A Photo Day In The Field

Photography has moved forward in so many ways over the years and the iPad has given the art form another boost.  My Photography I and II students have moved on from the traditional classroom lecture and shoot in the field experience, to a full hands-on class day while out in the field.  They now have the opportunity to research, learn, take photographs, take notes, edit, share, and critique work while roaming the campus and the world beyond.

 

We are now spending more time in the field and less time inside the classroom.  This gives the students more opportunity for creativity and time behind the lens.  We will spend time in the media lab but I want the kids outside learning, researching and emulating photographers.  The iPad and a small number of Apps gives us the mobility we need to move around the campus and the greater community for instruction.

 

Students are able to research photographers and composition elements while we have some class discussion using a Whiteboard App.  Notes and audio notes can be saved for further review at a later time.   Students receive assignments on Edmodo where they are able to access the needed handouts.  Students shoot their assignment and then they can manipulate their work in Apps such as PS Express or Filterstorm.  Students can also shoot video and use it as a whole clip or select specific frames using the Video2Photo App.  Creating albums in the camera roll allows students to organize their work (an important skill for photographers).  They can also store and move their work using Dropbox.  Once a student has completed the shooting assignment they are presenting their work in a variety of formats.  Some students will create a Keynote presentation, while others will use Book Creator, and some will even choose to create an iMovie.

 

I will oftentimes give the students the assignment with the required elements.  They have the freedom to choose the method of shooting, the Apps for manipulation and the format in which they will present it.  The iPad has not changed the fundamental elements of photography, rather it has become a tool to enhance the way in which the students think, create, shoot and present.

Cathy LaDuke

Athletic Director and Photography Instructor

 

iSuccesses and Challenges

Teaching Physics with iPads has been exciting this year!  In lab, I have enjoyed using the iPads as timers.  Working in mechanics and utilizing Pasco’s AirLink and the app Sparkvue HD to connect probes to the iPads was also an easy way to perform labs using motion detectors and photogates.  However, I need to order another adaptor so that I can utilize the voltage, temperature and various other probes.  The Sparkvue HD app is relatively expensive at $9.99, but I thought it was worth it.  The freshmen that were required to buy it for Physics will now have access to the app as they move on to Chemistry and Biology.  Another app I enjoyed was cleartune ($3.99).  We used this app while performing sound labs. I didn’t require the students to purchase this app, but after each group calculated the frequency I used the app to validate the results.

 

In the classroom, my students accessed daily worksheets from Dropbox.  This was very convenient.  I have a large amount of storage since my students signed up for Dropbox, and I was awarded more space each time a new student account was created.  However, by the end of the year the students had run out of storage since they used Dropbox for other classes, videos and photos.  Some students could not upload their completed work to me and the students e-mailed me the work.  Another website the Physics students used was WebAssign.  Homework was assigned through WebAssign and the student received immediate feedback about the homework answer.  This program is designed to work with many popular Physics and Mathematics books and the cost varies with the chosen book. For my Honors Physics 9 class, the students purchased the online Physics book, Physics Fundamental – 1e by Coletta.  It was bundled with WebAssign for $15.00 per student.  However, despite the great price, this book was too challenging for my students and didn’t offer many introductory problems.

 

Although Chatham Hall is a boarding school, we do have day students.  When one of my day students was not able to get to school due to snow, she attended the class through FaceTime.  While this worked fine when I was presenting the material, it didn’t work when we moved to the lab portion of the class.   During parent’s weekend, it was interesting to FaceTime with my Chinese student’s parents in China.  Using the iPad, we didn’t stay only in the Physics room, but also we moved to the robotics room and showed off our robot.

 

I haven’t flipped my class yet, but I do use videos as supplemental instruction.  During the AP Physics B review, I used You Tube videos from WeAreShowboat.  The students brought headphones to class and used class time to watch the videos.  Most students seemed to like the videos as much as I do!

 

I am looking forward to teaching with the iPad next year and finding new ways the device can be integrated with science.  The math department is planning on having the students purchase the TI-Nspire app ($29.99.)  If that is the case, Physics students will also benefit from the app.  I plan to continue to explore new apps such as using Book Creator as a lab book.

 

Molly Thomas

Science Teacher

 

violin

Screenplays and Storyboards

Must a film adaptation mechanically adhere to the chapters and details of a novel in order for us to consider it a “good” film? The sophomores wrestled with this notion recently. After reading To Kill a Mockingbird over spring break, they considered this remark by Harper Lee: “If the integrity of a film adaptation is measured by the degree to which the novelist’s intent is preserved, Mr. Foote’s screenplay should be studied as a classic.” Thus began our study of the literary, dramatic, and cinematic aspects of Horton Foote’s screenplay version of the novel. Rather than simply discuss these aspects, the students first analyzed the film itself. Each group presented its analysis of literary and dramatic aspects using iPads for Keynote presentations. The iPad is ideal for presentations and, in the second year of the pilot program, the students are completely comfortable articulating their thoughts and ideas in front of their classmates with the help of this tool.

 

Part Two of the assignment utilized and honed the students’ skills with iMovie and photography on the iPad. Each collaborative group created and presented a series of still photos of group members that captured specific cinematic aspects of a scene that affect our senses as we watch a film. After discussing a variety of camera angles that a cinematographer might use to convey a specific message, the students got to work. They selected photos that communicated setting, relationship, power, authority, weakness, fear, etc. through angles such as close ups, high shoot downs, and establishing shots. This moving photo storyboard included voiceovers of dialogue from the screenplay, sound effects, and music to create additional emotional context. This iPad project removed the students from the classroom and had them traveling all over campus to find the perfect locale for the storyboards. In the end, they had a much clearer understanding of Harper Lee’s “intent” by experiencing the novel through its screenplay adaptation rather than simply watching the film.

Logistics Victory!

For about two years now, an idea has been needling me, persistently floating around in the back of my mind. My iPad takes such great pictures, and such great videos. Wouldn’t it be cool if I could share these with the school community, if I could show folks exactly what is going on in my classroom? A private person myself when it comes to the world wide web, I am a little uncomfortable posting videos of my students online. But if I could somehow get these videos onto my bulletin board…then anybody walking by could stop for a quick look!

Contrary to most things I have tried with the iPad–which have been ludicrously easy–actually implementing this idea turned out to be somewhat of a logistics nightmare. Without posting the videos to YouTube, transferring them from my own iPad to another one that I could attach to my bulletin board was beyond my electronic capabilities. I could email pictures no problem, and videos if they were under a minute long, but most of my video footage was too long to email. Furthermore, editing videos from an iPad was an issue I had no luck figuring out, and the raw footage, while fantastic, needed editing in most cases. Finally, how on earth could I go about attaching an iPad securely to a bulletin board, anyway?

To make a long story short, I had to have a lot of help from my friends. David Lyle spent several hours with me one afternoon, helping me figure out how to post the videos to my Dropbox account, then download them onto a borrowed iPad from the library cart. It is not a very straightforward process, but as it turns out, it is pretty easy to do once you get it figured out. Ned Edwards then burned an entire free period (a 75-minute one!) teaching me how to use iMovie on my Macbook to edit videos, voice over footage, and put separate videos together to tell a story–all things I had no luck figuring out on my own. And it took our friendly neighborhood mechanical engineer (thanks, Joel Keneipp!) to figure out how to securely attach the borrowed iPad to my bulletin board.

But now, folks, I am happy to report that, together, we got the job done! There are videos describing projects my students are completing, chronicling the hatching of a chicken egg, highlighting modeling exercises completed in the lab, and showcasing an outreach project with a local elementary school, among many others. In several of the videos, you can even see how my students are using their iPads in class. Bonus! My students seem to enjoy watching videos of themselves and other classes, and I hope that advisors, parents, and visitors will stop and take a look when they are strolling through Shaw this spring.

Apps for APUS

This week AP United States history begins its study of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s remarkable tenure as president. Hoping to discover an app that would highlight the major events of his presidency, I found one created by Vook entitled “FDR: A Crisis Presidency.” The app begins with the Great Depression, focuses on FDR’s first and second New Deals, follows him as he declares war on Japan and then Germany, relates the negotiations at the Yalta Conference, and concludes with his sudden death in Warm Springs, GA. What I like about this app is the clarity of the writing and–most importantly–its inclusion of brief videos of FDR speaking (highlights include clips from his First Inaugural Address; a Fireside Chat in which he encourages the American public to support the National Recovery Act; and his famous “day of infamy” announcement in regard to Pearl Harbor). It is one thing for students to be told that FDR was a great communicator; it is another for them to be able to see him and listen to his words. We will be watching and listening to FDR in class courtesy of this app.

When we enter the Cold War later next week, we shall have additional support from Alpha History’s Cold War for iPad, a colorful app featuring 41 chapters describing the major players, reasons, and events in the Cold War; a glossary of key terms; visual aids; embedded videos; and audio podcasts all to make the Cold War understandable and relevant to students.

I think that both apps will make history come to life for students who learn best through audiovisual material and technology. I look forward to testing out both.

Mary Edmonds
April 1, 2013

Micro-Portal to Macro-World

 

As a veteran teacher of AP Human Geography and U.S. history I am primarily using the iPad as a means for conveniently and readily accessing an ever -increasing wealth of resources.  Population and migration data, maps of all kinds (most notably current GIS placed statistics), current event summaries and analysis, and historical documents to name but a few, are referenced on a nearly daily basis by myself and my students.  Sometimes sources are assigned in advance, sometimes they stem from class discussions, and sometimes a student will just be curious about a particular place or a past piece of technology, do the research even while class is continuing (a positive form of multi-tasking, I think), and then offer her findings to the class.  Since each student has her own iPad and since it has become an integral part of her school day, this process flows more freely than it may sound.  And the benefits have far outweighed any disadvantages.

 

Apps that are required for U.S. history include US DOCS  (an inexpensive compilation of significant primarily political documents arranged chronologically –get the most recent version), a United States HistoryMaps app that is somewhat eclectic in its choice of maps included, but overall useful, The United States States Constitution app and Civic Quotes which provides a ready and ranging collection of famous speeches, and yes, quotes.  The obvious advantages to these apps in iPad are the reasonable cost, portability, and ease of rapid access.

 

Apps that are required for AP Human Geography are likewise resource-oriented.  It probably goes without saying that these include Google Earth, Google Maps, and  Bing.  Perhaps less obvious is the ESRI free app.  These have literally reshaped how we view the world spatially, locationally, and directionally.  I make use of them, or have students make use of them everyday – and “discover” something new every time.

Geoff Braun

 

Goodbye Franklin Covey

 

If you were to ask people how they recognize my presence on campus, some would say my “Maaannnn on the Haaallll” chant when I go up on dorm, for others my whistle (though I now have competition on that, Dean Griswold).  Others will remember my Franklin Covey planner I could not be without.  That was the source of my master “to do” list for the day, week, month, etc… and all my contact information.

When we made the move to iPads, one of my early goals was to eliminate the need to carry my planner around.  Though I’ve been carrying around my iPad for almost two years now, I still have my planner sitting on my desk and often refer to it.  As I’ve traveled along the path in my quest to find the perfect app, many have shared their favorites.  One that came highly recommended was Wunderlist.  I used it for over a year, but I need a record of the things I’ve done and it simply deletes the item once it is complete. 

I decided this year to not order refill pages and force myself to change.  Therefore, I renewed my attempt to find a planner replacement and found Opus Domini.  There is a very limited “Free” version (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/opus-domini-mobile/id492262685?mt=8) to get your feet wet.  The full version (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/opus-domini-mobile-pro/id492173174?mt=8) has a one-time cost of $8.99, but is a considerable cost savings when compared to the $21.95 I would continue to spend on Franklin Covey refill pages each year.      

I’ve been using this app for less than a week and am still playing with all its bells and whistles.  So far, I love it!  It syncs with all my calendars (GroupWise, iPad, and even my Droid phone) so I still have only one calendar, it allows me to keep track of completed tasks and notes associated with them, and maintains all my contacts.  I’m sure it isn’t perfect, but Opus Domini is a powerful organizational tool!

David Lyle, Director of Technology

 

Change the world

For the last year and a half, I have installed more than 250 apps from the app store, always looking for the ones that would “change the world” for my classes.  I would like to share with you my top 6 finds:

1. EMD PTE  Free  As a Chemistry teacher it is easy to see why this app, which is a digital version of the Periodic Table of Elements, would be the one that I use the most. My students probably use it everyday. While there are many versions of Periodic Table apps, the flexibility of this one makes it so useful.  You can change the table to represent any characteristic you need to view.  When in the past, I would need a separate table for characteristics like electronegativity and atomic radii, touch the screen and the new features are there.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/emd-pte/id377393859?mt=8

2. Book Creator for iPad  $4.99  This is my newest app and clearly one of the easiest to use.  I have provided this to my AP Chemistry students as the interface for a major lab report.  Without any instructions from me, they used this app and produced dramatic results. I have used iBooks Author before and was also impressed with those results, but unlike that program this one works completely on the iPad.

 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/book-creator-for-ipad/id442378070?mt=8

3. AP Chemistry Review $3.99  This app provides a complete review of AP Chemistry for my students.  It contains lectures, flashcards and quizzes to reinforce the material that I have presented in class.  There are a variety of other AP courses available.  Amy utilized the Anatomy and Physiology app for her course as she presented in her earlier post.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ap-chemistry-review/id547918013?mt=8

4. CamScanner Pro $4.99  This app has truly changed the world for me! This app provides me with the ability to turn any piece of paper into a usable pdf file.  Just take a picture of it, let the app enhance it and upload it and you are finished.  You now have a searchable document.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/camscanner-pro/id395904807?mt=8

5. PrintCentral $8.99   While this app is the most expensive one, it is worth every penny.  This app provides you with the ability to print directly from your iPad to any network printer.  Yes any network printer!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/printcentral/id366020849?mt=8

6. Dropbox  Free  While I regularly use Edmodo for the storage of student assignments, everything else is saved to Dropbox.  It is very easy to use and the majority of apps will let you upload directly to your Dropbox account.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dropbox/id327630330?mt=8

 

Finally, I am proud to say that I have been given the opportunity to make a presentation at the iPad Summit in Atlanta GA. on April 11-12.  You can check out this event at ipadsummitusa.org.

 

Dennis Oliver

Science Department Head

iPad Blog January 28, 2013

iPad Blog January 28, 2013
I am currently teaching three sections Algebra 2, and one section each
of AP Calculus AB and BC. My use of iPads is probably a little
different than other Chatham Hall teachers in that my students use iPads
in and out of class, but I do not use it for instruction. Where other
teachers connect their iPad to their computer and project their iPad
screen onto the classroom projection screen, I use a SmartBoard and
SmartBoard Notebook software. I started using a SmartBoard in 2006 and
now can???t imagine teaching without this technology. Not only am I
able to control my computer from the interactive whiteboard and the
front of the class, I am able to save my notes which I can share with my
students (especially those who miss class), import information in the
form of pictures, diagrams, tutorials, and videos into my document. I
also use Smartview software which is a TI-84 Calculator emulator, which
means I have a calculator on my board which I can operate by pressing
buttons just as I would on a hand-held calculator. While I do not use
my iPad for instruction, some of my students use their iPad in class for
taking notes and working problems on handouts, and out of class for
accessing resources. With class time so precious I try to save students
time by not having them copy long definitions, properties, explanations,
discussions of content, and problems to be worked in class. I provide
paper handouts with this information but I also convert these handouts
into PDF files which I post on Edmodo. Some students open these
handouts using iAnnotate or Notability and take notes and solve problems
on their iPad. What came as a surprise was that the majority of my
students prefer to do math problems on paper. While they are
comfortable using their iPads in other courses, in ???doing??? math most
students still prefer paper. My policy so far has been to allow them to
make the choice about when they use their iPads. While I do provide
printed handouts for class for those students who want a print copy, I
have become much more paperless with other course materials. I do not
provide print copies of homework lists, homework problem solutions,
worksheets, and worksheet solutions. I post those documents on Edmodo
in PDF form and the students access those resources using their iPads or
computers . . . with most students using their iPads. To this point I
have been pleased with how easy it has been to incorporate iPad use into
my courses. Near the end of this school year I will decide whether to
and how to increase iPad use next year. Don Wood
Math Department Chair

Apps as Means not Ends

This year I have come to see apps as means rather than ends, a means to individualized education.

 

Last year, perhaps because I was learning and testing the iPad and seeing what it could do (and I could do with it), all of my iPad assignments were the same for each student. Each student wrote a paper in Pages and inserted photographs and paintings. Everyone constructed a Keynote. Everyone made a video. Everyone designed an iBook.

Then it struck me. What if all of these options were available at once and students were able to decide what they wanted to do?

The result is clear tonight as projects having to do with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland are coming in. Each one is different. Each one meets the assignment. Each one meets a student where she is in the development of her thinking, writing, researching and creating.

I have learned to begin at the end with these projects, by telling students what they need to produce, not how. I started this mode of assignment before Christmas with a project called Exploration. I posted it on Edmodo as such:

1. ELEMENTS: The final presentation/product of this "exploration" will include 
a) analysis of “MASTER HAROLD…,” NERVOUS CONDITIONS, a work from the museum, and a work by a South African photographer; and
b) visual elements, including the visual works about which you are writing and one of your drawings from the museum.



2. FORM: You will select the form of your final "product" for EXPLORATION. Ultimately, it needs to be a written piece. You might write a conventional essay. On the other hand, you might, for example, imagine yourself as a character who is taking a course in which she is reading and viewing these works and keeping a diary about her thinking—so, you could write a diary. You might write a story that somehow includes all of these elements.



3. You might STRETCH THE FORM. Become Cosmic Coco and Oorutaichi? Produce a video… A Keynote… Perhaps a book in Book Creator? Cartoons? I leave this decisions up to you. Your product must be composed on an iPad.



4. If you decide to STRETCH THE FORM, you could work with a partner.



5. ASSIGNMENT Locate a theme that the works (in #1) share. You will explore this theme through the works that—you will show how these works point to different ideas about or perspectives on your theme. The basic question that you will answer: What does each of the works reveal/show/illustrate about my topic?

The results were all of the above forms—and there was a good deal of stretching However it then struck me, Why are individual students selecting the forms they are? Can I direct them to forms that will be right for issues that they need to work on in terms of their writing, thinking, research, and presentation skills.

That idea I took on in our next project, titled ALICE, based upon reading and research about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The assignment in Edmodo:


What is ALICE? 

Your ALICE will contain the following elements.

1) A topic approved by me that involves research and applies to ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND.


2) A minimum of two sources that you read and take notes on (in Index Card).


3) A summary of your research.


4) An analysis of a section of ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. You must show how your research helps you understand and analyze AAiW. "Move" in your ALICE from your research into the text. 


5) Length: 2-3 pages (4-7 paragraphs). Be sure to have a thesis in your first paragraph.


6) Works Cited, including all of your sources and the text of AAiW.


7) The format (formal paper, video, etc.) is of your choice. It will be approved by me. You must submit the writing that is the basis of your format. That is, if you are making a video, you must submit the script.

Follow the standard form (heading, title, double-spaced text, Works Cited) for all writing that you submit.   

                                    

When we began talking about form in this project, in conferences, I spoke with each student about why a particular mode might be right for her at this given stage of her writing, thinking, research, and presentation development.

One girl selected a Keynote, because she needs to work on outlining and conceptualizing, without having to worry about all the other elements of a final paper.  Keynote will allow her for focus on organization. Another student needs to relax her style, develop a more comfortable analytical voice, bring some naturalness of voice into her work. She is in Pages working on a journal. Another is rock solid in traditional organization and writing, can produce brilliant papers, and needs to wander off into a video with acting, drawing, and writing. I’m having each student define why she is selecting a mode or app.

Apps, then, become the means for skills to develop, not the singular ends for all.

Gary Fountain

Rector and English Teacher