While I was attending the ISTE 2015 conference I had a chance to visit the AirSquirrels Booth and find out what was new. As a long time user of Reflector, I was excited to find out that Reflector 2, now included the ability to record audio and video. This was one feature which I have been hoping for - for some time now. In the past I would generally use a screen capturing software to record the audio and video which at times produced less then a high quality recording. When I got back from ISTE 2015 Conference I downloaded Reflector 2 to my Surface 3 and gave it a try. I used my iPhone 6 and decided to record a short video about the recent release of Inspiration Maps for the iPhone. Through trial and error I found that using the Yeti Microphone with Reflector 2 produced great audio during the recording. The Surface 3 and Reflector 2 ran smoothly and the screen capture was smooth. The final video which is saved in a mp 4 format came out great which I then uploaded to YouTube. You can see the final output here of the screen recording. If you need to create videos using your iPad or iPad then take a look at Reflector 2- a great utility to add to your toolkit!Alt+MAlt+N

It certainly is exciting times to be involved in the field of educational technology and if your are a science teacher there is even more opportunities with your existing classroom technology to take advantage of using science probeware in your classroom. If you have been following my blog, you know how passionate I am about teachers using probeware in the classroom to give students the capability of collecting data in real time. This is an especially important tool if you are supporting students with special needs-in that these tools provide students with a way to see data represented in many different types of ways. Students can view the incoming data in a graph format, table and as a meter. In July, Vernier Software released the Vernier Go Wireless Link which opens up all kinds of opportunities for students collecting real time data with mobile devices. The Vernier Go Wireless Link is a very small data collection interface that allows you to plug in over 35 different Vernier sensors and begin to collect data wirelessly to your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Later this summer, Vernier will also support Android devices and the LabQuest 2. The diminutive size of the  Vernier Go Wireless Link  makes it an ideal tool for collecting data in the classroom as well as when you are in the field. The  Vernier Go Wireless Link  uses Bluetooth LE and once turned on it will automatically connect to you device without the need to do any configuration. Simply charge the  Vernier Go Wireless Link with the USB cable provided and then you are ready to begin collecting data. Using the  Vernier Go Wireless Link, to collect real time data is a breeze. Simply turn on the Go Wirelss Link, connect a compatible sensor, Right Hand Strengthlaunch Graphical Analysis, tap create experiment, choose Wireless Sensor, choose Go Wireless Link and begin your data collection. I have to say that using the  Vernier Go Wireless Link was very straight forward and easy to use. I connected the  Vernier Go Wireless Link  to a Hand Dynamometer and clicked on the Connect button to start my data collection. Within seconds the data was being graphed on the screen as I squeezed the sensor with my right hand. Using the  Vernier Go Wireless Link  gives students the opportunity to collect data quickly and accurately and because of the size of the interface they can easily use it in the field away from the iPad. The  Vernier Go Wireless Link  has a range of 30 m which would enable teachers and students to keep the device away from water or other hazards when collecting the data. So if you have existing compatible Vernier sensors and are looking for a great way to connect them to your IOS or Android devices look no further, the  Vernier Go Wireless Link  is the perfect interface for getting your students collecting data with mobile devices! 

As students start heading back to school many will return with Microsoft Surface 3 devices which is a great choice. Having a light weight tablet to take to classes with Office 365 is a perfect combination. With the release of Windows 10 the Surface 3 is transformed to a powerful mobile device allowing students the opportunity to take it wherever they are. The Surface 3 really shines when using the digital pen and OneNote for taking notes which can easily be shared. For students on the go-who want to travel in style take a look at the Roosevelt Folio from Incipio which wraps a slim folio around the Surface 3 and Type Cover. The Roosevelt Folio has a micro suede lining along with a magnetic closure that gives you a much more stable feel in your hands when you are carrying the Surface 3. The Roosevelt Folio from Incipio also has an attached Surface Pen holder which is a convenient way to store your pen. More about the pen loop a little later. The Roosevelt Folio has a very secure hinge which locks in your Type Cover keyboard to assure you that it will not detach from the Surface 3. It is easy to use the Type Cover in the angled as well as with the keyboard flat on the suede lining. I preferred to use the Type Cover in the angled fashion but it will accommodate those who want to type with the keyboard in the flat position. The magnetic closure works well and the Roosevelt Folio looks good in your hands as well as providing your device with a little bit more protection. The Roosevelt Folio from Incipio comes in a variety of colors (Navy, Black, Cyan, Purple and Red) and sells for $34.99 at the Microsoft Stores. For students who are looking for more protection then take a look at the Ord Sleeve from Incipio which provides padded protection for your Surface 3. The interior of the sleeve is a padded fleece material which gives your Surface 3 extra protection from damage. The Ord Sleeve has a large pocket on the exterior of the sleeve which is ideal for storing accessories like my Surface Wedge Mouse or power supply. The Ord Sleeve comes in a variety of colors (Grey, Black, Navy, Purple, and Red) and retails for $34.99. The Ord Sleeve also includes a loop to store your Surface pen which I thought would be a really great feature- didn't turn out that way. After using the Ord Sleeve for a couple of weeks I carried my Surface 3 to a meeting and took some notes in OneNote with the Surface pen. When the meeting was over I slid the pen into the loop, put the sleeve under my arm and went back to my office. When I returned to my office and took out my Surface 3, I noticed the Surface pen was not in the loop. During the weeks I had been using the Ord Sleeve the loop must have loosened and the Surface pen slid out- undetected. To say the least I was not a happy camper- so "caveat emptor" don't use the loop on the side- over time it too will loosen and I can guarantee you to will lose your expensive Surface 3 pen. I have now begun to store the pen in the exterior pocket which can be zipped up-a much more secure arrangement.Deciding which Incipio product to use with my Surface 3 is a difficult one. I would garner to say, that if I was attending a professional conference I would probably select the Roosevelt Folio for my Surface 3 that I could stick in my bag. The Roosevelt Folio looks good and gives me a more secure feeling when it is in my hands. On a day to day basis, I have been using the Ord Sleeve to give my device that added protection when I am storing it in my bag and traveling from school to school. For more information about these fine products you can go to Incipio.

Over the years I have reviewed several products from LapWorks, who has been manufacturing and selling fine accessories for laptops and tablets, but had not heard from them in years. But just last week, I received and email from them announcing some new products for iPads and tablets that I just had to take a look at. Lapworks has just recently released two products that really make a huge difference when you want to use an iPad or Tablet for instruction in the classroom. If you have ever tried to balance or hold an iPad or tablet in your hand as you move about the classroom-then you know just how challenging it can be. In today's classroom being able to hold and move about the classroom using your iPad or tablet is important, but the risk of dropping it can be a real concern. This is where the Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle for 7" to 10.5" tablets comes into play. In class this week I used the Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle with my Surface 3 and it worked like a charm. The extensible bracket is spring loaded and held the Surface 3 securely. What I really liked about the accessory was just how quick I could position it into the bracket and be up and running. The soft neoprene strap felt good against my hand and allowed me to securely hold the Surface 3, as I walked across the room. The Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle allows for up to 360 degree rotation of your tablet which makes it easy to hold, in portrait or landscape mode. The Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle is lightweight and easy to carry in your knapsack or brief case. If you are a teacher then you need to take a look at the Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle-it will give you the freedom and confidence to walk around your classroom and use your tablet in the best possible way to teach your students. If you have a larger tablet, then you should take a look at the Lapworks Gripzilla Max for 9.5" to 10.5" tablets Soft Neoprene Handle with the same great design as its smaller brother. You can't go wrong with either one, and I for one will keep the Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle in my bag so that I can use it in my classroom.

Growing up one of my favorite toys to get for my birthday was an Erector set. Every year I would look forward to my parents purchasing for me a new kit. I can remember opening the kit looking at all the various parts and imagining everything that I could build with it. For many students who have grown up in the age of digital electronics many of them had not have the first-hand experience making things or creating things using blocks and toys that spark their imagination.One of the latest movements that we have seen in the schools is the concept of Maker Spaces. It is within these environments the teachers are able to provide students with opportunities to work with a range of different materials to solve a unique engineering or design problems. It is in within the Maker Space environment that students learn about the Design Process and how it can lead to innovative solutions to their unique problem. Students not only learn how to solve problems but they also learn how to work together in a collaborative mode to reach the final solution. In this respect, having students learn about the design process is key for them to becoming innovative and lifelong problem solvers. For those of you who may not be familiar with the Design Process it includes the following steps: defining the problem, collecting information, brainstorming and analyzing ideas, developing solutions and building a prototype, getting feedback, and continual improvement of the design. It is within the Design Process methodology that teachers can begin to explore and give students various opportunities to work with different kinds of materials to solve problems. in this context I recently learned about a new construction toy called Qubits which I thought would be of interest to you and would be ideal when working on the design process with students.Qubits Is it easy to use construction toy that is made of modular geometric shapes which are ideal for students of any age. Since there are no small parts this is an ideal tool for elementary aged students when there is concern about putting pieces in their mouth. Qubits was kind enough to send me the Qubits Rainbow Kit which comes with 84 colorful geometric shaped pieces.  The bulk of the 84 pieces pieces are 6.5 inch trapezoid shaped pieces, the remainder of the pieces are 4 inch rectangular pieces that can be used for connecting the Qubits geometric shaped parts. The basic kit cost $54.95. You will find using the Qubits that it's easy to make geometric shapes as well as bridges and towers but primarily it's up to your imagination. Each Qubit have two, three pronged connectors on each geometric shape that makes it easy to connect the various parts together. I found that it it did not take much force to connect the Qubit parts together which makes it ideal for young students. In the box you will find a handy QuickStart guide with the various ways that you can put the Qubits together. I found it helpful when learning how to connect the Qubits to make a couple of the patterns that were illustrated. Once you have played around with Qubits you will find it really easy to connect the various parts and begin to get creative and build your own designs.Within 5 to 10 minutes you will become really comfortable using the Qubits to design your own models. It is within this context the teacher should find Qubits very easy to integrate into their Maker Spaces. Qubits would be an ideal tool in the classroom when working on the Design Process and giving students challenging problems to solve using these materials that are found in the Qubits kit. Working in groups I could see where teachers could give Built Using Qubitsinteresting problems and challenges to students. Using Qubits students can go ahead and solve those problems. I know that one of the common problems that is often entertained in classrooms are building bridges that can sustain a certain amount of weight. I know that using Qubits this could be easily accomplished in a fun and creative way. Giving students hands on activities is an ideal way to bring in the Design Process and allow students to work with a variety of materials. Having access to Qubits would go along way in the classroom to helping students better understand the Design Process and to give students the opportunity to problem solve using creative and imaginative methods and materials. Qubits Is a reasonably priced solution for the classroom that will engage students in the Design Process. For more information about Qubits click here.

This past week I had the honor of interviewing Mark Oronzio, CEO and Co-founder of Ideaphora a new company that specializes in new ways to use concept mapping to help students better understand ideas and concepts. For the last year, Ideaphora has been embeded within BrainPop as Make-a-Map, but now Ideaphora is beta testing a stand alone version which is open for testing. For more information about the company and product offering listen to the interview.

If you have been reading my blog you may have come across the review that I did of the Cleanstylus for Surface Pro 3 last year that enables you to securely affix your stylus to the Surface Pro 3. Cleanint is at it again with a neat little device to help you organize your power cord for your Surface Pro 3. The Cleancable is a handy plastic attachment that permanently affixes to your power brick on your Surface Pro 3 which makes organizing your cords a snap. Once you affix the Cleancable to your power brick you can release the cleats and wrap the cord around it, making transporting the power cord a whole lot easier. Give it a try! 

Jackery Air 6With the holiday season upon us there is good chance that you will be spending more time out of your home or office and be on your phone more, as you make plans to meet up with friends and family. It is during these times that you begin to realize just how long your battery will take you before your phone shuts off. As great as your smart phone is and all of the apps are, they are of no use if your phone totally discharges. It is times like these that you had wished you were carrying an external battery. When I know that I am going to be out all day and on the go with my iPhone 6, I always carry an external battery. I would like to thank Jackery with providing me with these batteries to review for this blog post. I have used many external batteries over the years and when I came across the Jackery Air 6 for the iPhone I had to take it for a spin. The Jackery Air 6 is beautifully crafted 3000mAh battery with an orange fluorescent aluminum casing that is thin and stylish, weighing in at 3.36 ounces. I found that the Jackery Air 6 charged quickly and gave me the ability to fully recharge my iPhone 6 to a full charge. There is a micro USB port for charging the battery and and full USB port for the Lightning cable to your iPhone. The Jackery Air 6 has a 3 color (Red, Green, & Blue) LED indicator that lets you quickly check on the battery level and comes with a mini lightning cable as well as a USB to mini USB cable for charging the battery. The Jackery Air 6 outputs 5V/1A and is ideal for charging your iPhone 6 or 6S. For those of you on the road and always want to ensure  that you have a lightning cable with you check out the Kero Lightning Nomad Cable that fits on your key ring. One of the issues I have had with external batteries is that they tend to weigh too much and are rather bulky but the Jackery Air 6 dispels this, and easily fits in your pocket- at times you don't even realize you are carrying it! This makes for an excellent practical and stylish gift for the holidays.  For the times you will be on the road with more then one device you may want to consider the Jackery Giant +. The Jackery Giant + is a 12,000mAh battery with a flashlightJackery Giant +which is ideal if you need to charge two devices at the same time. The Jackery Giant + supports 5V/1A and 5V/2.1A which is ideal for charging more demanding devices. While the 5V/1A port is great for charging my iPhone 6 the 5V/2.1A port is ideal for charging my Surface 3 which is rated for the 5V/ 2.1A output. The Jackery Giant + is a much bigger battery and weighs in at 10.4 ounces and is one I would most likely throw into my backpack when I am on the road with my Surface 3 or iPad Air.Jackery BarIf you are looking for a lighter weight battery that can support 5V/2.1A you should take a look at the Jackery Bar which weighs in 5.5 ounces. The Jackery Bar has a simple 3 bar LED light to instantly let you know just how charged the battery is and includes a flashlight which could come in really handy when the power goes out. The Jackery Bar is a 6000mAh battery which is ideal for charging your iPhone 6 but could easily fully charge your iPad up when it is 50% discharged. Having the convenience of the Jackery Bar being able to meet multiple needs is ideal and one that gives you the flexibility to use it with smart phones or or more demanding tablets. You will find the Jackery batteries are well designed and will give you the confidence that your iPhone and tablets will keep on ticking as you move through the holiday season. As you can see there are lots of options whether you are using an iPhone or carrying with you an iPad, Surface 3 or tablet. For more information about the Jackery batteries click here.

What can be better than marrying to of my favorite gadgets the iPhone 6 and the Boogie Board? If you haven't guessed, it is the Tegware Bagel 6 for the iPhone 6 & 6S. How many times are you on the phone and need to jot something down and you can't find a piece of paper or a pen? I'm sure if you are like me you find yourself in the situation quite often. If that is the case ( no pun intended :-) ) then you should take a look at the Tegware Bagel 6 for the iPhone 6.  The Tegware Bagel 6 case marries a very handy case for your iPhone 6 alongside a Boogie Board with a stylus. Now you can pull out the stylus or just use your finger to jot down that name, phone number or a reminder and when you are done you can click on the button to quickly erase the contents. No need to worry about the battery life of the Boogie Board it has been rated for over 50,000 erasures! The Tegware Bagel 6 has been designed with all the right cutouts so that you can access the camera on the iPhone 6 easily. The Tegware Bagel 6 case has been designed to securely let you store a credit card, which is great for those of you who are on the go. The natural writing experience on the Boogie Board is exceptional and if you need to permanently capture what you wrote simply pop out you iPhone and take a picture of the Boogie Board contents. The Boogie Board is detachable which makes it easy to carry in your pocket for those times when you just want the freedom to write. For those of you who are looking for a different design style that includes the Boogie Board, take a look at the Tegware Bagel 360 a flip phone case design. The Tegware 360 covers and protects your iPhone 6 and lets you quickly flip over the screen to display a Boogie Board, to jot down your ideas. The Tegware 360 includes a stylus and quick way to pop off the Boogie Board for writing down ideas. Tegware cases add innovation to the case, that is just not found anywhere else. Now is a good time to get these as gifts for family and friends who enjoy using their iPhone 6! For more information head on over to Tegware.

I have been using IPEVO products since they became commercially available and have always been amazed by the quality and the price. Sometimes I wonder how they do it. When I demonstrate the IPEVO document cameras to my students they always comment just how great the images look and when I mention the price, they are astounded! With this as a backdrop, I was happy to receive the Ziggi-HD Plus to review which recently became available. The Ziggi-HD Plus is a 8.0 Megapixel camera and an up to 12x continuous digital zoom that is powered via the USB cable. The  Ziggi-HD Plus is the same dimensions as their previous model but when you use it with the updated IPEVO Presenter software the image quality of the Ziggi-HD Plus is spectacular. Ziggi-HD Plus's 8.0 Megapixel camera delivers a resolution up to 3264 x 2448 pixels when used with Mac or PC.In my testing the image quality is fantastic even under low light conditions. Teachers will really enjoy the faster refresh rate on the Ziggi-HD Plus which is ideal when you are moving objects or writing under the lens. Under all conditions the Ziggi-HD Plus was much faster at focusing objects under the lens and was very responsive. When looking at the image it is hard to believe that a $99 document camera can produce such a high quality image. The Ziggi-HD Plus includes a built-in microphone that when paired with the Presenter software allows you to use it for creating videos or for video conferencing. The Ziggi-HD Plus is ideal for creating videos (MP4 format) for the Flipped Classroom. Ziggi-HD Plus and IPEVO Presenter are now compatible with Chromebooks and the Google Chrome browser (PC and Mac) through the Chrome IPEVO Presenter app. To round out the experience you may want to consider purchasing the following accessories: Carrying Case, Height Extension Stand, Scan Kit and the Magnifying Lens. In any case if you considering a purchase of a document camera for your classroom you have to check out the Ziggi-HD Plus - it is great value for the price! Bring your classroom lessons to life with the Ziggi-HD Plus!