Outline: The Education Apple - episode 19

“The show that discusses Apple technology in the formal Classroom as well as in the classroom of our daily lives”

1. The Cast

• Barrett Mosbacker, Superintendent of Briarwood Christian School, publisher Christian School Journal

• Bill Brazeal, Technical Architect, Technology Specialist and Principal - ezNet Solutions

2. Week in Review

• Apple tablet market share falls to 32.4%

• Apple tablets sales that fell from 17M units to almost 14.6 million units

• Samsung managed to ship almost 8.1 million units in the second quarter

• Apple is expected to launch a new iPad Mini along with the next generation iPad this fall—likely in late-September

• Lacking a new product launch in March to help spur shipments, Apple’s iPad saw a lower-than-predicted shipment total of 14.6 million units for the quarter

• Apple is still leading the tablet market share despite the fall in the number of tablets sold
  

• Apple Finally Allows iTunes Accounts for Children Under 13 for Educational Purposes

  • The change comes as part of a larger thrust to better support the education market – including a host of changes and improvements made to iOS 7 with education in mind

  • To get around any potential liability issues, Apple won’t allow children under 13 to create their own accounts directly

  • Apple will employ a new program to allow schools to create accounts for children once they’ve obtained parental permission

  • new mobile device management (MDM) options that will give teachers greater capabilities to control pupils’ iPads.

  • It will also allow them to be part of a new volume licensing program for apps that will also be launched later this year.
    

• Following Flickr’s Redesign, SmugMug Revamps Its Service

  • SmugMug’s pricing structure hasn’t changed — it’s still $5 a month or $40 a year for a basic plan, $8 a month or $60 a year for “power” users, and $35 a month or $300 a year for business users

  • SmugMug claims “millions” of users, but wouldn’t disclose the exact amount. About 30 percent of those users are pro-level customers.

  • Flickr has around 89 million users, and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer says there are no pro photogs anymore.

  • iPhone app - Camera Awesome ; Android - native smugmug app
    

• Chromecast-supported apps for Redbox Instant & Vimeo are on the way

  • Thumb Drive sized, HDMI connected, device to stream video to TV sets

  • Sling what you’re watching on your mobile device onto your television screen

  • Cost is $39.00

  • Chromecast orders were so overwhelming in first week that Google actually had to kill its free 3-month Netflix service promotion

  • Presently, Chromecast apps include Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Music, and Google Play Movies/TV

  • Both Vimeo and the Verizon-Outerwall joint venture Redbox Instant service are also planning to launch their own Chromecast compatible applications

  • Google initially said Pandora access is in the pipeline, but plenty of people will also want access to services like Slacker Radio, Stitcher, Rdio, and many more

  • AOL, and Revision3 are said to be coming soon as well
    

• Twitter iOS app adds new authentication feature, gallery and list support

  • Significant update to their iOS app enabling two-step verification within the mobile app

  • The new mobile app is now able to stand in place of a text message to help you log into your account

  • Supposed to pop up in twitter app so all you have to do is tap it to allow access - no more need for SMS message

  • Can also use a backup code

  • When login request is made, you see browser details and approx location access is being requested from

  • Other new features:

    • view other users photos in gallery

    • More control when creating and editing lists

    • Speed optimizations to improve load times and smooth in-all experiences

Fun Category

• Indiegogo Startup Shine Launches Wearable Fitness Accessory in Apple Stores

  • Quarter sized wearable activity tracking device

  • To see how active you’ve been throughout the day, tap the Shine and a halo of lights shines through invisible micro-holes, laser drilled into the metal casing, showing your activity level for the day

  • Very nice iPhone app

  • Charge it wirelessly by placing on iPhone

  • In Apple stores now priced at $99.95

  • Misfit funded its original wave of Shines through an Indiegogo campaign that raised over $845K

  • Company founded by former Apple CEO John Sculley

• Meet The Game Apple Rejected To Save You From Smashing Up Your iPhone

  • Apple rejects a lot of iOS apps and games, but Send Me To Heaven has to be the first that was turned away due to the way in which it is played

  • Object of the game is to throw your iphone up in the air as high as you can

  • Google allow it - Send Me To Heaven, or S.M.T.H. for short, comes with just one instruction: “Throw your phone as high as you can.”

3. Should You Take a Break From Social Media on Your Vacation?

• Questions to ask yourself

• Is constant connectivity an inevitable side effect of the always-on modern age?

• Is it a positive thing?

• And what are the side effects of cutting yourself off from modern communication?
  

• A recent Marriott survey of American adults revealed that of those willing to give something up during their vacation in exchange for a 25% discount on a hotel stay, only 26% would give up access to their smartphone or tablet.

• a TIME mobility study suggests that in general, U.S. adults are unwilling to part with their handsets. In fact, 45% of those surveyed said they couldn't go more than several hours without their phones

• The same poll revealed that checking your phone has become a serious habit for many, with one out of four people checking it every 30 minutes, and one out five checking it every 10 minutes.
  

• What should you do on vacation?

  • Depends on what kind of break you want on vacation

    • If disconnecting from social media (or other electronic devices) contributes to overall goals then YES, disconnect

    • We're so inundated with information that a break offers a chance to reset your filters

    • Time of disconnecting and reflecting is important

• Why don’t we disconnect

  • Smoasting (Social Media boasting)

  • FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) makes us unwilling to tune out the noise from our social networks

  • How we are using social media is changing, we have access all the time on our phones - We have to learn how to control it

• Positive Side of Social Media

  • 76% of American’s say it is easier to spend time away from family with use of social media

  • There's a spike in social channel activity when people are on vacation, mostly because the experiences represent an anomaly to their usual day-to-day

  • In a culture so oriented toward work, having your vacation validated by your peers becomes important
    

• Bottom Line - it's all about moderation. "Too much technology use and you may not actually be present for your own vacation”

4. Apps and Followings

• Barrett -

  • App pick (Scapple)  Scapple is an easy-to-use tool for getting ideas down as quickly as possible and making connections between them. It isn’t exactly mind-mapping software—it’s more like a freeform text editor that allows you to make notes anywhere on the page and to connect them using straight dotted lines or arrows. If you’ve ever scribbled down ideas all over a piece of paper and drawn lines between related thoughts, then you already know what Scapple does.

• Twitter pick (MacLife) @MacLife 73,500 followers

• Bill -

  • App pick (GoPro)

    • Hero3 built in wifi that connects to iPhone or iPad for remote control

    • Easily capture video and transfer to iPhone

  • Twitter pick (ClaytonMorris) - Anchor for Fox News Channel, technology enthusiast, and Phillies fan

    • updated smugmug account with new layout claytonmorris.smugmug.com
      

5. Wrap up and closing remarks...

Don’t forget to follow us on the Internet

Bill: Twitter - @billbrazeal         Web - http://billbrazeal.com

Barrett: Twitter - @BMosbacker

Blog:  Christian School Journal http://christianschooljournal.com/

Thanks for listening in, be sure to tell your friends, watch for our next episode coming in two weeks.  So long for now.