Screenshot – Frame Maker iPad App and School Schedule as iPad Wallpaper

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Gail
Screenshot - Frame Maker iPad app by Neoos Software

Screenshot – Frame Maker iPad app by Neoos

Our school is on a block schedule and it’s not easy to remember exactly when a period ends or begins. I’ve changed my iPad wallpaper to our school schedule. I almost always have my iPad close at hand, so now when I get a request for an appointment during a specific period, I can glance at my iPad and quickly see the times. This can be particularly useful on the weekends. I’ve been eager to try out the Screenshot – Frame Maker iPad app so I thought this was a good opportunity to do that as I could show you how the schedule looks on the iPad.

Continue reading →

Posted in iPad Apps | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Writing on the Wall and Other Things They Took Away

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Gail

Last week at the request of one of our teachers I led a collaborative session about using Twitter to create your PLN (Personal Learning Network). I’m an enthusiastic Twitter user and love sharing and receiving information. Twitter provides educators with personal development 24/7—it’s a conference anytime any place. However, there can be a lot of benefits to short collaborative meetings as well. I thought I’d relate some things people took away from the session last week that they would not have if we had not been meeting in person. Continue reading →

Posted in Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

BeFunky Free iPad App for Your Photos

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Gail

BeFunky_iconAs I’ve said before, for educators and students in the K12 environment, it’s a good idea when possible to use your own photos. Quite ordinary shots can be altered in so many ways to change the feeling a viewer will experience. BeFunky is one of the simple and fun programs that allow you to make dramatic changes easily without a learning curve. One feature I liked right away is being able to crop a shot without using a separate program. There are a few other editing features as well. Naturally there are some good effects for filtering, and some frames to complete your picture. One other option which some apps don’t give you is a choice of three resolutions in the tool icon.  Continue reading →

Posted in Web 2.0 | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Having Fun With the Retromatic iPad-iPhone App

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Gail

Retrofit_iconI downloaded the Retromatic app which was free yesterday, but is back to $1.99 today at the iTunes store. Retromatic helps you create posters that look similar to the diner posters from 50 or 60 years ago. I used it in a different way which you can see from the examples at the bottom of this post.

Continue reading →

Posted in Web 2.0 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Foolproof Art Studio for iPhone (works on iPad) Free Today

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Gail

foolproof_iconToday AppsGonefree is featuring the program Foolproof Art Studio for iPhone. Usually $1.99, it’s free today. Since it is compatible with the iPad, I downloaded to try it out. This is another of those little apps that does not have heaps of features, but what it does it does easily and well. Choose a background and a brush size and get going. There is even an auto paint that did a nice job when I tried it out although it’s supposed to work best with faces.

Continue reading →

Posted in iPad Apps, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

PicShop iPad App Free Today

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Gail
PicShop

PicShop

The PicShop app which is usually $4.99 is free today through AppGratis. The program has some great filters and effects, some interesting frames and you can have fun with text and make some basic edits. It is straightforward, with no directions necessary, and I suggest you just hop in and have fun. That’s what I did and I am enclosing an original photo along with a new version of the same photo after making changes within the PicShop app. I used the lomo filter, added two frames (balloons and leaves), a little red triangle called attention under extras, and some text. For what I was doing, I found it best to filter the photo first, then add the bubble frame and then the leaves frame on top of that, then the other effects.

Click the photos for a better view.

Posted in Web 2.0 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Flipped Learning Workshop

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Gail

I attended an all day workshop on Saturday and wanted to offer some bullet points of suggestions, ideas, or even random thoughts that were offered throughout the day at the various sessions I attended. These are not listed in any particular order. Many participants were interested in the making of videos to be used in flipped classrooms so there was a lot of discussions about videos and screen casting techniques in particular.  Continue reading →

Posted in Web 2.0 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Inspiration For Educators Thinking of Flipping

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Gail

bc_art_of_explanationI attended an all-day flipping session today which I hope to post a recap about tomorrow. Tonight, to relax, I started reading a book that I downloaded earlier in the week by Lee Lefever, The Art of Explanation: Making your Ideas, Products, and Services Easier to Understand. In the introduction to his book Lefever talks about making the very first Commoncraft video in his basement using bedroom lamps to light what they were filming, speaking directly into the camera microphone. They had no special video editing skills. It changed their lives.

For those of you thinking of flipping your classroom, start now with the equipment you have!

Posted in Web 2.0 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Etchings App for the iPad

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Gail

I’m a sucker for any photo app that comes along. I enjoy making changes to photographs and using them in projects instead of looking for images that I can find on the Internet. It’s so easy to snap a shot these days and mess around with it, coming up with something that is not quite like anyone else’s. Etchings app is 99¢. It’s a simple program, that does not do much, except make your photo look sort of like an etching. I’m including some samples.

Posted in Etchings, iPad Apps | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Further Reflections on the Udemy Class

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Gail

Lecture 6: Data is Apolitical

I felt like adding to my post from yesterday regarding the Udemy class lectures by Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo! from a presentation while she worked for Google. She said that organizational political liaisons such as having a better relationship with a manager or being a favorite are not as important within Google as many other firms because they have so many brilliant people working for them, and that all ideas that are brought to the Google table have merit. Not every idea is ready to be put to use in its present form, but every idea has value, even the one that loses out to another selection. Continue reading →

Posted in Online Courses, Udemy, Udemy, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment