Ipad Journey ~ Digitally Naive

The New Year - "An Avalanche of iPad apps"

2012-01-06T09:08:00.005+08:00

An avalanche of iPad apps, not a truer statement has been published. Everyday I receive a plethora of emails regarding the "must have" apps. Trying to sort through them can be so time consuming. That's why I like the following article from the Personal Tech section of the New York Times. On January 4th, they published what their writer Bob Tedeschi believed to be the Top 10 apps of 2010.

To read the article , just click here.

ipad app - The next Sal Khan?

2011-12-27T19:05:00.004+08:00

Following on from my previous blogpost, I also received an interesting article about a new ipad app ~ Educreations Interactive Whiteboard. What sets this app apart from existing apps , is its functionality; it is the first recordable whiteboard screen app for the ipad. You can resize photos and its very easy to write on!

Like to know more - Click on this link to read the review.

Enjoy

Bron

Happy Holidays from the Flipped Classroom

2011-12-27T18:50:00.006+08:00

What I love most about the holidays is having the time to read some of the daily links that I receive.
Most you of you know that I am a huge advocate for the "Flipped Classroom" , today I was sent a visual of data . The data truly supports rationale that educators understand, providing the students the time in class to learn through activity.

For authentic examples, here are some interesting links:

1. 15 Schools using Flipped Classrooms.

2. How a flipped classroom actually works

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

ipads in the skies - Pilot ipads?

2011-12-17T10:56:00.006+08:00

Its truly amazing the information available on the twitter. A member of my personal learning network shared this article last week . Its interesting from several viewpoints firstly, that the aviation industry with all of its high tech. planes and and gadgetry required flights crews to manage up to 35 lbs. of charts, printouts etc on a flight and secondly to trial and transition from a paper based system to implementing ipads!

Pretty Amazing, to read more click on this link.

Happy Holidays,

Enjoy

Inkling ...

2011-12-06T06:08:00.009+08:00

Four years ago when I was invested as an Apple Distinguised Educator (Class of 2007 in Asia) , I had the amazing opportunity to meet Matt MacInnis. At the time Matt spearheaded the China region for Apple, so it was no surprise that a few months ago I began to receive links to an amazing app - INKLING. A company founded by Matt ( who is also the CEO).

One look at INKLING's website, (http://www.inkling.com/) entices you to explore further.

The features, downloadable free chapters, quizzes and notes are an amazing feature.

In a short timeframe, INKLING has received numerous accolades from industry. Please take the time to view Inklings site, you won't be disappointed.

Resources:
1. Mindshift Resource: http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/12/blowing-out-the-digital-book-as-we-know-it/
2. Inkling http://www.inkling.com/

Note taking apps on the ipad

2011-10-09T20:59:00.006+08:00

I'm often asked by colleagues which hand writing / note taking app I am using , to date believe it or not I have purchased / downloaded a total of at least 8 note-taking apps. I wanted to take the time to try to integrate a few more tools; My requirements were simple, an app that synced with google docs ( as we use this at school), a hand writing option, a handwriting to type recognition and the ability to save pdf and email.

Although many of the apps had the ability to insert images, sync with either Evernote or Dropbox, my tool of choice for this month is Writepad for ipad. Although it does not sync with google docs, there is a PDF and email option. I like the simplicity of the layout and how easy and intuitive it is to use.

As a stylus, I have been using Griffin's Capacitive Stylus for the past 9 months.

It is designed specifically for touch screen devises, it provides precision and is ideal for both left and right handed users. To read more about the Griffin and other stylus, click here to navigate to the website of the Stylus Company.

If you are in Kuala Lumpur, two new Apple accessory stores have now opened near the new Best Denki shop on Level 3. They have a huge range of ipad2 covers, speakers , stylus' etc.

Great for stocking stuffers!

Enjoy

Textbooks of Tomorrow

2011-09-22T06:23:00.000+08:00

Via: OnlineEducation.net

Amazing Resources at your disposal.

2011-09-04T20:11:00.013+08:00

To date, we have been selfish in Grade 6A knowing that we have the ipads daily at our disposal. Home groups have enjoyed Boggle and Scrabble, humanities classes marveled at the ease of use for blogging , a math support class has used them for remedial lessons and during team time 6A students spent some time exploring math and game apps. In October after one more month of piloting, testing network settings and adding apps we will be releasing the set of 25 to classes in the middle school.

I will still be facilitating, updating and adding apps, but now it is the middle school faculty's chance to start doing some research and create their wishlists, that is apps that they would like added for use in their classroom.

As a starting point for research, here are some amazing sites:

1. ipads in Education.

2. Digital Presentations in Education.

3. TCEA - Recommended iPad Apps.

4. Edudemic - 10 must have back to school apps.

5. Teachers' Loung e, Must have apps for the Classroom.

6. Jog the Web. Social Studies / History Appy Hour

Lastly, once you have your wishlist, please come and chat with Bron!

A new year, new challenges.

2011-06-14T19:58:00.000+08:00

I am constantly amazed at the huge amount of resources readily available on the World Wide Web, particularly in relation to ipads. Recommend apps for elementary schools, middle and high schools, apps for educators, apps for administrators; the sites are endless.

For our Middle School, the journey began in Grade 6 in May last year, with approx. 40 apps. As a starting point, please refer to the images on this blogpost for visuals of the apps that were selected.

Enjoy

The end of the year, the final ipad assignment..

2011-05-23T14:27:00.002+08:00

Our learning journey, cut short by delays in delivery ended too soon. Now that I had loaded apple apps such as garageband we decided as an end of year assignment, students inspired by Atomic Tom, would have the chance to create their own music..

Here is the assignment:

Now that you have had some exposure to the iPads, here is your final task.

Remember Atomic Tom - the band that performed on the subway...

Your Task ...is to join together in a group (3 or 4), and use garageband on the iPad to either create or recreate a song.Remember the audience is middle school students.
Everyone needs to play an instrument on the

iPad, there is a huge selection of instruments available.

Citations:

1.Garageband: http://www.apple.com/hk/en/ilife/garageband/whats-new.html

Student Feedback / First Impressions..

2011-05-17T14:22:00.004+08:00

For us as a class we were so excited to receive the ipads, the class enthusiastically turned on ipads, gingerly touching the screen and orientating the view to suit their learning style when almost too soon frustration and despair was evident when everyone tried to connect to our wireless network. During the year the class had struggled and overcome difficulties connecting using macbooks, but we realized that the ipads would be challenging, no sooner had we logged in then we were "booted" off the network. To access apps that required a network connection took an enormous amount of time, as each log in required entering a user name and password to our network.

With encouragement the students then began to explore "offline apps" such as Boggle and Scrabble quickly organizing player groups; math games and science apps. In the end a successful day.

Note to oneself ; Contact the tech department re network settings for ipads...

ipads first impressions..

2011-05-15T13:54:00.001+08:00

Finally our 25 1st generation ipads arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (after a delay of 2 months). The students had provided some valuable feedback as well as suggested apps that would help them in the classroom. In addition two 6th grade teachers (Bron Narsiman - Humanities/ I.T. and Pam Smith - Math/Science), spent many hours researching and testing apps on their own ipads.

The ipads were charged, had apps installed and were ready to be quality tested by our 6th grade pilots ~ the cart was opened and...

This was their task..

What an exciting moment , as we explore the ipad reflect upon:

1. Internet access ~ Could you log in straight away?

2. Consistency of signal (include placement in classroom).

3. Tips / tricks that you learned / discovered.

4. Are the apps installed operational? Would they be useful in class?

5. Can you suggest additional apps?

6. Think about existing systems we use at ISKL ( Google Docs, Blogger etc) Problem solving ~ is there anything that you can't do on the iPad?

Place your feedback on your blog!

Enjoy

Mrs.N

Some IPAD research...

2011-01-30T11:13:00.002+08:00

In preparation for the possible imminent arrival of ipads, Grade 6 I.T. students were asked to take the time to investigate the itunes App Store and then create an idea for an App that other students (or adults) would purchase.

The truly exciting and satisfying characteristic of 6th graders is their enthusiasm and creativity!

This activity really helped to add a level of ownership for the students, and indeed the possibility that even they could create ipad apps and make money!

Many information technology researchers believe that mobile computing is the way in which schools should focus their energy.

The apple itunes store, has thousands of iphone and ipod apps that will help anyone navigate through their day; graphing calculators, stress releasing games like mahjong and more. People have been made instant millionaires over night due to the success of their iphone / ipod touch apps.

This is your chance to research and create an idea that could morph into an iphone / itouch app.

The Task

1. Iphone / ipod touch app creators come from a wide variety of backgrounds - apple have produced an amazing video that showcases some of the apps, and the people that have created them.

http://developer.apple.com/profiles/

2. Next, navigate to the itunes store by selecting the itunes store option (on the left hand side of the itunes screen) this will take you directly to the store.

3. Iphone and ipod apps are sorted by many different categories - New and Noteworthy, Top Paid Apps, Top free apps, as well as Top Grossing Apps ( the apps that have made the most money) and Staff picks.

4. Next, take the time to browse through the app store - select 3 apps that you may be interested in. Read the information regarding the app.

On your blog, write down the three apps and provide reasons as to why you would consider purchasing or using the app.

5. Now, is the exciting time, it will be up to you to develop and app that would have a useful application in the classroom at ISKL.

Criteria

1. Provide a description (use apps explanations to help you)

2. Provide rationale as to what class (es) the app could be used in.

3. Briefly describe the app and what it does.

4. Develop a logo

5. Develop pricing - use existing apps as a guide.

All assignment information should be presented on your blog.

6th Graders with "App"titude = Motivation & Learning

2011-01-26T08:40:00.010+08:00

Almost a year ago, Grade 6 Humanities classes piloted Google Apps in ISKL's middle school; our first small steps involved conversion of our email from the First Class platform to gmail, and google docs.

What seems like years ago, has evolved into Panther Apps ( over very own Google Apps domain). Middle School students have taken to Google Docs, Google Sites (for eportfolios and class assignments) , Blogger, Youtube and Picasa with zeal.

For colleagues and students Google Docs has now become our collaborative planning tool of choice.Google Docs as a collaborative tool exceeded both student and faculty expectations. Students could share ideas with their partner, edit documents, upload and create documents. The autosave and sharing function allowed for continual feedback, students and teachers could track progress. From curriculum planning, K-12 Technology Teams and our PTA, google apps has changed the way in which we collaborate.

"Flipping" Pilot

2010-12-29T12:21:00.009+08:00

Since my last post, I elicited feedback from my students regarding the idea of "Flipping Homework". The classroom being democratic, students discussed the idea in theory in collaborative groups, created Pro and Con lists and reported back on their findings.

Although excited at the idea/concept all but 2 students of 38 voted not to FLIP aspects of homework. I must admit I was totally amazed.

On reflection, I realized :

1. Students were in Grade 6, and still like the idea that the classroom teacher guided instruction.

2. The idea that independence was necessary, and even though the majority of students would cope with the independence, the thought was scary.

Not disheartened by this, I created a short imovie on our next social studies assignment and uploaded it to our class google site. Students did take the time to view the short assignment for homework, but also required time in class. As the imovie contained music, students wore headphones or ipod earplugs to listen (and review) the assignment. Personally I felt that this removed elements of collaboration; as some students needed additional time to listen and synthesis information.

The next step - continue to look for ways to meet differing needs of all learners. A great link to page continuing numerous resources was added to the MS Learning Profiles Google Site. Click here to access the site.

Resource:
Graphic 1. http://mset.rst2.edu/msn/g/gilardi_b/brains/final/teacher.html

"Flipping" Classwork and Homework

2010-10-07T21:05:00.008+08:00

Tonight while grading humanities class essays, watching the Commonwealth Games from Delhi, India and reviewing Tweets, I stumbled across an interesting retweet by Alan November. An article written by the renowned author Daniel Pink , highlighted the paradigm shift that has taken place in Karl Fisch's high school math classrooms. Many of you may remember Karl Fisch the pioneer of the "Shift Happens ~ Did You Know" video presentations.

The article published in the Telegraph.co.uk, outlined the changes that have taken place; that is , having students review class content / information via You Tube nightly for homework and then spending the next day working on concepts and problems in the classroom.
An interesting idea - Wonder what our students and faculty think about the idea?

Connect your heart, hands and mind.

2010-08-01T14:02:00.024+08:00

It has been some time since I logged into my Twitter account and viewed messages from colleagues around the globe. Again, another summer resolution partially fulfilled , that is, log in to Twitter at least once a week and view messages. Week one so far so good.
Twitter is the most amazing, collaborative, social learning environment, and one of the least invasive time consuming social network tools.
Scouring through a 100 messages ( messages of maximum 140 characters) took 30 minutes of concentrated effort. A Twitter friend at an International School in Korea, retweeted the following You Tube Video - The Alchemy of Great Work by Box of Crayons, suggesting that it would be the ideal video to show at the beginning of the school year.

What is particularly inspiring about this video is the message ~ "Good Work" allows one to connect heart, hand and mind and to achieve "Good Work" it takes Focus, Courage and Resilience.
Now that the dust has settled after the first week of school, looking ahead to the year, I would also like to add that "Good Work" provides Inspiration.

What is the ideal learning environment?

2010-07-25T05:39:00.049+08:00

It amazes me each summer how 2 months away from students and your learning environment really forces you to reflect on the past year, and provides the energy and impetus to look ahead to the new academic school year. It's almost like New Years Eve, where resolutions are made, the difference being I follow through on summer promises.

One of my first resolutions is to continue my professional blog. Even though I blog with student classes, my own blog has fallen into a state of neglect. So my resolution is to document classroom trials and success, or to reflect on my own learning and share resources.

So lets start.....For me, summers over the past three years have consisted of cramming doctoral courses and taking trips with my family, however, July this year provided the opportunity to attend the Nova Southeastern University summer doctoral conference on Global Leadership, Learning and Research in Orlando, Florida.

Having the chance to attend the conference provided a myriad of workshops plus first and foremost the chance to network; meet dissertation chairs and professors face to face as well as the opportunity for roundtable discussions with educators and experts from around the globe. Anyone who has undertaken distance education, can fully comprehend transactional distance ; described as the cognitive space between instructors and learners. Even though I have powered my way through all but 3 of the ITDE courses, my concept paper had not moved past what best could be described as a rough draft (a work in progress). After politely responding to my dissertation chairs pleas over the past two and half years, meeting her face to face was such an inspirational experience; it allowed clarification of topics, the chance to dialogue and provided insights into learning environments in public schools in the United States.

My dissertation chair hails from New York City and is the Director , Solutions Design and Engineering Group for the New York City Department of Education. Currently, her role involves revamping curriculum, offering solutions with technology integration with a focus on learning environment for all public schools in the NewYork City area. What was abundantly clear from our conversations is that globally we all struggle with strategies to best meet the needs of 21st century students; schools and students are no different whether in Kuala Lumpur, New York City or Broward County, Florida.

Next, after 7 flights, over 50 hours of airtravel and 9 days in Florida, I have taken the following back with me to Kuala Lumpur;

1. A valuable framework for 21st Century Learning - This framework compliments our current standards as well as our schoolwide learning results. (refer graphic at beginning of post).The framework clearly illustrates the relationship between 21st century skills (student outcomes) and support systems.

As published, The 21st Century Outcomes are "the skills, knowledge and expertise that students should master to succeed in work and life in the 21st Century",

* Core subjects and 21st Century themes.

* Learning and Innovation Skills -

- Creativity and Innovation

- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

- Communication and Collaboration

(these skills are almost identical to ISKL's schoolwide learning results; Learn Enthusiastically, Think Creatively, Reason Critically, Communicate Effectively, Collaborate Constructively and Live Ethically.

* Information Media and Technology Skills

- Information Literacy

- Media Literacy

- ICT Literacy

* Life and Career Skills.

Next, the 21st Century Support Systems include:

*21st Century Standards

* Assessment of 21st Century skills

* 21st Century Curriculum and Instruction

* 21st Century Professional Development

* 21st Century Learning Environments

To learn more, please view The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

2. A desire to completely rethink, rearrange and move desks and chairs away from my learning environment, and replace some of them with modular lounges and comfortable chairs. My dissertation chair has recently been involved with programs in several schools in NYC that have implemented 21st Century Learning Environments ( Learning Environment = Classroom). The gains in social cognition, collaboration (with students and teachers), constructivist activities and student achievement is clearly evident. So, yes I have been scouring the Ikea Catalogue, with the view to creating a proposal for my principal.

Upon reflection, I know that this is something I have been wanting to do for the past 3-4 years. I am more than comfortable with students sitting on the floor collaborating in groups, with pens and paper or computers for tools, at ease and cognitively engaged. This is already a common feature in my classroom. I know that sofas, bean bags and easychairs will be more comfortable than the floor.
A recent article in Edutopia, also provided information on creative ways to change seating in classrooms.

3. Lastly, a narrowed focus for my concept paper and dissertation topic. (more details to follow).

Clearly, professional development opportunities such as attendance at summer conferences play a vital role; Building on a knowledge base in the view to improving curriculum, instruction and assessment, the chance to make global connections and lastly gaining strategies and frameworks to enhance student learning.

On a personal note, attendance at the conference would not have been possible without assistance from the ISKL Faculty (FHM) Summer Scholarship Program. Kudos to ISKL Administration for this initiative; it is programs like this that inspire excellence.

References:

1. The Partnership for 21st Century Learning http://www.p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=254&Itemid=119

2. Ikea Malaysia - Online Catalogue http://www.ikea.com.my/en/catalogue/index.asp

Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh's with "App"titude

2009-03-14T06:41:00.031+08:00

Setting goals at the start of the school year is never easy; as a Gr. 6 Humanities team my colleagues and I knew that during the year we would like to "trial" Google Docs for a grade wide assessment. It seemed the logical step, our tech department was investigating the possible move to Google Apps for Education for email and other functions, a trial google ed. page was created, pilot classes were identified and all we needed was the assignment /assessment.

The students had just begun a unit of study on Ancient Egypt - this was the ideal opportunity. Research on Pharaohs ~ answering essential and research questions, formatted note-taking with citations, creation of scripts all shared on google docs. Then finally an imovie to showcase their research and share with the class. During the school year the students had used blogs, wikis and first class so we knew beyond a doubt that our 90 digital natives would take to google docs with ease. Faculty members planned and collaborated on google docs; instructions, rubrics and documentation were uploaded and shared with all classes; teacher / student created screencasts for imovie in place on itunes. We were more than prepared.

Google Docs as a collaborative tool exceeded both student and faculty expectations. Students could share ideas with their partner, edit documents, upload and create documents. The autosave and sharing function allowed for continual feedback, students and teachers could track progress.
Student feedback on the assignment ? The biggest challenge, unaminously searching for quality graphics to showcase their pharoah and recording / timing narration.

Credits:
1. An interesting article and inspiration for the blog post title, from The offical Google Blog
2. Inspiration for the blog title ; David Truss; Pair a dimes for your thoughts.
3. Egyptian Pharaoh Image