There Is An App For That... Seriously There Is An App For Almost Everything

    I love apps (applications)!!  Being the Apple, Inc. enthusiast I am, I love anything that has to do with apps.  I have an iPhone loaded with apps, as well as an iPad full of them.  I even went onto the App Store, to buy an app, that tells me about apps, and when apps become free (yup... I'm that guy).  There are apps for information such as weather, movie times, banking, news, etc.  There are apps that are games, such as Angry Birds, Ghostbusters, Rat on a Snowboard, Plants vs. Zombies, etc.  There are also apps for social media such as Twitter and Facebook.  If you want something, there is an app for that.  What about education?  Are there apps for education?  If companies want to make it anywhere these days they have to incorporate education somehow.  Due to my overuse of Apple products, here is one of my favorite apps to use, and I plan to use it in the classroom soon!

ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard

I have had the ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard app for awhile now, and it has been awesome!  Essentially it is a whiteboard for your iPad!  This can also be downloaded through android devices as well, but I will explain from an IOS stand point.  You start it up and you are given a blank white screen, with a pen option (with multiple color options... oooooo), as well as a clear all, an eraser, and a couple other options.  There is also a record button.  Once you are ready, hit record and start your lesson.  While you are writing (I suggest getting a stylus pen for convenience) your voice can also be recorded.  A great use for this app is to do lessons, whether it be math, science, english, or whatever!  Just write and record.  You can then share it via Twitter, Facebook, email, or embed it in a website or blog (like I did below).  You could then hook it up to your projector, so the whole class can see it.  My favorite feature is that you can share it.  This is a great function, especially if a child was sick that day.  If a student was sick and missed a long division lesson, one could easily do a quick ShowMe lesson and then email it to the parents or put it on the classroom website so the student could watch it.  Another awesome feature is that you can even search lessons other people have made.  There are thousands of lesson covering all subjects and topics.  If you are looking for a really good lesson on science just search it up and it will most likely be there!  Lessons can also be viewed over their website.  All you have to do is create an account (which booyah is free), select what subjects you like, and it's all learning from there.  If you have a tablet this is a must get, and if you don't, the website with all of its recorded lessons is a must see!!  Below the video is a link to the app store!  Until next time... CHEERS!!

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https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/showme-interactive-whiteboard/id445066279?mt=8

Technology in the Classroom Isn't For Looks

  We recently had Clarence Fisher join us via Skype from his position in Snow Lake.  The conversation we had was brief, but awesome.  He talked about how we need to teach proper digital skills to our students.  Digital skills are very important, much like how reading and writing is.  I'm not saying reading and writing isn't important, I'm saying that digital skills are becoming increasingly important.  Teaching a student how to use technology to gather information is essential.  Teaching a student how to separate the real information from the garbage is also important.  I have written many essays in my short time on this planet, and I have sure come across a lot of junk in terms of information.  It is really hard to know what is good and what is bad.  I wish I would have been taught how to filter it, because I have probably loaded an essay with some awful stuff at some point.  If my knowledge was better at the time, I probably would have known what was good and what was bad, but my awareness was self taught so it took awhile.

  We also discussed the actual, physical use of technology in the classroom.  Many teachers have technology in their classrooms, but don't use it, or don't use it right.  A smartboard isn't something you just slap on the wall and say "Oooooooo....... pretty."  It is also not a glorified projector screen.  It is an educational tool that students can interact with, which can greatly benefit their learning.  An iPad just isn't a really slick, amazing, gorgeous, sexy and crazy awesome device; it has purposes that are educational and surpass everything I previously stated in this sentence.  Yeah it checks email.  Yeah it tells you when the Toronto Maple Leafs just scored a goal (which last night was plentiful I must say).  Yeah it tells you the weather.  However, if these are the only reasons it is sitting in your classroom,  take the thing home, because you are just teasing the kids with the notion that they may get to use it.  I use my iPad for a lot of assessment.  Evernote is an amazing tool for the computer, iPad, and iPhone.  It allows me to take antidotal notes, take pictures of students' work, and tag names and assignments so they are all organized.  It is just too awesome.  Anyways, use it if you have it, and use it right.  Let the kids use it.  IPads and smartboards in classrooms should be smeared with fingerprints. 

  Great presentation, and great information!  Until next time... CHEERS!!


PS - This is the album I have been listening to while doing homework today.  "Koi No Yokan" by Deftones.  Awesome stuff, so give some of the songs a listen on YouTube if you like a mellower heavy metal sound.

This is the audio video for their song "Tempest."  Enjoy.

Think, Think...... What Else Should I Use?

This, is my interpretation of my very own educational sharing world:

As you can see, I do not have all that much on it yet in comparison to some.  However, I am somewhat new to the massive educational sharing network, but I do know that one day this will be a lot bigger.  The first one that I ever used, and probably almost everyone first started using, was the web browser (except for family and friends; but lets just talk technology for now).  In sense, it almost had to have been the web browser, because to get the majority of the others you had to use the web browser (except for the iPhone and iPad, but you probably did research on it before buying one through a browser; and again the family and friends of course).  The web browser allowed me to reach all of the other portions of my network, even though I did not show using arrows because that would just look too busy.

Out of all the portions of my PLN, I would have to say that Twitter is the one I use the most.  I joined twitter last year (to follow the NHL trade deadline), and have used it constantly since.  I used it for more personal stuff for awhile, but then I learned through ICT that it had a countless supply of educational benefits.  Sharing, following, and chatting about all kinds of educational opportunity, ideas, lessons, sessions, and the list goes on.  The best part is, that all it takes is a quick follow or a hashtag search and it is at your fingertips.

I cannot count how many times Google Docs has come in handy for me.  Collaborative projects, study notes, slideshows, etc.  The ability to take multiple people's experiences and ideas and collectively add it to an online database is just astonishing.  Google Docs would have been one of the most handy tools I could have used in my undergrad degree, but sadly I never heard of its existence until I was in my first year in the Faculty of Education.

I just started using Diigo... so I'll get back to you on that one.

MAPLE is going to be DA BOMB (yeah, I just said that).  I have just been added to this amazing online resource thanks to John Evans, and once it becomes more widespread, it will be the go to online resource for Manitoba teachers.  Just think, an online social website created by teachers, and exclusively for teachers!  It is essentially Facebook without the veil.  I say this because if you are on MAPLE, then it is you, not a fake version of you.  You have to be a Manitoban teacher to use it.  No invite groups, or special 1 month trials, only real teachers.  You have to love that, because then you know you are getting the best possible resources available.

I would start talking about the iPad, but if you just look at how many connection arrows I've made with it, I think it sums up my thoughts on it well enough (it is literally the best piece of equipment I have ever owned).

I am still learning and always will be.  So, in ten years from now if I am asked to create another mind map of my network, and then compared the two, I would probably be astonished to see how much it has expanded.  I am going to keep thinking, searching, and trying, to see how many I can possibly use effectively.  I am also very open to suggestions of really good one!  So... wish me luck!!  Until next time... CHEERS!!

*Thinking of what to try next, or about what to eat?  You decide!*