#6 editing

I downloaded Quick office over the weekend and have been playing with it this week. I used it to create an agenda for a meeting next month. It worked well, in fact, just as well as Word. I am still adjusting to using the touch screen to copy and paste or highlight text, but that is me not the app. I did have to open the document on my PC to use the share feature. Maybe I just need to explore the options/settings in the app some more. I will use this more often, expecially in meetings where I can download the agenda.

Writing and editing.

Explain Everything is the editing platform that students at my school have been using. It is not an app that I purchased, but was highly recommended by teachers. It costs 2.99.

I use Notes the most of the editing apps that I have on my ipad. I try not to do much typing on the ipad. I have extensive files on my PC and can access them both at school and at home, so it is not vital that I be able to edit.

The other apps that I have tried are:
Skydrive
Smart Office
Penultimate
Evernote
Dragon Dictation
I have used them all but find that my go-to app is still Notes. I guess that I don't need the extra functionality in daily use. I do store documents that I'd like to access on the iPad in Skydrive. That way, I can view what I need from any device that I happen to be using. Skydrive doesn't allow editing on the iPad, but that hasn't been much of an issue for me.

Flipbook, a great news source

Flipbook has been my go to news source for school related things since the beginning of the school year. I honsetly don't remember when I found it, but it has made keeping up with new that interests me so much easier. I even moved my google reader there before the service ended. I don't use the magazine creation service.  I did explore it, but found that others do a better job than I could.

I read national news, School Library Journal, tech news, and follow facebook and twitter posts all in one easy to read place. I have been frustrated with some of the SLJ items. They seem like teasers with limited content. I guess that I need to subscribe to the print mag again. It is such a great resource. 

There are a couple of education related pages that I follow. Jackie Gerstein is my favorite. She posts and reposts many articles that I have forwarded to staff at my school. I also follow Joyce Valencia. 

Give this a try on your tablet. It will help you sort out the news you need and make it easy to access daily. 

browsers and search engines

I am a Google fan, I confess. I know that the company is collecting information about me every time I search.  I just like that the search is more specific to my needs. I have switched to the chrome browser at home and really like the apps that are avaiable. I also use google+ and gmail for many tasks. On the iPad, however, I find that my needs are satisfied by the Safari browser. I will move the google search button to the task bar and see if I am able to try searches using both this week. 

At school we have internet explorer and firefox avaiable. We have some preograms that tech support recommends firefox for. I don't see much difference in my daily use at school, though. More later after I have done some side by side searches. 

iPad tips and tricks 2

I was playing in several apps yesterday and discovered that I can't access the menu from below to adjust the volume in a video.  It will be interesting to see what works and what doesn't. I wonder if it is for music in the background so you don't have to close the app you are working in?