Today, my Government students began what has become one of my favorite projects: Creating Your Own Government. Students are given an imaginary scenario in which they have to establish a functional government, including how to address issues such as building shelters, creating jobs, establishing an educational system, etc. Students are also required to draft a […] The post Creating Rubrics with Google Forms appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

I’m so excited that Google is making so many awesome updates to Classroom! Today, Google unleashed a new extension to simplify Classroom even more…Share to Classroom! This free extension allows teachers and students to share information from the web to their classes through Google Classroom. Teachers can create an announcement or assignment directly from a website […] The post Google Classroom Updates: September 2015 appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

As I indicated on Twitter earlier last week…I’m seriously going crazy with the sheer awesomeness that is Google Forms! The possibilities are seriously endless! I recently had a minor epiphany while creating a rubric for a project. I was naming columns and rows while setting up formulas, which is great. As I told you earlier in […] The post Google Forms for Everything! appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Remind (formerly Remind 101) has recently made some FANTASTIC updates to their already amazing program. Remind Chat allows teachers and students to initiate safe, two-way text based conversations that are DOCUMENTED without showing either party’s phone number. Remind Chat is wonderful for so many reasons, but the ability to communicate quickly and efficiently with students […] The post Use Remind Chat in Your Classroom appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Welcome to the second installment of Google Classroom Updates, September 2015! When I see new updates to Classroom, it’s almost like Christmas morning! Almost In case you missed it, Google has added a Calendar feature to Classroom. Now, by simply selecting "Calendar" on your Google Classroom homepage, you can view (and interact with) posts you […] The post Google Classroom Updates: September 2015 (Part Two) appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

I stumbled upon Appolearning about a year ago when I was frantically searching for iOS apps to use in my classroom. Appolearning popped up as a wonderful, FREE search tool for educational apps. Appolearning not only allows teachers to locate new apps for their classroom, but also provides an "expert" review of how those tools […] The post Curate and Share Educational Resources with Appolearning appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Today, the "Share to Classroom" extension for Google Classroom was pushed out to students in my building. After reading about the new extension, and reading about teachers’ experiences on Twitter, I admit I was a bit hesitant about the purpose and effectiveness of this tool. However, my fears were assuaged today when I tried the […] The post Share to Classroom Extension…Awesome Addition, Google Classroom! appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

A new feature has been added to Google Classroom…and it’s great! Finally, Google Classroom and Google Forms work together. Teachers can assign a Google Form from Classroom itself. No more adding endless students to the "send form" option on Forms. Now, teachers simply… Create and title an assignment Select a Form from Google Drive Choose […] The post Google Classroom Updates: October 2015 appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Earlier this school year, my colleagues and I participated in a webinar about the wonderful features of the online reading platform, Curriculet. Curriculet includes hundreds of ebooks, both free titles and those available for rent, that are assignable to students. Teachers sign up for an account, create classes, and share simple codes with students that […] The post Create Reading Lists with Curriculet appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

I’m currently creating a presentation for an in house professional development session, and as is typical of me…I’m searching for new EdTech tools to share with my colleagues. Well folks, I stumbled upon a gold mine for learning and review games today. Brain Rush! Have you tried it? Brain Rush is FREE and allows teacher […] The post Assign and Monitor Learning and Review Games with Brain Rush appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Attention Google fans! Have you seen the new update to Google Forms?! It’s great! The new Google Forms creation page looks a little less techy and a lot more comfortable. All of the features we love are still available on this new version of Forms. They’re just easier to find! Check out some screenshots of my […] The post Great Update to Google Forms appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Don’t you love when you’re sitting at your kitchen table on a Sunday morning, enjoying a cup of coffee (perhaps a second or third cup) when inspiration strikes? Your heart pitter patters as the pieces of a neat project fall into place, and you frantically open a Google Doc to jot down the rough specifics. […] The post Presidential Debate Activity appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Google Forms are awesome. They just are. The ability to link responses to a Spreadsheet and then manage that data is an indispensable tool for teachers. A few weeks ago, I completely geeked out on Form creation…creating rubrics, self-evaluations, needs assessments, Bellringers,  and more. What if you want students to complete the same form daily, […] The post Google Forms: Pre-fill a Form for your Students appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Wow! This morning, I stumbled upon a gold mine. While randomly searching through Pinterest, a promoted pin popped up…I typically don’t care for promoted pins, but this one caught my eye! Tiny Tap allows teachers to create, assign, share, and sell games and interactive lessons created via the Tiny Tap iPad (or Android tablet) app. I’m […] The post Create Educational Games with Tiny Tap appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Teaching in a 1:1 flipped classroom provides an amazing opportunity for formative assessment. Learning what students know and where they need help is vitally important to teachers. Fortunately, many great tools are available for teachers…and many of them are FREE! I stumbled upon Spiral a few months ago, and I’m so glad I did. Spiral […] The post Formative Assessment with Spiral appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Do you love Kahoot!? My students and I are definitely huge fans of this wonderfully fun, game-based formative assessment tool! Kahoot! is tons of fun to play in the classroom, however it can also be played by students individually or with a small group. I typically create a Kahoot! activity toward the middle of a […] The post Students Can Play Review Games with Kahoot! Individually appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

We’re beginning a vocabulary intensive unit in my American Government classes over Constitutional freedoms, and this academic vocabulary will most definitely be built upon during the remainder of the course. Therefore, learning and being able to apply this vocabulary is essential! Throughout the course of this year, I have offered (an encouraged) a vocabulary activity […] The post Assignment Submission with Google Forms appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

Padlet is an amazing tool for classrooms. This interactive "cork board" has opened so many opportunities in my classroom, and has drastically changed many of my activities…for the better I use Padlet at least once a week in my classroom…sometimes for brainstorming, presenting quick research information, responding to historical films, etc. Tomorrow, my dual credit […] The post Use Padlet to create a Pro/Con Chart appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

I received a message from an ex-student, Marco, a few weeks ago asking me to check out his new app. I was pleasantly surprised as my memories of him from school were that he was a nice kid with poor attendance.Marco has just created an android app called Numbersnap. This very cool app is designed to automatically take someone's picture when they enter their phone number so that you can remember who they are. It also automatically sends them your number by text message. It is very cool and I was very impressed and exceptionally proud of Marco for his creation.I am still stuck on Marco's attendance and it really made me think. Here we obviously had a student amazing potential who wasn't coming to school. If we had been teaching something that Marco found useful I'm sure he would have turned up to school a little more often. I last saw Marco six years ago and in that time the technology landscape has changed massively but we are still stuck with an education system that pays little more than lip service to the skills that students need to be taught in this new technology-rich environment. Marco has been successful in spite of the education we provided, not because of it. How do we develop an education system that promotes this success?Here on Free Technology for Schools I do not normally promote paid for products but here I am not promoting a product, I am promoting Marco so if you have an android phone navigate to the Play store and check it out and see if we can get Marco into the top 10.  This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

If anyone is still out there following this blog (I'd be surprised if you were as I haven't posted much this year!), you should hopefully see some changes in the coming months. I started this blog about 18 months ago and was originally blogging twice a week, before the baby arrived. I am very grateful to the guest posters who have kept it going in the mean time and I will be posting lots of new content this summer.My big plan is to completely overhaul the template that I use and get rid of the depressing grey colours in favour of something lighter and brighter. If anyone knows of any good blogger templates, let me know.There will also be a change to the content. So far, I have been writing mostly about free software. I am going to widen my scope to include good value, cost saving hardware, working towards reducing paper consumption, and also have a greater focus on effective digital pedagogy.  I might sometimes also write about software which is not free if I feel it provides a good cost saving for schools. This is in part driven by my own schools move towards certain paid-for solutions.Thank you for following Free Tech for Schools and I hope that my continued contribution to the blogosphere will help you with using technology to enhance the learning experience for the students you teach.This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

Las Vegas is a weird, weird place, but it seems like if you want to go to some of the best L&D conferences, you're going to have to be at peace with eventually going there. I've been... well... way more times than you'd ever guess someone who doesn't gamble would end up in Vegas. As a result, I've picked up some nifty tips for navigating the place, getting good deals, and making the most out of a conference there. So I thought I'd share some of what I've found out with you guys.Now, some of this might look familiar as I originally wrote a version of this post in 2013 (you can read the original on the L&D Global Events blog). Since it's been a few years, though, I thought it was time for a bit of an update.Before the conferenceHotel discountsStaying in the conference hotel is pretty darn nice. Unfortunately, even with the conference rate, these hotels can end up a bit pricy, particularly if the money is coming out of your own pocket. One of the nice things about Vegas (yes, I'll admit it has some perks) is that there are an absurd amount of hotels on the Strip at a wide variety of price points. If the conference hotel is a bit much, look online at the hotels on the same block or just across the street. Chances are there's a cheaper one within a 10 minute walk. It's not as convenient, but being willing to walk can save you a bunch of cash. Worried a cheap hotel will be crummy? Well, cheap hotels on the Strip are still way nicer than the average hotel. As long as you're not looking for fancy amenities, chances are you can be pretty happy in one of the less pricy (but still awfully nice) hotels.Once you've picked a hotel, be sure to check and see if it has a rewards program. This will pay off even more if you're a gambler (it's how they keep track of your gambling bonuses/rewards), but even if you're staying far away from the slot machines and cards it can still sometimes give you small but fun perks like coupons and a members only check in line.Actually, hotel rewards programs are always smart to check in to, no matter where you're traveling. They've netted me free wi-fi, cheap room upgrades, and other cool perks.Download the appIf you do one thing before the conference, do this. You may be used to events where the "app" is essentially a PDF of the conference catalog. The L&D conferences I've been to, though, consistently put out well thought out apps with features that actually take advantage of the fact that you have a smart phone/tablet.These apps tend to include helpful things like a full conference schedule, the ability to curate your own schedule, maps, attendee information, exhibitor and speaker lists, in-app messaging and social media, and sometimes even points. Personally, I'm still not in love with any of the gamification I've seen in these apps, but sometimes they can land you some pretty sweet conference swag. Just promise me you won't be that person who clogs up the app feed with useless posts just so you can get enough points for a fancy mug or shirt. Download the app now, play with it to get used to it, say hello to some other attendees, and then use it to begin organizing your trip.Get on TwitterAre you on Twitter yet? If you aren’t, conferences can be the thing that will convince you that you should be. The sheer volume of valuable conversations, sharing, and reflections that go on through Twitter during a conference is epic (more on that later). This is something you don’t want to miss out on, so get set up with Twitter, start following the official conference account, find out what the hashtag for the event is, and get your feet wet before the conference.Already on Twitter? If most of your followers are friends and family rather than L&D professionals, this might be the time to consider setting up a second, professional Twitter account. That way you aren’t annoying your friends with your constant tweeting about your conference (or your new conference connections with Instagram photos of your brunch).NetworkingSpeaking of social media and connecting with others - some of the best networking happens when you make plans in advance with other attendees.  Be sure to find out who from your network is attending and at least make tentative plans to run into each other during specific times and places.PackingPacking for a conference can be a bit different than for a regular vacation. Great packing can help you feel less exhausted, avoid blisters and backaches, and keep your costs down too (something really helpful in Vegas). If you want a few tips about what I like to bring, here's a quick video I created about it.Your Trip to VegasCheap airport shuttleOn a map the Las Vegas airport looks mere moments away from the Strip. In reality it actually is… but thanks to traffic it can still often cost you $25-$40 for a simple cab ride to your hotel. If you want to save some cash and you have a bit of extra time, consider taking one of the airport shuttles instead. At about $8 each way ($14 round trip), it’s a decent amount of savings if you're traveling on your own. If you're traveling with a few people, though, splitting a cab can end up cheaper. If there's more than one of you, do some quick math.The shuttles are located in the driveway just outside of the baggage claim (near the taxis). Walk outside and look for the shuttle kiosks along the outside of the building. Select your shuttle service, pay, collect your receipt, and then head to your pickup station on the curb (yes, each shuttle company has a different one). Tell the driver which hotel you’re going to and then settle in on the shuttle. The actual time it takes to get to your hotel will vary based on how many (and which) hotels the other passengers are going to, but it’s usually not too long a trip all things considered.Note: If you’re going to take the shuttle back to the airport, be sure to ask your shuttle service about the process for booking your return trip. Every time I've used a service I've HAD to call 24 hours before I wanted to be picked up to ensure it gets booked. Yeah. This is annoying.Cheap snacksVegas can be an expensive place to eat. However, if you can do breakfast on the cheap and leverage the conference lunch, then that leaves your budget open for splurging a bit on dinner. I do this by bringing my own breakfast bars and snacks, but if you didn't have a chance to do that before your trip, stock up by hitting one of the drug stores along the Strip. They have a surprising amount of groceries in them and their prices are thankfully quite reasonable.Cheap show ticketsOne of the main draws of Vegas is the shows, which are spectacular but admittedly pricey. If you’re open to a bit of chance, be sure to take advantage of Tix4Tonight kiosks (http://www.tix4tonight.com). This company offers substantially discounted day-of tickets to many of the shows in town and there are tons of locations across the Strip. Not every show is offered every day, but the selection is always decent.Note: In addition to cheap tickets, these locations also offer restaurant discounts (generally around 25-50% off your entrée). If you’re trying to decide what to have for dinner, a visit to Tix4Tonight might be worth a trip.Vegas is terrible for walking anywhere quicklyGoogle Maps would have you believe that the Strip is an easy walk. This is because Google Maps doesn’t seem to be aware of the fact that the sidewalks in Vegas are a maze. Seriously: there isn’t a direct route anywhere. Walking up and down the strip involves navigating sidewalks that loop convolutedly around casinos and merely crossing the street often requires that you use a series of stairs and bridges. If you plan to walk anywhere and don’t want to be late, a good rule of thumb is to take the walking time Google Maps gives you and double it.At the ConferenceBackchannelRemember how I told you Twitter was going to be important? This is why. A conference backchannel is essentially a real-time collection of all the social media comments and conversations about the event. The backchannel often includes summaries of conference talks, attendee conversations and reactions, links, and even photos and video, all of which make it a wealth of information. It’s also a fantastic way to meet new people.So how do you tap in to the backchannel? Do a search in Twitter for the hashtag and you can see what people have been saying and sharing about the conference. Want to add to the backchannel yourself? Just remember to always include the conference hashtag in every tweet you want to share.Note: Can’t attend the conference in person? You can still enjoy the conference from afar via the backchannel.Keep fed and wateredIn the midst of all this excitement it’s very easy to forget your basic needs. Of course, do that during a conference and you’ll eventually be hit with a massive wave of exhaustion right in the middle of the event. Plus, hotel air in Vegas is dry and smoky, so it's absurdly easy to get dehydrated and dragged out. Take care of yourself and remember to stop by the free refreshments tables provided by the conference. Visit them often!After the ConferenceLook for opportunities to save on the conference next yearDid you know that a paid membership to the organization that puts on a conference can sometimes get you a big discount on entry? It's true. For instance, if you have a paid eLearning Guild membership, you get a decent discount on all their conferences. If you're planning on attending just a single conference this discount can sometimes pay for your membership fees AND still save you a chunk of change. On top of that, you get all the benefits of membership for the rest of the year too. Can't complain about that.Note: Guess what? For some conferences you can chain this member discount on top of early bird discounts. Hooray for additional savings!

Hey guys! Just a quick post about what I'm up to at DevLearn this year.As always, I'll be live tweeting the event. I haven't solidified my concurrent session schedule just yet, but I'll definitely be at all the keynotes. There are also two sessions I can guarantee I'll be at... pretty much because I'm actually one of the session speakers for them.Wednesday, Sep 30th - 3:00-4:00pmThe past, present, and future of games and learningHear a panel of really clever people (and somehow me as well) talk about how games and learning come together. Chances are I will find some way to bring up that bizarre pigeon dating simulation game I've been obsessed with. You've been warned!  ;)Thursday, October 1st - 1:15-2:15pmWhat? I don't have to be an art wiz to create my own design assets?Yes, it's another of my series of conference talks that make it very clear I used to be an art teacher! Seriously, though, I really do believe that everyone (even those of you who can't draw stick people) can learn to create images, photos, and/or fonts yourself with the help of a few cheap tool and a couple of nifty tips that we'll discuss in this session. Also, this session *may* have some hideous examples of crummy designs I myself made when I was much younger and a lot less skilled. Come for the design tips! Stay for my horrible first website about the repulsiveness of Tiger Tail ice cream!For those of you at DevLearn, looking forward to seeing you tomorrow! For those of you not here, hope to see you on the backchannel!

Well, my plan to do video recaps at DevLearn didn't go exactly as planned. The Day 1 video refused to upload to YouTube and I got back way too late on Day 2 (thanks to attending a surprise wedding renewal... a nice problem to have!) to record coherent sentences. By Day 3 I figured this was all going to be post-conference reflections and that was just going to be okay.Now that I'm home and have access to delightfully strong Wi-Fi, I've posted that Day 1 video after all (you can view it here). But since I'm doing all the other days as blog posts, I figured I may as well just recap it in text too.1) Keynote - Learning Disrupted: The unrecognizable new world of tech and cultureSpeaker: David PogueWho doesn't want to start a learning & tech conference by looking at the absurd amount of things our tech can do these days?! From keeping track of your health to making your smart phone into an ocarina, Pogue talked about we are surrounded by new tech. And what's cool is this tech doesn't just make our lives better (or, at least, more ocarina-infused), it also changes how, what, and why we create, share, and interact. No surprise, that's why it's important to keep on top of it, especially for those of us in L&D.So there's that point, but Pogue also made another important one: not all these tech ideas are going to make an impact. For every tech success, there are dozens of products that don't pan out (or, let's be honest, were just too stupid to succeed... I'm looking at you Nintendo Power Glove). It takes all that trying weird ideas and often failing, though, to find what sticks.2) DIY Music Tracks - Loops and Virtual InstrumentsSpeaker: Don BolenIf you're looking to create a more immersive experience in your eLearning, videos, podcasts and other cool training mediums, adding a soundtrack can help you out. They're great for conveying moods, emotions, transitions, and/or a sense of place, all of which can make what you create feel more realistic. That said, most of us aren't trained composers. But thanks to loops (tiny snippets of sound/music you can chain together to create songs and soundtracks) all of us have the ability to put together our own soundtracks with a bit of effort. When it came to what to compile your loops in, Bolen recommended GarageBand. This was because it's cheap (well, it's cheap IF you already own Apple products), easy to learn, and, best yet, comes with free loops already installed. If you want to use other software or if you need to expand your library of loops, though, Bolen mentioned a few options for acquiring more cheaply, including:Big Fish AudioSoundationccMixterFreeSound.orgOn a related note, if you're looking to make your own loops, I've actually bumped into a few easy-to-use iOS apps that are great for that. As of late, I've been playing with Auxy, Beatwave, and Figure, all of which are worth poking at with a stick.3) We don't own social in the workplace and we never willSpeaker: JD DillonHas the universe ever conspired against you? That's how I used to feel about JD's sessions. If we were both speaking at a conference, then inevitably we'd always be scheduled at the same time, much to my annoyance. Thankfully, the universe clearly got lazy this year because I FINALLY got to see him speak. No surprise if you follow him on Twitter, his session was both useful and hilarious.Basically, lots of organizations have invested in social tools that it turns out their employees don't care about using. Some companies like to make the excuse that it's just because people don't know how to use the tools (and then WE all get called in to build completely unnecessary training), but JD says that's not the real problem. It's not that they don't know how to use the tools - in fact, many of these tools are just as easy to use as Facebook or Instagram - it's that they don't automatically see how the tools fit into what they're trying to accomplish at work.So what can you do to help people want to bother with those social tools? Well, a lot of what JD found helpful was actually modeling using the tools to get things done. Want your team to use your chat tool to keep in touch? Chat with them through it so they can see how it's useful. Want them to start using Slack instead of email? Start running a team project through it so people can figure it out (are you thinking of doing this? Then go bug JD on Twitter about how he got his team using Slack). People don't just magically understand how whatever tool you're trying to launch will make their work lives better. Often you've got to help them see the value.One of the other key points he brought up was that, for social tools to take off, L&D shouldn't actually be leading the work on them. Sure, L&D should have influence (and often we're in a pretty great position to test out new tools and weigh in on what's actually worth bothering with), but for social to actually take hold it's got to be used beyond just in training.4) The past, present, and future of games and learningSpeakers: Julie Dirksen, Sharon Boller, Koreen Pagano, and Bianca WoodsHey look! It's one of my sessions!Since I was actually speaking and not live tweeting the thing, that makes it a bit tricky to cover afterwards. Instead, let me just give you a taste by answering the last two questions we were asked.What's your favourite game that you've played recently?Oh boy... this one's weird. I'm quite keen on both games in the visual novel genre as well what you could basically categorize as "bizarrely random stuff from Japan". My most recent fav, Hatoful Boyfriend, sits well within both of those areas. The thing is a spot-on spoof of Japanese dating sim games, but with one weird twist: all the characters you're trying to romance in the game are pigeons. So it's super weird, but I love it. I adore branched storytelling and it's such an excellent example of how differently a story can go based on your choices. Plus, it just cracks me up every time.What game do you think people should play to better understand games and learning?I took a slightly different turn with this question. Rather than recommend a specific game I recommended a specific process: back a game on Kickstarter. What's great about this approach is that games that go up on Kickstarter usually haven't been developed fully yet... and the developers send backers updates through the entire development process (yup... even if you back them at the lowest price point available). I have learned so much about how to develop a game just from all of the backer updates I've gotten through the years, so if you're looking to create or purchase a game for learning, why not learn from the experts?! Plus, I've found there's a ton of overlap between how we develop everything we create in L&D and how game devs approach projects. Even if you never make a game yourself, you can learn a lot about great design and development approaches from these updates.5) Keynote - Digital badges and the future of learningSpeaker: Connie YowellAnd, to cap things off for the day, another keynote!Yowell opened with what we need to solve for if we want to reimagine learning: lowered student engagement, entering the workplace without the skills employers want, and a lack of equal access to the tools/programs/resources that help students succeed. To solve for this, Yowell looked at how successful adults mapped the things that helped them learn. As it turned out, they didn't just point to the traditional school path; they also mapped a wide (and not particularly linear) range of other connected and networked ways they learned new skills. To reimagine learning in a useful way, then, Yowell said you need to find a way to capture and share that wide range of experiences. And the best way to do that is through open badges.The open badge website has some wonderful content on what exactly these things are. The VERY condensed version is that an open badge carries data about who earned the badge, where they earned it, what they did to earn it, and a connection to relevant standards. You would earn badges for learning new skills anywhere (not just in school) and those badges could be shown to others as a way of displaying the skills you'd learned throughout your life. Kind of like a combo transcript/portfolio/scouting sash that follows you throughout your career and documents a wide range of knowledge. And that broader system of showing a range of experiences could be just what we need to solve the problems Yowell discussed at the beginning of the talk.So what makes open badges different from any other badges? It's that ability to take them with you anywhere. In most systems the badges you earn are for that system alone. If you leave the system, you don't take the badges with you. In the world of gaming, that's like me earning achievements on my PS4 but not being able to transfer them to an Xbox One. That's annoying, but it's way worse in your work life. You're constantly learning things at work, but your record of that progress doesn't travel with you if you move to a new company. With an open badge system, though, it would. And that would be great for reasons beyond keeping you from having to redo the same legally mandated health and safety training every time you move to a new company.That's a wrap for Day 1! My Days 2 and 3 coverage will be following along later this week. But, for now, sleep. Sweet, glorious sleep!

When It Comes to Apples and Oranges - Save Me an Orange… 3 Reasons to Stay Away from iPads in the Classroom Now don’t get me wrong, I am an Apple guy through and through. My house is mired in the Apple ecosystem and we love every single bit of it- despite the maladies of the latest update. But this article is certainly not about an individual consumer purchasing Apple products, which I think is the root cause of why Apple fails in the classroom- especially if it is a shared device. To get straight to the point: if you cannot purchase iOS devices for each student - don’t bother. Here’s why: 1. "Get Your Head Out of Your Apps" - Apple’s Favourite Line is a Quiet Lie As an educational consultant for 21st century learning, an experienced classroom teacher and the writer of countless design projects for implementation of technology in the classroom, I have been invited to sit in on numerous meetings with Apple Inc.’s regional representatives to discuss the rollout of devices into the classroom. There once was a time that I highly recommended the iPad as an excellent device for integrating technology into the classroom but no longer is this the case. After examining iPad implementation across the province, country and abroad over the last six years I have come to determine that it is simply not designed for shared use in education. This contradicts the very idea of what it means to collaborate - a 21st century skill we can all agree upon. It would seem that Apple’s philosophy when it comes to education is share less buy more. In my last year as an educational consultant for 21st-century learning I would only come to meetings with Apple with one question in my back pocket: How can students share work in a seamless way, then pass on the iPad to another? The bottom line: in a shared situation there is no guarantee that students’ work is protected as the device moves from student to student or even from teacher to teacher. Each and every app that is downloaded requires a sign-in, but go ahead and look for the sign out button because each app has it placed on a different page within the software. When asked if Apple’s native applications can solve the problem, the answer is quite simply -N-O-, and for a company that prides itself on developing the native functionality of a device used for education there is a glaring absence of a solution for this. For example: A student submits work using Dropbox or Box or Drive or any other cloud based software, would require that student to sign in to that app. What happens when that student passes the iPad on? What guarantees that the original student signed out of the cloud based app?  I understand that there are workarounds and I have even suggested those workarounds to my colleagues only to realize how insensitive I was to the time it takes to efficiently put those workarounds in place. For anyone to suggest that it is merely a finger-to-glass operation, is proof that they have no respect for teachers’ plans or teachers’ time. This is simply unacceptable. Third party profiles can be installed on an iOS device - of which there are many - however, these 3rd party applications keep App store purchases separate and therefore updating apps becomes a nightmarish experience of signing in and out of an iTunes account to ensure an app works with each update. Again a show of disrespect for a teacher’s time. 2. Privacy (How confidently can you answer the questions below?) I guess what concerns me most is that educators around the province, around the country, and around the world have yet to see the shortfalls of using a personal device in a shared situation when it comes to privacy. And when I use the term ‘personal’ I am referring to a district purchased iOS device - because that’s what it is.. a personal device. For example when you take a picture on a shared IOS device that picture remains in the iPhoto library as the device gets passed to another user. In fact, notes, files, videos and projects suffer the same lack of lock-down. Another example could be if a student or teacher has failed to sign-out of a shared app such as Dropbox or Drive then pass the device onto another user. It boggles the mind that Apple’s fingerprint scanning technology has yet to evolve into a profile manager. Well actually - no, it doesn’t. Buy more share less - remember? If you really want to understand what I’m getting at when it comes to privacy (and I’m not talking about the countless teachers using their personal devices to ‘document’ student learning, (because that’s a whole new can of worms)see if you can answer the following questions with confidence: What is the deletion procedure for pictures stored locally on iOS devices in your school, board or region? Who is responsible for deleting pictures of students or student work? What are the criteria for using 3rd party apps to house your students’ photos or work? Are they local or international? Who owns the 3rd party? Are they for profit? Do they give to charity? Do they lobby for education? Do they run criminal background checks on their employees? What is their policy for sharing data with other 3rd party marketers? Surely you must be aware that when iCloud is turned on, photos taken can be uploaded to iCloud on PhotoStream - so who deletes those pictures? Did you know that they can remain ‘deleted’ for up to 30 days? Yet another delete has to be performed before they are permanently deleted. (Does Apple run criminal background checks on their employees?) Remember what happened to Jennifer Lawrence? A tad dramatic I know - but it happened. 3. Management Software is Half-Baked at Best The management of multiple iPads becomes a nightmarish experience when you learn that Apple itself does not produce a manager for multiple iPads. In fact when you meet with Apple they suggest the purchasing of a third party software to manage the devices such as MDM or Airwatch, both of which have been on the market for less than 2 years and both of which have to play catch up to each and every iOS update. In fact, I have witnessed school district technicians put finger to glass on thousands of devices because of an iOS update that no longer communicates with the 3rd party manager such as AirWatch.  When asked directly about solutions for updating apps or even adding new ones to the iPad, teachers are told that they should request new apps or updates on a monthly basis to lessen the stress on the network and human resources. In essence, the once fluid and responsive device becomes an onerous lump of metal that reacts too slowly for our educators in the field. For example: Apple prides itself on its secretive development such that, developers will receive 4 months to prepare for a new update. I know because I have actually developed an app myself. Before you take advice from system leaders who claim to know - ask them how the app development process actually works - then gauge their answer (or lack thereof) for yourself. My verdict (and I stake my reputation on this): Unless you intend to purchase iPads for each and every student, stay away from iOS devices until Apple changes their marketing ploy from Share Less Buy More to Buy Less and Share more… and you know of snow that cannot melt..