Monthly Archives: February 2013

Exploring Podcasts on the iPad

This weekend I spent a little time exploring the Podcast app that is part of the iPad interface. I’d like to use this post to explore a little about what a podcast is and how the Podcast app works. Maybe I’ll even add a screencast video before posting!

First let’s start with the basics: what is a podcast, anyway? Podcasts are series of digital media episodes in either audio or video format that can be subscribed to and downloaded to be played back on a computer or mobile device. The word is a mashup of the words “broadcast” and “iPod” since the popularity of the iPod device encouraged the popularity of podcasts in general. The podcast episodes can be added to a mobile device and then accessed later off line. There are podcasts available on nearly every imaginable topic.

So how, exactly, does the Podcast app for iPad work? The basic premise is pretty simple: The app links the user directly to any podcasts hosted in iTunes that you are subscribed to as well as individual episodes of any podcasts you may have downloaded to the iPad. When the iPad has access to wi-if, the podcasts can be downloaded to the iPad. Any time later, whether the iPad has wi-fi or not, the Podcast app can be used to access and play the episodes that have been downloaded. You can remove the episode after listening or viewing so that the storage space on your device can used for something else. The Podcast app will play audio in the background as you use other apps, so multi-tasking is possible! Here is a little video with some screenshots and explanations of what you might see as you use it. (I made this video using the iPad app Educreations which hosts the end result on their website. It is embedded here if you’re reading my blog on a computer, but if you’re reading it on an iPad, it will display as a link with the link to the free app.)

If you noticed the tags that I included for this post, one I chose was professional development. I do see podcasts as having great potential for providing professional development for teachers. Finding and following podcasts in your subject area can enhance professional knowledge. There are also podcasts on educational issues and pedagogy that can increase of professionalism. Do a little searching on the Podcast iTunes Store and see if you can find a podcast or two to follow for pleasure and one for professional reasons!

iPad Training Video Tutorials: Basic Gestures

USD 113 is considering a large-scale deployment of iPads for teachers and students in the future.  No decisions are firm yet, but I’m starting to plan for the associated professional development that might be necessary for the project.  I’ve made a few screen cast and document camera videos that I hope might be useful.  I’m experimenting with both iTunes University for course development and Edmodo for something with a little more interaction.  I think it is important to give teachers lots of options for how they can get their professional development.  So I’m going to include in this blog post a few of my videos that I’ve put together…most definitely not professional, but rather just an attempt to share the little knowledge that I have.  I’ll do a few videos in this post and add others as I develop them later on.

This first video is shot under a simple document camera so that the user can see my fingers as I touch the screen.  This is a basic video for anyone who is just using an iPad for the first time, but it also has a few tips that my more experienced users have told me that they did not know until they viewed it!

This next video demonstrates the basics of grouping apps together sort of like the concept of files and folders on a traditional computer.  This can help keep your iPad organized and makes it easier to find the app you’re looking for.

This next video is shot a little differently.  Still I used Screencast-o-matic to capture and store the video, but I’m also making use of  a piece of software called Reflector which is allowing the iPad to “mirror” onto my PC computer as I capture its screen.  The topic is “Enabling and Using Guided Access.”  This feature on iPads with iOs6 or later allows an adult to “lock” a child into a specific app and put a passcode on so they cannot exit the app without the code.  Pretty handy if you want to allow your toddler to do something on your iPad or if you work with defiant students who automatically exit the app you want them to work on to play their favorite “reward” app instead.

This final video in today’s post is a screencast demo showing how to limit your Google search results to just apps when you’re looking for a way to find specific resources! I think this will be a pretty useful time-saver as our teachers start to review apps they may want to recommend for purchase.