Along with all the general excitement surrounding Apple's release of iOS 6, there are a few features My Big Campus users will find especially useful. Here's a quick overview of how this update affects you.
Mobile Device Management
The first is mainly of interest to IT Administrators managing 1:1 iPad deployments. The new Global Proxy option lets you channel all Internet activity on iOS 6 devices through your Lightspeed web filter, whether the user is connected to the school network, at home, or anywhere else. The update also allows more precise control over individual applications, and eliminates the need to manage web access through the Lightspeed browser. The latest version of Lightspeed's Mobile Device Management tool fully supports these new features.
Easier sharing between My Big Campus and iOS apps
Before the iOS 6 update, uploading Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents to MBC was a multi-step procedure. I was very pleased to discover that you can now upload these documents directly to MBC with the Open In command.
This simple three-step procedure adds the file directly to Your Stuff in My Big Campus, where you can share it just like any other MBC item.
Meanwhile, over in Schoolwork
I also wanted to let you know that we've released numerous minor updates to Schoolwork over the past week, in response to your comments and suggestions. Among the highlights:
- Group admins can now grade schoolwork assigned by the group owner. Click Needs Grading on your Schoolwork dashboard.
- Added "Simple Assignment" to available schoolwork types, to match the old Assignments schoolwork type.
- Teachers can now filter Schoolwork by group.
We have more minor fixes and updates in the pipeline -- visit the MBC Release Notes topic to stay informed.
As always, I welcome your feedback. Please feel free to post comments related to the topic of this blog post.
This has been an exciting spring for My Big Campus. Since the beginning of the year, my development team has added:
And we're not done yet. You'll soon see a major update to the My Big Campus app for iOS, followed by a similar update to the Android version.
These redesigned apps will have almost all the features of the My Big Campus website. Here's a sneak preview of some of the new features:
- New navigation for more compatibility with the web version
- Ability to Stash content on the device for access without an Internet connection
- Support for Blogs and Bundles
This update will be available soon in the iTunes App Store. When the Android version is ready, you'll find it in Google Play (formerly Android Market) and the Amazon App Store. I'm looking forward to using the new features, how about you? Tell me about it in the Comments!
If you’ve ever wanted to carry My Big Campus around in your pocket, there’s an app (or two) for that.
Although EduTalk got all the attention on my blog last week, our new Android app for My Big Campus is getting lots of excitement out in the real world this week. Attendees at the annual Hoosier Educational Computer Coordinators (HECC) conference in Indiana this week each got a new Lenovo ThinkPad tablet, which is awesome enough on its own. They’re also learning about My Big Campus, and downloading the free MBC app from the Android Market, where it’s currently flying off the (virtual) shelves.
The MBC app gives you most of what’s in the desktop web-based version, in a sleek, easy-to-use interface for your iOS and, now, Android smartphones and tablets. I’ve talked about the iOS app previously. Follow that link to get an overview.
The iOS and Android versions of the MBC app support a similar set of features, including EduTalk, our Professionals-Only collaboration and networking portal. If you’re in a 1:1 or BYOD classroom, or if you’d just like to stay up to date on your smartphone or tablet, give the MBC app a try.
Here’s where to get them:
Note: Not all website features are supported at this time (e.g., blogs, group pages, quizzes). App requires a My Big Campus account. Free accounts are available to educators at www.mybigcampus.com/sign-up.
Connect, collaborate, and learn on My Big Campus from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with the My Big Campus app--now in the App Store. (Yes, Android app coming soon!)
The My Big Campus iOS app provides easy access to: group announcements, discussions, calendars, resources, and members; educational resources including YouTube videos; online assignments; activity feeds; messages; and more.
Features:
- Educational Resource Library
- YouTube videos stripped of peripheral content
- Assignments (view, complete, submit)
- Threaded discussions
- File storage in the cloud
- File uploads with virus scanning
- Image uploads with skin-tone analysis
- Messaging system
- Calendars with flexible events
- CIPA-compliant filtering
- Authenticated user access
- Profanity interception
- Quick Links to top content
Note: Not all website features are supported at this time (e.g., blogs, group pages, quizzes). App requires a My Big Campus account. Free accounts are available to educators at www.mybigcampus.com/sign-up.
Documentation is in the library. Let me know what you think!