My Utes are on Top (for now)

Call me "Apple"

Does anyone else appreciate all of the information apple gives out about everything they do?

Join the club. They always allow just enough vague information to slip that it gets everyone speculating about what the next big thing will be.

Among these rumors, those about the iPhone are always the best.

The newest iPhone rumors indicate that two new iPhone models may be on the horizon. One is reported to have a flip up screen and actual keyboard, the other will be more of a mini computer. It is also reported that each will have foll functioning GPS voice-navigation.

What this probably means is that we will get a new iPhone that looks about the same and has a few new software features. We also may get to save a little money.

Creative Kids

In my last post I talked about Claymation. My six year old daughters decided to try it and came up with a movie I could only have dreamed of. No, seriously, have you ever had one of those dreams where you are married to a fish while hiking up a cloud on an upside-down grape with a dish talking to a coconut, telling him you are not gravy. This is kind of like that.

Claymation

Ever make a Claymation movie?
You should give it a try. This is a very entertaining way to express your thoughts and feelings (or lack of them) in a very expressive way.

Claymation is a process that allows anyone with a digital camera, and some creativity, to create a movie or video clip in just a matter of minutes. It does not require the high-tech gadgetry that other forms of video require, and it is very entertaining at the same time.

The following is an example of a quick claymation movie that was put together in about 10 minutes to help illustrate the conservation of matter using our old friend Pacman.


To create a quick claymation movie, you need a topic (or if you are slightly insane like me, you just start molding a chunk of clay and see what you get).

You then need to determine how often you want the model to change. This will depend on how smooth you want the finished product to move. My motto is the quicker the better, or is it more is something. Either way you need your clay model to move.

Next set up a camera in a position where it can remain until the picture taking (I think that is the correct technical term) is done.

Begin taking pictures of the clay. Change the model slightly (don't swith from Heidi Klum to Brooke Shields or people will notice) and take another picture. Repeat the process.

There are several no extra-cost programs out there that can then be used to put the pictures together into a sequence. The two most popular for this are iMovie and Movie Maker. These programs come with the operating system which makes them very cost efficient. (I would like to call them free but you are forced to buy either the windows or the mac operating system to get them and we know how cheap those are.) You can also use a free product called Photo Story, Which is something Microsoft gives out for free.

Simply place the photos in the order they were taken and drag in some background music and you are finished. You may also choose to record your own narration and incorporate it into your movie.
Have fun and don't blame me if you don't get any sleep tonight.

Iphones in the Classroom

iphone,education,classroom,teacher,UK

The following is an article published in February of 2008

Studywiz 'takes mobile learning to a whole new level'

Anna Lagerkvist

05 Feb 2008 14:36 GMT

Learning using books, pens and paper is so last century - now, UK school children are to use Apple iPhones in the classroom.

Studywiz, an online learning management system, has just been made accessible on the Apple iPhone for the first time in the UK. Good news for school kids then, as having a cool new device to hand is likely to encourage learning on the go, outside the classroom.

Using an Apple iPhone, teachers, students and parents can log onto the Studywiz system through the Safari web browser to access various interactive and media-rich tools. For example, students can take tests, access real-time information, submit assignments or join in blogging. Parents can keep on top of their child's performance by accessing student reports and view their assignments from the Apple iPhone.

Works on iPod touch too

Australia-based software firm Etech Group is behind the Studywiz system, which has already been trialled in Edinburgh, Australia and the US. Geoff Elwood, CEO of Etech Group, told us Studywiz has proven to work on the Apple iPod touch and now it's "perfect for the Apple iPhone".

"What is really is exciting is that the Apple iPhone takes mobile learning to a whole new level because now students have full functionality and mobility of Studywiz from the palm of their hand," Elwood said.

"Studywiz is designed to integrate seamlessly with an Apple iPod touch and now we have adapted the Studywiz interface so that it's fully compatible with the Apple iPhone - making it even easier for teachers, students and parents to interact with and use."

Studywiz is currently used in 16 countries around the world. It is accredited by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) to supply the learning platform to 29,000 schools in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The Studywiz Apple iPhone interface is currently in being piloted and is due for release in the coming months. End Article-----------

Are we missing the ball here in the good old USA? Something to think about.

education,technology,publishing

ISSUE.com is a tremendous resource for school staff, teachers, and even students.

ISSUU is an online publishing tool that can be used to turn any pdf file into an electronic book with incredible features and controls.

The following is an example of assessment data we have loaded in this format.

By going to the ISSUU site http://www.issuu.com you will find a huge variety of publications from magazines to childrens books.

Membership is free and once you have signed up, it is a very quick process to begin converting your pdf documents to interactive online books. To do this you simply click upload, select your file, and choose the format. It is that simple.

Check out this great tool. I think you will find it to be a tremendous addition to your work.

Google Earth

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? For that matter, who or what in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
Maybe we can find out here.

One of the most incredible online tools I have found for classroom integration is Google Earth. This tool is absolutely free and can be downloaded at the provided link. http://earth.google.com/ This tool has huge potential in teaching subjects such as social studies at most grade levels and can be tied to math and many research projects.

General map work

Zoom in and out centred on a particular locality. Observe the relationship with other places, seas, borders and features.

Fly from one locality to another. What seas are crossed? How far is it? Which direction was the flight in?
Look at famous sights round theworld. How would we travel to them? What country are they in?

Measure distances between places.

Overlay the latitude and longitude grid. Use to practice grid references.

Use the rotate feature to look at the Earth with North in different positions. Use the ‘view’ menu to remove the compass. Guess when north is at the top of the page.

Construct a quiz to be answered using Google Earth –

How many borders do various countries have?

What are the capitals of various countries?

Which countries have no coast?

Where are the continents and which countries are part of them?

Rivers

Follow the course of a river (local, linked with a locality study or famous) beginning in one location and tracing it both ways. Zoom in and out along periodically.

What settlements are observed?

What crossings are they? Are they road, railway, footpath or canal?

Are any tributaries observed?

Does the river diverge at any point?

Does the river meander?
Is there evidence of a floodplain?

Locality studies

Measure the distance from the school’s locality.

Investigate geographical features nearby.

Observe transport links.

What are the main towns and cities?

Mountains

Locate mountain ranges andpeaks.

Tilt the view to see the mountains in 3D.

Rotate the tilted image to see the mountain in context.

Move the cursor around and compare the elevation measurements.

Coasts

The detail needed for much of the work on
coasts is not contained in these images. However there may be some aspects
which can be useful.

Look at contrasting localities, built up areas, sand dunes, cliffs, rocky coasts, etc..

Put known coastal features into context by zooming in and out form them.

Ancient World Studies

Have students explore3D renderings of historical sites and structures.

Provide students with overlays of historical maps and photographs.

Locate Wikipedia and Google information on historical sites.

Provide students with explorer’s routs and travel information so they can retrace the journeys.

Interactive Response Systems

There are many new classroom technologies out there that can enhance education and student learning. This is a blog dedicated to my adventures into the world of classroom technology and its many uses with our students.

We are going to begin by looking at the world of interactive student response systems. these tools are not new and are produced by just about every company under the sun, so what should you look for when making a purchase of such a system, and how can they be used to increase student learning?

The first thing I would look at is the usability of the system. The system must be both friendly to the teacher as well as the students. If a system is not easy to use and create questions and assessments it will not be utilized. Likewise, if a system is not user friendly for students, it may become a stumbling block for their learning.

The second thing to look for is the durability of the system. These systems come in all shapes and sizes. They range from small credit card sized units to units nearly the size of a small laptop. Each of these units is designed to hold up to certain kinds of stresses. Some are more appropriate in elementary settings, while others are better designed for older, more responsible, students. I would never recommend purchasing a system without having seen and held the system, and possibly even dropping it.

The third item I would consider is the type of signal the units use. There are currently 3 signals on the market, infrared, radio frequency, and the most recent bluetooth. Each of these signals has its advantages as well as disadvantages.

The infrared units are by far the least expensive units and work well in most classroom situations, the drawback is that the student unit must have a line of sight with the receiver and only one student input can be recieved at a time so waiting may be required. The Radio Frequency units do not need line of sight and allow multiple student inputs simultaneously. These do tend to cost nearly twice as much as the infrared units from the same companies. The bluetooth technology is still very new to these units and is only produced by a limited number of manufacturers. There are still many questions to be answered about this technology but they may be a very viable system as well.

The final factor I would urge you to consider when purchasing interactive student response systems is the cost. The range in price for these units can range from $600 per set to over $4000. This is one situation where price does not always correlate to value and quality. By shopping around it is possible to find the radio frequency units from one company cheaper that the infrared units of another. Take your time and don't fall for the first pitch you hear.

Now at this point, some of you may be wondering why and how you could use these systems in a classroom setting. The first and most obvious way to use these in a classroom is for summative assessment. Rather than having your students take tests in paper and then going through the scoring process, you simply create an assessment using the included software and it gives you instant results. This allows for immediate feedback for students and eliminates hours of teachers time grading tests.

The next, and probably most critical reason and use for interactive responsive systems is conducting formative assessments. We, as educators, are able to gather instant data on what our student have learned and can quickly see what was not understood. This allows us to begin the remediation and reteaching process immediately and cuts down on the time it would normally take to analyze other types of assessments. These tools also allow us to integrate our assessment into our lessons in a seamless manner. It keeps students engaged and on task and provides opportunities for increased interaction.

In short, I believe that every teacher should have an interactive student response systems . These tools can provide real-time data that can lead to increased student improvement and understanding.