Uploading PDF's Part 1

Uploading PDF's in Explain Everything & Google Drive: Part 1

Though my inquiry is in math, I have been exploring new ways to utilize this wonderful piece of technology across the curriculum.

I was playing around with the Google Drive App and discovered a hidden button... in the top right corner.  With a slight touch of  my finger, a tab appeared asking which app I wanted to open the PDF with (the text that I was reading at the time).  A selection of apps were displayed (already downloaded on the iPad). So, as I grew curiouser, I selected Explain Everything and BOOM! Each PDF page became a slide in Explain Everything.  This was awesome and just like that, I solved my problem with journaling on the iPad vs a paper and pencil task.
Our learning block at the time was "Les Olympiques".  I found these great journaling prompts on a website, and displayed it on our Smartboard as our shared reading.  The students then had their own copy saved in Explain Everything and were not only able to journal daily, but then recorded what was written. Très cool!  Once we were done this mini journal, the students/the teacher, uploaded each one to Google Drive, which converted it to an MP4 video file.

Example of a slide in Explain Everything

Air Server

There has been a great deal of buzz in schools surrounding the use of the program Air Server.  So, what is Air Server?  Air Server is a program that mirrors what is on your iOS screen or allows you to stream content from an iOS device.  For example, with AirServer you can wirelessly beam your iPad display to your PC and from there to your projector, smartboard or HDTV. This gives you the freedom to move around the class with your iPad in hand. AirServer also supports multiple simultaneous connections, so one or more students could mirror their iPads to share their ideas and their work with the rest of the class.
  
Air Server is an amazing tool, but there are some system requirements that you need to be aware of prior to purchasing.  (1) This software MUST be installed on a laptop that is using our corporate wireless network - not on our guest network (i.e., personal computer). (2) It will NOT work on desktop computers.  (3) Your laptop must have Windows 7 installed - not Windows XP.  For further requirements, please look at the section "What do I need to run Air Server" closely before purchasing. 

Here is the link to purchase/download Air Server: www.airserver.com/en/Download

If you are using an EAL laptop, you can purchase and install it yourself. For board laptops, (ie. school laptops) you will need to put in a request to HelpStar to have your tech install it.

Hope this provides a little clarification!