Friday, March 21, 2014

Photo Stream it Up!


I am sick and tired of wasting time trying to keep classroom photos up to date on my website. I need a quick easy way to post my pictures without downloading, uploading, etc... If you've been following my blog you know I HATE wasting time. So, here's my latest solution (if you are an Apple product user)

Follow the instructions below. Then, link your Photo Stream site onto your webpage (ONCE!) and you will always have live, up to date pics!

From an iOS Device (iPad, iPhone)
  1. Open up Photos 
  2. Click on the Shared Tab (at the bottom in the middle)
  3. Click on the + sign in the upper left-hand corder
  4. Name your photo stream,  Push Next
  5. Now, you have the option of adding other iCloud users to your photo stream. If you add other users they will be able to view your photo stream on their phone, iPad, or iPhoto on their MacBook. Since you are making this photo stream public it's up to you if you include anyone
  6. Select Create
  7. Now you will see your new photo stream appear in your list under Activity. Select it. 
  8. At the bottom you will see two tabs, select the People tab
  9. Select the tab next to Public Website and make it green. 
  10. Select share link and email it to yourself (So that you will have it later to add into your website).
  11. Return to the Photos Tab at the bottom.
  12. When you click on the + square you will be able to insert photos straight from your camera roll. You can add comments about the pictures for parents! 
  13. Your last step is to add your link to your webpage. If you are using SchoolWires, please feel free to use my tutorial video found at www.dps61.org/techresources under the Web101 tab. 


Now your photos on your web-page will update easily and instantly right from your iOS device!

Was this helpful? Would you like more screen shots? I'd love your feedback!

Questions?                         

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Bitly

I am in LOVE with bitly. I think of it as a cloud-based favorites bar for my Internet sites. I save ALL web resources in bitly so that I can access them anywhere. Bitly also creates tiny URLs and QR codes.

There's also an app http://bit.ly/BitlyAppLink (free).

Quick Directions to Get You Started (I always do promise Quick and Easy!)
1. Go to https://bitly.com
2. Create a free account or log in with Facebook or Twitter. Your choice, just click where you need to to get an account.
3. Now, select and copy the URL you want to bookmark/save/shrink.
4. Return to bitly, past into the top spot.
5. Now this is what you will see. 
 Here you have some options. I recommend starting with "Add to bundle" This is a way you can organize all of your similar links (like organizing into folders, but they are called bundles) 

Also, if you select View Stats you can click on the little QR and print that off to share. 

As always, I like to keep it simple, short, and sweet. Bitly is an incredibly powerful tool that can really be used as a major time saver!! I also use it to create bundles for student work. For example, if I have a set of math sites I use for extra fun practice with students when they are finished with work, they are all stored together in a bundle labeled 5th grade interactive math sites. This way, I can quick run to the bundle and print/pull up a QR on the promethean board for the students to scan.