I sat down a few weeks ago to meet with a couple of teachers to discuss ways to use the iPad in the senior years classroom setting. After we had discussed a variety of applications for both the iPad and a couple of web 2.0 tools, the discussion turned to connecting to classrooms in other countries. The classroom teachers I had met with have been working on sustainable development goals, fundraising for distant communities in need and making cross cultural-connections with those communities through letter writing. Part of what they were interested in doing was using the iPad to make video contact with individuals living in the communities with which they had already made connections.
I stumbled across this blog post about Mystery Skype-ing that reminded me of this conversation. Apparently, a whole host of classrooms in the United States are using Skype, a free video conferencing web and iPad application, to connect with each other. There are wikispaces that you can visit and sign up to make connections with other classrooms. You set a date and time, keeping in mind time zones, and call each other using Skype. The particular blog post I read laid out some 'how to' guidelines for new teachers and suggested that each student be assigned a role in the digital conversation to provide opportunities for class-wide participation. If you are interested in participating in a Mystery Skype with your classroom, it might be worthwhile to check out this blog post and follow the links to sign up. If you've tried something like this with your classroom- share by commenting on this post. It would be great to hear from an ISD rep. who has been through this experience with their students!
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Sunday, 9 December 2012
Tar Heel Readers
If you are struggling to find appropriate reading materials for students who are struggling with reading, searching a site called Tar Heel Readers may be the key to engaging these students. This site was created collaboratively with over 25, 000 readers with pictures and text that is read-aloud to the viewer. Search and find a variety of materials appropriate for students unable to access the texts outlined in the senior years curriculum. See www.tarheelreaders.org
For a quick and easy guide to using the Tar Heel Readers website, please see Caroline Musselwhite's guide here. She has some amazing Tips of the Month and this one happened to be featured last April.
For a quick and easy guide to using the Tar Heel Readers website, please see Caroline Musselwhite's guide here. She has some amazing Tips of the Month and this one happened to be featured last April.
Apps for the Upper Grades
In my journey as TILT this year, I've worked with plenty of early years teachers to show some iPad apps and online tools that can be used with students in the classroom. I've worked with just a few teachers at the senior years level and thought it would be worthwhile to build up a list of resources that students and teachers at the high school level could use in the classroom.
I'm going to start off with a bang. I wish that this application had been available when I'd gone through high school and university. APA and MLA referencing could have been the death of me.
There is an app for that- EasyBib. This app can be downloaded onto a smartphone and used to automatically create APA, MLA, and Chicago style citations for a works cited page or reference list. You simply download the app, scan a ISBN barcode, found on the back of the book, select the type of reference list you are creating and ~voila~ you have your reference created.
Infogr.am is a cloud-based web tool that can be used to generate charts and infographics based on data a student, or you as a teacher, has entered.
TED talks is a great website for pulling together speeches delivered by various experts and prominent figures from organizations throughout the world. The talks, recorded live, are delivered on subject such as human rights, environmentalism, social trends, economics... the list goes on.
iBrainstorm is a collaborative brainstorming software that can connect to multiple devices and present material on a projector instantaneously.
Teaching or learning about the solar system? The Solar walk app is an amazing 3D journey through our solar system, including information about all the planets. Information is represented in written articles and movies about topics including solar eclipses, the earth cycles, and zodiacal constellations.
Historypin is a great iPhone app (compatible with iPads) that contains maps and pictures about areas of historical interest. Information is posted to the Historypin website. In perusing this app, I discovered that it is a collaborative source of historical pictures and information. Places in the Interlake such as Argyle and Teulon had contributors add information to the app- considering the vast historical collections in Stonewall, it would be a great project for a local heritage committee to submit information and pictures to this online resource.
TimeLine Eons is another iPad app in the field of history. It lists important events on a historical timeline with photos to illustrate the time period. It allows you to search a time period for particular events as early as the big bang all the way up to the projected future of our universe.
Mindmeister is another great visual mapping tool that allows the student to create a mind map and attach notes to subtopics. Here is a great mind map that I found with regards to the very subject I'm blogging about. You can see it here.
Here are just a few great tools that I hope you can use in your classroom!
I'm going to start off with a bang. I wish that this application had been available when I'd gone through high school and university. APA and MLA referencing could have been the death of me.
There is an app for that- EasyBib. This app can be downloaded onto a smartphone and used to automatically create APA, MLA, and Chicago style citations for a works cited page or reference list. You simply download the app, scan a ISBN barcode, found on the back of the book, select the type of reference list you are creating and ~voila~ you have your reference created.
Infogr.am is a cloud-based web tool that can be used to generate charts and infographics based on data a student, or you as a teacher, has entered.
TED talks is a great website for pulling together speeches delivered by various experts and prominent figures from organizations throughout the world. The talks, recorded live, are delivered on subject such as human rights, environmentalism, social trends, economics... the list goes on.
iBrainstorm is a collaborative brainstorming software that can connect to multiple devices and present material on a projector instantaneously.
Teaching or learning about the solar system? The Solar walk app is an amazing 3D journey through our solar system, including information about all the planets. Information is represented in written articles and movies about topics including solar eclipses, the earth cycles, and zodiacal constellations.
Historypin is a great iPhone app (compatible with iPads) that contains maps and pictures about areas of historical interest. Information is posted to the Historypin website. In perusing this app, I discovered that it is a collaborative source of historical pictures and information. Places in the Interlake such as Argyle and Teulon had contributors add information to the app- considering the vast historical collections in Stonewall, it would be a great project for a local heritage committee to submit information and pictures to this online resource.
TimeLine Eons is another iPad app in the field of history. It lists important events on a historical timeline with photos to illustrate the time period. It allows you to search a time period for particular events as early as the big bang all the way up to the projected future of our universe.
Mindmeister is another great visual mapping tool that allows the student to create a mind map and attach notes to subtopics. Here is a great mind map that I found with regards to the very subject I'm blogging about. You can see it here.
Here are just a few great tools that I hope you can use in your classroom!
Monday, 26 November 2012
Assessment for Learning- Using Tech Tools
On Friday, November 23, I participated in a session with Kathleen Gregory, an educational consultant with the B.C. Ministry of Education on assessment for learning. I was asked by our head of Program Support to attend the session to consider some ways that we can assess student learning using technological applications. I thoroughly enjoyed the session, as Kathleen had some great practical suggestions for assessing student learning in order to best meet student needs by tweaking our instructional practice. As I listened to Ms. Gregory, there were several ideas that popped into my head, which I'll share with you here:
Portfolios
Many teachers use portfolios to showcase student work and to have students self-assess their progress. Kathleen suggested including pictures of students completing projects along with the caption, "There is more to this picture than you can see. We'd like you to know that..." The students would then self-reflect on their learning during the project and write a reflection based on their thoughts. Immediately, I thought of an online/iPad app that I just discovered called Foto Babble. Sign up for a free account online at www.fotobabble.com. Students can take a picture while they are working on a collaborative or individual project, upload them to their online account, and then record an audio take on the learning that has occurred during the course of their work. Photos can then be shared with parents.
Goal Setting
In her presentation, Kathleen also discussed goal-setting as a way of having students assess their own progress and take ownership for their learning. She presented the idea of having students take an envelope with a goal, individual to the student, written on the outside. The students would collect work samples or reflective writings and place them inside the envelope as documentation of their progress toward meeting their own goals. Every once in a while, teachers call students aside for conferences to review what has been placed inside the envelopes. I started thinking that the online and iPad application called Evernote would be an excellent electronic tool for having students self-assess. The students could create a notebook, title it with the goal they have in mind, and as they progress, create individual notes to be placed inside the notebook. Students can take photos of the physical work they've created as they progress through a concept and attach an audio recording of what they have done to work towards that goal. Everything would be securely stored in their notebooks, allowing the student to work on several goals at once and organize their information in the appropriate notebooks.
Increased Student Participation
Teachers easily assess student understanding through oral discussion and participation in class, but for those students who don't readily offer their suggestions and input in class, there may be an app for that! Poll Everywhere and Go SoapBox are two online applications that teachers can use to increase student progress and get immediate feedback on concepts that may be confusing students. These online applications would be great in a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) setting. Teachers can set up an account, pose questions, create quizzes, and solicit immediate feedback on student understanding. Students would use their smart phones or iPads to ask questions and respond to teacher-posed inquiries. Amazing engagement possibilities. Go SoapBox even offers security features that exclude profanity from responses.
Mind Maps
One of my favourite ideas that Kathleen presented had to do with mind maps. She suggested using mindmaps as a sort of KWL. At the start of the unit, the student would create a mindmap of what they know about a particular topic. As they progress through a unit, they can add subtopics and information onto the mindmap, changing the colour to reflect the new information and ideas that the student has learned in class. Using an application like Prezi or Popplet would be a create way of webbing student learning.
Self-Assessment
Another interesting self-assessment suggestion that Kathleen offered was the idea of having students video record themselves while presenting and then afterwards, completing a self-assessment checklist to determine whether or not they have met the criteria outlined at the start of creating the presentation. Kathleen stressed throughout her presentation that student-generated criteria is definitely a way to involve students in the assessment process, so determining what the criterion are for a good oral book report before the students present would be ideal. She suggested using a Flip Camera to record presentations, but the iPad video camera could also be used.
These are a few ways to help students assess their own learning. I'll add more in another post!
Portfolios
Many teachers use portfolios to showcase student work and to have students self-assess their progress. Kathleen suggested including pictures of students completing projects along with the caption, "There is more to this picture than you can see. We'd like you to know that..." The students would then self-reflect on their learning during the project and write a reflection based on their thoughts. Immediately, I thought of an online/iPad app that I just discovered called Foto Babble. Sign up for a free account online at www.fotobabble.com. Students can take a picture while they are working on a collaborative or individual project, upload them to their online account, and then record an audio take on the learning that has occurred during the course of their work. Photos can then be shared with parents.
Goal Setting
In her presentation, Kathleen also discussed goal-setting as a way of having students assess their own progress and take ownership for their learning. She presented the idea of having students take an envelope with a goal, individual to the student, written on the outside. The students would collect work samples or reflective writings and place them inside the envelope as documentation of their progress toward meeting their own goals. Every once in a while, teachers call students aside for conferences to review what has been placed inside the envelopes. I started thinking that the online and iPad application called Evernote would be an excellent electronic tool for having students self-assess. The students could create a notebook, title it with the goal they have in mind, and as they progress, create individual notes to be placed inside the notebook. Students can take photos of the physical work they've created as they progress through a concept and attach an audio recording of what they have done to work towards that goal. Everything would be securely stored in their notebooks, allowing the student to work on several goals at once and organize their information in the appropriate notebooks.
Increased Student Participation
Teachers easily assess student understanding through oral discussion and participation in class, but for those students who don't readily offer their suggestions and input in class, there may be an app for that! Poll Everywhere and Go SoapBox are two online applications that teachers can use to increase student progress and get immediate feedback on concepts that may be confusing students. These online applications would be great in a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) setting. Teachers can set up an account, pose questions, create quizzes, and solicit immediate feedback on student understanding. Students would use their smart phones or iPads to ask questions and respond to teacher-posed inquiries. Amazing engagement possibilities. Go SoapBox even offers security features that exclude profanity from responses.
Mind Maps
One of my favourite ideas that Kathleen presented had to do with mind maps. She suggested using mindmaps as a sort of KWL. At the start of the unit, the student would create a mindmap of what they know about a particular topic. As they progress through a unit, they can add subtopics and information onto the mindmap, changing the colour to reflect the new information and ideas that the student has learned in class. Using an application like Prezi or Popplet would be a create way of webbing student learning.
Self-Assessment
Another interesting self-assessment suggestion that Kathleen offered was the idea of having students video record themselves while presenting and then afterwards, completing a self-assessment checklist to determine whether or not they have met the criteria outlined at the start of creating the presentation. Kathleen stressed throughout her presentation that student-generated criteria is definitely a way to involve students in the assessment process, so determining what the criterion are for a good oral book report before the students present would be ideal. She suggested using a Flip Camera to record presentations, but the iPad video camera could also be used.
These are a few ways to help students assess their own learning. I'll add more in another post!
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
What's next?
I'm putting this out there for all my ISD colleagues. What kinds of resources would you like me to review in the next few weeks? I have plenty of topics that I'd like to discuss, but I want to hit the targets that you have in mind. Let me know what kinds of apps you'd like me to review or describe a need you or a student you are working with has that can be met with a technological application. You can post a comment by clicking the 'no comment' link (ironic) and typing in a request.
Monday, 19 November 2012
Free Apps
There are a few different ways of building up a great app library on your iOS device at low-to-no cost. I have an app called Apps Gone Free on my iPad and iPhone which sends me a daily notification usually about mid-day, about a list of apps that have gone free for one day or just a limited amount of time. It is great for finding interactive pop-up books, normally priced at $4.99, for free, and there are also a great variety of educational or productivity apps that appear for free as well. Apps Gone Free is a free app available in the app store.
Visiting websites like http://www.appymall.com/DailyAppDeals will also allow you to search for apps at a reduced, sale price. Search these places first before making a purchase!
Thursday, 15 November 2012
Is this app the one?
When I started this position, I wondered how I could wade through the plethora of apps to find the right one to meet a particular student's need. I feel pretty confident that I can choose an application that will assist a student complete a particular task in their school day, but it is often helpful to consult a rubric or other evaluative tool to determine if an app is the right choice. I've found a great blog by Sylvia Rosenthal Tolisano (who might become my technology guru) that has taken a renowned rubric created by Harry Walker, and adapted it into a visually appealing resource for teachers to use to evaluate the flexibility, usefulness, and overall quality of an app. This could be a good one for administrators and teachers looking to move from the traditional computer lab toward the mobile iPad lab.
http://langwitches.org/blog/?s=app+evaluation
Update: I have recently found a really great alternative to Sylvia Rosenthal Tolisano's checklist which can be found here. Kathy Schrock has an excellent website that has some great suggestions on how to use technology in the classroom. You can peruse the wonderful content on her website at http://www.schrockguide.net/index.html.
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