The Summer Updates

                                       As we get in to the heat of summer, the update schedule has been set for both Apple and Microsoft.  With Windows 10 being released free on July 29, we are presented with another update of Microsoft's operating system.  This one has a new web browser, the "Cortana" voice recognition system, puts the old and new elements of windows together and allows users from Windows version seven and eight to upgrade for free.   In a perfect world, they would allow my Surface RT to update, however, we do not live in that world.  While I look forward to system improvements in my PC's, the little voice in my head says "caution." My concerns are with the music programs I use to practice and perform with on my tablets and computers.  Changes will obviously occur there, yet there is a little concern.  Another area that I like about Microsoft's coming software is the ability to use holographic technology in your personal life.  The hololens hardware would be a neat addition to the technology I use, however, at their current prices, it will be a while before I can afford it. 
     Apple is updating both it's IOS and OSX operating systems adding new features.  Some of these features announced have me curious, especially in the notepad app.  I am an avid Onenote and Evernote user as these assist me staying on track at home and at work.  Being able to organize notes into notebooks and subsections is the beauty of these notebook systems, imitating the analog paper notebook.  With the searchability of these programs, I can find information in seconds. I even shared this concept with the Chefs at a Culinary school.  They really liked the ability to find information in a hurry.  Apple has stated that I will be able to get reminders, add graphics, checkboxes, etc  in their new notes app.  I hope this is so, as the apple infrastructure works pretty well together. It would be really nice to have the audio recorder feature I enjoy in the other two not programs I use in the "notes" application. It makes it easy to collect musical ideas and motifs with the ability to share with other musicians to develop the musical idea collaboratively.  Will their icloud note program update as well?   It will be one less step in organizing projects on the go in my role as an educational technologist.
     While I anticipate the usual problems with any new update, I am looking forward to see what Apple and Microsoft have done to improve their products usefulness as  a personal and professional productivity tool.  Google, Apple, and Microsoft are listening to the users of their products, which is necessary and beneficial for each of us.  I am looking forward to it.

Google Add Ons

Google has been very proactive in creating add ons that bring power to the basic Google applications such as Documents, Sheets, and Slides.  These add ons create additional tools for people to use in their work. These add on programs are what I use to create work seamlessly and within the Google environment.

In Google Docs, the research add on is terrific.  It will format your writing for MLA, APA styles of writing for student and professional papers.  While I became a master of using the bibliography tools in Microsoft word during graduate school, Google, offers these without having to purchase office for your personal or business account. It allows research access from the web, Google Scholar, everywhere, inages, etc., allowing you to complete your work in the same window. When you cite a source, Docs places it in the appropriate style of your writing.   For you Avery label maker users, there is an add on for Google docs as well.  I have to experiment with this, however working in an elementary setting, our teachers are constantly using labels as fund raising reminders, getting students on the correct bus, and lunch line organizers.

While Excel is my normal go to program for heavy spreadsheets, I have warmed up to Google sheets  The PowerTools add ons allow you to really manipulate data in a meaningful way.  Features include a duplicate finder, separation and merge tools, as well as find and replace functions.  Add the functionality of Google's form tools and there is a simple data collection and administration tool.  With the table add ons, you can create multi colored tables if you desire.  This is much easier in excel, however, each productivity suite has its own set of tools that are available on a specific level of functionality.

Google Slides offers a simple set of template offerings for Slide presentations.  There are currently no add ons that I have found to date, however some creative folks have given you hope to dress up the basic Google slide template options.   Go to  Slide Carnival on the web and make a copy to your Google drive of the many templates available at the site.  You can then create a new presentation from the copy, editing content with your particular slide needs. You can then recolor, adjust, delete, etc till you have the presentation of your dreams.

Use the Cloud as a Music Portfolio

The cloud has been getting a lot of press and advertisement from productivity companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Google, just to name a few.  Musicians can take advantage of the fact that many of these virtual cloud drives will accept any type of file for storage. So how can we take advantage of this?

With music creation and performance being generated in a digital format, the opportunities abound for musicians to share their work.  A majority of cloud drives accept any type of file, so mp3 files, pdf files from printed parts, and entire files from Sibelius and Finale can be uploaded.  Soundcloud is a virtual music sharing company, which allows your music files to be shared with others quickly, based upon the the type of music you are performing or have created.  In many regards, it can be thought of as a large thumb drive on the internet where others can listen to the music you create.

Sharing your work is easy and secure in the cloud.  You can give a person permission to view only, edit, and collaborate on many of your music projects, based on the file access permissions you have given the person you are sharing with.  As an arranger on a team, this can be a time saver in completing projects on your time schedule.  As an example, one composer was listening to a jazz group in Paris.  He recorded part of a song using his phone and uploaded it to a cloud based note taking service called Evernote.  This notebook is shared with his team back in California, with a note to recreate the jazz style on a project they were working on together, as Evernote records audio, and allows you to jot a few ideas down about it within the note.  With Evernote or One Note, you can create a digital portfolio to be shared with others, or to store ideas.  Just record your tune, organize it based on style, type, etc., and you literally have a digital portfolio to refer to at any time.  One jazz drummer shared many years ago shared that he kept a cassette recorder going when he practiced, recording new ideas as he worked.  When he filled the tape with new ideas, he would listen to them and wither discard or figure out how to use the idea in his jazz performance.  The cloud becomes your  musical idea storage device. 

As more people begin to migrate from traditional storage media to digital storage media, the cloud will be there to file and store their musical ideas and  give them the capability to share their tunes with others.  

Using Cloud Based Services

The cloud can be defined as an online storage "drive" where you store information.  The advantage over traditional storage media, such as the thumbdrive, is the ability to access information from any location.  WIth cloud computing, you can access your information from a computer, a tablet, or a smartphone.  The three most popular services include Apple's Icloud, Google's Drive, and Microsoft's Skydrive.

Apple computer's Icloud allows an Apple user to create and store documents on their cloud.  Using online versions of their Iwork  software which includes Pages, Numbers, and Presentations, documents are saved online.  You can access them from your iphone, ipod touch, ipad, Macintosh computer, or any computer that has internet access, allowing you to work from anywhere.  The disadvantage with Icloud is the ability to export documents into a format that allows the Apple product to play nice with open source file formats, or MS office files.  In order to have these file formats to work with other programs, you must export the document to a office format on a Mac computer running Apple's Pages, Numbers, or Presentation software. When you do print, it will turn it into a .pdf format, which is and acceptable way of sending documents to share with others.

Google's Drive allows a Google user access to their online "Drive" account.  Here you can upload documents, create  word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation files, as well as have a storehouse for Chrome applications you choose to select with your Google account.  Many of these applications are free for users to use, and allow access by the user from a phone, tablet, or computer on any platform.  There are numerous applications that can enhance your productivity, depending upon your particular interests and needs.

Microsoft's Skydrive allows the user to create and manage documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.  You can also upload pdf and photos to your Skydrive to use wherever you may be within your documents.  Word, Excel, and Powerpoint have web versions that are more considered office "light", however for basic document work can easily meet most peoples needs.  One added bonus is an online version of One note, which is similar to a regular paper notebook.  You create a notebook. then pages within the notebook to store your information.  If you use One note, realize that the text, graphics, etc are part of a digital ink, and can be copied and pasted into office products.

Which every cloud service you choose, there are advantages and disadvantages to each one.  Decide what you are comfortable with and take care with whom  and how you allow others to access your shared files.

It's a Tool

   

It's a Tool

 With the advent of personal computing in it's various forms, the one thing being noticed at the Community college is the skill of people using their portable devices to interact in the social media of their life, creating groups, private threads, and collaborative groups.  The idea that people can be this productive with their social network needs to be expanded to their productivity network within the context of learning.
     Companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Google, IBM, Corel, Apache Open Office, and Adobe are using cloud computing to provide clients the ability to collaborate on projects online.  Collaborative  access to files stops confusion as to the version of the document you are working on for the project.  It allows each team member the ability to edit and make changes that benefit the end product.  Taking the skills people have with their social media to their productivity media does not take very long, however it is a diffusionary process requiring some dedication in order to learn the software that is being used in a collaboartive fashion.  This is where the challenge is for people using technology:  Being able to relate one set of skills used in one construct and apply it to another.  For some it is an easier process than others, however with dedication any obstacle can be overcome.

Using LAYAR to make interactive documents

One of the presentations at the SC Edtech conference last week was a presentation by Max Monroe from Pickens County using LAYAR.  LAYAR is an advertising program which allows you to take any document, upload it to your account at the LAYAR site and embed audio, video, or hyperlinks.  It creates interactive text documents with the web.

The process is this:

1.  Create the interactive document at the LAYAR site.
2.  Download the app for your mobile device
3.  Scan the document using your mobile device
4.  Click on the links which appear virtually.

This acts like a QR code reader only not as messy.   The nice thing is that students can take the printed sheet home, scan it with their AR reader app at home and interact with the materials to refresh their minds about the lesson of the day, whether it be an audio recording of a story, a video, or hyperlink to a web page.

This can be used in music by taking a score of lead sheet , upload it to the LAYAR site, then adding hyperlinks to the history of the tune, musical concepts, definitions, and form related materials to the actual piece of music.

The site is at www.layar.com

Productivity versus being a fanboy or girl

One of the things I always liked about my Franklin Planner was that it was everywhere I was.  All my information that was important to me, was with me, or within reach at all times.  When I became interested in using technology in productive ways, there were problems between using the different elements of my technology portfolio.  As an example, I have a mac, iPad, ipod, and iPhone on the apple side, and a HP laptop on the PC side.  Getting these to all work together is just a pain, as one application will not work across the Apple Microsoft divide, however, there are solutions.

After may third move in the past three years, I have become a Google apps fanboy, only because regardless of which piece of technology I use, I have access to it.  There online solution is the least cumbersome to work with, and allows the user flexibility in using the software in a productive manner. This is probably the closest match to my paper planner that I have used.  While I use Outlook on my live account,  and like what I am capable of doing with it using my Windows 8 laptop, the major bummer is my information cannot be shared with my apple devices, which defeats of purpose of a productive mobile tool, like my paper planner.  Apple's calendar  gives you a day view, a list view, and a month view.  Their  reminder software is basic at the minimum level, and offer little in workflow productivity, offering exclamation points to prioritize tasks. The only way I have found to share the information between the two platforms is to link them to my Google account. I made this work till Windows 8 came out, where I can share my calendar via email to my apple account, however the link crashes on the Apple side of the equation.  Icloud is also Apple restrictive, so a pdf document cannot be loaded to the cloud.  Microsoft, Google, and Dropbox allow you to upload anything you wish, so this makes my rantings even more confusing.  This confusion can be solved by many things, such as stick to Apple or Microsoft for my technology needs, however, I do not have resources to do that.  What to do to make it work better?  Use note taking programs.

I have found Evernote and Onenote capable of solving my cross application needs.  I am sure Google Keep will be similar in context to these programs.   I created my Franklin Covey week template in Onenote and Evernote.  It looks just like my old paper planner.

What I do like about Onenote is the fact that they have created an application that allows me to edit my to do checkboxes, and allow my to prioritize the 1,2,3, so my A items in my planner are 1, the b items are 2, and the C items are 3.  I am able to open my planner pages on my Apple products as well as my PC products, offering seamless integration.   Evernote allows a similar capability using a template, however does not have the prioritized checkboxes that I found in Onenote.  So I list my priorities as A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3 after the checkbox in each table block, which gives me the same productive capacity, working on any type of technological device.

I set up a notebook in each program called "CD's Planner." In each of these notebooks, I have pages for my mission statement, my goals, my weekly overview, along with a set of daily pages.  I can copy and paste information between my table blocks in my week view in  order to map out my daily view.   I also have a templates set that I use at the beginning of each week.  These have certainly helped me to use my cross platform technologies as a tool again, and hopefully, it will help others who suffer from the same frustration of the Apple/Microsoft battles for people to use their technology as a productivity tool.

Upon posting this, I found that you can set up an exchange account in your Apple settings that will share the MS information on my Apple products.  I will follow up with an update as to how well this continues to work.

In the book the "Diffusion of Innovations," the author describes a diffusion rate on a scale from early adoption to laggard adoption, or being the last to adopt the technology.  The idea that school systems will not allow students to use portable devices as an educational tool demonstrates the "fear" that decision makers have, and where their system is along the diffusion scale.  Instead of addressing the issue by making each person accountable for how the technology will be used in an educational setting, we unplug the tools this generation of kids have grown up with.  By having an agreement in writing with the student, parents, and administrators describing how the technology will be used in the educational setting, this fear is taken care of.  When the student violates the policy, the privilege to use the technology is gone with that decision.

Online education is becoming mainstream in the collegiate arena of ideas.  K-12 education is still partly entrenched in the fear that Web 1.0 is the only way to go, or you can use the internet as a research tool. You will not be able to collaborate online, or work with people who are halfway around the world.  One of my students plagiarized an entire report.  She does not stand a chance when if she goes to college and must turn her paper in through "Turnitin.com."   We hear educators complain at every level that students are unprepared for their classes.  Online education allows users to think, respond appropriately, and write their ideas with clarity.  As a parting gift, the Essa school in Britian on the Macs in Education site is a superb movie on how interactive technological tools enhance education.  The link is:

http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/essa/#video-essa

Cheers!

Smartmusic for the Musician

Smartmusic has come a long way from the digital cartridges of it former practice system.  Makmusic just made the Ipad version of Smartmusic available, allowing the user to access an entire library of music to practice and play with.  In the classroom, Smartmusic allows educators to set up a Gradebook for each of their classes.  The students create an account at Gradebook.Smartmusic.com, and then join the teachers classroom.  Here the educator can send out assignments from method books used, jazz tunes, band pieces, and solo instrument materials.  The institution fee is around $150 dollars for one calendar year.  Individual plans run around $40 dollars.  The program listens to you perform, anaylizes the performance and tells you which notes were played correctly and incorrectly.  (Green for correct, and Red for Incorrect).  It will grade it on a percentage, which allows players to improve each take.  The play then can upload their best take to the educator for commentary and review.   The Ipad version does require IOS6,  which was an unpleasant surprise for me and my original Ipad.  This makes me an unhappy Apple user. The last time they pulled this stunt, I bought PCs and have stayed there until buying a macmini four years ago.   It seems that I will have to use my ipad in other capacities.  As a Finale user, I can access Smartscore, which will at least play the created music files.  The tools available for musicians are well worth the investment, as you still spend several thousand dollars for a professional level instrument.

The Case for Video on Demand

When I watched the movie for my assignment a few weeks ago, I found that renting the movie from an online carrier was easier than having to find the movie at a local dvd store.  I think the VOD movement will eventually replace the DVD, as you can order or download the video at your convenience, pause or restart the viewing if you are interrupted, and view it anywhere you are.  It is a similar progression in music, where I can now download a song or album often for less expense than purchasing the physical format of a CD.   This is an increasing return for the movie industry, as it migrates away from a "physical" delivery system. 

I think VOD enhances movie going based upon convenience for the user.  it retrieves the idea of having you entertainment with you wherever you are, such as the days of the portable radio, and rekindles the idea of podcasting in a visual format. 

DNA Memory

I stumbled across this today, and thought this is where the future  of music and learning could go.  Dr. Thornburg may have nailed this one.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324539304578259883507543150.html

Second Life as a Disruptive Educational Force

Second Life can be a disruptive force in the educational community.  As a disruptive force, the need for physical buildings disappear.  Classrooms are virtual and wherever there is an internet connection to access the domain.  There is a game quality to the control of your avatar, which can walk, run, fly, and jump.  Teleporting to a different location or island is one of the tools that allow you to move around quickly and freely.  You can have conversations with the people you meet, and seems to be a perfect setting for a virtual classroom. 

Second Life has the opportunity to replace the physical educational institution in the sense of a brick and mortar school.  It takes the "physical plant" and places in a virtual world.  There is no added expense of feeding, transporting, or having the expenses associated with a building, there is interaction within the virtual environment, along with other people there.  One advantage is the flexibility in scheduling events.  The ability to instruct a class at seven pm, versus eight am, may have appeal to a person who is an afternoon or evening person. 

Should holographic technology continue to evolve in the near future, I see the possibility of a holographic version of Second Life.  Your camera has the capability now of transmitting your image and your voice to others.  The same tools could create a virtual holographic image of you, and place in an educational island on Second Life.  That is my kind of education. 

Parameters need to be in place concerning social norms on such a site.  Tone in writing is such an important issue, as many people currently use the keyboard as an attack tool in many blogs.  There is name calling, profane language, and disrespectful discussions that certainly violate the need for civility in an online environment.

While Second Life may not be able to currently do many of these things, there is potential for such an environment to appear on Second Life.  I think I am going to look for a master class island for my musical skills. 

Rhymes of History

In this week's blog posting, I am looking at the idea of a rhyme of history.  It is well quoted that history repeats itself.  I like to think of the smartphone ipod, or tablet that allows a user to listen to music.  It takes me back to my days of youth, where we used to listen to a transistor radio, because it was small, portable, and allowed you to use an earpiece to listen without bothering others around you.  While current listening devices have much more to offer, they served their purpose to provide music played on the am and fm band in a portable device. 

Here are the updates I have made to our Skype conversation for using the Smartphone.  Comments are appreciated!

Holographs- Future Meeting Tools?

I know this is somewhat Star Wars possible currently, however, this will be a cool way to attend a meeting. 

Digital Music Delivery

The current technology we all use for this week's blog is digital music.  There are many benefits, problems, and challenges that we face using this type of music delivery system.  The benefit of digital music is you no longer have to carry around a tape player, cd player, or small player.  Phone designers have integrated a digital music player into it.  Problems that occur with using this technology are the restrictions of personal phone use at work, as many businesses restrict such activities.  For students, the school district's technology policy determines how their phone may be used in the educational institution.  The challenge facing the digital music consumer is the ability to place all of your music on your phone.  I use iTunes for my iPad/Ipod, and my family uses Itunes for their iphones.  I have a Google play account where I can access my music on the cloud from any device, such as my Android phone, Ipad, or computer, which is handy.  It gives me one place where I know I can access my music when I need it for work or pleasure.  Digital music allows us to listen to music and celebrate events in our lives.  Music reflects emotion, therefore allows the user to reflect his or her mood, happiness, or sadness.  Music is a part of human celebration as part of life and as we pass.  When my father passed, we had the  Irish song "Too ra lo ra" playing during the funeral service.  I still get choked up when I perform or sing Amazing Grace, as that was a part of his service.  In order to improve the delivery of this product, having access no matter your player, such as phone, tablet, computer, or internet will make the use of digital music a better experience for the user.

Apple iPad

Making the cloud work for you

The cloud has become a place to store files in quantity.  Most services offer large files offerings, where you can purchase more online cloud storage if needed.  Skydrive is my go to tool of choice, however it has one flaw:  It will not work on the antiquated computer I work with at work, and the system treats it as a "social" network.  Icloud offers opportunities to upload and download files between work and home, however, the files will only open with pages, numbers, or keynote, again due to the antiquated technology I work with.  This made Google docs my go to program to share files.  Recently, I have not been able to use Google docs as I have in the past, where I woudl upload files and then print them at work.  I guess they think I am checking my personal email versus actually uploading files that will assist me in doing my job.  Dropbox is a great tool to use and works on my older computer.  Recently there have been problems uploading and downloading files from the shared folders.  Working in the 21st century with a 20th century technology philosophy, have a great evening!

Copyright Video

Copyright Video

Suggestions will be appreciated.

Working with your Technological Limitations

School systems have a variety of internet use policies in place for the educational use of technology whether it is portable or wired.  Being an educator who uses technology in the classroom, one task is to make sure that the use of technology is in compliance with your local systems policies.  As an example, Google and Icloud are accessible at work, while Live.com is not.  This is due to the social media MS has placed into the live.com environment. While this was a problem at first, I found an add on from Google that uploads my office documents to my Google drive.  This was a very handy tool, and is part of Google's business add ons.  I adapted how my software worked together to get the best results for my system's internet policies. 

Copyright in the Classroom