Get Windows version for Free (limited time offer)How cool is that? If you've used Book Creator on an iPad, you'll probably find that Book Creator for Windows to be worth getting! It's free for a limited time:We are proud to introduce Book Creator for Windows, released on the Windows Store on 23 June. What’s more, we’re giving it away for free (limited period only!).The lowdownSame simple interface with a 'Windows-esque' designRead books made on iPad / Android, and vice versaBack up books to OneDrive and moreFree on the Windows Store now!With Book Creator for Windows you can:Create books on a Windows tablet, laptop or desktop with an easy-to-use interfaceEdit text and apply rich formatting with more than 40 fonts to choose fromAdd photos and video or record audioUtilise the drawing tool for illustrations and annotationsRead books with the in-app readerDraft books in the ePub format to publish work on Apple’s iBooks Store or the Google Play StoreSend books by email or upload to OneDrive for quick and easy sharing Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Be sure to check out the web site...and follow @art_cathyhunt on Twitter!Find resources onlineEverything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

This session on iPhone Apps: Building Apps without coding facilitated by Lynn Rosier, Paula McKinney, and Alison Soelter (not present) was shared at iPadpalooza 15 in Austin, Tx.Listen to Audio (only lecture part, not hands-on component)Get copy of print handoutMyNotesYou need a Mac to develop xcode programs, but there are also web based versions of programming.You can become an apple developer for free and put tools on your own device. This opens the door for high school and middle school students. That's a game-changer for kids.One of the things I like about Android, they can develop and share with the world for free.You can write your own apps, put it on your phone and show it to your friends.What will I need?You will need a Mac computer with Xcode installed, a development environment from Apple that is used to create apps and Mac programs from http://developer.apple.com/devcenter/iosan 8gig (at least) MacSSD driveDesigning different screens and how we move from screen to another another...a storyboard. Instead of page to page in a book, we'll go from one screen/view to another.We see Graphical User Interface (GUI) interfaces on all the apps that we run.The storyboard allows us to design view controllers, dropping GUI objects on top.The navigator runs down the left-hand side of the screen.Presenter did a walkthrough of Xcode.Apple has 100 reasons to fail your app submissionDon't pull pictures off the web to include in your app.Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

What fun to listen to Guy Kawasaki, whose books I've read. Guy's keynote at iPadpalooza 2015 was titled, The Lessons of Steve Jobs. I couldn't help but laugh at some of the jokes Guy shared..."How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a lightbulb?""None, Bill Gates has declared darkness the new standard."(For Apple engineers it was one--so they can wait for the universe to revolve around them.)Listen to Audiosource: Brant Farris via TwitterMyNotesIn regards to his presentation style: You may want to read up on Guy's approach to presentations.If you suck and you're short, it's OK. If you're great and go long, it's OK. But if you suck and you're long, that's not OK.Get copy of his slides here.10 Lessons from Steve Jobs are as follows:Innovators require naysayers. The naysayers are experts, happy to tell you what's wrong and there are usually two kinds of naysayers, both of which are losers:Regular loserWinner "bozo"...these are the ones dressed in black, rich, own things that end in "i" like Ferrari, Armani, etc. Rich, famous powerful does not translate into smart, just lucky.Customers can't tell you what you should do. They can tell you how to revise, but not what to create.Innovations happens on the curve. Most companies start on the curve and die on the curve. Most companies define themselves on what they currently do...instead, define yourself on the benefits you seek to provide.Design counts.Big challenges beget big changes. Referenced BHAG. Consider the goals of these companies:Apple's goal is to democratize computers.Google's goal is to make information accessible.Photo Credit: Kevin MillerCanva's goal (whom Guy is affiliated with) is design.Less is more.Changing your mind is a sign of intelligence and strength. One example of Steve Job's changing his mind is that he reversed himself about iPhone apps; they began as a closed environment for security purposes but then a year later, opened wide up for development...Steve changed his mind, and the experts told him this was great BOTH times (highlighting the fact that experts don't know what they are talking about). Great leaders are not afraid of changing their mind.Value does not equal price. Convince people of the value of your product."A" Players hire A or A+ players. Simply, they hire better than they are. B players hire people who aren't as good as them. Eventually, you end up with a "Z" player (which makes one think of zeroes).Marketing equals unique value.Bonus: Some things need to be believed to be seen. WHen people believe in things, they create...they make it real. If you want to change the world, believe it to see it. When someone tells you "Thank you," instead of replying, "You're welcome" say, "I know you would the same for me" then be specific about what they could do for you.Guy Kawasaki's pick of most influential book: : If You Want To Write by Brenda Ueland ow.ly/2btGig Influence by Robert Cialdini ow.ly/2btGohLesson #10 includes a chart...Photo Credit: Michael Hornback II via twitterEverything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Wow, it's hard to believe it's already time to "wrap-up" iPadpalooza 15! The last time I was here was in 2013, and I was amazed at the sheer talent of the Twittersphere that showed up, as well as the mass of educators--including 43 from my own school district--to worship in iPadlooza Kingdom Hall at the feet of the Grandmaster, Carl Hooker! It was an awesome show, and it's not over yet. One day remains.View Miguel's photo albumThere's no doubt that iPadpalooza easily rivals any other state conference in Texas, including TCEA...not necessarily in numbers, or crowd-size, but in innovation. While I was impressed to see TxCTO Clinic 2015 last week modeling some impressive "conference strategies," it's clear that everyone has a lot to learn from how iPadpalooza has been organized.Check out "Obvious to you. Amazing to Others." by Derek Sivers...every blogger has this experience:From 15 minute quick presentations, video wrap-ups at the end of each day that are played at the start of the next, the use of EventBrite (although I liked Sched.org more) to garner tickets, and EventMobi, there are many innovations. For example, the MiniKeynote on Day 2 was inspired, a way to cram awesome speakers and thinkers into their respective 3 minute slots.Announcement: Join #etdrive, a Texas wide conversation focused on 3 strands using "push to learn" technology, VoxerChats. Follow these two steps to begin your learning journey now.Here is a round-up of my blog posts featuring sessions at iPadpalooza15. My thanks go out to the organizers, the people who presented, and my school district for supporting so many educators:Day 1Keynote for Day 1 - Adam BellowMinecraftMan vs MachineSet the StageDay 2Starting Keynote for Day 2 - MiniKeynotesEnding keynote for Day 2 - Guy KawasakiiPhone App: Building Apps without Coding using XcodeiPad Stop-MotioniPads and 3D PrintingAppSmashing eBooks with Book CreatorDay 37 Ideas for iPadpalooza AttendeesApp-mazing Math through Visible Thinking with @zigzagstechAre you a 21st Century Leader?We'll have to wait for Day 3, but I will add those in...By the way, since I must tweak the nose of my esteemed friends at Apple, all audio recordings and notes, blog posts were made using a Chromebook and Android phone. In fact, I didn't bring my iPad to the show on Day 2 (although I will have it with me on Day 3!).;-)Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

So...tomorrow is the unconference part of iPadpalooza, as if the first two days hadn't been great enough. Remember, for me, the best sessions weren't about apps but about the power of those apps. As Amy "@friedtechnology" Mayer said earlier today:People don't buy drills because they want drills, they buy drills because they want holes. We buy these devices because we want to improve education." By far, the best presentations could have had at their heart, any device...but the iPad was first on the scene and as such, it is the device iPadpalooza was named after. Of course, I'd be missing the point--the iPad is an awesome tool, but as one principal from a former district put it to me today, "Ok, we're not an innovative campus because we bought iPads...if that gave us a bump, then the only way we're going to stay ahead is to actually DO the work--do the experiments, do the projects, etc."Announcement: Join #etdrive, a Texas wide conversation focused on 3 strands using "push to learn" technology, VoxerChats. Follow these two steps to begin your learning journey now.Wise words...so, as I look forward to tomorrow from my vantage point, a person who has spent too much time with many devices, here are some of my ideas for sessions that I probably won't share:Connecting with People a la"Push to Connect:" Looking for a quick way to connect with others? You may be on Twitter, Google+, but if these leave you hungering for human voices, then consider "push to talk" apps that enable collaboration. Here are two that I use daily:Voxer: This app enables great conversations. Since there are different people in this space--albeit with some overlap--you get access to people who are focused on the spoken word, on ideas said aloud rather than written. This is an eye-opener for me. I hope my fellow Texas educators will join Voxer and #etdrive, an effort to bring Texas voices together and amplify.Telegram: I introduced a colleague in Florida to this app yesterday, and he fell in love with it. It's a powerful push to talk app that enables text, photos, voice messages...it's easy to use, you can create groups. In fact, I've worked to get my school district's leadership on Telegram because it facilitates communications in a crisis. Completely free and open source.Saving Time While Working: In one session today, I introduced someone to Readdle Documents app. Then, I walked them through how to use it. The person's response was euphoria, as he exclaimed, "This is exactly what I needed to know today! Thank you so much!!" I contrasted his use of Readdle Documents and the workflows mastered with this iPad app with a co-worker's casual use of Documents...for my co-worker, Documents was a necessary clearinghouse for data and content on her iPad. There are many other workflows that could be discussedCreating Content that Takes Your Breath Away: Although you can read more about app smashing here, the idea is simple--blend stuff you create from one app into another into another until you create content that is impactful and takes your breath away. You can edit audio with Hokusai audio editor, create slides with Haikudeck, video slides with 30HandsLearning and more.Communicating with Videos: After long-time use of an iPad, I have to say that my all-time favorite video editing app remains Pinnacle Studio. When you want to add pictures, video clips, sound and combine it all into one movie, Pinnacle Studio is the app to use. It's so darn easy.Eliminating Paper: If you have an iPad, you don't need a scanner (although a Fujitsu ScanSnap is great because of it's connection to Evernote, another must-have app). If you're looking for a way to quickly digitize packets of paper, less than 20 sheets, then get Evernote's Scannable app.Achieving Inbox Zero: If you get tons of email (and who doesn't?), you'll want to take advantage of two apps to simplify your email intake and archiving. For email, get CloudMagic which has built-in support for "cards" that allow you to file your email into Evernote.Secure Your Digital Documents: Wondering how to secure your digital documents? Take advantage of tools like ParanoiaWorks Text Encryptor (PTE) to encrypt email messages, or use apps like Telegram (secure 1-to-1 chat), Wickr, or Threema to have encrypted chats with others.There are a lot more apps to share, but these 7 ideas capture much of what I do with my iPad every day or week. I hope you find them helpful.Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

This session, App-Mazing Math through Visible Thinking, by Meghan Zigmond (@zigzagstech)--http://zigzagstech.com--was shared at iPadpalooza 2015 conference. You can find resources online at http://bit.ly/AppyMath. Be sure to check out Meghan's ThingLink page.Announcement: Join #etdrive, a Texas wide conversation focused on 3 strands using "push to learn" technology, VoxerChats. Follow these two steps to begin your learning journey now.Listen to AudioMeghan (@zigzagstech) getting going about 20 minutes before her 8:15am session. What a wonderful personality!MyNotes - PreSessionAbout Pre-Session ExpectationGreat music track running.Warm and friendly atmosphereSome apps Meghan is sharing:HyperlapseThingLink of Math App-mazing ToolsNumberRackNumber PiecesNumber FramesFlipagramThink 3D FreeFeltboardKey ConceptsApp Smash to Make Thinking VisibleShare your creativityApps to ShareBook CreatorTellagamiThinglinkExplainEverythingChatterpixFlipagramPopplet LiteSkitchPicCollageKidBlogTwitter[Some apps to make 3D creations]MyNotes - SessionI'm all about visible thinking.Lot of first grade, second grade teachers in the classroom. A few middle school students. You'll be seeing a lot of first grade examples. A lot of these things are applicable to all grade levels."When thinking is made visible as educators we are better able to see and/or hear our students thinking, often we aren't even around when its created." @klirenmanWith visible thinking, you can see where students get stuck...and this means you can reteach.You have an amazing portfolio of their work when you blog and share their visible thinking.Mathematical thinking...explain, show, justify, apply, record, analyze, organize, choose tools. You can't do all those things in a worksheet. Visible thinking and creating projects...it does all of these things."One more preach..." before I show you some examples."Tool is one thing but the way we look at it is much more important." -George Couros.I want to challenge your thinking...are you handing them a game or are you handing them an iPad that is going to help them share their thinking? App demonstrations...virtual manipulatives. Using these on an iPad is just as good as using them in "real life," however some students may prefer the real ones to the virtual. Students will also take pictures of real manipulatives, just like you can take a picture of the virtual manipulatives.Number Rack appNumber Racks examplewhite is on the right and that means zeroon the left, that's where you do your addition and subtractionyou can cover up the right side with a blue box with question marktake a screenshot then drop it into another app (e.g. Skitch [or how about 30HandsLearning?)Number Pieces appIf you give students time to play, they can figure out the apps. Students share with each other how to use the tools during group share. Meghan allows them play time.Counting coins...Thinking with Hands On MathGraphs & App-tivities - one class chose to use HaikuDeck, and another chose NumberDeckStudents were then able to have conversations about the different graphs.FlipagramAppSmash Ideas for Math...check the slideshow above for links.Number Pieces Basic + Popplet Lite: Build numbers and show understanding in PoppletGeoboard & Popplet (via Tech with Kelly)NumberLine & Explain EverythingPattern Shapes & SkitchCheck out Task Cards and App Menus...very nice!!Collect Projects: Padlet Wall & QR CodeShow It with Scene Makers...awesome story problems!Lisa Carnazzo had students make Multiplication BugsFeltboard and Book CreatorRecipe for Visible ThinkingCameraPicCollageAudioBoomThingLinkTwo apps you must have on your iPads are ExplainEverything and Book Creator (Amen!!)I encourage you to use blogging/Kidblog to create individual portfolios! It works great to share with families and creates a record of growth and visible thinking all year long. I just think it's a powerful tool. Tweet me if you're interested in becoming a blogging buddy.Grading: I keep extensive Google Drive notes. We're doing a developmental report card. I keep anecdotal notes. Watching these creations, you can understand whether they get it or don't. I'm glad I don't give grades.Check out the Thinglink online at https://www.thinglink.com/ZigZagsTechAdditional ResourcesYou can find another version of notes from 2014 presentation that Meghan did online here.Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Presentation by Mr. Albert Canales, Mr. Jacob Camacho, and Ms. Kristine Garza on 21st Century Leader session at iPadpalooza 2015. Check out materials online at https://www.smore.com/hce38Listen to Audio(listen to this because my notes don't reflect all shared)MyNotesMcAllen Independent School District presentationWhat do we need to do to change...Today, we're actually 1 to 1 with the whole district.How do you want to get better?Question: Tell us more about city building. Our superintendent is really behind this and they have been working with city to get more WiFi access points. Have discussions to ensure access from home. When we first started, students didn't have access. 75% of the apps don't need internet. Let's start with baby steps, look at ways we can save things off the internet while at school then take them home for resources they need. If you go through our Smore, you'll find several stages of professional learning. With our elementary students/teachers, we did a "tech week." THese are success stories that we have even today.After Tech Week, we asked ourselves, "What can we do better?" Each teacher would do 1 app or web tool...teacher did one thing, but students got to do all of it with different teachers.After 1 hour, students started creating content on their own.After awhile, teachers start teaching each other.Teachers started using digital copies and this made it easy to turn stuff in...kids would just send in the links to their work.Ask yourself what the end product will be. Peer to peer observations Use HEAT FrameworkBuild school climate and culture...Post everything about kids about Twitter.Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

This session, Pin It: Transforming Social Media Networks into Professional Learning Tools, with Jesse Thompson and Lee Valenti (@hi5teaching) at iPadpalooza. Special thanks to Jennifer Spille (@jspille) for dragging me along to this session...with my broken GPS, I never would have found it! :-)Listen to AudioMyNotesRight to Left: Jesse Thompson, Lee Valenti, ASL interpreterOur Problem: How to improve collaboration between team members? Could social media help our team share and collect ideas more effectively?Solution included Twitter, Pinterest and Evernote...these represent the 3 pillars of the solution they decided on.Share: Twitter for sharing: teachers could read an article, they would be tweeted at with a linkCollect: Pinterest to collect the resourcesStore: Evernote to create. Record those things that were tried and true, that worked and save them for next year.If we couldn't meet F2F, we could meet virtually.Twitter = Share@ mentions#hashtagDM Direct messages - allows you to put in videos, etc.List creationNever Miss a Tweet Again! Make a list for your department, grade or school.Created public twitter account for school work:Didn't want to deal with privacy issuesWanted to focus on being able to post photos with school...keep personal photos separate.You can use the volume up/down on your iPhone headphones/mic cord to take pictures to facilitate selfies pics.Follow hashtag #teachertipsPinterest = Collect...what's important about this is how you organize.You can get lost in Pinterest. We do Spring Cleaning after each year...it wasn't enough to start pinning stuff. We had to organize them so they could make our meetings flow. We organized them into specific flows. View Lee Valenti's boardEnglish - Writing/GrammarEnglish-VocabularyEnglish-LiteratureEnglish - Teaching IdeasThe consistency of the boards was important for us.We've rolled this out to our Social Studies. We decided to focus on Pinterest and Evernote. If we find any history-based things, we're going to put them in a board. They organized it for their team. If they are looking for a board.Try to keep this simple and not overwhelming. Spring cleaning is needed because there's so much content.Evernote = CreateThink of it as a digital binder.Plan to ImplementKeep it simple. Begin with one social media service. Find what best fits your need.Account creation & naming convention. Unified organization across all social media.Encourage usage. Give it time. Make it a habit.Social Media AlternativesEduclipperTumblrUStreamTodaysMeetInstagramPadletEdmodoGoogleDriveSlackEverything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Hard to believe, but last summer, a colleague asked me to craft a proposal for a "digital data archive," exploring the various options. I did but then promptly forgot about it when the school decided to not pursue it. In chatting with a friend at iPadpalooza 15, I remembered that I had done this and had not shared it.Image Source: https://goo.gl/3MQRmsAs such, I hope someone will find this helpful!OverviewProvide 4 teachers with the opportunity to track quantifiable data, notes (e.g. Student Data Profile), as well as student evidence of learning in digital format (e.g. Evidence).Professional DevelopmentTeachers will need to complete a series of self-paced and face to face sessions. The course overview includes professional development in the eGT digital tools.Why is this necessary?Currently, tracking of student data is paper-based and relies upon the creation of multiple folders that would become unwieldy to create and track. The staggering number of paper folders generated by ONE freshmen class of students at the School District is unimaginable, but when one includes the sheer bulk of paper generated by 800 students, then multiplies that times each subsequent freshmen class as the program expands, paper is untenable. A digital solution is needed. Unfortunately, given the late start date and lack of funding, and professional development for teachers and training for students, the solutions offered here are only as strong as those limiting factors allow.What happens if we don’t do implement?High School teachers, and students, will have to manage and store what could be, at least, 800 folders if not 3200. For example, 800 accordion folders cost about $2800 (this cost does not include labels).How will we measure success?Success is measured by the implementation of a digital data archive that will endure from year to year for 2014-2015 students, as well as subsequent years, enabling maximum portability of work for students and facilitate tracking of student learning.ProposalThis proposal recommends establishing a digital data archive, or digital interactive notebook, where teachers and students can collect evidence of performance by objective. This involves each student creating a private digital storage space that can be jointly accessed by students, parents,  teachers, and administrators. Two solutions are reviewed in the context of this proposal and offered for review. NeedHigh School teachers have a need to collect data and evidence of student learning. Some specific needs include the following:Capturing handwritten notes, maps, drawing/images/photosCapturing student responses to document-based questions (DBQs) and free-response questions.Teachers need to be able to annotate--including text and/or audio--this student-generated content, as well as easily share that with students, parents, and be viewable by other administrators.All data captured needs to be "portable" and follow students through their high school years and beyond.ParticipationInitially, 4 World Geography teachers will facilitate 800 freshmen students during the 2014-2015 school year. The program, if successful, will expand during the 2015-2016 school year and beyond until all high school students are growing a digital data archive.Possible SolutionsIn the space below, you will find several solutions offered. These solutions are imperfect. A perfect solution would allow easy capture of teacher information per student and attachment of student artifacts, or evidence, of that performance (e.g. DBQs, FRQs) in one centralized system. All these solutions fall short of that, and as a result, will require significant teacher effort, albeit less than what would be required with a paper-based solution.A.  GoogleClassroom & GoogleDriveOverviewStudents, each of whom have their own GoogleApps account, have access to GoogleDrive, a space to store a wide variety of files, including pictures, photos/scanned images, digital documents (e.g. word processed, spreadsheets). If they are taught to organize their work in GoogleDrive, they can share folders with their teachers each year, enabling them to have a digital repository for work. Students organize their work by school year, creating folders to house their digital work. This work will travel with them from year to year, but also be available for them to take with them when they graduate or leave School District. Teachers create a Student Data Profile--GoogleDoc to collect Q1, Q2, etc. information, Reading lexile scores--that will be shared with the student but cannot be modified by the student.ScenarioUpon completing her handwritten DBQ, Samantha takes a picture of her work using her smartphone (or a mobile device available at the school), then saves it to her GoogleDrive, naming it properly and saving it to the appropriate digital folder. In her GoogleDrive, she has the following folders:Evidence2014-20152015-20162016-20172017-2018Each folder contains that her work for the corresponding year, as well as the Student Data Profile  that the student (e.g. Samantha) can only view but not modify because it is her teacher who owns the document.CostThere is no additional cost for this solution, but professional learning opportunities will need to be made available to teachers and students.B.  Evernote Business for SchoolsOverviewEvernote Business for Schools is a service that is designed to facilitate and digitization of data. To that end, Evernote--which has unlimited storage--includes apps that work on Android phone/tablet, iPhone, iPad mobile devices, as well as laptop/desktop computers. You can snap a picture of a handwritten piece of work, save it to a digital notebook, add tags (e.g. 2014-2015, WorldGeo, DBQ1), then share that notebook with others. Furthermore, digitized work is scanned and searchable (e.g. take a picture of handwritten work, and once in Evernote, the words, if legible, are searchable). Students and teachers would be given Evernote Premium accounts, allowing for sharing of content. Evernote also allows for export of notebooks so that students could take their work out of Evernote, as well as a free version which would not be reliant on the Premium version. You can literally put anything into Evernote, including audio recordings (the Evernote app facilitates audio recording), pictures, handwritten notes, and more. Evernote Premium has an age requirement (older than 13) but that should not be a problem for students.Evernote has been shown to be an excellent tool for collecting, documenting, and annotating student work. Watch video (http://vimeo.com/42066807).Scenario(s)Two scenarios are offered:#1 - Evernote Premium for Each User: Cost-prohibitive, not recommended.#2 - Evernote Premium for teachers, Evernote Freemium for Students: Samantha has completed her DBQ. She signs into her Evernote account and accesses the Digital Notebook her teacher has shared with her. She creates a new note and then snaps a picture of each page of her handwritten response. When done, she saves it. She then updates the "Table of Contents" in the Notebook assigned to her so she can.This process is repeated by each students, who can only see their digital notebook, but can be accessed by whomever the teacher shares the notebook with. The teacher can also annotate--add highlighting, audio comments, text notes--to each note. Also, all notes--even handwritten ones--are searchable. Students have complete control over notes that are shared with them and the ability to create new ones.All sharing has to be managed by the teacher, so that involves creating and sharing notebooks with each student. Each subsequent year, teachers will have to manage more student accounts. But, when the alternative is paper, digital is better. CostPricing is based on several possible options:Evernote Premium for each user: This is available at 75% discount of the regular pricing ($45 per year per user). For 800 students and 5 teachers, the cost would be approximately $9K. Evernote Freemium for all students, Premium only for teachers: The free version of Evernote is available for free to each student 14 and older.  Premium accounts are available to teachers at a cost of $45 per person. Total cost is $180. Additional digital scanners can be included per classroom to help students digitize their work. Otherwise, iPads with Evernote can be used, as can apps on mobile phones.C.  OwnCloudOverviewOwnCloud (http://owncloud.org/features/) is a Dropbox-style solution that allows for storage of files. It comes with its own mobile apps and allows users to store information. OwnCloud--which can be hosted by the District--allows for easy storage of data files. Web links can be shared as private or public, and users can employ AD username/passwords without having to remember yet another login. Each student has their "ownCloud" storage area that only they and their teacher (and whomever else the teacher decides) can access. Students and teacher can store content online and access it from anywhere via their mobile device (Android, iOS) or a computer.ScenarioSamantha snaps a picture of a DBQ pages with her smartphone, then saves it to ownCloud with the proper naming convention and in the 2014-2015 folder. Her teacher is able to access all the content stored in her ownCloud so she just sends her a quick email to let her know the work has been digitized and put online.CostNo cost for in-house solution, although in the future, there may be depending on the size of storage needed per user.D.  MaharaOverviewMahara (http://mahara.org) is a free, open source (no cost) ePortfolio solution that can be self-hosted by the District.  Mahara is a fully featured web application to build your electronic portfolio. You can create blogs, upload files, resume sharing, embed third-party resources from the web and collaborate with other users in groups. You can see how it works online at http://demo.mahara.org/ from an admin, teacher, and student perspective. An overview video is available online at https://mahara.org/features Student accounts can be created during a mass upload, and refreshed from time to time. Furthermore, there is support for LDAP authentication (eliminating the need for manual creation of student accounts; students simply login with their Active Directory credentials). Students are able to add documents via a web interface, create notes that can encompass Student Data Profile and Evidence artifacts.ScenarioSamantha, a freshman student, logins to the School District Digital Data Archive, creates a note that will encompass her Student Data Profile. She can modify this note at any time, as well as restrict viewing to herself and teacher(s) who may need to access it. She can also add "Evidence" that serve as artifacts of her progress on performance objectives.CostNo cost for in-house solution, although in the future, there may be depending on the size of storage needed per user.RecommendationsAgain, the best solution is one that best meets the needs of students and staff with minimum level of work. A chart outlining options appears on the following page. Comparison ChartAvailable funding is determined by calculating the total cost of each evidence folder per student. For 800 students, the cost for 800 wallet folders is $2800 or for 3200 folders, $11,200.CriteriaGoogle Classroom/ DriveEvernote: Scenario 2OwnCloudMaharaCostFree$180 for 4 teachers or $45 per teacher user.FreeFreeCapture handwritten notes, maps, drawing/images/photos easilyNo, but students can put content online.Submit via email, app, computer, web interfaceSubmit via mobile app, computer, or web interfaceNo, but students can put content online.Annotate student-generated contentYes, depends.Add audio,text annotations to each note.NoYes, depends.Data is portable and follow students in District and outYesYes with Evernote Freemium account or notebook exportYes, data is "save-able" Yes, accounts remain.Data hostGoogleEvernoteSchool DistrictSchool DistrictRestricted access to teacher, student, parentYesYesYesUnknownSupports Teacher-only editing of Student Data Profile (allows for student viewing only)YesMaybeNoUnknownCentralized management of accountsYes linked to AD/GoogleApps accountsNo...labor intensive but better than paper folderYes linked to ADYes linked to ADTeacher Level of Expertise RequiredHighLow to MediumHighLow to MediumOptical Character Recognition (OCR) of handwritten documentsNoYesNoNoSetup time per studentUnk3-4 minutesUnkUnknownEverything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. 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