Everything Embedded

Our district uses Schoology as our Learning Management System.  As an educator, I love it!  I cannot say enough good things about how well Schoology interacts with so many other online tools making it user friendly for educators, learners, and parents.  One particular aspect I have been focusing on recently is embedding resources in Pages.  I put together this help sheet and video tutorial to hopefully share a little embed code love!

Take it Away!

I love working with graphics because pictures truly are worth 1000 words.  I love how an images combined with colors can take a lonely document and bring it to life!  It's funny how a few minor changes can make such a big difference.  I remember during one of my classes in graduate school taking the time to talk about design of instructional materials.  Images matter.

One thing that really drives me crazy is when an image is used in a document where there is a background that clearly does not belong.  It could be a piece of clipart that was saved and inserted into a slide show or maybe a flyer hanging on a wall, but I can always see that white background sitting there...watching me...why won't it just go away and put me out of my misery? 

There are so many different tools you can use that with a simple click of a button or swipe the background will disappear forever!  Did you know iWorks has one built in all of the core programs just waiting to be utilized!  With the swipe of a finger you to can have images without disruptive backgrounds.  And with my favorite button of all time, Undo, you never have to worry about going too far!  Check out this video where I demonstrate how to use Instant Alpha while I'm working on a Keynote project...

Try this out the next time you are inserting images in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote!

Always Searching

When ever I talk to educators and the subject of finding images online to use in a project I always stop and refer them to my "go to" websites to point learners to a place where they can safely find images free of any copyright issues.  I have made so many different visuals for educators to share with learners.  Yet, when I walk in a classroom I see learners using Google Image Search.  Yikes!  Why???  When you are using a desktop or laptop it's so simple to change the the Usage Rights to Labeled for reuse.  It's second nature.  I enter the name of what I'm looking for and my fingers use muscle memory to go to Tools, Usage Rights, Labeled for reuse.  I don't even think about it.  It just happens!

However, when I'm using my iPad I always stumble a few minutes to think about where to go for this same feature since it's not that straightforward.  So, I put together a short video in hopes that this will become part of my new muscle memory!

I hope this helps you, too!

Podcast: Communication

Alli and I are at it again! I cannot believe it's been almost a year that we have worked on this podcast together. It all started when Alli had the idea to dedicate a blogging series for the purpose of digging in deeper with iPad native apps. I had the passion to begin a podcast, but I wanted it to have a specific purpose. I wanted to share Alli's vision of sharing Apple products that every educator and learner has on every iPad and MacBook in our district. A year later, we still spend a lot of our time discussing Apple products and we still have a great time working together!

 So, in this episode of the podcast we discuss how communication is enhanced with the use of an iPad. Communication isn't just about talking! Listen to this episode and let us know what you think by sending us a tweet using #coppelldlc or @coppelldlc! We would love to hear from you!

 

Breaking Apart

Have you ever found a great resource, but then wanted to change it up just a little bit to make it more unique?  I do all the time!  Recently I learned about the Break Apart feature found in iWorks (Keynote, Numbers & Pages).  You might already know this little trick, but it's new to me so I want to share!  Check out this video to see how...

Now, how are you going to use this feature?

What's Coming Up in January

Welcome to 2019!  It's a fresh start for everyone!  I am excited to continue working to help educators grow in their own understanding and use of digital tools so that they are comfortable expanding what they have their learners do in their learning environments.  My team has put together some great learning opportunities for the month of January when we will focus on communication through digital tools.  I am particularly excited to work with our educators to focus on iPad Accessibility features for our iPad Challenge Day on January 22nd!  Check out the full calendar of events!