Data are priceless

Our cost for a 3rd gen iPad with Retina Display in the 32GB configuration is about $638, with software and accessories. But the value is on the data. That price cannot be measured. So please remember to backup that data. iPads are, unfortunately, not indestructible. But an ounce of prevention, in the form of a regular backup regimen, can mean the difference between "I have all my notes, so this test will be easy!" and "Gee, I wish I could remember the stuff I was taught back in September..."

Here's a set of guidelines for managing your data in a mobile & connected world.

Multiple Personalities, In Order

Working in a school artificially causes you to lead a double life. I remember as a young student, thinking that my 1st grade teacher actually lived at the school, in our classroom. It had cots, a sink and snacks - what more could she need?

It turns out I was wrong about Mrs. Butterly. She had a nice home and family and likely had lots of hobbies. But this is just a simple example of how we have many versions of ourselves that we share with others. Next time you're talking with friends or family, notice how your voice, mannerisms and expressions change when you answer the phone from an unknown number. We all have many public selves.

Our online interactions are another example of our public online personalities. Whether you're a school teacher or a paralegal or a phlebotomist, chances are you have a work email and a personal email. Maybe you have multiple Twitter accounts too. Here's a tip I use to help keep my multiple personalities in order:

1) Use Google Chrome - It's fast. It's secure. It's free. And it creates a sandbox around your online personalities.

2) Click the Menu button and select Settings - figure 1.



3) Click Add User.

What will this do?

All of your bookmarks, passwords, logins and auto-complete information will now be separate between your personal and work profile. For example, if you have Gmail set to remember your login, it will automatically login to the correct account based on which profile is active. As you can see from the first image above, I have two browser windows open - one as my blue work profile, and one as my home profile, where I moonlight as a ninja.

Once you have both windows open, you can then open Bookmarks Manager in each window, and sort bookmarks between work life and personal life. If you have a SmartPhone, you can sign in with your personal or professional profile (your choice) to determine which facet of your personality you wish to carry in your pocket.

Clicking on the personality icon allows you to switch between the profiles as needed.

Stay tuned for a future post on how to manage your multiple personalities in Facebook.

No Input Needed

Our students began working on their ideal video game controller this week. We've spent the past 3 days looking at systems of the past (Tennis For Two, Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600, Nintendo NES), modern systems (Wii, XBox, PS3, 3DS) and future examples of interacting with computers and games (Google Glass, Corning, LeapMotion, Stinky, MyoBand)

This week we broke the class into 2 groups. They each chose a name for their company - Happy Zero, Inc. and Video Game Skyfallers. They came up with design drawings and properties that their controllers would have. Today they started building them out of modeling clay. Our goal is to decorate them next week and present to our classmates.

If you'd like to see some additional material and discuss it with your child, here's some content I didn't have time for in class:

Review of the worst controllers of all time. (very subjective!)

Pop Chart Labs - Evolution of Video Game Controllers (Poster)

Ask your kids about some of the vocabulary we've discussed:

• aesthetics


• universal design


• legacy/modern


• prototype


• control stick vs. directional pad


• analog vs. digital


• novelty controllers[gallery type="slideshow" ids="466,467,468,473,472,471,470,469"]

Guest Post: Olivia (Day 3)

Tommy has pacman and sponge Bob joysticks. We saw the Stinky that you put on your feet. We saw glasses you put a thing over your eye. We saw Leap that you can draw in the air. You can change the car with your tablet.[gallery type="circle" columns="2" ids="461,460,459,456"]

Guest Post: Phoenix (Day 2)

We are watching a video of controllers that were made along time ago  that don't work very well for example a video game glove someones arm is going to get tired and DonkeyKong bongos how many games are you going to play with that?

Now were talking about how you can make the character move

Now were listening to call me maybe and Carly is singing to a guy. We asked the phone what song was playing, and it answered.

[gallery ids="413,414,415,416,417,418,419"]

 

Guest Post: Tommy (Day 1)

Today we played a game were two people are race car and two other peolpe are controller there were two chairs one person move the chair  one race car could olny go left,right,forward and back the other can go in any degrees it was called the analog it was a lot easyer to use the the other one.

[gallery ids=",404,403,402,401,400,399"]

Handing Over The Controls

The next few posts will be written by blog guests from Mrs. Truong's 2nd grade class. These 6 students have proposed a research topic of exploration about how video game controllers work and why they look they way they do. We're going to explore the history of human-computer interaction, look at modern day input methods and look to the future of computer input. This is a student oriented project - the results will be determined by these students. I look forward to seeing their creation, hearing their questions and guiding them in their research.

It's not about losing control... it's teaching them to take control.

AC Students Reach New Heights With Lunar Program

Allendale Columbia School is pleased to announce its most ambitious program to date. For the 2013-2014 academic year, students will be able to travel to the moon. Through a series of interdisciplinary pursuits from both faculty and student contributors, space travel has gone from a thing of wonder to a thing of reality.

Mick Gee, AC's newly-minted Head of School, is very excited about this new prospect. "STEM Education is so 2012. This is STEM Application. My previous initiatives, including City as a Campus, were just the first footsteps. I'm calling this program, 'Universe as a Campus'".

The project owes its existence to Dr. Jeffrey Lawlis, the Science Department chair. His research, along with fellow faculty member Amy Rudich, formed the basis for the launch mechanism that will allow up to 4 students to reach the lunar surface. Their recently published work, "Phase-Changing, Plasma Induced Hyper-Acceleration for Extra-Orbital Travel" started as a napkin drawing. Says Dr. Lawlis, "It's really a souped-up catapult. With a bang."

The project has taken on a school-wide focus. Dining personnel are working to package some of the students' favorite meals inside of special pouches designed to withstand the 30 minute ride to the moon. They ruled out pureed forms of AC specials. Mrs. Laura Reynolds-Gorsuch commented, "The kids really enjoy the paninis, but there's no reason they can't look presentable  even in space."

The students have been eager to bring the Lunar program to fruition. Diane Broberg's 11th grade calculus class has been working feverishly to calculate the timing and trajectory for the initial voyage. One weary junior looked up from her pages of calculations and exclaimed, "This thing is travelling at almost 10,000 miles per hour. I mean, c'mon!"

Facilities Manager Terry Mulcahy and past Board Member Rick Garrett have begun talks with the Towns of Pittsford & Brighton about the joint development of a space launch facility. Officials are excited about the economic boost that space travel could bring to their quiet suburban bedroom communities. "We'll just have to make sure that no one shanks a long drive off the fairway from Oak Hill onto our launch pad," said Mulcahy.

Allendale Columbia Director of Development John Reese is looking forward to the first test flight at the end of this month. The annual fund-raiser is scheduled for
April 27th, and he's certain that this kind of program is exactly what school supporters want to see. "It will be a Spring Fling, all right. We'll fling it right up to the Moon!"

Indeed you will, Mr. Reese.

The Medium is the iMessage

iMessage is a different beast from the other messaging protocols on an iPad. It doesn't require any additional downloads, because it's part of the iOS operating system. It can't be deleted, for the same reason. And most importantly, all it takes is the activation of an AppleID to use it - which is required for most other operations on an iPad. Finally, the limited restrictions that Apple allows users to place on an iPad do not include iMessage usage.

What's a parent to do?

First, identify the problem. If you're concerned with social chat, ask yourself, "Why?". Is it that they're chatting late at night? Is it affecting their sleep? Do you know who they're chatting with? Are they distracted by incoming messages during other obligations (like homework)? Are they harassed by other students, or are they harassing other students?

Before breaking out the technical solution, there are social solutions to these problems. Most of them are common sense, that when you take the word "iPad" out of the sentence will become immediately apparent. For example, if a classmate calls my child at 11:30pm, I would deny the call, and then contact that child's parents and ask them not to call my house so late at night. The medium has changed, but let's not let our rules of civility fall apart.

Sometimes, a technical solution can augment a social solution. I will show you how to disable use of iMessage on the iPad/iPhone, but when a challenge is presented to an enterprising child, for every door we close they will knock down a wall. It's a boundary, and they will test it. And we can spend every waking moment trying to block every social media protocol on the web, only to find that the heads of Hydra keep growing back.

How to disable iMessage on an iPad

1. Launch Settings
2. Scroll down to iMessage
3. Tap on the Apple ID
4. Choose Log Out
5. Scroll up to General
6. Tap on Restrictions
7. Scroll down (on the right) to Accounts
8. Enable the restriction that prevents changing account information

The iMessage settings are now grayed out, and the iMessage app will not allow an AppleID to login, thus disabling it.

Tablet Dos and Don'ts

So you or someone you know just got a new tablet. What now? Here's some tips to survival.

• DO set up a separate Apple ID or Google account for each user. Apple devices are still single user, while Google's Android 4.2 has added multiuser support. Sharing IDs between users will lead to heartache and data loss. Nobody wants Dad's boring spreadsheets sync'd to junior's tablet.
• DO backup your device often. Apple iCloud is free for up to 5GB of data. There is no good excuse for not using it. On the Android side, consider Titanium Backup.
• DO take advantage of cloud services like Box, Dropbox, SkyDrive, iCloud or Bitcasa to create a seamless experience and file storage between devices.
• DO use Find My iPad, Google Latitude or similar location services so that when you inevitably misplace your new toy, the cloud can help you find it.
• DO use your device with your child. If they're more savvy with it than you are, that's OK. Let them teach you.
• DO respect others in your choice of words and timing when participating in social media and instant messaging. The Internet is forever, and there is no undo.
• DO setup a routine with a time and place to charge your device everyday. Tablets are no fun when they have dead batteries.
• DO document your passwords in a safe and secure place. You never know when that will come in handy.
• DO secure your device with a PIN, password or pattern-based security mechanism. It keeps casual browsers out of your apps and data, and is a great theft deterrent.

 

• DON'T attach a payment form to the user account for children. Instead, consider fixed-amount gift cards, Apple's allowance program, or "gifting" apps.
• DON'T leave home without a sturdy case that gives good corner protection.
• DON'T purchase keyboard-style cases. They are usually more keyboard than case and will break both when they're dropped. 
• DON'T respond to the beeps and chirps of your device during off-hours. Set a time of day when you unplug. iDevices support a "do not disturb" timer.

 

And please, don't drop it. Tablets are tragically allergic to gravity.