How to add classes and teachers/students with an Excel spreadsheet.
It’s quite easy using the picture-book instructions and templates. Just type in the information, save as a tab-delimited file, and import from within eCOVE on the computer. The new setup will be available immediately, and if you sync an iPhone/iTouch the additions will show up there.
This is useful for entering or updating a small/medium number of observees. If you want to add an entire school, it’s better to export from the student information system, convert to the eCOVE template format, and then import. Look on the website under Support/Manuals and More for the Setting Up Manual.
We will send the instructions and templates to our user list this week. Email john@ecove.net if you’d like it right away.
All four of the eCOVE Observation Software Editions are available from the iTunes App Store. They are free apps, and include 2 sample classrooms with students, and 5 tools. You can gather data with the tools and email the results.
If you sync to a licensed Edition of eCOVE on the computer, it will also upload all 25 tools (plus any you’ve created yourself), your classrooms with teachers and students, and the names of all the observers. You can then gather data with the iPhone/iTouch and sync the data back to the computer to run any of the 5 types of reports.
The iPad version is very nearly finished and will take advantage of the increased screen size. All of the features work the same, and the data will sync to the computer for creating reports. We’ll notify everyone when it’s been approved by Apple and is on their App Store.
Here’s a sample of data graph from the emailed report from the iPhone/iTouch.
Now that the iPhone/iTouch version is finished and available, I’ll be back showing off the features at conferences. Here are a few that we’re signed up for. If you are attending, please contact me or stop by the exhibit booth.
NASP (National Association of School Psychologists) Chicago, March, 2010. Exhibit Booth
CEC (Council for Exceptional Children) Nashville, April, 2010. Presentation & Exhibit Booth
ABAI (Association of Behavior Analysis International) San Antonio, May 2010. Presentation & Exhibit Booth
COSA (Confederation of Oregon School Administrators), Seaside, OR, June, 1010. Exhibit Booth
NSDC (National Staff Development Council), Atlanta, December, 2010. Exhibit Booth
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And a plea – what conferences should we consider attending? National or state level? If you have a favorite conference that you feel would fit eCOVE, PLEASE let us know (john@ecove.net). I love to talk to folks about eCOVE and data-based observations, but there are so many conferences out there….
We have developed an iPhone/iTouch version, and have submitted it to Apple for approval (1/29/10). They say that 98% take 7 days for approval. Since this is a more sophisticated program than the simple games, it may take longer. It should work on the new iPad, but we haven’t tested that yet.
As currently designed, the iPhone Editions will come with a default set of 5 tools (different for each Edition), and licensed laptop users can add additional tools by syncing. Look under the Solutions/iPhone Version to see screenshots.
We’ve searched the Apple App store and there is nothing even remotely as advanced or easy to use. You can add comments, change observees during a single observation, email reports with graphs right from the iPhone. Syncing to the computer version adds tools, more report types, uploading of classrooms, etc.
In a nutshell, the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy is easier to reliably use during an observation. The original Bloom’s is very useful when examining written questions, but if you’re not quite skilled with it, it’s difficult to categorize questions on the fly. The revised actually covers the same behaviors, but the terms used make it easier to identify spoken questions.
In addition, the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy includes sub-categories for each level, which can be very useful when doing more detailed observations about question-asking or answering behaviors. The original Bloom’s Taxonomy is in the Basic Edition; the new Revised Bloom’s is in the current advanced General Edition. All of the Bloom’s tools (there are 12) are available in the Build Your Own heading on the website. Look under Solutions and Buy menu headings.
Here is a comparison chart.
Comparison chart - Original Blooms versus Revised Blooms
There are now new ‘advanced’ Editions available. We’ve been working hard to develop new tools, toolsets, and complete Editions. Here’s a brief description of each of them:
General Edition. This is the new name for the ‘Advanced Edition’ that came out February, 2009. It has the same 40 tools but several additional features. The tools are useful for wide variety of observation needs – regular classroom, special ed, etc. It is a free update for owners of the Advanced Edition, but you will need a replacement license key. We’ll be sending those soon, but email if you need it right away (or we miss you). Very often, our ‘contact person’ is in the business or tech support office and not the end user.
Special Education Edition. This is a set of 25 tools designed by a team of special education professionals. The tools are grouped by eligibility area (which can be changed) and deals with the full spectrum of disabilities. There is a 6 tool overlap with the General Edition, so most of the tools are brand new. There are additional tools available in the Build-Your-Own section. Search for ’special education’ for our recommendations.
Administrator Edition. This is a set of 25 tools focused on general classroom observation and is useful for building administrators, lead teachers, coaches as a way to provide data to the classroom teacher. There is a 19 tool overlap with the General Edition, so there are 6 new tools in this Edition. General Edition owners can add the 6 new tools in the website ‘Add-On Toolsets’ section. Also there are many additional tools available in the Build-Your-Own section.
Sheltered Instruction/ESL Edition. Another set of 25 tools useful to those observing classroom with second language students. These tools support the use of the Sheltered Observation Observation Protocol (SIOP) but is not limited to that use. These are a core set of tools to track best practices for teaching ESL (and other) students. Again, additional tools are available in the Build-Your-Own section – search for Sheltered Instruction.
