Get your copy of the Book Creator Teacher Guide Adam Foster, the teacher behind @iPadTeachers, has written an excellent guide to Book Creator. The book contains 47 pages of lesson ideas for using Book Creator for iPad, divided into 8 subject categories. Dan Amos, founder of Book Creator, said: “We are delighted that someone of Adam’s experience and knowledge of Book Creator has published a guide like this – it should prove an invaluable resource for teachers across the world”. Adam Foster is an experienced Primary School Teacher who teaches across Key Stage 1 and 2, as well as co-ordinating ICT at a Preparatory School in Wolverhampton, UK. Adam provides iPad teacher training through iLearn2 and is also the brains behind the popular Teacher Guide to iPad app. Adam recently posted a case study on our blog about how to use non-linear text to ‘gamify’ your books. “Book Creator has been the most used app in our school since we got our first iPads in 2011. Get your copy of the Book Creator Teacher Guide >> Download from the iBooks Store
Using Showbie with the SAMR Model What is SAMR? Developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, SAMR is a model that supports and enables teachers to design, develop, and infuse digital learning experiences into their lessons. SAMR and iPad Since I began using iPads in my teaching 4 years ago, choosing the right tools for a lesson becomes even more important. At present, on our Key Stage 2 iPads we have 8 educational apps. SAMR and Showbie The link between many of the apps we use in school is Showbie because it is used to distribute resources, collaborate and assess the work produced. Substitution The first use that most teachers have for Showbie is very simply to share resources with students via their iPads and to assess the work that is produced on them. An example of this would include annotating images within Showbie. Augmentation Now we move into enhancing lessons further with technology where the technology improves the task enough to make the inclusion of it worth while. Modification Redefinition
Study: Video Games Improve Learning, Pattern Recognition A new study suggests that playing action video games can improve learning capabilities in general — not only those pertaining to skills learned in the game. The study, Action Video Game Play Facilitates the Development of Better Perceptual Templates, discovered that people who play video games like Call of Duty were better at multi-tasking, performing cognitive tasks, and focusing and retaining information than those who did not play such games. In addition, players typically have better vision. “Prior research by our group and others has shown that action gamers excel at many tasks. Bavelier said it comes down to our brain’s ability to decide what will come next, whether it be while driving a car, taking part in a conversation, or at work. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, compared action video game players’ visual performance to that of non-game players using a pattern discrimination task.
Finding free image resources without violating copyright | Skaffl When I was a new teacher I often had students create projects that included images where they did not cite the source or where the source of the image was “Google”. Most students innocently thought that if an image was online, and they could right click (or touch and hold on an iPad) to save, it that it was their right to do so and to use it in any way they pleased. Most were shocked to find that even if they did cite the source it was possible that they were in violation of copyright laws anyway. As teachers it’s important that we educate our students about copyright and making sure that they have permission to use the images in their projects. While it is true that many times students and teachers are protected from copyright infringement claims based on the “fair use” doctrine for materials used in school, it’s a complicated law and the easiest way to make sure that you are on the right side of the law is to get permission to use an image.
Apple's Macs rack up more than 1/4 of back-to-school PC sales in 2014 By AppleInsider Staff The Mac's share of the lucrative back-to-school shopping season continued its upward trajectory this year, as data released on Wednesday indicates that some 26.8 percent of the personal computers sold in the U.S. between Independence Day and Labor Day bore Apple's logo. Mac sales were up 14 percent year-over-year, compared to a 3 percent decline for Windows-based computers. Apple's MacBook line was particularly strong, according to market research firm NPD, up 16 percent over the year-ago period. Google's Chrome OS also pushed ahead, adding 1.2 percentage points to finish with 4.5 percent of the market, a 32 percent year-over-year increase for the nascent web-centric platform. Much of the non-Apple volume consisted of ultra-low-cost machines, the data suggests. Apple does not compete in the ultra-low-cost segment, making its ability to gobble up share even more impressive. Still, there are options for consumers looking for more affordable Macs.
Hold the iPhone: What you can do with IOS 8 in Education | Taking your Classroom to the Next Level Next week, Apple will release IOS 8 their later operating system for devices such as iPhone 4s and up and iPad 2 and above. While this doesn’t mean an automatic appearance of Siri or Airdrop on your devices, this will greatly change the way you use IOS devices in the classroom. Here are a few ways it will change the way you teach this fall. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. While there are plenty more features to talk about in IOS 8 this is just a sample of what you can do now with IOS 8 starting next week. Like this: Like Loading...
Measuring Students’ Self-Control: A ‘Marshmallow Test’ for the Digital Age Credit: Dana Nelson The “marshmallow test” invented by Stanford psychologist Walter Mischel and colleagues in the 1960s is famously known as a measure of willpower. The experiment gave preschoolers the option of either eating one mini-marshmallow right away or waiting 15 minutes to get two mini-marshmallows. Decades later, those who were better at delaying gratification, and resisted immediately snarfing the treat, ended up with stronger SAT scores, higher educational achievement and greater self-esteem and capacity to cope with stress in adulthood. Now other psychology researchers have come up with a test that challenges the willpower of schoolkids to resist the brain-candy of today’s digital distractions — the YouTube videos, Instagram and mobile gaming apps like Angry Birds. Officially known as the “academic diligence task,” the new computer-based test offers students a choice between doing math or watching videos or playing a video game. Road-Testing the Test Staying on Task
MakeBlock Constructor I – The 400-Piece DIY 3D Printer Kit The do-it-yourself (DIY) movement, has many intersections with that of the 3D printing space. A large portion of those who own desktop 3D printers are obviously interested in DIY projects. After all, when you 3D print anything, you are involved in some sort of DIY project, whether you realize it or not. Makeblock, based in Shenzhen, China is a ten person team which caters to the DIY community by offering a vast array of mechanical parts and electronic modules to help turn ideas into successful projects. MakeBlock Constructor I 3D Printer Once Assembled Recently, however, the company has entered the 3D printing space, with the launch of a DIY kit for their Makeblock Constructor I 3D Printer. The actual printer, once assembled, is quite a powerful machine, featuring an anodized aluminum frame, and decent print resolutions. Printer Size: 324mm X 312mm X400mm For those interested in taking on this project, the entire kit can be pre-ordered right away for $699.99.
The current and future trends in Educational Technology I was recently asked to write a guest blog post for a company in New Zealand about Educational Technology trends - here is what I came up with: My name is Craig Kemp. I am a globally connected and enthusiastic tech driven educator from New Zealand. I am a twitter addict and passionate about showcasing student voice to improve learning. The future of Edtech is always an exciting one. Current trends in educational technology include: - BYOD - Bring Your Own Device, is now commonplace in many schools. - Social Media as a Teaching and Learning tool - Both for staff and students - the world is literally at our fingertips - why not utilise it to connect and collaborate. - iPads / tablets - the notion of portable devices that support learning anywhere at any time continues to be a trend and continues to be highly successful in all educational learning environments. - The Flipped Classroom - the pedagogical model where a typical classroom session is reversed.
Trust, Equity, and Student-Centered Learning With Fourth-Graders Tom Woodward/Flickr School administrators are looking to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies as a way to bring technology resources in the community to bear in the classroom when there is little funding for classroom devices. We will examine how three different teachers in three completely different communities — urban, rural, and immigrant — are dealing with BYOD issues, including trust, equity, and what happens when teachers try to put student-centered learning in the hands of students who’ve never experienced it. The advantage of BYOD has always been flexibility — educators don’t have to wait until a school board approves funds for mobile technology, rolls out a policy and implements a training program. School districts that can afford it are opting to issue school-owned devices to students that stay at school. This article focuses on a fourth grade teacher’s use of BYOD to give her students the freedom to work at their own pace, with her guidance. Related
Mac Setup: The Mac Mini Workstation of a Music Composer | OSXDaily It’s time for another featured Mac setup! This week we’re sharing the workstation of James C., a professional music composer who uses a Mac Mini with an iPad to produce tracks and music scores for everything from commercials to video games. Let’s learn a bit more: Tell us a bit about what you do, and why did you go with this particular Mac setup? I am a composer of library music, and the owner of Fuzzy Beard Productions. For me to have the Mac Pro would cost quite a lot of cash, so I decided to go with a Mac Mini instead. I use my Mac setup most days, using the iPad for other more simple tasks such as web browsing or online shopping. What hardware is included in your Mac setup? My setup hardware is as follows: What apps do you use most often? The software I constantly use consists of the following: Dropbox and OneDrive are my primary backup resources for my Logic templates and saved projects, with the external hard drive also being setup as my Time Machine backup.
What on earth is blended learning? Learning Published on July 24th, 2014 | by Mark Anderson 5inShare I was asked recently, ‘what on earth is blended learning’? So I thought I’d jot down my thoughts with some linked references. Blended learning is when learning takes place in a number of different ways, normally with a mix of face to face interaction between teacher and student and elements which the student undertakes independently, usually through electronic means. access the modules of work in electronic document formatreceive formative feedback on assessment through digital meanshave opportunities to learn from each other collaborativelycan submit summative assessments electronically There are numerous ways in which the learner can participate in a blended learning environment. This post will go through some of the ways in which you can do this and whilst clearly not exhaustive, these ideas may help to give ideas for other ways you can develop blended learning in to your curriculum. Accessing modules of work electronically
Managing iPad Videos in Schools- Visual Guide for Teachers July 24, 2014 "Managing iPad YouTube in Schools" is a visual guide created by iPadWells from iPad4Schools. In this guide iPadWells walks teachers through the process they use in their school to create, share and teach using videos. YouTube is the principal video hosting used in this guide. That being said, it does not mean that the guide is not relevant for your teaching situation even if YuTube is banned in your school. You can still benefit from the tips and ideas provided by iPadWells on how to create enhanced videos using a wide variety of apps and share them with students who can access them at home. The major apps used in this guide are: YouTube, iMovie, Camera, Explain Everything, Photos, and Google Plus.
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