Word process on the iPad: Pages or Word?SMA moved to being an Office 365 environment in the 2015-16 school year, although not with the intent to exclude other programs. In fact, it's been an interesting exercise in having a multi-platform environment--with iPads for students and faculty and PCs in our classrooms and computer labs, we've gotten used to having a wide range of tools available for use.
One of the most prevalent questions this year already has been: which is better for word processing on the iPad? Pages or Word? The answer is not simple and depends on a lot of factors. But here is my recommendation: Pages is far simpler and user-friendly as a tool on the iPad. It plays well with other programs (including Schoology, which is a major plus given that we use Schoology as our school-wide LMS.) Because it was designed for the iPad, the functions and icons are easier to recognize for those who use other apps. Although it has a few confusing functions with regard to document setup, it takes only a couple taps to save, send or submit documents into any other program. As an added benefit, Pages automatically saves and backs up all documents, and users can open them on a PC by going to icloud.com, which allows them to edit or print. Word is a great app and offers much of the functionality of the computer-based program, and its functions and icons are designed to reflect its computer counterpart. If the user has an Office 365 account (as we do), they can easily save Word documents into OneDrive or email them via Outlook. However, it is not possible to submit documents directly from Word to Schoology (or other similar apps). Instead, the user must first save the document into OneDrive, then submit it to Schoology from there. This extended process can get confusing for less tech-savvy users. As a result, I recommend that freshmen and those who prefer simpler apps use Pages exclusively until such time as they feel comfortable moving on to the more complicated process that Word requires. Have a MacBook? OS X Yosemite lets you screencast your iPad!Apple's new operating system, OS X Yosemite, has some great new tools, not the least of which is the ability to screencast your iPad. Check out the following resources for more details.
Looking for resources on iMovie?As you may know, iMovie has recently updated its app. If you'd like to learn more about the app and how to use it, try the Apple iMovie webpage. Also, take a look at the handouts that will be provided at the SMA Tech Workshop on Oct 10 (saved on the SMA Technology Forum Schoology page.)
Creating a Visual PollDo you need an easy way for your students in a club or TA or class to vote or provide feedback on visuals (e.g., designs for t-shirts, posters, etc.)? Here are a couple options:
Option 1: Using SurveyMonkey (thank you Mike Bedney for the tip!) Use this option when you don't want students to see the results.
Option 2: Creating a Schoology poll. Use this option if you don't mind students seeing the results.
Rotating Your PDF PermanentlyThis great tip is courtesy of Mike Bedney. "I typed into a Google search how to permanently save a PDF that has been rotated. Followed these instructions and it worked perfectly."
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OverviewThis page contains a collection of quick tips that have been shared by or with the SMA faculty and students about technology.
If you have a quick tip you'd like to include here, email Alyssa. Quick LinksiCloud: https://www.icloud.com/
Office 365: https://login.microsoftonline.com/ Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com |
Creating a YouTube Account and Channel
See below for instructions on how to create a class YouTube account and channel, or how to have students create a YouTube channel for themselves.
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Have iPad...need to print. How?
We cannot hook up all 800+ iPads in our building to printers. Imagine the chaos. So when you and your students need to print something that is on an iPad, you have to make it accessible on the internet. There are several ways to do so:
Email it to your SMA email address: Email the file to yourself on your SMA account. Then get onto an SMA computer, sign in to your email, and print from there.
Pages/Keynote/Numbers files: If you or your student has activated iCloud to sync with these apps (see http://www.stmaryspdx.org/academics/technology/tech_help_sma/backup_and_synchronize/ for instructions on how to do so) anything you or a student create in these apps on the iPad is automatically saved into iCloud and can be accessed and edited on any web browser (e.g. our school computers!) at https://www.icloud.com/. Sign in with your Apple ID, then choose the application you wish you access.
Word/Excel/PPT files: Similarly, you can save your Word/Excel/PPT files into OneDrive on your iPad and then access your OneDrive account on any computer browser by going to http://portal.microsoftonline.com/ using your Microsoft 365 email (remember that it is ____@smapdx.org) and password to sign in.
Dropbox: Of course, anything you save into your Dropbox account is available on www.dropbox.com. Just sign in and access the document. Bear in mind, however, that if you edit the document, you will need to re-upload it into Dropbox if you are working from the web-based version.
A note on "The Cloud"--in case you were wondering, iCloud, OneDrive, and Dropbox are all examples of using "the cloud" to save and access files. As David Goldman of CNN Money so adeptly defines it, "The cloud, simply, refers to software and services that run on the Internet instead of your computer. Apple iCloud, Dropbox, Netflix, Amazon Cloud Drive, Flickr, Google Drive, Microsoft Office 365, Yahoo Mail -- those are all cloud services."
Email it to your SMA email address: Email the file to yourself on your SMA account. Then get onto an SMA computer, sign in to your email, and print from there.
Pages/Keynote/Numbers files: If you or your student has activated iCloud to sync with these apps (see http://www.stmaryspdx.org/academics/technology/tech_help_sma/backup_and_synchronize/ for instructions on how to do so) anything you or a student create in these apps on the iPad is automatically saved into iCloud and can be accessed and edited on any web browser (e.g. our school computers!) at https://www.icloud.com/. Sign in with your Apple ID, then choose the application you wish you access.
Word/Excel/PPT files: Similarly, you can save your Word/Excel/PPT files into OneDrive on your iPad and then access your OneDrive account on any computer browser by going to http://portal.microsoftonline.com/ using your Microsoft 365 email (remember that it is ____@smapdx.org) and password to sign in.
Dropbox: Of course, anything you save into your Dropbox account is available on www.dropbox.com. Just sign in and access the document. Bear in mind, however, that if you edit the document, you will need to re-upload it into Dropbox if you are working from the web-based version.
A note on "The Cloud"--in case you were wondering, iCloud, OneDrive, and Dropbox are all examples of using "the cloud" to save and access files. As David Goldman of CNN Money so adeptly defines it, "The cloud, simply, refers to software and services that run on the Internet instead of your computer. Apple iCloud, Dropbox, Netflix, Amazon Cloud Drive, Flickr, Google Drive, Microsoft Office 365, Yahoo Mail -- those are all cloud services."