Tag Archives: Mac

iMac-less in the classroom⤴

from @ wwwd – John's World Wide Wall Display

I’ve been lucky, imo, to have been using an old 27 inch iMac as my computer in school since I started 8 years ago. Despite its age it has been a wonderful machine for me. Returning to my classroom last week I found it will no longer start up at all. No response to the power button. This was my Mac when I worked at the Education Computer Centre before being redeployed to the classroom.

Apart from my familiarity with Macs (going back to system 7) a Mac fits really well with a class all using iPads. The ease of sharing via Airdrop is probably the biggest advantage. It’s simplicity and the way it doesn’t depend on the cloud make it useable even if our internet connection is slow or down. I can quickly collect the pupils work via AirDrop and manipulate (print, combine, resize, assess, organise etc) it on my Mac.

I also prefer using the Apple productivity apps on an iPad but like creating & editing them even more on a Mac.

Large screen computers are rare in primary schools but I have been spoiled. We mostly use quite small laptops. I find these quite difficult to work on. If I use a trackpad for more than a few minutes I get pain in my shoulder and a couple of fingers go numb.

As we now only buy Windows machines in my L.A., I have access to a Windows laptop. However, my old fingers are Apple-trained. I am currently using a rather old MacBook Pro. I have the keyboard from the iMac plugged in, along with the mouse. I think I might just buy a cheap screen and add that as well. I can bring it home and make my Mac mini a dual-screen setup when the laptop follows the iMac.

Having used the MacBook for 4 days I realise how many think I’d added to the iMac (and have at home) that make my life easier. I am going to have to spend some time adjusting the MacBook to my habits. The ones l’ve particularly missed so far are:

  • FastScripts and the AppleScripts I run from it. These are pretty simple: resizing images, collections URLS from tabs to a list and the like.
  • HyperKey, that lets me run said scripts from the keyboard.
  • Various shell scripts, mostly for montage and combining images.
  • Alfred, as a launcher and clipboard manager.
  • I’d miss Rectangle if my screen was bigger.

All small things that I use without thinking and make my life simpler.

This week has certainly made me appreciate the technology I’ve been taking for granted. I also need to remind myself that in my time of teaching, I’ve gone from a couple of computers in a whole school without a network, to 1-2-1 iPads in my class today. Can’t complain!

Printing Multiple Notes⤴

from @ wwwd – John's World Wide Wall Display

As I’ve mentioned before we use Apple Notes a lot in our class. If the class are writing, unless there is a need for formatting or layout, I often ask the pupils just to stick to notes.

Notes are easily AirDropped to me when I need to collect work and both pupils and myself can organise them in a fairly simple manner.

Occasionally I want to print the pupils work. Notes, reasonably enough, only lets you to print one note at a time. I wondered if there was AppleScript that would help. I found Export Apple Notes via AppleScript which exported a folder of notes to a new TextEdit document. I altered it to:

  • Allow you to choose a folder from Notes.
  • Export to an html file on disk.
  • Provided page breaks so that the notes would each print on their own page.

Not particularly pretty, I guess I could work on the styles a little.

You need to be in my lucky position of having a mac in your classroom. Mine uses the same account as my iPad which helps me organise thing a lot.

Here is the code, I suspect it could be improved. Even if you don’t use AppleScript is easy enough to run. Open the AppleScript editor, create a new script, paste the code below in and hit run. You will be asked to choose a folder and then name an html file. The file will be created and opened with your default browser.
You then can print.

Digital Nostalgia⤴

from @ wwwd – John's World Wide Wall Display

I just opened my old 2001 iBook, running 10.3.9 (2005) with 320 MB of RAM. The  Finder was surprisingly snappy. It slowed down a bit once I had an application or two running.

In the dock (on the right had side, vertical) Graphic Converter, Safari, SuperCard, AppleWorks, Claris Emailer, Flash MX, Tex-edit-plus, terminal, NetNewsWire, IE, QuickTime, System Prefs and Classic. There are a few other fond memories in the Application Folder.

I couldn’t get it on the Wifi but it connected via Ethernet.

I was hoping to find out what podcasts I was listening to back then, but no luck, nothing in iTunes at all,  I think I cleared out it out at some point to pass on to my wife or daughter.

(My first mac was a performa 475 bought in 1996 just as the power pc macs appeared.)

Microcast 5: Choices⤴

from @ John's World Wide Wall Display

IMG_7438.jpeg

Some thoughts about making choices about the software and systems you use, they may have hidden positives or negatives.

Featured image, iPhone screenshot, edited in snapseed

    The Levelator Lives⤴

    from @ John's World Wide Wall Display

    A while back I bookmarked How to Revive The Levelator in El Capitan on TidBITS and followed the instructions to get this essential piece of podcasting software to work again after updating my mac to El Capitan.

    This week TidBITS had the news: The Levelator 2.1.2 Works in El Capitan announcing a new version.

    The Levelator is

    a free app that ensures audio files use a consistent loudness, something that’s often hard to achieve with group podcasts and between episodes.

    I find it very useful for Radio Edutalk episodes where we record over Skype.