Running Away with Running Apps (or NOT!)

I have never been a runner. Many people think I am a runner simply because my daughter, Lauren, is an avid runner. She is an elite athlete with Asics and is training for the 2015 Olympic Trials in the Marathon. Read her blog here or visit her Asics profile here. But the truth is – I am not the runner in the family. I love cycling, but not running.

However, I am hoping that technology will help me with this. As a World Vision Ambassador, I decided to take the plunge this year and train for a half marathon in order to raise money for bring fresh water to Africa through World Vision. I denied the opportunity three years in a row and this year decided I would go ahead and commit because I have seen firsthand the devastating water condition in Ethiopia. (Please support me here!)

So…I have been testing out apps to help me with my half marathon training! I am sharing the information with you!

I started with the 1/2 Marathon Trainer Pro.

This was listed in Apple’s “What’s Hot” and I suppose that is why I paid $9.99 for it. I thought for SURE it would spur me on. I have to say, I liked it for the first week. The music from my iPhone is built into the app so that was a nice feature. And, for the person who is not very athletic, this would be a great choice. It has a “run-walk” method that seems to be very popular. However, under closer examination, I realized that the run-walk method went all the way until the day of the half marathon where you would “run-walk” the half. I don’t want to do that. If I’m going to sign up to run it, I want to run it. I decided it wouldn’t prepare me enough and went searching for another app.

The next app I tried was MapMyRun Trainer.

I admit – I’ve used it once…last night. It’s free (yay) and let’s you set the date goal (this was my favorite feature). I liked being able to let it know the date of the 1/2 Marathon so that I would be exactly prepared at the right date. But, I did have a little bit of a hard time last night seeing it through my arm band. The icons weren’t bright enough for my old eyes and I had to constantly take my phone out of the arm band to see where to push to begin the run. It didn’t “coach” me along like the 1/2 Marathon Trainer Pro above and I found that I missed that. I am familiar with MapMyRun and I did like that it gave me the distance…which the prior one also lacked. It only gave time. MapMyRun Trainer does train for running the whole event. I need a voice coaching me along so I decided to test out a different app.

I decided to test out Run Training Pro.

I did have to pay $2.99 for this one but hoped it would combine the best of the past two apps. It advertises that it shows the distance, has a run program, records the map, and will play music. However, this app greatly failed me. It wouldn’t show the run or distance, nor would it give coaching. The only function that seemed to work was playing music. I spent over an hour trying to look up tech support but their web site appeared to be outdated. After much research and viewing blog posts about the app not keeping up with updates, I decided that this company may not be keeping up with the current iOS. With no response to my tech support help request, I decided I was now out $2.99. I deleted it.

My daughter came to the rescue with an online 1/2 marathon plan located HERE and HERE. The 20 week plan will work for me, yet I still really want someone to coach me through this – a virtual coach in an app! Yes, I need “someone” to urge me on as I run.

I downloaded the 21K Runner for $5.99 and decided it must be the one. With all these apps out there, there must be an app that does all I want it to do – right?

By now I was an hour and a half late for running, so I turned the app on and prepared to run–when I was greeted with a message that warned me that in order to use the app properly, I needed to be able to run a 10k three times a week. Hmmm. Well, I pressed okay – knowing that I currently don’t run that far. (Uh, ever?) This is what the app gave me for my day 1  run – 5 min. warm up, 60 min. run, 5 min. cool down = 70 minutes. WHAT??? I knew then I couldn’t use this app – yet. Augh. I guess I should have noticed that it stated it was 10k to 21k.

Going back inside, I downloaded the 10k Runner for $3.99. You can see by now that I have spent a lot of money on apps – which is why I am writing this article! I hope I will save someone some money.

 

It does have an audio coach, music, and plan. The plan is walk/run – but it does end with running a 10k. I counted up my weeks before my 1/2 marathon and I have time to go through the whole 10k plan, then the 21k plan. I will finish just in time. It has motivational tips and images – and honestly, that’s what I need even if it is digital. I let you know I am not a “runner” but I am very determined to do this.

If this app doesn’t work, I am going to scrap all of them and use Lauren’s paper version. No more $$ spent on apps I won’t use.

Which, again, is why I would love your support. If I know that people are putting their support into this World Vision fundraiser, I will be more determined not to let anyone down and really follow through with it! Yes, I will try not to let myself down and drop out, but peer pressure will help! I hope I’ve saved you around $23. Would you consider donating it to my run with World Vision?  CLICK HERE.

Change a Word: Grab Attention?

Little things can grab someone’s attention. I recently read an article by John Waters Engaging Students with Active Learning where he stated that you can increase student interest in your class just by adding the word EXTREME to the title. His example was “Weather and Climate” to “Extreme Weather.” Amazing. It really does grab your attention a bit more, doesn’t it?

I’ve been working on doing something similar to one of my courses – Technology for Teachers. I’m not adding Extreme to the title, but I have been “gamifying” it by changing some of the vocabulary and offering more choice. Sometimes the thought of technology in the classroom, especially to a new teacher, can be a bit scary.

So I’ve added a few elements to the course to peak curiosity. I am asking students to defeat the techno monster through Experience Points (XP – commonly known as points). I show them how to not only survive the course, but how to thrive in it through a set of choice quests (assignments). I believe by changing just a few terms in the class, it will heighten student interest. Alice Keeler has written a lot about how to gamify a classroom and although I am not going all out, I am trying to change a few elements, such as course vocabulary, to create interest.

Want to learn a little more? Check out some of these resources!

Gamification in the Classroom

Mr. Matura Musings

Bunchball

Gamification in Higher Education

A Gamified Approach to Teaching and Learning

5 Easy Steps

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Help bring clean water to communities in Africa! Support my first half marathon with World Vision. Click HERE.

Typing, Simplified

Office Lens can be a life-saver! I wish I had known this yesterday. My son wrote a paper for his college English class. Long story short, his computer crashed. Luckily, he had a paper version already printed out. Bad news – the professor wanted the digital version to turn in through Turnitin. So, he spent the evening re-typing his paper.

I stumbled upon Office Lens just this morning and wish I would have known then what I know now! On first appearance, Office Lens is similar to a scanner. But it does more than just scan – it actually converts the digital copy to a Word or PowerPoint document that can be edited with amazing accuracy!

To test it out, I took a picture of this page from The Power of Our Words by Paula Denton, EdD using Office Lens:

It then took this image and created a Word document, complete with formatting, that I could edit on my iPad or computer. (Don’t worry – I won’t edit this amazing book!)

Pretty awesome, right? You can even take a picture of a whiteboard and it will trim the edges, clean up the glare and shadows, then allow you to open it up in Word, PowerPoint, or save as a PDF to OneDrive.

There are many scanning apps out there, but the flattening effect of this one is great.

Integrating Technology with Project Based Learning… Four Indicators to Blend the Learning

Read this great post by 21st Century Educational Technology and Learning on PBL and Technology. Make sure you check out the SAMR link as well!

21 st Century Educational Technology and Learning

Welcome to this April post designed to look at the idea of technology and PBL. In my work at the BUCK Institute (BIE). I am often asked about the relationship of PBL and technology. This post is designed to give you my best reflection as to how they can work together. Also, be on the look out for my next few series… entitled the ABC’s of PBL and Deeper Learning, Going Beyond the Tech Shine,  and also… 40 great education sites to discover in 2015. First, to ensure you do not miss a valuable post or other resources covering PBL, Digital Curriculum, Web 2.0, STEM, 21st century learning, and technology integration, please sign up for 21centuryedtech by email or RSS. As always, I invite you to follow me on twitter (@mjgormans). Please give this post a retweet and pass it on. Have a great week – Michael Gorman (21centuryedtech)

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Everyone Needs Encouragement

Life has its struggles.

I know that my student teachers  work really hard. They are exhausted. I was trying to think of a creative way to encourage them. I decided to send some encouraging words – on a photo…because…I enjoy a photo with text!

I downloaded PicLab HD to test.  They offer a beautiful selection of artwork and overlays to add to photos. Not only that, I enjoy the handwritten font choices. It was quick and easy.

Here is the finished product:

Short, Sweet Stories

Life is full of stories…

• funny
• sad
• instructional
• etc.

I love Prezi’s newest app – Nutshell. 

It is so SIMPLE to use and turns your pictures into a short, sweet story to share with others.

All you do is snap 3 pictures, add captions, choose graphics and press play.

Nutshell turns it into an awesome video which can be shared through messaging, email, or social media.

I tested it out yesterday, not really knowing what I was doing…

Click picture

This morning I tried another one with my breakfast! I’m having fun with this one!

Click Image

Oh yes, you’ll love this app! Think about how you could use it in the classroom…portfolio samples, student work, projects, short story, capture student attention … be creative!

DOWNLOAD from iTunes ~ for FREE!

Best New Apps for April!

Yes, there are some great new apps and web sites out there just in time for spring!

1. Have you seen Google’s Smartbox by Inbox? It’s a mixture of physical mail and the inbox:

Click here to read more about it!

2. #Chromeselfie – Show your friends how you feel about articles!

3. Wiffi – A new way to connect to wifi.

4. The NEW Google search tool – try it out!

5. Amazon Dash – You’ll never run out of laundry soap again. Just press and it will be shipped to you from Amazon!

I hope you enjoyed these new products! And oh yes, Happy April 1st!

Global Leadership Summit – Speaker List!

By far, the best leadership event I have attended is the Global Leadership Summit. I began attending a few years ago and each year it gets better and better. This year’s speaker list has just been released!

It is transformational!

Bill Hybels: Best-selling author of more than 20 books including Simplify, Courageous Leadership and Leadership Axioms.

Sallie Krawcheck: Named number 9 on Fast Company’s list of the “100 Most Creative People 2014”

Adam Grant: The youngest tenured professor at Wharton. Named one of BusinessWeek’s favorite professors and one of the world’s 40 best business professors under 40.

Brian Houston: Senior pastor of Australia-based Hillsong Church

Ed Catmull: Five Academy Awards including the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for a lifetime of contributions and leadership in the field of computer graphics for the motion picture industry.

Sam Adeyemi: Founder of Daystar Leadership Academy, which is dedicated to releasing a new generation of leaders who will serve as catalysts in the transformation of Africa and the world.

Sheila Heen: Authored two New York Times bestsellers, including her most recent, Thanks for the Feedback, which helps leaders improve their ability to receive feedback.

Jim Collins: Authored or co-authored six books on leadership that have sold more than ten million copies worldwide.

Albert Tate: Combines biblical challenge with humor and is a sought-after guest speaker at universities and churches across the United States.

Horst Schulze: CEO of Capella Hotel Group; inspires client loyalty by raising the bar for customer service.

and a personal favorite Dr. Brene’ Brown: Her 2010 TEDx Houston talk, The Power of Vulnerability, is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world ; wrote Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection.

Make sure you register now and use the referral code 15FrndNS-4929

Jazz Up Google Slides!

Tired of the same Google slide templates? Google slides is a great choice when wanting to increase student collaboration – but the templates offered are a bit limiting. Slide Carnival offers free templates for Google slides! Choices include inspiration, playful, and even professional!

Once you choose your new template, how about finding pictures that already are student safe and have an automatic citation with every download? The images are Creative Commons licensed for school use. Yes! You will feel like this:

6 Do’s for Social Media so You Don’t Create a Nightmare!

Seriously. I can’t believe I need to write this post.

I thought most teachers understood social media do’s and don’ts. But I am finding they don’t. Really? Okay. Here it goes.

Teachers – you are in a unique position. While many some people feel they can post anything on social media that they want, don’t do it! This is especially true for teachers. According to Mike Simpson’s post on NEA,  “Newspapers across the country have begun trolling social networking sites for embarrassing and titillating postings by local teachers.”

Want a way to be fired from your teaching job? Don’t use your brain and post your uncensored thoughts or pictures to social media.

In the past 2 years, I have witnessed 3 different teacher friends post “without really thinking through it” on Facebook:

• One continually posted classroom pictures with no parental permission
• One posted an example of poor student work (with the name left on the paper)
• One posted on Facebook during work hours, left the laptop open, students got a hold of it and posted atrocities about the teacher on the teacher’s home page

Don’t want the past to come back and haunt you? Then don’t put it out there. We tell our teacher candidates to “clean up” their social networks if necessary because many schools will look at accounts to find out about new hires.

1. THINK first. “Both Twitter and Facebook keep logs of every instance of online activity – every post, message, interaction, like, friend, comment etc. If there’s anything inappropriate, it will have been recorded and logged. But as well as clearly demonstrating what a user has done, the logs will clearly indicate and prove what hasn’t been done online.”  e-Safety Report Understand that what you do online is like doing it in public. 
2. Check your own privacy settings. This guide will teach you about privacy basics for Facebook. Privacy settings will HELP prevent others from seeing your posts, but NOT PREVENT other from seeing posts. If it is out there, it leaves a footprint. We call this the digital footprint.
3. Model good digital citizenship for your students. We try to teach our students about cyber-bullying and good digital citizenship, right? Then model it. 
4. Check your school’s policy regarding social media. 
5. Change your passwords often. Make sure that you do not become a target of identity theft. Here is a site that may help you.
6. Do your own research.  Keep up with education and social media and understand what you should and shouldn’t do. I am not going to take the time to list everything teachers should and shouldn’t do. There’s just too much! So read up on what is out there. Edutopia is always a great resource.

Social media can be used as an educational tool to create and share knowledge. It’s great to be able to post and share ideas, videos, and resources. Just be wise. Use your noodle brain. Think. Many schools will want teachers to use a student-safe site such as Edmodo. Edmodo is a wonderful social media option for school that gives teachers control over content. There are even school district accounts so schools are under one secure network.

Please share this with your teacher friends. Have more helpful hints? Post your comments and ideas!