iPad Tips and Resources for Teachers

Below is what I have been preparing for you over the last weekend. I have gone through all the archive of posts I have shared here and consulted several other external resources to compile this guide. The purpose behind this work is to help teachers and educators better tap into the full educational potential of iPad and make a good use of it in their instruction as well as in their professional development.

I divided this guide into 5parts:

• iPad Technical Tips
• iPad Management Tips and Tricks 
• Resources for Finding Educational Apps
• iPad Apps Evaluation Rubrics
• iPad classroom posters

iPad Technical Tips

1- Take a screenshot 

To take a screenshot on your iPad just click on the the Home button followed immediately by clicking on the Sleep/Wake button. You will hear a click sound after the shot is taken. All the screenshots are saved in your iPad's Photo's Gallery. From there you can can email or share them on popular social media.

2- Print Docs from your iPad

My favourite way to print docs from iPad is through using AirPrint. AirPrint enables instant printing from iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Mac without the need to install drivers or download software. Simply select an AirPrint printer and print. It's that simple. AirPrint is compatible with most of the popular printers ( Canon, HP, Brother, Epson, Dell…etc). Check out this article to learn how to use AirPrint.

3- Double Click the Home button

When you double click on the Home button you will be able to :

• View and launch recently used applications
• Lock screen orientation, adjust brightness, play media, and adjust media sound.

4- Creating folders for apps

To create a folder for your apps.Touch and hold icons until jiggling, then drag the app on top of another and a folder will be created  to hold both of them. You can add more apps to this folder by dragging other apps to it. Give the folder a  name the folder then  click on the home button to save.

Read More...

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Benefits of Mind Mapping

By Katie Lepi 

When I talk to people about mind mapping, I usually find myself facing one of two reactions: The person I’m speaking with either LOVES mind maps, or pretty much has no idea what they are or what they could be used for. We’ve discussed mind maps occasionally in the past, but I recently stumbled on this great graphic from Daniel Tay(who creates a bunch of different mind maps on different topics).

This particular graphic addresses the benefits of mind mapping, which can serve as a good primer for anyone who is unfamiliar with the concept. It is also a pretty simple mind map, especially compared with many of the maps you see if you do a quick web search to find some. Take a look and see how mind maps can benefit you and your students!

The Benefits of Mind Mapping

• Organize
• Brainstorm
• Understand
• Recall
• Note-take
• Communicate

Post Source : http://www.edudemic.com/benefits-of-mind-mapping/

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Skills For Modern Teachers And Students

By Karen Van Vliet

Walk into a school, airport, shopping mall, or even a church and the image is always the same, teens and tweens have their heads down, ear buds on, and a mobile device in their hand. This generation is commonly referred to as Generation Z and they are coming of age with a new set of rules, expectations, and mannerisms. Born between 1995 and 2009, the oldest of this generation is coming of age this year and headed off towards adulthood. What can they expect of their future work experiences? What will employers expect of them? What can educators continue to do? What can teachers do to better prepare them?

Does Gen Z Learn Differently?

There is plenty of research and articles circulating around out there about how this generation learns and what the future workforce will hold for them. In an online article entitled “Workforce Preview: What to Expect From Gen Z” by Dennis McCafferty in April 2013 he shared the following statistics:

• 60% of this generation like to share knowledge online, a sign of collaborative skills

• 64% contribute to websites because they like learning about new things

• 76% feel that online experiences help them reach goals

• 66% say that technology makes them feel like anything is possible

The Pluses Come With Minuses, Too.

But just as technology has provided this generation with many strong technical attributes it has also produced its share of negative traits. Generation Z lacks the ability to effectively communicate ideas, share an opinion, or debate an issue. After spending the majority of their formative years in front of a computer this generation of employees are unfamiliar with collaborative teams, face-to-face discussions, and public speaking. Instant feedback and immediate response to inquiries also limits the coping skills of this generation to problem solve.

The skill to explore multiple solutions for a problem is not as mature in this generation as in previous generations. “Yvonne Sell, Hay Group’s director of leadership and talent in the UK, believes that Generation Z will have a desire for change, stimulation, learning and promotion that will conflict with traditional organizational hierarchies. ‘

Generation Z will want to be heard no matter how junior they are, and perhaps may have little tolerance for working with those who don’t share their views.’ Sell warns that organizations need to be aware that Generation Z may have less concern for responsibility, accountability and understanding of consequence.”

In just a few years there will be five generations in the workforce. That diversity alone in how employees view their job stability, relationships within the workplace, and the education needed to get the job has started to change the way businesses advertise for new hires and the environment in which they will potentially work. Yet the skills needed to succeed in the transformative knowledge era are still lacking in many of the students known as Generation Z.

Read More... 

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Tips For Anyone Nervous About EdTech

Dear “Nervous To Try Something New With EdTech”:

You know when you spoke with me the other day and told me that that introducingmore tech into my class was fine for me because I was ‘into it’ and ‘understood’ it? That you were not going to try a new way of doing things (edtech-wise) because your students would see that you weren’t an expert. Well I need to let you in on a secret. Neither am I. It would probably shock you that me, a proponent of choice/more edtech started exactly where you are now in terms of knowledge and confidence. It took, it takes, some courage, and a big leap of faith to step out and try something new in class – in front of 30 teenagers?

How do I do it? I remember 3 key things:

I Am Not the First to Do This

“Search Engine” It – Take the simple voice recorded phone conversation. I am in Canada have no access to Google Voice – so my default is the ‘voice memo’ utility on student’s phones. I use this quite a bit and when I naively did it the first time I received files that my computer couldn’t work with. Disaster or challenge? When you get a file your computer can’t open – “search engine it”. Seriously – when the .amr and .mp3 file extensions come in from your student’s mobile-phone recorded conversations don’t panic. Just type in your problem into your favourite search engine and hit ‘enter’. Amazingly you will probably find out what you need.

I Have Help Available in Every Program/App

Prior to teaching I worked for a developer in the area of school administrative software. My job, in the early 1990′s, was to provide demonstrations of the possibilities of the program to rooms full of educators who had limited exposure to computerized administration tools. One of the biggest selling points for me was the “help” menu item. I knew the people who wrote the documentation for us and the detail that they went into to assist people to understand how something worked. I know to look at the menu items for a software program and locate the ‘help’ one. And if I can’t find my answer there – see tip 1.

My Peers Are A Great Resource

In a school of over 120 staff members the chances are that someone out there has faced a similar challenge/implemented a similar tech tool. And if they haven’t they probably know someone who has. So prior to trying the new tool/trick – send out an email and ask. Before my first on-line discussion I sent a blanket email to all the teachers on my staff with the subject “Have you done any ‘on-line’ discussions?”. Amazingly a teacher in the Social Studies department had. He was invaluable in giving me tips on how to structure and conduct the discussion. All I had to do was put it out there. If you aren’t a fan of the blanket email then ask your school librarian. They see so many classes, and work with so many teachers, that they probably have an idea of who does. And if that doesn’t work – see tip 1.

So go ahead and try something new. It could be as simple as using a wordcloud instead of a worksheet. Or perhaps allowing students to send in files that you will mark/comment on in Google Drive. In any case be sure that someone out there has an answer when you confront a challenge. And if you happen to find success – let your department, you staff, and even perhaps your online PLN know what you have done. After all the way we really know we’ve learned is to help out someone else.

Post Source : http://www.edudemic.com/nervous-edtech-tips/

15 Tips For Better Online Student-Faculty Communication

Tips For Better Online Student-Faculty Communication

By Katie Lepi

Online learning offers a host of conveniences that make it a popular option for students. Students don’t need to live near a physical university to take the classes, timing is often flexible, and it is generally a cheaper option than attending a brick and mortar school. Teaching in an online classroom  is a little bit different for each teacher: as in physical classrooms, everyone does it a bit differently! That said, there are some common complaints among online learners, and among them, students tend to note that they lack the faculty-student interaction that they would normally have in a physical classroom.

Encouraging Better Online Student-Faculty Communication

Stepping up the efforts to maintain good contact with your students when you’re teaching online likely tops most online teachers’ must-do lists. The handy infographic below looks at some tips and best practices for online faculty, from the ever-wonderful Mia MacMeekin. Keep reading to learn more!

15 Tips For Communication

• Respond within 24-48 hours
• Treat the student as a person, not as an ID number
• Respond in the same way they initiated (ie, phone calls get a return call, emails get a return email, etc)
• Post announcements to all students regularly
• Be pleasant
• Get to know your students
• Provide a real solution or plan
• Show concern
• Know their name
• Respect time zones
• After back and forth emails, pick up the phone and call when necessary
• Never discount their life circumstances
• Never ignore a student
• Encourage and show them how to succeed
• Set aside time and a quiet environment for communication

10 Prompts to Stimulate Conversation

• Share personal stories of overcoming
• Be understanding when things come up
• Set clear action plans for failing students
• Use video chat to explain information
• Read an entire email before responding
• Ask students for their proposed solutions
• Don’t forget about the A students
• Contact your boss for assistance
• Allocate more time for needy students
• Ask if you have answered adequately
• Don’t criticize the school, course, or leaders

Post Source: http://www.edudemic.com/encouraging-better-online-student-faculty-contact/

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