Technology for Teachers

cross posted @ www.PrincipalThoughts.org

Well, it finally hit me tonight.  I spend so much time searching for what others are using their iPhones for that maybe it’s time I post some of what I’m using.  As an educational administrator (Dean of Students and Activities Director) I use my iPhone more than any other tool.  Each day I have to charge it as I drain through the battery.  A common theme I find from the apps I use is their ease of use and web accesability options.  By web accessible I mean an alternate version is available for me to grab from my laptop or desktop.  I always have copies of information I need available with an internet connection and when I don’t have that I can access the info directly from my iPhone’s data connection.  The only information I can think of that I don’t have direct access to are items that present a data privacy concern (suspension records, specific student related communication pieces, etc.).  These are still housed on our in district network and I have to access them from my desktop.  Our student information system is accessible from my phone but does not meet the "ease of use" condition I mentioned earlier.  I usually only use it to check student schedules.

Here are a few screen shots of my first couple pages as well as the Google App:

 Here’s a short list of the apps I use the most:

• Google App
  • I use this to access my email through my gMail account, I forward my school email to it and keep a copy on that platform as well.
  • My iPhone calendar is synced to my Google Calendar.  Adding an item to either one updates the other and allows it to be accessible on the web.  I also have my Google Calendar set to send me a text message the week before and a half an hour before scheduled events.
  • I post all of the information I need to access (that doesn’t contain sensitive data or items that pose a privacy concern) directly into Google Docs and almost all of my time is spent enteriing directly into Google Docs. I can access from the iPhone, my computers, and have sharing capability with the many groups that I work with.
• Toodledo
  • A to do list that allows me to sort by priority as well as due date.  It also automatically updates and posts to the online toodledo website.  I have this site as one of my start pages on my laptop and desktop so that each time I log in to my machines I have instant access to my updated to do list.  If I make a change online it also updates on my phone.
• Evernote
  • I use this to take longer notes be they text, voice, or pictures.  This is another site that I have set as one of my start pages on my laptop and desktop.  Again, each time I log in to my machines I have instant access to my updated notes.  I have them sorted by category so I can take personal notes, Dean of Student Notes, Activities Director notes, etc.  Again, if I make a change online it also updates on my phone.
• TWC – Weather Bug
  • I’ve used both to track the weather, especially important when I have to make weather related decisions for events and scheduling.  You have to love the radar features that allow you to track the path and duration of storms.
• Facebook
  • I keep in contact with friends, family, and colleagues from around the world at a level I could never maintain through traditional mediums.
• White Pages
  • I’ll search out contacts and use the built-in app to get directions and update/add directly to my contact list.
• At Bat 2009
  • How else does a mobile guy keep up with his favorite team (MINNESOTA TWINS!!!)?
• NEWS Sites (each showing different world views through text, photo, and video).
  • BBC Reader
  • AP News
  • New York Times
• Twitterific
  • Much like my blogging, I go in spurts with Twitter.  I use twitter to network with colleagues around the globe who are in similar professional positions or share a common education and technology interests.
• TED
  • I love this app, it pulls audio and video presentations from the TED conferences.
• Wikipanion
  • Direct access to the Wikipedia.
• Clock
  • One draw back to this dang phone.  It has a use for everything… I even use it as my alarm clock to wake me up with Beatles or Kid Rock songs that I’ve created ringtones for with Garage Band.  I rarely turn my phone off…. I do try to utilize airplane mode at night though….
• BlogPress
  •  For the websites I’ve setup in our district (www.isd317.org) I try to use Joomla or Wordress as the platform.  Each of which tie in with this app that allows you to add and edit content to your websites with a rich editor directly from your phone.  SWEET.  I don’t use it too often but it came in handy when posting updates when our teams were in playoffs or at state competitions.

 If you have any questions about what I use my iPhone for in my postions please feel free to contact me or post a comment below.

Sean Martinson

Thought I’d pass along some ideas that I’m using with my iPhone.  If it doesn’t  pertain to you feel free to ignore this…. 

I’m adding podcasts to my phone that are related to ed leadership, not to surprising but I’m not finding many podcasts that solely fit this need… so I’m finding and subscribing to podcasts but I’ve changed the iTunes settings to look for updates but not to download them….  this way I can select the episodes I want, I used to just download everything and put it on my iPod (a little bit pickier with less space on the iPhone, I should have done this anyway).

If you don’t have any podcasts yet you can start with one by Wes Fryer to find a few good items.

First of all to add "Podcasts" open iTunes and click the "Podcast" button in the left hand column:

This will bring you to your library of podcasts, if it’s your first time it will ask you to go to the iTunes Podcast Directory.  If it doesn’t ask you to go to the iTunes store, look in the lower right hand corner and click on "Podcast Directory".

This will bring you to the iTunes store where you can search for podcasts and subscribe to them (podcasts are free).  Once you find one of interest click the "Subscribe" button.   I searched in the upper right for "Wes Fryer".

(if not reinforcement, here’s some repetition)  I’ve changed the settings in my iTunes installation to only make note of new episodes but not to download them.  This is mainly because there are not many podcasts soley dedicated to educational leadership.  This way I can pick what my computer downloads, kind of like only picking up the issues of the paper you want instead of getting every one that’s printed.

Here’s how I changed my settings to do this (on a PC you’ll start from either the FILE or EDIT menu but I can’t remember, you should probably just buy a Mac!!!).

Go to the iTunes prefererences (under FILE or EDIT for PC users):

Click the "Podcasts" tab:

Change your settings to reflect this:

Then in my podcast library I manually select the ones I want to "Get".  So I see all the episodes, but I have to manually "get" them.

I hope this helps other out there!

Sincerely,

Sean M. Martinson
Dean of Students & Activities Director – Deer River High School

M.S. Educational Leadership
Licensed K-12 Principal

smartinson@deerriver.k12.mn.us
(218) 259-3129

www.isd317.org