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ipod touch review
This a very clever use of the iPad from Torchbox - a digital design, software development and social media company.A Starry Night from Torchbox on Vim...
Rabu, 22 Desember 2010
Selasa, 30 November 2010
Collaborating with Simplenote
The upper grade students at Burley have a number of opportunities to communicate and collaborate electronically -- student blogs and wikis, education-focused social networking, iChat, and so on -- and we often remark on how engaged and focused students are with this type of communication. Students have told us that they like the opportunity to participate at their own pace and to read the ideas of others before chiming in. They say they participate more because they can share their ideas when they have them, rather than waiting to be called on or for someone else to finish.Simplenote is a free app that allows students to collaborate in real...
Selasa, 23 November 2010
Audio Recordings Promote Fluency
This week we used Recorder HD in guided reading groups to monitor our fluency. For the past few days we talked about how good readers practice reading a piece over and over to make it sound nice and smooth. One group of students read It's Super Mouse! by Phyllis Root during their guided reading groups and as a supplemental text during their independent reading time. To celebrate this text prior to moving on to a new book, a small group of students created an audio recording of It's Super Mouse. Now, all students have access to the text and audio recording at our classroom listening center. The small group of students who recorded the text...
102 iPad Action!
My first graders enjoyed using the iPads for their Poetry Assembly peformance! They used the whiteboard app to enhance their images and alliteration lines.Our class continues to use the iPads during literacy and math centers. We are beginning to use them in the content area as well. We used them to research questions we had about the solar system and will continue using them for research during our upcoming Native American un...
Jumat, 19 November 2010
Minggu, 14 November 2010
Alice in Wonderland on iPad
This is a great example of what books should be on the iPad. Every kid in the world would want to be reading if all books were this interactive.The creators explain:Tilt your iPad to make Alice grow big as a house, or shrink to just six inches tall. This is Alice in Wonderland digitally remastered for the iPad. Play with the White Rabbit’s pocket watch – it realistically swings and bounces. Help Alice swim through a Pool of Tears. Or hand out sweets that bounce and collide with the magical talking Dodo. This wonderful lite edition is the first instalment of Alice’s journey and includes an amazing selection of animated scenes. Watch as full screen physics modelling bring the classic illustrations to life.alice for the i...
This is a great app for the iPad. Flipboard allows you to set your twitter feeds straight back to your iPad. Flipboard then re-presents it in a magazine format. The tweets are laid out with images in the same format as an online mag. This is great for making online textbooks for specific classes or even further reading lists. Only the classes that you have given the specific twitter address have access. I think this makes tweets much more user friendly, especially to younger students who may not be as familiar with twitter.http://www.flipboard.c...
iPad Easel
Compass is a stylish, compact folding stand that works as an easel and a typing stand. As an easel, Compass beautifully displays iPad in both portrait and landscape modes. To transform Compass into a typing stand, simply flip down the secondary leg and this super portable stand sits at a perfect angle for comfortable typing on iPad’s cool onscreen keyboard. http://twelvesouth.com/products/compa...
iPad Grip
The ColorWare Grip for iPad lets you carry your iPad securely and with style. All Grips are carefully manufactured using aircraft-grade aluminum to create a durable and perfectly fitted handle. With a flawless color and finish, the ColorWare Grip fits your on-the-go lifestyle while setting your iPad apart from all the rest. http://www.colorwarepc.com/default.a...
Senin, 08 November 2010
In the loop
One of the key details that an iPad school has to iron out is the content loop -- how to get stuff on to the iPad, and how to get student work off the iPad and into the hands of a teacher, peer editor, or other audience. Thanks to our Apple Professional Development leader, Dr. Bruce Ahlborn, we now have a plan for how we're going to do just that.We had considered using the free DropBox app, which seemed like a great way to get content on to the iPad -- but maybe not so smooth at sending content back to the teacher. We have decided to use a MobileMe iDisk as our shared space. Each teacher will be able to access the iDisk from their Mac's desktop....
Senin, 01 November 2010
Spelling practice, math, and word study
Second grade teachers were ready for more options in their morning literacy centers, so the students have begun using three apps to practice their weekly spelling words. Our spelling program is individualized, and each student works on his or her own list of words each week -- no small management task! The iPads are enabling students to have independent practice opportunities with their words. They're using the iPad's built-in Notes app, Whiteboard lite, and ABC Magnetic Letters Lite to write and type the words -- all free apps. At no extra cost,we now have a multimodal spelling center up and running in a matter of a day!Last week, my colleague...
Selasa, 19 Oktober 2010
Testing, Testing 1,2,3....
Last week we began utilizing the BlueFire app on the iPads so students can record themselves while reading. Ms. Skibba came in again to do whole group instruction explaining the steps and guidelines for doing a fluency recordings. In addition, she created handy step-by-step instructions for each student to use and follow during their time at the center. The instructions are very detailed and help students to independently problem solve before they come to me while I am working with others.Students read a selection from a book of their choice for 30-60 seconds out loud. After reading the selection, they rewind the tape to the beginning and put...
Senin, 18 Oktober 2010
Reading Specialist Uses the IPads
I LOVE the iPad! Today was my second day using iPads with my guided reading groups. Each day I teach a phonics or word work mini lesson that corresponds with the guided reading book. Today I used the iPads with three first grade groups and a second grade group using the awesome ABC Magnetic Letters App. I demonstrated sounding out three letter words with my beginning readers in first grade. Instead of using a white board to draw each letter as I sounded it out, I used the iPad App to drag the letters on to the screen as I said the corresponding sound. The students were absolutely engrossed in this routine activity! I guess iPads are vastly...
Rabu, 13 Oktober 2010
Lesson learned: be explicit!
You know how the first time you teach something you tend to overlook some key details? Kicking off the fluency recordings went sort of like that. By now (day 3), we've worked out the kinks. But it wasn't very smooth on our first try.We were working with a group of 5 second graders at a time. The kids are using the built-in mics to record, and it took a fair amount of practice to get the students to speak at an appropriate volume, because I hadn't thought to model that. Since students practice being audible when reading to a live audience, they were a bit too audible for their practice recordings. This resulted in a lot of background noise...
Selasa, 12 Oktober 2010
Fluency recordings
We're starting fluency recordings this week! We'll be testing out some screen shots we made to help students navigate Blue Fire and a self-check rubric to guide their practi...
Next steps: getting ready for inquiry
Although we are still adjusting to the routines in our literacy centers, we are ready to begin using the iPads in our content area instruction and inquiry. A little background: our faculty has both studied and been featured in a book/DVD series by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey "Smokey" Daniels entitled Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action. Inquiry-based learning has led to increased student choice and engagement, deep and meaningful questioning, and real-world advocacy and action. Our iPad grant proposal centered around incorporating the iPad into all the stages of student inquiry for our first and second graders, in addition to supporting their literacy development. Now that we have a good foundation for using the iPads in literacy centers, we are ready to integrate...
Rabu, 06 Oktober 2010
First Graders rock the iPad
The first graders had been waiting patiently for their turn with the iPads, and this week they got their chance. I modified the sight word video format to include only 10 words instead of the 25 I had given the second graders, and this was a good move. I am going to stick with that format for both first and second graders. It's much easier and more pleasant for the kids to complete a 10 word video and start a second one if time permits than to start a 25 word video and not finish. You can subscribe to download our sight word videos here.I was especially excited by how the kids are interacting with the content in the videos. They were reading...
Selasa, 05 Oktober 2010
109 Loves the iPads!
Hello! I am Kelly Johnson and I teach reading and writing with the 2nd graders at Burley in the mornings. My students are so excited about using iPads in the classroom, as am I. I am new to "blogging" so I apologize if my first few appear a bit off-centered and not totally awesome.We began using iPads in our classroom last Friday. Ms. Skibba came in and talked to our whole class about how we will be using them in class and the proper procedures for use. We were all so excited, we couldn't wait to get started.In order to get the students acclimated with using the iPads, we began by having them watch a video to practice sight words. Students had...
Kamis, 30 September 2010
Taking Ownership
One of our second grade classes is on its third day using the iPads in their literacy centers, and another class just got started today. It was interesting to sit in on both our "veteran" (of three days) class and our beginning class and notice the difference a few days has made. In the more experienced class, students navigated smoothly to a new sight word video, reset the video upon finishing, and then started the Spell Blocks with Sight Words app. Without prompting, students began to explore the settings in Spell Blocks with Sight Words to adjust the challenge level to meet their needs. In contrast, the beginning class was still in teacher-directed...
Selasa, 28 September 2010
First day with student literacy centers!
Today our second graders started using the iPads in their literacy centers. We set up the iPads so there are three screens of apps -- one for literacy practice, one for art and publication, and a third for teacher apps. As each group of 5 students came to the center, I showed them how to navigate through the screens and, specifically, how to navigate a video. There was a little confusion between the video progress bar (at the top) and the volume slider (near the playback controls), so that was something we talked about.For today's content, we used a sight word video that prompted students to read the word silently, pause the movie, write the...
Senin, 27 September 2010
Numbering the iPads
So this may not be the most earth shattering revelation, but I think it was a small stroke of genius on the part of our excellent Apple Professional Development trainer, Bruce Ahlborn. Rather than relying on the numbers we have hand-written on the outside of the silicone cases to tell which iPad is which, we are also making jpeg images in Keynote that have the iPad number on them in a large font, and those will become the iPad wallpaper. Simple, visible, helpful, and won't rub off -- an incredibly helpful deta...
Kamis, 23 September 2010
Ipad
One of the hardest thing with using the iPad in the classroom is finding the time to go through all of the apps in the iTunes Store listed under the education banner. We have started to list some of the apps we've found under the Key Learning Areas. This is an ongoing task so check every so often to see which new Apps have been add...
Rabu, 22 September 2010
Almost ready...
Next week we will start using the iPads in our second grade literacy centers. We have been working on some student pre-surveys to learn a bit about their current confidence level with technology and their level of awareness of different types of technology-based learning tasks. Because the students are so young, this process has been a bit of a challenge! My general impression so far is that kids have some awareness of using technology to play games and perhaps to find some information, and I can't wait to see how their knowledge and confidence grow over the course of the year. There has been a good deal of behind the scenes activity since school began September 7. Finding affordable protective cases was a mundane but necessary step. After much consideration, we ended up with the delightfully...
Senin, 20 September 2010
So Excited.....
I am looking forward to creating stories for the iPads. Tina, Kelly, & I have been discussing creating a book to support our pioneer unit....
Selasa, 10 Agustus 2010
First Impressions
As Carolyn and Tina mentioned before, the iPad training last week was incredibly useful and exciting. There were frequent eruptions of “Ooh!” – “Wow!” – “Cool!” from the squad of iPad grant recipients as we navigated our way through a host of new software and tools. I can’t wait to see the reaction from our first and second grade students when they get their hands on one!I’ve already come across an abundance of programs for the iPad that should be useful in the classroom, and everything that I mention in this post is completely free!First off, I had never used iTunesU prior to the training, and I am still in awe of the amount of professional quality material available. There appears to be an excellent mix of resources for students from early elementary all the way to post-graduate adult...
Wow
I had such a great couple of days last week during the iPad training. I truly wish I was a student again. The opportunites for learning within these devices are endless. Even though I am somewhat overwhelmed, at the same time I am comfortable because of how user-friendly Apple has made this. I know Carolyn Skibba and Todd Strother will also be great support within our school. Bring on the iPads...
Jumat, 06 Agustus 2010
Kamis, 05 Agustus 2010
Here we go!
We just completed our first day of iPad training with Helen Hoffenberg from Apple, and I am already buzzing with new ideas about how these incredible devices will fit in to our classrooms. Today we learned some basics of navigation and syncing and began to delve in to accessing, creating, and sharing content. Time spent exploring iTunes U and the Podcasts (both audio and video) in the iTunes Store introduced teachers to the wealth of content available for students and teachers. We practiced creating pdf files for later access in the iBooks application, which I think will be a great way to store teacher-created resources on the iPad devices for students to access anytime they need them. I also spent some time during breaks experimenting with the free Dropbox and $0.99 Goodreader apps to...
Senin, 02 Agustus 2010
How to Protect Your iPad
Now that you have shipped the Steve Jobs Kool-Aid, make sure you protect your investment. The iPad has a 9.7" screen that is extremely vulnerable to scuffs and scratches. I would suggest putting a screen protector on right out of the box. There are various types of protection but I have selected two products to take a look at and review. Since the iPad is a relatively new product, the amount...
Jumat, 09 Juli 2010
Common Ipad damage
The Apple iPad is all the rage now in the tech community, with millions of units having been ordered in the last few months. And that means that inevitably some of these tablet computers will suffer from accidental damages and breakages. So are there options for iPad repair, or does it mean that you have to just purchase a new on to replace the one you broke?Fortunately, there are already...
Minggu, 13 Juni 2010
Ipad LCD replacement
Many Ipad users know the feeling - the second the handset slips away within the hand, the heart skips a beat, the hands try clumsily to catch it, and nearly in slow motion, the eyes watch in horror as the Ipad bounces a couple of times on the floor. Face up is lucky, face down, not so much, and as soon as picking the phone up of off the ground reveals a crack within the face, everybody starts...
Selasa, 08 Juni 2010
Ipad repair service
Ipad repair services were developed to help you repair your ipad as soon as it breaks or malfunctions. Not getting to pay the price of the brand new unit is really a life saver for some and allows you to maintain your existing unit in pristine condition. In case you compare the price of repairing your existing unit against the price of buying a brand new one, you will discover that you just...
Minggu, 04 April 2010
3 tip to save Ipad battery life
3 tip to save Ipad battery lifeThe Apple Ipad has a built-in lithium-ion polymer battery; 25 W·h capable of 10 hours of video play or 140 hours of music or the impressive 1-month standby.The iPad uses a lithium-ion polymer battery that loses capacity over time. The battery is not designed to be user-replaceable. Apple will replace an iPad that does not hold an electrical charge for a fee of...
Jumat, 02 April 2010
Apple Ipad preview
Tomorrow is the big day. We are now just a day away from the public release of the Apple iPadIf you are in the US, you will get the first opportunity to buy an iPad. The rest of the world will have to wait some weeks.But what is an Ipad?The iPad is a tablet computer developed by Apple Inc. Announced on January 27, 2010, it is positioned in a category between a smartphone and a laptop...
