Did You Know? Numbers is More Than a Spreadsheet!

I'm taking some time to take a closer look to options available in Numbers and how these can be used within a classroom.  I ❤️having multiple tabs to have lots of information all housed in one document.  But what about the tables?  Did you realized you can delete a table and Numbers becomes a whiteboard that goes on and on and on?  Well, maybe not that far, but you get my point!  A blank space to start creating!  Combine a blank space with smaller tables for a specific purpose and you have a winner in my opinion! 

Not sure what I'm talking about yet?  Let's discuss about a couple of examples.  For starters, I like to have lists so I know exactly what I need to do.  And I love when there is a checkbox with the list so I can check it off when the deed is done!  Did you know you can create your own checklists in Numbers?  For example, you can have a list of steps where learners can track their progress throughout a learning experience. Or, maybe the table becomes a Choice Board and learners are given a variety of options and must checkoff a certain number of options.  I bet you can think of ways you could incorporate checkboxes on a document.

Then there is the Star Rating option.  In the example, I have included in the video below the Star Rating is part of the Peer Feedback portion of a project.  I have created a table so there is a pre determined number of peers to interact with to gather feedback.  In this case, the document would be shared with these learners and the learner would record their thoughts.  The 3rd column is what makes this part unique.  By adding a Star Rating you are allowing the learner who is receiving the feedback to rate how helpful the feedback is to improving the product.  Imagine how this could help learners grow in how they give feedback!

There is also a Slider option!  By using this option the creator can set the range of numbers to be applied to the slider.  In the video example below I used a rubric for setting up the slider.  I then set the final cell to calculate the sum from the different categories.  The total is then automatically calculated for me!  This particular idea could be used for self-assessment of learning.  What other ways can you think of to use a slider?

Watch this video to see how to use these 3 different cell formatting options in Numbers.

Which option do you want to try in your next lesson design?

Episode 22: The 5th C - Citizenship

Who's ready for another episode of the Coppell Digital Learning podcast?  I am!!  In this episode Alli and I focus on the 5th C - Citizenship.  It's not just a conversation for the beginning of the school year!  You will hear me say citizenship is 24/7!  Now, listen...

Apple Classroom Resource

Common Sense Media

CISD Empowered Citizens

Using Apple Classroom in a Different Way

Apple Classroom Keynote Template

Share how you are talking with your learners about citizenship in these last few days of the school year by taking a picture and sharing in on Twitter using #coppelldlc!

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!

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?

An Apple a Week: Episode 11

I cannot believe Alli and I have recorded our last episode in our podcast series: An Apple a Week. 

This has been a joy to create this podcast and work on the content all semester. I have learned a lot for myself and I’m hoping I can share my knowledge with others, both about creating a podcast and Apple in Education. In this episode, Alli and I discuss how we can continue our learning over the summer. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode.

   

Now that you listened to the podcast, how will you grow over the summer? Join us on Tuesday, June 5th!  Register in Euphoria!! 

Image Created in Canva by Megan Kozar

You know you have something to share! Why not submit a proposal? You will be welcome with open minds when sharing your knowledge with fellow educators from CISD.

And, check out all of the other learning opportunities available across the metroplex!

Share with us your learning at #coppelldlc!  And I can confidently say, I have every intention of continuing to podcast in the future!

Collaboration Time!

I have had some time to play around with Keynote since the podcast episode Alli and I recorded in January.  I had not spent too much more time with it, but it was always in the back of my mind of how can I use this again?  This is my first animation I made...

On multiple occasions I have tried to think how I could use Keynote, but it just didn't seem like the right fit and you shouldn't force a tool on a project.  Then, I had a brilliant idea to collaborate with my daughter!  She had recently found out about the No More Straws campaign to end the use of plastic straws.  We worked together to share the message and use a new tool!   We learned together!

I can't wait to see how this learning will lead to new creative ideas!

An Apple A Week Podcast Series: iMovie

The next episode in our Apple a Week series is all about iMovie!

I have used iMovie for a really long time. Like, a really long time. I remember when you had to use a Firewire cable to connect the camera to import the video to the computer. I loved iMovie. I made iMovies ALL. THE. TIME! I needed a break. So, many years later when I ventured into iMovie land again I found myself a little frustrated because all of the bells and whistles were hidden somewhere and it was a struggle to make movies and I decided to breakup with iMovie for real!! In the next chapter of my life iMove was now available to be used on my iPad. Wow! I can wrap my head around this again!! I embraced iMove, once again. After a few more twists and turns in our rocky relationship iMovie and I had some rough times. Once again, I am back on the iMovie train. It is an up and down, give and take relationship I have with iMovie. What I love about iMovie is that it is *free* and pretty straight forward to use. What I love about iMovie is that our learners love it too! They want to express themselves. They love to see themselves perform! And, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can use iMovie! In this episode we are joined by learners who tell us how they are using iMovie in their classroom!

 I hope you enjoy…

An Apple a Week Podcast Series: The Great iPad Challenge Reflection

Following our great iPad challenge, our team had a debrief session to really dive deep into our experience reflection.

Alli and I designed a learning experience for this part of the reflection process. Our teammates did not know it, but they would be the next guests on the podcast! Our team experienced just how amazing using Anchor is for recording and publishing podcasts. Listen to this episode to find out more!

 

The Great iPad Challenge

A few weeks ago one of my teammates, Alli, challenged all of our team to go 2 days using only our iPads.  No MacBooks allowed!  The purpose of the challenge was for us to experience exactly what our learners do every single day.   We are very fortunate to work in a district where all educators are issued a laptop and mobile device, but how are we truly using our devices to transform learning?

A few ground rules were put in place.  Day one, we were allowed to only use our iPads.  Day two we could use an Apple Pencil and keyboard,  The plan was to have a usual day of work with the added focus of a few challenges to make sure we were experiencing, with integrity, what it means to have an iPad for everything.  We used the following bingo board, designed using Pages, to guide our day.

I had 2 big struggles with day 1.  First, I'm used to having multiple (let's be real.....a lot!!!) internet browser tabs open all at once.  I move pretty quickly through various tools on the web.  I can find most anything pretty fast.  I was greatly slowed down because I didn't know where the apps were on my iPad!!  I have a few folders of apps and I usually open everything using the search feature, but it took longer to get where I needed to be and swap between apps.  Learning curve!  Second, the battery life!  By midmorning I was already down to 50%.  What???  How could my iPad go through so much battery so quickly?  We complain about learners not having a charged device at school but if my iPad won't stay charged for the entire day how can I expect that of a learner.  I do want to take into consideration when learners are in class they are not constantly on their device.  They use their devices, but not every day of every period. 

While preparing for day 2 I found creating a presentation on my iPad to be a bit frustrating.  My brain knew I could perform most of the same tasks on the iPad as I do on my MacBook, but it was sometimes difficult to figure it out.  I found an app to help me get the desired result I was looking for.  As for day 2 of the challenge, we were able to use an Apple Pencil and a keyboard.  Using the keyboard really helped my productivity.  I found it much easier to do my work.  For that day in particular I really didn't use the Apple Pencil; however, I was introduced to DrawCast by a learner that really sparked my interest.

My team shared their experience via Twitter.  Here is the Twitter Moment of our reactions. With this new mindset of using one tool, how can we better design learning experiences for our learners.  I would encourage all educators to take on this challenge.  Look closer at what you are asking your learners to do with their device.  How is what you are asking them to do transforming their learning experience and truly using the device that is right in front of them to challenge their thinking?

An Apple a Week Podcast Series: GarageBand

Have you tried to use GarageBand?  On several different occasions in the past 10 years I have launched the app and told myself I would conquer this app!  10 minutes later I might have a couple of tracks put together and then I delete it all.  Quit GarageBand.  Forget about the app.  This winter my team member Alli, brought it back to the table as part of the Apple a Week Blogging Series.

It just so happened I had spent some time working with a social studies educator who was asking learners to be creative when putting together research about what makes a great leader.  The timing was perfect!  I discovered a learner who was truly using GarageBand to make an impact on their own learning! 

 Now we have published another episode for the Apple a Week podcast series that is all about GarageBand. The best part, for me, was I got to interview the learner who is really impacting their learning by making their own original songs!

 

An Apple a Week Podcast Series: Creating with Clips

On this podcast episode of An Apple a Week we take a closer look at the app Clips!

Look at the blogpost written by Ali to see it in writing then listen to the episode where our DLC teammate Sam joins us to tell us about her experience with Clips.

Follow @Clipsiration on Twitter to be inspired by others who are already using Clips!  How will you use Clips to share information with your learners?

An Apple A Week Podcast Series: Why Book Creator?

In this episode of An Apple a Week podcast series Alli and I talk about our new favorite collaboration tool...Book Creator!

 Listen to find out why we love this tool that is so easy to us on mobile devices!

I am eager to share this tool with more educators!

An Apple a Week Podcast Series: Nerding Out with Numbers

It's time for another episode of An Apple a Week podcast series!  This week Alli and I talk Numbers.

 Seriously, we talk about Numbers, not data, but the native Apple product for spreadsheets.  But wait, it's so much more than a spreadsheet!  Listen to find out!

I have been inspired to revamp how we plan for recording this podcast.  This podcast is very casual.  We do not create a script, if you listen you should be able to tell.  Alli and I have a natural converstation, but we do need a few notes so we keep our focus.  I have been using a word document, but now I'm going to try Numbers.  I'll let you know how it turns out in the future.

Give us your feedback on how you want to explore Numbers on the Flipgrid!

Choices

We have so many choices.  Sometimes there are too many and it's difficult to make a choice.  While I was at TCEA I had the opportunity to go to a session to learn more about Adobe Spark.  I am very excited to hear Adobe will be changing their terms of service so that any age learner can use their products, for free!  This got my attention!  I have used Adobe Spark before and thought it was easy to use, easy to navigate, and I liked the final product I created.

That got me thinking, what about Apple Clips?  Clips is a native app for iOS devices.  This is great because that means all of our learners have access to the app.  There is no sign-in and you do not have to be connected to the internet.  I have made a few graphics to help learners create their own Clips.

There are so many possibilities with Clips in the classroom!  Here is a quick video I made with my amazing teammate, Alli Pryor, to encourage our PLN to try using Clips.

I'm so excited to see up and coming projects by educators and learners using Clips!

An Apple a Week Podcast Series Continues with Keynote

We did it again!  The next episode of the An Apple of Week podcast and blogging series are live.  

What do you know about Keynote?  I use it...sometimes.  After recording this episode with Alli I want to spend more time looking at the creative pieces that make Keynote unique.  I think I see collaboration in the near future!

Listen to learn a little something about Keynote and add to the Flipgrid!  I know you have a great idea to share!  Or, do you know something else that is mind blowing?  Share that too!

 

I also talk about the option to scan a document using the native Apple Notes app.  How timely!  An educator came into my office just this afternoon asking about an app to scan documents.  When I demonstrated how Scan Documents works she was thrilled to see how easy it is and not have to download another app!  I will put together a very quick demonstration of how it works and share ASAP!

Taking a leap!

So I did something today that I have never done before and it was fun!  I started a podcast to share with educators.  I have been dragging my heals about creating a podcast because it seems like a really big commitment.  The amazing team I work with encourages us to find the fun!  So, I found the fun and took a leap out of my comfort zone!

Last week I read a blog post by one of my teammates, Alli Pryor, about a blog series several of our team members would be contributing to for the next few weeks.  The focus is on how and why we are using Apple products in our classrooms.   I got excited!  I wanted to contribute somehow.  This week I was working on another project where I am exploring podcasts and learned from Amanda Lanicek and Amanda Mask about Anchor.  And then I had the bright idea to bring these two together!

Now all I had to do was convince Alli we could do this along with all the other million things we are always working on.  So, the two of us took a leap together and landed on our feet.  Check out our first episode here...