Group items tagged

- iGoogle: On November 1, 2013, iGoogle will be retired. With modern apps that run on platforms like Chrome and Android, the need for iGoogle has eroded over time, so we'll be winding it down. Users will have 16 months to adjust or export their data.

All of Connected Educator Month's activities are listed her with links to the recorded professional learning events.

"Last month Fring released an iPad optimized version of their app that can do 4-way video calling. Now you can talk to 4 people at once and because the screen is cut in 4 you can see everyone. You can make the video calls over 3G as well as WiFi and as an added bonus, Fring is a multi platform app. You can use it to talk and video chat with your friends even if they have an Android device. I can't help but think about ways to use this in education. "

"A few months ago I took a survey of my elementary kids to see what kind of mobile technology they had at home and it turned out that 53% of my students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades had iPads and 82% had iPods! With over half of my students having iPads, there is no doubt that soon they will be bringing these devices to school - so it go me thinking…"

"My school district is making history this month as we roll out an iPad to every high school student in our district. I've been told that this is the largest iPad deployment to date for Apple. "

"I believe that I have now gotten to the point of giving up my laptop (MacBook Pro) and just use my iPad 2 for everything that I do. My poor laptop has not left my desk for months, but how do I really get things done (like work) on my measly little iPad (16 GB model)?"

"nfortunately, studies show that some kids experience the equivalent of two months of learning loss between June and September. Mix it up and keep your children learning year round with some of the best apps. "

"Having worked closely all year with David Andrews in Year 6, particularly on the introduction of iPads to promote creative and effective teaching, we agreed several months ago that we wanted to apply some of the changes and developments to the traditional end of summer term Year 6 Leavers' Assembly. This blog post describes the approach we took and explores the outcomes."

"Pinstagram, a mashup launched last month combining hot Internet properties Instagram and Pinterest, has launched its app for iPad. The app beats both startups it builds upon to launch an iPad app. "

"Brydon Lowey is the first to admit he doesn't care for folders, pens and paper when it comes to learning. The Grade 9 student at Miller Comprehensive High School in Regina has a new tool at his fingertips which has helped his marks skyrocket over recent months - an iPad."

"Diptic (iTunes link) is a fun and useful photography app that I have been using for a few months now. It is a tool used for combining multiple images onto one image. "

"On the hunt for some of the better new iOS apps to arrive on the scene over the past month? Look no further. Here's 15 of the best to hit the App Store in February."

"Last month, someone who works at a school in Milan, Italy contacted me. She wondered if I would be interested in connecting with a first grade classroom at her school to do something similar. Since the time change between our locations does not allow for synchronous conversation, we decided to play the game on Twitter using the hashtag #guessmynumber."

"It's safe to say that of all the genres of literature we study in school, poetry is the most scary-and not just for the students. Sometimes poetry gets a bad rap for being too dense, too pretentious, too much of an acquired taste for mainstream consumption. While it's true that I could name many a poem that fits those descriptors, it's also true that working with poetry can be a most whimsical, intriguing, dare I say light-hearted experience for you and your students. Try one of these six strategies during National Poetry Month to invite your students to explore the jungle of this most-feared genre."

"This month Getting Smart is acknowledging people and organizations making a difference with a series of back to school top 10 lists. During August we will run about 40 'best of' lists, not in order, not exhaustive, just people we appreciate. Today we are recognizing 50 thought leading blogs, blasts and edtech sites."

"Sally Hurd Smith, a veteran teacher, held up her brand-new tablet computer and shook it as she said, "I don't want this thing to take over my classroom." It was late June, a month before the first day of school. In a sixth-grade classroom in Greensboro, N.C., a dozen middle-school social-studies teachers were getting their second of three days of training on tablets that had been presented to them as a transformative educational tool. Every student and teacher in 18 of Guilford County's 24 middle schools would receive one, 15,450 in all, to be used for class work, homework, educational games - just about everything, eventually. "

"If you are reading this post, the odds are that you are already somewhat of a "connected educator." Of course, if you are "connected" then you know that there are some responsibilities that come along with that designation. One of the primary tasks of a connected educator is to help others learn about the tremendous rewards inherent in online social learning."