The Department of Education has embraced social and is attemptIng to assist educators in supporting each other. The Department is highlighting this effort by declaring this connected educators month.
Getting Noticed
AppleInsider offers an interesting post noting that nearly 2/3 of the apps available through the Apple store receive no attention and very few downloads. Zombie apps.
Assuming some of these products are worthy of a try, the challenge is how to gain attention when you are 1 in 650,000. There must be an opportunity for someone here. Also a challenge for Apple – how to encourage the creativity necessary to maintain the store in the long run.
iPad iPhoto
My hobby, if I really have one, is photography. Hence, I watch for technology applications related to photography and sharing photographs.
I process my photos through iPhoto on a Mac (and then on to Flickr) because of the storage capacity of a desktop machine. The valuable qualities of an iPad simply cannot include storage capacity. However, processing images on the iPad offers some unique opportunities and there are plenty of interesting apps.
A feature of the iPhoto app that is unique to this platform is the journal. I see no reason that this capability is absent on iPhoto for MacOS, but is the way it is. Anyway, the Journal is a way to incorporate images from iPhoto with other objects as “pages” and then to share these images with others online. Journals are shared through iCloud.
A useful feature of a journal image is that any image from a page can be clicked to display a full sized image. This capability – presentation of “thumbnails” in a meaningful structure than can be used to link to full size images – offers a useful way to guide the exploration of a viewer.
Here is the active version of the image capture that appears above. Click on an individual image to experience the capability to display full sized images.
It takes some exploration time to make effective use of the iPad version of iPhoto. One thing I have discovered is the screen size of images within this app can be deceiving. Typically, you will want to build your journal from large images if you want the user to be able to view large individual images. My process involves uploading LARGE images from my 7D to Flickr and then downloading images for iPad projects from Flickr. I have resorted to using a browser on the iPad to access images because flickr apps seem to download small images.
When is a state institution a state institution
This interesting post on state institutions of higher education from the Chicago Tribune. Several institutions you may recognize receive less than 10% of their financial support from state appropriations. Many institutions bearing the name of a state are becoming state institutions in name only. Students and their parents suffer as tuition must rise to make up part of the difference.
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Gooru
Gooro (I assume pronounced as guru) is a specialized search service intended to assist educators in locating content organized by standards and grade level. The app is also intended to assist teachers in individualizing content (iLearn technology).
When I attempted to add this resource to my database, I found the entry was already included. So, this service has been available, but has now been upgraded. To be clear, Gooru relies on content developed elsewhere and layers on the standard tags and assessments to evaluate mastery.
Should you blame Apple?
Apple Computer has recently drawn negative attention among bloggers because the company backed away from a commitment to more environmentally friendly products (see O’Dell for VB Mobile). The move makes Apple look bad because the company had earlier been a leader in this movement and now appears to be putting a profit motive first. The problem, as I understand it, is the move to a sealed product that cannot be easily broken down for recycling. If you have an iPad or a newer MacBook you probably understand what I mean.
This ultra thin and light weight design is not unique to Apple and other companies have since copied the style. I assume some of the same assembly methods are involved. These companies have not received the same negative publicity either because this is a reversal in policy for Apple or attacking industry leaders results in more attention for the blogger who criticizes.
I happen to come across this piece from the BBC at about the same time I was reading about Apple. The article considers the consequences of our consumption habits and examines the environmental consequences among other issues. As far as I can tell, there is no connection with the Apple issue. This got me thinking about my personal responsibility for the trend toward tech toys that cannot be recycled. If I desire thin and light, I am part of the problem. I am encouraging the development of such products.
I do like the physical attributes of the iPad, but do I really need an ultra thin notebook? I have an old, some might say clunky macbook pro that is starting to give me trouble. Time to move on to something new. It looks like the trend is toward the sealed and thin devices. Apple may soon offer me no alternative. I guess I can blame Apple for the lack of an alternative. I must blame myself if the style of the device is what motivates my purchasing decision.
P.S. Update
Apple page on environmental issues. There is also an update on the EPEAT position.
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