Using Cell Phones In Class: A Primer For Teachers Bringing a cell phone to class usually starts a debate between teacher and student. Most teachers completely ban them. They are often regarded as distractions from learning. There are several issues concerning mobile learning like social media, Internet filtering, safety laws, teaching techniques, school policies, etc. Looking at mobile devices in a positive light, they can facilitate student learning inside the four walls of the classroom. Many teachers believe that phones are not really important—not because they are useless, but because they are just tools that do not affect the lesson plan if they are not used. First Step Educators have to familiarize themselves with cell phones that can be used for education. What Can Teachers Do With Cell Phones? The first and foremost purpose of cell phones is, of course, communication. If messaging is not enough, teachers can use Twitter to share what they do in class. Teachers can also support the students even when at home. Takeaways
6 Ways Students Can Collaborate With iPads The following post is written by Greg Kulowiec of EdTechTeacher . Join EdTechTeacher at the iPad Summit in Atlanta on April 10-12. The app store is loaded with options that allow students to create content on their iPads. From comic strip creators to mind maps, video editing and publishing, screencasting & digital books, the options for individual student creation are expanding. However, collaboration between students is often a critical component of any classroom activity or project and increasingly there are options available that allow for collaborative efforts across iPads. Below are six ways to support collaboration between student iPads that cover the spectrum of creation options that range from text to digital storytelling to video creation. Explain Everything ($2.99) A flexible and powerful screen casting option, students and teachers can collaborate on screencasts by exporting Explain Everything project files from an iPad. Google Drive (Free) BookCreator ($4.99) Subtext (free) Diigo
4 Great Rubrics to Help you Select Educational Apps As iPads are increasingly infiltrating our educational systems the question of the pedagogical implications ensuing from the use of these mobile gadgets in the classroom come to the surface. Some do look at them as an added distraction and that learning can be more focused without students having access to them during the class. Traditionalists do advocate this view and are , in fact, against the " over-digitization " of education. To these people I say what John Dewy once said " If we teach today as we thought yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow ". I am strongly in favor of the use of mobile gadgetry for educational purposes. 1- BVLS iPad App Evaluation Form Click Here to download it. 2- iPad App Evaluation Guiding Question Click Here to download it. 3- Mobile Application Selection Rubric Click Here to download it. 4- Critical Evaluation of Content-based iPad/iPod App Click Here to download it.
7 Outstanding Free Books for your iPad Below is a list of some excellent books for your iPad. I have curated this list over the last couple of months and I kept adding to it every time I stumble upon a resource somewhere online.I don't know if you like reading books on your iPad or not but let me tell you this: having at least a couple of titles installed on your iPad would really be of great help particularly in those moments when you are stuck somewhere and have nothing to do but waiting. Reading is a habit ( luckily a good one ) that we can ACQUIRE by force of habituation at least in the eyes of Skinnerian theory.The more you read , the fluent you get at reading and the more used your mind becomes to the act of reading. Check out these books I selected for you. All of them are free and require iBooks. 1- The Student Guide to iPad The Student Guide to iPads & iOS 6 was written to help middle-school and high-school students become proficient with basic iPad operations to support learning. 4- Reference Guide for Students
15 Geat Teaching and Learning iPad Apps It is really amazing how popular the 15 iPad Skills Every Teacher Should Have has become. I never thought that it would grab as much attention to the point that it has been featured in some School district websites both here in Canada and the States . I am really glad you like it and as I said before I am working on the Android version of that article and I will get it published here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning as soon as it is ready. In this post, I am sharing with you a list of some great iPad apps to help you in your teaching and Learning.Check them out below and let us know what you think of them. Enjoy 1- Teacher Kit "TeacherKit is a personal organizer for the teacher. 2- Listo "Listo helps you keep grocery lists, todo lists or shopping lists that are there whenever and wherever you need them. 3- GoodNotes "GoodNotes lets you take handwritten notes, sketch diagrams, mark-up PDFs and organize them on a beautiful bookshelf. 4- Teed 5- SyncSpace 6- Writepad 7- PDF PROvider
Excellent Resources on BEYOD for Teachers Mobile technology is making explosive growth into our schools and classrooms.There is now a growing trend towards taking advantage of mobile devices to inspire learning and promote students engagement, but the problem is that school districts can not cover the costs of these devices and to provide every student with a gadget would be out of their affordability particularly with the shrinking budgets being allocated for high tech materials.However, several initiatives have been taken to counter this financial block facing the implementation of mobile technology in classroom and one of these initiatives is called BYOD ( Bring Your Own Device). BYOD is all about students bringing their Mobile gadgets from home ( like smartphones, tablets. laptops etc ) and use them for educational purposes inside the classroom. In this way students will be learning using the technology they are already familiar with and the shortage of mobile technology will be covered. 1- Getting Started with BYOD
48 Free Education Apps Sorted By Grade Level 5 Useful iPhone Apps For Student Bloggers 10.32K Views 0 Likes Student blogging is a wonderful way to get into the world of online writing and learning. 6 Interactive Storytelling Apps For Younger Students 5 Reasons The iPad Will Stay The King of the Classroom The following piece is by the amazingly talented Adam Webster, Assistant Director of Learning and Teaching at a secondary school in Surrey, England. He writes for both the Edudemic Magazine and his blog ‘ Cageless Thinking ‘ (worth bookmarking). This article originally appeared on Cageless Thinking and was cross-posted with Adam’s permission. 1. The biggest and most oft-heard criticism of the iPad usually revolves around it not behaving like a desktop PC or laptop. The fact that it isn’t a laptop, to me, is its greatest attribute: The SAMR model suggests that there are 4 degrees of sophistication for using technology in education: As you can see from the diagram (created using Paper by Fifty Three) the most sophisticated levels involve ‘Transformation’. I believe that the iPad makes transformation far more possible, indeed likely, than a laptop. 2. 3. Yes, Apple devices are more expensive than most other devices. 4. 5.
9 iPad Tutorials Teachers should not Miss This is the last post on iPad for this year. I have recently published several guides on the use of iPad in education starting with the best educational iPad apps for teachers and concluding with these tutorials and a soon to be released eBook that will be comprehensive enough to include everything we have covered about iPad so far. If you are an Android user and wondering why I don't talk about Android as much as I do about iPad , I recommend that you subscribe to my second blog Teacher's Mobile Technology to stay updated about educational Android tips and apps. Below is a set of great tutorials on the use of iPad.
Top 7 Guides on how to Use iPad in your Classroom iPad is definitely a gadget of huge potential in education. Many schools in the States and Canada are adopting it as a learning tool within their curriculum. Developers have already started creating e-textbooks with enhanced mobile compatibility. More important, there are now several apps that are easy to use and that enable teachers to create their own teaching content to go on iPad. Given this growing important of iPad in education, Educational Technology and Mobile Learning deemed it crucial to provide its readers with some of its best guides and posts we have published here during this year. 1- 12 Questions to Ask before Using iPad with your Students 2- 62 Ways to Use iPad with your Students 3- 100+ Tips on how to Integrate iPad into your Classroom 4- Excellent Slides on The Use of iPad in Education 5- iPad in The Classroom A Great Free eBook 6- 29 iPad Resources, Tutorials, and Guides Every Teacher should Know about 7- 8 Free Resources on The Use of iPad in Education
10 Awesome iPad Accessories for Teachers I received a couple of emails from some of you asking about the type of accessories to get for iPad. I am not really an expert in these kinds of things and because I can not recommend things I have not tried myself I checked with our colleague in iPadstorm and got this list below. Of course not everything is mentioned but only the most important things you might consider getting for your new iPad. Check out the list of accessories below and share with us your suggestions or additions . 1- Jambox " Apart from sounding great and looking good, they are extremely portable and play music via Bluetooth connections, so that all your devices (iPad or otherwise) can wirelessly connect..." 2- Apple TV " Any iOS device on the same Wi-Fi network can stream music, video or mirror the display entirely onto a television to share whatever content is on your iPad with friends and family.........." 3- Smartr Stand 5- Compass for iPad 6- Hover Bar 7- Mophie Power Stand 8- Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader
25 Ways To Use Tablets In The Classroom When I was a kid, I dreamt about our school desks as computer screens. How cool would it have been to be able to draw, write, and learn directly onto my own computer? As the years went on, people theorized that laptops would take over the classroom, but the price of these devices was too high for a 1 to 1 ratio. See Also: 25 Ways To Use iPads In The Classroom by Degree of Difficulty Now, it is the age of the tablet. Yet, some educators are still skeptical. 1. In a subject like art, people might think, “How could a tablet be useful? It is, but what about an app that helps with color matching and combination, or tools for interior design where the child can map out their project in concept before getting to work? When they are done, they can share in galleries with other students for critique and encouragement. 2. App developers have continually surprised the public with the complexity of tools they are able to create for tablets. 3. 4. There’s an app for that. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Top 5 iPad Apps for Kids Today as I was going through my feeds I came across a great article on Mahsable about some of the top apps for kids . The list is compiled by the folks on Childern's Technology Review which is a platform for parents and teachers looking for kids friendly apps . I have gone through this collection and I really liked the apps they selected and so decided to share them with you below. As I always say to my readers here particularly parents, there must always be a parental control on what kids do on their iPads, I also emphasize a strict control on the amount of time kids spend interacting with these mobile gadgets. Here is the list of the top kids app for this week : 1- Toddler Maze `Find your way through the twist and turns to the finish line! 2- Look and Find Book 3- Oh, The Pets You Can Get Join Sally and Dick on a tour of the faraway land of Gerpletz to learn how to feed, shelter and care for your pets! 4- Toca Hair Salon Let your kids run their own Toca Hair Salon!
Edmodo What is Edmodo? Edmodo is an educational website that takes the ideas of a social network and refines them and makes it appropriate for a classroom. Using Edmodo, students and teachers can reach out to one another and connect by sharing ideas, problems, and helpful tips. A teacher can assign and grade work on Edmodo; students can get help from the entire class on Edmodo. It is a safe environment. What is this guide for? This guide is to be used as a resource. should use Edmodo, but simply a how-to. Why Edmodo? You do not need a computer lab to use it, you don’t have to have laptops in the room either. Should you Edmodo? This question only you can answer, but I encourage you to keep an open mind.