New Technologies in Schools

Who would have thunk?...

Recently TeachThought and Edudemic collaborated to produce the following spectrum for using twitter in the classroom.

On a typical paper worksheets a question would normally look something like this: What are the different figurative language techniques used in in this text.”
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The lines on the paper gives students the space to write their answers. Unfortunately, iBooks Author only allows you to put in multiple choice questions. The iBookWidgets app does allow you to put in text questions but they’re not always aesthetically pleasing and can be a time consuming process.
An easier option is to write the question in your iBook and let students type their answers in a note like below.
An added bonus is that all notes are automatically saved to the “My Notes” part of the iBook.

Whether you're the parent of a child with a reading disability or an educator that works with learning disabled students on a daily basis, you're…...

Technology is a tool that can be used to help teachers facilitate learning experiences that address the diverse learning needs of all students and help them develop 21st Century Skills. At it's most basic level, digital tools can be used to help students find, understand and use information. When combined with student-driven learning experiences fueled by Essential Questions offering flexible learning paths, it can be the ticket to success.

"David Wiley had an eye-opening post earlier this week where he compared different types of digital content pricing from a student’s perspective. In his view:

Online, on demand access to one textbook (~$19/month) costs more than online, on demand access to every major movie, TV show, and song produced in the US in recent memory ($7.99 + $9.99 = $17.98/month). Really. One textbook costs more than the entire output of the film, television, and music industries combined..."

This is a great tool for creating short audio files which can be posted to Facebook, Twitter or shared by email. The tool runs in the browser but there are also apps for iPhone and Android. In the settings you can also change the speed and pitch of the wudio file. Very Useful.

For those of us who are not gamers, this blog details some excellent selection criteria to evaluate learning games for education. Just what I was looking for! 

I really like Symbaloo! A place where you can organize and share your favorite websites. How do you like Symbaloo?

Would you like some brain food for your iPhone? Here's a list of the 88 best iOS mobile learning apps to get smart on-the-go.

I was skeptical as I purchased my 4th iPad, the new iPad mini on Friday when it arrived at my local Apple store. I was expecting lower performance or at least to be unimpressed by the smaller screen size. But in the end, this could be one of the best holiday gifts this season, especially for children.

Overall, the iPad mini is great for reading, including book apps and has access to a sea of iPad content for education and gaming. The smaller size can be a downside for video (especially since the iPad Mini lacks the retina display & processor of the latest iPad), and this tablet may not be ideal for advanced gaming experiences, but is more than enough for most users.

See our device comparison grid, including our ratings of content selection & prices for education and reading apps for the iPad Mini, full size iPad, Nook Color, Kindle Fire, and Nexus 7.

This collection, from the Palm Beach school district in Florida, contains over 80 apps grouped by catergory. A real labor of love!