MakingConnections

For wikispaces Now that the school year is underway, we put together a quick 15-20 minute activity, designed to get students comfortable with using wikis. All you need is this PDF handout, a wiki of your own, and a few minutes of preparation:

60 minutes story on the iPad and kids with autism

"Welcome to the iPads for Learning website. This website is for educators, students and parents wanting to learn about using iPads in education. Here you will find information about the Victorian school iPads for Learning trial including the specially selected apps, classroom ideas and technical tips."

. Storybird is a great site that fosters creative student writing, and I have enjoyed great success when using it in class (click here for my tutorial on the site... click here or here to see some student work). During the conversation, Mr. Ury mentioned that the site had recently opened up a fundraising option. I was intrigued and decided almost immediately that I would make a Storybird fundraiser a priority going in to the 2011-12 school year.

"This site contains resources for: iPads in the Classroom - October 20, 21 iPad Multimedia Tools for Creativity, Collaboration, and Publication This seminar will cover some of the best audio, photography, and video apps for use in education."

Free and Price drops for kids iOS apps

Educational Apps For Kids: A Dad's quest to find the best educational apps for the iPad and iPhone

"Here are some classroom ideas for activities using a range of apps that teachers can try with their students. The activities are grouped into broad categories to provide a starting point however many of the apps can be used across a number of learning domains."

"iLoveSchools.com is a nonprofit online donation center that connects new, used and in-kind resources with our nation's schools all year long."

"VINCI - A New Class of Early Learning Systems VINCI Tab VINCI is a new class in early learning systems exclusively designed for children 4 years and under. VINCI sets the standard by converging developmental science, cutting edge technology and early childhood education to offer safe, fun and inspirational learning."

literature search

Tony Vincent's Learning in Hand - Blog - "I have the pleasure of working with educators who get to use iPads and iPod touches with students. Wherever I facilitate workshops, I find there are some myths floating around about Apple's iOS devices, and I'd like to clear up some of the misinformation."

"My First AAC is an affordable augmentative and alternative communication application for the iPad that is specifically designed for toddlers and preschoolers with delayed speech or severe speech disorders. Intuitive and child-friendly, My First AAC helps young children to communicate with family, caregivers, teachers and other people they meet in everyday life."

Amazon.com listing for the Franklin AnyBook Reader. Lets you record your voice reading any book that child activates by touching the sticker with the pen

"The company has recently released Splashtop Whiteboard for $9.99 on the App Store, which has all of the functions of Splashtop Remote with the additional ability to turn your iPad into an interactive whiteboard. "

online storybook about going to the doctor

There is a fee, but you can record yourself reading children's books online and share the link.

"In place of what would have been Digital-Storytime's 10th 'Top 10′ list, this week I have whittled down my favorites to just 25 apps I would recommend for a well-rounded collection. This list represents just 10% of the 250 books reviewed on our site (and includes insights from previewing over 1000 book apps overall). The list is in no particular ranked order, although it is broken up into categories to make it a little more user-friendly"

"Differences in the children's home learning environment predicted their readiness to start school, according to the study in the current issue of the journal Child Development. For example, children whose home learning environment scores were consistently low were much more likely to have delays in language and literacy skills at pre-kindergarten than children who had high home learning scores. "Our findings indicate that enriched learning experiences as early as the first year of life are important to children's vocabulary growth, which in turn provides a foundation for children's later school success,""