Note-Taking with iPads

The Diary of a Not So Wimpy Teacher: Your (simple) Guide to Differentiated Instruction Don't forget to subscribe to my email list and follow my TPT Store. Please follow me on Blog Lovin' to receive regular updates on my new blog posts. No two students learn the same and every student enters the classroom with a unique set of skills and experiences. Additionally, every student has individual language skills, background knowledge, readiness to learn and other factors that make their learning needs different from that of their peers. Differentiated instruction is an approach to teaching that requires teachers to consider the specific needs of each child in their class and designing instruction and a classroom environment that is on their level or compliments a specific learning style. Preparing to Differentiate Instruction When preparing to differentiate instruction you can follow these steps: Get to know your students. Providing Differentiated Instruction Instruction can be differentiated based on three general areas: Content Assessment

The Habits and Philosophy of an Effective iPad Teacher I recently had the pleasure of connecting up with Richard Wells from Auckland, New Zealand through Twitter. He runs a similar iPad site: ipad4schools.org. I was very impressed with many of recent his info-graphics, and pitched him the idea to collaborate together on this poster. Despite the nineteen hour time difference, we were able to discuss our ideas about what it takes to be an effective iPad teacher. Expanding on a few of my points: Goals: Do not use an iPad in your lesson just for the sake of it. Creative: It is my ongoing goal to strongly propose that the iPad as a creation device as opposed to a consumption one. Beyond iPad: Despite both Richard and I being huge proponents for the iPad in education, it is not the only capable tool. if you already are passionate about other tablets, or know people who are, by all means go with it. To download a high-resolution PDF of the image, click here. Further Reading: Please check Richard’s post and poster on the “iPad First Five”.

Ideas for supporting #TeacherEffectiveness with #EdTech - Domain 1 Technology provides teachers with a great way to provide evidence with artifacts of their effective practice. Across the country this has been a priority for schools that are incorporating a teacher evaluation based on the Danielson Framework for Teacher Evaluation. The model contains various components organized into the following four domains.Domain 1: Planning and PreparationDomain 2: The Classroom EnvironmentDomain 3: InstructionDomain 4: Professional Responsibilities This is part of a four-part series where I'll share some simple ideas for integrating technology into each component followed by a presentation you can share with colleagues. This presentation has examples of what this may look like in practice.

Coding Across the Curriculum "I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think." - Steve Jobs The above quote is on the homepage of the coding website Tynker. Coding, formerly known as programming (I still remember teaching myself BASIC on my Commodore 64 back in the '80s!), has once again returned to classrooms nationwide. A range of high-profile individuals, including Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Dr. Computer Science Education Week The Hour of Code will take place during the week of December 9-13, which happens to be Computer Science Education Week. A Brief History Nonetheless, Papert's vision is still strong today. From Logo to Scratch A direct descendent from Logo is Scratch, also from the MIT Media Lab. Last year, my sixth grade social studies students remixed and "modded" (modified) existing Scratch games, and some even created brand new Flash-based video games. Scratch 2.0 has a "See Inside" feature that enables remixes of projects.

Six Scaffolding Strategies to Use with Your Students What’s the opposite of scaffolding a lesson? Saying to students, “Read this nine-page science article, write a detailed essay on the topic it explores, and turn it in by Wednesday.” Yikes! Let’s start by agreeing that scaffolding a lesson and differentiating instruction are two different things. Simply put, scaffolding is what you do first with kids. Scaffolding and differentiation do have something in common, though. So let’s get to some scaffolding strategies you may or may not have tried yet. 1. How many of us say that we learn best by seeing something rather than hearing about it? Try a fishbowl activity, where a small group in the center is circled by the rest of the class; the group in the middle, or fishbowl, engages in an activity, modeling how it’s done for the larger group.Always show students the outcome or product before they do it. 2. 3. All learners need time to process new ideas and information. 4. 5. 6.

10 Ways To Use Offline iPads In Education Just about every article on using iPads in education involves one key feature: connectivity. Whether it’s wi-fi or cellular service, being connected to the web is by far the most important feature for iPads in the classroom. Otherwise, it’s just what the tech-bloggers call a ‘brick’ and is essentially worthless. Not really. As you probably guessed from the title of this post and the visual I spent way too much time making below, there are plenty of ways to use iPads that have little to no connectivity. See Also: 17 Real-World Ways iPads Are Being Used In Schools Note: since you need to be connected to the web in order to set up your iPad, I’m going to assume you were connected at one point and that you have the ability to download an app that can be used later. How do you prefer to use your iPad when there’s no connection to the web? Click the image below for full-size or click here to download it as a PDF Use Google Earth in offline mode to go on virtual field trips.

Wonderopolis | Where the Wonders of Learning Never Cease 5 Awesome iPad Posters for Teachers Are you planning to incorporate iPad into your classroom next school year ? You probably are already in search for the educational apps to use in your instruction,Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has a rich resource of the most popular educational apps you might need. These apps are organized into different categories pertaining to various content areas. Check out this list to learn more. Having a repository of handy educational apps is a good thing but is not enough per se. To help you pave the way for using iPad in your class, I have brought you some great classroom posters to share with your students. 1- Rules for iPad 2- iPad acceptable use policy3- iPad rules4- iPad Tips 5- iPad management tips and tricks source: www.techchef4u.com

Book Trailers for Readers - Book Trailers and Common Core Standards --------- Students use technology & digital media strategically and capably.-- Common Core Standards. From the Common Core Key Points on Media and Technology: "Just as media and technology are integrated in school and life in the twenty‐first century, skillsrelated to media use (both critical analysis and production of media) are integrated throughout the standards"How To Make A Book Trailer Book Trailer Presentation [ used at FAME Conference] 27 Presentation Tips For Students And Teachers We all have to get up in front of a group of our peers and deliver a presentation at some point. Whether it’s a TED talk or a book report in your elementary school classroom, there’s a pressure and sense of nervousness that strikes us all. And that’s just the mere thought of giving a presentation. What about the actual presentation itself ? How do you make it successful and awesome? Personally, I like the ‘visualize’ tip as it gets you a bit looser and thinking about something other than your own presentation. Source: Mia MacMeekin

A Must See Google Plus Cheat Sheet for Teachers I still remember how reluctant we were to embrace Google Plus. Google did all its best to push it forward and "force" us to use it. Many people did not see in it any good addition to the already teeming world of social media. However, as days passed by, the importance and centrality of this social networking site grew bigger and bigger till it finally secured its place among the top social media sites in the calibre of Facebook and Twitter. One of the best things that make Google Plus stand out from the crowd is its being ad-free. related: 5 Excellent Tools to Use with Google Plus Google Plus has a huge potential in the world of academia and education both as a platform for teaching and learning and as a tool for professional development.

Six Free iPad Apps for Making Healthy Choices Back to school is the perfect time of year to establish routines and remind students about making healthy choices. Children of all ages should have an understanding of the impact of their decisions related to the food they choose to eat. There are a variety of games and resources to promote discussions about healthy eating and to help students make smart choices. Fooducate I love using QR codes in my classroom, but barcodes can be helpful, too. Big Fork Little Fork With lots of options to choose from, Big Fork Little Fork is a free app that packs a punch. Awesome Eats Get your students excited about nutrition with a game that promotes healthy eating. Eat-And-Move-O-Matic The idea of caloric intake might be hard for students to appreciate, but Eat-And-Move-O-Matic is a wonderful app that illustrates this concept perfectly. Seafood Watch Sustainability is a critical topic for children of all ages to comprehend. Food Truth

5 Great iPad Apps to Explore Human Body in 3D Science is one of the areas where the impact of technology has been markedly observed. It triggered an unprecedented revolution and reshaped people's knowledge about the world. It has also enhanced the way science is being instructed inside schools and colleges. This revolution is being carried on to the mobile platforms. 1- 3D Brain Use your touch screen to rotate and zoom around 29 interactive structures. 2- Essential Skeleton Essential Skeleton 2 is a fully functional, self-contained app covering the essential anatomy of the skeleton. 3- Virtual Heart Virtual Heart lets you explore multiple real-time views of the human heart, using the same highly realistic visual elements as the iconic Giant Heart at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. 4- Powers of Minus Ten An adaptation of the original Powers of Minus Ten, made for the show Scientastic! 5- Virtual Cell The Virtual Cell Animations app includes an animation, still images, narrative, and content quiz.