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"The iPad has been a great tool for education since it debuted in 2010, thanks in large part to an abundance of apps and games that blend information with entertainment. It's portable enough to use around the house or on the road, and it's simple enough that kids can use it without getting lost. It's also been a great tool for teaching children to become better readers. There are many apps available that parents can use to help their kids improve their reading skills significantly, whether they're just starting out or brushing up on some basics. Here are some of the best:"

"Learning through inquiry is not a new concept - at all. Much of the more general life- learning that we do as humans is based on inquiry. Here's a basic example: As a baby, you saw a 'thing' across the room. Your little brain wondered what it was, so you crawled over to it and inspected it. You looked at it, touched it, and determined you wanted to play with it. While babies may not be able to construct thorough explanations and communicate their questions and findings, the inquiry based learning concept is definitely there. As babies grow and turn into students, this style of learning can serve them well, especially in science. The handy infographic below takes a look at the steps of learning through inquiry, as well as some statistics on the importance of science education in the future. Keep reading to learn more."

Below is a 7 minute video outlining the basics of using this great app. There is a FREE version (Popplet Lite) as well as a paid version ($4.99.) I discuss the difference between the versions in the video.

"I've heard a lot about Mystery Skype calls over the past few years. If you're not familiar with this term, the basic idea is that two classrooms chat via Skype and try to guess where the other class is from by answering questions with only yes or no answers. I've always thought this would be lots of fun, but it has always seemed out of the reach of my six year olds, many of whom are still struggling to realize that they live in both a city AND a province. Answering questions about our location would be out of the question. "

"Thinking critically is one thing, but being able to teach it can be quite another. Katie Kirkpatrick, dean of instruction at KIPP King Collegiate High School, developed the school's Speech & Composition class, a requirement for all students. In the class, students learn basic critical-thinking skills. The class has been so effective that she now trains teachers how to leverage critical-thinking skills in their classrooms as well. We sat down with Katie to learn about how she trains staff. Here are her answers to some of our questions. "

"This week I worked with the Kindergarten classes to help the teachers integrate technology and math with their students. In Kindergarten, the students are typically using the iPads with content based apps to practice letter recognition, writing, and basic math, but I wanted the students to use the iPad as a creation tool just like the older students do in my schools."

"How would you feel if someone described you as being colorless? Yeah, it's not exactly a compliment. Being called colorless is basically an unsubtle way of being told you are dull, uninteresting or boring. And just as some people are 'colorless', so is a lot of the content we deliver to our kids. But luckily it is a lot easier to inject a bit of color into a curriculum than it is into a personality. In a recently published slideshare titled 'Colour in Mathematics' Math teacher and blogger, Colleen Young, shows how she uses color to add clarity and engagement to her lessons:"

"Last Friday I was asked if I could share instructions for teachers and students using the latest version of the Google Drive for iPad app. I'm in the process of organizing all of my screenshots into a PDF. In the meantime, I have the following video overview of how to use the basic features of Google Drive iPad. At the end of the video I offer a tip about using multiple sign-in on shared iPads. "

"Whether you're a technophobe or a geeked-out early adopter, there's no denying that the world is run on computers, and the language of computers is code. It seems only natural that there's a wave of interest in the idea of teaching kids to code -- some say it should be a requirement in every school. I think no one would argue that every kid is cut out to be a programmer, but a basic understanding of code couldn't hurt. In fact, this knowledge could give a leg up in an increasingly technology-centric society. Hopefully this playlist of videos will help you learn more about some of the people and organizations who are working to change the opportunities available for kids to learn code. "

"Looking for some good interactive eBooks for your kids to read this summer? The list below is a great place to start with. These are basically iPad storybook apps that are designed specifically to enhance kids early literacy skills most specifically reading. All of these  eBooks come with awesome graphics and animations and include a wide variety of interactive  activities to keep kids engaged in their reading."

"With the evolution of technology today make sure you give a head start to your kids and help them learn and understand some basic programming skills. There are few apps on the market such as Tynker, Move the Turtle, Light-bot Hour of Code … and today, a brand new one ScratchJr by MIT Media Lab."

"One of the most amazing transformations that has taken place at NMHS is the creation of the Makerspace in what was our traditional library. A space that was once a barren wasteland is now a thriving learning metropolis where students flock to tinker, invent, create, collaborate, work, and most importantly, learn. When I hired Laura, I basically told her the budget, and she had complete control of how she wanted to use the money. I could never have imagined how quickly she could radically transform this outdated space, using money that previously had always been spent on books, magazines, and electronic databases. Some quick highlights include the following:"

"iPads, iPods and other tablets are becoming more commonplace in the classroom, and schools are filling their devices with lots of Apps. By doing this, teachers could be missing valuable opportunities to truly embed the use of technology into their curriculum. If teachers were offered just one device that was a camera and video recorder, had access to the internet, was a calculator and had a note-taking feature, how delighted would they be? It's astounding how much the inbuilt functionality is overlooked as schools become pre-occupied with downloading Apps. From experience, the overloading of Apps and games can de-value the device, from a pupil's perspective, as an educational tool. Here is a brief overview of some of the features, giving an insight of the scope in which the device can be used with a few basic Apps."

"Augmented reality is a new technology with some promising potential for education. The basic premise behind augmented reality is the extension of the physical world to include components of the digitally virtual world. According to Drew Minock, Co-Author of Two Guys and Some iPads , augmented reality is :"

"Siri is the name of Apple's personal digital assistant. It's basically voice control that talks back to you, that understands relationships and context, and with a personality straight out of Pixar. Ask Siri questions, or ask Siri to do things for you, just like you would ask a real assistant, and Siri will help keep you connected, informed, in the right place, and on time. You can even use Siri's built in dictation feature to enter text almost everywhere by simply using your voice."

"I just learned through Learning in Hand that the iPad app Sentence Builder is now free for a limited period of time (used to cost $4,99). Sentence Builder is an app that provides language practice for young learners. It basically helps them learn about words, pronunciation, grammar and punctuation."

"We've talked about the definition of intrinsic motivation in the past. We've also talked about some basic ways to improve student motivation. This time, it's Mia MacMeekin's turn to speak to you about the same, but through gridded, blocked, and easy to read infographics. The graphic starts with a definition for both intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, then offers 27 verbs that can help promote that magic stuff that is characterized by curiosity, effort, engagement, and academic success. Some were a little iffy-"praise" and "milestones" seemed a little closer to extrinsic motivation. But the vast majority are useful to consider as you design units, lessons, and activities this school year."

"Gmail has a very basic feature that is often overlooked by many teachers. This feature allows you to add multiple Gmail accounts to your primary gmail account. For instance if you have two Gmail accounts with two different addresses you can check both of them from one single place with one single click. I have been using this feature for a few years now and I really love it. I have added the email address of this blog to my personal Gmail account and it saved me the trouble of having to open a new window, log off from my primary Gmail account and then log in to my secondary account."

"I've often heard LinkedIn referred to the 'overlooked' social network/blogging platform/engagement goldmine/career resource. LinkedIn can be a very robust professional resource if you know how to use it properly. The basics of LinkedIn, from my point of view, include letting my retired mother know she doesn't need to connect with me (or anyone else) on the network - Facebook works best for her needs. In short: know how it can work for you. But if you want to better know what it can do for you (and how to get there), we've put together some of the most important things to know about LinkedIn on the handy graphic below."

"Rolling out iPads in our schools in some ways as mirrored my bowling experience as a youth.  We've given some basic direction and support but sometimes the ball flew backward (like when we went from iOS 4.3 to 5.0). Sometimes our fingers get stuck in the ball (iPads only being used for simple substitutive tasks). And other times, even when we had students going in the right direction, their feet would sometimes step over the line before they roll(distraction).  However,  by constantly communicating with our community, teachers, students and administrators, we are continually seeking out ways to positively impact the instructional use of these tools in the classroom and thus have the kids bowl more strikes.  One of the early struggles in our deployment was the ability to be balance profiles and restrictions on the iPads so that they would have a successful educational experience. We really only had a couple of choices when we started back in 2011:"