Flipboard (for ed) 102: Utilizing Flipboard For Your PLN and Creating & Sharing Your Own Magazines

Flipboard is one of those apps that I hear people say consistently that it’s a favorite.  If you’ve got a school-issued iPad, because you’re supposed to be integrating the iPad into your curriculum, chances are Flipboard is one that you’ve used for yourself.  p.s. If you haven’t used Flipboard before...well then have I got an amazing new app for you!  (If you’ve never used it. here’s a link to getting started & setting up your account -- more like a short “101” tutorial.)

Official definition: Flipboard is Your Personal Magazine. It's a single place to discover, collect and share the news you care about. Add your favorite social networks, publications and blogs to stay connected to the topics and people closest to you. source

Short version: Flipboard is a cool way to read your own designer mag on your iPad.  YOU get to decide what goes in it!

Even though Flipboard may not be one that your kids use--(Or maybe they do?  Maybe you utilize this app in class?)--but one that you use, doesn’t mean it still can’t be meaningful for school.  There is tremendous professional development available on Flipboard, it’s not just for looking at the latest pictures on Cute Overload :D or getting updates on Sochi or reading the NYT.

If you use Twitter as your PLN, add it!

Consider adding the Twitter account, that you use as your Personal Learning Network, so that the multitude of tips & links, through tweets, can be read quickly and in magazine format.  The great thing about Twitter is that it is limited to 140 characters; so you’re already getting mini-headlines & links to further explore new ideas and techniques for your practice.  

How To:

If your Twitter account has more personal interests consider creating a professional one and adding that instead of your personal one.  Unfortunately, as of the timing of this blog post, you cannot add an additional Twitter account.  

Add Education Blogs

How fabulous would it be to be able to flip through the daily/weekly posts of your favorite ed blogs in a magazine-type format?  I love(d) ed tech blogs so much -- that I started one myself -- and for awhile found it difficult to check in with them on a regular basis due to lack of time.  In the beginning, I would simply bookmark a site I loved; later I started saving them into my Evernote account.  Neither of these ensured that I was learning these new ideas/tips/tricks on a regular basis.  Not until I added them to my Flipboard account was I exposed to them with more regularity.  As a result, I’m learning more and enriching my own PD.

How to:

1. You’ll need to copy the RSS feed from the blog & paste it into the “search” field of your Flipboard account.
1. Most blogs have the RSS icon available on the homepage; sometimes it’s under a tab called “About”.  Do you see this picture on the right of my page?

Some blogs will have the icon look like a button at the top of the page:

              b.  Click on that icon & copy the URL in the address bar.  They will often have the word “feed” in them.

Here are some sample RSS feeds for some of my favorite ed tech blogs. Copy & paste the following short URLs into the ‘Search’ field of your account:

• Free Technology for Teachers RSS Feed: http://goo.gl/zsWKaM
• iPad Addition RSS feed: http://goo.gl/4gRAQK
• AM Technology Edu RSS feed: http://goo.gl/5yjQc7
• iPad Insight: http://goo.gl/J2bIyH
• Techno-Logical-Teaching RSS feed: http://goo.gl/64ojHq

A great transition for the next section is to share with you the magazine that iPad Addiction’s blogger created.  Click on the hyperlinked text, open it in Flipboard, and subscribe:

iPad Addiction: Recess Duty Times Flipboard Magazine

Create Your Own (Collection of Articles) Magazines

OK, I saved the most fun Flipboard feature --IMHO-- for last: You can create your own magazine & share it with others!  This is a great feature for teacher leaders in schools with, or transitioning to, a 1:1 environment.  Create your own tech PD magazine, specific to your school and ask your teachers to subscribe.  Let them read through, and learn from, your suggested tech PD specific stories and ideas.  

1.  Create & name your magazine.

2.  Save any story to your magazine by tapping the “+” button:

3.  If you decide you want to delete a story that you’ve saved, tap the “share” button.

4.  If you’d like to have co-contributors, tap “Invite Contributors”.

5.  To share your magazine with others, tap the ‘Share’ button & copy the link.