During our iPad training, you were able to see me demoing the mirroring of the iPad to my MacBook. Many of you asked how you could do the same thing. I have been installing the program on your machines to do this, but I thought this little step by step tutorial might come in handy for you as a reference piece. You can download it here, but I am posting it below in case you really just need a quick refresher.

If you did not email me about adding this to your classroom, please do. We will get you up and running ASAP.

Mirroring the iPad to the Computer Utilizing Reflection

1. Make sure both the computer AND the iPad are on the same wireless network. NOTE: The network CANNOT be “wowireless”. Must be a smaller network.

  

2. Make sure Reflection is running on your computer.

3. Double click the Home button on the iPad.

4. The taskbar will reveal itself.

5. Swipe the taskbar from left to right to reveal the media controls.

6. Tap the little square box with the upwards pointing arrow.

7.  Select your computer.

8. Slide the Mirror switch to On.

9. Your screen will now look something like this:

Notes:

• To turn off the connection, slide the switch back to Off or close the Reflection program on the computer.
• To make the iPad larger on the screen, go to Device in the Reflection menu and then select Enter Full Screen. Hit ESC on your computer keyboard to exit the full screen mode.

Edudemic.com put together a nice little reference sheet on ways that you can consume, collaborate, and produce with the iPad. Take a look (hint – hit the little arrow in the corner to get a larger view of the document):

Another great slideshow from Silvia Tolisano. This time she tackles the needed topic of utilizing the iPad for both automation and transformative uses.

Silvia Tolisano has done a great job of introducing the basics of the iPad. Use this slideshow as a reference as needed.

Dean Groom has a great blog post titled “23 Things about Classroom Laptops.” I reposted some of them below with some notes about how they apply to what we are doing in White Oak ISD.

• Work avoidance just went digital
• Laptops present a wealth of opportunities for the strategic learner to avoid work: low battery; lost wifi signal; ‘lost’ files etc., a range of ways to rebel.
• File Sharing
• Sharing is a behavioral status currency. A laptop is an excellent way for students to share video and music they have downloaded illegally. Students will share work via flash drives, hard drives as well as emailing it to each other. (WOISD Note: They cannot save anything on the device, so it would have to be on their cloud storage or their USB drives.)
• Search
• Learn about ways for students to ‘search’ beyond Google, and create lessons around how information is shaped to appeal to a diverse range of learners. Googling will be incredibly tedious for students. If you don’t know how to use visual search engines, custom Google search yet … now would be a good time to find out.
• Sage on the stage
• If you stand at the front of the class, you’ll see the back of laptops, so movement around the class is important. Sitting students in rows doesn’t work like it used to. The best place for the teacher to be is online and mobile – learn to multi-task and be prepared to access and work with students. Expect emails from students after school hours.
• Learn to use ‘mass’ collaboration tools and create learning spaces
• Find ways in which one or two students can ‘share’ work with many. Create online spaces where students can use ‘friend-networks’. Do not expect or ask students to work alone as they used to – that is the last thing they find motivating. Teachers will not be provided with these spaces – they need to be created in context with the needs and preferences of their learners. Example: Have a student be the math scribe for the day’s lesson/activities. The notes are posted to the class blog where the other students add to it via the comment section. (WOISD Note: Staff and students have blogs, Moodle, Edmodo, Google Docs, and pretty much any other resource you might need. You should not find a shortage of options.)
• Digital Blooms (WOISD Note: This is an excellent resource! Moving students to the Create level helps with depth and complexity.)
• Learn about Andrew Church – http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy
• Don’t be boring!
• Using a laptop to type in answers to textbook questions, print them out and hand it in is absolutely facile. Your textbook is NOT compatible with student motivation towards technology. Boring computer activities lead to work avoidance strategies and self-interest use of the internet. (WOISD Note: Don’t just automate. Innovate. Automation helps with efficiency in normally mundane, needed processes. Use it wisely and sparingly. Innovation is where the students become engaged.)
• Learn about Inquiry, Problem and Project Based Approaches to learning
• Social construct approaches work well with technology – but take MORE preparation. (WOISD Note: If you have any interest in receiving very high quality PBL training, contact Mrs. Neely or Mr. Floyd. There are opportunities available.)
• Music soothes restless minds – or distracts them
• Consider allowing the use of headphones for study (yes they like music), but also consider how great they are if you are giving them a YouTube to watch or a Podcast. Encourage them to remix, recreate and construct new audio – to put intrinsic interest to positive use. (WOISD Note: The easiest thing is to have kids bring earbuds to class. They can be purchased for a dollar or less.)
• The whiteboard is no longer the hub of activity – unless you put it online.
• The board is not the place to ‘look’. Consider how it can be used to work with ‘small groups’ to workshop ideas – and use the laptops as a student management tool to keep them busy and focused on work – not you or the board. (WOISD Note: Moodle and Edmodo are great tools for this.)
• Get a school mentor!
• Or enroll teachers on professional learning plan (WOISD Note: Start your own local professional learning network meeting at lunch or in a virtual space asynchronously. All staff have TCEA memberships to access free lunch and learn webinars on a variety of topics. Buck Institute also offers free Wednesday Webinars on PBL based topics. Both TEA and Buck Institute record their online sessions and will provide links for you to view them at your leisure.)
• Empower and enlist your Library
• Librarians are teachers with an additional skill – enlist them in your classroom as a team-teacher. Don’t ask them to find online resources for you – that’s lazy, ask them to teach you how to do it, or teach your students. (WOISD Note: With wireless throughout the campus, keep in mind the library and nature center are additional learning spaces to be utilized.)
• Teachers will use the same strategies as students when the going gets tough
• I don’t know how, I don’t like to, No one has told me … expect that some teachers really do believe that schools never change and will refuse to change their teaching approaches. You won’t get 100% buy in – even if they nod politely in staff meetings – asking for help is challenging for some – and age is no indication of belief and attitude. (WOISD Note: We are a team. We support each other at all times. Scott is available during the planning process, actual implementation, or reflection time to assist however he can.)
• Get student advisory / maintainers.
• Students make great tech experts. Enlist them in general maintenance of laptops – don’t assume students know how to care for laptops! Develop a maintenance and support program and allow students to run it. (WOISD Note: This is a great consideration for later in the year or to being next year with.)
• Plan for ‘wi-fi’ down times or server failures for websites.
• Do not make the device the center of the activity – just in the same way we never made the ‘calculator’ the center. A lesson should not fail or win – because of the device or lack of. (WOISD Note: Amen.)
• If you don’t have a learning management system – get one.  Get Moodle. You can also use Edmodo. Managing digital learning is thought, not labor intensive. (WOISD Note: WOMS has its own Moodle. Consider creating a Moodle course for your students. This will automate the scoring of your already multiple choice, fill in the blank, and matching assessments.)

Consider these tips to help you manage a digital learning environment:

• Dean Shareski: “Rule #1. When you open the laptop in the classroom, you are no longer the smartest person in the room.”
• Plan a strong lesson. First and foremost to any classroom management technique is your lesson plan. A good lesson plan that keeps the student involved will reduce classroom problems – whether you are using mobile devices or not. Assign discrete tasks instead of large projects. In your lesson plans, spell out exactly what you expect your students to do with their mobile device. Create your own expectation. Furthermore, make sure any use of the mobile device in class is appropriate, and not its own distraction.
• Always run through a technology lesson before presenting it to the class.
• Always have a back-up lesson prepared in case the technology fails.
• Create a culture of good mobile device use. This means that good academic uses by individual students should be praised, but mis-uses should be acknowledged and students held accountable. Assign offending students paper and pencil tasks. The point here is that the classroom needs to respect and use the device as a tool, and not a toy. Taking away the benefits of the tool can be strong motivator for improving the classroom culture. Once you let them just play games, they will always want to play games.
• Model effective and appropriate use as often as possible.
• Type directions for frequently used computer operations – opening programs, inserting clip art, printing documents, and so on – on index cards, laminate them, and connect them with a circle ring. Keep a set ready to hand out. Or, add them as a Page to your blog for easy reference.
• Always have students check that all applications are closed (to avoid costly crashes) and that the sound is turned down before starting a lesson.
• Encourage collaboration. Mobile devices are excellent tools for collaborative and cooperative work, particularly if students can work in a space that allows them to see each other’s screen.
• Review the WOISD Acceptable Use Policy with your students. You might have done this before, but now they have a device in their hands for an extended period of your classroom. Don’t take any chances. Review it again at least in the beginning.
• Proximity control works better than software for managing classes.
• Check the Taskbar (netbooks) as you wander around the classroom.
• Double click the Home button on the iPad 2 to see what apps have been running lately.
• Netbooks – students can only save work to the cloud (Google Apps, blog, DropBox, etc) or their flashdrives. There will be NO thaw space on the netbooks.
• iPad – students can save work to the cloud (Google Apps, blog, DropBox, etc), Keynote, Pages, Garageband, and other apps will save onto the iPad, but other users can delete them.

• Designate “Think Time” or “Lids Down” time when students must direct their attention to the teacher or facilitator
• Use timers: timers are great fro any activity. If you’re doing a class activity that involves the mobile device, use a timer so the kids know they don’t have all day.
• Consider this article: Classroom Management in the Digital Age

Consider these great tips for managing the cart while in your possession:

• Mobile device carts should be locked and stored in a secure location while not in use.
• Keep the cart plugged in while in the classroom to make sure the devices are charging while not in use.
• Assign the same mobile device to the same student each time. As each mobile device has an identifying number, this provides for a degree of accountability.
• Check the mobile devices! Do a quick, visual inspection of each mobile device as they are returned to the cart. Report any damage immediately.
• Lock the Cart. When the mobile devices are not in use (and no teacher around), they should be secured in a LOCKED cart.
• Plug the mobile devices in. Charging bays in the cart are numbered to correspond to the mobile device. Mobile devices need to be returned fully charged for future use.
• One student, one mobile device. Students should not be allowed to work on another student’s mobile device unless it is a collaborative assignment.
• Close programs, log off, and shut down. Student should complete these tasks before returning netbooks to the cart. The netbooks have deep freeze and will reset with each power down.
• Close open Apps and put iPad into sleep mode before returning iPad to the cart. In other words, click the power button on the top of the iPad once. Shutting them down completely is not needed and only lengthens the time it takes to get class started.