Use dotEPUB to reduce barriers in BYOD

Many schools are looking at Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives to navigate the barrier of traditional education funding for putting digital tools into students' hands. One of the challenges of BYOD is the variety of devices that students may bring and expect to use in their learning. Device compatibility with web based resources is not consistent and complicates the job of teachers to facilitate learning. How will teachers ensure all students are able to access the same digital resources using various tools?

http://dotepub.com

The web tool dotEPUB may offer a solution. dotEPUB is "a push-button, cloud-based e-book maker". Teachers and students can use dotEPUB to easily convert any web page into an e-book file that when be transfered to a mobile device or book reader will remove the barrier of accessing web resources. Web sites converted to EPUB (or MOBI) files can be transfered to mobile devices such as iPods & iPads, and book readers such as Kindles, Nooks, Kobo, and any compatible with EPUB. 

Using dotEPUB will help ensure accessing information is not a barrier to learning in a BYOD environment.

Screencast-o-matic

If you are looking for an easy way to record your screen, head to Screencast-o-matic.  SOM is very easy to use.  Go to their website, select "start recording", choose your screen size, record, and you are done.  Files can be saved to your computer, uploaded to screencast-o-matic, or uploaded to YouTube.  You can record up to 15 minutes.

There is a number of ways in which screencasting can be used in the classroom.  The obvious way is to record lessons to have available for students to watch on their own time.  Students can also use SOM to record presentations.  The teacher can also use SOM to record how to use a piece of software or web application.  I have also seen screencasting used to give feedback to students on their projects or papers.  Giving oral feedback is much more beneficial than the dreaded red pen.  Give it a try today.