Group items tagged

"I don't use sarcasm and I don't resort to ad hominem attacks in the name of "humor." However, I joke around often in class. It might be a wise crack about pop culture, a musing on something ironic or the fun of wordplay. These uses of humor are intentional. I believe humor is a good thing in the classroom. Here are a few reasons why:"

"The Photos app for iPhone and iPad not only lets you edit and organize your pictures, but also lets you show them off to friends and family with just a few taps. That's thanks to the built-in slideshow feature, which ads movement and sound and special transition. If you'd like, you can even AirPlay them to an Apple TV for a family or group viewing experience. Just tell it what photo you want to start with!"

"Our back-to-school section here in EdTech and Mlearning is growing bigger and bigger with more resources being added to it every single week. Today, I am featuring 3 awesome web tools and mobile apps that you definitely have to try out with your students. I have also attached a video of Dottotech where he explains how you can use each of these tools. As a side note, Dottotech is a wonderful YouTube channel that provides ed tech tutorials on a variety of topics. I have recently discovered this channel through a tweet shared by a colleague and I find it really amazing."

"Teacher collaboration is among the cornerstones of school improvement. When teachers connect-for the right reasons-good things happen. The ability to connect is increased exponentially through technology. Digital collaboration by teachers has an infinite numbers out possible outcomes, from formal teacher improvement, to informal connecting for people that get you. A global teacher's lounge, if you will. Social media-based professional development is another possible outcome when teachers connect. In contrast to sit-and-get, impersonal training, self-selected and self-directed PD has the potential for just in time, just enough, just for me qualities. The following infographic Mia MacMeekin takes these kinds of ideas and itemizes them, coming up with thirteen strategies for digital collaboration by teachers. She has a few ideas on the graphic, and we've added our own below."

"Looking for some good iPad apps for scanning and reading QR codes? Here are the three titles we recommend the most. Of course, there are several other good QR reader apps out but the ones we are featuring today are especially helpful in that they allow you to scan and take you directly to the linked website.The first app in this list has  an added feature which is that of creating PDF files from scanned material"

"If you have sometime this weekend, you might want to check this list of TED talks on the human brain. The original list curated by TED contains only 9 talks but we also added our favourite talk which is that of Jill Bolte.   Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroanatomist and brain scientist,  who one morning woke up to a massive stroke that was gradually paralyzing some of her brain functions including speech, movement, and understanding. In her popular talk "Stroke of Insight", Jill shares her story of what she went through in the process of regaining her brain functions."

"This is an interactive image (created using Thinglink) that features a bunch of useful iPad apps that you can use to do tasks you would traditionally do using a pen and paper. I really liked the idea of providing alternatives to do things digitally. For instance, instead of taking notes in a notebook or on paper you can use Evernote or any other note taking app to do it on iPad. The good thing about doing things digitally is that you have the added advantage of accessing, editing, and sharing your work across different devices and platforms and also saving it on the cloud to access it anytime anywhere you go. As is the case with all the interactive Thinglink images I shared here in the past, the app icons shared here are hyperlinked, just hover your mouse over any of them to access it on the iTunes app store."

"Move away from the drib drab of everyday lessons and get more interactive using a free web-based tool called ThingLink. ThingLink can transform the way you teach, and not only that, but the way your students learn. Enough already? You want to know how this work? ThingLink is free image platform that converts an image into a rich and interactive experience by adding music, video, text, images, and more. The best part about ThingLink is you can jam pack everything onto one page and one image. By tagging your image with content from all over the internet  - YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, or  linking to a PDF to further explain something…you get the idea. "

"This year at ISTE in Atlanta, I shared with teachers one easy way to add QR codes to three-dimensional shapes.   The app Foldify lets users create a template for a variety of three-dimensional shapes.  Instead of drawing a picture or adding family photos, I used a QR code generator on my iPad, saved the pictures to the Camera Roll, and placed them on my Folidify creation.  They are easy to assemble after your print them out and great for having students roll a dice for a mystery writing prompt or math problem."

"Mojang has released a fairly substantial update for the Pocket Edition of Minecraft, available for iOS and Android. This release focuses on adding more mobs, features and extended functionality, while also addressing the size of worlds and squashing any known bugs affecting the immersive experience. Version 0.9.0 contains quite the feature list, so be sure to check out the list below for a full run through."

"Since its introduction, Skype has gained more than a little traction in the communications space. While Google+ has added Hangouts and Facebook video chat that accomplish essentially the same thing, due to its pioneering effort, Skype has become the industry standard by being its own verb, in the same way Google has for search, and Coke has for soft drinks. It'd only be a little confusing to ask someone to "Skype," and then hope on Google+ for a Hangout. Or maybe it wouldn't. Nonetheless, Skype has a potential role in the 21st century classroom. (In fact, in August of last year we looked at 50 ways it could be used in the classroom.) To help in that regard, langwitches has created a helpful taxonomy to guide teachers on how to plan, evaluate, and execute a Skype conversation for learning. It starts off at the bottom with forced, awkward conversations, and eventually grades to the top, where authentic, free-flowing conversations occur. You can download a pdf version on her site."

"The camera is one of those apps on the iPad that we sometimes take for granted. We forget it is there or don't always use it to its full potential in the classroom. This week I am presenting at iPadU: Slide to Unlock Learning, and I wanted to highlight some of the many ways that you could use the iPad camera, so I put some ideas together and added some I had seen on the web or learned from others. The result? iPadography: Photo Projects for the iPad Classroom. So, if you are looking for ideas for using the iPad camera in the classroom, take a look at some of the slides below, and feel free to share it with others who might be interested!"

"The only reason that I had for clinging to the old version of Google Maps has gone away. This week Google added a new measurement tool to the newer version of Google Maps. To use the measurement tool just right-click on a map and select "measure" then left-click on another location to measure the distance between the two locations. In the video below I demonstrate how that feature works along with a couple of other neat options."

"Over the last couple of months, Google added several new updates and features to Google Drive the latest of which is the New Google Drive. As you know, Drive is full of tons of hidden gems that allow you to enhance your productivity beyond measures. One of the features I like the most of about Drive is the third party extensions. Some of these add-ons are really wonderful and add way more functionality to Drive. In today's post, I am sharing with you two examples of good extensions to use in Google Drive. "

"Today I am sharing with you a resourceful page that contains some interesting visual guides on teaching with iPad. This page is created by iPad 4 Schools and features various posters on educational iPad apps, tips, and tutorials on how to make the best of iPad in your instruction. I have shared some of these posters in this blog in the past but when I checked back today I found that iPad Wells have added many new beautiful visuals. All of these posters are available in PDF format which you can download and print to use with students in class. I invite you to check the collection there and share with us what you think of it. "

"If you are using Google Classroom you may want to consider adding a permalink to a Google Hangout (GHO) onto the "About" section of Google Classroom. This creates a permanent video call that you can use for office hours, to schedule informal meetings with students or for having tutoring hours."

To accommodate differences, Vocabulary and SpellingCity had added several lists of British spelling words and their corresponding US words.

If you are a parent, teacher, or other adult working with children, this blog aims to help you learn, as much as possible, about helping digital kids grow into thoughtful, collaborative, and savvy digital citizens. The blog's mission is to provide context for adults - defining and clarifying digital world issues, 21st Century learning challenges, and those virtual environments and devices that children take for granted. It's not really about technology anymore. Instead it's about lifelong learning, collaboration, problem solving, and flexibility. Media! Tech! Parenting! examines or reviews three or four items of digital news and information each week, surveying newspapers, blogs, research, and magazines, as well as the media, safety, and educational websites. Blog posts, as often as possible, provide links pointing readers toward the sites or publications covered in blog posts. I am Marti Weston, the principal blogger on Media!Tech!Parenting! In my professional life I focus on learning in a K-12 environment along with all the digital world issues that challenge teachers, students, and parents. With more than 30 years of teaching experience I also support parents by teaching three-five digital education classes, leading question and answer sessions, and maintaining current resources on the school's website. My professional work centers on four areas: Coaching teachers and helping them develop learning environments that are rich with 21st Century collaboration and problem solving. Helping students learn to use digital tools appropriately, understand their digital dossiers, and move - carefully - along the digital citizenship highway. Providing teachers, students and their parents added context that helps them evaluate media and learn more about how media affect their world, Offering parents information about the always changing, fast-paced virtual world and suggesting effective parenting skills and strategies that will help children grow into stro

Microsoft has added a wonderful Windows repair tool to find a quick way out of Windows problems. This is actually a reverse gear, which you can use to alter any changes that might have incurred to the operating system due to faulty software or driver update, virus or malware attack, incompatible driver, or more. So don't forget to create Restore Point within a reasonable timeframe-say, the last couple of months to stay safe.