Can't Read that File on your iPad ? Bet you can with LeapDoc

How many times have you had the most brilliant idea for a lesson that will re-inforce an important learning outcome only to be thwarted by technology at the last minute. I think this has happened to all of us at one time or another, no matter how organised or prepared we think we are. This is a app that will make walking into a lesson or staff meeting a little easier. It is an app that converts files of any type into a PDF and then sends it directly to your iPad. 

LeapDoc allows you to take thousands of common file types, and quickly and easily converts them for viewing on your mobile device or iPad. Simply press print on your Mac or PC to automatically convert files to PDF and push them to your iPad.

LeapDoc makes it much easier to get files such as iWork and MS Office documents to your iDevice. It instantly pushes files from your computer to your device. No emailing, syncing, wires or Wifi required.

But it actually does more than just that. Now you can read anything, anywhere, any time. There are many types of files iPhones and iPads usually can't open, for example...

  • Text files
  • Project plans
  • Graphic design files
  • Desktop publishing docs
  • CAD
  • Databases
  • and thousands of other common file types
This often means you can not access important files on the go and therefore have to print to paper - this takes time, costs money and is hardly very green in this environment of the paperless office. It's a problem you'd rather not have when you're running for a class, or want to take important files into a staff meeting. LeapDoc solves this. Promoting itself as an alternative to printing, this app does make it very easy to carry a library of documents with you to meetings or class that you may otherwise have needed a hard copy to review and share.




LeapDoc even helps when you're not at your own computer. You can go to LeapDoc.com to push common file types to your device.

LeapDoc saves you the time and hassle of thinking about different file formats and makes sure your important files are always with you. It can help you vastly reduce the amount you print to paper at a fraction of the cost of a single printer cartridge.

Features include:

  • The ideal alternative to printing
  • Read offline; documents are stored on your device
  • Instant Push Alerts; no syncing, wires or Wifi needed
  • Push common file types from the desktop app to your device with drag and drop
  • Push common file types from the web to your device
  • No extra costs; the print app for your desktop is free
  • Open documents in other mobile apps with “Open In..."
  • E-mail documents from within the app 
This is a handy app for those documents or files that the iPad does not support but that you really want to use with your class. It makes sense to have access to all of your files when you are on the go, especially on those days when you run from one class to another then on to a meeting all before lunch.


What would make this an even better app is if it had the ability to write on the PDF documents once they were on your iPad. I hope the developers Deep Cognition might consider this as a possible future upgrade feature. It would make this the ultimate app for the classroom.








How to Design a Beautiful iPad Lesson:

This is a beautiful lesson designed and presented by Rob Miller on Scrib. What I really like about this series of activities is that it allows the students or in Rob's case his teachers to articulate their own learning.  It is never about a single app. It is the combination of apps that allow the learners to meet the learning outcomes. It is a great example of building a meaningful lesson around a concept and then providing the students with the tools to create content.

The other great thing about this lesson is the beautifully designed yet simple instructions built by Rob. These are a template for all the teachers that are looking for the - How do we present this to our students? These are both stylish and straight forward. There is no unnecessary information and like any good set of instruction not to much information on any single page.

I would like to thank Rob for sharing this resource. It is invaluable as we continue to explore the many ways that the iPads can be used in the classroom within basis of sound and practical pedagogy. You can follow Rob on Scrib here robkmil4801

This series of activities has got me thinking about a whole range of tasks that I now want to design and share with my own students. Imagine if we all designed a series of activities within this lesson format and shared them. We could have a huge bank of lessons in no time. Each lesson that we shared could be a springboard for another idea and then another. Think about it. Anyway Enjoy this great example!!!
IPAD_Lesson


Can we use iPads Apps to Research Projects?

Can we really research topics, ideas and issues on the iPad. Do we have apps that will allow us to do that properly. More and more companies have made education a priority in their development programs and therefore more quality apps have evolved around the idea of creative ways to collect, gather and research information quickly and efficiently. This is ideal for our students.

Here are a number of apps that allow students to complete research creatively and therefore create meaningful research papers using their iPads.

Wolfram Alpha: $1.99
Wolfram|Alpha - Get answers. Access expert knowledge. Wherever you are. Whenever you need it. Find out how much vitamin C is in a bowl of ice cream. Learn what European country has the fourth largest population of children. Compute solutions to difficult trig and calculus problems. Balance complex chemical equations. Discover what is overhead as you gaze up at the stars. Finally crack that crossword puzzle.
Articles: $2.99
This app presents Wikipedia articles perfectly optimized for reading on your iPhone or iPod touch. A single tap in the search bar lets you find the article you need and start reading. Too many articles to read right now? Just tap and hold on an article link and select “Read Later” to save it to your queue. Each article saved to your Read Later queue includes a short descriptive blurb to help you remember why you wanted to read it.
WikiNodes: $0.99
Wikipedia at your fingertips. Articles displayed as nodes that you can touch, drag, and spin around. Tap any node, and it expands to give you more information. Switch to a full-page view to display articles as pages, then scroll up and down. Nodes link together sections of Wikipedia articles and related topics, making Wikipedia come to life. Browse in a way that mimics how you look for things in the real world. Keep track with bookmarks and history. 
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wikinodes/id433834594?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4#



Paper Helper - Easiest Essay: $1.19
PaperHelper uniquely splits your iPad screen in half providing you with a Internet Browser and a Document writer. Seamlessly surf the web for information and transfer it to your document while you keep track of all your sources. This app lets you have the research and the paper open at the same time. For many students this is extremely important. Paper Helper also provides print facilities as well.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/paperhelpereasiestessay/id417344306?mt=8
Wordbook XL: $2.99
WordBook is a comprehensive, quick and intuitive dictionary and thesaurus of the English language. It's a great combination of comprehensive contents and fast intuitive interface. Features include 150,000 entries with more than 220,000 definitions, 70,000 usage samples. The app has 23,000 root word origins (etymologies) as well as 120,000 pronunciation guides in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and other notations and spoken pronunciations
Dictionary.com: FREE
The free Dictionary.com app for iPad delivers trusted reference content from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com. No internet connection needs to search words. The app includes nearly 2 million words, definitions, synonyms and antonyms. It also features audio pronunciation, voice-to-text search and Dictionary.com’s popular Word of the Day and Hot Word blog.

Things: $19.99
Things is a beautifully focused and amazingly intuitive task manager. Other todo applications either oversimplify or are too difficult to use. Things instead offers the perfect balance between ease of use and powerful features.Effortlessly manage to-dos, notes, due dates, and projects. A smart today list and the scheduling feature allow you to work as effectively as possible - every day. You can even sync wirelessly with the desktop version of Things (sold separately) using Wi-Fi.
DualBrowser: $1.99
You will be able to browse the web in two different windows at the same time, with the advantage of opening the links from one in the other. Option to make full screen each window and hide the navigation bar. Can save all the cookies, bookmarks and can store session cookies permanently. Full or selective options clear. Perfect for those times when you need more then one source open at a time.
iSource APA or iPsource MLA: both $1.99
Have to write a Bibliography? Let iSource do the work, you take the credit. Following the APA format, iSource takes care of everything you need to create, save, and share bibliography entries. Just enter the resource information iSource asks you for, the app does the rest. iSource uses a powerful and efficient Core Data database, easily remembering all of your bibliography entry data, including resource type and creation date.
iBooks: FREE
iBooks is an amazing way to download and read books. iBooks includes the iBookstore, where you can download the latest best-selling books or your favorite classics – day or night. Browse your library on a beautiful bookshelf, tap a book to open it, flip through pages with a swipe or a tap, and bookmark or add notes to your favorite.

iAnnotate: $9.99
Designed to suit your individual workflow. Customizable tools and toolbars allow you to pick and choose only the tools that you need, and display them where you want on screen. Whether you're taking notes on lecture slides in class or marking up an important business document, iAnnotate's customization options allow you to streamline your workflow
Synotes Slate: $2.99
Synotes Slate (iPad version) is the note taking and management application for the iPad that syncs with the iPhone, iPod touch and web. It effortlessly syncs your information across devices and into the cloud. Synotes comes with both a stylish web interface and user friendly iPad, iPhone & iPod touch application
Flipboard: FREE
Flipboard is a fast way to flip through the news, photos, videos, and updates. Locate the latest info from popular or academic publications. The app works by setting up feeds from websites or twitter # hashtags. These are feed back to the app and it presents this vast amount of information as a magazine. Easy for students to browse through and find relevant items. Customize with sections created for each of your different research topics.
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