When you are operating a classroom environment with mixed devices, one of the concerns I have heard is, "How can we work with our students using a mixture of devices and have the same types of software available for our students to work on?"
To address some of these concerns I have compiled a short list of resources from the web that can be run along side some of the creative apps on the iPad (iOS). Together with some of the software available on the desktop/laptop (OSX), such as the iLife suite, Kidpix, Comic Life and some you can find on the App store, you can work with comparable software.
For example, if you would like your students to make a pictorial representation of their learning in an app such as Pic Collage, on the desktop (Apple) we use Pages. With the instant alpha feature, text boxes and the ability to use shapes to create colourful backgrounds, it's a very good alternative. Saved as a PDF, it can then be stored easily in their google drive or changed into a JPG via Preview if needed.
This link is to our digital resources in the Pūkeko Whānau resources site.
The sites that use flash such as Studyladder and Math Whizz will require a browser app on the iPad that enables them to operate with any success.
So far I have found that the "flash" experience on the iPad is not as smooth as when you use a desktop or a laptop to access the site, but it does in the main, work.
So far we have found that each device has its strengths. At times, it can be useful to start a project on one type of device and then put the finishing touches on with another. Saving your files as movies or jpegs helps the user to move files seamlessly between devices and applications. This can be used to our best advantage when the students are collaborating on a project and they are able to complete elements of their presentation on the "best suited" device and then collate the project using one of the publishing apps on either one of OS.
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