WPP Final

Wicked Problem Project: Final

How To Use Apple Configurator

The Problem:
Having to deploy over 500 iPads was not only a big challenge for me as a new Technology Coordinator within my school, but it was also a bit overwhelming. The purpose of these iPads are to assist students with special needs with communication, comprehension, creativity and much more. I was very excited to begin but ran into a problem along the way. A major concern amongst my colleagues and I was how would we manage all these iPads in an efficient way? After a meeting with Apple, we learned about an application called Apple Configurator. This applications allowed you to successfully manage multiple iOS devices all at once. Since an iPad was designed to be used as a personal device, it only works best when not completely managed. We decided to give teachers a little bit more of control and train a handful of them on how to use this application. These teachers would then be considered "iPad Managers" and would responsible updating, synchronizing and charging all iPads on a daily basis.

The Solution:

The solution to my problem was the training that I conducted which entailed a 30 minute video tutorial, hands-on practice and a PDF guide of how to use Apple Configurator. These tools were very effective because they allowed multiple opportunities for learning and understanding. The video showed a clear demonstration on how to use the application and its multiple features. This way, teachers would apply what they learn during the hands-on practice. A video tutorial also allowed me to pause and take time to clarify questions and concerns some people had. The video is also on the schools website where it is easily accessible and can be reviewed by teachers at their own convenience. The PDF file can be used as a guide during hands-on practice or to assist teachers anytime after the training.

How does technology represent pedagogy?:My choice of technology for this assignment was to create a video tutorial through Camtasia. This connected with the pedagogy because it will give the teachers a visual on exactly how to work the configurator. They will know what to expect before having to perform hands-on practice and this will follow the stages of observational learning. Most of these teachers do not have Mac knowledge so by viewing a video, they will be able to watch and imitate what they observe.

How does technology represent content?:The video tutorial effectively represents the content being taught because it is helpful in demonstrating exactly what is expected. It also leaves time for teachers to take notes, ask questions and embrace what is being taught. This also gave me a chance to pause and address certain misconceptions that arose. The teachers can use this tool to practice from. It is broken down into different sections of features of the Apple Configurator and this will help to better facilitate learning.


How does pedagogy represent content?:

Observational learning is demonstrated when learning how to use Apple Configurator. The teachers will be using my video tutorial and step-by-step guide in order to properly deploy iPads for their students and classrooms. I think by providing the teachers with both a document and a video tutorial, it will accommodate different learning styles and paces.

Results:

Teachers are currently successfully deploying 90 of the 500 iPads on a daily basis within my school district. I will be conducting my next training fairly soon and will take what I have learned from feedback to adjust my teaching methods for a more successful tutorial.

  

WPP: Part D - Findings & Implications

If there is anything I learned in my first four years of studying Education it's that nothing goes as planned when you're a teacher. Although the project got implemented as planned, there were a few things that I wish were different. I had to delay my training session due to the fact that we had a purchasing issue with Apple. Also, I was only able to train six people since not all of our schools have finished wiring for a wireless network yet. In a way, this was okay because I am able to take what I learned from this training and apply it to my next one. 

After watching the video tutorial and performing hands-on practice with Apple Configurator, I had my trainee's complete a survey. The survey was not a "test" however, I add questions to it that they needed to answer reflecting information from the training. Almost everyone got everything correct, I was really happy because this means that they really focused and understood what was going on. The iPad Managers are also now checking in and checking out iPads on daily basis and have yet to have a problem. So I am assuming things are going quite well!

As I was looking over feedback from my surveys, I noticed that a lot of people mentioned that they wish I had moved a bit slower. Since this was my first time conducting a training like this, I was unaware of my pacing. I also sometimes forgot how little computer knowledge some of these teachers had. I need to remind myself that just because I know it and think it's easy, doesn't mean it's easy for someone else. I really need to "dumb" things down a bit more for the next training and move a little slower.


A lesson that I learned during this project is always prepare a day before! During my training, I realized I did not have the appropriate adapter to hook my computer up to the SmartBoard to share my video tutorial with everyone. Since I had a Mac, I had to use DropBox to move my tutorial to a Windows machine. For some reason, DropBox was taking forever to upload and download my video. This was probably because it is a very big file. It ended up cutting time into my training session and it was a little embarrassing. I will now prepare in advanced for next time.


The next time I conduct this training, I don't intend to change much. I thought it went really well and everyone I trained got a lot out of it. The video was a great way to demonstrate the use of Apple Configurator to multiple people at a time while giving them a visual of what they will need to be doing for thir hands-on practice. I will still keep giving them PDF guides because most of them still continue to refer to that when they need to add applications and update softare. However, next time I do plan to move at a slower pace, take into consideration more that a lot of these people don't even use computers on a daily basis. I will also explain more about the structure of the training and the intended goals of the training this way faculty will know what to expect. I think it'd be more helpful if i had an additional member from my department to help me perform the hands-on practice this way I can spend more time with each person. I also had requests for pens at the next training, this goes back to being prepared. I will try to be more prepared when initiating my next training.

Below, you can see some pictures of my survey results from this training.

Professional Learning Plan

Here is my professional learning plan. Hope you enjoy!

Group Leadership Project - Final

My group is Group 4 which included Tracy, Suzanne, Charlene and myself. I honestly could not have asked for a better group. These ladies were always so easy to reach out to and were always open to  collaborating. What we present to you, is a video tutorial on how to use Google Hang Out. We used many different video productions and editing tools such as Camtasia, iMovie and Screenomatic. I know we had talked about using Jing in the beginning but it just did not offer us the time and effects that we wanted to use within our tutorials. After creating our three tutorials, we then easily posted them to YouTube. In the first tutorial, Suzanne used Screenomatic to create it and used iMovie to edit and upload it to YouTube. iMovie provided great ways to edit and input transitions while also allowing easy access to export anything to YouTube. Tutorial 2 & 3 were created in Camtasia by Charlene. Suzanne was supposed to edit it but we ran into compatibility issues so Charlene ended up taking on some editing. Luckily, group work was divided up very well so we did not worry about this too much. Camtasia is just a great way to capture anything on your screen. This was exceptionally useful when recording how to create a google account and using google hang out. You can view Tutorial 1, which talks about what Google Hang Out is and the benefits that come with Google+. You can also watch Tutorial 2, where we discuss how to create a Google Account and Tutorial 3, where you can learn how to create a Hang Out and upload it to Youtube.

I learned a lot through the final production of this project. Google Hang Out was something that I always knew about but never was familiar with. Now I can honestly say that I am extremely comfortable with Google Hang Out and would love to encourage teachers to use it within their classrooms. It's such a great tool and has so many resources that could be very effective to both teachers and students. I have also been slowly becoming a fan of Google+. I am a who Apple/Mac advocate so I try to stick to what I favor but Google has made many things so easy and so "education-friendly." I have been enjoying every second I get to explore what they have to offer. In addition to this, I also learned a lot about group work. Due to hurricane Sandy, I was unable to access a computer for five days. It has been true chaos here on Long Island and I am just so grateful that I have a group that is so understanding. I am also grateful that we broke up our work like we did because when it came time to meet our deadlines, even though I do not have power, I didn't need to worry much because I had already contributed my part. We collaborated and emailed each other all the time to keep posted and this taught me how important communication is within distant-learning. I really enjoyed working with these girls and I think we made the perfect group.

If I could do something differently within our group it honestly probably would've been prevent hurricane Sandy. It just ruined my opportunity to see the final production before we submitted it and I was bummed that I didn't get to give much input. Although I contributed my part, I still wanted to be there to give my opinion on some things. I also wish I was able to help Suzanne more because I have a Mac and this could've prevented the compatibility issue. However, hurricane Sandy really ruined this for us. I think it would have also been more helpful if we really spent more time on discussing what recording and editing tools we wanted to use than experimenting with different ones. Regardless, I think we created a great tutorial and I think it is going to be useful to many people. I am very lucky to have worked with such a wonderful group! :)

WPP - Part C: Implementation

Implementation has been the best part of this project so far. I was really excited to conduct my training to see how it would go. To hear more about my implementation, listen to my podcast. Since only one school has been ready due to WiFi installations, I was only able to conduct my training for six people. However, since I am going to be holding a lot more of these in the future, this was definitely a good first time experience. Just to refresh, my wicked problem is training teachers, directors and other faculty how to use an application called Apple Configurator. In order to effectively do this, I decided to create a video tutorial and a PDF guide that they can refer too. Below, you can see some pictures taken from the PDF and the video tutorial that I created.

Cover of PDF Guide

Video Tutorial

Configuring Profiles & Groups within PDF Guide

Mobile Learning

Unfortunately, I do not have my own classroom yet so I was unable to try any new tools. However, as an Educational Systems Coordinator, I am incorporating iPads into my curriculum and am really excited to see how those turn out. In the schools I work in, I would say we are more tech savvy then some other schools. We have Smart Boards, Smart Tables, computers in every classroom and now iPads. However, if I had my own classroom, I would be interested in seeing different ways that I could use cellphones. WhenI was in school, cellphones were known as a distraction, a toy and something that always got confiscated. I want to use it as a tool, a resource and something that students could benefit from. I think if we used the tools that they're interested in, it would help motivate them to learn.

I believe that mobile technology can be great for all sorts of things. Devices like cellphones would be great for taking polls, commenting on topics through social media and collaborating. Other mobile technologies such as iPads and tablets give students and opportunity to learn in different ways through applications and software that can accommodate any type of student learning style. In my classroom, I would really like to use cellphones during an activity where students could text each other a conversation in Spanish. I think it would be cool to learn the short-cuts of Spanish text messages as we have them in the U.S. I think this would give students an insight of how people in Spain their age communicate. I also mentioned this in a blog on Classroom 2.0, you can read my response below:

Blog Response:

I would definitely love to use cellphones in my classroom some day. I think they would be an awesome asset to a foreign language classroom. Like we have abbreviations in English while texting, I think it would be cool to have students text each other using abbreviations in the Spanish language. Then they could share their conversations with the class and have other students make out what they are trying to say. I think this would be a cute and fun classroom activity. Not only would it permit students to practice the language but they would learn a little more about the culture by understanding the words and abbreviations that they use. Has anyone else used a cellphone in a foreign language classroom? I would love hear the feedback!



Some challenges that I can see occurring when integrating mobile technology into the classroom is financial issues. Mobile technology is not necessarily cheap and may not be accessible to all students. Another issue is actually integrating these devices appropriately. I think it would be important for me to plan these lessons ahead of time to see how well they would actually work. Some times teachers don't use technology effectively and that is because they don't know how to properly use the technology. This is something I hope not to run into.

Below is the poll of questions I would've gave to my students if I had my own classroom regarding technology.

Part B - Storyboard & Script

Below is a link to both our Storyboard and Script on our Google Hangout tutorial. Tracy and I worked together to create both the storyboard and the script of this project. Although Tracy and I worked on this portion of the project, we gave Charlene and Suzanne access to both documents so that we could get their input of some area of question and on the final product. Since Tracy and I created the storyboard and script, Charlene and Suzanne will record and edit the tutorial. In the brainstorming part of this assignment, we had trouble deciding how to distribute the work amongst all of us but we thought this would be best. I believe Tracy and I also may do a live recording as well demonstrating how to start a live Hangout. Overall, our group work is going really well. We communicate daily and create our own hangouts when needed to spend more time on the details of this project. We're eager to see how our final product turns out. We are all learning a lot about Google Hangout and are excited to be learning new things.


Click here to access our storyboard!

Click here to access our script!

MACUL Space Post

Above is a picture of the tip that I posed to MACUL Space. Currently in my school we are in the process of deploying iPads for children and are incorporating applications such as Proloquo2go, into the curriculum. However, my experience with Proloquo2go comes from personal encounters. A family friend of mine has a son who is autistic. He gets speech therapy everyday for an hour. This is an application that the Speech Therapist uses that truly works wonders for him. When the therapist is not there, he uses his parents iPad to communicate when he is having a tantrum/outbreak or just has a hard time communicating. It has gave him a voice when he is deprived of one and also has allowed him to practice his speech. I highly recommend it.

WPP - Part B - TPACK

For my WPP, I will be using Camtasia in order to demonstrate how to use the Apple Configurator Application.  I feel that a Camtasia video makes a great connection between technology and pedagogy because it will give the teachers a clear visual on exactly how to work the configurator. I will also be providing the teachers with a step-by-step document that will have everything written out, however, I think it is best to see exactly what to do and click in a video when learning how to use a new program. I also think this will be more beneficial because almost 95% of the teachers do not have any Mac knowledge at all. Even though I plan to include images in my step-by-step document, there will be Apple terminology that they may not know unless they view the video.

By using a video tutorial in order to explain the content to teachers, it is very helpful in demonstrating exactly what to do. When dealing with things such as computer software and applications, for most learners, dictation wouldn't be helpful. Other learners would probably enjoy taking notes however, for something like learning a whole new operating system, I think a video is the best way to go. Teachers may have questions when just being dictated what to do but with a video, I may be able to answer any questions they have.This video will be available to the teachers on my web site and the school's website for easy access at any time needed. I think this is also a great tool because the teachers can use this video to practice from. They can watch it on one computer and follow on another. Not only does it provide you with a visual demonstration but it also gives you the opportunity to use as a guide hands-on. The video will be broken down into different sections of each feature of the Apple Configurator in order to best facilitate the information. This will make learning much easier by moving along from topic to topic instead of just doing everything at once.


My pegagogy in this WPP is to address the use of Apple Configurator and how to use it in order to deploy iPads. The teachers will be using my video tutorial and step-by-step guide in order to properly deploy iPads for their students and classrooms. I think by providing the teachers with both a document and a video tutorial, it will accommodate different learning styles and paces. While a few percentage already have Mac knowledge, may be they will spend less time with a video and more time looking at the document. Based on a pre-survery that not many teachers actually took, the majority seems to have  computer in their household but they do not do much with it. I think by giving them a training on the Apple Configurator Application, it may help to increase their 'fear' of technology. I also plan on having a survey after veiwing the video and document not only for my personal feedback on my tutorials but to see how much they have learned by asking them questions about the application. I also believe that the best part of me implementing this to them is their feedback will be how well they will be able to manage the iPads. It plays out into a real world situation which is kind of cool for me because I am so used to incorporating education into real world situations, where this time it is actually backwards. I am really excited to see how things play out.

Group Leadership Project: Part A - Brainstorming

My group used Google Hangout in order to discuss our brainstorming. I felt that there were many advantages to using this web-conferencing tool. First off, it was the most convenient because we all have Google Accounts. None of had an Adobe Connect accounts and we've alrady used this before so we wanted to experience something new. This also made it easier for all of us to access a site which we were familiar with. While we were not all that familiar with Google Hangout, we easily found how to maneuver our way around the conferencing tool. It had convenient tools such as screen share and YouTube at point blank access.This would be easy for us to bring up what we have discussed in our Google Docs and share it on screen. This would make it easier to work on this project because we can raise questions and concerns of our project while all looking at the rubric or the document that we have been working on. During this Google Hangout, we discussed LiveBinders and how we wanted to use this technology for our tutorial however, we later decided to use Google Hangout.

Some disadvantages that I personally experienced was I wasn't able to access the Google Hangout right away. I am not sure if I just wasn't on the computer at the right time but I had no 'pop-up window' that came up inviting me to 'hangout.' I eventually chatted someone in my group within a Google Doc we have and she sent me the link. I got in no problem, I just don't know why the invite never went through for me. Another disadvantage I experienced personally was bad connection. This really has nothing to do with the disadvantages of Google Hangout but just make sure when you use it you have a strong signal. I got kicked out a few times and it was a little frustrating. Another issue we ran into was when uploading the conference onto YouTube, the settings were private and we couldn't access it. We ended up changing the settings and made it viewable to others.

Other than these minor bumps in the road, the conference worked out well! We liked it so much we decided to change our minds and use Google Hangout as our technology of choice for this tutorial. We will be using Camtasia to record the tutorial for Google Hangout and edit it in iMovie. The way we decided to break down the work was to separate it by storyboard and recording. We decided to do this because we all have different strengths that we can contribute to the project and thought this would be best. Tracy and I will work on creating a script and storyboard, while Charlene and Suzanne will record the tutorial and edit the video. Tracy and I will also do our own recording regarding some features of Google Hangout. We have been collaborating in a Google Document to work on the Storyboard and Presentation. Tracy and I plan to complete the StoaryBoard this week and will have Charlene and Suzanne begin the audio part of the project. Tracy and I will also be working on our recording of Google Hangouts and then send it to Suzanne to add in during the editting process. We have also met twice within Google Hangout to discuss progress and concerns of our project. Google Hangout has already been such a convenient tool for us.

 Click here for the link to the conferencing video!

Web-Conferencing

When brainstorming for our project, my group and I decided to use Google Hangout. We all had very little experience with Google Hangout but heard that it was one of the most convenient to use, especially since we had all been communicating through Google Docs anyway. When using Google Hangout, I was first confused on how to enter a 'Hangout' until one of the members in my group sent me the link. However, once I got into I found it fairly easy to use. I liked how whomever is speaking in the Hangout is in the center of the screen. This makes it easier to understand what is going on. We also experimented with sharing screens and trying to share YouTube videos. I don't think we actually got the YouTube feature to work but I'm sure we will try that next time. I think next time I would also make sure that my internet connection is strong. Unfortunately I was in an area where my internet connection wasn't that great so I kept getting kicked out of the session and was freezing. This was frsutrating to me and I'm sure to my group members but once it stopped it was very easy to work together. We easily uploaded our Hangout to YouTube and adjusted the settings to it is private.

I think there are many ways I could use this in a classroom. For one, this is great way to track progression and work being done within groups(as we are doing now). This would be a great tool to use in a foreign language classroom because you can record students using the target language with each other. However, I think that this tool works best for what we are using it for, distant learning and online learning. We are all located in different areas of the country and can easily collaborate as if we were all sharing one computer(especially with the share screen feature).

Below is a screenshot that I stole from my group member Suzanne, we didn't get a screen shot of what Google Hangout really looked like but you will be able to see what it looks like in the YouTube video image below.

WPP - Part A - Description of Need or Opportunity

Within my schools I will be deploying over 500 iPads in just a few weeks. The purpose of these iPads is to assist students with special needs with communication, comprehension, creativity and much more. Upon receiving these iPads, a major question struck our concern: How will we manage all these iPads in the most efficient way? After meeting with Apple through a Web Ex(virtual meeting), we were recommended to use a new tool called Apple Configurator. Apple Configurator is a free application that allows you to easily deploy new iOS devices in large quantities by quickly preparing, supervising select devices and assigning them to users. Unfortunately, an iPad is a personal device and does not work up to its full capacity when managed by anyone else other than the user. With that being said, as the Technology Coordinator of my schools, it is my job to educate teachers on the use of Apple Configurator. The teachers will be the ones who will be responsible for updating, synchronizing and charging their iPads on a daily basis.

Since most of these teachers are not tech savvy, I will be creating a Camtasia video that will contain the necessary steps they will need to take in order to successfully deploy these iPads on a daily basis. I will also be creating a PDF file with step-by-step instructions on using Apple Configurator that will be uploaded onto either my website or the company's website for teachers to access. I will have the teachers complete a survey after in order to find out how effective my tutorials are. I believe that these two tools will be very effective on teaching the teachers how to use Apple Configurator because they are presented in two different forms. The teachers can watch my tutorial video and follow along for a clear visual on how to use the application. However, they can also print out the PDF of instructions to have something tangible to guide them on daily basis if need be.

I plan to implement this tool within the next two weeks. Unfortunately, there are still loose ends that need to be tyed up on Apples end so we are still waiting on them before moving forward with our iPad project. However, this will not hinder my process because I plan to educate the teachers within my school no matter what, it is still just a matter of when. I do not have a specific time at the moment but I am hoping within the next 2 weeks. I have setup most of the iPads in their charging carts and they are pretty much ready to go. The tutorial video and PDF instruction sheet will first be sent out to all teachers by email. There will only be about four teachers at each school(roughing 20 teachers total) that will be managing the iPads but I am encouraging all teachers to get familiar with the technology(that is a total of 200 teachers total). I think both these tools are great because there isn’t a “time limit” as to how long they will use them for. Teachers can use the tutorial and PDF until they feel comfortable or they can refer back to it when needed. By giving them access to both the tutorial and the PDF on a website, they can easily access it when needed and educate others on how to use Apple Configurator. I plan to incorporate this tool within the next two-three weeks, however, for the future, I will encourage all new teachers to watch the video and refer to the PDF in order to understand the importance of Apple Configurator and how our schools will be using its many different features to accommodate our curriculum needs.

I have done my fair share of research on the Apple Configurator application. I found many helpful resources such as a document on Apple Configurator instructions and a video on special features. This was very helpful because we will only be using select features in order to properly manage and supervise our devices with set restrictions. Since I have been experimenting with the application for a few months now, I am very comfortable with certain utilities that this application has to offer. I will know that my project has been successful with a survey that I will have teachers fill out through Google Form. I think it is important to have their feedback on their understanding of Apple Configurator and how effective they think my tutorial and PDF document are. I will also know if my project was effective based on the efficiency of iPad deployment within all the schools.

A Funny Thing That Happened With Technology...

Hey guys! Below you can view my video I made that talks about a funny thing that I constantly encounter when sending a text message...it's actually really embarrassing but I made it funny. This video is a combination of me talking, images and an animated pieces from xtranormal.com.

Please note that I was having issues with publishing the videos I made from xtranormal.com, so what I ended up doing what using Camtasia Studio to record my preview of my videos I made. This is why the xtranormal videos are not completely clear so I apologize for that.

Please view my video in full screen mode so that you are able to read some of the images in it. I hope you enjoy it!

My Favorite Technology Device

Hello everyone! Please enjoy me explaining my love for the cellphone by clicking here.  I thought that picking out my favorite technology device was very difficult at first but then I came to realize that there is only one device that I find I use more than any other. Since I am constantly on my cellphone, I cannot picture myself without. I also have an iPhone so I find myself on it more often than my computer since there is an application for everything. When creating this audio file, I felt that I was being very cliche because it is probably most people's favorite device. It is crazy how much we depend on our cellphones though, so I do find it is an important device to have. Feel free to follow along with the transcript provided.




Transcript of Audio:

Hello? Oh hi everyone! My name is Ariel Myers and my favorite piece of technology is the cellphone. I know this may sound a bit cliche and overdone but it is the one device I own that I rely on the most. To be more specific, my iPhone is something that I could not picture myself without. This device is my favorite because it is basically an all-in-one device. It works as a phone but also has the ability to access the Internet, display TV channels, function like a computer and much more. From communicating with friends and family to ordering a Chipotle Burrito, my iPhone is hands down my favorite technology device. I use this device almost every second of everyday. I start my morning off everyday by picking out my outfit through an application that works as a virtual closet. I then use a traffic and weather application to see what my morning commute to work will look like. When I get to work, I use my calendar on my phone to see any set meetings or appointments I may have. I go on the rest of the day using my phone to email, text, call, pin, tweet or upload pictures to instagram. While there are other applications I use such as a calorie counter, a mileage tracker, a movie ticket application and more, the thing that amazes me most about this device is I could be anywhere in the world and capture a moment that I can share with anyone. It blows me away how this device has the ability to create a connection with other people by showing them what I see, hear and feel at an exact moment. Sometimes I feel that I take this device for granted, I am sure most of us do but it is definitely my favorite device and it is the one I wish I had if I stuck on a deserted island. I believe that if these devices weren’t portrayed as ‘toys’ or a distraction to some districts in the education world, I think they could definitely be used to promote student success and I hope we get to see that one day.

Ariel Myers - Passion for Technology and Assistive Technologies

Hello everyone, my name is Ariel Myers and I am so excited for you to get to know me! Click here to view my Voki and learn more about me.

Feel free to follow the transcript below while viewing the Voki:

Hello everyone, my name is Ariel Myers and I am from Long Island, New York. I recently graduated from Duquesne University this past May with a B.S. in Spanish Education. While I am still taking my tests to get certified in New York, I work full-time as an Technology Coordinator for Brookville Center for Children's Services(BCCS). BCCS is a growing school for children and adults whom are autistic and/or have learning disabilities. In a perfect world, I would enjoy teaching secondary Spanish or working in a Public School District in as an Educational Technologist. My educational passion that I pursue everyday is educating. I love encouraging and teaching others about the benefits they can gain with technology. With that being said, I truly enjoy learning about assistive technologies. I work around children and adults everyday who are not as fortunate as I am. Both these children and adults have created miracles by using all sorts of devices to express themselves when some people thought they did not even have a voice. This has been a huge eye-opener for me not only as an educator but as a person as well. I hope to gain more knowledge about assistive technologies through this course.