Tag: cloud

WWDC 2014 as viewed by an educator’s advocate

On June 2 Apple held its annual event for Developers (WWDC – watch the two hour event ). The keynote outlines Apple’s plans for the near future supposedly to guide and encourage software developers. Of course, the rest of watch as well and hope to learn what we might expect from the company in the next few months. Here are some personal comments mostly focused on revelations that may influence the use of Apple technology in K-12 settings. I encourage you to view the presentation and draw your own conclusions.

First, this event is primarily about Apple software development and how developers might take advantage of OS and iOS improvements (mostly) in preparing products and services to be used with Apple hardware. My impression and the impression of the comments of pundits I have reviewed is that Apple proposes some major new innovations. On a personal level, I will find it more convenient to use Apple-enabled software across Apple devices (back and forth between my iPad and Apple computers). I should find that software developers will find it possible to create more powerful services to operate within the Apple ecosystem and possibly I will be able to count on improvements in Apple’s use of the Apple cloud.

I do not necessarily see these changes as opportunities for the K-12 setting. My view of K-12 assumes the use of technology in the classroom and elsewhere (home) and assumes that students will be using multiple platforms (not just Apple). The power I see in the Apple announcements seem pretty much focused on Apple hardware and software (i.e., apps) running on Apple hardware. The use of the cloud appears to play a bigger role in Apple plans, but mostly to store and transfer files between Apple devices. This approach might be contrasted with the Google model in which the hardware is primarily a way to get to the cloud and Software as a Service runs “in the cloud”.

I think there are “work arounds” for the approach taken by any company. You can certainly use Google drive to store files as a method of moving data from one device to another. You can do the same with DropBox, Box and other cloud services. iCloud does allow me web access via any browser and allows me to manipulate files I have created with Pages, Numbers, etc. You can, in fact, use iCloud to store other file types. I must admit I have not used the service for this purpose.

I propose that an issue educators will have to consider is how much time their students spend working within the Apple ecosystem using experiences that require apps running on Apple hardware vs. how much time they use Apple hardware to work online or run software that creates files that can be stored in other ways.

If you have read many of my posts, you know that I lean toward open systems. What I value does not assume services should be provided at no cost. I believe there is value in the most flexible approach possible. It might be argued that the experience of using technology can be made most efficient when one organization controls the experience end to end. Perhaps this is true, BUT a) this requires everyone commit to what this environment will be and b) ad end to end approach has the potential to reduce competition that leads to long term development.

I use a variety of hardware. I do prefer Apple for computers and tablets, but presently not a phone. I have the opportunity to own multiple products in each hardware category. Not everyone is so lucky nor should their income level be a liability in learning with technology.

Here is another perspective on how the WWDC announcements may impact educators.

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Browser-based iCloud Apps

Apple does not have a great reputation for cloud services, but it keeps trying. I discovered by accident today that Apple now offers browser-based apps for Numbers, Keynote, and Pages. Work that you have done on your iPad or your desktop can now also be modified using a web browser. I guess this is interesting, but it took me a while to see what advantages the web version might offer. Perhaps you do not want to pay for the desktop apps, but want to continue work you have started on your iPad (since the desktop apps cost $20 and the iOS versions are free this might be one use case). I do still like working on the desktop for bigger projects and the cross device capabilities with the iPad may be helpful.

The web version allows collaboration in real time. I admit I have never collaborated in real time when this was possible (Google), but it does sound interesting.

Google, Apple and Microsoft now have slight different versions of the same cross device / web model. Competition is good.

icloudweb

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Google Trims a Few Services

Google has announced that it is closing down or stopping development of several services. This announcement indicate the intent was to concentrate on fewer services. I am assuming this narrower focus is related to the down turn in the economy.

The one tool on the list that I have used was Google Notebook. I became interested in Google Notebook after listening to a conference presentation a year or so ago. The presentation concerned the potential educational benefits of Google applications. Basically, Google Notebooks offers a cloud application that can be used by individuals or collaborators to store content. The Google Blog encouraged Notebook users to explore the functionality of related applications. I am a heavy user of Google Docs and I must admit I was never certain how Google docs was different from Google Notebook. A “word processing” file in docs seems very similar and perhaps there was not enough unique customer interest in Notebook to continue.

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HyperCard Lives – Sort of

I am guessing most readers have no idea what HyperCard is (actually was). For many of us, HyperCard was the beginning of many things. It was the beginning of hypermedia and multimedia authoring. It was often the beginning of scripting. HyperCard was very powerful. Perhaps you have heard of the graphics-intensive game Myst – originally a hypercard project created by the Miller brothers. I created projects in HyperCard I have been unable to duplicate as I have moved to other languages and delivery systems.

One of our first student projects consisted of individual images created by young students in KidPix. We extracted the audio, pasted the image on Hypercard cards and embedded the audio. I wrote a simple script attached to each card that moved the viewer on to the next card after a specified delay allowing the audio to be played. As far as I kow, it was an automated slide show that predated KidPix slideshow and any other program of that type. I still remember the first time we showed the student work at a parents’ night. We ran it on the largest TV monitor we could find. None of the adults had seen such a thing before.

I have heard rumors for years that HyperCard was going to make a comeback. It really never has. However, a new online app (tilestack) allows the creation of Hypercard-like stacks. I have created a small stack with their system to offer a simple example. TileStack is such a close relative of hypercard you can upload old hypercard stacks and it will convert them.

If you are not familiar with HyperCard, tilestack operates something like HyperStudio (now back in production via MacKiev) or perhaps products from eZedia (e.g., QTI). There have always been features I missed. For example, HyperCard functioned based on the selection of elements (buttons, fields, etc.), but also made available a powerful scripting language. I think I threw away the collection of manuals on hypertalk the last time I made room in my bookcase.

I wonder how I would do that. I have old stacks on 3.5 disks. I may have to fire up an old machine just to give the conversion program a try.

TileStack is under development. Many of the commands exist, but have “yet to be implemented”. I am not certain if you can try this out at this time. I read about the venture and put my name on the waiting list. I was notified by email that I had access. It appears the developers have big plans and many features are still in the works. I hope this venture makes it and people give it a try. Hypercard deserves a better fate than to fade into oblivion under piles of paper in one of my file cabinets on disks that no computer can now read.

BTW – Ketchikan is spelled correctly. I am not certain why it shows as a spelling error.

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Online Apps Expand

The available options for doing traditional desktop applications online has expanded again. Adobe (Acrobat.com) recently allowed access to a suite of services including Buzzword (word processing) and ConnectNow (online conferencing and white board). Our distance education ventures at UND use Adobe Connect so it is interesting to see a similar free product with the same capabilities I use every week.

For the time being online apps (Google Docs, Zoho) are free, but have other significant advantages. I like the the opportunity to connect from anywhere and any machine. These features seem perfectly suited to the educational environment in which students work from home and school and may connect from different machines in the same lab or library. No more excuses about forgetting your homework.

What is often missed when exploring educational possibilities is the collaborative opportunities providers have added to their web-based applications. I must say I have not used Zoho tools for some time and cannot remember what capabilities are included. I use Google docs a lot and share documents with colleagues for the purpose of collaborative editing. I have yet to use the new Adobe site for actual work, but I have spent some time exploring the features of the word processing program. My first impressions were very positive. Adobe also recently released the online Adobe Photoshop Express. These products are not accessible as a suite at present, but unless Adobe has some plan for a subscription service for some but not all products in mind, it would make sense to see common access for these products/services in the future.

The limitations for the Acrobat site appear to be 5 gigs of storage and 3 participants in a conferencing session.

ReadWriteWeb provides a nice review of Acrobat.com.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

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Adobe Photoshop Express

Adobe has brought its expertise in digital image editing to “the cloud”. It now offers a browser-based application – Photoshop Express. The service not only provides powerful image editing capabilities, but also the opportunity to store up to 2 GB worth of images. This screen shot may give you some feel for the tools – left column.

Adobe Express Interface

I have read concerns in another blog related to the user agreement.

Sharing Your Photos

As part of registering for the Service and creating an account, Adobe may require you to create a user name (“User Name”) and user-specific URL, such as xxx.photoshop.com (“Personal URL”). The Service allows you to share Your Content that you upload to your account in the following ways: (a) by using the “Gallery” function to publicly share Your Content on the “Gallery” site of the Service, (b) by using the “email” function to send an email containing a URL link to Your Content, and (c) by using the “Link” function and the “Embed” function to include a link or embed Your Content on a web page. Please note that when you share Your Content, your User Name and Personal URL is made public, and recipients may in the future be able to share Your Content with others, add Your Content to their own accounts, and make photographic prints of Your Content. Adobe may revoke the right to use that URL for any reason deemed appropriate by Adobe in its sole discretion by giving you at least thirty days’ prior notice of such revocation, except in the event your URL or content therein is determined by Adobe in its sole discretion to contain infringing or illegal content or content that otherwise violates these Additional Terms or the General Terms. In such event, Adobe reserves the right to revoke the right to use your URL immediately without notice. Adobe owns and retains all right, title and interest in the use of “Adobe,” “Photoshop,” “Photoshop Express” or other Adobe property in association with a user’s Personal URL.

I have been trying to decide if any of this agreement bothers me. I think Adobe is just warning me that they are not responsible for how others may use my images. I would use this service for images I wanted to make public in much the same way I make images available on Flickr. I understand that I must accept the possibility that my online storage opportunity may be terminated, but I should have 30 days to deal with this situation if I must. Nothing here that seems too negative. I doubt my images have commercial value and I typically am trying to offer my images to others who may find some educational value in a few of my pictures.

As suggested in the user agreement, some images are available at http://grabe.photoshop.com.

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Zoho

I continue to run across impressive web applications. Web application is a new term for me, but I think this is an appropriate term to describe applications stored on a remote server run over the Internet using a browser. The latest find is the suite of resources made available by Zoho. Exploring the growing collection (write, spreadsheet, presentation, database) has taken some time. I have struggled to get some to work – I could not get the presentation application to display images I inserted in slide. However, other applications I explored were impressive.

Zoho Writer (image below) offers every feature I use in a word processing program. The application accepts uploads (doc, rtf files) and exports files in several formats back to the desktop if you would rather store your work on your own machine rather than online.

Zoho Writer

Again, I am not certain where Zoho is headed. Picnik (the image editing program I used to edit the image appearing above and the web app I described earlier intends to offer a “for pay” full featured version and a free reduced feature version once this company has attracted users and moves beyond beta). If you are concerned experimenting with your work products, I would make certain there is an export to desktop option and save often.

I finally was able to get Zoho Show (the presentation app) working – “kind of”. The difficulty I am struggling with involves getting images appearing during the construction phase to show when the slideshow is presented. At present, I cannot explain the variables that explain when this is a problem and when it is not.

Simple Slide Show

The image (second slide) appears on the Windows OS, but not the Mac OS. Well, I was able to see the image when using Safari on the Mac, but the image was very faded. Nothing appeared on the Mac with Firefox. I am concluding this is not my fault (meaning I am not missing a plugin or something) and Zoho Show needs a little more work.

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