Category Archives: iPads

Current Events Easy/Challenging to READ

Posted on December 3, 2013 | Comments Off on Current Events Easy/Challenging to READ

Hello everyone,

If you and your students read current events as part of your curriculum or if you enjoy using current events with social studies and science, this is the site for you! It is also aligned with the Common Core.

With a click of a button, you can change the reading level on a news article from 5th to 3rd… or even up to 12th! There are also corresponding quizzes that go along with most of the articles.

>>>> www.newsela.com <<<

Thanks to Chery for showing this to us and James for writing up reasons (below) why you’ll LOVE this site.

Screenshot from 2013-12-03 10:27:28

www.newsela.com

“Here’s what

makes it amazing:

1. You can choose the reading level of the article and switch it on the
fly. The same article can be read by an 11th grader and a 3rd grader.

2. You can assign articles to classes or groups of students. So you
could assign more difficult reading to advanced readers and simplify it
for lower readers. And you can keep track of what the students are
reading and their progress on quizzes (see below).

3. Many articles come with a comprehension quiz (self-grading).

4. Lots of categories!

5. All students can sign in with google.”

James

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Posted in Critical Thinking / Problem-Solving / Decision-Making, iPads, Research, Research & Information Fluency, Technology

Google Forms

Posted on November 14, 2013 | Comments Off on Google Forms

If you missed Tech Tuesday today but wanted to give Google Forms a go, here are some resources to help you get started.

Why would I use Google Forms?
http://tbarrett.edublogs.org/2008/08/23/10-google-forms-for-the-classroom/

How do I use Google Forms?

Also, here’s a great example of using a Google Form to encourage students to reflect on their behavior. https://sites.google.com/site/msmagierasclass/-mood-check-in

newthemes

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Posted in Communication & Collaboration, iPads, Surveys, Technology

More Math Resources for the iPad

Posted on November 1, 2013 | Comments Off on More Math Resources for the iPad

Here are a couple of new resources for mathematics. Hat tip to Carolyn Jackson and Megan Petrie for these.

screen480x480

This first resource is from an Edudemic blog post. The post contains some great resources, but my favorite is Number Pieces. Number Pieces is essentially virtual base ten blocks. There are lots of possible uses. One use may be to have students set up an addition problem that illustrates the concept of “carrying over.” Even better, they can take a screenshot of it and in Educreations they can use it to explain the process of how the ones form a new ten. Now they have a video that can be used in their portfolio or during student let conferences to demonstrate their thinking.

Voldemath

Voldemath

This link offers a plethora of HTML 5 activities that work on the iPad. There are challenges and games for most subject areas. If you’re looking for something for multiplication facts practice, try Voldemath. Check it out!

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Posted in iPads, Teachers, Technology

Nearpod

Posted on October 23, 2013 | Comments Off on Nearpod

Most of the new applications installed on the iPads have obvious functions, mathematics, typing, dictation (voice to text), however Nearpod isn’t so obvious. It enables you to offer content interactively to  students and enables them to instantly share their thinking with you and/or the classroom. 

nearpod

Sharing Student Work through Nearpod

Here are the highlights of what Nearpod can do:
– engage students with interactive lessons
– control student devices
– share content in real time
– instantly project student work from student ipad

Nearpod is ideal for giving students an opportunity to share their thinking on mathematics problems. You basically send out a problem to students simultaneously and give them an opportunity to work on it individually, paired or grouped. You can see all of their screens while the students are working. You can select students to show their work on the projector screen and/or student iPads. Unlike working on slate whiteboard, students working on the iPad can have their work instantly shared and captured. There are LOTS of possibilities!

Here’s an interesting article from Edudemic highlighting one school’s use of Nearpod with student iPads. How The Nearpod iPad App Changed An Entire School

If you are wondering if this would enhance an upcoming lesson, let’s talk. If you would like assistance getting Nearpod set up with your class, contact me. I would LOVE to help.

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Posted in iPads, Teachers, Uncategorized

Edgar Allan Poe

Posted on October 7, 2013 | Comments Off on Edgar Allan Poe

Today only on “Apps Gone Free” you can download an Edgar Allan Poe collection of stories for the iPad. It has amazing and creepy illustrations to support the text and can be read in English, Spanish or French. The collection includes The Oval Portrait, The Tell-Tale Heart, Annabel Lee, The Masque of Red Death and a Biography of Edgar Allan Poe. This may be TOO creepy for your students, so be sure to read it yourself prior to reading to your students. You knew that though didn’t you.     

Image by Play Creatividad

Image by Play Creatividad

The Raven isn’t included. It is in a different collection for $3.99. However over at www.byrdseed.com there are some free recordings of the Raven and some ideas that can be used for the Raven as well as others to teach rhythm and rhyme. One of the audio recordings listed here is by James Earl Jones and also Christopher Walken! Ideas for Raven by Byrdseed: http://www.byrdseed.com/poes-the-raven/

As I said, this may too creepy for intermediate students, but there may be some useful ideas between these two resources.

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Posted in iPads, Teachers