15 More Apps To Create Books On The iPad Creating books on the iPad doesn’t seem like the first thing you might do with one of the popular little tablets, but it’s really quite capable of doing so provided you’re not trying to write the next great novel. We’ve written about 3 apps to reate books on the iPad in the past, but the following listly by Meg Wilson goes further, including 15 apps to do so. The artful collision of technology, learning, and literacy is an idea promoted in the Common Core Standards, which is likely your rule book if you teach K-12 in an American public school. This is a new age of literacy where students can read, research, write, publish, and socialize on the same device sitting right in their lap with a pinch-and-zoom elegance that somehow makes the whole process seem easier than it really is. And for those of you that rail against both Common Core and the iPad (but obviously not literacy), keep fighting the good fight. 15 Literacy Apps To Create Books On The iPad
Four Good Alternatives to Clicker Systems One of the benefits of allowing students to bring their cell phones into your classroom is that they can use them to give you anonymous feedback on sensitive questions and questions for which a name isn't necessary. For example, you might just want to take a survey of the average length of time your students spent studying for a quiz or how long it took them to complete an assignment. Here are four alternatives to purchasing clicker systems for your school while still gathering anonymous feedback from students. Socrative is my favorite tool for collecting anonymous feedback from students. Socrative introduction video (new) from Socrative Inc. on Vimeo. Poll Everywhere is a service that allows you to collect responses from an audience via text messaging. Mobile Presenter Tools from Poll Everywhere on Vimeo. Mentimeter allows you to pose a question to your audience and get instant feedback on that question through cell phones, tablets, and any other Internet-connected device.
iPad Apps for School | The Best iOS Apps for Students and Teachers Going global with Book Creator - Book Creator for iPad Wouldn’t it be good if schools from across the world could collaborate on a project…? Meg Wilson is a special education teacher and assistive technology specialist, as well as being an Apple Distinguished Educator since 2011. She blogs at iPodsibilities.com, IEAR.org, and EdReach.us about special education and mobile learning devices, app reviews, and other resources for educators. Redefining teaching and learning As a technology integrator for Avenues: The World School, I am constantly searching for technology tools that will allow students and teachers to redefine teaching and learning in a way that is personalised and accessible to a range of abilities. It is important that I find tools that allow for both creativity and collaboration. Collaboration made easy with Book Creator A central theme of the Avenues curriculum is global collaboration, so our students and teachers love to connect with classrooms around the world. The Global iBook
8 Things to Look for in An Educational App Picking up the right educational apps to recommend to your students and kids is not an easy task.There are several criterion you need to consider before you can comfortably claim that an app is educational or not. Of course there are no hard and fast rules to follow to be a good app reviewer and app reviewing is not an established science with clear boundaries but what we talk about here are simple conventions. These conventions are developed by experienced educators who , out of their long experience with app reviewing , have developed a sense of what works and what does not for educational settings. Experience here is very important because sometimes people learn more through experience than through formal instruction. That being said, I want to share with you some of the tips that educational app reviewers use to select apps for teachers and students.
RabbleBrowser - An App Review - Float Mobile Learning sent me a copy of RabbleBrowser to see all of the cool things it can do and I can say that I'm very impressed with what it does. Here is what Float Mobile says about their app on iTunes, Using RabbleBrowser, one person can lead or facilitate a shared browsing experience with an unlimited number of locally connected peers. As the leader browses the web, the others in the session with them will see the path they are taking. Integrated group chat, private chat and bookmark sharing keeps the collaboration levels high. Using the easy integrated social tools, anyone in the session can share URLs to the web via email, Twitter and Facebook. As a teacher that is working on creating a more collaborative environment, this seems to be the perfect app to do just that. I also love the fact that students can bookmark and share them easily through email, Twitter (If it were not blocked) and Facebook (Again, if it were not blocked). - @TheNerdyTeacher
SMARTBoard Simulator for the iPad Educreations is a fantastic iPad app that simulates the SMARTBoard touch screen experience. You will use a regular projector and projector screen – I’m often projecting onto my SMARTBoard even though my iPad isn’t connected to it. This app allows you to use your iPad screen as a blank canvas to write on while recording your entire session. After adding a picture from your camera roll (here is a screen shot off of the Scholastic News website) you can write all over the text in a variety of colors. It’s easy to save and play back any lessons that you’ve recorded. Educreations also allows you to take pictures while using the app and then write all over it – eliminating extra steps. Although I’ve gotten pretty good at writing with my finger on the screen a stylus (Amazon has them for around $10) definitely comes in handy for using this app. Check out my guide -> Screencasting Teacher Tools: Tasks, Procedures, Checklists and Rubric Links to your lessons can be emailed for view on other devices.
46 Education App Review Sites For Teachers And Students We try our best to keep our thumb on the pulse of the best education apps and web tools. In fact, we have probably spent way too much time attempting to offer up as many useful product reviews and helpful lists over the past several years. But we’re just two people. Whether you’re looking to find the best interactive whiteboard app, a new way to deliver exit slips, or simply a fun educational game that can be used in your classroom tomorrow, these app review sites are definitely your go-to source.
How To Start Using iTunes U In The Classroom Previously I wrote an article about the incredible potential of iTunes U for both student and staff learning. I posed the question: Why Aren’t We Talking More About iTunes U ? I was blown away by the many positive remarks in response to this article from others that have also experienced the benefits of iTunes U. I was recently asked if I would write a follow up to that post. iBooks Author As an example, I wouldn’t use the terms straightforward and easy when describing iBooks Author. See another Edudemic article by Fred: ‘ The Early Results Of An iPad Classroom Are In In fact, it’s so easy that even this administrator is in the midst of creating his own course. This would be a good option for a teacher that wants to see what iTunes U is all about and how it might work in their classroom. Public Site Manager You should also know that this will be verified through the supervisor’s contact information that is provided during the application process. Collaborate! Course Manager
Ways to Evaluate Educational Apps I am conducting a series of workshops in Florida and was asked to share a rubric to help teachers evaluate educational apps as part of the workshop. In 2010 Harry Walker developed a rubric, and I used his rubric (with some modifications by Kathy Schrock) as the basis for mine. (Read Harry Walker's paper Evaluating the Effectiveness of Apps for Mobile Devices.) I kept in mind that some apps are used to practice a discrete skill or present information just one time. Others are creative apps that a learner may use again and again, so it's a challenge to craft a rubric that can be used for a wide span of purposes. I tried to make my rubric work for the broadest range of apps, from drill and practice to creative endeavors, while stressing the purpose for using the app. My rubric also emphasizes the ability to customize content or settings and how the app encourages the use of higher order thinking skills. Here's what I chose to spotlight in my rubric: Relevance Customization Feedback Engagement
The 55 Best Free Education Apps For iPad Finding apps isn’t difficult. Finding education apps is only a bit more challenging. Finding free education apps is also possible. Finding free education apps worth downloading is a different story entirely. The following is our list for the 55 best apps for learning we can find. Some are formal learning–math drilling and phonics, for example–while others are RSS readers, social media platforms, and the like. A few notes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The 55 Best Free Education Apps For iPad 1. Developer Description: View 360-degree panoramas of places around the globe with Street View; View high resolution satellite imagery of locations around the world. 2. Developer Description: “…explore more than 750 Science, Math, Social Studies, English, Engineering & Tech, Arts & Music, and Health subjects right on their mobile devices. 3. Developer Description: “This app is a fun way for parents, teachers, librarians, and readers to get more information about top rated books at the fifth and sixth grade level.
The Big List Of 100 Tools, Tips And Tricks To Work More Efficiently Online By Alyssa Aldersley , visit Buffer . What does it take to be productive? It’s a question I often ask myself and to be honest I don’t have a great answer for it yet. That’s why I’m working on a solid running routine and on a set wake-up time and sleep time. One other realization I had is that, as I now spend so much of my day working online, there are a heap of new apps being created all the time to help us all become more productive. That’s why I thought of compiling a full list of 100 tools, tips and tricks for you to reflect a bit on your own productivity. Of course, a sure fire way to fail might be to try and use all 100, which Joel pointed out to me when we discussed this post! 10 awesome music sites to get into your zone When Leo recently wrote about Multitasking , one of the most interesting aspects was that music doesn’t actually contribute to us being distracted when we work. “In the case of music, it’s a little different. 1. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 10. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 1.