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"Apple has introduced Guided Access in iOS 6. It keeps your device in a single app and allows you to control which features are available. "

"To me, the single biggest myth that we must correct is thinking that Mobile Learning is only about learning via mobile devices. It makes sense to think that Mobile Learning is only about Mobile but to me this is essentially the opposite of what is true."

"This concept map is elaborate and downright incredible. Robert Millwood built this behemoth and you should be sure to head over to his site to thank him and learn more about the Holistic Approach to Technology Enhanced Learning (HoTEL). In any case, this detailed analysis and chart of every single learning theory is worth zooming in and studying."

"Wherever we are, we'd all like to think our classrooms are "intellectually active" places. Progressive learning (like our 21st Century Model, for example) environments. Highly effective and conducive to student-centered learning. But what does that mean? The reality is, there is no single answer because teaching and learning are awkward to consider as single events or individual "things." This is all a bunch of rhetoric until we put on our white coats and study it under a microscope, at which point abstractions like curiosity, authenticity, self-knowledge, and affection will be hard to pin down. So we put together one take on the characteristics of a highly effective classroom. They can act as a kind of criteria to measure your own against-see if you notice a pattern."

"If you have only one iPad, use Apple's VGA adapter ($29) to connect your iPad to a smartboard. No smartboard? Grab an LCD projector, VGA adapter, and speakers, if you wish, for your iPad, then check out the simple how-to video below. If you have just one smartphone, pop your phone under a document camera. You can also use an adapter to project the smartphone; however, not all apps will function properly. (Unless a class is using Apple's presentation software, Keynote, I use a document camera to display my smartphone.) Use your single iPad or smartphone to blast content onto the big screen and let kids work together for an engaging mini-lesson. Then have students use the single device when working in small groups, as a reward, or during center time."

"Teachers have found many different ways of using digital games in the classroom. But what kind of games are these students playing? And how are teachers incorporating them in the classroom? Last year's report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, "Games For A Digital Age," made the distinction between "short-form" and "long-form" learning games. Short-form games are designed to be played during a single class period. "They focus on a particular concept of skill refinement, skills practice, memorization, or performing specific drills." Long-form games "extend beyond a single class period" and sometimes gameplay can "spread over multiple sessions or even several weeks." Often long-form games are comprehensively tied to a full curriculum. They can replace textbooks by offering an interactive experience that seamlessly blends content, practice, and assessment into a contextualized learning experience. While some programs like this already exist, it's difficult to implement well. For teachers who want to get started, short-term games can supplement their already established curricula with fresh and engaging activities. Learning Games"

"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."

"3 Reasons Why Faculty Meetings Are a Waste of Time By Peter DeWitt on April 10, 2015 6:50 AM Faculty Meeting.png Many school leaders walk into a faculty meeting with a single idea of how they want to move forward and walk out with the same idea. That's telling... John Hattie talks a great deal about the Politics of Distraction, which means we focus on adult issues, and not enough time...if ever...on learning. That is happening around the U.S. for sure. Recently the Assembly of NY State only furthered those distractions, which you can read about here, which means that school leaders and teachers have to work harder to maintain a focus on learning. Quite frankly, well before mandates and accountability, school leaders focused on the politics of distraction and not on learning. Compliance is not new in schools. Faculty meetings were seen as a venue to get through and something that teachers were contractually obligated to attend. During these days of endless measures of compliance, principals can do a great deal to make sure they don't model the same harmful messages to staff that politicians are sending to teachers. Jim Knight calls that "Freedom within form." In Talk Like Ted, Carmine Gallo quotes Marissa Mayer (CEO of Yahoo) when he writes, "Creativity is often misunderstood. People often think of it in terms of artistic work - unbridled, unguided effort that leads to beautiful effect. If you look deeper, however, you'll find that some of the most inspiring art forms - haikus, sonatas, religious paintings- are fraught with constraints. (p. 190)" Clearly, constraints have a wide definition. There is a clear difference between the constraints of compliance and the stupidity of the legislation just passed by the assembly in NY. As we move forward, principals still are charged...or at least should be...with the job of making sure they offer part...inspiration, part...teacher voice...and a great deal of focus on learning. There is never a more important tim

"Recently on westXdesign-via scoopit-we found an interesting graphic about naming 12 principles of collaboration. Collaboration is among the most-often promoted fluencies of 21st century learning (along with creativity and communication). However, there are very few frameworks or models that exist to support the development of better collaboration forms. As it is, in many K-12 learning environments, collaboration is limited to teacher-created grouping, or more scattered project-based learning groups that converge on a single project and thus a single goal. The following principles of collaboration (seemingly created for businesses but clearly applicable to learning) push that idea a bit further-with some important emphases on the individual, including:"

"The modern classroom is a messy one! Schools are entering the world of technology at different speeds and levels; some institutions have invested in full 1:1 programs where the school selects a single device (such as iPads or Chromebooks); others have instituted Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) initiatives, some specify a single device while others permit a broader selection; and most of us operate in some type of hybrid environment where students have access to a device at school, such as a tool issued to them, a computer lab, and/or laptop cart and/or a device they have access to at home or even bring with them. As technology becomes more ubiquitous both at home and in the classroom, we find ourselves in a more blended world. As educators in the 21st century, we must be prepared to tackle education in an environment that is cross-platform and multi-device."

In this tutorial, we are going to tell you the steps of creating and printing a single envelope. Also, you can save it for future use.

"I recently picked up a habit worth keeping -- reading a chapter book with my child every single day! Thanks to Mrs. O'Rourke, the extraordinary school librarian at my children's school, she introduced a program to our school called "one school, one book", which is a program that is designed to create a shared reading experience with your child. The idea is to choose a chapter book to read with your child over the course of a single month and gain some of the benefits featured below."

"The single most important skill you will ever learn is in itself an oxymoron. It is dependent on your ability to vanquish procrastination and achieve something today with view to tackling the unknown that comes tomorrow. As I've written previously it requires the drive to tackle the modern world head on: doing nothing has never been so easy. Got a spare few hours? They can disappear as quickly as unlocking your smart phone. For me then this affords opportunity for those who have taught themselves the skill I allude to; to learn how to learn and have the desire to maniacally do so for the rest of your life. The ability to employ autodidacticism in your every day life is the single most valuable skill you can ever acquire and employ. Self-directed learning enables you to learn the skills that you are most passionate about and employ them in innovative way to achieve your goals and ambitions. We no longer need schools, universities or teachers to spoon feed us the information you are paying to acquire. Go out and try finding what interests you and expand your horizons through learning. Schools are broken, they teach you memory skills required to pass exams at the detriment of teaching you what it means to learn."

"Regardless of whether you think every infant needs an iPad, I think we can all agree that technology has changed education for the better. Today's learners now enjoy easier, more efficient access to information; opportunities for extended and mobile learning; the ability to give and receive immediate feedback; and greater motivation to learn and engage. We now have programs and platforms that can transform learners into globally active citizens, opening up countless avenues for communication and impact. Thousands of educational apps have been designed to enhance interest and participation. Course management systems and learning analytics have streamlined the education process and allowed for quality online delivery. But if we had to pick the top ten, most influential ways technology has transformed education, what would the list look like? The following things have been identified by educational researchers and teachers alike as the most powerful uses of technology for learning. Take a look. 1. Critical Thinking In Meaningful Learning With Technology, David H. Jonassen and his co-authors argue that students do not learn from teachers or from technologies. Rather, students learn from thinking-thinking about what they are doing or what they did, thinking about what they believe, thinking about what others have done and believe, thinking about the thinking processes they use-just thinking and reasoning. Thinking mediates learning. Learning results from thinking. So what kinds of thinking are fostered when learning with technologies? Analogical If you distill cognitive psychology into a single principle, it would be to use analogies to convey and understand new ideas. That is, understanding a new idea is best accomplished by comparing and contrasting it to an idea that is already understood. In an analogy, the properties or attributes of one idea (the analogue) are mapped or transferred to another (the source or target). Single analogies are also known as sy

"I've been using green screen software with students since about 2004. In fact I'll always remember filming a student dressed as a superhero about ten years ago and struggling with the lighting. Luckily a Channel 4 film crew were with us (making a film about us making films!) and used their professional setups to sort us out.  Times have changed though and these days a genuinely decent green screen effect can be accomplished in a school setting without the need for any professional gear. The one thing you will need though is the single best green screen app ever produced:   Green Screen by Do Ink.   Let's take a look at some tips and tricks for getting the most out of your movie making experiences using Do Ink."

"Have you ever noticed that iPhone video gets recorded according to the orientation of the device? If you haven't noticed that yet, pay attention to it now, because you'll create significantly better videos if you just rotate the iPhone into horizontal orientation before hitting that record video button. "

"Even if you have only one iPad (your own!) there are still lots of ways you can use it with your students, especially if you can plug it into a data projector and speakers. Here are 18 ideas:"

ollaboration Tools Collaborative learning is essentially people working together to solve a problem, create a product, or derive meaning from a body of material. A central question or problem serves to organize and drive activities, and encourage application, analysis, and synthesis of course material. While the landscape of technology that can be used to support central activities of collaborative learning is vast and varied, it is often lumped together under a single label: "collaboration tools." Given this vast and distributed landscape of tools, the difficulty of finding one or a set of tools to meet your goals can be time intensive. We are here to help. For faculty who are interested in learning more, want to explore, or try out a tool, contact us to talk with an Eberly colleague in person.