iPad ideas for Math and Science in the Upper School

As we are getting ready to implement sets of 10 iPads in some of our US Math and Science classes over the next few weeks, I thought it would be interesting to share a few resources.  A few 6th graders caught me shopping for Apps in the Media Center this morning, which reinforces their belief (and mine) that I have the best job in the school :)

First, I found a presentation titled "Introduction to iPads in Middle School" by a teacher named Gary Toews. I think it helps frame how to think about best using this mobile technology in your classrooms.

Not everything in the presentation lines up with how we will run things at HTS.  Gary is a big fan of Dropbox for sharing documents. I think Google Drive will make more sense for our students because they already have Google accounts set up (one less password to remember).

We'll also need to think about how best to print documents in the Upper School - more on this will follow...
 

Introduction to iPads in Middle School from Gary Toews

Next, I would like to share an article titled "5 Critical Mistakes Schools Make with iPads (and how to correct them)" from the edudemic website.  I would love to be able to have an entire meeting devoted to addressing the concerns raised in this article, but as time is always a bit short, if you have a chance to read it, I'd love to discuss it at any time.

And now for my App shopping project.  If the math and science nerds in the crowd would like to peruse the following sites and suggest any Apps that you'd like us to purchase to compliment current topics, please let me know:

First, I found a resource for free Secondary School Math Apps: http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/secondarymathematics

And some great ideas for Middle School Science Apps can be found on iear.org:
http://www.iear.org/iear/2010/7/26/ipads-in-science-by-al-gonzalez.html

This list of "100 Apps Perfect for Middle School" deserves a look as well:
http://www.fluency21.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=2402

Tumblebooks and Bookflix for iPad or Smartboard

Beverly found a great resource for children's picture books that can projected onto a Smartboard, or read on an iPad - Tumblebooks.  I have previewed a number of them, and I suspect our students will find them as engaging and fun as I do.

The link to access Tumblebooks through the DC Public Library site is here:  http://www.dclibrary.org/kids/videobooks

(you can also find the link to Bookflix there, which I describe below)

There are a number of titles available in Spanish as well as English... You can find titles about a huge range of subjects:

• Alphabet and reading
• Animals and insects
• The arts
• Early Readers
• Fables and Fantasy
• Friends and Family
• Fun and Games
• Geography
• Health
• Holidays
• Jobs
• Math and Counting
• School
• Science and Technology
• Seasons
• Sports
• World Cultures

Another Great Resource, available with a DC Public Library Card, is Scholastic's Bookflix:

According to their website, "Scholastic BookFlix is a new online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related nonfiction eBooks from Scholastic to build a love of reading and learning. The engaging way to link fact and fiction, BookFlix reinforces early reading skills and introduces children to a world of knowledge and exploration."

Here is a list of the titles available:

Will.i.am Sings "What I Am" on Sesame Street...

I stumbled across this video on Pinterest this morning and it made my day.  Apparently it has become the theme song of classrooms across the country - one 5th grade teacher reported her kids sing it every day.

Watch it and and I dare you not to smile...

Happy Tuesday,

mb

The Teacher's Guide to Wikipedia

We all know that any research project with our students should begin with the HTS online encyclopedias, but inevitably, our dear students automatically start "Googling" and begin with Wikipedia... (Of course I never admit this is my default search technique.)

I came across the following article on Edudemic over the Weekend.  If you need a bit of ammunition when explaining to the kids that Wikipedia is not always the best source for a report, this will be very helpful.  It gives a comprehensive overview of how Wikipedia works, and includes perspectives on how safe and reliable it is for students.

http://edudemic.com/2012/10/teachers-guide-to-wikipedia/

Enjoy!

mb

Cool Videos to Liven Up Your Classes - including Bill Nye and Schoolhouse Rock

As I am a visual learner, and have a relatively short attention span, I have always loved educational videos.  Schoolhouse Rock and I are old friends... and you all know how I love BrainPop.

This week, I discovered some neat new sources of educational videos on YouTube - to include Bill Nye the Science Guy and Schoolhouse Rock.  Enjoy:

Crash Course History
This is a series of 37 fast-paced ten to twelve minute overviews of major concepts and themes in World History. These might be a fun way to kick-off or reinforce a unit in the Upper School.

 

Crash Course Biology
Like the Crash course in history, this is a series of  fast-paced ten to twelve minute overviews of major concepts and themes in Biology.

Disney Educational Channel offers a number of videos on YouTube as well.  On the website, they say: Disney Educational Productions is committed to providing the tools teachers need to engage, inform, and inspire many different learners. Packed with educator-designed teachers guides and activities, our ultimate collection of award-winning DVDs will make it easier for you to reach - and teach - your students through immersive multimedia experiences.

Some favorites inlude:

Schoolhouse Rock:

Bill Nye the Science Guy:

and...


Very fun engaging videos on the Presidents:

Field Trips!

Last week, new parent Diane Bastin came to visit our Lower School staff meeting.  Her daughters attended a Montessori school where the students went on dozens of field trips every year before joining the 5th grade at HTS this year.  She is an amazing resource, and generously offered to share her list of favorites.

She also includes some online programs her school participated in, such as the St. Jude's Math-a-Thon, and a Finance Course for kids... and provides some free programs for teachers at local museums.

Thanks Diane!

Free Programs:

Kids Euro Festival (reserve in August/September): http://www.kidseurofestival.org

DAR museum tours: http://www.dar.org/museum/edprogrms.cfm

Air Force Band Holiday Matinee (reserve in September): http://www.usafband.af.mil/holidaykids/index.asp

Corcoran Gallery of Art—tour + craft: http://www.corcoran.org/educators-students/school-tours-and-workshops

American History Museum—Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins presentation: http://americanhistory.si.edu/events/index.cfm - /?i=2

Capitol tours: regular school tours http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/education/planning_a_field_trip_to_the_capitol/

White House tours: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours-and-events/, including Kitchen Garden tours: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours_and_events/garden

National Museum of the American Indian: http://nmai.si.edu/visit/washington/group/

National Geographic: http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/article/group-sales/

National Gallery of Art: http://www.nga.gov/education/school.shtm - kthru3

Rock Creek Park planetarium, puppet Show, Peirce mill: (202) 895-6070 -- http://www.nps.gov/rocr/forteachers/rangerguided.htm

Nature/Science:

Arcadia Farm: http://arcadiafood.org/arcadia-farm-field-trips

Huntley Meadows: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/huntley-meadows-park/

Pumpkin Playground in Burke: http://pumpkinplayground.com

DC Farm to School LEAF program: http://commongoodcityfarm.org/programs/LEAF

Monarch Butterflies: http://www.eirc.org/website/programs-services/global-connection/monarch-teacher-network/

History:

Dumbarton House: http://dumbartonhouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/School-Programs.pdf

Mount Vernon—mansion and distillery: http://www.mountvernon.org/educational-resources/teachers-students/field-trips

Gunston Hall: http://www.gunstonhall.org/education/outreach.html

Lincoln’s Cottage: http://lincolncottage.org/visit/education/

Claude Moore Colonial Farm: http://1771.org

On-site learning opportunities:

Free - Online:

St. Jude’s Math-a-Thon: http://www.mathathon.org

Kids Euro Festival performance—begin planning in late August

Finance course for kids: http://www.handsonbanking.org/en/instructional-resources.html

National Geographic Geography Awareness Week: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/collections/geographyawarenessweek/?ar_a=1

Nominal Fee: 

Adopt-a-whale: http://www.whalecenter.org/adoption/features.html

Gunston Hall—Meet George Mason, grades 4 to 6.

Free programs for teachers:

National Gallery of Art occasionally offers teacher preview events

Smithsonian Teacher’s Night in September: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/professional_development/teachers_night.html

National Geographic Teacher Preview night on November 7th: Birds of Paradise http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/exhibits/2012/11/01/birds-paradise/

Newseum Teacher Open House: http://www.newseum.org/education/teacher-resources/upcoming-workshops/teacher-open-house/index.html

Ascanius Latin Program: http://www.ascaniusyci.org

Feel free to contact Diane with questions:

Diane Bastin

xanthippe@mindspring.com

(202) 422-1181

A Pair of Amazing Guides for iPad Users - and a Prezi

Earlier this week, I received a pair of super-cool guides in my inbox that I'd like to share:

First, Edutopia published a booklet titled:  Mobile Devices for Learning: What You Need to Know... Getting kids engaged with learning, focused on working smarter and ready for the future.  This guide is jam-packed with ideas - especially for our iPad users.

In his "GeekDad" Blog for Wired, Daniel Donohoo sums it up this way:  "Along with the usual app recommendations, the guide offers some analysis that looks at the positives, but also the challenges, of using mobile devices to support learning. It presents a wide range of diverse resources for teachers and parents to access as they undertake a journey to using technology to support learning. The whole process can also be overwhelming, so the guide doesn’t feel like it has excessive information, but instead acts as a launching pad for those interested in exploring how these devices can be used with students both inside and outside the classroom."

Plus, it is free. Of course, free these days means signing up to the Edutopia site, but if you do you’ll find the complete guide at http://www.edutopia.org/mobile-learning. 

I found a couple of ideas from the guide to be particularly useful, especially the following links to help to find new Apps:

• I Education Apps Review - IEar.org - Resources are organized by grade and subject by a community of educators and app developers.
• Appititc  - Appitic.com - A directory of apps for learning by Apple distinguished educators
• Teachers with Apps - teacherswithapps.com - Two teachers write easy-to-read reviews on educational apps for educators and parents.

Arriving in my inbox soon after was a huge guide from Common Sense Media called "Bring Learning to Life."  Divided by subject and again by learning level, it offers hundreds of ideas for Apps, online games and other resources.

According to their website, "no matter what your kids like, you'll find media here to spark their imagination and cement knowledge.  Discover inventive apps for kids struggling with addition, fluency games for advanced readers, websites to help with social skills, and more."   We do have a number of the recommended Apps available on our Lower School iPads, but we will be looking at the list carefully over the next few weeks to add to our offerings.  If you'd like to peruse the list and add your own suggestions, here is the link:

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/guide/back-to-school-guide

Then, when I was planning our 7th Grade class for tomorrow I stumbled across this amazing Prezi titled: 60 Educational Apps in 60 Minutes. Yet another resource to explore when searching for Apps.

60 Educational Apps in 60 Minutes on Prezi

Blog Spotlight: Free Technology For Teachers

During one of our workshops this summer, we spoke about the wealth of information available to teachers in the world of blogging.  I follow a number of blogs... in the world of technology, things are changing constantly, and the techie blogs help me keep up on the changes.  Having cool blog updates in my inbox is like having a teaspoon of Continuing Ed every day.

One of my all-time favorite blogs is called "Free Technology for Teachers."  Richard Byrne lives in a tiny little town in the woods in Maine, but this week he reached the milestone of 50,000 subscribers to his blog.  A well-deserved honor, I would say. I am constantly learning about new resources from him.

He has included a number of wonderful resources this fall.  I'd like to highlight a pair of them below, and encourage you to add to his number of subscribers and follow him as well:

From Richard:

12 Awesome EdTech Tools for 2012-2013 is designed to share what I think is a selection of free tools that can be used in almost every K-12 setting. I intentionally kept this document short because the intended audience is teachers who are new(ish) to using technology in their classrooms and I didn't want to create something that would be overwhelming. You'll also notice that I left out iOS and Android apps. Those will be featured in future documents.

Please feel free to download, print, and distribute this in your school.
12 Awesome EdTech Tools for 2012-2013


At Holy Trinity, we'd like to eventually move toward using Google Drive with our students, but at the beginning of this busy year, it keeps falling to the bottom of the to-do list.  If you'd like to tinker with Google Drive and Docs while waiting for the tech team to get to the bottom of their collective to-do lists, here is an excellent resource for you:
Google Drive and Docs for Teachers 2012