One of the things I find challenging is the inability of the iPad to support multiple open softwares (like my laptop). Try using Side by Side. This allows you to split the screen up to four windows at a time. Read, research, download files and take notes can be integrated into a session. This app…
Category: Software and Tools
Linking Computer to iPads – Screenshare
No doubt you’ve run into many screensharing apps that connect a teacher computer to iPads. Join.me is a free screen sharing meeting site that is simple to facilitate. This can be used to enhance a lesson by sharing the teacher’s computer screen with student ipads [imagine the possibility of a student with visual challenges being…
App Support in Reading
Apps come and apps go. All of them serve a purpose. It is the teacher who makes “magic” happen through the lesson experiences. Our iDevices Blog is where you will see an ongoing vetted list of apps. (Click Apps Collection list) Please add to the list if you run across an app that you love. Here’s one you may…
Apps for Music or Other Ways to Enter Learning
These are some of the vetted apps that people have found useful. Please add to the list if you run across an app that you love. iPad Music Education Apps
Creating Your Story
Creating your story takes on many layers. Our lives rarely unfold in a linear fashion. There are twists and turns that make the journey interesting. Over the years, story has become more and more important to me and finding ways to capture them in their vibrancy is a never ending challenge. I came across a…
Power of the Many – Writers Writing
Thinking extends to greater possibilities when we’re together supporting and learning from each other. Our second session of dynamic writers took us through a series of activities to explore ideas of “writing, what it means to write in the digital age, identified the principles of writing workshop, … We had a bit of time to…
Adding Alternative Modes to Blogs – Connecting to Audience
Sometimes writing just text won’t do and you want to add some spice to get your point across. Or you’re thinking of how you might communicate more clearly to your audience. Like oral conversations, a variety of examples may be helpful to clarify thinking. One simple way is to use video and embed content…
The Writing Workshop Series – (Session #1)
Here we go – another exciting ride through the intricacies of Writers Workshop. And you knew this was coming – with a twist. As we navigate the environment of web2, we come to understand just how complex the writing process has become. I like to think of this as opportunities to offer more “choice…
Sharing Books…Modeling Strategies…
Sometimes locating just the right book to share or use as a piece of mentor text appears impossible to find. Or have you ever wanted to expand opportunities for your students to read at home? We now have access to TumbleBooks and TumbleBookCloud. [See links under District Links.] These online resources provide a fabulous array of e-texts…
So You Have All these Apps – Now What
The proliferation of ipad apps can be equally exciting and overwhelming. For the second time I’ve had an opportunity to share an “introduction to active ipad experiences” session in schools. The goal was to provide staff with collaborative fun, hands-on experience with a large number of apps that might support a variety of content curricular…
Learning, Learning Everywhere – Part 2
This is Part 2 of the learning opportunities throughout the year with more details in the Staff Development Calendar. Tech Snacks: This series of learning opportunities are offered as little snacks of possibilities. Come spend a bit of time (30 minutes each) to see and explore a variety of tools, objects, projects and ideas that…
Welcome back September
Welcome back September. And what a spectacular summer it has been – Olympics energy, warm sunny weather, family and friends laughter. Though it’s always great to get away and get recharged, I look forward to the start of each new year. A new year to test out some crazy ideas (yes I’ve read and reread…
Research and the Power of Google Docs
If you dropped by recently, you’ll notice that we’ve been using Google Docs (Google Apps for Education) to enhance the writing process. (For more, select the category – Literacy – Writing Process.) And we’ve had amazing results. Now Google Docs has “upped the bar” and added an integrated research feature. HOW IT WORKS In Docs, let’s say you wrote your beginning…
Celebrating Writers and Learners
Our final learning session of Writers Workshop using Google Docs turned out better than I could have ever imagined. We have such a wonderful group of imaginative and fearless educators! Here’s how the session unfolded. We started with a video from Ted that I discovered on spoken word poetry by Sarah Kay. This spoke to me about how important it is to offer…
“Nudging” Writers with Google Docs
There are times when I have to pinch myself to make sure it’s really happening. Two instances brought the power of writing using Google Docs “front and center”. Watching it unfold was thrilling to say the least. One instance was with a teacher in our workshop series – we’ve been working on using commenting as a way…
First Ever iPad Party
Get a group of administrators, teachers and district staff together – add food and boxes and more boxes of brand new iPads. What do you have? Excitement, anticipation, a bit of wonder, “eyes wide open”, tons of chatter and buzz… Last week, we spent the afternoon with a set of goals: introduce the iPad,…
Writers Workshop – Each Step in the Process
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” I was reminded of this quote as we worked through our recent session on ‘Writers Workshop‘. Not only the global concepts of ‘writers workshop’ (lots of time to write and explore, choice and voice, conferring during and not after the fact…) but what this…
Exploring “Free” Solutions for Managing Videos
Okay, I was quite excited to use the Canon Vixia HV30 HDV the other day to tape the “Janet Series” because it creates quality video in HD and it picks up voice(s) extremely well without having to rely on a mobile mic. Kidding aside, we are trying to splice together an instructional series on Lit Circles for…
Giving Voice to Your Story – Use an Online Tool
Capture that story (whether at school or home) with just a mic and a simple online recorder. Vocaroo (http://vocaroo.com) is a simple online audio tool just made for that purpose! Use it for audio recordings of class news, radio shows, as student assessments for oral readings or to increase skills in reading. You may even…
Play an .mp3 in your Blog
Would you like to use audio recordings to provide instruction in your class or have students use it to demonstrate their learning? Well now there is a plugin for that! You can upload your audio recording in .mp3 format to your blog and insert it directly into a post or page. You upload your audio…