Day 138 - Notability: More Than Just Notes - Timmy Sullivan, BHS Junior

This post first appeared on the BHS Help Desk Blog 

BHS Junior Timmy Sullivan interviews the makers of Notability in Episode 22 of Help Desk Live.

Day 96 - Notability Models - Air Pressure and Temperature - Jordan Marino, 6th Grade Science Teacher

This post originally appeared on the Marshall Simonds Middle School Blog

    

In Mr. Marino’s grade 8 Physical Science class, students have been creating models on their iPads’s of the relationship between air pressure and temperature. The models are created by annotating photographs in Notability (sample pictured below).

Notability model

Students observed how molecules move faster when in the presence of heat. In this case, the heat from hands is enough to generate bubbles. The lab reports and models were uploaded onto a shared Google Drive folder. Students in Mr. Marino’s class will be building Physical Science portfolios using many items from this shared folder.

Day 90 - Technology in the Sciences at BHS - Mr. Wood's AP Bio Students

This post originally appeared on the BHS Help Desk Blog.

Guest post authored by BHS students Ashay Lockhande, Arvind Pasupuleti, Jay Patel, Kumaraman Srivastav, Shivesh, Shah and Kush Patel which highlights the way they are using their iPads as members of Chuck Wood’s AP Biology class.

Over the course of the last three years, Burlington High School has begun to adopt the iPad into everyday academic uses. The usages of the iPad are virtually unlimited with the ever-expanding variety of applications suited for almost every course imaginable and the ability to unleash a student’s creativity. Over the last three years, both students and teachers have come to greatly appreciate the iPad and its many applications.  This is especially evident in Mr. Wood’s AP Biology class.  Many uses of the iPad have manifested themselves throughout the year and yet, many remain “unexplored.”  The iPads have created an ideal learning environment for students where they can take detailed notes, share information and notes with each other effortlessly, and open their textbooks on their iPads without lugging their textbooks in their backpacks and hurting their backs.  As you will see, the iPad has virtually unlimited usages and will continue to be used as a tool necessary to the academic student.  Here is a glimpse of the ways the iPad is used in Mr. Wood’s classroom.

Note-Taking

In this picture, a student is taking notes by using the Notability application on his iPad. He has an external bluetooth keyboard that connects to the iPad. In this situation, the student is easily able to take quick and efficient notes that will help him prepare for a test. Notability is a very powerful application that will transform how you work. It helps one sketch ideas, annotate documents, sign contracts, complete worksheets, keep a journal, jot travel notes, teach a class, make a presentation and much more. With iCloud support, your notes stay up to date on all your devices. Notability also helps record lectures and meetings, which adds on the the note-taking experience.

Microstope Photographs

This microscopic image was photographed with a smartphone. The image represents the late metaphase of the cell cycle in onions. Smartphones are useful in an AP class because they can be used to record images and share it among classmates. Taking a picture with a smartphone is relatively simple and produces clear images. With the advances made in smartphones, many models offer built-in digital cameras with immediate snap and send functionality. This allows remote fieldworkers to instantly photograph and send images/videos of anything. Photos can also be modified and labeled using the Notability application. Smartphones make sharing photos/videos quicker than ever before. They benefit students in the majority of their classes.

Annotating Pictures

With the use of an iPad, a student is able to draw on pictures using an app such as Notability. Shown on the picture to the left is an image of an onion root cell taken during a mitosis lab.  The picture was taken with a smartphone, though an iPad would have worked in the same manner.  After taking the picture with a 13 megapixel camera, students were able to see which cells in the onion were in which phase of cell division.  To count the number of cells in each phase of cell replication, we imported the photo into an editing application, where we could mark each type of cell with a dot.  Each dot of a different color represents a cell in a particular state of replication.  The stylus, without a doubt, was useful in pinpointing each minute cell and marking it with a dot.  Without the help of the iPad, counting the large amount of cells may have been a very difficult task.

Chromebooks & Cameras 

In the picture shown below on the left, a student is making use of a Chromebook in order to easily type up a lab report. Technology also facilitates the integration of data – graphs and tables are easily added to the lab report. Below shown on the right, a student is using his iPad camera which serves as a data capturing device in AP Biology. By taking pictures of the slides, it saves the student time by having the image on their iPad — no need for drawings. Phones can be used as helpful cameras too.

Drawing Diagrams & Typing Notes

Students can not only take written notes, they have the ability to draw pictures and diagrams on their iPads. A stylus is very helpful in this case. A wide variety of choices are available on the iPad to help the student make his/her diagram as detailed as possible. Students have the ability to take notes on the iPad. It is faster and more efficient to type out notes rather than handwriting them. Furthermore, this allows the student to carry one less notebook, which may not seem like a lot, but definitely decreases the weight of a student’s backpack substantially.

Capturing Lab Data Firsthand

Through the use of an iPad, one can display and record data. The iPad can be used to take pictures and videos of an experiment. These pictures and videos can be implemented into students’ lab reports to give the reports a whole new dimension to the project. With the tap of a screen, the collection of one’s observations and data is no longer a problem. A student’s lab report is around a couple thousand words, on average. However, they say that a picture can say a thousand words. Then imagine how much a video can say? This is how the iPad is able to add a whole new dimension to traditional lab reports and experiments.

Notability

Shown in the picture below on the right is a diagram of a cell as drawn by a student in a note-taking application on the iPad.  As mentioned, taking notes, both in the classroom and at home, is easily done with the help of the iPad.  The most commonly used app for taking notes at is Notability.  This application has the capability of editing documents and pictures, taking notes (typed and hand-written), and recording audio.  Notability also has the capability of synchronizing data with Dropbox accounts.  This means that your notes are automatically backed up to your Dropbox account, so you can view them from anywhere there is an internet connection!  This multi-faceted application is a favorite among students enrolled in almost any course.

Data and Graphs

Whether creating a data table or a pie chart, recording data during labs is a piece of cake for biology students.  Certain applications allow for data to be inputted in the forms of tables, and they regurgitate them in the form of splendid graphs and charts, which accurately represent the data.  Even handwriting data tables and graphs is a simple task when you have a iPad! Using applications such as Notability allows one to simply create graphs that can be modified at free will and look spectacular!

The students have been able to see the advantages of the iPads first hand, but have the teachers acknowledged these advantages? A.P. Biology teacher Mr.Wood sure has. He believes that they can have a large and positive impact on the students. He has a saying, that “It is just another study tool that you need to take advantage of.”Mr. Wood emphasizes that one should take full advantage of his/her resources to help themselves succeed. He not only allows students to use this technology in the classroom, but he also encourages it. He reminds us to bring our iPads to class whenever we have a lab so we can use it to help collect and record our data. However, this is not the only time we may use our iPad’s.

Mr. Wood sees the advantage of technology, especially the iPads, in everyday lectures as well. He encourages his students to look up pictures or the related topics on their devices during the class discussions. He knows that he is not a walking database, though he is close to it, so he wants kids to search up whatever he does not know, or cannot show. This is mainly with the iPads, but is not limited to them. The iPads have certainly changed what and how kids have been able to learn in their classrooms, and has allowed teachers to widely expand their teaching capabilities. Mr. Wood has embraced this change and has allowed his students to benefit from it. The iPads have truly been an effective educational tool.

Day 74 - European Art Tour - Notability Art Profiles - Andrew Dexter, MSMS Library/Media Specialist

To help kickoff learning about Europe, Mr. Dexter in the Learning Commons setup a European Art Tour. The purpose of this activity is to help the students make the connections between art and the 8 Traits of Culture. The 8 traits are: language, religion, social groups, history, government, economy, daily life, the arts. Using print and digital resources, students search for European art and explain how each piece of art connects with culture. Once the piece of art has been identified, students use Notability on their iPads to present the images alongside the cultural traits they represent.

By the end of the activity, students gain an understanding of different European countries through their art and they discuss the connections they discover. Students gain an appreciation for the impact art has on a society and how it can be used as a tool to express opinions and emotions about a culture. Look at a few student examples below:

  

Day 30 - Digital Workflow With Google and Notability - Tim Calvin - BPS Instructional Technology Coach

This post by Tim Calvin originally appeared on the BPS EdTech Blog

You can follow Tim on Twitter - @NothingFuture

You can follow the BPS EdTech team on Twitter - @BPSEdtech

We are often asked about our digital workflow options and use of paper in Burlington classrooms. While our classrooms are not all paperless, we are certainly using less paper in classroom workflows. This post describes one of the most popular digital workflow options used in our 1:1 classrooms.

We find the most efficient way of distributing assignments to students is viadistribution lists. This allows a teacher to send a single email to their entire class, and for students to then open that attachment file directly into their Notability app. Notability is a paid app that we currently provide for all students in grades K-8. The app is highly recommended for high students but it is not required.

First, a student would open the email from the teacher. The email will have an icon for the attachment:

Tap this icon to initiate the download of the attachment. The icon will then change to the file type of the attachment, in this case a pdf.

Tap the pdf icon to see the attachment.

Once inside the attachment, the icon in the upper right hand corner will allow you to open the attachment into another app. In this case, we are going to select Notability.

Once Notability is chosen, you will have the option of creating a new note from that attachment, or adding it to an existing note. In this case we will create a new note.

At this point, any work that needs to be done can be started. Notability is a great tool for annotating documents, labeling maps, science labs, and completing equations.

Each student who is going to submit work needs, in their own Google Drive, to create a folder of their own. They should name this folder according to your requirements as a teacher- though we recommend students using their name followed by subject. This folder then needs to be shared only to the teacher. Students can then returns work to a teacher directly in this shared folder.

To create a folder in the Google Drive iPad app, first, press the “+” icon in the upper right corner.

After pressing the “+” icon, you’ll be presented with a choice of things to create- You’ll want to choose the New Folder option.

A teacher should choose the way a student names their folder. In this example, the standard being used is a student’s first and last names, followed by the subject area. This process will also help organize your student folders in Drive later.

After naming the folder, press create.

You should now have a folder icon in your Drive.  Press the “i” icon by the folder to modify the sharing settings of that folder.

The student should then add the teacher to the folder by pressing the “+” icon and adding the teacher’s email address. From inside Notability, finished work can now be placed in this shared folder by exporting to Google Drive app and picking this shared folder as the file destination.

Teachers can even take the process a few steps further. Teachers can organize all student folders in their Google Drive by class or block. Teachers can annotate completed student work using Notability and assess student progress. Some BPS teachers are using the audio note feature in Notability for assessment. Teachers can record an audio summary for the student to review. All graded and assessed work can be returned to the student through the shared folder. This helps complete the paperless digital workflow.

Day 23 - Best 2.99 You'll Ever Spend - Notability, Amit Patel, BHS Senior

This post originally appeared on the Burlington High School Student Help Desk blog

In this post, Senior blogger Amit Patel shares his experience and insights using Notability: the “Cadillac” of all note-taking apps and a worthwhile investment for every BHS student. Amit has been using Notability for the past two years. While Paperport Notes and Pen Ultimate are free, Notability’s features will exceed your expectations! Amit has used images from his Notability app in this post to demonstrate how he uses the app in his courses and how it integrates with other core BHS apps. 

 Disclaimer: Notability is NOT a free app. It costs $2.99 and operates on the iPad, iPad Mini, iPhone (3Gs and later) and iPod Touch (4th generation and later).

Notability is an essential note-taking app that all BHS student should have. The app is fantastic for illustrations, recording, completing worksheets, and annotating documents.

The app seamlessly can import documents and PDFs from a variety of places such as the web browser, Google Drive, etc.

Notability has an effective system of organization. Dividers can be used to separate notes by class and subjects can be created within dividers for each topic within a class. There is also a search bar that can be used to locate notes by title or by the content within them. Notes can easily be moved between folders and renamed.

 

The app has a zoom mode for hand writing that makes it easy to write on documents whether or not you have a stylus.

Below is a breakdown of the toolbar.

In addition, Notability has a note-taking mode that helps you take structured notes with bullet points, headings, sub-headings, sections, and sub-sections.

Notability can also backup notes on the internet to iCloud, Google Drive, Drop Box, WebDAV, and Box. So in case you forget your iPad one day with last night’s homework on it, you can use a friend’s iPad to access your homework or notes online.

Want to learn more about Notability?

The following link is the site of the developers of Notability. Here you can find more details on features and support.

There are places where you can sign up for an account to use to automatically backup your notes online like Dropbox and Google Drive.