Digital Bytes - 17th April 2017

	Clips This new app has the potential to be the app of the year in education. If you haven’t already downloaded it, do it now. It is incredibly easy to use and perfect for students who want to create a quick video. One of the best features is the ability to to speak and the app automatically creates the text in real time. You can also add filters to your video and easily share it.
	Autodraw This is beyond amazing. Autodraw from Google is something you just need to try to believe. Start to draw anything and Autodraw will recognize what you are drawing and give you options. Draw a house and you will see options for buildings pop up. How might you use this with your students? So many possibilities!
	10 Apps for Creating Poetry on an iPad This site shares some great ideas and apps for creating poetry on your iPads. Even though there are a number of apps that you may not have heard of, you can always use the ideas presented with apps you already have.

Digital Bytes - 13th February 2017

	Apple Teacher Apple recently launched their Apple Teacher programme - a series of self-paced professional development modules for educators. Gain badges which help move you to becoming an Apple Teacher for Mac and/or for iPad.
	Commenting in Google Docs Take your commenting in Google Docs to the next level. Many people know that you can leave written comments but did you know that you can leave voice comments, video comments and hand-written comments too? To do this, you will need to use some Chrome Extensions. This article take you through the process one step at a time.
	Why Drawing Needs to be a Curriculum Essential This article from the Guardian explains how images are a primary visual language and we need to create images and also be able to understand them. Try out some fantastic drawing apps on the iPad like Adobe Draw, Paper 53 or Drawing Pad.

Why Wunderlist Works

My colleague Dave and I work on many collaborative tasks. Our antiquated system for managing these tasks was a post-it note that Dave kept on his desk, that we would occasionally look at and cross things off.

Our MS/HS colleagues Adrienne and Jeff had been talking up using Wunderlist to stay on top of their To-Do List, so we thought we'd give it a go.

What we LOVE

1. Working across multiple platforms - I can access my Wunderlist on my iPhone or on my browser. There are a number of compatible platforms (including Android, Windows and Apple Watch) that let you check off your task list from whatever device you happen to be using. 
2. Multiple Lists - I have a grocery list with my husband, a DLC Task List with Dave, a list with my sister in NZ who is visiting soon and wanting to know what to bring. The ability to have multiple lists makes it easy to manage the different aspects of your life.
3. Adding Subtasks - There are many occasions when a big task needs to be broken down into multiple subtasks, and Wunderlist enables you to do this easily. Really handy to be able to feel like you're making progress on those huge jobs!
4. Assigning Tasks - Dave and I can assign our big tasks to each other, or leave them for both of us. It's nice to be able to see quickly what you are responsible. 
5. Reminders - Time based reminders can easily be synced with your calendar. We are using Sunrise on our phones to manage our Google Calendar, which works a treat.
6. Commenting and Notes - We can comment or write notes on tasks, clarifying new additions or reminding each other about things that are upcoming. Great feature. 
7. Attaching files - Adding a file, dropbox link or voice comment is another handy feature of Wunderlist. 

What we WANT

1. The ability to assign sub-tasks would be helpful.
2. Linking to a file in Google Drive (although we can add links in the Notes section).
3. The ability to undo the last action  - especially useful for accidentally checking off the wrong item! It can be retrieved with a few clicks, however undo or command + Z would be quicker.

Why not give it a go with your team?

Mac Basics - Getting Started With Your Mac

Getting a new MacBook Air can be both exciting and daunting, particularly for new Mac users.

Apple has a number of tutorial videos and explanations which are designed to make your transition to a Mac easier. An overview of their support materials can be found here, however we have selected a few of our favourites to highlight below.

Here are a few tips to getting started with your Mac.

Essentials 

This is an overview on some main features of the operating system, designed to orient you to using a Mac.

System Preferences 

This allows you to customize your Mac to meet your needs. Here you can customize the trackpad and different multitouch gestures which make the Mac such a powerful, user-friendly tool. 

The Dock

The bar at the bottom of your screen is called the Dock. You can add shortcuts for your favourite applications, and create stacks for frequently used folders here.

Finder

The Finder is where you can access pretty much everything on your Mac. You can organise files and folders, delete and manage files and more.

Switching from PC to Mac

This support document answers the question, "I used to do this on a PC. How do I do it on a Mac?"