The Bombing Brain Blog

Professors Can Use Teleprompt+ to Record Video Homework Assignments

Both Teachers and Professors have more technological tools at their disposal than just a few years ago. These new technologies are advancing the way Teachers and Professors communicate, educate, and interact with their students. Some of the biggest technologies to enter the education industry over the past 5-7 years are:

  • Advancement of wireless internet
  • Online video
  • Tablet PCs like iPad

More and more schools are integrating these new technologies into their classrooms. Teachers and Professors are using them to better educate their students and students are using them to better understand, and engage with, the material being presented by their Teachers and Professors.

iPad Goes to School

professor teacher ipad

Here at Bombing Brain we are a little biased when it comes to which technology is making the biggest impact in classrooms around the world… iPad takes all of the new technologies and combines them into one easy to use device. iPad allows you to access the internet in the classroom. It enables students to watch videos that correspond to a current topic they are studying. It allows Professors to come up with curriculum that encourage students to engage in the topic of study like never before.

iPad is so revolutionary within our school that an entire ‘Education App’ industry is being built around its usage. Colleges and Universities around the world, along with K-12 schools, are testing using iPad in the classroom. As more and more Teachers and Professors get comfortable with using iPad and all of the Education apps out there, we believe we are going to see a huge shift away from traditional school tools like textbooks and pencils to a more advance set of tools like iPad, online video, and social networking.

Teleprompt+ in the Classroom

As we continue to upgrade our app, Teleprompt+, we are finding more and more uses for it. Many times we don’t even realize all that it’s being used for until we hear from a customer. One thing that we do think many Teachers and Professors can now take advantage of from Teleprompt+ is its video recording capability. As many of you know, Teleprompt+ is a teleprompter app for iPad. With our latest update to Teleprompt+ users can now shoot video right within the application. This means to Teachers and Professors can use Teleprompt+ to record video messages and homework assignments for students.

Why Should Professors Record Video Homework Assignments?

When we were in school we remember teachers giving us homework assignments, usually at the end of class. We scrambled to write down the instructions without taking time to think about them. By the time we got home we had our chicken scratch notes and no memory of what needed to be done. With video home work assignments, students can replay the assignment over and over. Video captures emphasis, which will help students understand where they should focus. Video assignments can be thought out, scripts can be written and imported into Teleprompt+ and Professors can create a clearer message for students instead of just throwing out the assignment at the end of class when everyone is getting ready to leave.

If you’re interested in using Teleprompt+ in your classroom, simply download Teleprompt+ from the App Store. Also, you should know that Bombing Brain Interactive is part of the Apple Education Volume Purchase Program. This allows educational institutions to buy multiple copies of apps at a discounted price. So, if you’re interested in buying Teleprompt+ for your class, but think the entire school could benefit from it, please feel free to share this information with the school board and receive a discount on your purchase.

We would love to hear how it works for you. We think Teleprompt+ along with iPad will change the way you teach and your students learn.

Bombing Brain at 360iDev

There really is no substitute for face to face interaction.

Tim plays skeeball at 1up

Tim plays skeeball at 1up

It had been more than 11 years since I had a chance to hang out for more than a few hours with my good friends and collaborators at Bombing Brain Interactive. Living on two different coasts, we just barely get together whenever I’m visiting family back in Philly.

Sure, the WiFi and the coffee in the hotel sucked, and maybe not every session was everything I’d hoped it would be. But there were more than enough informative sessions, talented speakers, interesting parties, and surprisingly good free lunch to make up for it. If you’re just getting started out in iOS development, or even if you’ve been at it a while and just want to surround yourself with like-minded people, 360iDev is a great conference. The price is more than reasonable for what you get.

And Denver is no bad place to be in mid September, either.

El Mariachi! Mike Lee's memorable General Session

El Mariachi! Mike Lee's memorable General Session

More than anything, though, it was just good to spend time with Gene and Tim. Don’t let anyone tell you different; doing business with old friends you trust is the way to go. We accomplished more over a few beers than the last thousand corporate meetings I’ve attended. (I’m sure David Whatley would agree.)

I still don't know which button is the 16th Floor

I still don't know which button is the 16th Floor

Seveal late night design/coding sessions also put us well on our way to finishing a few upcoming projects, including new features for Teleprompt+, and a big update to Spooky Playtime, just in time for the Halloween season. (Bats in tuxedos and Junk Food Zombies—need I say more?) We cant’ wait for you all to see what we’ve got in store.

I look down at my iPhone as FlightTrack Pro has informed me that Gene and Tim’s plane back to Philly has just taken off. I’m reminded that I met the guy who designed that app this week, and that I’ll be on my way back to San Francsico in a few hours myself. Time to check out a few more of Denver’s sights, have some good coffee for a change (at ink!), and be thankful for a very productive week.

The Circle is Now Complete – Announcing Teleprompt+ for Mac!

wpid-macbook_air_prompt_homepage_angle-2011-08-3-10-172.png

We’ve strived for over a year to make Teleprompt+ the best teleprompter on the iOS platform. Thanks to you, our users, we’ve been able to add many of the features and enhancements you’ve requested to make the app a leader in its category. Yet we admit there has always been something missing – a companion desktop app. Well as of today we are happy to announce that is no longer the case – introducing Teleprompt+ for Mac 1.0!

One request we’ve heard from many of you is the desire to be able to control the iPad or iPhone version of Teleprompt+ from a desktop computer. When we started investigating this possibility, we thought we might develop a simple remote control utility for the Mac, similar to Teleprompt+ Remote on the iPhone. Investigating this possibility led us to check out some of the Mac-based teleprompter apps on the market. Much to our surprise, we weren’t very impressed with what we saw – most of what’s available on the Mac is either severely limited in capability or severely overpriced. Once Apple announced the Mac App Store, putting in place the same distribution and support channels as those available for iOS, it became a bit of a “no-brainer” to us. We should do a full version of our teleprompter for the Mac.

Teleprompt+ for Mac isn’t a straight port of the iOS app, however. The Mac version is a complete rewrite of the app for a desktop interface and is designed to take advantage of the full capabilities of Mac OS X. Teleprompt+ for Mac supports the latest and greatest features of the Mac, including Mac OS X Lion’s full-screen mode – a feature found in many of Apple’s own apps. Teleprompt+ also supports external video output – perfect for pro prompting setups where the talent reads from the secondary screen while the operator controls prompting on the Mac. Teleprompt+ for Mac also fully supports remote control over WiFi with an iPad or iPhone. Remotely control your iPad or iPhone with the Mac version, or do the opposite – use the iOS device as a remote for the Mac. You can even setup a Mac-to-Mac connection and control a second Mac while prompting. Pair an iOS remote with the Mac version with an external screen and have multi-monitor output. The possible setups are now abundant.

Despite being a fully native Mac app, users of the iOS versions will be pleased to find most of the familiar features that are available in the iOS version. We designed the Mac version with a keen eye on maintaining consistency in the layout and flow with the iOS versions, while still ensuring a smooth desktop experience. All of the core features – the script list, editor, settings, cue points, and prompting interface should be very familiar to our iOS users – in fact we believe you won’t even need to consult the manual (though we have it available just in case). If you are a new user or would like to get a preview of what the Mac version has to offer, I would suggest you take a look at our product page as well.

wpid-teleprompt_previewpane-1-2011-08-3-10-17.png

We’ve worked tirelessly on Teleprompt+ for Mac, and we believe it is on par with or better than most other options on the Mac platform today at a fraction of the cost.

Some of you with a keen eye will notice that some of the iOS features are not yet implemented in the Mac version, but fear not – version 1.1 is already in the final stages of development (adding Google Docs and Dropbox support), and the remaining advanced features of the iOS versions will be coming to the Mac this Fall.

Teleprompt+ for Mac 1.0 is available today on the Mac App Store for the introductory price of $19.99 (USD). It requires a minimum OS version of Mac OS X Snow Leopard and is fully Lion compatible. Buy Teleprompt+ for Mac now at the introductory price and you will get all of the advanced feature upgrades for free when they are released.

Look Ma! No hands! – Teleprompt+ Goes Hands-Free

AirTurn Bluetooth BT-105 with 2 ATFS-1 Clear Foot Switches

Teleprompt+ was launched about a year ago and one of the first feature requests we had was from musicians wanting to control the app from a foot pedal.  It took some time for the hardware to become available but that has been remedied with the use of Airturn, Inc.’s AirTurn for iPad (affiliate link).  This excellent little piece of hardware allows hands-free control of Teleprompt+ along with support from a slew of other apps that take advantage of the AirTurn.

Using the AirTurn and Teleprompt+ is simple. Once the AirTurn is paired with your iOS device just choose your configuration in the settings pane of the app:

  • Single Pedal: Tap the pedal to pause, tap again to play
  • Dual Pedal, Speed Control: Tap the left pedal to slow down. Tap the right pedal to speed up. Tap both pedals simultaneously to pause/play
  • Dual Pedal, Cue Points: Tap the left pedal for the previous cue point. Tap the right pedal for the next cue point.  Tap both pedals simultaneously to pause/play.

After choosing your configuration just tap the start button and you can then use the foot pedals as desired. Easy right?

One other benefit of adding foot pedal support as it was trivial to add blue tooth keyboard support as well. So if you have a blue tooth keyboard handy you can use that as a remote as well.  Just pair up the keyboard with your iPad.  Start prompting and go to town using your keyboard to control Teleprompt+.  Here’s a list of the keys that you can use:

  • Play/Pause: Space Bar
  • Slow Down: <
  • Speed Up: >
  • Previous Cue Point:  [
  • Next Cue Point:  ]
  • Start/Stop Video/Audio Recording: R
  • Exit Script: X
  • Restart/Begin Script: B
  • Decrease Font Size: -
  • Increase Font Size: +
  • Hide/Show Video Window: H
  • Up Arrow – Pause/Play, Slow Down, Previous Cue Point (depends on foot pedal setting)
  • Down Arrow – Pause/Play, Speed Up, Next Cue Point (depends on foot pedal setting)

Note: You might be wondering why the speed controls seems to be reversed (up arrow slows down, down arrow speeds up).  Unfortunately that is how the foot pedal transmits the signal so we were forced to make the keystrokes the same.

We at Bombing Brain Interactive think that the merging of Teleprompt+ and the AirTurn for iPad will be a great addition for many Teleprompt+ users, especially musicians and other performers who need a hands-free operation.  We highly recommend that you check out the awesomeness of AirTurn for iPad together with Teleprompt+ for iPad.

New in Teleprompt+ 2.2: The Help Screen

One of the major new features found in Teleprompt+ 2.2 is the help screen. This in-app resource should help you get answers to the most common questions, tell you how to contact Bombing Brain Interactive, and give you more access to Teleprompt+ resources.

Teleprompter for iPadTo access the help screen, simply tap on the help icon on the top toolbar of the main setup screen. This will launch the help view.

The help screen is divided into four main sections:

Documentation Icon

This section will link you to the Teleprompt+ user manual, which is a complete guide to every feature in the application. This is the ultimate reference guide to Teleprompt+.

Instuctional Videos Icon

If you’re looking for a quick video tutorial on how to use a specific feature for Teleprompt+, this section will provide you with everything you need. These videos are also available on the Bombing Brain YouTube Channel. If you haven’t subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet, we’d love to connect with you. We will be using YouTube to put out educational videos about our products, our industry, and technology in general.

Contact Us Icon

The ‘Contact Us’ section within Teleprompt+ will provide you with links to email us, visit our web site, or visit the app store to rate Teleprompt+. If you love using our application, there’s no better way to show your appreciation than to write us up a nice review on the App Store. Your comments will help other iOS users make informed choices about which apps they should use, and we would greatly appreciate it!

Also, if you have questions or feature requests, contacting Bombing Brain via the email link in this section is a great way to get those answered. We take all inquiries from our users very seriously and do our best to respond promptly.

Latest News and Blog Articles Icon

In the Latest News and Blog Articles section  you will find links to our latest blog articles, and other news related to Teleprompt+ and our other mobile applications.

Last but not least, if you’re not following Bombing Brain on Twitter and Facebook yet, you can find our profiles via the links at the bottom of the page. Our Twitter feed and the Bombing Brain Facebook page are great resources not only for information about our products, but for other articles about technology, education, and many other topics we find interesting enough to share. Become a part of the Bombing Brain community, and you can also find helpful tips from other users on how to get the most out of Teleprompt+.