Givit - take a video and make it awesome!

So a request from a student for a way to speed up video footage on the iPad quickly led me to this free video app.  Givit Video Editor is a free video editing app that allows you to use multiple clips, add effects, titles, photos, music, and filters.  And there is also NO length restriction!

The effects is what I was drawn to.  There is the ability to slow or speed up the video as well as many other effects.  It's exactly what this student needed for her video.

By signing up with a Givit account, you are also given 5 GB of online storage on their website, with the ability to share publicly or privately.  From your iPhone or iPad you can also save to your photos or post to a social media account.  There is a tie in to social media via the givit account, much like instagram, which will allow others to find the user name and follow the videos.  I have not seen anything inappropriate, with the majority of the videos being sports clips, etc.

Privacy is always a concern and it is the option to make all videos and posts private, or as I did in a practice video, just save to the camera roll and not upload it to the givit account.  Because of the automatic tie in to a social network, this app is best with older students (13+) with permission, or as an app to go to on the teacher device to work on special projects.

Sharing with Airdrop on IOS 7

One dilemma teachers often contend with is how to view students work that is completed on an iPad, particularly if you have an iPad center or you are 1-1.  One workflow solution is to have students email finished work, but that will fill up a teachers in-box.  Another workflow solution is to have students upload to a cloud service, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or Edmodo.

You may want to try out this new IOS 7 solution using Airdrop which allows you to share items between compatible IOS devices via bluetooth.  Wifi needs to be turned on, but not necessarily connected for Airdrop services to work.  Currently it's available for all iPhone 5 models, 4th generation iPads, iPad mini, and 5th generation iPod Touches.  

It's quite simple to use, as you select what you want to share and if there are available Airdrop recipients within close proximity, they show up as possibilities.

You tap on the particular recipient and they receive a notice to accept or decline.
 

 

To enable your IOS device to receive Airdrop items, you need to go into the control panel, tap on AirDrop, and choose either from contacts or everyone. 

If the teacher has their iPad, or even iPhone 5, set to receive Airdrop shared items, students could go in and share their work to the teacher's device.  

Shared items include anything with the Sharing button; photos, notes, videos, and completed items in apps.  The shared item will be stored in the same location as where it came from; photos in camera roll and notes in notes.

If all iPads in a center or 1-1 classroom are set to receive Airdrop items, then students will be free to share with each other.

Currently IOS devices can not Airdrop to a Mac, as I'm hoping that feature becomes possible in the near future.

Restricting Websites on IOS 7

After upgrading to IOS 7 last week, there were some features this new operating system contained that were intriguing.  One in particular was the ability to control which websites were allowed or not allowed to come through on an iPad.

There are three choices for restricting websites:  All access, limiting adult content, or specific websites only.

If you want some tighter restrictions on content for teens or tweens, a good setting is "limiting adult content".  This setting allows students to navigate to most any kidsafe website, but should block the rest.  If you feel a site is valued and want to have access to that website, click "Allow website" and key in the 4 digit restrictions code.

Another example of using these restrictions is to select sites you want students to use in order to obtain research on a particular subject.  For instance, students could be researching about a state, an animal, Oregon Trail, or Lewis and Clark.  You can collect all the websites you want available for that research, enter them in the "specific websites only" list, and the rest of the Internet will become off limits during this time period.

If you are restricting sites on your iPad, when opening a new tab in Safari you are provided with colorful icon bookmarks for just those particular websites.

Restricting websites on an iPad further than your district web filtering has advantages, and now IOS 7 gives you rights to tinker with those settings.