Group items tagged

The Padcaster is a multifunctional iPad case that takes you from passive consumer to creative filmmaker. Simply snap your iPad in and you're ready to hit the scene and start filming.

"I am still amazed at the amount of educators, who believe that Twitter holds NO VALUE for their professional learning. Many hold on to the belief that Twitter is a waste of time, used to follow celebrities, listen to gossip and bad hair day complaints. If YOU were able to get past that initial Twitter reputation, diving into the Twittersphere can be scary, OVERWHELMING and participating in this global conversation platform does not necessarily come naturally to everybody."

"Aerbook Maker may be of interest to librarians and other educators who want to go beyond a read-only experience and enable their students to easily create, share-and even market-their  own slick, tablet-ready graphical ebooks and mobile apps"

"The MakerBot Replicator™ is the ultimate personal 3D printer, with dual extrusion (2-color printing)--and a bigger printing footprint, giving you the superpower to print things BIG! Assembled in Brooklyn by skilled technicians, the MakerBot Replicator™ is ready within minutes to start printing right out of the box. "

"Wondering what BYOD means or if your school is ready for it? In this 8-minute Pedagogical Quickie, I present some of the many advantages and limitations of this concept for education."

"Let me guess, you heard about Pinterest. Or more like, you can't spend 15 minutes online without hearing about it… And now you're thinking, "should I jump on the wagon too?" or "another social network to keep up with?" and on top of that, everybody is talking about using it for marketing and getting tons of traffic and, you just don't see it. Alright, I hear you. I'll give you everything you need to know about Pinterest and a bunch of resources so you can decide if you or your business are ready to join the hottest trend online."

An easy-to-use, free tool. Go to the main page and sign in using your Facebook or Twitter account. Once logged in you can click on record and start talking . You have up to 30 seconds of recording length so you may need to prepare a script. When your audio message is ready Qwips generates a URL for you so that you can use to share your messages. You can embed it on your blog or share it with others via email. You can also use your audio message as an image caption.

Wondering what BYOD means or if your school is ready for it? In this 8-minute Pedagogical Quickie, I present some of the many advantages and limitations of this concept for education.

"Back to the title: was the SMART Board a dumb choice?  I'm going to say yes, only because of the way that it was brought to bear.  Without a plan, without training, and without supplement, it was nothing more than an expensive, fancy toy for teachers (and the occasional student).  If we are to justify the funds that we need for instructional technology, we must be smarter about how we approach and implement them.  We must be ready to show real power to boost student achievement and motivation using these magnificent tools.  To do so, we must be prepared to use these tools in the same ways that our colleges and top employers are using them-to solve real problems."

"Twine is an open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories. You don't need to write any code to create a simple story with Twine, but you can extend your stories with variables, conditional logic, images, CSS, and JavaScript when you're ready. Twine publishes directly to HTML, so you can post your work nearly anywhere. Anything you create with it is completely free to use any way you like, including for commercial purposes. "

Another tool that might provide an different entry point to coding and logical thinking for those who might initially feel they're not that way inclined.

"I've just finished creating a 10-page children's guide to programming in Python, in readiness for the introduction of the new primary computing curriculum in 2014. It has been tested using the Python 3.0 for iOS app  (I chose this particular iOS app simply because it was the cheapest at the time I downloaded it)."

"Tobii's eye-tracking technology can make using a PC slightly more "natural," reading your eye movements to, say, scroll without needing to move a mouse. But for the disabled, it can be revelatory, allowing people with disabilities to use virtually all the abilities of a computer without ever touching it. The Tobii EyeMobile brings complete eye control to Windows tablets. It's an oblong-shaped sensor called the PCEye Go that attaches underneath the tablet via a bracket. Once it's in place and the eye-tracking software is installed, all the user needs to do is calibrate the sensor (which takes about a minute) and it's eyeball-ready."

Introducing Sphero 2.0. Choose from over 25 apps and launch a whole new world of mobile gameplay. Drive circles around your friends with Sphero's new engine, turn your living room into a video game with augmented reality apps like The Rolling Dead, and upgrade family game night with multiplayer apps like ColorGrab. You can even get a crash course in programming Sphero with MacroLab. Sphero rolls 7 feet per second and pairs to your device via Bluetooth. Powered by induction charging and an internal smart robot, Sphero also glows in millions of colors and is pet proof, waterproof, and ready for any adventure.

"In 2013, we launched version 4.0 of the CC license suite and it is ready for anyone to use now to apply to their educational resources or other creative works. But what does that mean? What's new in 4.0 that wasn't there in 3.0? And just as importantly, what has stayed the same so that you don't have to worry about changes to licenses you weren't expecting? Lastly, I'll go over some examples of organizations and institutions who have already upgraded to the 4.0 version of whatever license they were using. Note: These slides are meant to be used as a resource by presenters - please download the file and see the detailed notes accompanying each slide for the actual information. "

"The Buck Institute for Education commissioned the cutting-edge advertising agency, Common Craft, to create a short animated video that explains in clear language the essential elements of Project Based Learning (PBL). This simple video makes the essential elements of PBL come alive and brings to light the 21st Century skills and competencies (collaboration, communication, critical thinking) that will enable K-12 students to be college and work-ready as well as effective members of their communities."

Did you just buy a 'YouTube Ready' camcorder? Oops...

"A new Iowa Future video, "Iowa, Did You Know?," highlights the drastic changes occurring in Iowa and the world, and shows that schools are struggling to keep up in today's dynamic new global environment. The video premiered at this week's School Administrators of Iowa Conference. This fast-paced video emphasizes the magnitude of the challenges ahead, the need for Iowans to support the changes that schools must make if our learners are to be career, college, and citizenship ready, and the imperative to do this now, rather than later."

We're getting ready to hold another PBwiki 'summer camp

"Google Cloud Print is built on the idea that printing can be more intuitive, accessible, and useful. Using Google Cloud Print you can make your printers available to you from any Google Cloud Print enabled web, desktop or mobile app. To get started printing using Google Cloud Print, connect a printer to your account. Google supports both cloud ready and classic printers: "

Printing via the cloud, fascinating idea I can hardly wait to tryout.

"Every teacher is taught that back up plans are a must. Things change constantly in education and there are a variety of factors that can make plans change - computer breaks, internet goes out, file is corrupted, forgot your flash drive at home, you finish a lesson early with a class, your class has very low attendance due to a school activity or event (like AP testing, prom, etc), lesson runs long, students don't understand the material, class is interrupted by a fire drill. To deal with these issues, teachers must have back up plans ready to go and be flexible and organized. Here are some tips and resources for backup plans."