Apps Folders

With OS 4.0 comes the option to place apps in folders… which sounds like a great idea… so long as you can remember which folder you put them in… Folders can be named whatever you want, and you work with whatever system works for you!

iPhone Folders

• Hold down on an app/folder until the cross appears in the left-hand corner (see right)
• Drag & Drop on top of another app which you wish to put into the same folder
• Name the folder appropriately.
• Continue

Now, I have huge problems getting my apps (all 9 pages of them) to move across the screen boundaries on my phone, so Tweeted out, and got lots of helpful advice that it was also possible to do this, much faster, in iTunes

iTunes Folders

• Ensure that you have the latest version of iTunes available.
• Attach iPhone to computer, allow it to Sync
• Click on ‘Devices’
• Look for the tab ‘Apps’, and a screen similar to the following will appear:

• Drag & Drop apps from the main screen into the numbered screens.
• Click on the numbered screen to ensure that it appears as the main screen
• Drag & drop within the screen to in the folders. Appears to be a limit of 9 apps in each folder… (so I have ‘Games 2′)… actually, that’s not true – just got 10 in one!
• Press ‘Apply’ otherwise before syncing, otherwise your phone settings will overset it (found that out the hard way!)

Maybe I’ll be back with another screenshot when I’m done… fortunately I had only moved about 20 apps when I lost what I’d done!!!!

The Digital Day

On that day, a Monday on which I was having a day off in Manchester, I had considered the amount of digital data I had used by lunchtime….

• iPhone: Alarm clock
• Bible (YouVersion)
• Calendar (to check the time of my flight later in the day)
• Train timetable – what time did I need to leave to ensure time at the airport.
• Weather (what did I need to wear?)
• Tweets via Echofon, including photos
• Contact with friends (inc the one I was meeting later) via Facebook (and emails)
• Checking in at various locations with Foursquare and Gowalla (including adding new locations/photos)
• Geocaching (do you know how much more difficult that is in the urbanised areas than in the countryside – had to sit on a bench awaiting the other 3 benches around me to empty out – thank goodness for Mancunian rain!)
• Vouchercloud, to check out somewhere I could get a good meal (on my own) for lunch.
• And then I was sat there tapping in a blog on WordPress, but that didn’t quite work….

And that’s just the digital stuff I knowingly use… our entire world runs on digital in many ways

Digital Fasting

I had already booked, post giving my Twitter Talk to OutThere to go to St Cuthman’s for a retreat – phone went off shortly after I arrived… I then realised I had to turn it on as it was my only alarm clock (despite breakfast available til 10am!) – I risked it without the following day. Occasionally I missed the opportunity to take a photo of something, or tweet about something, but without that, can start to look at the views, at sitting still, etc. differently… I’m not saying I want to be without my digital tools (I especially love my Twitter, Facebook & blogging!), but it was such a relief to turn my phone off and NOT be available to anyone else but me – and a big pile of books in the library (for the record: 5 fiction books, 3 non-fiction books, 3 chapters of Ortberg, and reading through from Amos to Matthew in The Message)… and some gentle walks, meals cooked for me, lots of sleep and a bit of art! I was ready to dive back into Twitter and Facebook when I got back online – as you can kind of deal with stuff then & there, but it’s the email which tends to hang around until dealt with – and often requires more thought! Short of deleting around 2000 emails when I got home, I still have a big pile to deal with…. I need to plan my next digital fast, so that the digital world remains enjoyable and appreciated!!

With my work with CODEC, one of the ideas that I’ve been thinking about is creating a geocache trail, but it was not something I’d ever done – I just knew it was some sort of electronic treasure hunt – and sounded a bit geeky – but here we are, it’s NOT:

So, Tuesday evening, I went to #winchesterweb and I knew that Aimee (@sermoa) had talked about #geocaching before, so I asked her about her for more info, and if she knew how to set one up… not yet, but maybe that can be our next project, but rather than trying to explain it, we went #geocaching tonight (and wasn’t it nice weather for it!)!

So – why would you want to?

As with many things, it’s essentially a re-invention of an old game (apparently the first geocache was set up in around 2000, when accurate GPS data first became publicly available – and not restricted to the military), a treasure hunt, but utilising modern technology (any GPS system will work, including SatNavs). Children will love it, and I really enjoyed it – a good excuse for a walk/chat with a bit of a purpose, and the excitement of not knowing QUITE what you’re looking for, and then seeing the comments & thoughts of all those who have come before you (all the time able to Tweet away, etc.!) – in these recessionary times when there’s so much concern about obesity – a free way to get some exercise (and exercise your brain!)

So – how does it work?!

So now, do I try and explain it…

First:

• Visit geocaching.com to identify geocaches you’d like to visit (print off as desired), or download an app onto your phone. I had the trial version of the official app, which offers 3 geocaches (but not THE nearest 3, necessarily). The full version is £5.99, which I have now downloaded, although I haven’t got the hang of how I log my finds – I still seem to have to go to the website for that!
• Alone or with a friend (more fun with a friend!), take your smart phone (or your old technology – paper!) and track down the spot using GPS co-ordinates (usually accurate to within about 6 metres).
• As you get very near, abandon the technology, use your eyes, and track down the item – the geocache description will give an idea of the size of the item that you’re looking for.
• As subtly as possible, extract the item.  Move away from the area, and open the item.
• See what’s been placed in there (some are tiny, and simply require that you add your name/date/comment to the list… so take a pen, just in case – although both the ones we found tonight had writing utensils in them!), and record your visit (both on paper, and by any other electronic means you like – but don’t give away the hiding place!).
• If there are items in there, it’s possible to take an item out, but you must replace it with something – preferably of equal or greater value! There may be a Trackable item in there, which you should remove and record – and then find another geocache to place it in.
• Ensure that the container is well secured and (subtly again) return it to where you found it.

On Return:
On returning from our walking/hunting (2 hours!) I logged into http://www.geocaching.com, set up an account, and then logged my finds (there’s an option to let people know if it’s disappeared, or if the item needs some form of maintenance… and hopefully you won’t need it – to say that you couldn’t find it)!

• Find 1
• Find 2
• Trackable
• Photos from the evening on Flickr

Next Steps:

• Set up a geocache – lots of hints and tips available on the geocaching site!
• Official guidelines – I already know: no food (foxes!), no medication (how do we know it’s really paracetamol!), and – I wonder why – no weapons!
  

Social media, i.e.. Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, blogging etc. .has exploded, looking at the numbers. Facebook alone claims 400 million members, Twitter is expected to go over 26 million adults this year.”

A 16 year old says: “”I use it to communicate with everyone, I look up things. it’s just my way of life.”"

Read full article, and thanks to Pete Phillips for putting me onto this story.

Pockets of experimentation are emerging all around the world, and I hope to inspire my fellow teachers with some stories of success. From cell phones to social media, below are three schools that have chosen to go with the flow of popular technology to turn the tide for education.”

Read full story (and it’s not just a problem in America!). The story forcuses on the use of Skype for language learning, the integration of mobile phones into the learning experience, and the use of Twitter… this one is particularly inspiring:

“Many universities have internal e-mail systems and message boards. But getting students to routinely check these systems for updates can be a chore. As a college teacher myself, my students have been required to participate in group message boards, which is a poor substitute for genuine intellectual curiosity. As a solution, Leicester University in the UK turned to Twitter, hoping that the popular micro-blogging technology would encourage collaboration outside of class. Students were provided with an iPod touch, given instructional materials, and told they had to make a few academic-related tweets a day. Soon, a thriving community grew, complete with @replies and hashtags flying back-and-forth between participants, tutors, and even members outside of the program. Additionally, the study has become an unexpected marketing boon for the university. The Association for Learning Technology noted in its newsletter:

“One year ago, a Twitter search for ‘University of Leicester’ revealed little of interest. More recent searches reveal a growing volume of conversation between existing students, often across institutional boundaries, and also from prospective students, commenting on perceptions of the University and Higher Education in general.”

The university was impressed by the experiment and has begun collaborating with teachers and staff to extend participation throughout the campus. Leicester University joins the growing ranks of major universities, such as M.I.T., that are preparing students with technological and cooperative skills essential to real-life scientific experimentation.”

Just watching this video as I prepare a lecture on how digitisation affects the museum experience, something that has fascinated me, although I haven’t really done much theory on it! These guys indicate how an iPhone and some QR codes can give an interactive experience for those wandering round the museum. A friend & I found the same in London recently, as we wandered around, past many statues – we didn’t know who many of them were – so we Google’d them, and that was our information. No need to carry heavy guide books, just a nice lightweight tool, and instant information – and if it’s not what you want, look at the next entry!

Mobiles, however, they can’t get enough of, and it’s growing. With modern mobiles (and yes, I gave into the iPhone), there’s the option of a number of “Apps” which make phones SO much more powerful than we ever imagined when they came as ‘bricks’, or even than the first computer I got back in the 1990s!

We can live most of our lives on our phones, if we want… great for multi-tasking, and lots of options for reaching people by the one tool they have all the time.

The Apps I had only 2 months into owning the iPhone were:

• Facebook
• Twitterfon
• Movies
• NetNewsWire
• PayPal
• ebay Mobile
• Mashable
• Skype
• Wikiamo
• Yelp
• RunKeeperFree
• ShapeUpClub
• Shotgun Free
• Trailguru
• Weirdfacts

Once I get my iPhone back, I intend to look at all the apps I have, and give a quick review of each. I have already downloaded a number of apps and then deleted them shortly afterwards, finding they didn’t add anything to what I was doing online.

What’s this, you say? I thought you owned an iPhone, spent far too much time on it, and used it as a tool to draw together many parts of your life in one small, neat packet!

‘Tis True
I still own said iPhone, but when one tries to turn it on, one receives an image like this, which is not healthy, and renders such a touch-screen phone rather useless! Believe me, I’ve not fallen out of love with my iPhone, but missing it rather as I’d be missing an arm – every time someone asks if they can set up a meeting – “I’ll just check… oh sorry, you’ll have to wait til I get home and check my Outlook calendar”…

How did this happen?
I had a lovely weekend, meeting up with friends from the Summer trip to the Loire Valley, and then going on to a wedding in Essex. I had been waxing lyrical to the friend I had collected from the train station about the fact that I now had SatNav (CoPilot, £26) on my phone (but don’t forget that you’ll need to buy a cradle! On reaching Winchester around midnight, I was extracting the phone from the cradle (a little stiff!), and, acting rather like a bar of soap, the phone bounced out of my hands and down the road. It clearly didn’t like this and hasn’t worked since – although it did sync with my laptop, and whilst still containing battery, continued to buzz regularly – indicating that I’ve been receiving phone calls/texts, but not much I can do about those!

Is all lost?
For once, I have non-essential insurance for something – with Barclays Graduate account. Unfortunately their online claim system didn’t work, so I had to phone (and yes, this was my only phone, but I have Skype too!) , and now await a claim form in the post (so strikers, sort it out!), which I send back, claim is assessed, then they decide whether to replace or repair! Expected time 2-3 weeks (so hopefully a friend will lend me a handset – I’m a bit lost without anything, although I accept no data use!)… Sigh!

Interesting experiment, and inspiration for ideas for a fully convergent social/educational life. Everything throught the iPhone… wonder if that would work elsewhere?