Blog entry September 2011

Evernote app has many possibilities for both students and teachers. Evernote is used to create notes, which can include text, photos or pictures, and audio. This “note taker” is not like others available. Once you download Evernote, you create an account, which is accessable from all devices Evernote is downloaded on (there is even an app for the android).

Students can use Evernote to collect data for a project, create a how-to by taking photos of each step and adding their voice explanations and/or adding a text explanation, even record a lesson in class or take a snapshot of the whiteboard or smartboard to help them complete their homework.

Teachers can create a “note” for each student and add notes about student academic progress and/or classroom behaviors. Audio of a student reading could also be added. Evernote is great tool to have for parent/teacher conferences. The free version has limited memory, but there is a premium version you can purchase for add memory and features. Evernote has an excellent support website and they also offer a podcast to help customers maximize the uses of Evernote. Download it now. What do you have to loose… it is free!

This is a review from a series on educational apps by Kathy Burdick, an educator for over thirty years. Kathy is an experienced educator and former principal. She graciously agreed to let Mobicip republish and promote her reviews on the Mobicip blog. Kathy has been infatuated by the possibilities of technology and educational content for the K-6 students. Kathy writes about how education is changing due to new technologies and reviews the technologies that facilitate that change. Follow Kathy on Twitter @ iAppleLearner or get more information here: http://mobileieducator.com/

Do you have an app that you would like the Mobicip team to review? If so, please let us know! You can leave a blog comment or you can find Mobicip on Facebook or Twitter (@Mobicip)!

You are now the emperor of an empire! Luckily, it’s a virtual empire so there is less pressure. Empire Story allows the user to create their empire by building structures, such as markets, huts, amphitheatres, village baths, and colosseums, selling and managing merchandise in the market places, decorating, and interacting with neighboring empires. This app would be a great addition to a social studies unit on ancient Greece and Rome. An understanding of life during this time period will help students make connections to the structures they are building, the items that are being sold at the markets and citizens that they may be living in their empire.

In addition to playing the game, students could write a short story about their empire discussing their citizen’s daily routines and what happens in their empire. Encourage students to use information they have learned during the unit as well as adding their own creative thoughts and ideas. TeamLava also offers other apps with the same objective, including City Story and Farm Story. Congrats to TeamLava for creating apps that can be used to enhance social studies in the classroom!

This is a review from a series on educational apps by Kathy Burdick, an educator for over thirty years. Kathy is an experienced educator and former principal. She graciously agreed to let Mobicip republish and promote her reviews on the Mobicip blog. Kathy has been infatuated by the possibilities of technology and educational content for the K-6 students. Kathy writes about how education is changing due to new technologies and reviews the technologies that facilitate that change. Follow Kathy on Twitter @ iAppleLearner or get more information here: http://mobileieducator.com/

If you have an app that you would like the Mobicip team to review, please let us know! You can leave a blog comment or you can find Mobicip on Facebook or Twitter (@Mobicip)!

Occasionally, we get reports that Mobicip crashes - i.e. the app launches and suddenly disappears before or during use - on the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. If you have seen such a crash, please send us the crash log immediately so that we can troubleshoot the problem and resolve it.

When any app crashes, the crash log is saved on the device. The next time the device is sync'ed with a computer, the crash logs are backed up to the computer. Whenever you see a crash, sync the device with the computer. You should then be able to find the crash logs in the following folders on each platform.

Mac OS X
~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice/<your iPhone’s name>/

Windows XP
C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Apple computer\Logs\CrashReporter\<your iPhone’s name>\

Windows 7 or Vista
C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Apple computer\Logs\CrashReporter\MobileDevice\<your iPhone’s name>\

Please locate this file and send it to support(at)mobicip.com. Our dev team will investigate the bug and fix it as part of the next app update.

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1.    Go to www.Mobicip.com
2.    At the top right-hand corner there will be a login prompt. Enter the email address and password you used to setup your Mobicip account.
3.    Once logged in, you will notice 2 tabs on your screen: “Reports,” and “Settings.” Click the “Settings” Tab.

4.    Click the “Categories” tab to see several drop-down categories for filtering purposes. These allow you to customize your child’s settings for internet usage.
5.    At the top of the screen, you will notice “Block these categories for _____ (there is a drop-down bar here, and will you select which user you want to block categories for based upon their filtering level. i.e. elementary school, middle school, or high school).
6.    Click the green plus sign for the category, “Chat/Blog/Social Networking” to see a drop-down menu of each option within that category.
7.    Items with a check mark designate categories that will automatically be blocked based upon the filtering level the user has been selected for. In order to ensure that all social networking websites are blocked, check all of the boxes within the category.

8.    Once you are finished, make sure to click the green “Save” button at the top right next to the user’s name.

Look out for our next Mobicip FAQ spotlight to get tips and suggestions for using Mobicip Premium.
 

All-in-1 Logic Gamebox is a package of puzzles that can help children with problem solving, patience, critical thinking, and hand-eye coordination. There are 7 puzzles for free and 1 that you can purchase for $0.99. All of the puzzles challenge logic by moving, tapping, or dragging pieces to get to an end result. There is also one puzzle that includes completing math equations. There are many different levels for each puzzle and once a level is completed the iPad, iTouch or iPhone will store the level and move you to the next. However, you have as many tries as you need to complete each level without penalty. This app is like 7 in apps in 1!

This is a review from a series on educational apps by Kathy Burdick, an educator for over thirty years. Kathy is an experienced educator and former principal. She graciously agreed to let Mobicip republish and promote her reviews on the Mobicip blog. Kathy has been infatuated by the possibilities of technology and educational content for the K-6 students. Kathy writes about how education is changing due to new technologies and reviews the technologies that facilitate that change. Follow Kathy on Twitter @iAppleLearner or get more information here: http://mobileieducator.com/

Do you have an app, web site, or mobile learning tool that you would like the Mobicip team to review? If so, please let us know! You can leave a blog comment or you can find Mobicip on Facebook or Twitter (@Mobicip)!

Now that you have signed up for a Premium subscription, follow the step-by-step instructions below, to customize your child’s Internet using Mobicip Premium!

1.    Go to www.Mobicip.com

2.    At the top right-hand corner there will be a login prompt. Enter the email address and password you used to setup your Mobicip account.

3.    Once logged in, you will notice 2 tabs on your screen: “Reports,” and “Settings.” Click the “Settings” Tab.

4.    Next, click the “Websites” tab on the left side of the screen. You will notice 2 options below the word websites: “Block” and “Allow.”

5.    Click the “Allow” tab. Make sure the correct user is selected at the top drop-down box.

6. In order to whitelist an entire domain extension, enter “.com” “.net” “.org” “.co.uk”, etc. Next, select the green “Allow” button in order to whitelist the domain extension, which will work with monitoring only, and not filtering.

7. Once finished, allow up to 60 minutes for the categories and websites settings to register the changes you have made and to take effect on your device.

Look out for our next Mobicip FAQ spotlight to learn how to block social networking sites using Mobicip Premium.

  Counting Coins is a great app for teaching students to count coins. There are several options for teaching and practicing coin values. It would be an excellent tool for working one on one with a student, students working individually or in pairs and for student practice. For a free app, this one has many different options to offer. These options include matching values, tabulating the total, counting how many cents, and showing the value.

The company, K12, also offers another app; Counting Bills and Coins, for students with more advanced money counting skills. This app gives students the ability to count coins and bills as well as make change and match amounts. Users also have the ability to select a level of difficulty when using Counting Bills and Coins. A great app for teachers, parents, and future financial analysts!

This is a review from a series on educational apps by Kathy Burdick, an educator for over thirty years. Kathy is an experienced educator and former principal. She graciously agreed to let Mobicip republish and promote her reviews on the Mobicip blog. Kathy has been infatuated by the possibilities of technology and educational content for the K-6 students. Kathy writes about how education is changing due to new technologies and reviews the technologies that facilitate that change. Follow Kathy on Twitter @ iAppleLearner or get more information here: http://mobileieducator.com/

If you have an app that you would like the Mobicip team to review, please let us know! You can leave a blog comment or you can find Mobicip on Facebook or Twitter (@Mobicip)!

Things are unraveling so fast in the tech industry that it is almost difficult to keep up. One day, AllThingsD talks about the poor sales of the HP TouchPad since launch. The New York Times publicizes a report on the near-obsessive demand for the iPad. HP announces the retirement of its TouchPad, followed a few days later by a limited comeback of sorts. With the cheap $99 tablets flying off the shelves, speculation begins that Amazon may be the only player willing to under price its tablet and offer it for $300 apiece, gaining market share against the iPad and helping Amazon spread its tentacles into more wallets in the process. Then comes the shocker – Lenovo announces that it will offer its Android-based tablet for $199. Phew!

The tablet price war has begun, and it is going to reshape the tablet market (ok ok, the iPad market) quickly. However, given how much it costs to make these tablets, and given the low margins in the business, I have a lingering suspicion that Lenovo is under pricing its tablet for the same reason that HP did. Clear its inventory, perhaps, and cut its losses?

For all the noise by these corporations, I think there is only one clear winner so far – the consumer.