The 21st Century Principal

Office Lens is a new scanner app for your iOS device or Android device that turns your smartphone into a pocket scanner. You can turn your pictures of notes on a whiteboard or handwritten notes on a piece of paper into notes that can be edited in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. You can also export into PDF or JPEG formats as well. This is an app that has excellent potential for students.

As an avid reader, last night, I downloaded Oyster, the subscription book service app to my iPad, just to check it out. There are many times when I read a book, I am not necessarily interested in purchasing a copy, but would still like to read it in e-book format.

Some are calling Oyster, the Netflix of e-books, and upon opening the app, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of books available. I even found the titles of several books on my reading list that I’ve been planning to read. Oyster, gives you access to book titles for a monthly subscription fee of $9.95. Right now, I am using a trial of the service, so I am personally undecided whether or not it’s worth my while to pay the month fee. It also remains to be seen whether the e-book service can provide access to an increasing number of titles, but the idea is appealing, especially to someone like me who enjoys access to a book any way I can get it.

Oyster Interface

For more information about Oyster E-book subscription service, check out their web site. Apps are available for both iOS and Android devices.

Sunrise Calendar App is an excellent way to gain access to your Google Calendars across multiple platforms. Recently, Sunrise became available as a stand-alone Mac App in addition to being available for iOS devices, Android devices, and Chrome. The best thing about Sunrise right now is that it’s free. It is easy to use and simply gives you easy access to your Google calendar. You can also connect some social media accounts such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as Evernote. It’s simple interface makes it an excellent choice for a Calendar app across all your devices.



Here are some other interesting features of the Sunrise Calendar App.

• Compatible with Google Calendar, iCloud and Exchange
• Synchronizes in real time
• Quick Add Event Feature
• Reminders
• Connect to multiple Google Calendars
• Supports Mac notifications
• Offline Mode

If you’re looking for a calendar app for your Mac, Desktop or handheld device, you will find Sunrise Calendar App's simplicity and ease of use reason enough to download it today. For more information about the Sunrise Apps, check out their web site (https://calendar.sunrise.am/).

As a teacher and now as an administrator, looking for shortcuts and easy ways to manage aspects of the job has become second nature. I must confess that I began my job as an educator when desktop computers were rare, and mobile phones were too large to really be considered mobile. I didn't even have a phone in my classroom in those days. The only thing that connected me to the office was a button that activated a buzzed through the school's intercom system.

The 21st century has brought forth so many apps and tools, it is easy to get lost in the technology. As a school administrator, teacher, and now a doctoral student, I have found some applications indispensable in my role as lead learner. This week I have the privilege of sharing my favorite apps, Chrome extensions, and open source programs with those who attend my concurrent session at the annual North Carolina Technology in Education Society Conference. I share my presentation below. I will confess, however, a portion of this presentation was from an earlier presentation I shared on Evernote earlier.


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I have mentioned on several occasions that I have a regular mindfulness meditation practice and have been reading heavily for some time about Buddhist philosophy, religion, and practice. My interest in Buddhist practice actually began about 7 or 8 years ago when one of my students revealed to me that he and his family were Buddhist, and that he had just undergone special mindfulness training when he turned 13. His family was originally from Laos, and I became fascinated with the cultural aspects Buddhist experience. I began practicing intermittently for several years, until my more recent attendance to an annual retreat at the Southern Dharma Retreat Center, located in the mountains of North Carolina. (Check out their web site here.)



Amazingly though, technology does provide tools to those interested in Buddhist practice. Besides downloading all the books, podcasts and videos that are available, there are also apps for iOS devices and Android devices. These apps assist those who practice meditation with timers and the ability to connect with other practitioners. My favorite app, available for both iOS and Android is called Insight Timer. (Check out their web site here.) This app has several features that actually make your meditation practice more effective.

• Insight Timer: This is the major function of the app. It is a timer for your meditation sessions. With Insight Time, you can adjust the length of your session and choose what your beginning and ending bell will sound like. You can also scheduled interval bells during your meditation too.
• Insight Connect: This feature of Insight Timer allows you to connect and message to others who have joined the Insight Connect network. For example, you can send a simple message to someone else thanking them for meditating with you. You can also join groups, and even see others close by who are or who have meditated. By joining groups, you can receive common messages from others in that group. This Insight Connect feature makes your meditation practice more social.
• Other Options: You can view your meditation log and statistics and record your observations and reflections in a journal. This journal can be exported as well. Finally, you can set your Insight Connect picture as well as your app background too.

Insight Timer Screenshot

Boxer is an email app that might be of interest to those looking for an email application for their iOS device. This email app approaches email in a slightly different manner than others. It supports email accounts with a variety of services such as: Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, Yahoo, Hotmail, iCloud, AOL and IMAP accounts. It does not support POP3 accounts, however.

Boxer Email Interface

Even better, Boxer allows you to connect your email to your Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts too. With this feature, you can add a photo from you Dropbox photos, or you can save a message right into Evernote. As a heavy Evernote user, this expands the functionality of that application even further. Some of the other interesting features of Boxer include:

• Quick Reply: This feature allows you to choose from a list of "Quick Reply" messages to respond to a message. Some of those replies are: "I've added this to my to-do list," "I'm on it and I'll follow up shortly," or "Can you give me a little more detail?" The Quick Reply feature makes it easier to manage and respond to many routine email messages you receive.
• Easy-to-Use Action Grid: When dealing with an email, you simply bring up an Action Grid (See below) from which you decide the fate of the message you're reading.

Boxer's Email Action Grid

• Push Notifications: Receive notifications when you receive an email message.
• Support of Multiple Email Accounts: You can set up Boxer to access email across multiple email accounts.
• Use Gmail Labels: If you're like me and use Gmail labels, Boxer allows you to do this as well. Boxer also sets up a "To-Do Label/Folder in your Gmail lineup as well, so you have access to those emails you assign to your Boxer To-Do list in your Gmail account.

Google Hangouts for iOS is another must-have app for those who rely heavily on Google Hangouts to connect with others. The app allows for the usual video connecting and messaging as well. One of its more interesting features is that you can make free voice calls in the US and Canada, right from your iPad. I used the Google Hangouts app  for a vodcast and it worked as well as my desktop. I also used the app to make a phone call and that too worked beautifully. Google Hangouts is available in both an iOS version and Android. Check out Google Hangouts in the iTunes store. (Google Hangouts)

Recently,our district changed providers and changed phones. As a result, we are now using iPhones. As a avid user of an iPad, deciding which apps to put on my phone was an easy decision. I immediately wanted to be able to access the same applications I can already access on my iPad and on my desktop or the web.

Here's my must-download list of iPhone apps.


QR Reader: This is my QR code scanner of choice. Scanning is quite easy. I can even create QR codes within this app. There is a free version with ads, which is what I am currently using, and a paid version too. In an era where QR codes and bar codes are everywhere, it makes little sense to have a mobile device without the ability to scan these. For more information regarding QR Reader for the iPhone, check it out in iTunes. QR Reading in iTunes

Wunderlist: Having a task management app is a must. Having one that allows access across devices and on the web is also a must. Wunderlist gives me that option. I can access my "To-Do List" on my desktop, the web, my iPad, and my iPhone. Tasks entered in any of these locations are synced across devices as well. For more information about Wunderlist, check out their web site. Wunderlist Web Site

Dropbox: Dropbox has lost it's luster for some people who have had difficulties with what they say are lost files or trouble with syncing operations on multiple computers. I have had few difficulties like this, so I still use Dropbox to save files to the cloud. I also like the photo-syncing feature as well, so any photos I take automatically load to dropbox, hence down to my computer. Dropbox Web Site

KustomNote: KustomNote is a new app that I recently added to my lineup. As a heavy Evernote user, this application gives me the ability to create customized templates for collecting information, that is then stored in my Evernote account under the notebook I select. With this app I can create a simple template for taking meeting notes that are stored in my Evernote account. For more information about KustomNote and its app, check out their web site. Here's an article that gives you an excellent overview of KustomNote. MakeUseOf Article on Kustomnote

Calendars+:  This is an easy to use calendar app that syncs with all your Google Calendars. Since our district uses Google Apps, I have access to multiple district Google calendars, so this apps makes syncing those calendars quite simple. For more information, check out Calendars+ in the iTunes Store.

vJournal: vJournal is an app that allows me to create dated entries, like a journal, and then it syncs those entries to my Evernote Journal notebook. It creates a new dated entry every time you enter information. This is an excellent app for logging events or ideas. For more information about vJournal, check it out in the iTunes Store.

Google Drive: Having an additional access point to my Google Drive documents is priceless. There are countless times when I am asked about a document, and turn to this application to review or access that document. This app is especially useful if you school or district uses Google Apps. For more information about the Google Drive app, check it out in the iTunes store.

iKeePass: iKeePass is a program that allows you store and access passwords for all your software and web sites. This app is compatible with the open source desktop program KeePass as well. Using this program allows you to access your passwords through your iPhone. I have it on my iPad as well. For more information regarding iKeePass, check it out in the iTunes Store.

Evernote: For obvious reasons, having access to my Evernote note taking application on my iPhone is a big plus. Those who need to be able to access notes or take them, need this app on all their devices. For more information about Evernote's mobile app, check it out in the iTunes Store.

Gmail: This app allows me to access my email accounts. Since I have both a personal and a school Gmail account, with this app I can sync both accounts to my iPhone. I also use the same app on my iPad. It is easy to use. For more information on the Gmail app, check it out in the iTunes Store.

Twitter: Being a heavy Twitter user, having access to that social media app on my iPhone too, is a must. The Twitter app works sufficiently well to provide that access. For more information on the Twitter app, check it out in the iTunes Store.

Google Voice: Google voice allows me to set up a voice mail account, and it allows me to send text messages through my iPhone. For more information regarding the Google Voice app, check it out in the iTunes Store.

Facebook: Like Twitter, I do use Facebook to connect with others. The Facebook app for the iOS works just fine for my needs. For more information regarding the Facebook app, check it out in the iTunes Store.

Google+: I also like having access to my Google+ account on my iPhone as well. For more information regarding this iOS app, check it out in the iTunes Store.

Feedly: Feedly is now my primary RSS reader since the demise of Google Reader. Having access on my iPhone allows me one more place to access my favorite blogs and news sources. For more information regarding the iOS version of Feedly, check it out in the iTunes Store.

Flipboard: Flipboard is essentially another RSS reader, but it gives you an magazine-like look to your resources. I use this to access my favorite news and media sources. For more information regarding the iOS version of Flipboard, check it out in the iTunes Store.

Pocket: Pocket is a tool I use to collect RSS reads for later use. Having access on my iPhone, my iPad, and the web means I can view these articles anywhere I happen to be. For more information regarding Pocket, check it out in the iTunes Store.


For me the important thing is being able to access my most useful and often-used applications across devices. When I received my iPhone, these are the apps I immediately downloaded and installed. It is also an excellent iPhone starter-app list too.

There are quite a few Evernote apps that extend the note taking program’s functionality, and I have used quite a few of them. Recently, I  found  Evernote's Journal iPad app. This app makes it possible to keep a journal right in my Evernote application. Being able to do this makes keeping a log or meeting notes even simpler because this app allows you to create those notes with automatic dates right within an Evernote note.

Journal for Evernote has the following features of capabilities:

• Creates a stack in your Evernote account called “My Journal” and stores your notes by date within yearly notebooks.
• Notes can be saved and uploaded automatically.
• Date and time is automatically added to the top of your note.
• Each entry in the Journal app is recorded as a separate note.
• Easy to use interface makes entering notes quite simple.

Evernote users looking for a simple way to take meeting notes or keep logs may want to add Journal for Evernote to their iOS device immediately. 

Journal's iPad App Interface