Chanatown

One of the earliest experiences I had with Google Sites when we started using Google Apps for Education was noticing all of the cool gadgets that you could use in Sites. Unfortunately, many gadgets were also inappropriate and able to fly in under our school's filter. With Domain Gadget Directory Manager (DGDM), we can set up a "White List" filter and specifically choose which gadgets to allow for users on the domain. Alternatively, one can also create "Black List" filter to exclude specific gadgets. I chose to implement the former due to the large number and possible expansion of inappropriate gadgets. A video tutorial on how to set up DGDM follows after the jump.

Recently, I had a request to convert a PDF into an editable document, and although we have access to Adobe Acrobat Professional, that would have meant assigning a ticket and waiting for an install on the user's machine. Instead, I remembered and then recommended that the teacher try the "Convert PDF to Google Doc feature." Before completing selling it to other teachers with similar requests, I gave it a quick test run with the following results.

Article first published as A Review of the Amazon Appstore - Stealing the Market's Market Share? on Blogcritics. Window shopping on a mobile device involves a simple tap of a button and you're immediately taken to the App Store on iOS or the Market on Android devices.  Until recently, the Android Market was the only place you could find to spend your hard earned money on cool apps. Amazon decided to enter the app marketplace by starting its own storefront, controversially titled Appstore . Well, a month of browsing for apps and finding a few free gems, I find myself shopping at Appstore more and more. Here's why:

This week, I had a teacher request an introduction and ongoing support for Prezi . I'm a big fan of the zooming presentation editor and have written several posts about the tool.  For this assignment, the class was divided into 3 groups, and each group had approximately 6-8 students. This represented a perfect opportunity to test the collaborative features of Prezi in a live student environment. After some minor testing with a few dummy accounts, we were ready to go.

Inside this issue: Using Clickers for Formative Assessments 4th Quarter Tech Tools Summer Workshop Planning (ETHS) Quick Tech Tips EdTech Conferences and more! Check it out after the jump.

Image via CrunchBase One of the most common calls I get on Google Docs is when the user opens their documents and finds that their language settings have been altered without their knowledge. Often, this results in the inability to effectively work in Docs, so I've created a video that illustrates how to identify the settings needed in order to change the language back to the desired choice.  Check out the YouTube embed after the jump.

Article first published as Just How Safe Is Your Email Address? on Blogcritics. Tell me if this looks or sounds familiar: "Dear Customer, As we have communicated over the course of the last week,  Epsilon —a marketing vendor that sends e-mails on our behalf—notified us about unauthorized outside access to files that included COMPANY NAME customer e-mail addresses.  The information obtained was limited to the e-mail address of some customers. No account information or other information was compromised. We’ll continue to provide updates when we have important new information to share. And, we’ll let you know what impact, if any, these developments will have on you." The letter continues with how protecting customers is a top priority, how you should ignore emails requesting confidential information, and an apology for the inconvenience.  When I first received this email, I deleted it thinking that this kind of stuff happens from time to time.  However, within ho

Everyone loves free apps, especially when they normally cost a few bucks. Well, coinciding with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference, McGraw-Hill is giving away all of its Everyday Math apps for free.  This will only be valid through the end of the conference, April 16, so stock up now as the apps are normally priced at $1.99.   Available apps include: · Addition Top-It ™ - Subtraction Top-It ™ - Beat the Computer ™ - Name that Number ™ - Equivalent Fractions ™ - Tric-Trac ™ - Monster Squeeze ™ - Baseball Multiplication 1–6™ Facts - Divisibility Dash ™  The apps are available for iPhone and iPad and can be viewed on this website as well as through the iTunes Apps Store. For more thoughts on Teaching and Learning Technology,  please consider subscribing to the RSS feed or through email .

Recently, I received an email alerting me to a new offering from the folks in Redmond, Washington. With a title like Microsoft Mathematics 4.0, I was immediately attracted to what was potentially in store.  A well written paragraph offering "a large collection of tools, tutorials, and instructions designed to help you tackle math and science problems quickly and easily" hooked me in further, though Microsoft had me at the price of "free." Let's take a look to exactly what one gets with Math 4.0.

Article first published as App Review: Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car on Blogcritics. With a four-month old now in the house, my wife and I have been rapidly working on establishing a bedtime routine, and a large part of that routine involves reading bedtime stories. Although we will always have board books and hard copies of old favorites, I will admit that I enjoyed using the app designed by Oceanhouse Media , and written by Eileen Christelow, the cute story of how Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car .

Image via Wikipedia Hard at work over the past year, learning how to code and picking up all the in's and out's of app development have finally paid off as today marks the release of my very first app: Chanatown - Real Time Blogging .  Inspired by the NYU professor who surgically implanted a camera in the back of his head , I've decided to take this blogging hobby to a whole new level. Starting today, April 1st, I'll be wearing a camera and microphone everywhere I go, and the Chanatown app will follow along in real time. Think of it as The Real World , except really real.  Highlights include: 24/7 live feed of all the exciting moments of Chanatown Behind the scenes access to writing, editing and publishing blog posts The first official iPad App to be viewed in 3D HD quality video and THX sound WiFi or 3G connection Occasional glimpses of our two cats (Connor and Jules) Best of all, the app is free and currently available in the App Store .  If you have troubl

Article first published as Best New and Notable iPad Apps for March 2011 on Blogcritics. March may be all about the Madness on the basketball court, but there's been plenty of action off the court in the App Store. So, in case you've been swept up in one of the craziest NCAA tournaments ever, here are a few iPad apps you may have missed. By the way, after spending February over at Technorati, the Best New and Notable feature is back to debuting first on Blogcritics. Tell your friends and more importantly, enjoy the apps!