Here is a little tutorial on how to use the touch screen displays found on the first floor in Erickson Hall. The video can also be found in the video tutorial section of the blog.
This video first surfaced over on the blog Free Technology for Teachers, which is an absolutely amazing resource for any educator looking to implement technology in their classroom.
The video itself, along with the website The Week in Rap, is very cool and a pretty smart idea.
The creator has been able to do something rather difficult, and that is to find a way to provide material to a student in a popular medium, without making it extremely corny. This video was done for the class of 2010 high school graduates and reflects back on the events of their lives. Another amazing part of this video is that it is completely classroom appropriate with no cussing or poor language.
Since the iPad is a relatively new product, and certainly is new to me, I have decided that this is just an early stab at my top five favorite free apps the new Apple product has to offer.
1. iBooks 
This app provides the user with many many features that exemplify the iPads usefulness. The library layout is similar to that of a bookshelf, and make all of the novels easy to browse and select to read. Along with the extensive library, the features offered to the reader while in the book are very useful. The turning of the pages is done with a very fluid dragging of the finger from edge to middle and it is no pain at all to flip through the book or find a specific chapter. Also, the reader can zoom in, enlarge and highlight words as they read. The ability to search the dictionary, bookmark and search a word while reading all come in handy. This app is initially very useful, and with the development of more material could really become powerful.
2. TweetDeck 
TweetDeck is a twitter account manager that allows the iPad user to manage multiple accounts from one source. The application is also available on the iPod/iPhone as well as desktop computers. Inside teh app the user can specify default accounts, while viewing and updating from multiple usernames. This allows for seamless transitions between twitter accounts without the hassle or danger of confusing which account is in use. Also, TweetDeck is customizable and allows for the columns to be changed and altered to the users ideal view.
3. Dropbox
Dropbox is cloud computing application that has already been used on the desktop and has some familiarity with users. The idea of the app is to allow the iPad to be connected with the users other machines in a very easy to manage fashion. The Dropbox functions as folder available on both the iPad and the users other computer. Anything placed into the dropbox can be accessed and used fully by the user, regardless of location or proximity to the original computer. This makes file sharing and viewing very easy and painless.
4.Wikipanion
Wikipedia’s iPad app is very useful for the casual researcher. As most know, the site should never be used for any actual research or in the hopes of finding trusted sources, but for general knowledge and information this app is great. The set up allows the reader to quickly scan through the page and find the information that they are seeking, as well as having a large window that allows easy access to reading the page itself. Also, the left hand side of the app offers a toolbar that can be used to find other pages. The layout of the app offers a great way to surf for information and is very easy to use from the first usage.
5. Dragon Dictation
This application offers the user a speak and type ability from a well known name. Dragon has similar software for Mac and PC’s and the iPad app works very close to the same. The user is able to make a note by simply pressing on the record button, speaking, and pressing to end the recording. The accuracy is a little choppy still, but this is sure to improve as updates are released, but for the time being it is a very easy to use alternative for a user that would like to avoid typing a note with the iPad.
Here is a new video walk through that a few of the TIEs here put together with the new Apple iPad.
This video will be able to be located in the Video Tutorials section of the blog from this point forward.
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