Encrypting files, in Dropbox and elsewhere

Online/cloud storage -- i.e. keeping your files with an online storage company that allows you to access them from anywhere -- is here to stay. The best known example is Dropbox. The newer kid on the block is Google Drive, which has similar functionality. If you already have your entire world set up with Dropbox, there is no overwhelming reason to switch. However, if you are just starting with online/cloud storage and you have a Google or Gmail account anyway for your other needs, Google Drive is great because it is integrated with all Google apps.

If you are staying with Dropbox and you are worried about security breaches (honestly -- a security breach at this day and age is unforgivable), there are simple ways for you to keep sensitive files -- just encrypt them.

If you want the gold standard in file encryption and are not bothered by less-than-friendly user interface, use TrueCrypt  (good how-to link).

If you want a simpler and friendlier program, there are two good choices:
1. Use encrypted zip file -- see link for details.
or
2. Use BoxCryptor -- see link for details.

Link directly to a specific time within a YouTube video, and other YouTube tricks

Start time

When providing a link to a YouTube video, there is a simple way to have the link open the video at a specific time within the video. Take the YouTube address (URL), e.g.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJxxHvWwQBw

and add the following to the end of this link, e.g.
&t=0m40s

Now, when you click on the link 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJxxHvWwQBw&t=0m40s

the video starts at 0 minutes, 40 seconds, instead of at the beginning.

Next question -- how do you make it stop after playing a certain time? I do not know of a way to do that with a simple URL parameter such as &t.

Related videos 

When a YouTube video finished, YouTube provides a number of videos it believes are related to yours. Unfortunately, you have no control over this list and it may very well include inappropriate content. To disable this screen, add   &rel=0   to the end of the URL, e.g.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJxxHvWwQBw&rel=0

Fill entire browser window

If you want a YouTube video to fill the entire browser window, replace the /watch?v=  part of the video's URL with /v/  e.g. 

http://www.youtube.com/v/jJxxHvWwQBw

Of course, you can combine all these tricks:

http://www.youtube.com/v/jJxxHvWwQBw&t=0m40s&rel=0

Where to store files?

Until this April, the answer was Dropbox, which provided 2GB of free storage, ways to share folders, and a good automatic sync between your various devices. If you want a short intro to Dropbox, you can find it here.

Google Drive, which came out this past April, can serve the same function as Dropbox in terms of online storage.

Should you switch? If you are using Google software for other things, e.g. Gmail,  it is easiest to use Google Drive for storage. If you are not using Google for other stuff, staying with Dropbox or switching to Google Drive may be a tossup, depending on your needs. If you want to read more on the trade-offs between these two options, Lifehacker has a good article. If you want to read more on many more online storage options, Verge has a good article.

Grading with Voice on an iPad

Here is a good article by Doug Ward, a University of Kansas professor, who uses iAnnotate to provide verbal grading/feedback on student papers. iAnnotate is the Cadillac of PDF annotations and it syncs with Dropbox. The audio notes are saved with the file. iAnnotate is pricey ($10).

There is another app, PaperPort, that supports text dictation using Dragon speech-recognition software. PaperPort is not fast at importing a PDF document from Dropbox, and you need networking "on" in order to use the text dictation. The handwriting is pretty rough, but typing, dictation and support for PDF make it a good app. The free pricetag doesn't hurt either. Here's a good review.

Nearpod for iPad

Nearpod is an interesting tool that, from the buzz the company has produced, seems to be the holy grail for education. On further testing, it proves to be useful but limited.

Here's how it works:
1. You, the teacher, create a lesson at nearpod.com ahead of time. Here is where you hit the first limitation -- the lesson cannot be created or edited on iPad. So, if you don't have a computer in your classroom, you cannot change anything mid-class. This also means that you and your students must all be connected to the Internet, since it is being run from nearpod.com and not from your iPad locally. Depending on your school's Internet speeds, this could be dicey.

• A lesson is made up of slides
• A slide can be either a content slide or an interactive slide. 
• A content slide can be a page from a PDF document or an image or a movie. 
• An interactive slide can be a poll, a quiz, a Q&A or a drawing the students produce on a blank page or on an image (e.g. graph paper).

2. In class, you "run" the lesson on your iPad:

• You give students a pin and they each enter it into the student version of the nearpod app on their own iPads. As they join the lesson, you see their names pop
• You control exactly what is displayed on everyone's screen. Results of interactive slides (e.g. poll) show up in real time to you and you can choose to display them to everyone. Same with anything the students produce on their own drawing slides.

My opinion: It is an easy entry point for a teacher who wants to have some interactivity in the lesson. If you want, you can ignore the "content" aspect of the tool and simply use it as "clicker" app -- but you need to decide on all the questions ahead of time. The fact that everyone in class is forced to be on the same page is either a plus or a minus, depending on how you teach.

A similar, but less restrictive and more feature-rich software is GoClass, but it is still in beta. It allows creation and editing of lesson elements on iPad, students can proceed at their own pace, and quizes/polls can be timed. Being in beta, the stability and buggyness of the app are unknown.

Other reviews of Nearpod:

• http://craigsworld37.blogspot.com/2012/05/nearpod-review.html
• http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/05/nearpod-create-and-deliver-quizzes-on.html#.UDfYm6Pud8E

iPad and Flash

Although iPad does not fully support Adobe's Flash technology, a number of Web Browsers available for the iPad handle at least some Flash sites. The best of these is a free one called Puffin.

Here are pointers to further information about Flash and iPad:
… articles about different solutions for playing Flash: How to Get Flash on the iPad and Can I Play Flash on iPad? Yes!
… sample sites that “flash” browser should be able to handle: syfy.com/tinman, arome.fr, Monoface, Get The Glass
… sample sites that “flash” browser handle somewhat: friv

Other browsers with some Flash support are Skyfire ($5), Photon ($5), iSwifter ($5). I have tried all of these and prefer Puffin.