Amazon has a phone number and other Kindle lessons

• November
• 14

While the library has been getting Kindles up and running, Special Services is also working on getting these devices out to their students as well. There are a few differences in the way that we will be utilizing the Kindles, but we have both run into a few bumps along the way.

At one point, I thought about calling Amazon to ask a question, and the path to their phone number was maze-like and frustrating. I tried to find it many different ways, but kept hitting a dead end; I almost gave up until finally – I found it!

Here’s how: I opened an Amazon account, but wanted to close it after opening a different one – so I typed “close Amazon account” into the search field. After filling out a few questions with a pull-down-menu the number appeared like flash in the darkness: 1-866-216-1072

Although it says that the number is an automated system, it turns out that a real live person talks to you. (I didn’t actually make the call because the word “automated” frightened me away, but two colleagues said they did not speak to any machines.) So, it turns out that once the number is found, Amazon can be very helpful.

One instance that Amazon provided some very useful information was when I was trying to help someone figure out how to get a book from Overdrive onto an older version of the Kindle (the 2nd one).
We went through the steps, and instead of saying that the book was delivered to the device, it said that that particular device did not support Wi Fi, and without this there could be no book sent to it. In this case, it is possible to download the book to a usb and then transfer it to the Kindle. There were a couple of issues with this, at first, but after calling Amazon they said that there was a step missed: clicking save and transfering it to the right place. So, it worked and the book made it safely to the Kindle.

On another note, I’ve checked out one of the Kindles and just finished reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, an incredible account of how the author’s determination to overcome a running injury takes him on an incredible journey into the world of ultamarathons and ultramarathoners. It’s a pretty amazing read – and you certainly don’t need to be a runner (or even like running!) to enjoy it!

Instead of buying an iPad…

• November
• 10

The iPad is a revolutionary device. It’s awesome. It just works. It’s hip. It pushed a new class of device into the mainstream. It can do wonders in the classroom.

That being said, before you go out and pick up one, keep in mind that for the price of one base model iPad 2 ($499), you could buy:

Document cameras for an entire department: 7 iPEVO2 Document Cameras ($483)

Digital projector setup: ViewSonic PJD5123 Digital Projector ($325.99) and a 120″ Pull Down Projector Screen ($159.99) [Total: $485.99]

A way to amplify your handouts: 6 Kindles ($474)

The reverse classroom kit: Refurbished Lenovo x61 Convertible Tablet (~$300), SFBags Tablet Case ($57), USB Mobile Mouse ($7.84), USB Keyboard ($11.97), 500Gb Portable External Hard Drive ($57.99), and a USB DVD Burner ($36.99) [Total: $471.79]

Double the power and a fire hose of media: 2 Kindle Fires ($399.98) and a year of Amazon Prime ($79.99) [Total: $479.97]

Fall Grant Winner

• November
• 10

The 2012 tech integration grant winner is Nicole Begin for her document camera proposal. She will be awarded and iPEVO2 document camera, LED light, and USB extension cable.

Congratulations Nicole!

My New Lenovo Think Pad – Technology Ramblings of a Raving Maniac

• November
• 10

I am not a stranger to writing or even journaling, yet when asked to write a blog, I froze. What does that mean? How do I write a blog? And how do I talk about all the wonderful things I am doing with my new toy when in fact so few of them have materialized yet? Well, I guess I will just rip the band aid off and here we go.

I was quite surprised to have been one of the “Chosen Ones” when the Think Pads were awarded. I love technology and I love what we can do with it…in our lives, in our homes, and in our classrooms. But as with all things loved, there is a dark side to the love that feels like, dare I say it? Hate!

I hate it when I can’t remember which password I have created to meet which criteria for which program. I hate it when I can’t log on to a computer to do simple things like check my email, write a document, or print a document. I hate that our school has not yet evolved, technologically speaking, to a point where we can log onto the wireless Internet without super top level clearance to get the password and assurances that we will not use up all the bandwidth with unnecessary streaming or other illicit behavior.

I was so hopeful that being awarded the Think Pad, an Academy computer, for my use would eliminate at least most of those hateful technology glitches I kept running into. I can say that that dream has come true. But as with all other aspects of my new life as an Academy community member, there is just no time for the vertical learning curve that I am facing in every direction.

So, the question remains, what have I accomplished with this new technology? Well, I am happy to say that more often than not my finger print scan does confirm that I am who I said I was when I set it up. Which is great, because I often forget the actual password that I set up at the same time! I have used the Think pad to project notes and Powerpoint presentations for my classes using the LCD projector that I conveniently forget to return so it is always in my classroom. I have not enjoyed the OneNote program as I was told I would, but to be fair, I have not spent as much time getting used to it as I have Word, so for now, I will use Word because it is what I know.

I was confounded one day when I realized that the CD drive on the computer in my classroom does not work and therefore the Fireworks movie that was going to get the kids jazzed for a unit on Combustion combusted before my eyes. I reached for ThinkPad thinking (foolishly) that it would behave as my personal laptop does by providing a CD drive that functions. WRONG!! No CD drive and a memory of Josh’s admonitions about using such archaic forms of media presentation so no movie. Well, not on that day anyway. Ended up going way old school with a television and the requisite three CD/VHS combination players of which two do not function and you have to wonder why it is still on the darned cart!

So…what now? I have ditched the attachable keyboard and mouse because peripherals add to the burden of transporting the computer on my daily walk to and from work and if Josh can use that little red button, so can I! I am not discouraged that I am not doing technological gymnastics stunts with my new technology because there has been nothing but new every week so I have to beg for patience from my audience while I get more familiar with the computer and how to integrate it with the spotty technology in my classroom (no offense to anyone, it is a work in progress, I understand that).

60 New Open Source Apps You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of

• November
• 1

St. Johnsbury Academy’s CTO Jim Mazzonna just sent me a link to this article. It really is impressive how many quality open source software packages are developed each year.

If you’re looking for open source software alternatives, I highly recommend checking out osalt.com. The site has a fantastic searchable database where you can enter the name of a non-open source program and it will give you a list of open source alternatives.

Not just for Kindles

• November
• 1

Just a reminder: you only need to deal with Amazon if you are downloading Overdrive eBooks onto Kindles.

eBook titles in Overdrive can be downloaded to just about any device (PCs, Macs, smartphones, Nooks, etc.). For all devices other than Kindles, you don’t need to go to Amazon. Instead there is an easy, free, one-time download of Adobe Digital Editions onto whatever device you choose. From then on, it is really easy to download eBook titles from the Academy’s Overdrive site:

http://stjohnsburyacademy.lib.overdrive.com

I don’t recommend trying to read eBooks using Adobe Digital Editions on Smartphones, though. I still think Bluefire reader is better app for the iPhone at least.

Not that I’ve heard rumors of this but, let’s just hope Amazon doesn’t decide to buy Overdrive now and ruin it for everyone else!

Distributing the library Kindles

• October
• 31

So, we ran into a few complications getting the Kindles ready for use in the library. Basically – in order to get books from Overdrive you have to go through Amazon – which we were trying not to do.  In order to get books through Amazon, the Kindle needs to be registered to the user. At first, we were thinking of having each student register and de-register the library Kindle they were using to themselves, but after further discussion it seemed too complicated.

Instead, I set up one Amazon account for the library and registered all 10 Kindles to that account. There are a few complications with this scenario as well, but it seems a little less complicated than our other option. Each person who wants to check out a book from Overdrive using a library Kindle will need to put in the library username and password into Amazon when prompted. They will also have to ensure that they select the proper number of the Kindle they want the material to go to. Otherwise, it will go to a different Kindle that someone else may have checked out.

We also realized that there is no way to check items back in early from the Kindle or from Overdrive. It has to be done through Amazon. This isn’t that big of a deal though, because the materials will eventually be sucked back into the system automatically (if you want to use technical terms) at the end of the lending period.

If, however, you already have a Kindle and want to use Overdrive to check out materials on your own device you can do that too! Instead of using the library account, use your own!

So far, it’s been a pretty positive experience, and the students seem to enjoy the devices. It’s also pretty great to be able to use Overdrive to check out items onto personal devices as well.

So, come on in and check out a Kindle! (Or get put on the waiting list), and feel free to use Overdrive! Let us know what you think!

Using iMovie

• October
• 11

We’ve just done the first project this year where everyone was required to use imovie.  The results were generally quite good:  kids seemed to like the project, and they had very few issues using the cameras or imovie.  The finished products looked really great.  Another positive was that is felt more equitable to have everyone use the same resources than allow kids the choice, which usually means that kids with more access to technology at home make nicer, more professional-looking products on their own time.  This was clearly the first time a few kids had ever used imovie, so they had a chance to learn that skill, which is also good in terms of equity.

The downsides were that is was quite time-consuming to allow kids to film and edit using class time, and some were finished so much more quickly than others that it was hard keeping them all on the same task.  I had extra work for early finishers to do, but then the kids who took longer to do their movies had to do this work on their own outside of class to catch up.

Ensuring that the same kids had access to the same macbooks from one day to the next to access imovie was also a challenge.  In theory, kids use the same machne each time, but it practice several classes and teachers are signed up for the maccart at the same time, and technical issues arise (the cart was not charging at all one day we were working on this project), so it is difficult to ensure that the same machnines are available.  Running up and down the stairs to get the macbooks also feels onerous for me.  It was much easier to access them when I was on the same floor as the cart.  I hope we can move forward with getting something (new desktops, laptops, ipads, anything)  down here on the first floor of Newell.

using projector for class notes and updating clas page

• October
• 11

As I said before, my new classroom is more spacious and more conducive to keeping a laptop and projector permanently set up and accessible.  I have been weaning myself off chalk, and instead I am typing all my class notes in a word document which I project and then post to the class website after class.  It seems to be easier for kids to read typed notes than my handwriting.  :)  The overwhelming majority of my notes are just French and English definitions, so Josh suggested I make 2 columns and delete one column after each class so I don’t need to go back through and delete all the definitions individually.

The only limiting factor is my own slow, messy typing style and the fact that accent marks slow down typing a bit.  I like the fact that notes are available online, but I don’t imagine that a lot of kids are actually accessing them.  I would like to know how to check in google sites how many people have accessed a given page or link.  I will probably also need to find a way to reorganize my website, as individual links to each days class notes are going to make the sites’ pages look long and unwieldy.  Josh suggested just putting everything in a publicly accessible folder on google docs, but I haven’t  tackled that yet.

IPEVO Point 2 View USB Document Camera

• October
• 11

Last summer I attend the BC Calculus session of St. Johnsbury Academy’s AP Institute. The entire experience was fantastic, and in particular my instructor, Vic Levine, was an all-around all-star. One piece of technology that he used that I was impressed by was the IPEVO Point 2 View USB Document Camera, a simple document camera.

He used it to display a variety of documents. With it, he could quickly and easily show us any content generated by a student in class or that he had brought with him. Most of us in the class were not new to the technology as we’d seen Elmos in action. What was new to us was how easy the device was to use and it’s affordable price of $69.99. I came away from the experience with the full intention to try one out myself.

Two weeks ago I finally got around to ordering my own unit. After two weeks of use I can make the following observations:

1) It’s super easy to use. Install the (small) software package (from CD) that comes with the camera, plug the camera in to an open USB port, and you’re up and running. I’m currently running mine through a small USB hub and it’s working fine.

2) The stand works well and can be easily placed on a higher surface to get a wider view. The camera also comes with a clip that could be used instead of the stand if you have something to clip it to. I haven’t used the clip yet.

3) The view can easily be flipped vertically or horizontally. This means that I can have the camera base facing towards me with the camera over my hands, and the projected image is shown properly on my projector.

4) The camera’s autofocus works well — a little too well in fact. If my table was more stable, this wouldn’t be an issue, but since it moves a little bit, the camera (rightly so) tries to refocus. Sometimes it tries to refocus a little too often. So, I’ve set the mode to manual focus. In this mode I click a button and the camera focuses on the center content. I only have to do this a couple times a class.

5) The camera does a great job at focusing on things that are very close by. I used the camera yesterday to show my students how to fold some geometric shapes. Instead of constantly walking around to give each student a close up of what I was doing, I could show them, to even greater detail, all at once by folding right in front of the camera.

6) The camera can easily be used as a pretty decent web cam.

7) You can boost the exposure by a couple notches, a feature that I’ve found to be helpful in low-ish light.

8) Sometimes people like to turn off their lights when they use a projector. The problem with doing that while using this camera is that you need good light for the camera to adequately see the document. I haven’t needed to do this since my projector is bright and can be seen well with the lights turned on, but others have had issues. This problem could be solved with a directional lamp pointed at the documents. I plan on looking into cheap LED lights that I can mount to the camera itself.

9) The control program (P2V) is super easy to use. With it you can take picture, change exposure, jump to full screen, zoom, change the view, and adjust the resolution.

10) I’ve been primarily using the camera to show student work from homework assignments as well as work generated on the stop. So far it’s performed beautifully.

The bottom line is that this camera is worth every penny it’s $69.99 sticker price. If you’re in the market for a document camera, try this one out first before you fork out $500+ for an Elmo.