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"The Barefoot World Atlas app launched this weekend, inviting children everywhere to take the world for a spin (provided they have access to an iPad, that is)."

" Email to a friend Print this article Bookmark this page RSS feed It wasnt so long ago that Chris Grant would regularly take a whole laboratorys worth of equipment with him into the wilderness. These days, he just takes an iPad."

"Just got an iPad for the holidays? You lucky sod! You scored the crown jewel, the Big Tamale - the most marvelous gadget Apple has ever made. Yes, go ahead, pick up its slim aluminum frame and dive right in - Steve knew that's what you wanted to do, and he designed the iPad so you could do just that. We want to make sure you get everything right though, and we know there are a few key setup tricks along the way that new (and even some not-so-new) iPad users miss. So take a look at the short list of steps we've lined up here. They won't take long, and they'll make sure you get the best out of your iPad 2. Ready? Here we go."

"Dual Browsing is about ease of use. It is not essential or even necessary - it is just convenient. It is convenient for comparing the quality or price of two items. It is great for researching on one side and taking notes on the other. This is an excellent tool for student research tasks full stop. Dual Browsing is one way of multitasking on your iPad that works easily and well. Take a look at this collection of dual browser to find one that is right for you. "

"This school year I joined the staff of a 1:1 high school here in Philadelphia. Students at the school have access to their own devices, which they take home with them. Although I've taught for many years in classrooms where each student had a school-issued device, the experience of my new students taking their devices home has forced me to reflect on the issue of distraction. How do we teach students to integrate technology into their schoolwork and their learning while also making sure that they're staying focused on the task at hand? "

"Screenshots are a useful, if not essential, skill for both students and teachers to have, but with so many devices out there, it can be hard to remember how to take a screenshot on an iPad, a Chromebook, a Mac or whatever else you might be using in your classroom. So, here is a quick rundown of all the native methods to do this, as well as a couple of recommendations for third-party services that will give you even more options."

"EarthViewer is a free iPad app that takes you through 4.5 billion years on Earth. EarthViewer allows you to select eons and eras to view. Within each eon and era you can view tectonic plates, continental drift, and other geological events. You can view major biological events in EarthViewer too."

"I have aversions to certain colors. I'm sure I'm not alone in this - most people find themselves drawn to either warm colors or cool colors, and there is a whole business of the psychology of colors. The handy infographic below takes a look at the psychology of colors and how they're used in branding. Not applicable to the classroom, right? Wrong. There are so many different ways you can incorporate color into what you're doing in your classroom to help boost your efforts. From designing your presentations mindfully to how you mark student work, color can come into play a lot more often than you may realize. So what colors should you use for what? Take a look at what the infographic below has to say about colors with branding, and we'll give you an idea of how this crosses over into the classroom. We'd love to hear if you've used colors intentionally in your classroom setting, or if you have other ideas. Leave a message in the comments!"

Take a few minutes to watch Pogue's presentation. It's entertaining as well as informative. Then, take some time to leave a comment. What's something you learned from this video that you didn't already know? What's your favorite tech time-saver that you think more people should know about? Please share, so we can all learn together!

"Sometimes it's the little things that can prove to be powerful. The quick and easy action of taking a screenshot can transform how you use technology in your classroom. A screenshot is simply a picture of what is on the screen of your device. On the iPad, users press the home button and power button at the same time, and a snapshot of the screen is sent directly to the Camera Roll. Taking a screenshot is the perfect way to capture student work on mobile devices."

"Reading is one of the major foundations of any student's studies. In any subject - including math - understanding how to read and being able to comprehend words on a page is a make or break in academics and in life more generally. Some kids take to reading naturally, and you'll find them with their nose in a book at any given time and nearly every time you turn around. Others don't take to it quite as naturally, though they'll eventually get into it, and others feel the same about reading as they feel about going to the dentist."

"Don't have the budget for a field trip to The White House or Mount Everest? Take a virtual field trip with one of these websites from parent and teacher JC. Tour the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Journey through The Grapes of Wrath using Google Earth. Keep a travel journal as you visit city after city and read about their cultures and histories."

"Summer and vacation go together like, well, two of the best things in the world. Parents have time off from work, kids have time off from school, the weather is nice, the sun is shining, and travel beckons. Whether it's a day at a local fun spot, a trip across country, or an adventure half-way around the world, memories will be made. Amazing memories, crazy memories, shared memories. No matter how great a vacation is, however, you can never be there forever, nor can you take everyone you love with you. What you can do is bring the vacation home for you and for them! With your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, not only can you take videos and pictures of those magic travel moments, but you can edit and share them right in iMovie, even right away if you want to. Best of all, for kids (of all ages!), iMovie's trailer templates make it incredibly quick and easy to put together something short, sweet, and fun!"

"All of us have had major classroom disruptions that try our patience and push our limits. These incidents can threaten our sense of control and generate fear of looking weak to other students. We fear that other students might do the same thing if we don't take a strong stance. Couple these feelings with the possibility of taking the disruption personally, and we have a recipe for disaster. It's important that we divide our response into two parts: Immediate stabilization Intervention to resolve these issues"

"Evernote is a powerful note taking web tool and mobile app. It is definitely an elemental component of teachers workflow. I have been using it for a few years now and I just can't live without it now.Evernote enables you to take notes in both text and audio format. Your notes can also include images,videos and even files. Evernote is available across different devices so that everything you do with Evernote on your computer can be automatically synced to your Evernote account on your phone or tablet. With the growing popularity and widespread of Evernote, there appeared a wide variety of applications that can enhance your productivity and expand your Evernote experience. Here are some of these applications as recommended by Evernote app centre:"

"The new school term is well under way and the early efficiencies are slipping and bad habits are slipping in. Homework is already being completed late and stuffed into heavy schoolbags before the kids stagger off again. In my own case, I seem to spend way too much time each day trying to persuade my son to take a day's worth of kit to school, rather than a week's. The problem is that the sanctions that come with forgetting sports kit or books is worse, in a child's mind, than the possibility, long hence, of back pain. But there's things that parents and teachers could do, which help take those damaging decisions out of the childrens' hands:"

"When you look at the very best work happening in iPad classrooms, you'll see students creating media, showcasing their understanding, collaborating with peers, and communicating with broad audiences. The pockets of excellence are ever-present and inspiring. On the whole, however, tablets are most often used to reproduce existing practices-to distribute resources and enable students to take notes. Past generations of school leaders might have been forgiven for permitting these patterns of technology adoption, but today we have the benefit of history to look back on. We know that without a change in our technology integration strategies, there's no reason to expect that a new device will magically create new teaching practices in schools. To make the most of the investment in tablet computers, school leaders need to do three things. First, they need to work with their communities to articulate a clear vision for how new technology will improve instruction. Second, they need to help educators imagine how new technologies can support those visions. Finally, they need to support teachers and students on a developmental journey that will take them from using tablets for consumption to using them for curation, creation, and connection."

"Learning is about reaching your full potential and can help you achieve self-actualization, the highest need identified by Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. However, traditional education generally has a beginning and an end which culminates in taking tests. Lifelong learning preserves an individual's desire to obtain new knowledge outside of the formal education system. Developing an attitude where you constantly learn is the only way to succeed in the dynamic environment which we live in today. There is so much technology at your fingertips which you can take advantage of to help you learn throughout your life. This means you can follow your passion for languages, improve your craft skills and even develop a mobile app using resources you can find online."

"There are so many movements and initiatives in education. The vocabulary changes from time to time, and it's important to keep current. There's always something new. We try new things, read new things, and emulate successes in other people's classroom. This is the time to start thinking about what worked this year, things we might try for next year, and ways to think about helping students take initiative. This week's Learnist feature is dedicated to education initiatives and ideas-things to think about using next year."

"n his TEDxUNC 2015 talk, Chase Lewis, a 15-year-old inventor, talks about taking any tools around us - any inspiration that we can find - to stop waiting, to take action and to do something. Chase uses his personal experience doing just that for the past several years, and conveys that we ALL can do it."