I've just completed two HD quickcasts about a really impressive interactive whiteboard (IWB) solution for the iPad: Doceri.

If you are thinking about purchasing a physical interactive whiteboard, think again. By purchasing an iPad and software like Doceri, you probably could easily save your school about $1,000 or so (per classroom installation) and have an even more versatile tool than a fixed interactive whiteboard. And if the iPad travels with the teacher, then you have greater flexibility of use over a physical interactive whiteboard that is permanently mounted in one classroom location.

While these quickcast videos are not a comprehensive tutorial in how to use Doceri, they do provide a good overview of the current features of Doceri.

The good people at Doceri are actively working to add some very impressive features to their already awesome product. I don't know if I am at liberty to share those or not, but this will be a product to place on your watch list. They are actively working to leverage the unique power of Apple iOS devices to extend Doceri well beyond a mere content deliver mechanism. I am eager to see how this product, already the most powerful in its class in my opinion, evolves into a comprehensive tool that teachers will just not be able to live without.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with nor am I receiving any consideration of any kind from Doceri or SP Controls, Inc., for bringing this product forward. I do so only because I would have to have and use it if I were working in the school setting. I use it now every time I present to educators.

Part One - What You Are About to See (7m.34s)

Part Two - Feature Overview (23m.10s)

This quickcast was created in HD using ScreenFlow and includes a live, simultaneous, side-by-side screen recording of both the iPad running Doceri and the computer display controlled by Doceri running on the iPad. (I'm delighted that Google allows my YouTube account to post large HD videos! And, on that note, all media used in this recording are used without violating any copyright laws.)

I don't use a CDN service as they are out of my price range. And I had a few emails from people on the other side of our world who were having issues getting this series of quickcasts to play. Too many hits. Such great distance. One little server that tried.

So I've uploaded all of these iPad as an IWB quickcasts to YouTube in HD. Because I recorded them all in the 4:3 aspect ratio, they look stretched as 16:9 HD videos, but the visual clarity of the HD uploads is so improved, I thought everyone would just deal with the stretch. (The only way to prevent the stretching would be to redo the quickcasts in 16:9. Just not happening. But any future screencasts I make and upload to YouTube will be specifically prepared for YouTube 16:9 HD from the beginning.)

At any rate, because everyone has offered so many awesome suggestions, I'm releasing 4 more quickcasts with updated information (most of which came from your numerous emails) and one solid gold nugget! I really appreciate everyone sharing your ideas with me.

Update 1: General Updates (7m:08s)
Update 2: Splashtop Remote (9m:08s) <--the must have!
Update 3: xTag Wireless USB Mic (2m:54s) Previous post w/ audio here at drTT
Update 4: Updated Limitations & Advantages (6m:20s)

These are best viewed on YouTube in fullscreen HD but are squeezed in here for those in a rush. Here is the link to my YouTube channel.

Comments are open at the bottom of this post, so feel free to add your voice.

UPDATE: Now published in HD on YouTube. Here is the link to my YouTube channel. The videos below are in the correct aspect ratio but are lower quality.

Wow. I had no idea this would be so popular with everyone. My server has been slammed. To make the videos more easily available to everyone around the world, I've uploaded them to YouTube.

I've received numerous awesome ideas (from people all around the world) that address some of the limitations and make using the iPad as an IWB even better. I hope to get at least one more quickcast up this weekend to share those ideas. And finally, I'll republish the YouTube videos in HD this weekend as well.

Thanks for all of your feedback. I hope this is a practical and affordable solution for educators everywhere!

Yes, you can now podcast using the iPod Touch!

My sister, who is a classroom teacher, just got an iPod Touch as a gift. She's eager to start podcasting with her students. Having never done such a thing, she wanted someone to show her how to do this. So I created a really quick podcast for her, talking her through the process. Then it dawned on me, why not share this with everyone here on iUpgrade! So this podcast is from the "rough and tumble series:" it's not fancy. It's just a quick show and tell on how to do something specific: podcast with the iPod Touch.

Here's what is covered:

• Adding a mic to the iPod Touch
• Recording using the iTalk App from the iTunes Store
• Getting the file from the iPod Touch to the computer desktop
• Converting the file to a format that will work on the web
• Publishing the podcast to the web

Links and products discussed in the podcast include:

• Shure MPA-3C Music Phone Adapter for iPhone
• Belkin TuneTalk Stereo
• XtremeMac IPV-MIC-00 MicroMemo Digital Voice Recorder
• Macally iPod Audio Recorder
• iTalk Recorder Premium (iTunes link)
• iTalk Recorder (Free)
• iTalk Sync
• iTunes
• Convert to mp3
• iWeb

None of the above are product endorsements, and I don't receive any considerations for mentioning any of the above. The mics all works on the iPod Touch I tested them with, and these applications were used in this demonstration as they are the applications my sister is using.

This audio-only podcast is designed to compliment the PDF podcast on the same topic. Before listening to this podcast, I would recommend that you download and read the PDF podcast in yesterday's post (June 22, 2008): Using PDFs as Podcasts: The PDF Version. After you have read that PDF podcast, then listen to this podcast, which goes into a little more detail.

A third podcast, a screencast actually, is in the production pipeline now that will provide a demonstration of the actual publishing process using Feeder, the program I use to write my RSS feed file. I talk about Feeder in this audio podcast and in the PDF podcast published on June 22, 2008.

This podcast episode is rather long (22 minutes and 49 seconds) and is intended to provide the non-techie type with a good, understandable overview of:

• publishing a PDF as a podcast
• writing an RSS feed in general
• using Feeder to write your RSS feed

The podcast uses this outline (approximate location in the time lilne in minutes.seconds in parenthesis):

• Welcome (0.0)
• Introduction (0.29)
• Why Publish PDFs As Podcasts (1.46)
• Podcasting--a General Concept Overview (3.58)
• PDFs in the Podcast Feed (5.24)
• Advantages of PDF Podcasts in Education (6.40)
• Creating a PDF (8.29)
• The Podcast Distribution Process in General (10.24)
• The RSS Feed File (11.33)
• Feeder (13.05)
• What's Required to Write the RSS Feed (15.49)
• Organization: It Matters! (16.57)
• Publishing (20.37)
• Exit (22.28)

I had to teach myself all of this when it was new and people had to use terminal scripts to create podcasts. Today, it's so much easier but still requires a foundational knowledge base. Hopefully, this series of podcasts will assist you in building your basic understanding of this powerful publication process so you can use it with your students next year.

To listen to this audio podcast, Using PDFs as Podcasts: The Audio Version, simply click the image above.

Welcome to the first issue, I mean episode, I mean issue... of Podcasts in Print. So which is it, a podcast episode or a print issue? You see this is a special series, Podcasts in Print, within my podcast series, iUpgrade. It's sort of confusing. Using a regular podcast RSS feed, we can actually broadcast PDFs just like we broadcast audio and video podcasts.

This special series, Podcasts in Print, is just that: a podcast series of printed material: PDFs to be exact. Each episode in this podcast series will be a print issue, a PDF. I will frequently create an audio podcast that will compliment many of the Podcast in Print episodes, I mean issues... I suppose I will just use the two terms interchangeably, because Podcasts in Print is both: podcast episodes that are print issues. Pretty cool, really.

In this very first episode of Podcasts in Print you will receive the print version of Special Delivery: The PDF Podcast. This issue is designed to introduce the whole notion of publishing PDFs as podcasts to your subscribing audience. These articles are included in this six page issue:

• The PDF Podcast
• Creating a PDF on a Mac
• Creating a PDF of a Keynote Presentation
• RSS and Your PDF
• Your Podcast Blog
• Organization Matters

This print version podcast discusses a number of reasons why you, as an educator, would want to publish a PDF as a podcast, whets your imagination with several ways PDFs as podcasts can be used in education, and describes the steps involved in connecting a PDF to a podcast RSS feed so the PDF is pushed out, special delivery, to your subscribing podcast audience.

Yes, all of the PDF documents associated with the courses you teach could be neatly filed away in iTunes by course title along with your course's accompanying audio, enhanced, screencast, and video podcasts. This will quickly become a rich and growing resource as you plan lessons next year, and the next...

Also included in this episode of iUpgrade's Podcasts in Print are some suggested strategies for keeping your podcast server organized, the step-by-step instructions for creating a PDF in any application on a Mac, considerations for setting up a blog associated with your podcast series, and some suggestions for writing that RSS feed that magically makes all of this happen through iTunes, Bloglines, etc.

Resources cited in this issue of Podcasts in Print, Special Delivery: The PDF Podcast, include:

• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• ScreenFlow
• Feeder
• flickr
• iTunes

If you do not already subscribe to iUpgrade (if you do, you automatically receive these) and wish to download this Podcasts in Print episode, Special Delivery: The PDF Podcast, just click on the icon below. The PDF will open in your browser window. You can then save it to your computer.

If you wish to subscribe to the iUpgrade podcast series in iTunes, simply click on the green and blue button at the top of the main iUpgrade page or on the bottom left of every page at drTimTyson.com.

Happy Upgrading!