Technology

Apps Can Be a Smashing Success!

Posted by Paul Wagner on March 19, 2014
Posted in: Apps, Technology.

The iPad is a great tool for the classroom.  It can provide remediation for your students, of course, with the HUGE selection of apps that can be used to reteach and “drill and kill” a concept.  Sometimes that is what a student needs…a big dose of problems or activities that hit the same concept over and over.

What I see starting to gain momentum in classrooms now, however, are teachers taking advantage of the creativity apps to allow students a chance to show what they know.  In my opinion, this is where the most is gotten from an iPad.  Allow your students to be creative and think outside the box.  Give them the opportunity to produce material that is relevant to them.  They will learn so much more if you let them own their education. Give them choices and let their creativity flow!

App Smashing is a term you hear quite often now in the educational world.  It is the process of using multiple apps to create one final product.  I like to break it down into 2 categories: collecting resources and creation.  Collecting resources means you are using certain apps to collect or create images, etc that can be used within another app later.  Creation is when you are taking the resources you collected and pulling them all together to create a final product.  There are many apps out there that you can use to smash.  I will list a few of my favorites below.  If you want more information on these apps, do a quick search for them on my site as I have posted about most/all of them in the past.

 Collecting Resources

 Drawing Apps
 drawing pad Drawing Pad – $1.99. It is not free but I love the flexibility you get with this app.  If you intend to use a drawing app a lot then this may be worth the money for you. Save to camera roll.
 doodle buddy Doodle Buddy– Free. Easy to use and manipulate. Save to your camera roll.
 skitch Skitch – Free. Annotate over images. Save to camera roll

 Collage Apps
 turbocollage Turbo Collage – Free.
 Pic Collage icon Pic Collage – Free

 Creation Apps
 type drawing TypeDrawing– $1.99. Type out your text. Use your finger to draw your text out around any shape or image you choose.
 tellagami Tellagami – Free. Create 30 second videos with an avatar.
 chatterpix kids icon Chatterpix for Kids– Free. Draw a mouth on any image and create a 30 second video.
 30 Hands Icon 30 Hands– Free. Create a video slideshow. Annotate on images and record your voice.
 haiku deck Haiku Deck– Free. Create a presentation similar to PowerPoint or Keynote.
 book creator Book Creator– $4.99. Still my favorite! Create a book where can draw, type, or insert images and video.  You can use the above apps and then import it all into Book Creator for a class book/project or use as a summarizing or documentation tool for an ongoing activity.

Getting Rid of YouTube’s Ads

Posted by Paul Wagner on February 19, 2014
Posted in: Integration, Technology.

Many districts are starting to open their filters a bit and YouTube is starting to find its way in.  I am all for this.  YouTube gives you many amazing, educational videos right at your fingertips.  It also gives you a place to share what you and  your students are doing in your classroom with the world.

An issue you can sometimes run into, however, is all the advertisements that are posted along the right side of the screen.  You also have to contend with other video “recommendations” that pop up.  You can make the video full screen, but those few seconds it takes can in some cases let your students see more than you care to admit.

There are a couple of free sites that help alleviate you of this issue.  Both SafeShare.TV and ViewPure.com allow you to watch YouTube videos with nothing but a blank screen surrounding the video.  All it takes is a little preparation ahead of time on your part.

  • First, find the video you wish to use from YouTube and copy its URL.
  • Open either SafeShare or ViewPure and copy the link into the field.
  • Click to create the link.

A link will either be provided to you or a new window will open up with your YouTube video on a blank canvas.  Simply copy and paste the link where you need it or create a shortcut to the video on your desktop.  Now when you or your students click to watch the video, the video is all you get!

Send to Small Groups Using Remind 101

Posted by Paul Wagner on February 12, 2014
Posted in: Apps, Integration, Technology.

For those of you who do not know, Remind 101 is an amazing, free service that allows you to send out messages through text to groups of people, such as your class, without using your actual phone number.  You can send messages instantly or schedule them to be delivered at a later date and time, all from the website or their app.

Remind 101 is a one way conversation  Your end users can only receive messages…they cannot reply to your message.  It is very simple to use and a great resource for you and your class.  Learn more about it from an earlier post here.  What percentage of your students or parents do not have texting capability in this day and age?  If you are not taking advantage of this service, you are missing out.

Twitter Pic

The latest update to Remind 101 allows you to send to small groups instead of your entire class.   The smallest number of people you can send to is three.  That is to keep you from one on one conversations that should most likely not be happening through this type of media.

This option is great for group projects or after school activities where only a handful of people need to receive your reminder, as well as many other situations you will run across throughout the year.  Learn more about this update and how to use it on the Remind 101 Blog.  A short video showing you how the new feature works is included in their post.

Be sure to follow @remind101 via Twitter for new updates and information.

TCEA 2014 Bound!

Posted by Paul Wagner on February 4, 2014
Posted in: Professional Development, Technology.

I am at TCEA in Austin, TX this week.  Excited to present the “Get Off My iPad” session with Mandy Bryan on Wednesday at 9:15, Room 19A!  If you are here, come by and join us.  If you can’t make it…our presentation can be found on the Presentation page of my blog.

The rest of the week I am looking for new ideas or ways to improve what we are already doing.  I will be tweeting all week on what I am learning.  Follow me: @pwagnerlcisd if you are not already.  You can also follow the hashtag for the event: #tcea14.

I am most looking forward to connecting with all my PLN friends for some face to face time instead of text to text!  I hope to see many of you there so we can continue learning together and from each other.

Kicking Off the New Year with Student Blogging

Posted by Paul Wagner on January 1, 2014
Posted in: Integration, Technology.

2014 brings on new opportunities and New Year’s resolutions. Why not make student blogging one of your resolutions? The best practice for any student to become a better writer is to have them write! Student blogging allows your students an opportunity to write not just for themselves but for the the entire world! The new audience can instill excitement into your students. Learn more about student blogging in the 3 posts I have written below.

Why Students Should Blog

How to Start Blogging with Students

Where Students Should Blog