Finding iPad Workarounds, Eric Currie, Librarian, Hitch Elementary School

I’d like to focus this post on how I’ve solved some of the problems I’ve come across with using the iPads in an attempt to transform how I teach and the mindset that I needed to have in order to come to those solutions.  Many of the problems I’ve come across with the iPad has been related to lack of desired functionality in certain apps.  Only being able to access Camera Roll Pictures in iMovie, not being able to create a presentation in Google Drive, limited outputs for products.  I’ve found workarounds for some of my issues by being knowledgeable about the system and being flexible.

Being knowledgeable about the system doesn’t mean you have to know the ins and outs of every app, or be able a guru with the device.  I think it’s helpful to have a general understanding of how an app or service works.  I wanted to be able to give a student an iPad, and have them work on a presentation.  I know that Google Drive does not offer Presentation in mobile/iOS.  I do have Keynote on the iPad, but everyone knows that Apple files tend to not work well with others.  In looking at my sharing options, I was able to find out that I could convert my Keynote Presentation into a Powerpoint.  Because I have a good understanding of Google Apps, I know that Google Drive can convert a Powerpoint into a Google Presentation file.  Now my student can work somewhat seamlessly between a laptop and an iPad.

Being flexible helps in finding iPad solutions because you may have to think outside your app to find a solution.  In my Astronomy Unit, students were creating an iMovie project about a planet.  I have a limited number of iPads, and I wanted to make sure every student was working toward a goal.  One student became the “director” while the other students sought out pictures and additional information.  The non-director students utilized Chromebooks.  My problem was that I wanted to make their work available to the director.  Our solution was to create a shared folder on the drive which all students had access.  Students who were finding pictures, uploaded them to the drive folder.  The director then logged into Google Drive on the iPad, then accessed the photo.  The director then saved the picture to the Camera Roll so that iMovie could access it.  A variation of this solution also worked for accessing the movies to present.  Once students uploaded their movie to Google Drive, we could download it elsewhere for the presentation.  

Overall, I’d like to think that the iPads have changed the way I teach.  I feel that though I’m guiding students we help each other out in finding solutions.  I was unaware that our Third Grade had their own gmail account that they knew the login for.  Working with the students, we were able to get everyone using the class email to upload pictures and download them onto the iPad.  

See the "iMovie Work-Around" presentation | See the "Presentation Work-Around" presentation