iPad ... therefore iExplore...

I've been exploring an iPad since Monday. Like most users that have posted reviews, there is much to like! Having been an iPod Touch user since the 1st generation issue, the interface is familiar to me (no, I don't have an iPhone). The "intelligent keyboard" is a bit different than I am used to from the iPod (there's a shift key), yet, it's not hard to adapt to. I really appreciate the screen lock that prevents the image from rotating if I turn the iPad on it's side, which is great for reading in bed!

The physical size and weight seems a bit hard to hold "standing up" in my lap for a long period of time, although I appreciate the bigger screen, and it is light. I am hoping that once my "Apple branded portfolio-type case" arrives, that holding it will be a bit easier. For desktop or table top use, the keyboard/stand is probably a good idea. If all students begin to carry these instead of textbooks, I believe the keyboard/stand will be essential for classroom use.

Safari pages load quickly, however, I miss the ability to "find text on a page." When I have searched for information and want to locate the keywords on a resulting website, I haven't found a way to jump to the information. If you know how, please comment!!

My current journey and quest is to figure out how to create and publish content to be used with the iBooks App (that allows pages to curl as you turn them with your finger). The file type used for iBooks and other electronic book readers is "ePub." I've located several online resources for converting content, but have not yet found a resource that can produce an eBook that will maintain the page layout of a pdf or Word file. Since the underlying code appears to be html, I would imagine that software exists, or will soon.

If you haven't yet seen Theodore Gray's "The Elements" book for the iPad, check out this YouTube clip:

Imagine if all student texbooks contained content as dynamic and interactive as this!? I was inspired by this concept and emailed Mr. Gray to find out how "The Elements" was created for the iPad, to which he graciously responded:

The Elements was created almost entirely with Mathematica. Deployment on the iPad is with custom Objective-C code that reads configuration files and media assets created by Mathematica. It's not exactly a turn-key solution by any means: The Elements is an entirely new kind of thing and no existing system could just make something like it. Hence the use of Mathematica, which I like to think of as the ideal system for doing things for which there is no system for doing.

My new company, Touch Press, is actively working on multiple ebook projects that will use and extent the technology we developed for The Elements, and some day it may be fairly routine to create books like it.

Theo

Thanks! I look forward to learning more!

Happy Holidays

Google hosted another teacher academy in Washington D.C. last week, so there has been a bit of activity and discussion among the Google Certified Teachers. Kern Kelley shared some tips for using Google Gadgets on a Google spreadsheet, such as this "Word Search" gadget. (Read his blog for more tips.)

Enjoy this holiday word search (click and drag your mouse over words you find):

Here's more on how the gadget works.

Gear up for Back to School with an online calendar

Scott Meech recently shared this article by Jon Wittwer of Vertex42* on "Embedding Google Spreadsheets Into Your Blog or Website."

As you gear up for back to school, consider Wittwer's examples of using a spreadsheet as a calendar for your class, sport, or activity schedule. And if you don't feel like creating your own, you are welcome to use any of their preformatted Google calendars:

*Vertex42: The Guide to Excel in Everything website provides a large library of free Excel templates for calendars, schedules, budgets, project management, loan calculators, and more!

Build Vocabulary with Google Gadgets

Google developers will be gathering for their annual conference this week, which means information consumers (you and me) can look forward to some new Google tools or features, such as the Flash Cards, Word Study and Word Search gadgets recently announced on the Google Docs Blog:

If you are a user of Google Docs, open a new spreadsheet, and select "Insert > Gadget" from the menu:


Or, open a "Gadget-containing" document from the Template Gallery (New > From Template). If you have not yet browsed the many templates available for students and teachers, it's worth a look!

Some things you might not realize about Google searching

In this 7+ minute video, Google Engineer Matt Cutts shares some of the "little-known" features of Google searching. Did you know that Google can track your delivery items, convert currency, define words, besides restricting your searches to certain file types or websites? Learn when to use quotes, dashes and asterisks to narrow your results.



Thanks to Scott Weidig for sharing this on his blog.

Google Releases Picasa Desktop Version for Mac!

Reprinted from http://www.macworld.com/article/137912/2009/01/picasa_mac.html
by Jonathan Seff, Macworld.com

Google on Monday afternoon released a public beta of its Picasa for Mac desktop software for organizing, editing, and uploading photos. The software, which runs on Intel Macs with OS X 10.4 or later, marks the first time that Picasa has been offered for the Mac (it joins the Windows and Linux versions already available).

The free Picasa software is designed to help you organize your photos, regardless of where they reside on your computer. It imports (without moving or copying) photos from your iPhoto library and other folders on your Mac, including external hard drives if so desired (it's designed not to affect your iPhoto library, duplicating files as needed). It also includes many editing tools, such as those for straightening, text generation, create collages, and removing red eye, as well as Photoshop-like effects and adjustments.

I think the best feature of the Picasa software is the fact that my picture files get to stay where they are (since I have so many photos, and I do not keep all of them in iPhoto... I only add my favorites, or those that I will be using in presentations, slideshows, or movies.) And, Picasa scans and displays the photos in your 'iPhoto Library' as read-only files. If you try to edit or move these photos, Picasa will ask your permission to create a new editable copy. Learn more about how Picasa handles your iPhoto Library.

The editing features include the ability to add text and captions to images, as well as "combine your photos, videos, and music into a movie or use the editing room to trim your existing movies."

The "collage" tool provides slick rotating, zooming, background color and text options that make it easy to create a page for your digital scrapbooks, and Picassa automatically saves the file in a folder named "Collages" which resides in your "House > Pictures > Picasa"folder.

There is also a very "Photo-story-ish" movie maker, that will create slides (including title slides) set to music or just automatically moving through the images, complete with transition effects.

There are "easy-buttons" on the bottom of the editor to send your completed masterpiece(s) to your blog, email client, a folder, or to upload to the free online Picasa web gallery:

Download Picasa for your Mac at: http://picasa.google.com/mac/