Leaving SFS? What about your Google files?

How to do Google Takeout and Google Transfer (click on the image below)

Links for Google Takeout and Transfer

Log into your school account

https://takeout.google.com

https://takeout.google.com/transfer


Any questions?  Contact the DLCs at: dlc@seoulforeign.org

Adding the SFS Six Day/ Eight Day Cycle Calendar to your Google account

Thanks to Paul Sanderson, you can add the six day cycle and eight day cycle calendars to your Google account.

The six day cycle calendar is used by the British and Elementary School.
The eight day cycle is used by the Middle and High Schools.

SFS Days calendars can be added to anyone's Google Calendar too (including parents with Gmail). 
To add both just repeat the process.

Step 1: Go to the links directly below.

SFS Days Six Day Calendar (BS/ES)

SFS Days Eight Day Calendar (MS/MS)

Step 2: Click the + Google Calendar button at the bottom of the calendar (shown by the arrow below)

Step 3: View this calendar as one of your Google Calendars.

For faculty: You will be able to add this calendar to your class Google Classroom sites.

Book Events on the Same Day at the Same Time Each Six Day Cycle and/or Eight Day Cycle

Thanks to Paul Sanderson we can book multiple events. Paul has developed a repeating calendar event script to work with .org.
This is great for booking Grade Level meetings or reoccurring events for throughout the year that are organized according to the school's six day and eight day cycles.

In Step 2 you will have the choice of days in the six day cycle or the eight day cycle.

Before July 31st make sure you select "add events to next years school calendar instead of this year's calendar

Link to the Calendar script

This script will not work for booking on a Resource Calendar (Facility Calendars). 

If you're logged in with multiple Google accounts it might open with one you don't want - if that happens a quick way around it is to just right click and choose 'Open Link in Incognito Window' then sign in with the account you want.

Google Takeout for Students

If you are leaving Seoul Foreign school at the end of this year, you probably want to take your Google data with you to your new school.  Here is a video that will show you how to use a Google tool called Takeout that allows you to easily export all your information and take it with you when you leave.

Here is a link to Google Takeout

Pagoda; Turning on and off notifications

You have three options to receive emails for Pagoda notifications.

1. An instant email for every change.

2. A daily summation email. 5pm each day (recommended)

3. Turning off getting email notification

To change your pagoda notifications

1. Click on your profile icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen and select notifications.

2. Then you can see a list of options about the email types for each category. 

    (Please note: Do not fill in your mobile number. The SMS service only works for U.S. numbers)

3. Click Save at the bottom of the screen.

To not receive email notification, make sure all boxes are unchecked.

Helpful Tips and Resources For Parents on Managing Technology

We are often asked for help when parents are having challenges with their children in the area of managing technology.  We believe all technology management should start with sit down conversations as a family.  What do we want?  What do we think is reasonable?  What concerns do we have?  We have included some resources below to help with discussions and decisions, but any of these should be used in the context of a two way conversation!

1.  Negative Impact of Technology Near BedTime.

• This is widely studied and reported.  A Google search would get a number of hits pretty quick.  Here are some quick-read resources which have the basic information, along with links to other sites:
• https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/public-information/fact-sheets-a-z/802-technology-sleep.html
• https://sleep.org/articles/ways-technology-affects-sleep/
• https://sleepfoundation.org/ask-the-expert/electronics-the-bedroom
• http://techtimeout.com/technology-sleep/
• http://aspeneducation.crchealth.com/article-teen-sleeping/

2.  Monitoring and Controlling Technology

• This should start with use of parent controls ... particularly setting them for time limits so computer can't be accessed between certain hours.  This involves a sit down conversation with parents and their children as to what would be considered reasonable.  We can help parents set these in the office too.

• Covenant Eyes  http://www.covenanteyes.com/

• Here is an article on the basics of parent controls.  https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-parental-controls

• Looking at History (bear in mind students often know how to use invisible browsing or delete history.  However, a warning sign to parents is if there is not a detailed history ...

• PC Magazine's Review of 2017 best Monitoring software for parents - gives a good overview and comparison of features on offer:  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2346997,00.asp    You can read reviews as well.

• Circle with Disney is one we are trying out.  Users like it because it gives them a great place for conversation starters and they can choose limits on specific software/apps.  Users report the apps are pretty easy to set up.  You can't buy it here, only in the USA.

• Parenting Apps     http://www.screenagersmovie.com/new-page-1/

Family Contracts

Some family rules about where and how technology is used is important.  Lots of families are using contracts.  There are many different types of these.  Here are some samples and resources:

• http://www.robynsonlineworld.com/2014/05/tips-for-creating-family-contracts-for-digital-kids/
• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/connecting_families/family_media_agreements_k-12.pdf
• https://mediatechparenting.net/contracts-and-agreements/
• http://www.screenagersmovie.com/contracts-1/

Finally, in May we will be holding two screenings of Screenagers.  The plan is to not just watch the movie but have some discussion groups afterwards to help parents think through how they will manage technology in their families.  You may want to attend one of these nights.

As always, please contact any of the DLCs with any queries or concerns.

Stop Motion Apps

Stop Motion is a simple way of creating videos without the need to take up time and space with learning lines, getting costumes or space to film.

There are a range of apps available to create stop motion movies. Here are a couple of links showing a range of Stop Motion apps.

• The 10 Handiest Apps for Stop Motion Animation
• Stop Motion apps with ratings

In this post we will look at three applications for creating stop motion as well give you some tips. We chose iMovie because a lot of our students have iMovie on their laptops. Stop Motion Studio and Lapse it are two iOS and Android apps that have been given high ratings.

1. iMovie

• All our students in ES, MS and BS (including a large number of our HS students) have Macs and iMovie is installed
• It is easy to drop the photos from a device into iMovie 
• An iMovie project preferences can be setup to automatically size the images to a set duration (we have experimented with making the photo size 0.2 seconds)
• You are able add voiceover using iMovie

2. Stop Motion Studio

• Available on the ES iPad cart
• Allows you to take the images on your device and places them together immediately
• When taking an image you see a faint impression of the previous image so you can line objects up easily (onion skin).
• Able to adjust the light settings of the camera within the app. (See tip about lighting below)
• You can adjust the frame rate to play the images faster or slower
• Able to record voiceover but not add music
• Able to edit individual images
• You can export the finished project to a number of places including your camera roll or Airdrop it to another device.
• A number of features are Pro features ($4.99 ) such as themes (allowing you to add music) and camera settings.

3. Lapse it

• Allows you to do all the features mentioned for Stop Motion Studio (SMS)
• Same sort of restrictions as Stop Motion Studio
• Found it not as intuitive as SMS
• Picture taking slower - sometimes caught my hand in the picture
• Couldn't find a way to delete individual images

    

Tips for Stop Motion

• The smaller the movements the smoother the motion. Stop Motion can be very time consuming and create a lot of images but the more small adjustments you make the smoother the movements.
• Using Lego pieces, particularly the characters is a quick and easy way to do stop motion
• Make sure that the device is secured on a tripod or frame of some sort. Having students hold the device just doesn't work for stop motion.
• Storyboarding is vital. Just like with other forms of digital storytelling, planning gives direction and saves time. use the storyboard to work out camera angles and closeups etc.
• Keep the setting small and contained. Using a box to contain the foreground and background is a great idea. You want the device to just capture the story and not distractions like people or furniture in the background 

• Lighting is important.  Too little light will make the images grainy but too much light will wash out the photos. Also be aware of shadows created by the device and other objects. Using a desk lamp could be useful.

Editing With Snapseed - Getting The Best Out Of Your Photos

"You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear! ..."

One of the most common statements heard in this day and age of photoshop runs along the lines of:

"Oh.  You just photoshopped it."

People have been manipulating images from the moment the technology existed to create them. Previously manipulation occurred either at the point of shoot, or in the darkroom.  Photographers were always looking for ways to capture the scene in front of their eyes.  Today is no different.  Only now our darkroom is digital.  It is impossible to photoshop a great picture out of a bad one.  You have to start with good raw material.  Editing is about bringing the best out of the picture you took:  colour balancing, contrast, sharpening and the other tools of the digital darkroom all help.

Snapseed is an awesome free app for your phone or tablet.  It allows you to do detailed editing on your images and is a powerful app.  As well as allowing you detailed editing, it also has a set of filters for those of you that like to go that route with your pictures.

Lets take an image of Pompeii and see how we can effect changes to balance the picture.

The Tools

To select your tools, tap the picture, then tap the pencil in the lower right corner.  A selection of tools will appear.  Tap the one that you wish to use.

Most of the tools are self explanatory - but a few are important.

Tune Image: - this is where you will find adjustments for highlights, shadows, contrast, etc.  It's the main place you will work.

Details: - The sharpening and structure tools are here.

Brush: - This allows you to use your finger as a brush and make adjustments to just one part of the picture.

Once you have selected a tool you will be dropped back in your picture.  If you run your finger up and down, a menu will appear and you can select from that.

To use the tool simply run your finger left and right and watch the changes.

Watch the videos below to see how to use the tools and see Snapseed in action.

Simple Editing Using The Tune Image and Details Tools

Editing Isolated Parts Of Your Image

More Photography Tricks and Tips?!  Check Out Our iPhone Photography Series ...
Part One  - What's The What? An introduction to the basics of the iPhone camera
Part Two  - Panorama Mama!  Getting the best out of panorama mode on your camera
Part Four - Going Further! Some great apps to take things further in your photography

Managing Technology at Home

Want some help on managing technology in your home?  Our BS counselor Randi Burns has put together some great tips for you in the screencast below.  Check it out!

Useful app: Google Chrome App launcher customizer

Do you want to add or manage Google Apps in Chrome? Now you can using the Google Chrome App launcher customizer.
Rearrange your Google Apps so your favorites appear at the top of the dropdown menu. You can also add other Google Apps as well.

Article about the customizer (ComputerWorld)
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2475118/internet/how-to-customize-google-s-new-web-app-launcher.html

Get the app from the Chrome store
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/app-launcher-customizer-f/ponjkmladgjfjgllmhnkhgbgocdigcjm

A Date With Google Calendar

Google calendar is an awesome tool.  You can layer personal, work and family calendars to keep a track of all you need to in your busy week.  If you need to find a meeting time with multiple people, its super easy in Google Calendar (providing you are all using it!).  Check out the screenshots and videos below for more info.

Left Hand Side:
Month view - click on a day and it will take you there directly.

My Calendars
This is where you will see any calendars that you own (ones that you have created).  You can turn them on and off by clicking on the check box next the calendar you want to see.

Other Calendars
This is where you will find calendars of other people.  You can click on the down arrow next to other calendars to add more.

Layering Calendars

Making Events and Find A Common Time For Multiple Guests

Booking Resources (eg. computer carts or school rooms)

New iMovie: How to Use Green Screen

Have you made the switch to the new version of iMovie?  Have you had some trouble figuring out how to edit your movie in ways that you used to know how to do?  This is the first post in a new series that will try and show you the updated features of iMovie and get you back to making amazing videos.

Green Screen

Green screen is a great way to improve the overall appearance of your Movie.  It can be used to make you appear to be places that you could never get to in real life.  It can add to the creative nature of your project.  It can also be very trick to get to work correctly.  

In the old version of iMove you needed to turn on green screen in the advanced tools section of iMovie preferences.  in New iMovie, greens screen comes already activated and ready for you to use.  It does behave a bit differently than in previous versions of the software, so I have created a short screencast to show you how to use it:

Here are some important tips to get your green screen to turn out right:

• Be sure that the subject of your video is not wearing blue or green clothing or they might disappear into the background.
• Make sure that the green screen you are using is a nice, rich green color, or it might not work.  
• Try to have even lighting in on the green screen itself.  Shadows and bright spots on the green screen can show through.
• Finally, it is best to do a test shot to see if everything looks right before you film a large clip.  It would be frustrating to get the clip recorded perfectly, only to find out that the greens screen isn't right.

Pagoda Basics: Screencast Resources

To help you get acquainted with our virtual learning environment (VLE) we have posted a link to HaikuLearning introductory screencasts.

Be aware that if you are viewing the link in Chrome or Firefox, you may find that the screencast does not load. You should notice a grey shield appearing in the address bar of your browser. Click on the shield and select to view the content. 

To get you started

Haiku: Getting started (5:05)

How to create a Haiku class (8:33)

How to Add Pages (4:22)

How to Add Content Blocks (e.g. Text and Images) (9:36)

How to add a Google calendar to Haiku (3:50)

How to embed a GoogleDoc (2:46)

How to embed the web (basic) (4:15)

More screencast tutorials

HaikuLearning screencasts

What's The What?! - iPhone Photography Pt One

iPhones and features such as panoramic mode are giving photographers new possibilities.

The quality of camera on the new iPhones is fantastic.  Gone are the days of grainy blurry shots.  The new cameras are crisp and clear and give great results.

Fast Access To Your Camera
As well as clicking the camera app on your phone, you can get fast access by swiping up from the bottom of your screen.  The camera will appear on the lower right side.

Camera Focus and Exposure

Focus can be adjusted by tapping on the area of the screen where you want the primary focus.

You can adjust the exposure of your picture by tapping around on different parts of the screen.  For darker pictures tap a light area of the screen, or tap a dark area to lighten things up.

Picture is overexposed and out of focus.

Exposure is corrected by tapping on the roof of the van (a light area)

Manual Adjustment
When you tap an area of the screen the small yellow frame appears with a sun next to it.  Slide your finger up and down to manually adjust the exposure.

Note the yellow sun to the right of the focus/exposure box in centre.

What's All This On My Screen?

TOP - L - R:  Flash, HDR, Live Photo, Timer, Camera
BOTTOM - L - R:  camera modes

Top Row:  Symbols - tap to turn on or off
Flash - self-explanatory!
HDR - provides a way of greater dynamic colour balance.  Check here for more details, tricks & tips
Live Photos - captures 1.5 seconds before and after the picture (kind of like a mini video)
Timer - you have a choice of none, 3 seconds or 10 seconds.
Camera - choose forward or rear facing camera

Bottom Row:  Camera Modes - slide to select
Time Lapse - takes a series of pictures over a set period and condenses them into a movie
Slo - Mo - great for sports videos.
Video - self explanatory
Photo - self explanatory
Square - crops all images so that you shoot them as squares
Pano - click here for a detailed post on panoramic photography

Effects - indicated by the three interconnected circles
a selection of different effects to play with.



More Photography Tricks and Tips?!  Check Out Our iPhone Photography Series ...
Part Two    - Panorama Mama!  Getting the best out of panorama mode on your camera
Part Three - Editing With Snapseed! A great app to bring the best out of your pictures.
Part Four  - Going Further.  Great manual control app and online app and tutorials

Links VoiceThread presentation to Pagoda

Some people have had difficulty embedding VoiceThread presentations in Pagoda so the link option is a "work around."

The screencast covers the process from finishing the VT presentation to linking it on Pagoda.

Apple Photos App - Fast and Easy Slideshows

It is very easy to make creative projects in the Photos App.  To me, this is where the Photos app shines.  If you don't feel a need to control all aspects, you can create professional looking projects in a short space of time.

Slideshows:
There are two different ways to build slideshows.

Quick and Easy - Instant View

• You can add or remove individual photos to/from the group by holding the command key and clicking on the individual photos

Slideshow to Save and Export
Choosing the second option gives you more choices.  You can save, edit and share slideshows.  Creating slideshows this way gives you more control over timing, picture direction etc.  If you want fine control over each picture, I would recommend that you use imovie instead.



Notice that when you have created your slideshow, it appears on the bottom left hand side menu in the Photos App.


More In This Series:
Apple Photos App - Pt 1:  Organizing and Editing Your Pictures

Pagoda - Closing Out The Year

As the end of year is fast heading our way, we want you to be aware of the importance of closing out (making inactive) your Pagoda courses/pages.  Closing out is important as it will cut off student access and make classes ready for the next school year.

When closing out courses, you need to consider whether you will be wanting to make a fresh copy to work with next year, or you will just continue to use the existing course you have.

Choices choices ...

Existing Course:

• think of it like a google doc - you edit it and the changes are permanent.

Create A Copy

• your old course is archived and can be referenced
• the copy has all your old content but you can change it and develop it as needed, knowing that all your old content is stored somewhere.
• Ensure you clearly name your course BEFORE creating the copy - eg. 6th Grade Humanities 2015_2016
• the downside to a copy is that you start to get very long lists of courses to browse through

Make Courses Inactive

Check out the screencast for how to make your classes inactive.  It's quick, easy and painless!

Going Further in Your Photography - Adding Manual Control & Great Tutorials

Whilst you can do a lot with the iPhone camera, if you are used to shooting with a DSLR you may become a little frustrated at the limitations of not being able to change exposure, aperture etc.  Fear not ... there are apps for YOU!


Camera +  (Control your iPhone like a DSLR)

free/$2.99 in the iTunes store.  Get it here.
Consistently rated in the top photography apps by Time Magazine,

Features:

• manual control of aperture
• change ISO settings
• separate auto exposure and auto focus points
• take detailed macro (closeup) shots
• choose your shutter speed
• clarity filter
• advanced shooting options 
• borders
• captions
• visual effect filters
• built in tutorials
• supports Apple Watch

The free version has a limited set of the features but is worth a try if you want to play a little first.

iPhone photography school has a great tutorial on using the controls of Camera+.  Check it out.

Manual


Tutorials for iPhone Photography



iPhone Photography School has some great tutorials if you are wanting to expand your skills.  Check them out here.



More Photography Tricks and Tips?!  Check Out Our iPhone Photography Series ...
Part One    - What's The What? An introduction to the basics of the iPhone camera
Part Two    - Panorama Mama!  Getting the best out of panorama mode on your camera
Part Three - Editing With Snapseed! A great app to bring the best out of your pictures.

Panorama Mama! - iPhone Photography Part Two

In Part One of this series, we looked at the basics of the iPhone camera. In Part Two, we shall look at how to get the best out of your panorama photos.

Panorama-mama!
Panorama is AWESOME.  You can use it to great effect to capture those very wide or tall buildings, landscapes or create perspective.

Using Panorama mode on horizontal phone orientation and scanning
from ground up to sky helps capture this iconic New York building.

Panorama mode on vertical phone orientation, scanning side to side helps capture the scale of this ancient theatre in Pompeii.

Whilst panorama offers some awesome photographic possibilities, there are also some tips and tricks to using it well.  Lets look at some of these and the results if you don't do it!

Keep the sharp point of the arrowhead directly on the line as you pan:

It's really important to be steady and slow.  Once you have set the scene, take a breath, stop looking at your picture and focus on keeping the tip of the arrow directly on the line.  If you waver off the line you will end up with poor lines.

Panorama, landscape orientation, bottom to top
Note broken, warped lines of left columns.

EPIC FAIL!  Keep the arrowhead on the line!

Want To Change Your Panning Direction?!
You can pan any direction you like.

• Panning left to right/right to left:   phone is held in portrait (vertical) position
• Panning up and down:  phone is held in horizontal position

If you want to change the way the arrow is pointing, just tap the arrow and it will change directions.

A little panorama goes a long way!

A short panarama (vertical phone orientation, scanning from side to side) helps capture the Colosseum in Roma.

"Just because you can ... doesn't mean you should!"

A little panorama goes a   L O  N  G   way ... be aware of warped perspective.

TWO beaches?!  Standing on the beach in Positano ... the beach is straight but you wouldn't know it from panoramic warping.

A much better result is achieved by thinking of what it is the photographer wants to achieve, shifting your angle and using less pano.

More Photography Tricks and Tips?!  Check Out Our iPhone Photography Series ...
More Photography Tricks and Tips?!  Check Out Our iPhone Photography Series ...
Part One    - What's The What? An introduction to the basics of the iPhone camera
Part Three - Editing With Snapseed! A great app to bring the best out of your pictures.
Part Four    - Going Further.  Great manual control app and online app and tutorials

#TechTuesday Session: My Maps and Google Cardboard

The screencast below covers the basics of the Tech Tuesday session. (7:45 min)

Links for My Maps

Jim Sill, one of the EdTech Team that presented at the GAFE Summit, 2016 has an excellent page on My Maps including resources for teachers to use in the classroom.

bit.ly/mistersillmymaps

Ditch that textbook: My maps

Information on Google Cardboard

Google Cardboard is an inexpensive way to experience virtual reality (VR). All you need is the Google Cardboard + Smartphone + VR app (roller coaster, moon walk, street view to name a few).

The Cardboard with Google Street View app allows you to explore many locations around the world. Take your students to Paris or Pompeii without the cost (or stress!).

The DLCs have seven Google Cardboard devices available for teachers to use. They come in two sizes. We have Three Cardboards that are the larger size (for iPhone 6+, and Galaxy) and four Cardboards that are the  smaller size (for regular sized Apple and Android phones).

Try out some of these apps with the Google Cardboard (Cardboards are available to borrow from the DLC Office).

Google Cardboard can be purchased through Amazon for prices ranging from $5 - $19+ each.
The DLC Team purchased them locally from GMarket. They cost us 3900 KRW each. They work pretty well.

iOS	Android
Cardboard Google Street View Roller Coaster VR NYTimes VR Star Wars - Jakku Spy Vrse Eon Reality Solar Voyager VR Jaunt VR McCartney Stereoscopic Tunnel Dive City Rollercoaster	Cardboard Google Street View VR Roller Coaster NYTimes VR Star Wars Jakku Spy Vrse Eon Reality Proton Pulse (paid) Tilt Brush Gallery Paul McCartney Seaworld VR Featured Cardboard Apps Titans of Space

presented by Molly Schroeder @ GAFE Summit, SFS,  2016