Having just returned from the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) 2015 Conference I had a chance to connect with friends and colleagues and survey the landscape to pick up on trends and practices in the field of assistive technology. Without a doubt we are at the beginning of another trend in our field as more and more schools move to Chromebooks. Chromebooks in many ways represent a real paradigm shift for educators and students since all of the apps follow the students account as they are delivered through the Chrome browser. This is a huge shift allowing educators to customize the experience of every student who is using a Chromebook. In many ways this is what educators have longed for, for years, the ability to seamlessly give students the tools they need that automatically load into their browser any time they are signed into their Chrome browser. As I walked the hallways of the ATIA Conference and peered into the rooms that were brimming with educators, there was a good chance the topic revolved around Chromebooks.  Chromebooks look to the naked eye just like laptops but underneath the hood it is running the Chrome OS which when launched gives you access to the Chrome browser. While the Chrome OS has many built-in accessibility tools there is a wide range of extensions and applications that can be installed to give students access to text to speech, word prediction, mind mapping, task management, and study skills. Some of the more full featured assistive technology tools have been developed by TextHelp, Don Johnston and Quillsoft Ltd.TextHelp has developed Read&Write for Google which provides students with word prediction, text to speech, and speech recognition along with a host of study skill tools. Once logged in, students will have access to the Read&Write for Google Toolbar when they are in Google Docs and when they are on the web. The text to speech functions is first rate and is available to students when accessing the web. Read&Write for Google Toolbar is a solid app that provides students with a comprehensive set of tools for reading and writing. Teachers can access the premium version Read&Write for Google free by filling out this form: http://rw.texthelp.com/drive/Home/RegisterTeacherDon Johnston just released Co:Writer Universal which provides students with top of the line word prediction as we have been accustomed to for the last 25 years. If you are working in a district that is using a variety of different computer platforms then Co:Writer Universal is a great app, since you can for one price run Co:Writer Universal on iPads, Mac, and PC in addition to Chromebooks.  The word prediction on Co:Writer Universal is second to none and provides students with text to speech support right within the Chrome browser. As you would expect students have access to Topic Dictionaries and the full set of feature that they have come to expect from Co:Writer. Don Johnston was also showing Snap & Read Universal another Chrome extension which adds text to speech for reading the web that is able to perform optical character recognition on web pages that display embedded text in graphics. Snap & Read Universal will also let students level the text to make it more understandable when they are reading text on the web.Quillsoft Ltd was showing WordQ for the Chromebook that can provide students with excellent word prediction and text to speech supports. Students can easily select the words using the number keys and when they hover over a word in the prediction bar WordQ will read the word. Combining WordQ with their companion app ThoughtQ can help students explore topic lists of words when writing research papers. All documents can be saved on the students Google drive for easy storage and retrieval.As more and more developers move their apps to Chrome platform we will begin to see the need for teachers to be better trained in helping them to understand this shift and how to maximize the power of this ecosystem. In this vein, Mike Marotta and I have developed a highly readable six page laminated resource guide that highlights how to use Chromebooks in the classroom. It covers accessibility, installing apps and extensions as well as ways to really get the most out your Chromebook investment. To purchase Chromebooks in the Classroom click herePS; Don’t forget to sign up for  EDCampAccessNJ.org on March 7, 2015 at the College of St. Elizabeth for a great day of learning and networking!

Yesterday was the big day, after a couple of months of planning with my co-host Mike Marotta, EdcampAccessNJ held at the College of St. Elizabeth was off and running. It is always such an exciting day for me and the participants as we share our skills and talents. Mike and I have had this philosophy since we spoke about running an Unconference "build it and the will come" and they did. Yesterday we had over 150 dedicated educators  spend their entire Saturday with us to learn about new ways they can bring assistive technology into their classroom. Using Twitter, Facebook and word of mouth we had teachers, directors of technology, speech therapists, occupational therapists, special education teachers, directors of special education, college professors, assistive technology specialist, and parents attend and contribute to the days event. As Mike and I know putting the agenda together the morning of the event is a "leap of faith," but some how everyone steps up to the plate and within a couple of minutes the schedule comes together. We had sessions on Chrome Extensions, iPad, Using Robots, Professional Development, Using Word Prediction, Using OfficeMix,and many more. We started the day in the Dolan Auditorium to go over the logistics for the day and finished off the session by interviewing to students who have been using assistive technology at school and at home. It is always so exciting and refreshing to here how students are taking advantage of the various technologies and what a difference it has made in their lives. Leaving the auditorium all of the participants were off to their first session which worked like clock work. The day was running rather smoothly, but about half through the second morning session we lost power and the rooms went dark. Like troopers that they are the learning continued and despite the loss of WiFi and power the speakers all were able to finish their sessions. A quick huddle ensued and we learned that one of the other buildings on campus had power so we were able to have lunch in St. Joseph's Hall and continue the sessions there. The Academic Computing Department, Events Planning & Media Services support staff were there and within minutes we were up and running in a new venue. This is probably the first Unconference with a power outage- something to talk about when we get together with our colleagues. In any case everyone stayed calm and conference went on as planned.For those of you have not participated in an Unconference there is a special karma that ensues that makes this a very special type of event. Everyone attending is there to learn and participate and to be fully engaged. The results of the process and the fact that participants self select to be there makes for an incredible learning event and synergy. Topping off the day we had a Smackdown which is always informative and fun. We ended the day with give-a ways which were provided by so many companies that supported the event. Once again it was a pleasure and honor to host this event and we are looking to build ing a bigger and better EdCampAccessNJ 2016 event which is scheduled for March 5, 2016 at the College of St. Elizabeth - hope to see you there! but

When I heard that Matchware was releasing MindView 6, I was excited to find out its new feature set and how it would help me to do my work. For the past several years I have been using MindView 5 to craft my very structured consulting reports that I deliver to the schools that I work with. Over the years I have developed some templates that really have helped me to communicate ideas in a very clear fashion. One of the chief reasons that I go back to MindView time and time again is because I have always found that MindView has some of the best Microsoft Office integration when exporting mind maps to Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The timing of the release for MindView 6 could not have been any better for me since I needed to complete a Request for a Proposal (RFP) for an assistive technology grant that the state was offering. I decided that I would test out the capabilities of this version by using MindView 6 to write up the proposal and estimate the costs for the proposed project. MindView 6 has a much cleaner look and now adheres to the user interface conventions set forth by Microsoft. Users of previous versions will feel right at home using MindView 6 since the Ribbon structure has not been changed. When I am developing an RFP, I really like the ability to brainstorm ideas and what better way to do but in a mind map. Using MindView 6, I can get all my ideas down quickly and then begin to organize my ideas and activities. Moving ideas around MindView 6 is fast and intuitive and the interface shows you exactly where your idea will land-no guess work here. Once I had roughed out my ideas I was able to attach notes to my activities which would become the body of my RFP. The interface of MindView 6 to create notes feels as if you are in a mini version of Word, complete with a full array of formatting tools at your disposal.One of the requirements of any grant is to spell out the costs and this is an area that you would not normally think of using a mind map for but in the case of MindView 6 you would be wrong. MindView 6 has powerful calculation features which enables the user to create formulas that automatically update throughout the mind map. The ability to see your costs roll up on any activity in the mind map works really well and it lets you do what if's in real time. Using the SUM feature you can easily roll up cost for a particular activity and see the impact it has on the overall estimate for the grant. In MindView 6, like it's predecessor, there is a Calculation panel that lets you create items, cost and formulas. Once you get the hang of it you will find this a handy feature when you need to work with numbers inside your mind map. With the release of MindView 6 you can now enter and edit numbers directly on the item itself without the need to go into the Calculation Panel which saved me and inordinate amount of time. It is now easier then ever to set currency defaults-which saved me some time as well. While there were certainly a large number of improvements and features in MindView 6 most users will find them to be very subtle and well integrated into the application without feeling overwhelmed by feature creep. Once I had entered all my costs into the mind map I was able to export the financials into a well formatted Excel report that I could attach to the RFP. Hopefully, if I am successful and receive the grant I will be able to monitor the activities in the project management side of this application.All in all my experience with MindView 6 was very positive in future posts, I will highlight some of the features that would make this an ideal tool for students.I want to thank the folks at MatchWare for providing me a copy of MindVirew 6 so that I could do the review.

A couple of weeks ago out of the blue I received an email invitation from Microsoft to attend a party in New York City on March 31st. For the life of me, I could not figure out what this event would highlight-you see, it seemed like the timing was all off for a big announcement. But then on March 31, Microsoft announced the Surface 3 tablets which caught us all off guard. Microsoft announced the new Surface 3 with the latest Atom "Cherry Trail" processor, which would run Windows 8.1 andbe upgradeable to Windows 10 when it is released later this summer. The specifications noted that the Surface 3 weighted in at 1.37 pounds with a 10.8 diagonal screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio with a resolution of 1920 x 1280. The Surface 3 has a built-in kickstand that can be locked into 3 different positions and has a micro -SD slot. By all accounts the Surface 3 is a lightweight tablet with enough horsepower to run Office, legacy Windows software, surf the web and promise great all day battery life. My expectations were running high for a tablet with this form factor and one that could utilize the Surface touch type keyboard and digital inking pen. Having a mobile and a light weight tablet to run Office and some of the specialized assistive technology software that I often use is important for me. To say the least there was a lot of excitement leading up to the Launch Event of Surface 3 in NYC! Having arrived to the event a little early, I walked into the Microsoft loft and was really excited to see all of the new Surface 3’s on display to touch and play with. Picking up the tablet I was amazed just how light it was and typing on the touch type keyboard was a great experience. The Surface 3 looked great with a wonderful build quality and feels great in your hands. Having had my hands on one the screen is really gorgeous and very bright with excellent contrast. During the event, I had a chance to speak with many of the Microsoft engineers that were on the Surface Team which was really great. As the evening came to an end one of the Microsoft engineers announced that we would all go home with a Surface 3 to test and kick the tires-which created quite a stir. So for the past week I have been using the Surface 3 with different applications to get a sense of how it handles itself.Having used the Surface Pro 3, I was excited to learn that the Surface 3 starts at just $499 for a 2GB RAM and a 64 GB SSD. For another hundred dollars you can double the RAM to 4GB and the SSD to 128 GB and will pay $599. Bear in mind that educators can get a 10% discount when purchasing the Surface 3. When purchasing the Surface 3 you will probably want to invest in the Touch Type keyboard which will cost you $129 dollars and the pen will set you back $49 dollars. To be honest, you will definitely want to invest in these accessories which will give you the full Surface 3 experience. Having a touch keyboard that you can pop in and out with a click is great and adds very little weight to the package. If you ever thought about moving all your note-taking to the digital realm, then you have to experience OneNote and the Surface 3 pen. The digital inking experience on the Surface 3 is exactly what you would experience on the Surface Pro 3. With palm rejection and the silky feel of the pen on the screen you will feel right at home taking notes using OneNote. The Surface experience is probably one of the best writing experiences you will find on any tablet. One of the nice tricks when using the pen is that you can tap on the eraser and this will automatically open a blank page in OneNote ready for you to start writing. Even when your Surface 3 is asleep tapping on the eraser of the pen will automatically wake up your Surface 3 and open OneNote. The Surface 3 supports Miracast and I was able to quickly connect it to my HDMI TV with the Actiontec ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition. This combination of Surface 3 and OneNote with the Actiontec ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition is an ideal solution for the classroom-giving teachers the freedom to move about the classroom without being tethered to the projector. The Surface 3 just needs a case which would allow teachers to securely support the tablet-but since it is so light this will make for a great solution.Having learned that the Surface 3 was using an Intel Atom Cherry Trail processor I was initially concerned about the speed and responsiveness of the tablet. However, after using it for a week I would have to say that it feels zippy and responsive using a wide range of applications. From opening web pages to word processing to utilizing mind mapping applications the Surface 3 handled it well without a hiccup. For educators who are not doing processor intensive tasks like video or photo editing the Surface 3 should meet all of your basic computing needs. Given that the Surface 3 is a full Windows 8.1 device, there are no limitations with regard to installing Modern apps or full Windows legacy applications. Some other nice touches you find on the Surface 3 is a full USB 3.0 port a mini-display port and a micro-USB port. Being able to charge the Surface 3 with a micro-USB cable is ideal since you can always find one in your bag. The Surface 3 Pro had used a proprietary cable which, if you left it behind when you traveled you were sunk. So Microsoft listened to their customers and resolved this issue by providing micro-USB for charging. By the way I did learn that you can use the micro-USB port for transferring data, as well. The Surface 3 specifications should hit that sweet spot for educators and consumers that are looking for a portable Windows tablet that can quickly transform into an ultra-light laptop by clicking in the keyboard.  I found the Surface 3 to be a responsive tablet that exceeded my specifications. Like all new devices I did find some quirkiness with the Surface 3 recognizing the keyboard in certain instances. I’m sure there will be firmware updates shortly to address some of these issues. Having the Surface 3 in my bag will allow me the freedom to have a full featured Windows device that can run specialized software when I need it. The Surface 3 has a good price point which should make the Surface 3 a big success in the marketplace. The Surface 3 will go on sale later this week and will ship on May 5.

I have always enjoyed my science classes when I was in school, especially when we did hands on labs. Unfortunately, as I reflect on my education many years later, there just were not enough labs integrated into my science classrooms. In retrospect, with the equipment we had in the day, it just took too much time to set up and labs took an inordinate amount of time which were always thought to take away from the instruction at hand. Nothing could be further from the truth-but it was the best we could do at the time when I was in high school science classes in the early 1970s. Jump to 2015, and there is a vast array of technology that science teachers can use in their classrooms to help students to better understand key scientific concepts. Giving students the opportunity to experience firsthand how to collect data with science probes and sensors lets them quickly and efficiently collect real time data very much as a scientist would. While we often struggled to collect accurate data when I was in high school this factor is eliminated when using digital probes and sensors. Now students can spend their time analyzing and making sense of the data collected instead of expending all their energy in pursuit of recording the data. Using probes and sensors with the iPad has revolutionized the way students can collect data in real time and now with the advent of a family of probes with built-in wireless technologies from Vernier Software & Technology, students don’t need to be tethered to the device to collect data during an experiment. I recently started to use the Vernier Go Wireless Temp and the Vernier Go Wireless pH with my iPad Air and want to share my impressions.  Plotting Temperature Data Using Vernier Go Wireless Temp ProbeThe first thing you will need to do before using the Vernier Go Wireless Temp ($75) and the Vernier Go Wireless pH ($99) is download the Vernier Go Wireless app from the Apple App Store. To use the probe you simply hold down the power button to turn it on and then launch the Go Wireless app. Select the sensor that you are using, in this case we will start off with the Vernier Go Wireless Temp. Once you select the sensor you are ready to begin collecting your data. To switch between Centigrade and Fahrenheit simply tap on the oval with the current read out. To begin your data collection simply press on Collect which is at the top of the window. As soon as do this you will begin to see your data points graphed against time. For me, what is really exciting is how this technology allows students multiple representations of the data as it is being collected which is really important for the type of students I work with learning differences. It can provide a digital read out in a numeric format, and as visual bar chart and in a graphical format. Students can click anywhere on the graph and find out the temperature value at a specific time. If a student is using VoiceOver ton he iPad it will read aloud the data value on the screen. For students who would like to do further analysis they can always email the data set and open the file in Excel. Using the Vernier Go Wireless pH sensor it is just as easy, select the sensor from the Vernier Go Wireless app and place the probe in the liquid solution and press on the Keep button which will then allow you to record the pH for the sample. When you press the Keep button a small dialog box opens up that lets you enter a description and your observation along with the pH reading. Students have the opportunity to enter a note in the Observation field which would be a good place to record their observations. If you like students could also record their observations using the built-in speech recognition feature found in the iPad. Again, students are given a clean and simple interface to record the pH of the solutions that they are working with. The pH readout is clearly delineated on the top left of the screen along with a bar that runs along the left side of the screen that clearly marks the pH Recording pH with Vernier Go Wireless pH Proberange which goes from 0 to 14. A demarcation line makes it easy for students to clearly see the pH of the solution. Students can export the data table to Excel for further analysis. As you can see in the screenshot, I recorded the pH of tap water, vinegar, shower cleaner, and bottled water with my observations. Recording the pH of the solutions was very quick and straight forward. For advanced data analysis and graphing capabilities with the Go Wireless sensors on the iPad you can download the Vernier Graphical Analysis. Using the Vernier Graphical Analysis students can annotate their graphs and obtain statistical data on their data set.From my perspective, Vernier has spent a lot of time making the experience of using the wireless sensors as full proof as possible so students can spend their energy collecting and analyzing the data. Setting up the Vernier Go Wireless sensors were a breeze and were immediately recognized on my iPad, without the need for me to manually pair them in any way. This point is important because it is these little details that can bring a lab down when you are using technology in the classroom. If you are not using sensors in your classroom you need to take a look at the Vernier Go Wireless sensors to get you started. Having access to tools like the Vernier Go Wireless sensors will empower your students and let them have hands-on experience collecting data as a scientist would do. So jump in and see how you can provide your students with experiences that can transform their understanding of scientific concepts with Vernier Go Wireless sensors for more information go to Vernier.com 

Ok, so you already know if you have been reading my blog just how much I love gadgets. Especially, gadgets that are easy to use and can extend the learning that is taking place in my classroom. When I read about the Equil Smartmarker from Luidia a couple of months ago, I was enthralled with the possibilities. As an Assistive Technology Consultant I am often supporting students with disabilities who may require that classroom notes be provided to them.  So when I came across the Equil Smartmarker, I had to get my hands on one to review. Luidia was kind enough to send me an Equil Smartmarker to test in the classroom. The Equil Smartmarker is available from Luidia at a suggested list price of $700 USD.When you first take it out of the case you know from the start that this is a high quality product. The packaging of the Equil Smartmarker is exquisite and Equil Smartmarker from Luidiafunctional and provides a great case for carrying the device. Plugging the micro USB cable into the base of the storage unit of the Equil Smartmarker quickly charged the device. The design of the storage housing and the indicator lights on the Equil Smartmarker and Stylus are great touches to let the user know that the device is fully charged. For those of you who may not be familiar with the Equil Smartmarker it is a lightweight oval shaped device that when placed on any whiteboard surface can capture what is written with a standard whiteboard marker which is in a special housing. If you carried the Equil Smartmarker in your bag you would be hard pressed to notice that it was there, which is the real beauty of the device. Because of the size and weight you are more prone to use it whenever you are white boarding.  Unboxing and charging the Equil Smartmarker was a great experience and now it was time to test it out in the wild, my classroom.In preparation to use Equil Smartmarker, I downloaded the Equil Note HD app to my iPad Air from the Apple App Store. Wanting my students to get engaged with the Equil Smartmarker, I had them download the Equil Note app to their smartphones. Once in my classroom I placed the Equil Smartmarker, which has a magnetic base directly on the whiteboard. So far so good! I next pressed the power button and fired up the device. Next I pressed the IOS button and paired the Equil Smartmarker using Bluetooth with my iPad Air which was rather seamless. Once the Equil Smartmarker was paired I got audio confirmation that it was connected. I then launched the Equil Note HD app on my iPad and took the cap off the marker and started to write on the whiteboard. With amazement everything I was writing on the whiteboard was being captured to my iPad. If I needed to erase something on the whiteboard I was able to do so with the supplied digital erasure which worked really well. When I was ready to capture my next whiteboard, I simply pressed on the New Page button on the Equil Smartmarker and erased the contents with the regular whiteboard eraser. Since my iPad Air was connected to the projector, my students could see in real time just how fast and seamless it was to capture my written notes. I next asked myself what would the experience be like if I streamed the white boarding session to my students’ iPhone’s and Android smartphones? Using the Equil Note HD app from my iPad Air, I started a streaming session which brought up a dialog with a nine digit number that my students could enter into their Equil Note app on their smartphone. Within seconds they could see my whiteboard, and as I wrote, they instantaneously saw what I was entering on the board. Most of my students were really impressed with the speed in which the whiteboard and written notes appeared on their smartphone. The Equil Smartmarker can capture quite a large area (16ft x 5ft) and has some really great uses for the classroom. For teachers that need to capture notes for students this is an ideal device. Its diminutive size makes it ideal to throw in your bag and take from room to room. The Equil Smartmarker can be used by itself without the need to pair it with computer or tablet and will store over 1000 screens which can then be downloaded to your device once you are setup. For students with visual impairments I could see a scenario whereby the student can have a large tablet or computer at their desk and have the contents of what the teacher is writing up at the whiteboard streamed to their monitor in real time. Using the zoom in feature of the iPhone my students could zoom into the notes and they were sharp as a tack. Similarly, my students noted that the Equil Smartmarker would be an ideal tool for students who may be on homebound instruction and wanted to follow along with the class. Using Equil Smartmarker a teacher could invite the student to a "Notestream" to join the whiteboard session. Within seconds the student could see in real time what the teacher is writing on the whiteboard and be an active participant in the lesson. As far as I know the Equil Smartmarker is the only tool that will allow teachers to do the "notestreaming" so that students can better understand the process. Teachers can also save the white boarding session and send it to the student via email for future reference. Using Skype or an audio conferencing tool paired with Equil Smartmarker could be a great way for students who are on homebound instruction to participate in a class. For faculty who are entertaining the idea of distance learning and rely on white boarding the Equil Smartmarker is a great solution.In the short time that I have been using the Equil Smartmarker and the accompanying software I found it to be quite intuitive and easy to use. I was really excited once I captured the notes to be able to utilize the handwriting recognition feature which worked really well- even on my handwriting! The handwriting worked really well and I could reorganize some of my notes to make it more readable. The Equil Note HD software gives you lots of options to share your notes once they are captured which is great. You can share your captured notes to the iCloud, Evernote, Dropbox, and OneNote which gives you some great options. While it is easy to get mesmerized by company marketing materials and online videos, I have to say the Equil Smartmarker lived up to its potential and performed flawlessly when I used it in the classroom. From basic whiteboard capturing to streaming the Equil Smartmarker was a pleasure to use and faded into the background so that I could use it to do my teaching. If you are in a public school, college or corporate environment then you will definitely want to have an Equil Smartmarker on hand to brainstorm and capture your white boarding sessions-and watch your creativity blossom and soar! For more information about Equil Smartmarker click here.

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!

Ever since I've been involved in the field of assistive technology there's always been the hope that speech recognition could assist students with the writing process. While speech recognition has been effective for some of the students we work with, it hasn't always worked out for the majority of the students that we work with. In the last six months there's been some new developments that make speech recognition a reality for many students. For many of us that are using smart phones we find ourselves using speech recognition more and more on daily basis for text messaging and for writing emails. Now students can take advantage of speech recognition on mobile devices such as iPhone's, iPad, Android phones, Windows tablets as well with as within Google Docs. With the advent of machine learning the speech recognition engines keep getting better and better and do not require initial training. This has made it a very easy entry for students to trial speech recognition. Prior to this time, students would have to spend a considerable amount of time training and creating a profile. With the advent of mobile devices this is a thing of the past. Over the last six months I've been using a number of different speech workflows that I wanted to share with you.Google recently added Voice Typing to Google Docs which really has taken speech recognition to the next level. By simply plugging in a microphone to a desktop computer students can start to use speech recognition immediately. I have found that the speech recognition that's built into Google Docs to be very accurate and allows students to quickly get their ideas down. Voice Typing opens up all kinds of opportunities for students to quickly get their ideas down on the page. With the advent of this API other companies have been using and integrating the Voice Typing into their apps. You will now find Voice Typing integrated into Co:Writer Universal, WordQ, as well as Read and Write for Google Chrome. Having Voice Yyping integrated into these applications give students a new way to get their ideas down on the page. It's really exciting to work with students and watch them as the words fly onto the computer screen. With the advent of so many stews students using iPads and the new system IOS 9, SIRI has become a better contender in the area of speech recognition. Anytime student see the microphone at the bottom of the keyboard they can click and speak and the text gets immediately transcribed. Although it's not perfect it certainly is a very fast way to input text on the iPhone or  iPad. SIRI is wonderful in that it works throughout the operating system giving students access to it from wherever application they are using. I am working with many students that are currently using SIRI instead of writing which has worked out really well.Another interesting application that I came across is called myEcho and it's an app that you can install on your iPhone and takes advantage of the SIRI technology. This workflow is great if a student has an iPhone and is working on the Windows platform. The student can first purchase myEcho aoo for IOS for a $1.99 and then install the companion app on their Windows desktop, laptop or tablet. Once the iPhone and the computer had been paired up, the students simply brings up the myEcho app- clicks on the microphone and begins to dictate. When when you click on the done button the text automatically gets sent to whatever application is open. This would allow a student to use speech recognition using their iPhone as the input mechanism and would allow them to type text directly into an application like Microsoft Word or any application that can accept text. Just like SIRI there is about a 15 second limit but you can continue to add text to your document by clicking on the microphone button. This application is not limited to one computer which would enable a student to  have the myEcho companion installed on his many computers as they have access to. This is a great solution for students that have an iPhone but are still using a Windows computer at school or at home for productivityThis past week Nuance the developers of Dragon NaturallySpeaking released a new app for Android and IOS called Dragon Anywhere. Dragon Anywhere is a mobile solution with hands-free use while doing speech recognition. Dragon Anywhere allows the student to dictate for as long as they need without having to tap on the microphone button on the keyboard. Dragon Anywhere allows the students to use voice commands to select text, export text and to move the cursor around the document totally hands-free. This power it has been unprecedented until the release of Dragon Anywhere. Once the student has done the dictation it's easy to export the text via email it or even place it in Drop Box.The one downside to Dragon Anywhere is that there is a monthly subscription fee of $15 to use the app. It really would be great if  Nuance had an educational pricing schedule for students to that schools could begin to pay for this service.Certainly you can see a lot has changed over the last couple of years with regards to speech recognition- making it a much more viable alternative for students that have difficulty in the area of written language. With a little practice these tools can become an invaluable part of their assistive technology toolkit.

One of the really important skills that students need to develop is their ability to take notes in class. While many students have access to digital devices many still rely on traditional pen and paper for note taking. While the research would support (The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking, Psychological Science,  Pam A. Mueller &  Daniel M. Oppenheimer first published on April 23, 2014) the use of pen and paper- wouldn’t it be great to be able to marry both the ink with digital technology to take advantage of the best of both worlds. In this post I'll share with you a couple of different strategies that students might find helpful to marry ink with their digital world.One of my favorite note taking tools is Evernote which I have been using for some time now. Evernote is a great way to capture ideas, notes, images, audio and store it on the web for easy access. Not too long ago, Evernote in collaboration with Moleskine came out with journals that allow students to quickly move their handwritten notes to the cloud with full searching capabilities. The system is very easy to use and would give students the ability to continue to take notes as they always have using pen and paper. When they are done they can use Smart Stickers that come with the Evernote writing journals to quickly file their notes using the camera on any tablet or smart phone. The Smart Stickers are quite ingenious. Using the camera on a tablet or smartphone you can associate a sticker with a particular notebook. For example, if you associate the sticker that has a House icon on it with your Science notebook, then when you take a picture of that page that has the house sticker affixed, it automatically will file the note in your Science notebook. The Evernote system works great and one of the big advantages of this system is that you can easily search all your handwritten notes. Evernote will OCR all of your handwritten notes and make searching very easy.For the students that want to add more functionality to their hand written notes they should take a look at the Livescribe smartpens. Livescribe has been developing this technology for the last seven years and allows students not only to record ink, but also the associated audio. For students that have difficulty taking notes and listening at the same time the Livescribe pen can be a great note taking strategy for them. Livescribe not too long ago came out with the Livescribe 3 pen which pairs to an iPhone or Android phone and uses the microphone and speaker on the phones for recording and playing back note-using Low-Energy Bluetooth to save their work. All of the students notes automatically get sent to the Livescribe + app on the student's device which can then be shared with Onenote or Evernote. This combination of services gives students access to their Livescribe notes in the cloud for easy access. Using the Livescribe 3 pen makes it easy to take notes and gives students that extra safety net-in that their notes also now can include audio. Students will find both solutions easy to implement and depending on their learning profile will find value in each of the approaches. That being said, both solutions allow student to marry ink and paper with the digital world making their notes searchable and accessible which after all is the whole idea.

As more schools jump on the Chromebook wagon it is is exciting to see companies like Dell step up to the plate and deliver high quality devices for schools. For many of us who have been using Chromebooks for some time now- I always found the first generation devices were rather under-powered and lagged in performance. But this is changing rapidly with new Chromebooks that are sporting Intel processors. With Dell's release of the Dell Chromebook 13 the tides are changing and now educators and students can have access to devices that house much faster silicone. The Dell Chromebook that was provided for me for this review, the Dell Chromebook 13 sported an Intel i3 processor with 4 GB or RAM and 16 GB Solid State Drive with a 13.3 inch FHD Display and is priced at $529 on the Dell website. The Dell Chromebook 13 is made of carbon fiber finish with magnesium alloy that is easy to grip and gives the computer good protection from dings and bangs.  The Dell Chromebook 13 comes standard with 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4, MicroSD slot Noble lock slot and a Stereo headphone and microphone combo jack and weighs in at 3.2 pounds. The keys are Chiclet style with back lighting and feel really good when typing. Most users will find the precision Touchpad with built-in glass integrated button extremely easy to use and will not find a need to carry a mouse. The Dell Chromebook 13 supports Bluetooth 4.0 LE, making easy to connect your computer to external devices that support the latest Bluetooth standard for Low Energy. Pairing one of my Logitech Bluetooth mice took just seconds and was very easy to accomplish. The Dell Chromebook 13 comes with Dell's 720p webcam which is pretty standard across most of the Chromebooks which should work well with Google Hangouts or Skype.Using the Dell Chromebook 13 you will find that its boot time is extremely fast and in a matter of a few seconds you will be logged in and ready to go. One of the really great features of the Dell Chromebook 13 is its battery life. With a 67Whr - 6 cell battery you should easily get 10-11 hours of battery life to keep you going all day long. The LCD screen provides you with a crisp view of your text documents and HD videos look great on the screen. One of my favorite features of the Dell Chromebook 13 is having an Intel i3 processor inside. You definitely feel the difference when working on this computer and having the processing speed of this mainstream chip really makes this a pleasurable experience. Whether you are just using Google Docs or opening up an app you will find the experience to quick and very smooth. Having worked on less powerful Chromebooks,  the experience of using the Dell Chromebook 13  was very positive and a device I would highly recommend to educators to look at. If you are looking for a top of the line Chromebook, then you need to take a look at the Dell Chromebook 13, it has a lot to offer in its quality built, design and horsepower. While the Dell Chromebook 13 may come in a little more in terms of its price ($529),  if this is your go to everyday computer it is worth the extra dollars to have such a high quality computer that you can count on to give you a great user experience! For educators who may be working with students who need to use a touch enabled screen, Dell does make a make a Dell Chromebook 13 model with with a touch screen.

For sometime now I've been looking for a lightweight but stylish bag to carry my Surface 3 and iPad Air when I'm traveling. When I came across the Waterfield Field Muzetto bag I had to take a look at it and see how it could meet my needs. For those of you that may be unfamiliar with the Waterfield bag company they're located in San Francisco and all their bags are made here in United States. Before I ordered my bag I went to the Waterfield website, took a look at their products and found the website easy to navigate and filled with some great looking products. When I finally ordered the Field Muzetto bag the process was easy andWaterfield Field Muzettostreamlined. The Waterfield  company gives you that special attention and within seconds of ordering the bag I received several emails updating me on the status of the bag. Because each of these bags is handmade I was given a date as to when it would be completed and shipped out. Even though I ordered the bag around the holiday season the bag was delivered prior to the holidays which was really fantastic!Un-boxing the Waterfield Field Muzetto bag one can get a sense of the high quality craftsmanship that goes into everyone of their bags. The bag is extremely lightweight and made of a beautiful light brown waxed cotton canvas with is accentuated with a chocolate brown leather panel in the front of the bag. The light brown cotton canvas has a distressed look which really adds to the beauty of this bag. Once you pick up the bag you realize how lightweight it is, which is great since I intended to use it to carry a Surface 3 and iPad Air. There are two main compartments in the bag with the divider between the two that is padded. The inside cloth is a beautifully textured zig-zag rust colored material that gives the bag a really nice look when it's opened.The inside compartment is padded with a nice brown felt material. Using the bag I can fit my Surface 3 as well as my iPad Air into each of the compartments, very comfortably. In the second compartment there is a zipper that allows me to securely store some pens and a notebook which comes in really handy and is ideal for storing cables and a power supply. The Field Muzetto bag comes with a full-size adjustable strap with a padded sleeve that is ideal for carrying the bag comfortably across your body. There is an outside pocket that can come in handy for storing your phone, notebooks, or magazines or other incidentals. I am extremely happy with my purchase and the high quality of craftsmanship that went into the Waterfield Field Muzetto bag. If you are looking for a high quality and light weight bag to hold you tablets - I would highly recommend the bag. And by the way the company is great to deal with - a real plus!

As much as I enjoy using my digital devices, there are times when I am going into meetings that I want to be able travel light and have that experience of putting pen to paper. However at the same time I know I am going to want to share that note or idea and bring it back into my digital work flow. I have been using various digital pen technologies for the past decade and when I saw that Wacom had released the Bamboo Spark I had to give it a test drive. Wacom was good enough to provide me with the Bamboo Spark Smart folio with gadget pocket to review. The Bamboo Spark Smart folio has a nice grey finish that should hold up well to wear and tear. The premise of the Bamboo Spark Smart folio is quite simple-write with the provided pen on the paper-then press the button to send all of your ideas and notes-which are automatically synced with the Bamboo Spark app on your IOS or Android device. The Bamboo Spark Smart folio uses ordinary A5 paper pads (ie. Bloc Rhodia N 16) which can be purchased from any stationery store. The paper pad must sit in the folio since the digitizer is found beneath it. While you can use just about any A5 paper paper you will need to use the Wacom refills that come with the pen in order for the device to work. In the Bamboo Spark Smart box you will find the folio, digital pen, a blank paper pad, USB to Micro USB cable, two extra ink refills and refill extractor. To get started you simply have to charge the Bamboo Spark with the supplied USB cable. Once the Bamboo Spark is charged you can pair the folio with your device by going through the setup which is well implemented. Once you have paired your Bamboo Spark Smart folio you are ready to give it a try. Simply take the cap off of the pen and draw or write some notes on the pad. When you are ready to sync your notes simply press the round button in the middle of the folio and within seconds your notes will be transferred to the Bamboo Spark app. Once your notes, sketches, or ideas are transferred to the Bamboo Spark app you can export it as text, images, PDF or WILL format which gives you lots of ways to bring it into your digital workflow. Wacom provides each user with 5 MB of cloud storage on their Inkspace web site which keeps all your notes synced across all of your devices. You can open and annotate your notes and sketches with any program that supports the WILL format (ie. Bamboo Paper). Applying Handwriting RecogntionHandwritten Bamboo Spark NoteHaving been a Evernote and OneNote user for some time it is now possible for me to easily share my ideas and then transfer them to these services. The Bamboo Spark just recently added handwriting recognition into the equation which gives this tool a wider audience. Now I can hand write my notes and when I am done export them and send them to my word processor of choice to edit and share. Having the hand writing recognition feature is a welcome edition and while it is still considered to be in BETA it has worked well for me. The simplicity of this device should be a big selling point, in that it will store up to 100 pages of text and images and so it is not mandatory that you have your device with you when using the Bamboo Spark Smart folio. When I wanted to annotate my images on my iPad I was able to transfer my notes and sketches to Bamboo Paper which is a nice plus. In this day and age of high tech solutions it is nice to see a device which has been designed for ease of use where the technology fades into the background and allows you to focus on the task at hand.As I use the Bamboo Spark I see lots of applications for this device in the work that I do in the schools. In the schools there has been a movement towards supporting students with disabilities in the mainstream with the support of the co-teaching model. With that in mind, I can see see co-teachers using the Bamboo Spark to record notes and share them out at the end of the period. Notes can be shared as text using the handwriting recognition or as an image or PDF file format. As I work on a new laminated guide on Co-Teaching & Technology: Enhancing Communication and Collaboration I have found lots of ways for both teachers and students to take advantage of this simple and easy to use technology. As much as I enjoyed using the Bamboo Spark Smart folio there were several times that I had to re-pair the Bamboo Spark Smart folio with the Bluetooth which was a little annoying. I would also like to see some changes to the Bamboo Spark app for IOS which would allow me more control to move notes into designated folders. While not imperative, it would be great to be able to attach an audio file to my notes page which could work well when using it with students. Using the Bamboo Spark Smart was a very great experience and will be a tool I will continue to use. As we live more and more in the digital arena it is nice to be able to put pen to paper and have the tactile experience, knowing full well that it can be easily integrated into your digital workflow- that is in the end the best of both worlds!Unboxing Wacom Bamboo Spark

One of the most natural ways to interact with our devices is with our voice. With the advent of smartphones many of us are beginning to rely on voice as our means for interacting with our devices. Whether you are using Cortana, SIRI, or Google Now, you know how rewarding it is to be able to text a message or set up a reminder with your voice. Using your voice to interact with your handheld device feels so natural and empowering. Within this context I ordered an Amazon Echo Dot which I received a couple of weeks ago and am really excited with its potential in being able to understand your voice and in its ability to connect other devices for environmental control. Setting up the Amazon Echo Dot was straight forward -I plugged it in connected it my WiFi network and within seconds I was asking Alexa questions. If you have used speech to interact with your devices you will be struck by just how fast Alexa responds once you ask it a question. The latency is really incredible. Ask Alexa what the weather forecast is in your hometown and in a nano-second, Alexa will respond with the answer. As I began to use the Amazon Echo Dot my thoughts took me to just how this could be used in the classroom. Given that all you need is a WiFi connection I thought about different ways it could be used an put together a short video to demonstrate. After watching the video, please share ideas and how you might use the Amazon Echo Dot in your classroom? 

I have been using MindView for years and is one of my favorite mind mapping applications. I use it to brainstorm ideas, plan workshops and for writing structured proposals and documents. For some time now Matchware has been working on an assistive technology edition that has lots of great features. These include: text-to speech, high contrast, integration with TextHelp Read & Write 9 Gold and Dragon Naturally Speaking. If you are interesting in learning more about Mindview AT they are holding a FREE webinar on May 12, 2016 at 11:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT which you can register for by clicking on this LINK. MIndView is an exceptionally designed mind mapping application that has lots of great features to meet the needs of students who need the built-in supports. 

Recently I was asked to showcase at the eACH Conference 2012,  some free elearning tools that can be used for deigning/developing elearning.  I presented just a few of my favourites out of the hundreds that are available within this 20 minute session. With some incredible inspiration from Jane Hart’s Top 100 Tools for Learning (2011) resources, my personal PLN, including ...