iPad Apps that work with Smartboards

The iPad looks amazing when projected onto a large screen. The students in a 1 to 1 iPad classroom gets to see the apps at work. Have a look at the list below to see if any of these might be useful in your classroom. If you have others that should be added to this list please leave a comment with the name of the app and we will add it to the list.

Doceri: FREE
Turn your iPad and classroom computer into an Interactive Whiteboard with Doceri. Imagine the freedom to move around the room, interact with your students and never turn your back to the class. Requires Doceri Desktop - download a FREE TRIAL at www.doceri.com. Full version is $50.  Doceri is the ultimate tool for presentations and lessons and accessible anywhere you have Wi-Fi.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/doceri-remote/id412443803?mt=8


SplashTop: $5.49 AU
This is the ONLY remote desktop app that streams video and audio from your PC or Mac, allowing you to interact with your PowerPoint, Keynote, Word, Excel, Outlook, Quicken, IE, Firefox, Safari, World of Warcraft, and other PC / MAC applications. Remotely access your PC or MAC from any device!

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/splashtop-remote-desktop-for/id382509315?mt=8


Edistorm: FREE
Edistorm is an online brainstorming tool that uses the metaphor of sticky notes to allow you to brainstorm. Edistorm is the best way to brainstorm before, during and after your meetings. Edistorm allows you create brainstorms, add or retrieve your ideas anywhere you are. Visit Edistorm.com to organize your ideas and to visually collaborate with your clients wherever they are.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/edistorm/id378985009?mt=8


Bridgit: FREE
With the SMART Bridgit conferencing software app, you can collaborate effortlessly with local and remote meeting participants*. Use the app with your SMART Board interactive whiteboard or display to view content that is being presented and highlight or annotate over that content. You can create or join a meeting on your iPad with either a WiFi or 3G network connection.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/smart-bridgit-conferencing/id433502122?mt=8


Mocha VNC: FREE
Using your iPhone or iPad, you can connect to a Windows PC or Mac OS X and see the files, programs, and resources exactly as you would if you were sitting at your desk, just on a smaller screen. Compared to the Lite version the full version has: Keyboard banners with extra keys, extra keys as ALT,CTRL and the Apple key a well as mouse dragging , hover and mouse wheel.

http://itunes.apple.com/app/mocha-vnc-lite/id284984448?mt=8


Google Docs: FREE
Google docs is an easy-to-use online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editor that enables you and your students to create, store and share instantly and securely, and collaborate online in real time. You can create new documents from scratch or upload existing documents, spreadsheets and presentations. All your work is stored safely online and can be accessed from any computer.

https://docs.google.com/


Dropbox:
Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. After you install Dropbox on your computer, any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, your iPhone and iPad and even the Dropbox website! With the Dropbox app, you can take everything that matters to you on the go.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/dropbox/id327630330?mt=8


Exploriments Series:
        


Useful Link - What can I do with an iPad in an ActivClassroom? by Lisa Dubernard


10 Productivity Apps

There are certain apps that just make your day easier. These are apps that I have been using regularly as part of my daily workflow. There is a nice variety of apps here, some are for use at school exclusively other I like because it gives me the freedom to just come home and continue with my lesson preparation. Have a look and see if any of these might be useful for you.

Agenda Calendar: $0.99 AU
Agenda is a well designed calendar for the iPad that gives you various "at a glance" views. They've stripped away all the stuff you don't need, so you can more quickly manage your day. They have introduced a clever feature called “status taps”which allow you to quickly confirm events, indicate arrival or lateness, and more generally send an email to attendees of an event.


Downloads Manager: $2.99 AU
Downloads for iPad is a fully featured download manager. You can view or play the downloaded files right on your iPad or transfer them to your computer. It save pages with images for offline viewing, supports resuming of interrupted downloads, provides live download progress bar. You can add download links, download with correct filename and has the ability to download file of unknown size.


JotNot Scanner Pro: $1.99 AU
JotNot is the original and premier multi-page document scanner for the iDevices. JotNot has many additional features including: A simple, easy to use interface with Camera stabilisation. It includes quick capture “Single Page Mode” and automated backup of scans. It includes the ability to email PDFs, PNGs, and JPEGs, presets for receipts, documents, and more and the ability to save to the Photo Library.


PDF Expert: $9.99 AU
PDF Expert lets you read and annotate PDF documents, highlight text, make notes and save these changes. Moreover, PDF Expert is the only app that can fill PDF forms! PDF files from desktop computers, email attachments, documents on the Dropbox, MobileMe iDisk, GoogleDocs and even in other applications could be accessed with PDF Expert.


Skitch: FREE
Use shapes, arrows, sketches and text annotation to get your point across fast. Mark up photos, screenshots, maps, and webpages then share them with anyone you like. Skitch lets you annotate, add arrows, shapes and text to existing images. You can draw something new. You can edit images with reposition, recolor and remove your annotations at will.


Printmagic: $0.99 AU
Print Magic is simple to use. Launch Print Magic and touch the printer icon to print. For convenience, Print Magic also allows you to select and print pictures from your Photos Library right from within the Print Magic application. You can pinch, zoom, and crop the images to set exactly what you want to print. Print Magic supports photo sizes 4x6 and up. Print Magic uses WiFi to print directly to many types of printers and any printer that can be shared from your Mac via Printer Sharing.


Keynote Remote: $0.99 AU
Keynote Remote lets you control a Keynote presentation on your Mac or iDevice, from another iDevice touch in the room. While you present, view your current slide and presenter notes in portrait, or the current slide and next slide in landscape. Swipe forward to advance and swipe back to return to the previous slide. Keynote Remote works with Wi-Fi network, so control your presentation from anywhere in the room.


QR Reader: FREE
A QR Code is a matrix barcode readable by QR scanners, mobiles phones with cameras and smartphones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. You can use it to scan any two-dimensional barcode with your iDevice. QR Codes to create: Contact Information, Calendar Event, Email Address, Geo Location, Phone Number, SMS and of course URL (visit URL)


Onenote: FREE
OneNote for iPad is a note-taking app for capturing all of your ideas and to-dos on the go. Create searchable notes with text, pictures and bullets. Make and manage to-do lists with checkboxes. Then keep your notes in sync. With the free version of OneNote for iPad you can access, create and edit up to 500 notes. Once you reach this limit you can still view, delete, and sync your notes.


DualBrowser HD: $4.49 AU
This is probably my favourite dual browser. You will be able to browse the web in two different windows at the same time, with the advantage of opening the links from one in the other. It's features and options make it unique; Two simultaneous windows to navigate independently, full screen option and hide the navigation bar as well as private browsing.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/dual-browser/id380640600?mt=8



I want my students to.....iPad Learning Objectives

Sometimes we intimidate people because the lists we create are just too big. Sometime bigger is not better. Yesterday I found a perfect example of this. I came across this website edtechteacher.org on twitter via @meesterkurt. I love the idea of having the apps organised by what you want your students to do. This makes so much sense, even from the student's point of view.

What is the task - what apps can I use.

iPad Learning Objectives
  1. I want my students to record and edit video on the iPad. 
  2. I want my students to record and / or edit audio on the iPad. 
  3. I want my students to read class content on the iPad. 
  4. I want my students to annotate course readings on the iPad 
  5. I want my students to be able to use audio books on the iPad. 
  6. I want my students to use the iPad as a digitial notebook / note-taking device. 
  7. I want my students to use their iPads to create screencasts to share and demonstrate their understanding.
  8. I want my students to create presentations on the iPad. 
  9. I want my students to create digital stories on the iPad. 
  10. I want my students to be able to study with the iPad. 
  11. I want to use the iPad as a student response system. 
  12. I want my students to create written content on the iPad. 
  13. I want my students to blog on the iPad.
  14. I want my students to create ePubs / iBooks to read on the iPad





Apps for Grading Assessments

Using rubrics and providing student's feedback via the iPad has not been an area that has received a great deal of attention. This is, however, starting to change. I have recently spoken to a number of teachers who have developed apps that will allows teachers to use the iPad as a viable way of assessing student work. Some of these apps actually do more than just mark work. Check out the list and see if any would work for you and your students.

Easy Assessment: $1.99
Easy Assessment is the app teachers have been waiting for. A simple way to capture and assess performance in any context or situation. Experience a new level of efficiency. This app was designed and developed by an Australian Teacher Jarrod Robinson. He initially designed this to be used for PE and so wanted an easy way for teachers to construct rubrics. The design was so good other teachers saw the benefit of the rubric maker and it has become a standard tool on many teacher's iPads. This is one of the easiest assessment apps I have used. I love it!



Formative Feedback: $1.99 AU
This is another great app design by an Australian teacher - Paul Hamilton. Formative Feedback for Learning was created to foster and encourage communication between teachers and students. It uses icons and basic editing skills to prompt discussions through a conference setting. It does not have saving abilities or comment boxes as I believe in rich discussions between teachers and students. Utilizing the Ipad 2 camera, formative feedback allows students to play back video and allow feedback to be given on performance.



Stick Pick: $2.99 AU
Stick Pick is the first app of its kind to uniquely link question stems to the cognitive or linguistic needs of each individual learner. Formative assessment is easy to track because teachers can tap a corresponding correct, incorrect, or opinion button based on the student's answer. Teachers can also rate each student's answer by selecting 0-5 on a critical thinking rubric (Bloom's). Stick Pick suggests question starters for learners at different levels and also records how well students respond during classroom discussions.



Essay Grader: $6.49 AU
Provide your students with exceptional feedback, and reduce your grading time with Essay Grader for iPad. By moving between a series of tabs and clicking appropriate comment fields, a feedback document is created for each essay you grade. Essay Grader comes with three banks of pre-written comments for a multitude of topics within the categories of praise, organization, content, mechanics, style, and documentation. All comment text, comment labels, and category labels are fully editable.



GradePad: $2.99 AU
GradePad is a performance assessment tool for teachers, trainers, and coaches.Gradepad is a mobile performance assessment tool with group managing facilities. You can create assessments, track performances and monitor progress. Assess a variety of behaviors and performances with GradePad rubrics that have criteria and scales. Manage groups of individuals and track their performance over time. GradePad also allows you to send the data to your email account for further analysis.



ASSIST: FREE
Assist lets you administer and collect student results from common, summative, formative and rubrics-based assessments. It will automatically grades bubble sheets captured by camera and it allows you to log individual student results to any assessment type. You can manage and score collaborative learning activities as well as immediately review the results of any assessment in ASSIST. With subscription to PLUS, results from ASSIST can be uploaded and aggregated by student, class, campus, assessment and standard.







Department Of Education Targets Online Bachelor's Degree Fraud

In response to alarming data compiled by the United States Department of Education, agents of the government announced last Monday that steps would be taken to prevent students applying to internet based institutions of higher learning from abusing the federal financial aid program for mercenary purposes. These schools, many of them newly accredited by regional academic officials only tangentially connected with the national scholastic authorities, have skyrocketed in popularity throughout the past decade as thousands of men and women getting a degree online flock to the decreased costs and malleable course designs. The innovative approach to remote learning has certainly enlivened a United States educational system badly in need of substantive change, and, whether to broaden the reach of their academic vision or to merely reduce spiraling instructional costs otherwise threatening to price poorer Americans out of the diploma hunt, traditional institutions ranging from community colleges to legendary universities have begun cultivating their own online Bachelor's degree curriculum.

However, any rapidly burgeoning industry must brave the infestation of predators searching out their own easy money, and some of the very same advantages for students getting a degree online have proven to be equally worrisome dangers for the country. As the Dept. of Education report recently illustrated, digitized campuses have become stalking grounds for a newly originated con that bleeds federal funds by means of enrolling virtual students within online Associate's degree or online Bachelor's degree programs to collect aid money. While the men and women who willingly participate in the charade would owe the loan balances regardless of whether or not the deception was unearthed those prosecuted for defrauding the government owing quite a bit more, of course the ideal prospects sought out by the scam's ringleaders would necessarily be near destitute to meet the financial aid qualifying criteria standards for approval, and they've been apparently delighted to surrender their identities for manipulation despite the relatively minimal amount of money to be obtained.

Since the students aren't actually getting a degree online, they'll only receive monetary support for the first semester, and, even then, the government will divert a portion of the funds to the school for tuition and various fees. All told, the Department of Education figures estimated the approximate proceeds to average about five thousand dollars (representing funds intended to help full time online Bachelor's degree candidates afford books and costs of living), but the sheer scale of the operations has potentially stolen millions from the government. As a partial remedy, Department of Education officials intend to accentuate the liability for academic institutions that knowingly facilitate criminal fraudulence and the misappropriation of government funds, but greater efforts may be in order.

Although cyber scholastic authorities maintain that administrative zeal meant to encourage applicants' requests for federal grants remains common practice for financial aid counselors at old fashioned colleges and universities around the nation, it's patently obvious that the people getting a degree online present considerably different challenges and unanticipated difficulties for the financial structure propelling higher education. As well, critics of the existing governmental system of distributing academic subsidies have argued for some time that a more exacting method of scrutiny must be employed to prevent any faux pupils hoping to exploit the system from successfully siphoning funds away from actual (offline or online) Bachelor's degree candidates.
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1000 Recommended Apps Sorted by Subject Area

With more than 500,000 apps available for use on the iPad, which ones are best for education? TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association) helps by testing and recommending great apps for the classroom. They regularly try out new apps and list those that make the grade in the shared document available here for iPad. Apps are categorized into 46 different subject areas and 14 different personal use areas. Apps that are free are listed in white.

Make sure you check out the rest of their site for some great resources - http://www.tcea.org/





US Government Grants in Education

When referring to US Government grants in education, what is meant, are the grants awarded by the United States of America government to the Education Department. Today, the Department of Education is one of the most funded Departments in the United States. This is because of the increasing need for teachers in schools today. Many parents have suddenly realized the importance of education, and are, therefore, taking their children to school. The schools are, therefore, over crowded with students, but have very few teachers to match the student numbers. The government has, therefore, put pressure on the Department of Education to recruit more teachers.

This, however, has not proved to be easy, because of the high costs of education. Many students cannot afford to join the teaching profession, because of the high tuition fees and the many school requirements. To help out such students, the government through its Department of Education has started to award, college grants to education students. College grants are free aid, which is given to students who cannot afford to pay for their education. In addition, since the teaching profession requires students to have some level of academic excellence, grants are also awarded on merit.

In the teaching profession, students are often required to have an internship period, in which they go out into the field and practice the learnt teaching skills. Many students, however, cannot afford to travel to their allocated school locations. The government also awards grants to such students, and the grants cover all expenses involved. These expenses include transport, accommodation and feeding. It is, however, important to note that, grants which are awarded for school practice are only meant to cover school practice expenses. At the end of the day, therefore, the student will be expected to account for the grant money awarded to them.

Since the overall intention, of awarding US Government grants to education students, is to ensure that, more teachers get to graduate from colleges and universities; these students are expected to serve the government for some time after graduation. In other words, upon graduation, the recipients of education grants are expected to teach for a given period of time, in designated schools. Refusal to do so by the student will make the grant to become a loan. In other words, if the student does not fulfill this condition, he will be expected to refund the grant with the attached interest.

From the above, it is noted that, government grants to education students are to ensure that, the ratio of student to teacher attains some form of balance.
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