"A while back I wrote a post about two great resources for math instructional videos. I enjoy exposing kids to these instructional videos because it gives them the opportunity to hear other teachers and students explain things. After much hemming and hawing I've found a way to easily and quickly make and integrate my own videos into my classroom. "
"The iPad has expanded instruction opportunities through their platform structure, significantly engaging and motivating students to extraordinary levels of instruction. And with Apple TV and AirPlay, one can teach anywhere in the classroom with complete portability and wireless connectivity that rivals the popular Smartboards, with less than half of the cost."
"This past week I spent three days in iPad training, as every student in 6th, 7th, and 8th grader, in the district I work in, will be carrying their own iPad. All instruction will be geared toward this initiative. Huge changes are coming our way and I have to wonder if we, as teachers, are ready for how instruction will be delivered and assignments will be collected."
If you've tried to install the Diigo tools in Safari, you'll likely have found that the instructions on the website are missing important info. This GDoc provides the secret to the sauce.
"Until recently, we have always had a big bowl of Legos on the conference room table. They are great to 'toy' with when waiting for folks to gather rather than have our noses buried in our mobile device screens. There are folks that can look at a pile of Legos and see a fire engine waiting to be built. There is the rest of us that see a lot of fun lockable color blocks."
"RapidReading is a smartphone application for iOS devices. This free app is sized at nearly 10 MB and is compatible with iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad devices running version 4.0 or later of iOS. The app basically provides you with reading exercises that you will need to spend 10 minutes on every day. Using the app you can double, or even quadruple your reading speed. The reading drills all provide step by step instructions to properly guide and help you."
"This week, Grade 5 began a unit on Volume, Capacity and Surface Area. On a weekly basis, I take combined groups from the 4 grades consisting of the higher achievers, while the classroom teachers concentrate on the mainstream group and students needing more individual instruction to achieve success. I made a conscious decision this week to focus on using iPads with my group to explore both volume/capacity as well as surface area."
"A new educational app from global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), HMH Fuse™: Algebra 1, was studied by research firm Empirical Education Inc. and found to be a platform that successfully "encourages the use of personalized lesson plans by combining direct instruction, ongoing support, assessment and intervention in one easy-to-use suite of tools.""
"For the iPad there is a great timer/stopwatch app called Minu Timer. This universal free app needs no instructions (although it does include a start up 'how to use' page appearing on your first launch). The interface is simple and the user experience proves that a well written app will let users jump right in and get started. A lack of buttons and excessive tuning options keeps things uncluttered and removes the need to tap through to layers of screens."
"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:"
"Video lessons have become the newest trend in education. From Khan Academy to iTunes University, more and more teachers are capturing instruction on video to "flip the classroom." Screencasting apps are cropping up right and left, allowing anyone to author their own digital content and become video instructors"
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.