Group items tagged

"It's no secret among my friends and family that I have an Evernote addiction. Between Evernote and my personal scanner, I cannot decide which one is more important to my work and personal life. I started out with the free version of Evernote, but quickly figured out that the Premium version was the only way to go based on the quantity of documents I store as well as the number of times I must access stuff offline. Suffice to say, if you're not using Evernote, I highly suggest giving it a try - only then will you be able to truly determine if it's a beneficial service or something you can do without."

"Some of the animation links catalogued here will give educators very basic tools and histories of animation while others have the animation already created and set in motion, it's just a matter of sharing it with students. Educators need to decide which tool is best for them. If you want to create your own animation from scratch, then you want to go to sites such as Animwork. If you want to select from animation that's already set up for you then perhaps Explainia makes more sense."

"Today while I was going through my Twitter feeds I came across this wonderful infographic created by exit ticket. The visual features six of the most celebrated pedagogues who have left some remarkable imprints on the literature and science of education and pedagogy. Each one of theses thinkers contributed with a theory that transformed the way teaching has been done over decad"

"If you use your iPhone as your go-to camera, you've undoubtedly come across photos that you want to print out and frame. The number one question I get from family and friends is how to make sure it'll fit into a given frame, whether it be 4x6, square, and so on. As it happens, you can size photos accordingly right inside the Photos app so they're frame ready, no computer needed. Here's how:"

"While working on this list of iPad apps for learning spelling I came across over a hundred app which are all supposedly geared towards helping kids and young learners with their spelling but going through them I came out with only 25 and the rest was just a waste of time and effort. I might have skipped some good titles to add to this list but I am pretty sure the ones included in this selection will serve the purpose perfectly."

"When it comes to solving word problems in the math classroom, children should be able to explain their thinking. This includes identifying the strategies they used and the thought process behind their decisions. Students should use grade-appropriate math vocabulary and models that demonstrate the steps they took to solve a problem. In this post, we're going to take a look at how screencasting can be used in a fourth grade classroom to meet a Common Core State Standard while addressing a 21st century skill: communicate clearly. "

"As an edtech consultant, a common question I'm asked by teachers and school leaders these days is "Which screencasting software is best?" In this post I'm going to recommend the screencasting tool that I think is the best for the majority of teachers. But first I've briefly reviewed each of 13 other contenders, in each case outlining it's pros and cons - and pronouncing a verdict on it. "

""By the way kids, from today onwards you can bring your iPads to school!" - Done. I just launched a BYOD iPad program… Yeah. I'm afraid there's a bit more to it than that. In fact, there is a great deal more to it than that. A lot of thought and communication must to go into defining a program before students, parents and educators can really begin to reap the rewards that BYOD can bring. In a recently published SlideShare and blog post by educator and speaker, Chris Betcher, he shares the public launch of their school's BYOD iPad program, shedding some light on what their school has put in place."

"At this point, some of you are probably sick of hearing about Minecraft. It has gone from game to phenomenon, selling bajillions of copies and crowding the mindscape of 6th graders everywhere for what seems like centuries. But before you go, there may be some lessons you can takeaway for your classroom-lessons that can help promote the creativity in students you've been looking for."

"Fizzy's Lunch Lab Fresh Pick is a free iPad app from PBS Kids. The app is based on the popular PBS web series Fizzy's Lunch Lab. The purpose of the app is to challenge students' math and problem solving skills. The app contains eight challenges for students to try. Students can go through the challenges in any order that they like. The eight challenges for students are Buying Groceries, Grocery Mapping, Neighborhood Mapping, Pantry Hunt, Fizzy's Invention, Customer Change, Find Freddy, and Food Matcher."

"Rounding up the best and favorite elementary school apps is not an easy task, the market is saturated and there are so many standouts that cover the gamut of grade levels. Obviously, one of the first considerations we focus on when writing a review is, of course, the learning potential of an app. Another important aspect is the shelf life - how long will the app be useful and stand up to the test of time? We want this to be a lasting resource for teachers and parents, the solid go-to list that will serve you well for quite some time. *Notice at the bottom of the page we starred some super apps that cross than more than one content area. We have put together a great list but if you know of an app we may have missed, please let us know about it in the comment section below. (Coming soon: Apps for Special Needs & Book Apps)"

"As apps and digital projects become more important to how we live and play, learning how to design and create those ideas is going to become more important as well. And if the current trend continues, more accessible than ever. While many coding resources for students exist, many of these look like they were designed by lifeless robots. Coding already has a reputation as geeky, dry, and alphanumeric, as opposed to the svelte, elegant, and engaging interaction that code produces. Kind of ironic."

"2013 was a big year for iOS, seeing the release of several new iPads, iPhones, and perhaps most noticeable of all, iOS 7 and it's dramatic interface overhaul. To wrap up the year, we're going to offer a roundup of our thirteen favorite articles on iOS and it's accompanying devices. No, these certainly weren't the most popular articles published by OSXDaily, but because they're mostly tips lists and collections, they're all knowledge-packed with tons of information that is sure to teach everyone something new."

"Whether you agree with homework or not, chances are it's going to cause a battle in your household at some stage. Memories of tears, frustration, raised voices and stern looks come back to me as I reflect on those evenings of parent 'bonding'."

"Even if your students are never going to become professional app developers, learning the fundamentals of programming can be helpful in understanding how software works. Learning programming basics also helps students develop a better understanding of "if, then" logic which can be applied to a wide variety of academic areas. Here are five iPad apps that can help students learn some programming basics."

"These days, so much of the research students do is of the online variety. There's less time spent in the library, requesting materials, and reading through print journals. Online research enables students (and teachers) to get the information they need quickly and efficiently. But just because there is a lot of information out there, a simple Google search isn't necessarily going to yield you the best results. The handy infographic below takes a look at how to get the most out of Google when you're doing online research. So whether you're helping your students learn how to find the information they need, or if you're doing your own research for professional development or personal interests, you can be an effective, efficient researcher. Keep reading to learn more!"

"I knew it was going to be an interesting phone call (any call usually is before 8:00 in I.T.). When the teacher asked why she couldn't get to "insertwebsite.com" and her kids were arriving in 15 minutes for the first BYOD pilot class, I took my first deep breath of the morning…. The second call came about 8:25… She was still trying to get students logged into their devices… A technology specialist and a tech were trying to assist…. Some had limited connectivity to our wireless; others were trying to reach their carrier network, which didn't have a good signal in that part of the building. The app she was trying to get everyone on wasn't working and wouldn't pull up for everyone… "

When my mother-in-law recently got an iPad for her elementary school classroom, her initial response to us was 'Really? How fast are they going to break that thing?!"

"Are you looking for some interesting printables and posters to use in your classroom? You don't have to go any further , Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has curated a resourceful list of some useful classroom posters you can use with your students."

"What if the most underrated skill in school is thinking? I know, that sounds crazy. But how often do we tell kids what they are going to learn, tell them what to make, tell them what tool to use, tell them when to finish, tell them what questions to find the answers to. What if we stopped telling them things? What if we realized that knowing everything as the "teacher" and being the "expert" in the room is overrated. Because thinking? Asking questions? Growing? Developing ideas? Creating? Solving problems by digging in and pushing through the hard stuff that lies between a problem and a solution? That's learning."