"They Can't Put Anything On the Internet That's Not True"

A good way to remind our students to be wise when using the Internet:

Notebook App for iPad!

SMART Technologies has announced an Notebook iPad App coming soon.


I can't wait for this!  At first I thought it meant that just the teacher would be able to create Notebook files on an iPad, but that's not all.  Students will be able to open the Notebook file and work alone and collaborate.


We won't be able to use it until next school year, but I'm still looking forward to it.


http://smarttech.com/notebookapp

Apps for Teaching

I have been really negligent in adding to this blog, but I just found something good and actually have time to write about it.  
Here's a site that lists apps that can be used in teaching.  Each app includes a description and suggestions for using it.
I haven't looked at all of them, so I don't if any are free.  Make sure you look up the app in your country's store since this is a UK site.
Here's the link:  http://www.teachingappz.co.uk/listingtype/ict-2/

I Am VBCPS

Scale of Sizes

There's an advertisement at the beginning, but this is sweet!  Great for an interactive whiteboard activity. Thanks to Stu Ostro at The Weather Channel for this link.
http://images.4channel.org/f/src/589217_scale_of_universe_enhanced.swf

Great Free Webinar

It will fill up fast, so register now.  I'm looking forward to it.
Turning Students into Teachers: Using iPad Apps to Create Tutorials

SMART

So you're being thrown into a classroom with a SMARTboard, a SMART document camera, a SMART slate, and some crazy thing called a SMART response system.  

And you're really not feeling so smart.

NOW WHAT?

Here are some resources that explain what each those cool tools can do and offer some lesson ideas.  So . . . Get Smart!  :)

SMART Interactive Whiteboard 600 Series

SMART Document Camera

SMART Slate

SMART Response System

SMART Exchange

SMART youtube channel (VERY helpful)

How an iPad App Saved Me

So . . . I speak English.  That's a good thing since I've lived in the United States my entire life.
In high school, I took two years of Latin.  In college, I was not required to take a language.
So . . . I speak English.
Last Spring, a friend and I took a beginning Spanish course at a local community college.  My main reason for taking the unexpectedly highly overpriced course was so that I could write in Spanish to the children I sponsor through Compassion International.  
I worked hard.  I stressed a lot (perfectionism).  I learned a lot.   
I can now write simple letters to my children in Spanish.  Because they are very young, that works out just fine, and some of them have thanked me for learning Spanish, and they say they know I did it for them.  Aw.  Heartwarming.
So now I can say I speak Spanish.  Un poco.
One thing I learned is that online translators are NOT accurate. If you use them to translate for letters or anything else -- don't. 
I do not know French.
Does that matter?  It did this week.  Our social studies classes have been taking local assessments in the computer labs.  On Tuesday, a sixth grade class came into the lab at the end of the day.  One student, named Gabrielle, speaks ONLY French.  Great.
We were trying to explain to her what to do, and she had no idea what we were saying.  Then I remembered that I have iTranslate on my iPad.  Okay, I know I just said that online translators are not accurate, and this app is like an online translator.  But I was desperate.
I typed questions and directions to her in the app and translated to French.  I'm sure it wasn't perfect (who knows what I actually said!), but it worked.  She understood . . . and she smiled.
And we decided that she did not know enough English (I think at this point, that would be zero English) to take the test.
Even though she had one of the Harry Potter books in French to read, I gave her one of the school iPads (I asked her which one she would rather do) so that she could practice English using an app that's actually designed to learn French.  But she sort of used it backwards, and . . . she smiled.  :)
Thank you, Apple.

Cool Science App - For Free!

While I was searching for some physical science iPad apps for a teacher this week, I found this one - Science Language Central (made by Pearson).
It contains four categories:  Introduction to Chemistry, Forces and Energy, Sound and Light, and Science and Technology.
Each category has Flashcards, Trivia, and Word Fly.   
Flashcards are obvious - learning the terminology.
Trivia is a set of multiple choice questions.
And then there's Word Fly.  It's hilarious.  You may already know what that is, but all I will say is that the Iguana is hilarious.
The app is definitely excellent for practice and memorization, but I like it just for the Iguana.  :)

Eyes on the Solar System

"Eyes on the Solar System" is a 3-D environment full of real NASA mission data. Explore the cosmos from your computer. Hop on an asteroid. Fly with NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft. See the entire solar system moving in real time. It's up to you. You control space and time.

Not being an astronomy teacher, I can't offer details on how to use this site other than what I copied above from the site itself.  I think it would be amazing on an Interactive White Board, which all schools in our system will have installed this year.  I'm sure there are ways to allow the students to participate rather than just having the teacher demonstrate, so please offer your ideas in the comments section.

What I know for sure is that I think this looks pretty dang sweet!  And I would love to have been an astronaut.

A Great Way to Learn New Words

This site totally cracks me up. First, the name is awesome. Secondly, I like the idea of choosing a word, and then having to make a promise to use the word, as if it's a very important cause.


But the best thing is what the words do when you mouse over them. Oh my gosh! You have to check it out. I'm sure your students will like it. Well, I do, at least.  Click the link below:
Save the Words

NASA Interactive Game

Okay, so I'm kind of a space nerd.  I've always wished I could have been an astronaut.  I'm sure the fact that I get motion sickness even on my hammock would not have held me back.
It just fascinates me to think of people being in space and even walking on the moon (showing my age).
So here's a great interactive game from NASA that I will most certainly be playing.  I know kids would love it.  The only problem with it is there is no Mac version.  Seriously, NASA?

Moon Base Alpha