Ed Tech Crew

"This is my first attempt at blogging. I want to write about iPads in schools ( a crowded blogosphere there) from real world experience. I want to share how Web tools can change education. I want to write what I believe ( not what I'm expected to believe ), hopefully by thinking before I post. I want to get our students inspired to write by blogging themselves so they can see writing has a real purpose beyond file books and NAPLAN assessments! I want to inspire and encourage my own colleagues ( and hopefully others outside my school ) to take a chance and think outside the comfort zone of the 20th Century where I began my life as a teacher." This URL is the iPad category of Mr G Online.

"I have embarked on a completely new approach to teaching three Year 10 classes the dreaded and much maligned OCR Nationals ICT course .. Here is a step-by-step outline of the approach to teaching of this. In my opinion, with the right approach, ICT can and will be an essential part of your students' learning."

"Of all the initiatives a school can begin, integrating technology may require the most professional development. This is partly because of the equipment, hardware, and software involved and partly because of the shift that a teacher must make in his or her teaching style, technique, and planning process in order to effectively use technology in the classroom. Here are some basic "dos" and "don'ts" for anyone doing tech integration professional development.

"When we first purchased our class set of iPads we needed a secure storage and charging solution. Unfortunately the purpose built trolleys were too expensive. At $4.50 each these drying racks were a great alternative while we saved up the money."

We tend to rewrite the histories of technological innovation, making myths about a guy who had a great idea that changed the world. In reality, though, innovation isn't the goal; it's everything that gets you there. It's bad financial decisions and blueprints for machines that weren't built until decades later. It's the important leaps forward that synthesize lots of ideas, and it's the belly-up failures that teach us what not to do. When we ignore how innovation actually works, we make it hard to see what's happening right in front of us today. If you don't know that the incandescent light was a failure before it was a success, it's easy to write off some modern energy innovations - like solar panels - because they haven't hit the big time fast enough. Worse, the fairy-tale view of history implies that innovation has an end. It doesn't. What we want and what we need keeps changing. The incandescent light was a 19th-century failure and a 20th- century success. Now it's a failure again, edged out by new technologies, like LEDs, that were, themselves, failures for many years. That's what this issue is about: all the little failures, trivialities and not-quite-solved mysteries that make the successes possible. This is what innovation looks like. It's messy, and it's awesome.

Loads of links to great web2.0 tools. Well organised with categories on the side.

Not sure if you have already seen this in the past, but this has been a lifesaver for me over the past 2 years. You upload a file, set the width, height, printing, downloading and privacy options and then copy the code the site generates for you. This then allows you to embed the code into any other website as HTML. Once embedded, you can zoom in and out, print and download. My favourite feature is the 'Full screen' button in the bottom right hand corner which enlarges the document so even the weariest of eyes can read it online. You should never really have to print them out at all. Running a Learning Management System means you want to be able to share documents, PDFs, etc but not necessarily have to download them and then open them. This has helped keep our parent community happy as it cuts out another two steps when accessing their newsletter online, and it has come in really handy for ePortfolios. With the release of the Ultranet in all Victorian schools, this type of tool will become even more valuable.

Embedit.in allows you to upload documents and gives you the embed code to put it into a website.

Virtual Whiteboard is a web-based collaborative system that provides a realtime canvas for thinking, designing, and working with your colleagues, clients, friends or family. Virtual Whiteboard is available to anyone for personal, educational, or business use and registration is free.

"But what convinced me that I truly was wrong about the iPad and its prospects for the future weren't the reports coming in about its tremendous retail success. That could still be accounted for by initial fervor for a new product by Apple, which, few will argue, has become the "it" company of late. No, it was a few select apps that convinced me that the iPad was here to stay, and that that was a good thing. Below are those apps, along with why I think they're serious game-changers. "

Air Video is great, this is an awesome app. I have used it to share videos off my laptop for students to view on the iPad. Nice summary of cool iPad Apps that are serious game-changers.

Good article, I also love air video for the ipad although I am a big fan of Zumocast, too :)

Online hosted storyboard maker by Current TV. Pitch story ideas and share and collaborate on scenes. Advertising contests may discourage school use.

Create a tour of web sites to explore a topic or question.

 Great resource if people are implementing ipads in their school. Has resources for teachers and students. As well as for special needs and higher education.

Vast range of How to... videos arranged by theme/topic. Learn how to ace a job interview, fold an origami swan, apply styles in Excel or run faster. Perhaps set an exercise for students: Find out how to ...

"Digital storytelling comes in many forms. Digital storytelling could refer to creating podcasts, creating videos, or creating multimedia ebooks to name of few of its forms. If you're considering developing your first digital storytelling project for your class, here some resources that can help you get started."

"Born to learn is a fun, thought-provoking series of animations that illustrate ground-breaking new discoveries about how humans learn. "

My Top 10 Ways To Use Evernote by Aviva (@grade1). Evernote is a fantastic tool for assessment and organisation in the classroom

"It's time to get over the control paradigm we've all gotten used to and start thinking outside the box. What would it take to allow any device to connect safely and securely to our corporate networks?"

"I'm firmly of the opinion that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools is misplaced and therefore misused. In essence, the way it is conventionally deployed negates much of the potential of ICT, and unless there is a dramatic reappraisal, we won't be witnessing much in the way of learning gains in schools. Here's my argument in two points:"

This is a great article. It highlights that if schools / departments / governments ask students what they want from a school, the majority of kids will take it seriously.

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