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"Even though it's October it still feels very much like the beginning of the year. One of the first thoughts that many teachers have about their students is "they look so little!" It's true. Those tall confident students that left us have gone on to be "little" to next year's teacher and we have our own new crop of "little" people to educate. This becomes even more pronounced in a technology classroom. Everything takes longer, typing, starting, opening, finding, searching. Whatever it is they need time to figure it out. Patience is key. So what can we do?"

PadGadget's Star Walk app review - http://www.padgadget.com/2010/04/21/star-walk-for-ipad-app-review/

Beta product with a lot of potential of making secondary level mathematics more accessible with mobile technology. Great idea, but would need more features. As is, the page needs to be refreshed to clear and begin again.

"Since the beginning of September we have been trying to maximise the use of 1:1 iPods in year 6 in all areas of curriculum. The potential of enhancing teaching and learning in mathematics through the use of this technology has been particularly interesting. We have been developing the creative use of a range of Apps to support progress, engage children and add relevance to maths teaching with positive outcomes (10 Practical ways to use Apps in Maths) We have also explored a wide range of maths specific Apps which have helped pupils mainly in the areas of number fact and tables recall. (Apps for Maths) Recently we have extended the use of the iPods to allow them to support independent learning, and play a central role in effective formative assessment."

"Educators are beginning to see the potential of using mobile devices and apps for ongoing professional development as well as to improve literacy and cognitive development for learners. Apps are equipped with several features that motivate learners to create stories, presentations, and projects that are hands-on and use their creativity as well as their critical thinking skills. Once an app is downloaded, many features can be accessed without an Internet connection. Educators can also use various apps at conferences to connect with other educators or capture a presentation. Below are the various apps nominated by teachers for an Edublog Award so they must be worth checking out. Each has a link and a description. Make sure to check out the Edublog Awards for blogs, wikis, and web tools that teachers worldwide have recommended."

"Since receiving the iPad Pilot classroom, life has been so much easier on me with great planning. In my guided math class, I begin each class where the students have 5 minutes to work on their facts using Mad Math Lite and Monster Math. These apps have helped the children improve on their multiplication and division facts. Once the five minutes have passed, we start Guided Math."

"Be forewarned, then: The Fourth Dimension is an app which will mess with your head. Deliberately. Even though the aim is education and expansion of knowledge, it will still mess with your head. You will emerge from the experience only fractionally the wiser, and quite a lot more confused than you were at the beginning. Don't worry, this is perfectly normal. The aim of the app is to explain four spatial dimensions to creatures like us who live in a stubbornly three dimensional universe."

"We've collected together some of the best iPad apps designed to help you get healthy, stay in shape, and monitor your progress. Spend a few minutes picking out the ones that suit you, and begin to transform your life!"

"It goes by many names, but the syndrome is the same. Whether it's dubbed "summer learning loss," "summer vacation slide," or good-old-fashioned "summer brain drain," studies show that students usually have to relearn four to six weeks of classwork at the beginning of every school year. On the brink of the lazy days of summer, what's a parent to do? Here are nine ways to use your Mac and iOS devices to keep your kids sharp during the summer. Add your own advice to the comments at the end of this article. "

"I searched all summer for a fun Back-to-School activity. Well. . . unfortunately I couldn't find anything!! So, I have been racking my brain to come up with something exciting for Open House. This is when my kids will find out who their teacher will be for the year, and they will also find out that we will have 30 iPads in our classroom!! Yay! I decided to incorporate the QR scans and create an Open House Scavenger Hunt to give the parents and kids the information needed to begin the new school year. As the students arrived, there was an iPad and the first page of the scavenger hunt on their desk. They were instructed to work through the scavenger hunt with the help of their parents. Here is what I created:"

"You lucky thing. The summer's over, or nearly over, and you're already planning on heading back to school. Just like last year, you will begin this year fresh and full of energy and enthusiasm, only to be ground down by the man. Luckily, we're here to help with advice on the best apps and gear to get you through the year and into next year's summer vacation with the least effort possible. So sit back, relax and take a look at the Cult of Mac back to school/college superguide."

"As the school year begins, so does the cost of books and other such educational supplies. Is your child's school one of the early adopters of the iPad textbook program? If so, why not making your app-buying costs a little bit easier on the pocketbook by purchasing a gift card at 20 percent off of the full price. That's right, Walmart is offering a $100 iTunes gift card for only $80."

"To begin thinking more broadly about iPads in an educational environment, consider the following questions."

EDMONTON - Students at Parkview School, an elementary-junior high, can't text friends during classtime, but their mobile devices are beginning to serve a purpose as an instructional tool, says principal Dan Beharry.

"Apple's latest venture into education is not coming out of nowhere; says Apple's Phil Schiller: "Education is deep in our DNA, and it has been from the very beginning.""

"I've been experimenting with how to use the iPads in my fifth grade writer's workshop. I decided to try it out by launching a unit of study using my document camera, student iPads, and Edmodo. Usually we study a wide variety of mentor texts so that we can understand what the genre is and students can begin to notice good things that they want to include in their writing."

"Regarding our 1:1 iPad Program commencing at the beginning of 2012 in our year 6 and 7 cohorts, i have attached all relevant documents which have been part of informing parents and our community about our iPad happenings so far. All documents are in PDF format and can be downloaded."

"Popular text reflow service Readability has announced that its app will be available on iPhone and iPad for free beginning March 1st. The service is designed to reformat any webpage that you're viewing into a pleasantly readable experience with nicely rendered text and images."