Remind app

Do you need an easy way to send out mass emails or text messages as reminders for students?  From the creators of what was formerly known as Remind 101 (the web app), the Remind app allows you to create an account within a few minutes and set up contact lists quickly and easily.  You are able to hide the personal contact email addresses, protecting the privacy of student information.  It is available for free on iTunes.  Check out BridgingApps' review on the app for further information.

Assistive Writing with Proloquo2Go and Pictello

In my search for a symbol supported writing option, I came across a wonderful written tutorial on how to pair Proloquo2Go with Pictello for writing purposes.  If you have a student at the beginning stages of written composition, you might consider having the student compose sentences using Proloquo2Go and copying them over to Pictello, in Wizard Mode.  SET-BC has a step-by-step set of instructions to create a digital book using Proloquo2Go and then transferring it over to Pictello. You can find the instructions here.

Using Dropbox to Share Backups of Proloquo2Go

I have created a document that will provide some information about how to send backups of Proloquo2Go from one device to another.  All that is needed is a free Dropbox account and a saved backup of Proloquo2Go.  Here is a link to an info sheet, or if you are a visual learner, here is a link to a great video by AssistiveWare, the developers of Proloquo2go.

Big Mac Math

Looking for something to spice up your math lesson plan?  Mathlicious.com has some interesting, real-world math activities that could easily be integrated into a variety of curricular areas.  If you are teaching a Foods and Nutrition class, you might want to take a look at this math lesson that has students determine how long it would take celebrities in differing weight categories to burn off items like a McDonald's Big Mac, while performing different physical activities.  All the lessons I perused dealt with topics that would apply to teens, texting while driving, relationships, movies, sports statistics, all while pulling in a variety of math concepts.

Quick Tips for Managing Student iPads in the Classroom

If you have ever hesitated to use iPads in the classroom because you have feared that it would become a classroom management nightmare, then I have a few hints and tricks to enable you to manage and control the content that students are accessing in the classroom.  

NearPod- this free app allows the teacher to control the content that appears on student devices.  Teachers sign up for a free account, create presentations using a variety of content from the web, and have students sign into a student account and enter a PIN to view the teachers created presentation.  There is a video preview of this app available here. 

Guided Access- In the Apple iOS software, the option to lock a student into an app is as easy as activating guided access.  Go into Settings>General>Accessibility and under Learning, turn on Guided Access.  You will be prompted to enter a passcode, which you should keep to yourself.  When you would like to have students work in one specific app for a particular amount of time, triple click the home screen button and select START at the top right hand side of the window that appears.  You will see a notification that Guided Access has been enabled.  Students will not be able to exit the application, unless they have the passcode. You can end Guided Access by triple clicking the home screen button and selecting END.  

Air Drop- With an iPad 4, a WIFI connection, and the latest edition of the iOS7 software, you can push content such as photos or webpages to students.  To activate AirDrop, swipe from the bottom of your device's screen until the control panel appears.  Here, you can tap on AirDrop, select the people to whom you would like to be discoverable, and then decide what you would like to share with students.  In apps that you see the option to share, you can then determine the people you would like to push the content out to based on the name of the device.  This could include photos in your photo app, webpages you have searched out in Safari, or other apps that have the following logo:

Apps to Explore the Human Body

Learning all the different body parts and the functions of the human body systems is essential knowledge for all students.  As our Manitoba Curriculum covers aspects of the human body in both Science, Phys. Ed. and Health courses, presenting this content in a visual and interactive way makes it more engaging for students.   Here are a few of my favourite human anatomy apps:

My Incredible Body (Free for today! Regularly $2.99)
Allows the user to view 3D perspectives of the different human body systems.  It is free today in the app store, down from $2.99.

Human Body by Tiny Bop ($2.99)
Allows students to interact with the human body systems.  You can layer the muscular system over the digestive system and view respiration in action as the diaphragm pushes air out of the lungs.  This could be used as a student station in science as it actually allows the teacher to audio record content about the different parts of the body for students to play while exploring the different systems. This one has appeared in Apps Gone Free, but is regularly priced at $2.99.

Build-A-Body by Sponge Labs (Free)
This app allows the user to build 6 different human body systems.  It will not allow the student to add organs in the incorrect spot or order, the systems need to be build anatomically correct in order to move onto the next system.  This app is available for free in the App store.

Powers of Minus Ten- Bone (Free)
Available for free in the App store, the Powers of Minus Ten- Bone app allows the user to view normal and broken bones in the hand, and slide along an arrow to view the healing process.  You can zoom in and out to see the bone magnified down to the cytoplasm contained within the bone.

Apps for Student Collaboration

It often happens that while I am searching for apps to suit a particular need, I encounter a new app that does something more exciting and engaging than the one for which I am searching.  Can you tell I love tech? Such was my experience this morning.  There are countless blogs that have wonderful suggestions on how to create a workflow, having students use a series of apps to create a product or complete a learning outcome. This morning, I found a few apps that could be used to have students collaborate on a project.

I've previously posted about using Google docs for student collaboration.  I feel like this is still the best way to collaborate on a document in real-time.  If you are looking for a way to work together on a presentation, adding pictures, text, links to video content, annotations, and files, all while having the capability of video chatting, adding comments, and sharing your screen with others, then Real Time Board is the tool for you. There are many similarities to the way that Prezi operates, but the collaborative aspect adds another dimension to this tool.  You can invite others by email, Google+, and Facebook to view and collaborate on your board.  You also have the capability of saving your board as an image or PDF, or embedding your link on a blog.  This could be a powerful tool to have students collaboratively produce presentations and share and save in amazing ways!  I've shared a quick board that I had created when I first signed up for the account.  You can view a basic example I created on the human heart and circulatory system here.

I came across an app that I think would do some of the same things as Real Time Board called SyncShare. SyncShare shares drawings between participants that are invited via email, Twitter, or iMessage.  This app allows two iPad users to collaborate on a drawing or annotate on a photograph.  I thought that the free app was the only version available, but I soon discovered that the paid version allows the student to share drawings without limits.  You could take screenshots of content from the web on which you would like to annotate or include as part of the drawing.  The only disadvantage is the $10 price tag.  The Aww app is a scaled down web-version similar to SyncShare, which can be used, for free, quickly between users.

Subtext is another app that I would like to mention, although it appears that we do not currently have access to the app in Canada.  What is superb about Subtext is that you can load PDFs, articles, and eBooks and highlight sections within the text to have students engage in a discussion. There are too many features to mention, but I was presented with this app at a conference in the States and it has incredible potential for use in the classrooms.  Bring it our way, app developer!

Educators and students alike have the potential to extend education beyond the classroom walls, making learning a continuous, collaborative, and engaging process.

Dictation using Siri on the iPad 2

Although there are a couple of options for students to be able to create and store notes, I've tried to explore the most cost effective way of enabling students who have difficulty with written production to create and organize notes. Months ago, I discovered the Notability app, which allows you to create notebooks and within each notebook, store note pages.  At a reasonable cost of $1.99, this app has great functionality. You can add photos, audio recorded content, graphics, web links, and sticky notes.  I have now discovered that when you enable SIRI in your iPad settings, you can easily dictate the notes you would like to create into the notepage.  With SIRI activated, one can create highly customized notes with visual content to support the ideas covered in the classroom.

Here is an example of what can be created with the options in Notability.  I dictated the text from a book called,  A Buffet of Sensory Interventions: Solutions for Middle and High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Susan Culp, MS, OTR/L.  I added a photo, wrote on a sticky note, and added a link to a video on sensory integration.  The note was automatically dated and stored in the notebook of my choosing.  This is a great tool that has a multitude of options to allow students to easily gather and store information.

Dictation and Text-to-Speech with Google Chrome

I am always looking for ways to meld free technology applications together to produce great results.  The other day, I attended an IEP meeting for a student who required a dictation application, as written work production was a real challenge. Today, I tested out a couple of applications, loaded onto my Google Chrome browser, that would meet the above mentioned student's needs.  Google Chrome is fantastic as you can add apps and extensions to your browser which can make Internet searches, writing, and producing content a whole lot more accessible. The two applications that I loaded onto my browser from the Chrome Store are Speechlogger and SpeakIt! Speechlogger is a great, accessible dictation software that allows users to customize the dictation by adding a title, dictate using a USB microphone, and enter multiple entries that can be exported to a text file or emailed.  Using SpeakIt!, alongside this dictation software, gives the user the capability of highlighting their text and playing back what they have dictated.  An excellent tool for students who have access to a desktop or laptop computer with an inexpensive microphone.

Access YouTube

If you are a regular user of YouTube, you will already have come to the realization that it can be overwhelming to try and find videos for instructional purposes.  Unless you have a specific video in mind, it can be a challenging task to try and find what you are looking for, due in part to the layout of the website.  I recently read a blog post that had information on an accessible YouTube searching tool.  Check out http://accessyoutube.org.uk for an easy-to-navigate web tool.  The search bar is enlarged in size, search results are displayed in an organized array, and all of the same YouTube content is brought forth once the search terms have been entered.  Accessible buttons appear once you have selected a video, allowing users with low-vision or those requiring a more organized display to easily search and view videos.

Curriculum Focus Presentation

On Friday February 7, I was fortunate enough to present to a small, but enthusiastic group of colleagues on technology that could be used with senior years students.  Here is the presentation that I created for the session, which pulls pedagogical ideas about technology together with practical tech tools to transform teaching and learning.  I very much appreciated having the opportunity to sit down with other tech enthusiasts to hear about the tech tools that they use and love in their daily instructional practices.

Digital Notetaking

Notetaking is one of the most dreadful tasks that high school students can conjure up in their minds.  Never having learned or been taught how to take proper notes, it was a bit of a guessing game when I first starting having to record what my teachers presented in class, commencing around grade 7.  It was one of those things that you were expected to learn through osmosis, similar to how I recall learning how to read. There wasn't an explicit way I was taught- I seemed to pull those skills out of thin air.
Jennifer Hart and Allison Papke, doctoral candidates at the University of South Florida, presented some practical strategies that students can use to take a proper set of notes on the second day of the Florida Educational Technology Conference.  One of the first strategies presented in their Get Caught Passing Notes presentation, was using the Cornell Note-taking system, which has students structure their notes using a graphic organizer.  Check out this helpful video here, which clearly outlines the process.  As participants, we were given an article and asked to go through the process of summarizing the article using this outline.  I found it incredibly useful and wished I had heard of this technique years ago.  Jennifer and Alison suggested that this technique be presented to all students, taking the time to go through and model each step of the process.  You can copy and use the template that was shared with participants here.
What I enjoyed most about the session other than the above mentioned tool, was the fact that the presenters discussed tech tools I had never heard about.  One of them was Canva, which allows users to create a infographic using pictures and text.  It was pretty user-friendly and new to me.  An easy way to cite references is to use citelighter, which, if you are a regular user of Google Chrome, can also be added as an app to your browser.  Simply highlight text from an online article and the app will cite a reference in APA, MLA, or Chicago format.  Jennifer and Alison presented  few other amazing tech tools, including my favourite, Evernote. This comes in both a web based and app form.  If you haven't heard of any of these technology tools, then I would highly suggest checking out these great apps that can be used to assist students at the middle and senior years level.

Using Digital Assessment Tools in the Classroom

Yesterday morning, bright and early, I sat in on a great session delivered by Mike Meechin at FETC.  The two hour session was appropriately-paced and informative.  Meechin spoke about a variety of free online assessment tools that can be used to collect data on student understanding in an efficient and engaging way. He is proponent of quick and easy-to-use tech solutions to collect instant student data, feeding into the instructional practices of the educator.  Although I had downloaded the free Socrative app about a year ago, I've never really had the time to play around and learn the ins and outs of this application, available in both iDevice and online form.  What I like about this app, (other than the fact that it is free) is that classroom teachers can quickly set up tests and quizzes to give to students prior to lectures or as an exit slip after a lesson plan to determine student understanding quickly and without heavy marking.  The Socrative app allows teachers to set up an online 'classroom' which students can enter and complete teacher assigned tasks. This app provides students and teachers with instantaneous feedback about their understanding of facts related to the concept taught. Rather than handing students a paper quiz and collecting dozens of papers for marking, the teacher can quickly administer and collect the data needed to inform their teaching on the fly.
A similar tech tool that was presented during Meechin's session was the use of www.infuselearning.com (Also free!). Sign up for an account online and the app does all the things Socrative does, but allows educators to push out links which open up in a browser tab as soon as the student clicks on it.
One of my favourite suggestions from Meechin's presentation was the use of QR codes, a piece of technology that I've never used before, but have heard other educators rave about.  He had a couple of QR codes set up in his presentation slides.  When we scanned them using our smartphones, using a QR reader app, we had access to content that he had placed in each of the codes.  Meechin suggested using this tool to have students go through a gallery walk.  You could easily infuse this technology in lessons to have students complete think-pair-shares, responding to questions that you have placed up around your classroom.  

Nutrition and Living Sustainably

One of the most important life skills we can impart on our students is knowledge of good nutrition.  In the next couple of months, I plan to teach a unit on Healthy Lifestyles, incorporating mental wellness, proper nutrition, and exercise.  As always, I had a look for some great apps that could be used to review these important concepts.  I found the review in iTunes on Nicholas' Garden to be quite good.  It encompasses the 'farm to fork' values that are key to living sustainably.  Students can view healthy, kid-friendly recipes, create grocery lists, all while making healthy choices.  His recipe board is set up in a very visual manner, much like Pinterest.  You can check out the Nicholas' Garden website here.  The Apple app is free in iTunes. Another great app designed for both the iPhone and iPad is Awesome Eats. Reviews peg it as a kid-friendly and engaging way of exploring healthy foods in a game-like platform.  I plan to use both of these free apps in my unit and I hope that there are ways you can incorporate them into your teaching as well!

Music to my ears!

Including students with a variety of physical and cognitive challenges into a band or a music class can pose a challenge at times.  iPad technology and apps can be a great way to introduce the creation of music with students. Reg Swanson has compiled a great list of music apps that you may consider using with students. You can view the app icons and descriptions here.

Technology Applications and the Cognitive Process

I had the opportunity to present to admin council last spring about educator use of technology.  I had recently come across the work of Ruben R. Puentedura, who has examined how we can stack the use of technology onto Bloom's taxonomy of learning.  I felt that particular opportunity was a good time to look at how technology can be used or infused in the classroom, while projecting Puentedura's SAMR model up on the wall.  I approach many teacher PD presentations with this model in mind. Technology can be used in the classroom, but it can also be infused in ways that allow learners to explore, create, collaborate, and blow down the walls of the classroom in ways that wouldn't otherwise be possible without technology.
This past fall, I had the opportunity to listen to a keynotes presentation at the Manitoba School Library Association's SAGE, delivered by teacher-librarian Kathy Schrock, who has woven Puentedura's SAMR framework throughout her website. Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything is a goldmine of resources on  literacy, assessment, and technology- many of the targeted areas of our school division's strategic plan.  If you are interested in both the SAMR model and the use of the iPad, Android, and Web 2.0 tools in instruction, then please have a look at her Bloomin' Apps page.  I would also recommend perusing the rest of her webpage for countless resources, rubrics, and links that you can use tomorrow.

Writing IEP Goals for Students that Use AAC

We are upon IEP season, which means we are busy coordinating and hosting meetings for our students and are thinking of ways to support students across the span of the school year.  If you are already working in collaboration with your school's Speech and Language Pathologist to develop goals for students on your caseload that have a communication device, it would be worthwhile for you to review this document which provides some guidelines for creating IEP goals for AAC users.  It has a list of considerations for you to use when formulating a goal that you would like to have your team assist in supporting the student who is an AAC user.  Robin Parker and Carole Zangari have developed this amazing document that you may want to consult, along with your division's Speech and Language Pathologist, to consider some ways to further your student's progress and development with AAC use.  See a few other resources on their blog page.

Great Blog for You

If you are a resource teacher working with a student who has communication needs and you haven't started following Robin Parker's PrAACtical AAC blog, I would highly recommend it. Parker's posts on Wednesdays are themed, Watch it Wednesdays and today's post has all to do with considering ways that you can build communication opportunities into your students' daily routines.  When I clicked on the link to the YouTube video, I was directed to a great collection of video resources that you could use with students who have a variety of disabilities or social concerns.  Check out the Watson Institute's YouTube Channel here if you are interested in watching some short and valuable videos to support students with whom you are working.

Connected Educator's Month

October 31st is the final day of Connected Educators month.  Since hearing David Warlick speak about creating your own personal learning network (PLN) at last year's MANACE SAGE, I have been on a journey to become a more connected educator.  Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano's graphic explains it all. You can view it on her post about connected educators, leaders, and schools.

What I like about #1 is that it is attainable.  Spending 15 minutes out of your evening to learn a new teaching strategy or what a quick YouTube video on a school that is incorporating UDL in their classrooms is reasonable and doable.  It is the kind of professional development that may be more worthwhile because it is self-directed and self-determined, and only lasts as long as you have energy for at the end of a long day of teaching.  When you create a PLN using social media, you access the information that is relevant to your own personal learning needs. 

In my journey to become a more connected educator, I feel like I have stalled a little in stage four.  That is only because I feel like I have little to add to the conversation when I am following such strong educational leaders such as Dean Sharesky, George Couros, and Richard Byrne.  They have contributed a vast amount of knowledge that has allowed me to add a few new tools to my tool belt and has shaped my own personal pedagogy in significant ways.  Part of being an educator is never settling, always learning and growing, just as we would want our students to do. Creating a PLN is one way of making this happen every day.  Just today, while passing out treats to costumed kiddos, I browsed Twitter and found a great post on scaffolding student learning.  I'll share that treat here. 

Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano

At the end of a long day at work, I have precious minutes to spend on developing myself professionally.  It is one of those professional requirements that we, as educators, find most challenging to meet.  I have, over the past year, started swimming in the sea of educational information on Twitter and have found myself a few gems to follow.  Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano is one of them.  Her Langwitches blog is a treasure chest of information related to professional development, pedagogy, and technology infusion.  It has been a source of great insight for me and has provided me with some great resources to use in my own role in the school division.  If you have those few minutes at the end of the day, I would highly recommend perusing a post per evening.  It is definitely worth your time.  I recently read this post on her blog, which discusses the ways that we can use technology to turn students into master learners by giving them the tools to learn and teach others what they have learned.  We all know as teachers that one must have a strong understanding of the subject matter being taught before teaching it.  She coins the terms workflow and learnflow to describe how learning can be effortless using the tech tools we have at our disposal, rather than making the learning about how to use technology the purpose of our lessons.  Whether you teach Language Arts or not, please have a look at her Langwitches blog here.