Great list of current apps and digital tools

Kathy Schrock's 2014 list of apps and digital tools for the classroom is very comprehensive - not everything here but some interesting tools to try.

I-Pad apps linked to SAMR and Blooms

A new taxonomy wheel which can be downloaded and printed from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/05/a-new-wonderful-wheel-on-samr-and.html
Attributed to Allan Carrington

Skoolbo - register for free till end of September

Skoolbo is a new game based app which has been developed by the same person who created Mathletics - I used it at a school last week and the children were very engaged with it - at first I couldn't understand it until I realised that they had to listen for the instructions so might be good to use with earphones. The idea of the spiral curriculum intrigued me so I phoned the makers and found out it is tailor made for individual students and after an initial test set of questions creates games that challenge at the student's level. There is a Te Reo and Samoan version too which make it great for NZ schools.

Alice Programming tool

I used to use Alice in the classroom years ago and just had a look at the new version which looks better. (The 3.1 version) It's a good problem solving activity - great for the GATE group.
Here is a good tutorial if you are interested. I would give the student group this video and the task of learning it themselves and creating a purposeful animation to share with the class - probably link to an inquiry topic. I would get them to map out the animation first using Google Draw to brainstorm and create a flow chart sequence. See programme at www.alice.org

Science Learning Hub

Science is one of the most important things we should be teaching and it seems to get left behind in the turmoil of delivering the curriculum and meeting National Standards. Check this fantastic resource site out and get inspired! Also look at the NZ science capabilities

What have we learned?

I was very impressed with the info-graphic on this site Some great ideas for getting those on the spot assessments for learning.

Fluency 21 Unit planner

This looks quite good as a unit planner guide - lots of great plans uploaded from teachers and you can use the template to create your own. I like the way it integrates e-learning and digital citizenship.

Google's new Classroom resource

Read about the new platform for teacher/student education portal here. At the moment in Beta form and invite only but it will be free and looks like a great resource for the flipped classroom!

Visible learning

At Cognition we have a wonderful programme for schools called the Visible Learning programme. It is a professional development programme based on the research about learning by John Hattie.
Read more about it and watch John talk about learning (Know thy impact) in the video clip here http://vimeopro.com/cognition/portfolio
You might be interested in viewing the other video clips about best practice teaching and learning on this site too.

iPad apps for ESOL or struggling writers

This looks good, the site has resources and the app supports students who needs literacy support.
See the video to explain what the app does.

Google Drive I-Pad app

So many schools are now using Google Apps for Education! I thought this video was very good at explaining at a basic level which most teachers want. It is made by Richard Byrne who has some really good info for teachers on his websites.

Digital literacy

There is often confusion about what digital literacy is. I found this link on Teach Thought (great site) very clear. Clink on the link for further information.

5 Dimensions of Digital Literacy

I-Pad news!

The great news is that the alpha tool feature on the Keynote and Pages apps has been added. This is the great feature that allows users to take out the background of images. I used this in my classroom to create all sorts of fantastic images for our inquiry as the students can layer their own photo over other images.
Read about it here

i-Pad site

Apps in Education
Link to a great i-pad site for apps advice 

Happy New Year

I have just got back into writing today after having a busy holiday time with Christmas and New Year visitors. I have been showing Jane how to write stories to share using Gone Google Story builder. You choose characters and write the story from the perspective of each character as dialogue. The cursor acts as a  typewriter with speech and you can choose backing music to enhance the story. When finished you can share the story via a link or on to Google +
It could help make story writing a bit more fun for those reluctant writers.

Another similar type of enhancement for story writing is Booktrack. Students can write and add sound effects or music to their story.