Social Reading on the iPad: Subtext X Custom ePub

While there will never be a replacement for a paper book with dog-eared pages, hand written notes in the margins, a broken spine and a proudly worn cover with a hint of dirt and stains, there is an exciting new option to transform the practice of reading to make it more social and collaborative.  Subtext is an intriguing iPad application that allows users to read books collaboratively.  While reading, participants can insert text, emotions, questions, links and thoughts into the margins of the book.  When other readers jump into the text they can see the notations and reply to the existing thoughts in a discussion thread that is neatly tucked away into the margins of the text.

Subtext Promotional Video

ePub being read in subtext. Notice the small images in the margins indicating reader comments.

Respond to a reader comment by tapping on their image & typing a reply. Responses appear in real time.

Technical Setup for Classroom Applications:

Subtext allows readers to connect to their Google bookshelf and in fact they login with either Google or Facebook credentials.  Once logged in, if a user has an existing book in their Google bookshelf the book will appear in their Subtext bookshelf.  Within the subtext app, users can search for books to add to their subtext bookshelf.  If a book is in the public domain, (The Prince by Machiavelli for instance) it can be read in its entirety.  If a book is not in the public domain, it can still be pulled into a subtext bookshelf by purchasing the book through Google books.  Subtext has a fantastic FAQ section that outlines this process.



Custom ePub files & collaborative reading:

While reading public domain books opens up a great deal of potential for classroom use, what I think is the most intriguing feature in Subtext is the ability for a teacher to create a custom ePub file and then read the ePub in Subtext, collaboratively and socially with students.  At this point with the Subtext app, if you create a custom ePub file it is publicly available within Subtext, but there are plans in the works to allow teachers to create closed groups for private collaborative reading in their class.  Check the Subtext Education page for more details.



Creating a Custom ePub:


This is much easier than it sounds and there are a number of options depending on the complexity of your custom class ePub.

Creating Scenario 1: Convert a single web based article to an ePub - www.2epub.com & www.dotepub.com allow any web based content to be converted to an ePub file.

Creating Scenario 2: Compile readings from documents, PDF files and web based content.  All of the content can be compiled into one ePub using Pages on a Mac.  Apple has created a template for Pages that is built specifically to created ePub files.  The benefit of using this template is that a table of contents can easily be created by following the formatting features in the document.  Another helpful tip while compiling from web based content is to use the file conversion website Zamzar.  I use Zamzar when converting PDF files to document files which can then easily be copy and pasted into the Pages ePub template document.

Cover of the custom ePub created with Pages

Table of contents for the custom ePub created with Pages

Upload the Custom ePub to Subtext:


Once the custom ePub is created, it needs to be uploaded to a cloud account, I used Dropbox in this case. Once the ePub is uploaded to Dropbox, the creator of the ePub can access the Dropbox app on the iPad and use the "open in" feature on the iPad to open the ePub in Subtext.  It will take a moment and the custom ePub will appear in your bookshelf in Subtext.

Accessing a custom ePub from Dropbox on an iPad. Use the "open in" feature & select Subtext

If you want to have your students read the same custom ePub, copy the link to the ePub document that is provided by Dropbox and have the students enter that link into the Safari browser on their iPad.  I suggest using a URL shortener for this process, the link is much easier to type into the browser.  Once the page loads the students can also use the "open in" feature on the iPad to open the ePub in Subtext.

Accessing the custom ePub that has been uploaded to a Dropbox account through a shortened URL

Once the ePub is downloaded to the iPad, select "open in" Subtext

Either approach will pull the custom ePub into the Subtext app. (Bottom right corner = Supplemental Readings)

Why use Subtext?


As I mentioned in the introduction, I don't think there is anything that can quite replace a well worn paper book, especially the kind that has notes left behind by a previous reader.  Yet, I think there is tremendous potential for collaborative, social reading on the iPad with Subtext.  Imagine being able to leave a question in the margins of a book and having a few classmates and a teacher reply to your question in real time as they are reading as well.  Imagine being able to leave a link to an external resource that you think could assist your classmates with the reading and could foster discussion the next day.  Ideally, subtext would work best in a truly 1:1 iPad setting where students can bring their iPads home, read independently at night and add content to the book and reply to content left by their classmates.  The discussion that could take place the next day would build off of the back and forth from the previous night.  When students refer to specific portions of the text and their thoughts during class discussion, everyone would have access within the book in Subtext.

Unfortunately as much as I had hoped, Subtext did not work at my school.  I tested it out with @katrinakennett and we were able to use the process outlined above and we both were able to socially read from a custom ePub document that I created.  To no fault at all to Subtext, our students were not able to login to Subtext using their Google account and could therefore not pull in our custom ePub document. The hangup was my school network, student credentials...That being said, I can't recommend highly enough that 1:1 iPad schools try out Subtext for a unique reading experience.  For another perspective on Subtext, check out the blog post by @katrinakennett.

Creating on the iPad: BookCreator X Psychological Disorders

In a continued quest to find ways that iPads can be not only consumption, but creation devices, I recently worked with a high school psychology class (@alisonshaver's class) where students were working in pairs to create children's books about various psychological disorders. The app we used for the project was BookCreator. We chose the app for its ease of use, ability to record audio directly into the book and the ability to export the final product as both an eBook and PDF file.

The Process: 
- 5 minute BookCreator tutorial
- Students worked in pairs to research their disorder
- Groups outlined their children's book (paper outlines)
- Groups created or found images online
- Groups created their books by importing images from the camera roll & inserting text

The entire process took approximately one week and when the groups were finished, they exported the final product by emailing both the eBook and PDF version to the teacher's email account. The eBook versions can then be opened directly on the teacher's iPad for assessment and the PDF versions can be opened, downloaded and then posted online ( we used Issuu ) for web based reading of the books.

@allisonshaver's iBooks app on her iPad with student created eBooks ready to be read.

Why conduct this project?
 - Students worked collaboratively to research, write and create the book.

 - Conveying a complicated message in the form of a children's book is challenging and requires a solid understanding of the concept for the final product to be understandable to the audience.

- The technology was not an add on. The iPad itself was not the focal point of the project, rather a means by which the groups could create something to demonstrate their understanding that could not have been created, published and shared without using this particular resource.

- Flexibility: while some groups decided to find pictures online and use them in the eBook, other students decided to draw or digitally create their images and the BookCreator app allows for all three scenarios.

- Access: by exporting the books as both eBooks and PDF versions they can be read on mobile devices or directly online. Students can easily read and evaluate each others work either at home or during a period of in-class reading.



Here are two examples, enjoy!

Click HERE for the iPad friendly ePub version

Click HERE for the iPad friendly ePub version

Why go 1:1 iPad Revisited (2): Foreign Films

I recently visited a foreign language class to help out with the classroom Eno Board (another blog post for another time...) and decided to stick around.  The teacher asked if I had ever hear of Henri the Cat.  I take a tiny bit of pride in attempting to know everything that is on the internet, but I had never crossed paths with Henri.  With her fully functioning Eno Board, she quickly pulled up Henri and we watched and laughed out loud with the students.  If you have never seen Henri, I suggest you take a few minutes to watch parts one and two.

Before I left the class, I asked the teacher if she would be interested in having her students create similar style films about our high school.  She was game, and we started the project the following Monday.

The pre-iPad Process (2 class periods)

- Students worked in pairs and determined a theme for their films.

- Each group picked 10 scenes for their film and wrote 10 lines.

- Each line was translated into French

The iPad Process (3 class periods)

- Students shot footage of each scene using the native video camera application (1 period)

- Students edited their footage in iMovie & started inserting subtitles and voice-overs

- Students completed the editing, subtitles & voice-overs

- Finished videos were exported from the iPads to YouTube


One of the finished products:

Once all videos are exported and published to YouTube, I pulled them all together on a project site that was created using Wix.  One a side note, Wix just upgraded their platform to include HTML5 templates, this allows the full site to be viewed perfectly on an iPad.

Here is our Ode to Henri project site, please take a look & let me know what you think about creating foreign language subtitled films in foreign language classes.

EdTechTeacher

Over the past eight years as a history teacher and tech-integration specialist for the Plymouth Public Schools I have had phenomenal experiences integrating technology into my classroom and have seen first hand the impact that effective tech integration can have on students and their learning experience.  From blogging to podcasting to video and most recently to all of the possibilities presented with iPads, I have become truly passionate about the endless possibilities that exist when effectively integrating technology into the classroom.  While teaching, I also developed an interest in presenting, training and speaking to educators about effective approaches, possibilities and frameworks for integrating technology.  These presentations started locally at MassCue at have grown to recently presenting at NCSS this past December.

My journey down this path has recently taken an exiting turn, as I will be joining EdTechTeacher (www.edtechteacher.org) full time in July.  This opportunity is an exiting step and perfectly in line with my passion and interest in developing thoughtful methods to integrate technology in the classroom.  EdTechTeacher is a diverse and leading organization in providing professional development opportunities to teachers.  From our summer workshop offerings at Harvard to the  professional development T21 program, to the annual Winter Conference and our groundbreaking work with iPad integration in schools, this is truly an exciting time to be with EdTechTeacher and in the field of technology integration.  Our goal at EdTechTeacher is to provide leadership, insight, hands-on-training and ongoing, sustained professional development for schools, districts and classroom teachers.

I made the decision to join EdTechTeacher and leave the classroom because in this position I truly believe that I can have a significant impact on the teaching and learning that is taking place in classrooms throughout the country.  I will now have the ability to take the experiences that I have had integrating technology and transfer that knowledge through workshops, professional development, conference presentation and writing to a broad spectrum of teachers, districts and administrators.  This is truly and exciting change and I am fortunate to be working with such a fantastic group at EdTechTeacher.   

Why go 1:1 iPad Revisited: Screencasting Peer Feedback

I've been working with @katrinakennett 's 10th grade English class for the past few weeks to help them progress through their paperless iPad research paper process.  We have finally made it to the point where roadblocks that once existed around technical expertise, comfort and understanding how to navigate the process on the iPad have disappeared and have been replaced by problem solving, creative thinking and collaboration.

For a number of students, a draft of their paper has been written and they are ready for the peer editing process.  While I was creating a video tutorial Explain Everything last night, I realized after originally overlooking it, the capability to import files from Dropbox into Explain Everything...idea time.


I will begin by outlining the process we have used to put it in perspective.

• Students use Pages on the iPad to write their paper

• They export their updated draft every day to their Dropbox account.

• Exporting from Pages to Dropbox on the iPad is done through a third party client, SendtoDropbox.  This allows students to send documents via a unique email to an attachments folder in their Dropbox account (students also have been sending their paper draft to @katrinakennett 's dropbox account through her SendtoDropbox email)

At the point where the students have a rough draft ready for peer editing we took the next step:

•  Open the latest version of their paper in Pages (the paper was either already in Pages on the iPad or it was downloaded from their Dropbox account and "opened in" Pages)

• Export the rough draft from Pages as a PDF to a classmate's Dropbox account by emailing it to their SendtoDropbox email.

Now that students have swapped PDF versions of their papers and have a copy of each others work in their Dropbox accounts, it is time for screencasting their peer feedback.

• Open Explain Everything

• Create a new screencast using the feature to import from Dropbox

• Sign into dropbox in ExplainEverything & select the classmates PDF

• The PDF will be imported and the screencasting of peer feeback can begin.

Once the screencast is complete, upload it to YouTube and when the upload is complete the students can email each other the YouTube link with the video feedback.  This process worked well with the two students that had their rough drafts ready a bit early today, but I have already started to think about how the process would work for the entire class.

(Peer Editing through iPad Screencasting)

Class-wide Process:

• Students export a PDF version of their paper from Pages on the iPad to a teacher Dropbox account via the teacher's SendtoDropbox email.

• Teacher moves the PDF folders out of the "attachments" folder (folder where all SendtoDropbox documents go) into a new "rough draft folder"

• Using the new "Get the Link" feature in Dropbox, the teacher would now make the "rough draft folder" accessible to the entire class through a shortened URL.

• When students are already logged into their Dropbox account on the iPad, they then access the "rough draft" folder (teacher shortens folder URL), when they click on a PDF document within the rough draft folder they will be given the option to add it to their Dropbox account.

• The student can then go through the process outlined above of opening ExplainEverthing, importing the PDF from their Dropbox account, screencasting peer feedback and publishing to YouTube.

• Once published to YouTube, the student could email the link of their feedback to the classmate that they provided feedback for.  I would have the student also send the link to the teacher via email.

• To collect all of the screencasts in one location, the teacher can create a Google Form where the empty fields would inclue:
• Student that screencasted:
• Student that wrote:
• YouTube URL

Once @katrinakennett and I complete this process with the entire class I will follow up with some feedback.  It is strange that I am writing about this now, as I once wrote about video feedback with screencasting on a computer a year or so ago...much easier on an iPad.

What are your thoughts on students screencasting peer feedback?

Embed Plus X Classroom Submission Option?

I came across a tweet today(I can't remember who it was) about EmbedPlus and immediately started to brainstorm about a method by which this resource could be used in schools.  The web tool is quite simple. Find a YouTube video, paste the link into the EmbedPlus site and the user now has a host of options to "adjust" the video:

• Video size
• Start & stop time
• Scene markers
• Notations

When all of the notations and adjustments are made, a new embed code is generated.

Here is a sample video that I created with iMovie on an iPad about a class I am working with that is using iPads to conduct a paperless research process.

Here is the annotated version using EmbedPlus:

Classroom Applications: When I was teaching history (World Studies and US History) we periodically would watch documentaries that were available on YouTube.  This would be a great option to have students either watch the video at home or in a computer lab, create their own customized annotations and either embed the adjusted video on their own blog, or submit the link to the adjusted video as their assignment.  How else can you envision using EmbedPlus in the classroom setting?

Why Go 1:1 iPad?

In a response to a well written and thoughtful post that I recently read by @jmcconville1000, "Why the iPad is bad for education", I felt compelled to respond from my personal experience of rolling out a cart of 30 iPads in a shared high school environment.

Fundamentally I believe that an iPad can neither be good or bad. All it can ever be is an iPad. I argue instead, that when used effectively and with specific goals in mind, iPads can have a positive impact on education.  Seeing that schools are investing money on these devices, the perspective to adopt is not a combative one, but rather one that explores how to effectively integrate the devices. Whether a school is 1:1, or there is a shared iPad cart, the devices can be used effectively.

Time & Space:
iPad features related to time and space are incredibly important. Booting up a laptop and logging into a school network can take upwards of 3 minutes. The iPad is instant & the amount of time lost preparing the device for use is minimal. You can use the iPad for 10 minutes in class, slide it under your chair for a discussion and pull it back out to complete an assessment on Socrative. You can fit a book or piece of paper and an iPad on a desk, allowing students to combine the best of both worlds. The iPad doesn't block your view of someone's face, they can be used in discussion circles and they pose no distraction. Considering time constraints and battery life, if you plug them in the night before, they will last all day. As Justin Reich, my colleague at EdTechTeacher put it, "These things may seem trivial, but teaching is in many ways a battle against time, and tablets allow much more seamless transition between tech-on and tech-off activities."

The iPad is Not a Computer...
In my humble opinion, the reason why iPads have caught on is because while an iPad is not a computer, it offers enough of the computing feel to make them viable in classrooms. Yes, the keyboard is virtual, but it doesn't take long to get used to typing in either the traditional or text message style keyboard.

The device shouldn't be looked at as a computer, because it isn't...it is more than that.  It is a:

• Mobile recording device (audio & video) 
• Editing device (audio, video, images & text) 
• Publishing platform (blogs, websites, video, audio and screencasts to YouTube)
• Digital Notebook
• Digital Research Platform

I have read the arguments that suggest the iPad is a consumption based, single user device and I no longer find the argument valid. With a shared iPad cart my students have:

• Published screencasts to YouTube (Explain Everything)
• Recorded, edited & published podcasts to SoundCloud (Garageband)
• Recorded, edited & published video to YouTube & Vimeo (iMovie)
• Published blog posts (Posterous via email)
• Bookmarked research material to a collaborative Diigo Group (Diigo Bookmarklet)
• Written papers (Pages)
• Exported documents to cloud storage accounts (Dropbox & SendtoDropbox)

Sports and social media: Sophie, Mariah, Brendan, Joey, drew by gkulowiec

(This podcast was created, edited and published from an iPad with Garageband)

Take all of the above and throw it together into a device that doesn't need a manual and can be figured out by nearly any student in a matter of minutes and it clearly becomes a viable device for 1:1 schools.  While consumption may be the primary and initial function of the iPad, with a growing list of apps that allow for content creation that can be published to the web, the consumption argument falls short.

One User Devices:
In an ideal world, iPads in schools would not be shared between students. A number of problems arise when these devices are shared.  iMovie projects, GarageBand recordings, and papers written in Pages can be deleted by another student before they are finished. I can only speak to my experience, but I have yet to have students lose any work due to it being deleted by another user.   Education, trust and training on proper use of these shared devices is the key.   When I work with classes using the shared iPad cart, one of the first points I make is that these are shared devices and the way we use them responsibly is to not open, delete or share any work that isn't yours.

To expand on this point, shared iPads can introduce students to the concept of cloud storage. In working with a few classes I have seen how quickly students can adapt to the concept of working locally on an iPad while writing a paper in Pages, exporting the document to their cloud storage account ( we have used Dropbox & SendtoDropbox to export via email ), updating the document at home and then finally pulling the document down from the cloud to work locally again on any iPad from the cart.  Research can also become cloud based and collaborative.  In the movie trailer below (created on an iPad in @katrinakennett's English class conducting Paperless iPad Research Papers), students are conducting research and bookmarking their findings and notes to a collaborative Diigo group.  The process of group research, tagging and collaboration are all fostered because of the use of shared iPads.

 (this trailer was created on iMovie for the iPad...not to be taken too seriously...)

All in One:
Is everything easy to do on an iPad? Absolutely not. The device takes getting used to and all apps are not equal in terms of functionality and ease of use. However, watching students quickly switch between research, writing, social bookmarking, listening to podcasts, watching videos and then returning to their writing is impressive.   Yet writing isn't the only type of content that can be produced. Watching students work in small groups huddled around an iPad as they record and edit their radio show, or watching them take to the hallway during class to shoot scenes of their movie, or watching individual students create collage like images that are then pulled into a screen casting app where they can verbally explain and justify their creation allows one to quickly realize that all of this simply could not be done this intuitively on a computer.  The screencast below was created by one of my students in a Sports in American Society class.  She created a collage using Visualize and then exported the image to ExplainEverything to narrate, explain and justify her choices.




The iPad will not save education. The iPad is neither good or bad, it is and only ever will be an iPad. It doesn't deserve a pedestal and will never take the place of fulfilling classroom discussion and human interaction. Yet, there is a place for this device in our schools.

Paperless iPad Research: iMovie Trailer Fun

 

 

Senior Project Reflection

This was the first year that Plymouth South has had Senior Project as a semester long senior elective. There were 12 students and 12 teachers that were part of the pilot. We all learned a great deal through this process and I believe that every student that participated is better off for their experience.

At a recent faculty meeting a pair of students involved and a group of teachers were asked to speak about and answer questions about the process and our plan to expand to three sections of at least 60 students for next year. While I heard many positive, thoughtful and mindful comments about what the students learned, what skills they developed and how real this experience was, I just kept thinking the same thought.

Senior project was a success because I say hello every single day when was pass by in the hallway to 12 more students than I did if I wasn't involved. I take great pride in how many students I say hello to in the hallways every day. It is a small gesture, but one that matters, likely more than we can possibly imagine. I'll say hello to 12 unique seniors tomorrow, because of our involvement in senior project.

1:1...More Than Digital Paper

While my school is not yet, or even close to 1:1, I have had the good fortune of helping roll out an iPad cart in my classroom. Now that I am dipping my toes into a semi-1:1 classroom I have been paying close attention to the discussion around 1:1 classrooms and particularly 1:1 iPad classrooms. At the high school level, I have noticed that this discussion has revolved primarily around how 1:1 can create a paperless classroom.

While I am all for a paperless classroom and recently wrote a post about a paperless iPad research process, I think if we approach 1:1 with a narrow definition of being strictly "paperless" we are missing the boat. 1:1 means more than digital paper. It means our students have devices in their hands what is the equivalent of a word processor, recording studio, editing studio, movie camera, dark room, print shop & computer all in one. Of course, going 1:1 can allow for a paperless classroom and concerns such as workflow, management, feedback and submission of work are important conversations that need to take place. But isn't it possible and likely plausible that students in a 1:1 iPad classroom can and should be expected to submit work in multiple formats? iMovie to create, edit and publish video. GarageBand to create, edit & publish audio. Skitch, Vizualize and Photoshop Touch to create, edit and publish images. Pages to write and publish text.

With the rapid change in technologies available to our students, shouldn't we be rapidly changing not only what we expect, but what we allow our students to create as a demonstration of their learning and understanding with these devices? I wonder if in 100 years, people will look back at 2012 as a terribly misguided period in education whe the resources were ready, capable and available, yet the expectations were grounded in an antiquated mindset...