How2App: Notability

How2App is a video tutorial series about how to start using an app and learn the basics of using it.

This week, I made a video detailing the awesome features of Notability.

For your viewing pleasure

Notability is truly an A+ app. I highly recommend it to any student.

Using Google Takeout to create an archive of your Google Account

It's close to that time of year for High School Seniors: Graduation. If your school is like mine, every student has a school-issued Google Account. And the best way to make sure you have all of your data for the years ahead is to use Google Takeout.

The 16 Google Products currently supported

To begin, navigate to the Google Takeout page, log into your Google Account, and click the "Create an archive" button.

The Configuration screen

You will then be moved to the configuration screen to choose what of your data you would like to keep.

Now we wait

After you properly configure your archive, the process begins. This may take several minutes or several hours depending on how much data is being compressed.

So big, you need to download it twice

Once your data is ready, you will receive a notification via email. Click the download button, and your data is now truly yours.

It's important to note a few safety tips regarding your data. Google has them listed as followed:

Keep these in mind so that your data remains protected.

Google Releases Standalone Apps for Docs and Sheets

Since it was first released in 2010, Google Docs has been one of the most popular Document editing applications, alongside Sheets for spreadsheets and Slides for presentations. In 2012, Google furthered the functionality of these applications by introducing Google Drive. While it had been possible to use Docs as a file storage system, Drive made it official with increased storage space and a desktop client. Now, Google is taking another step forward by releasing standalone applications for Docs and Sheets on iOS and Android (with a Slides app coming soon).

Google's current Drive app offerings on Chrome

With the release of these apps, Google has removed the editing functionality from the main Drive app on iOS and Android. Instead, with the new update, Drive now opens documents and spreadsheets in their own standalone apps, and prompts you to download them if you haven't already.

Docs and Sheets on an iPhone

The Good:

• Simplified apps are easy to use
• Accessing specific document type (document, spreadsheet, etc.) is faster
• Capable replacement for Microsoft's and Apple's office suites
• Separate applications allow Google to quickly fix bugs on any individual app
• Easy to collaborate with others on files

The Bad:

• No image insertion support
• Can be more annoying to manage multiple apps
• Lack certain features that make editing smoother
• No Slides app as of 5-5-2014

Overall, I like the direction that Google is taking with their new standalones. Touting separate apps for each of the main document types, Google is now capable of going toe-to-toe with Apple's offerings on the iPad - Docs for Pages, Sheets for Numbers, and Slides for Keynote. Though some functionality is left to be desired, I am sure that Google will continuously update in the future and listen to user concerns.

The Modular Future

Building blocks. Lego. Minecraft. It seems that humans have an obsession with taking things apart and putting them back together.

Smartphones. Another obsession that is everywhere today. According to Business Insider, "One in every 5 people in the world own a smartphone". It is a huge market, and will grow explosively in the coming years.

Google, kingpin of just about every service on the web, is about to capitalize on both of these things with the Ara Modular Smartphone.

Several Ara Bases and Modules

Rather than let you get locked into a long smartphone contract with a wireless carrier, Google's Ara aims to let you upgrade the phone piece-by-piece through the use of Modules. The processor, wireless radios, and even screen are contained in swappable modules. Crack the screen? Swap it out. Faulty speaker? Swap it out? Need a better camera for your vacation to Aruba? You know what to do.

Swapping out modules is a fast and easy process with the Ara

Ara's concept of a modular phone solves 2 growing problems in the modern world:

• The outrageous prices you need to pay in order to keep up with the latest technology - It has been reported that "pricing is expected to be around $50 for the base device." (Android Guys). This will allow people in lower-income situations to break into the world of technology without bankrupting themselves
• Electronic waste. We live in a world where everything is replaced and disposed of at at alarming rate. "Electronic equipment and gadgets are the fastest growing waste stream in many countries." (e-Stewards).

E-Waste is a persistent problem in many parts of the world

Hopefully, this concept of modules and customizability will leak out into the mainstream, and the concept will be picked up by other smartphones and tablets. The low entry price and high upgradability means that the Ara will allow more and more people all over the world to connect. This, truly, is the future.

The Best Add-ons for Google Drive

Recently, the Big G released a new feature for Google Drive: Add-ons. Anyone familiar with Google's Chrome Browser already knows a thing or two about add-ons. The simple "what's what" of add-ons is that they let you add apps or extensions to your program so that they can do even more. Google even has a web store for the little buggers, allowing you to install them with a single click. Now, they've come to Drive's Docs and Sheets apps (Google's cloud-based answer to Microsoft's Word and Excel). But what does this mean for you? What add-ons might actually be useful to you?

Calculator

Quick! What's 2+2? You probably got that one pretty fast. But what's 26533+5847? 5594x2495992? 69689/543? You might not have gotten those ones as fast. Anything more than simple math probably requires you to break out the old calculator. The Calculator add-on for Docs lets you do just that. It does everything it needs to do.

Template Gallery

A well-typed resume looks nice. A well-typed resume on a template looks much nicer. Offering templates for such things as Course Schedules, Exercise Logs, and Budget Planners, the Template Gallery add-on for Docs has a pre-made template available for just about any thing you need to type. Struggling with making a table to make a calendar? There's a template for that. Sign-up sheet? Template. Meal Planner? You know what I'm about to say.

Thesaurus

Mayhap you wish to augment your repertoire of words, whether elegant or colloquial  Or maybe you just want to stop using the word "neat" over and over again so you don't sound so repetitive (dandy is a neat word for "neat"). The Thesaurus add-on does everything it needs to do: Synonyms and Antonyms. Nothing superfluous or verbose.

Google Announces Android Wear

A few weeks ago, I published a blog post about Wearable Technology and its Application in the Classroom. As of yesterday (March 18th), Wearable Technology is about to take a massive leap forward. Why? Google is pushing. Get ready to welcome Android Wear to the world, coming soon to a wrist near you.

As I mentioned in my last blog post on Wearable Tech, a multitude of companies have already released or have announced plans to release wearable technology. Samsung, HTC, Sony and Pebble are just a few of the many. Yesterday, Google announced a new standard for smartwatches called Android Wear. As of right now, current smartwatch software varies greatly in terms of quality, as every individual manufacturer has to develop their own OS for the watch to run. Google has done away with that problem with their new, intuitively-designed Android Wear. Now, smartwatch manufacturers will have a standardized OS, allowing them to spend more time on the hardware itself. It will be interesting to see how Wearable Technology will evolve over the next year. One day, Wearable Technology may become as big a part of our lives as our smartphones.

How2App: Subtext

How2App is a video tutorial series about how to start using an app and learn the basics of using it.

This week's app, Subtext, is a classroom-based reading app that allows teachers to keep track of their students' reading progress and allows them to distribute assignments and exercises to their students.

Ted Talk Review: You Don't Need an App For That

What does the word "innovation" mean? When you hear the word "innovation", you probably think of the new iPhone release with its "innovative" voice assistant, or maybe a car commercial touting its 'innovative' new features. Toby Shapshack, a South African "authoritative figure in technology and publishing", released a TED Talk today about what he defines as "innovation".

In the Talk, he says that real innovation is the innovation of necessity. The people of Africa do not innovate because they want something, they innovate because they need to have it. The M-Pesa, a mobile, SMS-based currency, accounts for 40% of Nairobi's GDP. It was invented by an African who needed innovation. Shapshak talks about this and several other true innovations of necessity that his fellow Africans have created. I have to agree with Shapshak's definition of innovation being the innovation of necessity, as these innovations solve a problem that needs to be solved. They don't fill a nonexistent void the way that Siri does. Innovations like these are necessary for us to move forward, and makes life easier for us not because we want it to but because we need it to.

Chromebook vs. iPad

1:1 programs and technology integration is a recent trend sweeping the nation. Schools seek to use technology to augment the learning process. Indeed, many resources exist online that help students of all ages and grades with learning new concepts. I myself take notes over PDFs, as I find it a much more efficient process that the classic pen-and-paper. A question that every school district needs to ask is "What device to use?". Though my school uses iPads, I recently have had the opportunity to use a Samsung Chromebook to test its capabilities vs. the iPad's. Here are the pros and cons of the Chromebook that I have found so far:

Pros:

• Deep integration with Google Services
• Full keyboard
• 2 USB Ports (1 USB 2.0 and 1 USB 3.0)
• 1 HDMI Port
• 1 Standard SD Card Slot
• Ability to expand to an external hard drive or flash drive
• Chromecast Support
• Chrome App Store
• Ability to use extensions
• 11.6 inch screen
• Ability to plug in a full keyboard and a mouse

Cons:

• Little to no ability to annotate .PDF files
• Bulky
• Trackpad is difficult to use for larger hands
• Somewhat flimsy plastic frame

Overall, I find that the iPad is currently the better option for schoolwork. The touchscreen allows for very user-friendly interaction, and it has a much wider selection of applications available. Still, some features such as USB ports and the full keyboard are sorely missed features on the iPad.

Practice with Movenote: How to Raise a Young Roof

Today I practiced using an online presentation software called Movenote. It allows you to give a video lecture and pair with a slideshow that moves between slides when you tell it to. This is a short Movenote I made to test the software's capabilities.

Overall, I find Movenote to be easy to use, and it is definitely a useful tool in the classroom.

Wearable Technology and its Application in the Classroom

2014 is being heralded as the "Year of Wearable Tech" by journalists all across the internet, and for good reason. The following companies have released or have announced plans to release some form of wearable technology by the end of 2014:

• Google
• Samsung
• Meta
• HTC
• Qualcomm
• Pebble
• Sony
• Fitbit
• Oculus VR
• Razer

The Samsung Galaxy Gear

But what does this mean for education? The majority of wearable technology is being marketed as smartphone accessories rather than as standalone devices. This type of wearable tech serves to bring you notifications and other information directly from your phone. Google's Glass and Meta's Spaceglasses, on the other hand, are miniature computers integrated into glasses. Both project information onto screens in front of the users' eyes, and allow you to navigate around the device using voice commands and hand gestures. Of the two, the Meta Spaceglasses seems to be more capable of handling heavy amounts of coursework. It actually projects a 3D display in front of you (a close comparison is the display on the Ironman Suit from the Ironman movies), and allows you to interact with it as if it actually existed in real space in front of you. This would allow students

Some of the features of the Spaceglasses demonstrated in an advertisement

Another wearable technology that could have application in education is the Oculus Rift produced by Oculus VR. It turns a computer into a breeding ground for virtual reality. It was primarily designed to be used with video games, allowing you to see a game world as if it was in front of your own two eyes. It can also allow you to bring your computer to your eyes as well. With it, you can be completely immersed in videos and webpages, turning learning into a fluid and natural experience.

The Oculus Rift

Wearable Technology is still in its infancy.  It is currently limited in what it can do, but it will be interesting to see how it evolves in the future. I think that within the next 10 years, wearable technology will grow from smartphone accessories and gimmicky Google searchers into full on computers that we integrate into both our education system, and our everyday lives.

Swiftkey Note - A Review

Keeping up with the teacher while you take notes is a common problem for a student. The human body simply cannot write fast enough. You might say "But surely this problem can be solved with technology. Isn't typing faster than hand writing?". While it is true that typing is faster on average, it still is not enough. A new app, however, is trying to solve this in its own way: SwiftKey Note.

"Your notes, effortlessly organized."

Touting itself as the "Smarter autocorrect that knows you", SwiftKey Note is a new iOS application that aims to make note taking on iOS devices a more efficient process. The more you use it, the more the application learns about how you type. Simply put, once you use the application for a while, it will be able to predict what word you want to type next.

You know you're best friends when you can finish each other's sentences

Indeed, taking notes on SwiftKey Note is a more efficient process. The application is very good at suggesting words that come next, inserting it into the sentence with a simple tap. Of course, you'll need to type out the word yourself if none of the suggestions match, but don't worry - it'll learn.

Another great feature of the app is Evernote integration. If you haven't heard about it by now, Evernote is a great multi-platform note taking service. Once you sign up for it, any notes you take with it are saved to your account, and you can access them anywhere though your computer, phone, or tablet. SwiftKey Note lets you save your notes to Evernote and access old ones. Forget to bring your iPad to school? You'll still be able to access your notes on your phone or computer through Evernote.

"Of course, you'll need to type out the word yourself if none of the suggestions match, but don't worry - it'll learn."

One of the things that I feel is missing from SwiftKey Note is flow typing. Anyone who has used the SwiftKey keyboard, Google Keyboard or Swype Keyboard on an Android device knows what I'm talking about. It's a key feature in modern smart devices: the ability to type words without having to remove your finger from the screen. Rather than tap out each letter, you can simply tap the first letter and then glide your finger across the screen to each successive letter. The result is an even faster typing experience. SwiftKey Keyboard for Android has this baked in, but it's missing in the iOS SwiftKey Note app. Maybe it's a feature that will be added in a future update, or maybe it's a limitation of iOS itself, but the lack of flow typing is one of the few weak points of the app.

Flow-style typing demonstrated on SwiftKey for Android

Overall, SwiftKey Note gets a 9 out of 10. It has smarter auto correction that learns from you, and syncs your notes with Evernote so that you'll always have access to them from any device. The lack of flow typing is sorely missed by anyone who has used the feature on Android. Still, typing efficiency is indeed increased while using this app, and will continue to do so the longer the app learns from you. For a student trying to take notes in class, or just anyone trying to increase their typing speed, SwiftKey Note is definitely worth checking out.