out 5

Effects
The layers
Adjustment Options
Refine Edges
Final Album cover made in PS Touch for iPhone
Original Photoshop Version
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Apple, Apps, Education, iPad, iPad Trial, Teaching, Technology

How to Evaluate iPad use in Education

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iPad

iPad

We are currently running an iPad trial at school and investigating their effectiveness for teaching and learning.

In order to fully understand the impact of these devices it is important to evaluate their use.

I created two evaluations. One for students to fill out once and one for teachers to fill out. These were created in Google Forms and a short cut was added to the iPad to make it easier for students to access.

It was important to me that the evaluations were short to encourage staff and students to fill them out.

Once the evaluation period is over, I will use the evaluations to help formulate a report.

The PDF evaluations are below:

Teacher Evaluation

Students Evaluation 

The great thing about Google Forms is that it is free, plus it gives you a great summary of results  with a selection of graphs.

nearpod1smal
Apple, Apps, Education, iPad, iPad Trial, Teaching, Technology

NearPod for iPad: Revolutionise presentations and AFL in the classroom

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Students watching a video

Students watching a video

Today I tried out the NearPod App in a PSHE lesson.

I have pretty excited about this for a while and I have finally got around to testing it in the classroom.

For those who don’t know what NearPod is – check out this link.

So before the lesson I created my PowerPoint, converted it to PDF, uploaded it to NearPod and added the interactive elements (polls, quizzes and video). I had enough iPads for each student in class, which was perfect. However, this morning I was asked if I could have another class in my room with me. I only teach PSHE in half classes, but the added students meant I would have one iPad between two. It turns out, this wasn’t a massive problem, although less than ideal.

Once the students came in, I handed out the iPads and explained what would happen in the lesson. The topic I am working on at the moment is the death penalty. NearPod allows you to send a presentation directly to the students iPads.

NearPod was great and the ability to guide students through the presentation, while walking around the classroom was excellent. Of course the power comes from the interactive elements of the presentation. I was able to ask the students if they agreed with the death penalty by sending a poll to their iPads. The results came to my device and I was able to share the overall results with the students at the push of a button.

We then looked at why people do/don’t agree with the death penalty. Once we had done that and had a clash discussion, I then sent a quiz to their iPads. Again, I could share the overall results with each studemt. However, the students can see their own individual results on their iPads.

The ability to do this is great for AFL. You can also export the results and keep them on record.

Finally, I had embedded a video in the presentation.

I shared the video to their iPads. Every student was able to watch the video, on their iPads, at the same time. Excellent!

Apart from a few issues with WiFi on a couple of the iPads, NearPod worked perfectly. The students were engaged and really enjoyed using it. I can really see how great this is for teaching and learning.

The Biology department plan to use NearPod in lessons after half term. I’m looking forward to seeing how they get on.

I will post a video of a NearPod presentation soon, so those who have not seen it can see it in action.

Apple, Apps, Education, iPad, iPad Trial, Teaching, Technology

iPad Launch to all staff- INSET: How it worked (Resources Included)

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A photo taken just before the INSET began.

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On Friday 28th of September we finally launched our iPad trial to all staff. There was only about 3 weeks to organise the event, but the whole thing went very well. Staff left excited, inspired and full of ideas. It really was an outstanding day!

The Build Up

After the summer holidays, I came back to school with the exciting prospect of our iPad trial. However, I realised how much work there was to do. Planning the launch to HoDs as well as organising a whole school INSET was pretty stressful. Luckily, the Asst Head (teaching and learning) was amazing and really helped organise everything. I have talked briefly about the launch to HoDs (2 weeks before the INSET for the whole school) in a previous post, so I will say very little about it here.

I really wanted the INSET to be an event. My idea was based around an Apple style keynote presentation. A few weeks before the INSET I spoke to several members of staff about ideas I had about Apps for T&L. I then asked if they would like to take part in the INSET, by showcasing not only the App, but how it can be used to enhance T&L, inspire and engage students.This would, of course involve speaking infront of the whole school. The teachers I asked jumped at the chance. The idea was to show all staff how other teachers would use the iPad by showcasing inspiring and innovative uses. This is far better than me and the Assistant Head getting up and talking at staff for 4 hours.

Once the speakers were organised I put a schedule together. To stick with the idea of a keynote event, I put together an online flyer using www.smore.com which was sent to all staff. You can see it HERE. I have removed full names.

The event was now organised. Before the INSET, the Assistant Head made some tweaks to the HoD launch presentation and we were almost good to go!

What I have not mentioned yet was how we would display the iPad screen in the theatre, where the INSET was taking place. This was perhaps the part of organising the event that was the most stressful.

My initial idea was to use an Apple TV to mirror the iPads wirelessly to the projector. Annoyingly, the Apple TV and our wireless network did not play nicely together. The IT team at school spent a week and a bit sorting it out, and to my relief they got it to work! Woo hoo! The last thing I wanted was to have the iPad wired to the projector.

What I eventually did was to use my MacBook Pro and the Reflections App to mirror my iPad. It worked slightly better for my needs as I was able to save the Keynote presentations as well as App videos on my Mac in case everything went wrong.

Before the INSET I also talked to our Theatre Manager and got him onboard with the lighting. It was very important to me that the lighting was right. The stage needed to be light, the screen needed to be dark and the audience needed to be atmospheric.

Staff was ready to go, tech was ready to go, I was ready to go.

The day of the INSET.

The theatre at 8am. One hour before launch.

The staff taking part in the INSET arrived at 8am and we checked the iPads and other bits of tech worked. Apart from a few hiccups it was fine.

At 9am the rest of the school staff arrived and I was nervous. In fact, I think all those speaking were nervous too.

First up was the Assistant Head, who went through the presentation below.

It was a great set up for the rest of the morning. The plenary slide, was obviously used at the end of the morning in the conclusion.

Next up was Tim (Physics), who showcased how he would use SolarWalk and why. Then Amy (History) and Graham went through Timeline: World War 2. A truly awesome App.

Helen (Library) then demonstrated and explained an amazing interactive magazine App that she had created herself using Adobe InDesign. She had used it for open evening and students and parents were blown away by it.

The last person before break was Jason (Music) who went through several creative music Apps. Guest post by Jason coming soon.

Break

The first App we showcased after the break was perhaps one of my favourites. Certainly one I think that can change the way iPads are used in the classroom - NearPod. This was a really interactive and fun session led by Mike (Biology). Everyone in the room were seriously blown away by the session.

Mike demonstrating NearPod.

The last person to showcase some Apps was me. I am not sure how everyone else was feeling but I was pretty nervous.

My session was on non subject specific Apps. Using Blooms Taxonomy of Apps I demonstrated 6 Apps that could be used across the curriculum. It was great to see in the afternoon INSET some teachers using the Apps I had demonstrated. Certainly put a smile on my face.

After my session, Graham concluded the INSET and we spent the last 30 minutes answering questions and talking to departments.

All-in-all an incredible morning.

When I went up to the staffroom for lunch afterwards I saw something amazing…members of staff sat around a table all with iPads, completely ignoring a massive tray of biscuits! Brilliant.

Thanks:

I wanted to thank Mark Anderson (@ictevangelist) and Daniel Edwards (@syded06) for their advice over the last few months. Cheers fellas.