The iPad Initiative for 2013-2014 ... PBL in Action

The Apple iPad ... What is it good for?

With so many technologies, devices, and apps out there, are they educational? Which is best for us? Windows 8? Android? BlackBerry? Apple? These are the sort of questions that not only parents ask, but educators ask these very questions too. There are so many amazing new technological advances, devices of incredible ability, and fantastic educational apps out there, there’s no limit to the learning possibilities at your fingertips. Yet, reality is such that affordability and long-term use is a very real dilemma faced in education. The iPad has gotten bigger (well, actually smaller) and better over the years, and it will continue to do so. Our view is that it is the way to go.
For 2013-2014, we are planning to undertake a daring initiative - The iPads for Teaching and Learning Initiative. Our school-wide project will examine the impact iPads have on our students’ learning at home and at school, as well as the impact iPads have on our teachers' learning and how iPads can benefit and transform teaching practice.
This initiative will build on the existing evidence that states "engaging and innovative learning environments are needed to connect with today’s students and equip them for tomorrow’s world." The iPads for Teaching and Learning Initiative will help bridge the gap between the technology used by teachers and students alike in day-to-day life and that used in schools. We're proud to say that at our school, this gap is closing - check out our Student Computer Lounge and the technology that exists there!

You can visit the various links below to see how we're thinking and the direction we're taking with tablets in the classroom.

This is a wonderful site that starts out very simple and easy-to-follow. It then allows the reader to dig down deeper into the uses and functionalities of the iPad. Fantastic start!

iPad - Why? How?

iPad inspires creativity and hands-on learning with features you won’t find in any other educational tool — on a device that students really want to use and they intuitively know how to use. Students engage with content in interactive ways, find information in an instant and access an entire library wherever they go. It helps them to go where they want to go and learn what they want to learn and do it whenever they want ... self-directed, if you will!
Apple in Education

Here at Epiphany, we will be exploring the possibility and feasibility around the use of the iPad. The iPad will not replace our desktop PCs, nor will it take the place of our laptops and netbooks - the iPad will be another further enhancement to our current technological arsenal and we truly believe the iPad "will transform how teachers teach and students learn". The process of upgrading and keeping up to the times is not easy and it is always frightening to invest so much time and money in technology that is changing in leaps and bounds and so quickly too. To commit large amounts of money to passing fads is not the way to go. So, we're looking at iPads - they're with us and will be for a long time.

Engaging our teachers and students in various technologies is an opportunity worth taking. With a vision, sound pedagogy, understanding the 21st century student and teacher, and with solid school board, community, and corporate partnerships, this process will be exciting, authentic, and enriching for all stakeholders. Together, we will all continue to grow, teach, and learn from one another and from others around the world - that's the power of the iPad ... the world is your classroom now!

Take a look at some of the more popular apps for learning. Apple (Canada) in Education provides a taste for what is offered in the apps arena:

Apps in Education for iPads

Explore a collection of video tutorials, classroom guides, and web pages for educators:

Apple in Education Resources

A Guide for using the iPad for K-12 teaching and learning:

Getting Started with Apple iPads in the School

View topics, resources, and contact information ... how to use your iPad:

iPad Support

Great sites to check out if you're using an iPad right now or you're just getting started ...

iLearn- Ideas For Using The iPad in the Classroom

Five Great Ideas for Using iPads in the Classroom

The Victoria Govt (Australia) iPads for Learning Website

A Few Education Apps to Get You Started

Gallery of Photos and Videos using the iPad

In a recent article, How the iPad Can Transform Classrooms, Ben Johnson (no, not the Canadian track and field runner) raises awareness of the difference between using the iPad as a way to teach students versus the iPad as a tool to learn for students. He says in the article, "The lesson planning questions I hope my teachers will learn to ask will change from 'How can I teach this content?' to, 'How can I get students to learn this content?' I hope they will answer this question with open-ended learning activities rather than saying, 'I have an app for that'.”

He calls for the paradigm shift in seeing the iPad as a "TOOL TO THINK WITH"

Sure, there may be some useful apps that help the student gain the skills, knowledge or insight into the subject, but our goal here at Epiphany is to utilize the iPad to one day empower our teachers and students to be collaborative contributors, creative thinkers, caring and responsible citizens, effective communicators, and self-directed life-long learners — in short, we want the iPad to be another "learning and thinking tool” for our teachers and students. Check out these websites and blogs that utilize the iPad as a thinking and learning tool.

iPad Resources for the Classroom (Blog)

50 Resources for iPad Uses in the Classroom

Transforming Teaching & Learning with iPads (Blog)

Using iPads to Enhance Teaching and Learning

About "Stuff"

A must-see ... these videos are not just for entertainment, but for educational purposes for teachers and for families alike. They can make you think twice about ... STUFF in your life and how you live and what you can do so that your life is not ruled by all that STUFF!  These provide good ideas for questions and problems that are all around us.  They can be the genesis for "Problem-based Learning" or "Project-based Learning".  Check out the links below:

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Change

Stories about MORE STUFF of Interest

Here is more stuff about STUFF from PBS ...

Loop Scoops - PBSKids: Learning about STUFF

Electronic Game Devices: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXjk6nYMNIA

Velcro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnU4LpdI1tI

Orange Juice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMZerTyvyMs

Garbage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c5cnM_TdHw

Magazines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRHddupslM0

Juice Boxes : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LajLBVquQo0

Frogs : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMZerTyvyMs

Happiness : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-otqBgCYyc

The 4Cs in 21st C

Fantastic keynote address from Will Richardson at CEC of TCDSB on Dec. 7, 2012
The 4Cs in the 21st C from willrich45

Dead Poet's Society ... 21st Century Learning and Teaching

Click on the links below and be inspired to, as a wonderful teacher (Liz A.) says, "Give yourself permission"

Dead Poet's Society - Oh Captain, My Captain!

One of the best scenes in a movie. Watch this clip, then watch the clip below ... After that, go rent the movie and watch it - you’ll see where 21st century learning and teaching can go. The main character, (Mr. Keating) played by Robin Williams is a 21st Century teacher and incredible that this movie was made oh soooo many years ago. What a fantastic performance by Robin Williams in this film - and the purpose and meaning behind it is a foundation, a mind-set and a paradigm shift that as a teacher I held to because I had a wonderful Grade 8 teacher, Mrs. MacKenzie - she was my Mr. Keating. 

This movie is a reminder for us to do an ordinary thing extraordinarily well – bring a little bit of YOU into teaching and make the curriculum THE KIDS (put them into learning).

Imagine where you can go with some creativity, personal and relevant experiences, passion, motivation, authentic meaning, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, imagination, and just as important FUN! I can’t tell you how to do – Nike’s slogan from so many years ago still resonates passionately with me – Just do it!

Dead Poet's Society: 1st Day of Class

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" - Mr. Keating

"Carpe...Carpe diem...Seize the day...Make your lives extraordinary." -- Mr. Keating

"In my class you will learn to think for yourselves again. You will learn to savor words and language. No matter what anybody tells you words and ideas can change the world." -- Mr. Keating

"Why do I stand up here... I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way...Just when you think you know something you have to look at it in another way even though it may seem silly or wrong you must try. Now when you read don't just consider what the author thinks, consider what you think. You must strive to find your own voice because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said most men lead lives of quiet desperation. Don't be rescind to that. Breakout." -- Mr. Keating

Wow - This movie asks us (students and teachers) to go for it, have a voice, step outside the box, and strive to remind yourself and your students to "never forget this."

Now, go watch the whole movie ... and catch a glimpse of where we're going!

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. As Canada and the United States continue to compete in a global economy that demands innovation, P21 and its members provide tools and resources to help the U.S. education system (and by extension, all other education systems) keep up by fusing the 3Rs and 4Cs - Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity and Innovation - and you may want to throw in Compassion and Change.  You can visit  ... http://www.p21.org

So Papa, How Do You Like the iPad?

This short clip is in German, but understandable to all ... The young woman asks her dad, how do you like the new iPad I got you?

Mansfield Outdoor Education Centre

Don't miss the fun at Mansfield ... February 25th to March 1st ... It promises to be a great time for all!

Mansfield main lodge presentationwords from Jo-han M-ash

21st Century School Administrator

Wonderful Link ... Visit this great site for Principals:  http://the21stcenturyprincipal.blogspot.ca/2009_12_01_archive.html

Article below by: J. Robinson (Dec. 2009)

There have been a number of articles, books, and documents created that talk about 21st Century learning skills. Most of these can leave the administrator puzzling of what exactly it is that students need to learn. Bernie Trilling of the Oracle Education Foundation and Charles Fadel global leader of education at Cisco Systems have published a book entitled 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times. This book fulfills a very specific need for school administrators. It describes in a concise and direct manner what 21st Century learning should look like. Trilling and Fadel provide a combination of brief definitions of skills and examples of those skills throughout this book. They also provide a framework into which to place these skills. That framework includes 21st century learning skill groups called learning and innovation skills, digital literacy skills, and career and life skills. They also provide the following pictorial representation of how these skills fit into what would they term the “21st Century Learning Outcomes.”

Trilling and Fadel’s 21st Century Learning Outcomes

Throughout their book, Trilling and Fadel provide a concise, no-nonsense discussion of 21st Century learning. Eventually, they condense these skills down to what they call the “7Cs of 21st century learning.”

These skills include:
1) critical thinking and problem solving
2) creativity and innovation
3) collaboration, teamwork, and leadership
4) cross-cultural understanding
5) communication, information, and media literacy
6) computing and ICT literacy
7) career and learning self-reliance.

This is one book every school administrator needs to add to her/his collection. I might even buy some tabs to stick to pages of my copy to make the individual topics more accessible.

The copy of the book I purchased also including a DVD of mini-documentaries that discuss the themes of 21st Century learning. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills web site address is here: Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Interactive ebooks for Children

Students improve their reading skills by:

•Listening for modeled fluency

•Reading for practice

•Recording their reading

•Checking comprehension with quizzes

Students log in to get books and quizzes assigned by their teachers or parents.

http://www.raz-kids.com/        This site is a trial site ... if like it you could sign up.  It is amazing though!

Welcome to the 21st Century

Welcome to the 21st Century is a brief look at the 21st Century learner, what are the characteristics that a learner today in our technology enabled society has. This page links to other 21st Century articles, posts and pages. I have also included a page on comparing the 20th and 21st Century educational paradigms. This page begins to place some of the changes between the two different educational paradigms. We often hear about the 21st Century Learner, but what about the 21st Century Teacher? Here are some thoughts and ideas about the 21st Century teacher and the characteristics they would possess. About how we facilitate 21st Century Learning.

Educational Origami

Educational Origami
 
Educational Origami is a blog and a wiki, about 21st Century Teaching and Learning.  This wiki is not just about the integration of technology into the classroom, though this is certainly a critical area, it is about shifting our educational paradigm. The world is not as simple as saying teachers are digital immigrants and students digital natives. In fact, we know that exposure to technology changes the brains of those exposed to it. The longer and stronger the exposure and the more intense the emotions the use of the technology or its content evokes, the more profound the change. This technology is increasingly ubiquitous. We have to change how we teach, how we assess, what we teach, when we teach it, where we are teaching it, and with what.  Its a tall order, but these are exciting times.

Ski Snow Valley in Barrie

A little video to show you what a typical day will look like for your little kiddie ...

19Pencils

19Pencils

Quick and Easy Tools for Learning. Quizzes, Games, Websites and More! Don't waste time fighting traditional search engines. Save time and energy and search for content used by teachers just like you. Resources include websites, videos, quizzes and more. Each presented in a very visual way with a description and even indications of previous use by other teachers. Save to your class page, or to your favorites for easy access later in a single click. Even filter searches by grade, school, or district to see what your colleagues have discovered.

The Easiest Way to Discover and Share Educational Content. This is like having many teacher/classroom blogs available to you and you go on their favourite websites to learn and have fun. Free to join.

http://www.19pencils.com/

SpellingCity

SpellingCity

Spelling & Vocabulary Website

The SpellingCity website has:
•Over 42,000 words with customizable sentences and definitions
•A REAL person who says each word and sentence
•Free home pages for teachers and parents to save lists
•Teacher training videos
•Free printable handwriting worksheets
•Free teaching resources with lists and lesson plans
•Twenty-five games to play online or to print such as:
•A free forum and newsletters
Alphabetical Order, Unscramble, Parts of Speech, HangMouse, Crossword Puzzle, WordSearch, and Vocabulary Test.

Teachers: They have Parent Letters available as a PDF for you to print and send home with your students' spelling word lists.  If you're going to do spelling, why not make it fun ... very cool site ... check it out!

The 30 Best Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers (2012 Edition)

The 30 Best Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers (2012 Edition)

Looking for the best cloud computing software for your school? What about a way to remotely store homework and other assignments? It’s time to figure out which web 2.0 tool is right for you!  The following presentation (slideshare) contains dozens of the most popular tools being used in classrooms right now.  They’re useful, most are free (some are freemium), and true time-savers. You’ve probably heard of some, but I can almost guarantee there’s something new here for you. Each slide in the below presentation by Rafael Scapin contains the name, description, link, and screenshot of what each tool looks like and does. Easy ... Enjoy!

The Best Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers - 2012 Edition from Rafael Scapin

http://edudemic.com/2012/10/best-web-tools-2012/

The 100 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools

The 100 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools

 In order to put together a list of the best Web 2.0 classroom tools, Twitter followers were polled, Facebook fans responded, and a contest was run to try and get as many submissions as possible.
There were more than 900 submissions, but here are the Top 100 different Web 2.0 tools that were recommended by your peers. After all, what better way to uncover new products than by the people you are already sharing with? The following list is in no particular order so be sure to examine it closely for awesome resources. Each resource is written in big bold letters, followed by the description offered by the person who submitted the resource. Well worth the time to go here and see what strikes your fancy! Great list posted by Jeff Dunn.

Quizlet

Quizlet

The world learns on Quizlet.They've made a simple tool that lets you study anything, for free.

Teacher's Link:  http://quizlet.com/teachers/

Teachers can choose from ENGLISH, MATH, SCIENCE, LANGUAGES, and SOCIAL SCIENCES - WOW!!

Learn anything your own way:  There are 6 different study modes
Flashcards: Flip through and familiarize yourself with the material.
Learn Mode: Track your progress and review the things you got wrong.
Scatter: Match words to their definitions and try to finish faster than your friends.
Speller: Type what you hear. It works in 18 different languages.
Test: Prepare for the actual test with an automatically graded quiz.
Space Race: Earn points by typing in words before their definitions vanish off the screen.

Study with friends: It's a great way to work together
Join a class: Find your classes to share and learn together.
In the classroom:Quizlet is great in the classroom, for individual study or group exercises.
Friendly Competition: Show off your scores — and your knowledge.

Check out the QUIZLET DEMO and QUIZLET TUTORIAL

Kwiksurveys

Kwiksurveys ...

The only free & unlimited survey tool.  Remember, Survey Monkey is free up to 10 questions only ... KWIKSURVEY is FREE for unlimited questions and all tools are available!

kwiksurveys.com is the leading provider of free survey management tools and feedback solutions. Powerful, scalable, easy to use and free. It helps engage students, families and educators. Thousands of organizations and individuals worldwide, rely on kwiksurveys.com to collect information for them.

It is the easiest survey tool to use, yet the most powerful survey software on the planet.

•No hidden charges, it's free !

•Unlimited number of questions, answers and surveys

•Premium and free support options available

•Secure and Reliable service

•The most popular free survey software

•Free survey tool & builder software

•Downloadable results ( MS Word, Excel)
•Brandable Surveys, Logo's and custom themes
•Embedded surveys directly into HTML webpages, forums etc.

Screenr

Screenr

Screencasts made easy ... Capture what you say and do on your computer (Mac or PC) fast and easy.  Then, you can post it to FB, Twitter, or embed in a blog.  It's fast, easy, and actually fun.  You can even play it on the iphone!

Teachers can record their lesson to post and students can go and watch it.  Try it, they'll like it!

Watch this 1-minute video to see how easy it is to do ... click here

Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere ... Instant Audience Feedback

It is the best way to create stylish real-time experiences for events using mobile devices.  Poll Everywhere replaces expensive proprietary audience response hardware with standard web technology. It's the easiest way to gather live responses in any venue: conferences, presentations, classrooms — anywhere. And because it works internationally with texting, web, your cell phone, or Twitter, its simplicity and flexibility are earning rave reviews.

What's the price?  For schools, K-12 is FREE ... with up to 40 participants per poll.  So, you should be fine!

To watch a short video on how to create a poll, click here.

SlideRocket ... Revisited

SlideRocket

Here's a sample of a pdf made into a slideshow. Quick and easy.

Slideful

Slideful ... online slideshow maker.  This site walks you step-by-step to come up with a slideshow.  You can then add it to a blog (like was done here). This was just basic ... no text, no effects, no nothing, just pictures with a transition.  This took all of 5 minutes to make.  Given more time, you can come up with really neat slideshows.

PowToon

PowToon

A new site for creating animated slideshows and presentations.  Brings awesomeness to your presentations ... Amazing videos, awesome presentations, and easy to make! Try it today and watch your presentations pop! 

PowToon is the brand new Do-It-Yourself animated presentation tool that supercharges your presentations and videos! Save massive amounts of time and money by creating your very own Presentoons that bring the WOW!-factor to product demos, business presentations, classroom presentations, social media clips, and much more.

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2012

from Jane Hart

 

One Man's Journey ... and Back

Thank you to Roy for sharing this amazing story ... I'm sure many of you can relate to this adventure into the heart of darkness and back. 


My name is Roy and I'm neurotic (This is where I think you all say "Hi Roy")
Now for the disclaimers. There is nothing that follows that you need to read. You're being sent this because you've either recently expressed interest in my marathon and Cn tower climb journey, or once upon a time you've expressed interest in them. If you no longer have interest in these tales (or to be honest never did and have been patronizing me) or never have and have told me to stop sending them (yeah I'm talking to you Frank!) feel free to delete and be done with this.

If you're still reading, you're doing so at your own risk because you know I like to ramble. The marathon tale is a marathon in itself.

When we last met, I had completed my first full Marathon in Oct 2011. At the time, I was somewhat satisfied with my time of 3:42 even though the last 10 km were an experience in pain and inability to go forward owing to the symbolic wall that I had hit. This was followed by my best ever CN tower climb in April 2012 of 12:29 and best ever half marathon of 1:38 in May 2012. A summer full of training which included runs in Vienna, Austria, Mont Tremblant Quebec and Markham Ontario, the normal shedding of weight which led to the inevitable comments of "Hey Gandhi how's it going " or equally risque comments of "If you lose any more weight, I'm going to have to sponsor you on World Vision", and the total denial of alcohol, deserts and fried food. By the morning of the marathon, I weighed 140 lbs which was the same as last year. My pants were no longer fitting and I found myself longingly thinking of burgers, beer, wings and most of all CHIPS! OF course all of this was part of my belief that a healthy and low weight body would get me my best time (to save you the suspense of wondering, it didn't!)

It was a mild but wet morning on Sunday Oct 14 as we made our way down to the Marathon start line. I was feeling relatively good after a Sat night of lying on the sofa in prone position with the tv on (a rarity and maybe even a first for me). Only slight issues were a throbbing toe (never, EVER kick a door with a marathon less than a week away - there's a story behind that that I will only share if you buy me a beer or three), and a massive crowd that I knew would be in my way at the start. Nonetheless, I was aiming for a sub 3:39 time. The race started and it was a slow, SLOW start. Many, MANY people in the way. I passed some but found it tough to get into the pace I wanted. I uh passed a guy in full hockey gear - apparently he was trying to get into the guiness record book for fastest marathon in full hockey gear. Maybe I should have contacted guiness to see if I could aim for the fastest bald brown principal with a throbbing toe. There can't be THAT many of us out there!

At the 6 km mark, I was running at about a 5:10 pace which was 15 -20 seconds per km behind where I wanted to be. I didn't completely panic but did try and pick it up a bit. By the 11 km mark, I was still about 2 minutes behind where I wanted to be and would never in the end make up that time. Nonetheless, I was feeling fine with only a bit of foot and leg pain. Passed my cheering section at the half way point still feeling fresh and exchanged my water bottles as well. By 30km, doing alright and victory of victory I passed the 32 km mark still feeling o.k. I was going to do this . I was going to be alright. I was not going to hit the wall. And I didn't. What did happen however is that I fell apart mentally by the 34/35 km mark. My general plan is to run 5km segments and take a 30-45 second break to refuel at those points. All was going according to plan until about the 34/35 km mark when I suddenly started to fell incredibly drained and was taking breaks of over a minute ever 1 km or so. My pace which had been right around the 5 min per km mark for so long started to creep up and then soar up to over 6 min per km. The breaks kept getting more frequent, my time started going out the window and I knew that wall or not, something had gone wrong. At that point the mental shut down began. Negative self talk is a powerful thing. I despaired for the result I was heading towards but couldn't pick myself up. I kept taking longer and more frequent breaks. Someone told me the 81 year old was beating me. For the record, the 81 year old crushed me with a time of 3:31 - a time I still can't seem to get. As I reached the 40 km mark, I made a solid commitment to not stop anymore but my pace was that of a shuffling slow SLOW knee replacement surgery patient (no disrespect to any knee surgery patients out there because in truth you might of have been faster than me at that point). Couldn't even manage a final kick. Apparently Chantelle who rarely shows emotion cried as she saw me approach the finish line because I looked like I was coming from the grave. A future Halloween costume - Roy of the Dead - The Marathon Finish!

I crossed the line at 3:47 which was a full five minutes slower than last time. I was demoralized and spent, and only made it home because Lisa managed to get under the barrier and let me lean on her literally until we cleared the labyrinth of the post marathon walk - an experiment in sado masochism if you ask me. You finish a marathon, let me out instead of another seemingly endless walk! It probably is a sign of how little I weighed that Lisa COULD support my weight. At that point I was completely disconsolate. Brian was more than little annoyed at my lack of pride in my accomplishment but I didn't consider it an accomplishment at that point and still only KIND of do. Yes I finished but all that training and all those hopes for a 5 minute slower race? Excuses? None. Wind was o.k. Weather was ok and my foot didn't impact enough. I just couldn't do it. Now all I do take solace in is that the more I read the more I know that it's the last 10 km that are the issue in a marathon. First one I caved at 32 km. This one I caved at 34. I've said I am NOT doing one next year but whenever I do, maybe I'll get to 36 or 37 before I break. Time will tell.

Post Marathon was an interesting graphic story of hurling several SEVERAL times at home to the point that the next morning I weighed 137 lbs!!! Fun stuff.

The marathon was on Oct 14, Oct 15 was off and then Oct 16-18 CN tower training

This email is already too long so condensed version of cn tower climb is this. Wasn't expecting a good time going into CN tower climb because my foot was starting to throb and calf muscles were tight.

Got up at 3:40 am. on Saturday and at the tower by 4:45 am. 20 people were already waiting in line. There are LOTS of sickies out there! Climb seemed to go well and while I didn't have a pb time, I did have my third fastest time at 12:41. 12 seconds off my pb from last April. Take a look at the results so you can see my name in the top 15.

http://www.unitedwaytoronto.com/climbforunitedway/CNTowerResults20Oct2012-bytime.pdf

Notice I didn't send you the marathon results (go to sportstats.ca for those results)

All told, I was satisfied with the CN tower climb, and sadly I've decided NOT to retire yet. The day will come when I start getting much slower. On that day, I'm done. Until such time, the training regime will continue but for next few months, it's more about getting muscle mass back.

For the record, I've gained 10 pounds since the marathon and about 7 since CN tower climb. I doubt my one day of weight training can account for that so maybe it's the 3 bags of chips I've inhaled as well as the snacks and deserts. At the very least, my pants are starting to fit again. So thanks for reading or deleting and you won't have to hear anymore until April when the journey of the neurotic brown man continues!

Roy

Bloom's Revised Taxonomy - yet again!

Bloom's Taxonomy ... Revised for the 21st Century, again.  I really like this version and the essence of it and how it applies to education and the classrooms is wonderfully explained.  You've got to visit this website ... http://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html - there's a lot to see and read.  Also, teachers will find the site easy to read, follow, collect ideas, and utilize in the classroom. Wonderful anchor charts!

Using iPads for Learning

Great site ... check it out!  After the Contents page, it may be blank ... just click on the link below and go to the Site directly.  Well worth the time if you plan to use an iPad in your classroom.  This is a good starting place. Check it out!

iPads for Learning Getting Started

Reading Games ... Flash Learning for Grades JK to 3

http://www.mrcpl.org/literacy/lessons/sight/index.html
Learn Dolch Sight Words: Try these Macromedia Flash Learning Games ... Brought to you by the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library - They have provided this easy-to-use site for students and teachers.  The focus is on READING ... Students can play various games like MATCHING, SENTENCE BUILDING, SIGHT WORD STORIES, PICTURE WORDS, and CREATE A STORY.  This is an interactive site that young students will have fun and learn.

Literactive - Teaching Children to Read

http://www.literactive.com/Home/index.asp

Literactive is one of the leading providers of reading material for pre-school, kindergarten and grade 1 students available online. The program is comprised of carefully levelled guided readers, comprehensive phonic activities and a wealth of supplemental reading material which gradually develop a child's reading skills in a sequential and enjoyable manner. All the material is available for free from this site but you need to register. You can select activities focussing on ... PHONICS, GUIDED READING, READING SKILLS ACTIVITIES, E-POETRY, E-PICTURE BOOKS (independent reading), BLMs to download and even ESL (Spanish). Teachers can use the site in the classroom and even provide link to parents. 

Fractured Fairy Tales - ReadWriteThink

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/fractured-fairy-tales-30062.html

This is a very simple website for students to use.  They can enjoy reading well-known stories - but, with a twist!  Students of all ages can also write their very own fractured fairy tales.  Especially a lot of fun for Primary students too.  This site is great for educators as well as it readily provides lesson plans for teachers ... From JK - 8, teachers will have really good activities to use in order to cover the curriculum.  This site is fun, educational and worth visiting.

Khan Academy ... Flipping the Classroom

Videolicious

Videolicious is a super easy app to use with your ipod or smart phone ... make neat videos in 3 easy steps ... great little projects for students when away on class trips, sports outings, or on family vacations. Check it out - click the title or picture and go to the site and download the app ... FREE! Thanks Jordan.

PSA: Toronto Police Force ... Teaching Kids about 9-1-1

This link is from the Toronto Police ... we encourage schools to encourage parents to watch the video link and teach their children how to call 9-1-1. This is part of a current awareness campaign of not only how to use 9-1-1, but also proper use of the system. Please, encourage all to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP8zM-EW7qY&feature=share

PreDio - Lake St. George (TRCA/TCDSB)

Press Play and watch ... you click on Play again to Pause and click again to Play.

This is an example of a PreDio.

For those Parents coming to view info on Lake St. George, you can view this one or the presentation later on (further into the Blog). Additional information is available on the blog entry further in.

How to Embed a PowerPoint on Blogger

Using Slideshare ... Embed your PowerPoints on Blogger ... Easy

Adding Powerpoints to our class blog

View more PowerPoint from mrstaceysclass

Lake St. George Parent Information Nite

Parents, here is a brief presentation that was delivered to all parents for Parent Information Night.  If you missed it, no problem.  You can view it here at your convenience.

Storybird - Artful storytelling

Storybirds are short, art-inspired stories you make to share, read, and print. Read them like books, play them like games, and send them like greeting cards. They're curiously fun. You can embed them in a blog or wiki ... you can even make them into books (you pay for this feature). All in all, the website gives you tutorials on how to sign-up, setup your class, use the program, and produce good looking stories.

This is a nice and easy site to use, as Toni says, "For all students from Grade 1 to 8." Check it out.

Thanks Toni for the link ... another wonderful link for teachers. For more information, visit http://storybird.com/

Revolver Maps - Free 3D Visitor Maps

http://www.revolvermaps.com/?target=home

Great to add to your site ... red dots indicate the locations of those on
your site - Live!

Best New Edublog 2009 | The Edublog Awards

http://edublogawards.com/2009/best-new-edublog-2009/

Best blogs of 2009

The 2010 Edublog Awards | The Edublog Awards

http://edublogawards.com/2010awards/

Check out the best of 2010

Presentation/Slideshow

http://pinterest.com/dkapuler/presentation-slideshow/

David K's Pinterest Board

Child Safety Coloring Sheets & Coloring Book Pages

This is a very nice website for parents and teachers ... it has plenty of information and downloadable/copiable handouts and booklets broaching the topic of child safety and abuse prevention programs.

Easy to read and discuss with a child. Easy for all caregivers to use. Thank you for the wonderful information Anna!

http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/safety-coloring-sheet.asp

Top 10 Sites for Educational Resources

by David Kapuler
There are many resources for educators and students all over the web, but it would take an eternity to decipher what's good and what's junk. So, David has created a list of his picks for best educational resources. You should also visit his blog (noted at the end) for more top websites and tools that are worthy!

Thinkfinity - One of the most popular educational resource sites on the web. Created by Verizon Foundation with 1000s of lesson plans, interactive tools, etc.
Teachers.net - A wonderful site with lesson plans created by teachers for teachers. A ton of classroom projects in all subjects and grade levels can be found here too.
Edhelper - A great collection of educational resources on all subject areas. This is a paid service for a low cost which can be purchased in teacher packs of five as well.
Shmoop - One of my favorite sites for education. A very fun and friendly site with a variety of resources such as links, lesson plans, guides, etc.
teAchnology - 1000s of lesson plans can be found here as well as other resources on holidays, events, etc.
Super Teacher Worksheets - A massive list of free printable worksheets for teachers on a number of subject areas.
Educational World - A great site with lesson plans and other materials for teachers.
TeachAde - A social network designed for educators with lots of free educational materials and a beautiful user interface.
Cybraryman - An excellent site with multiple links and resources for educators and students.
FREE - Free Resources for Educational Excellence. This site has it all -- lessons, videos, documents and more.
David Kapuler is an educational consultant with more than 10 years of experience working in the K-12 environment. For more information about his work, contact him at dkapuler@gmail.com and read his blog at cyber-kap.blogspot.com

The 50 Best Websites of 2011 - TIME

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2087815,00.html

Time Magazine's Top Lists ...and also from 2010, 2009

Dear Photograph

http://dearphotograph.com/

What a great and simple activity to do ... nostalgic, fun, making
connections, writing, posting on blogs, family can get involved, and best of
all, FREE and EASY TO DO!

realshow presenter

RealShow Presenter:

 

http://www.freewarefiles.com/RealShow_program_63190.html

 

RealShow provides a simple technique to integrate popular PowerPoint slides, freehand drawings, text typing, web pages, and direct teacher’s video view in one single window. It allows teachers create video and flash content using several translation techniques, including facial expressions, natural gestures, and sign language, which help convey messages.

RealShow encourages teachers in developing nations to produce video content using a cost-effective solution and share their content via RealShow website and electronic or mobile media, which can be used to bridge many gaps.

 

 

280 slides

280 Slides:

 

http://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/02/webware/280slides-create-and-share-presentations-online-for-free.html

 

Wow!That was the reaction I had as soon as I opened the 280slides online PPT editor. Having seen and reviewed some of the best free software, it is not usual for me to gasp like this. But 280Slides really left me amazed. It is hard to believe that 280Slides is a web application. It seems like a software that you have installed on your desktop. The website has been designed beautifully, and using this website is really amazing. Absolutely love it!

280Slides is a free website to create presentations online. It is completely free, and it comes with amazing features. First thing that will thoroughly impress you is the nice interface. Everything is so obvious to use in the interface. Creating a presentation online with 280Slides is a really easy process.

 

 

powerbullet presenter

PowerBullet Presenter:

 

http://wareseeker.com/download/powerbullet-presenter-1.44.rar/332339

 

Powerbullet Presenter is small, simple to use and of course free. Use it to create presentations in the Flash™ format. You don't need any experience to create slick, animated presentations, and it has loads of functionality to get you up and running quickly. Simply type, click and drag. Entirely free, no ads, no catch.

 

Powerbullet is a small, simple program for creating presentations in the Flash format. You should have minimal startup time in getting your first presentation together if you're familiar with using a basic word processor.

 

Most commonly-used operations are available with a button click or two, and there are handy keyboard shortcuts for most operations. For instance, using the up and down arrow keys - in conjunction with the Control and Shift key - dynamically increases or decreases the font size, giving you instant feedback.

 

Powerbullet Presenter is specifically designed for creating multi-page presentations that are commonly used in electronic sales brochures and catalogues, splash screens, tutorials, slide-shows and student projects.

 

You can also create a self-running show, specifying delays on each page, or you can link the timing to the sound attached to each page.

 

Your presentations can be exported as an HTML page with an embedded Flash for playback on any platform that supports a web browser and Flash. You can also create an independent Windows executable file.

 

Create standard presentations easily or customize You can easily create presentations using drag and drop, or you can hand tune the HTML data which describes the Powerbullet Pages and create your own animation sequences.

Unusual fonts

Your text is converted to Flash format, so unusual fonts can be displayed on any machine.

Online or Offline Presentations

Your presentation will be exported both as Flash (embedded in HTML) and as an executable file (.exe), so you can use it for the web or run it as a Microsoft Powerpoint-like presentation on any Windows PC (without requiring any special software to be installed).

Presentations for every purpose

Powerbullet Presenter is specifically designed for creating multi-page presentations that are commonly used in electronic sales brochures and catalogues, splash screens, slideshows and educational projects for both teachers and students.

 

 

zoho

Zoho:

 

https://show.zoho.com/login.do

 

Introducing Zoho Show 2.0: The online tool for making powerful presentations.Whether you are a professional, a teacher, a student, a businessman, a salesman or anyone looking to put together a cool presentation, you have come to the right place. Zoho Show's pre-built themes, clipart and shapes coupled with features like drag-and-drop makes it an easy application to use.

 

 

 

PreZentit:

 

http://prezentit.com/

 

With PreZentit

◦Create presentations in a few clicks, wherever you are.

◦You only need a web browser.

◦Work with your team in the same presentation at the same time.

◦Your presentations can be private or public. And each one has its own web address.

◦Download your presentations and show them even without an Internet connection.

◦There is no limit in the number or length of the presentations and you have 250MB to store your images.

◦The presentations are web pages (HTML) so you could even edit them manually (if you want it)..

 

 

KIZOA

Kizoa:

http://www.kizoa.com/creating-slideshows?gclid=CKv7z9DZ16sCFcsBQAodSieIOw

Create a Free Photo Slideshow with Music, Text and Special Effects.

Making slideshow’s with Kizoa is free, fun and easy! Get started by clicking on the button above and create your account. Once you have created your Kizoa account, you'll be able to create truly amazing slideshows in seconds.

With Kizoa's unique text, music, animation and other special effects, there are unlimited possibilities to customize your slideshow!

                            

Get started today! There's no software to download, and it's free!

10 Great iPad Apps for Autistic Children

Below are 5 basic skills which autistic children learn by playing games and puzzles on their iPad:

1. Social skills
2. Fine motor skills
3. Language and communication skills
4. Sensory skills
5. Stress reduction

Education experts are raving over the Apple iPad, but not for its ability to help kids with their homework or influence secondary language fluency; in the spotlight today is the way Apple’s new iPad touchscreen device is revolutionizing the way we teach children with autism.

http://www.b12patch.com/blog/autism/10-great-ipad-apps-for-autistic-children/

EduGAINS ... Ontario Curriculum Docs

http://www.edugains.ca/newsite/index.html

Great site for teachers to get information about Ontario curriculum.  Great site for what docs are new and

EduGAINS ... Building individual and collective capacities to improve teaching and learning in Ontario ... The Pulse of the Province

Here's an example:

Paying Attention to Literacy K-12 Paying Attention to Literacy K-12 compiles key learning from an extensive body of current field experience and research-based knowledge in literacy, and provides a framework for conversations about processes and strategies that will help improve literacy learning and teaching in Ontario schools. Click on < Leading Change > in the left menu on the LiteracyGAINS home page.

Google+ Hangouts: Six Practical Uses for Online Education

Google+ Hangouts: Six Practical Uses for Online Education 
by Jeremy Vest : Learning Solutions Magazine

What is a Google+ Hangout? A Hangout is a video group chat in Google+ for up to 10 people. If you click “Hangouts with extras” when you start a Hangout, you will see that it has a whole lot more power then just a Web chat feature. (Figure 1) In fact, it’s very close to the power of the best online meeting websites. For very small classes, this might be a good alternative to expensive online meeting Websites

If seeing, hearing, or sharing with your online students could help the learning process, then Google+ Hangouts could be a great, engaging venue for your students. Considering that many students use Social Media as one of the primary ways to communicate, this might be a way to better engage younger generations.

Interested? Click the link below:
http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/772/google-hangouts-six-practic
al-uses-for-online-education

Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds

This is a very easy website to use.  Great for teachers and students of all ages.
Click on CREATE and you are on your way!

http://www.wordle.net/

Glogster ... Online Multimedia Posters

Glogster is the leading global education platform for the creative expression of knowledge and skills in the classroom and beyond.  GLOGS are online multimedia posters - with text, photos, videos, graphics, sounds, drawings, data attachments and more.  
THIS IS NOT FREE TO CREATE, BUT YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR A FREE TRIAL 
ALSO FREE IS THE ABILITY TO SEE THE MANY ALREADY MADE GLOGS.  

For Educators:
-A creative, collaborative, dynamic, and innovative digital outlet that makes teaching and learning more fun.
-A private and safe platform, monitored directly by teachers.
-A valuable teaching tool that integrates diverse core subjects including math, science, history, art, photography, music and more.

For Learners:
-A fun, imaginative, and powerful learning experience that fosters independent and creative self expression, positive teacher-student relationships, and teamwork on class projects.
- A vibrant, multi-sensory learning experience that integrates student knowledge and skills with traditionally text-oriented subjects, and inspires intellectual curiosity.

www.edu.glogster.com

To see already posted GLOGS, go to:    http://edu.glogster.com/glogpedia/

Spies in the Shadows ... How Real Can it Get?

http://www.spiesintheshadows.com/

Study espionage in the classroom ... An historical study of the role of espionage in Canada. WHY SPY? What is espionage and why do governments, companies, and people spend major resources on it? Perhaps this question was best answered by the hero of the Napoleonic Wars, Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, who was “guessing what was at the other side of the hill.” The goal of espionage, intelligence, or spying, is usually to find information, especially regarding knowledge (what do you know that we don’t) or intentions (what do you plan to do, and why?).

Intelligence is about understanding an adversary, whether military, business or personal. Governments gather intelligence to become informed about what other countries are planning to do, whether to improve their own negotiating position, or to anticipate what repercussions intended or unintended actions might create. In the private sector, companies seek information about their competitors and their products. Stealing technology is often cheaper and faster than paying for independent research. Investors also perform “due diligence” investigations on companies that want to borrow their money.

In countries like Canada, most intelligence comes from open source intelligence: sources like newspapers, television, or the internet. In fact, most intelligence in the western world derives from publicly available sources. However, sometimes “what was at the other side of the hill,” or in an enemy’s filing cabinet, or tactics being transmitted to soldiers, all represent secret, highly sensitive information. For this, the goal of espionage – agencies, tools and tactics— is to learn what others try to keep secret.  Learning couldn't get any easier and more real ... Check out this site ... no, better still, have your students check it out!

Link to Learning ... A Good Place for Intermediate and High School Teachers

Link to Learning ... http://www.linktolearning.com/

Linking you to websites supporting the Ontario curriculum ... Grade 7 to 12.

You'll find Web-Based Student Learning Activities and this site is just for teachers.  You'll see:

-Ontario Curriculum Expectations by Grade
-Lesson Plans and Teaching Ideas
-Assessment and Evaluation

Want to learn more ... visit:  http://www.linktolearning.com/

Put a Prezi in Your PowerPoint

http://www.slidedynamic.com/slidedynamic-addin/download-trial
Here's how you can put a Prezi in your powerpoint ...

Use “slidedynamic” (amazing little add-on) to embed a powerpoint in a prezi ... easy and no cost to you. You’ll need to download something called an add-on for your PowerPoint ... This particular add-on is called “Slidedynamic”
[A] PowerPoint add-on to embed a Prezi in your PowerPoint Presentation (2007 and 2010):
1. Download and Install “Slidedynamic” add-on for PowerPoint (see url below)
http://www.slidedynamic.com/slidedynamic-addin/download-trial
Go to the bottom of the page where it says “download” and click it ...
2. Save it to your desktop ... it saves a zipped folder to your desktop
3. Unzip the folder (right clicking on it and choosing “extract all”) ... it will put another folder onto your desktop (called Slidedynamic_lite).
4. You can leave it here or cut/paste onto your C: drive (Up to you)
5. Go into the folder and click on SETUP ... this will begin to install the add-on for PowerPoint (follow the directions ... it’s a no-brainer to do)
4. Once installed, it will open PowerPoint for you and automatically place another tab in your PowerPoint toolbar area called “Slidedynamic”
You are ready for the next step
[B] PowerPoint:
1. Start your PowerPoint and add whatever slides you want
2. Go to the slide where you want the Prezi embedded
3. Save your PowerPoint Presentation in a folder somewhere ... make sure you remember where you saved it – this is the hardest thing of all we’re doing here.
We’ll come back to this ...
[C] Download your ready-made Prezi from the website
1. Download and save your Prezi from the Prezi.com website
2. Unzip Prezi zipped folder that you downloaded (This is called your “offline Prezi”)
3. Find your unzipped prezi and you’ll see 3 things in the folder
4. Copy the 2 folders (called “data” and “prezi.app”and paste these both into the same folder you saved your already started powerpoint document (Step [B] above).
5. Great ... you’re done here. Now, go back to your PowerPoint
[D] In the PowerPoint presentation ... the one you already started from above
1. Go to the slide where you want the prezi embedded
2. Click the tab “Slidedynamic”
3. Click “insert offline prezi”
4. Your prezi will be there ... it’s the rectangle with an “x” through it ... don’t worry, it’s there!
5. You can resize if you want.
6. Click “slideshow” to watch your Powerpoint ... and in this case, your prezi. Control the prezi as you would any prezi.
You’re all done! That read and looked harder than it actually was. It’s really not as hard as the instructions look ... once you do one, you’ll see how easy it is to do. I hope this has helped you.
For more help (and visual assistance), check out my favourite place to learn how to do stuff...
YouTube- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKpeHMC6h6s

Enjoy!

How to Make a PreDio (Prezi-Video)

Do you have a cool Prezi with pictures, video clips, and neat animation and motion? Do you want it on your blog, but it's not online (with html embedding code)...Oh, you have it saved as an offline Prezi. You're okay with the computer, but all this embedding stuff, downloading, using online software and converting drives you crazy and worst of all - it's time consuming. You just want the presentation you worked so hard to do on the blog as fast as possible!! Well, here's a simple solution for you. Make a PreDio - you got it - a Prezi-Video.
The way you make a PreDio is ...
1. Make a Prezi
2. Have screen capture software available (screencast-o-matic)
3. Load screen capture and ready
4. Start Prezi to play (home)
5. Start screen capture
6. Start Prezi at a rate easy for all to follow ... play all of it
7. As Prezi is playing, you are recording it.
8. When done, stop Prezi back at home and stop screen capture
9. Save file as .avi or .wmv or whatever format it allows
10. Now, you've got a PreDio (Prezi-Video) to embed on your blog
That was Easy!

Super Teacher Worksheets

This website is a simple link to worksheets ... some you need to register, but most are free to download and print ... topics include math, language, social studies, science, puzzles, brain teasers, and more. Enjoy
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/

WorksheetWorks.com

Get worksheets for English/Language, Math, Geography, Puzzles, and miscellaneous stuff (e.g., scissor-cutting practice). A wonderfully easy site to use and no computer knowledge is really needed. It's a nice site where you set the parameters (you choose things by selecting options) and then they create a pdf for you of the worksheet you created. Then, you just download (save and print) your created worksheet.

http://www.worksheetworks.com/

K-5 Computer Lab

This is a site with Gr. K-5 lesson plans ... there are activities using a variety of multi-media tools. This is a very resourceful website and very easy to use - you can get ideas, download lesson plans, see tangible examples of what you should be looking for. Best of all, everything (technology software, tools, sites) used on the site can be accessed or downloaded for FREE - it is shareware or freeware. A wonderful site to use if you're starting a new grade and want to implement technology into your everyday teaching - a good way to start, no doubt about it. To get started, use the drop-down links on the left-hand side of the site. Enjoy!

Web 2.0 teaching tools to enhance education and learning - Edjudo

Don't know where to find a web 2.0 tool or better yet, you don't know if such a tool exists? You want to do something, but where to look - don't fear. On this link, you'll search for an existing website, add-on, downloadable or whatever it is that you can use. It's broken up in catergories and gives a brief summary. This blog belongs to a high school teacher and he has a lot of fantastic content on it. One stop shopping, but not overwhelming in the least. Two thumbs-up!!

http://edjudo.com/web-2-0-teaching-tools-links