After finally getting my own iPad this Spring, I have found that I am using it almost daily in some of the classes that I’m teaching. At my school, I’m still using a chalkboard, so I have no Interactive White Board. But, I have found some great apps in the last few months that give me some of the functionality of an IWB.

I should preface this post by mentioning that I have an original iPad, so no mirroring is possible to a projector or external display without jailbreaking the device. I’m not quite ready to take that step yet, so these apps will do all of this without having to jailbreak your device.

First, I went to the local Best Buy and picked up the Apple Dock-to-VGA adapter for $30. I knew that YouTube videos and videos that I had installed locally on the iPad would play through the VGA adapter to a projector, so that was my first plan. Then I started thinking about ways to project documents and/or websites from my iPad.

The first app I found was called AirSketch by Qrayon, LLC. As the description in the iTunes Store states, “Turn your iPad into a wireless whiteboard! Annotate PDF documents and images live.” There are several apps available that will do this, but what is unique about AirSketch is that it will do it wirelessly! All you need is a laptop or desktop connected to a projector on the same network as the iPad. All you need to do is type the server address given to you by the app in your browser address bar on the computer connected to the projector.

At my school, I don’t have a laptop or desktop connected to my projector so this wasn’t too useful for me. I also wished that I could mirror my iPad more and at least project web pages and maybe even word documents. That’s when I found 2Screens by Edwin Lam. I am really loving this app right now! It has the ability to project webpages (as it has its own built-in browser) and virtually any kind of documents. You can annotate them in real time, and even save screen shots from those annotations (which you could email to your students later). You can even annotate on web pages! And, one of my favorite features is the ability to import documents from your dropbox account easily. The app also includes the ability to turn the projection on or off at your choosing and a “laser pointer” to use for highlighting.

One final app to mention is Penultimate by Cocoa Box Design, LLC. It is essentially a free-hand note-taking app, but it will also do VGA output in real time. This is a great app for projecting notes that you might be taking in class.

One final thought…When using these apps, I have found that my handwriting is much more legible with the use of a stylus. While I don’t ever use one while using my iPad normally, I find it really helpful for these.

So, if you aren’t luck enough to have an Interactive White Board in your classroom, but you have an iPad, here are some ideas for you. If you have any other great apps, please mention them in the comments!

This is a cross post I wrote for The Discovery Education Blog Network today. Enjoy!

With the arrival of President’s Day Weekend, many of us are looking to discuss our U.S. Presidents in class. Yesterday, on the official blog, Google announced the ability to Explore our US Presidents on a Map. The map is in Google Earth and shows the Presidents’ birthplaces as well as some information about their terms in office. The tour is posted in the Google Earth Showcase, but you can also download it for your local machine using Google Earth. From the Showcase:

• Explore all of the US presidents on the Google Earth map. View their birthplace and click on the number icon to learn more.
• See a progression of the states that voted during each president’s election (shaded in red).
• Download a Google Earth file (.kmz) to easily see a map of all the US presidents.

In addition, you can view a 3D model of the White House and other landmarks in Washington, D.C. Happy President’s Day weekend, and have fun using these in your classes!

After checking my email today, I found out that I had been chosen as a  2010 DENny Award Winner! For the second year in a row, the Discovery Educator Network presented awards to 28 educators from around the country, and I am truly honored and humbled to be nominated for an award in the “community choice” category! Special thanks to Erin Misegadis for the extremely kind words and the nomination! I am so lucky to have such a great PLN that I can talk to every day and get inspired to do what I love! Thanks to you all!

My first trip to the annual PETE&C Conference in Hershey, PA was an absolutely wonderful experience! I don’t know that I have ever felt so invigorated after attending an educational conference, not even PMEA. Perhaps this is due to the fact that it is a new and exciting area of education for me. Maybe it’s just because it is different than music. I’m not sure.

I was in my element! I loved that, at every session I went to, at least 10-15 other people there were getting out their laptops or mobile devices and either taking notes or live blogging the sessions. I did take a stab at covering some of the sessions through Cover It Live, and I found that to be an awesome way to not only take notes for myself later, but to also provide an insight for some folks that weren’t able to attend in person. I intend on using Cover It Live a lot more in the near future!

I tweeted about it earlier, and in some ways, I do believe this conference was a life-changing experience for me. I am typically a shy person, and I have mentioned before that I feel that social media is helping me to become more comfortable in certain situations…like when I am around a bunch of people I don’t know.  Well, I put myself in the middle of that situation on purpose this year and volunteered to work as a docent in the Social Networking Lounge. This was great for me, as I got to meet so many wonderful people that I have only known through Twitter. As I “worked my shift” in the lounge, I could tell that I was becoming more comfortable with interacting with new people…what an awesome feeling!

The concurrent sessions at the conference were awesome, and I even got to meet and talk to Sir Ken Robinson when he signed my copy of “The Element!” I’m really looking forward to reading it! I will definitely return to Pete&C in the future!

Me and Sir Ken!

I just found out today that I am now a STAR Discovery Educator! I am still waiting to receive my welcome kit in the mail, but I’m very excited to get started sharing with my colleagues!!  Here’s the email I received below:

Dear Doug Butchy,

Congratulations! You have been selected as a STAR member of the Discovery Educator Network! As a new STAR Discovery Educator you will be an important part of a dynamic group of educators who are blazing new trails in technology use in the classroom. Your commitment to sharing resources and ideas in your local community has created an amazing opportunity for growth and learning. As a new STAR you now have access to a wide range of resources and benefits. Your enthusiasm and dedication will be supported with networking opportunities, professional development activities and exclusive DEN events. You should be receiving a welcome kit from us shortly containing everything you will need to start your membership off with a bang. We are excited and proud to have you on board as an innovative and inspiring teacher, ready to build a meaningful community of educators! Welcome to the Discovery Educator Network!