COD - 5/31/2012 - INKids [iPad]

INKids creates and delivers free and inexpensive iPad apps from Australia that help young kids learn literacy, math, and more.

Flashcards for iPad (free) is the INKids flagship product with over a half-million users. It contains hundreds of children's flashcards in several learning categories. Each interactive flashcard is nicely illustrated and professionally recorded. Second language support is available in four languages: German, French, Italian and Spanish.

Futaba (free) is a classroom app designed for multi-player fun on the iPad. Up to 4 players share the iPad and play 3 rounds of "word snap", matching images with the correct answer. The player who guesses the word correctly first, earns a point. The player with the most points at the end of 3 rounds is declared the winner.

Futaba Classroom Games ($3.99 AUS) is a more powerful and polished version of the Futaba game, designed especially for use in preschools through age 11. It contains a number of learning sets, including Dolch Sight Vocabulary Words, Subtraction, Multiplication, Telling the Time, Currency, Countries and Flags. You can even build your own game content. 

These are just a few of the many apps available from INKids.

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COD - 5/30/2012 - Mootup [Language Arts]

Mootup facilitates building 21st Century Skills in a fun, interactive, and easy-to-grade style of writing assignment that directly teaches argumentative and persuasive writing according to Common Core Standards.

Students can learn to think critically using Mootup as they dig deeper into topics while building effective logic and reasoning skills.

In Mootup assignments, students are anonymously paired up, and take turns writing arguments and rebuttals against a classmate, tapping into two of today’s students favorite things: social networking and competition. Consequently, students may have more fun and complain less while doing a writing assignment.

Because of the interactive format of Mootup, assignments can be easier and more interesting to read. As soon as students start submitting arguments, you can begin grading without having to wait for the entire assignment to be complete. Mootup provides participation data that can help educators grade. 

Mootup offers one free assignment following registration. Individual teachers can then obtain continued access for an annual subscription fee. Multi-educator accounts are available to institutions and districts.

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COD - 5/29/2012 - QuizSlides [Assessment]

QuizSlides is an innovative web-based platform for multiple-choice testing. Create stylish, interactive test slideshows that are generated automatically from PowerPoint or PDF documents.
 

Multiple-choice tests can be used for two quite different purposes. They can be used for quizzes intended for formative or self assessment, or they can be used for summative assessments, exams. Quizzes and exams have different requirements. Because of this there are two kinds of slideshows: QuizSlides & ExamSlides.
With QuizSlides, users get to see how they are doing and also what the right answers are as they go along. This makes them ideal for self- and formative assessment.
ExamSlides are intended to be used for multiple-choice exams. ExamSlides have a number of features and options that are important for summative exams but not necessarily appropriate for quizzes.

QuizSlides has been designed to work well on iPads and other touchscreen devices. The whole slideshow creation process can be easily executed on an iPad using Apple's Keynote app and a web browser.

Test results are viewable and downloadable, and QuizSlides calculates overall test statistics such as apparent question difficulty, etc. Use of QuizSlides is currently completely free.

QuizSlides launched in April of this year. It was developed in collaboration with London South Bank University in the UK, where it was used to deliver over 5,000 multiple-choice tests during private beta testing.

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The Rearview Mirror 5/26/2012

For those of you who may have missed a Catch of the Day or who didn't have the opportunity to look at some of them during this past week, here's a second chance.

Monday

Needful Things is a group of useful and convenient apps and services for Mac OS X from DEVONtechnologies, the makers of DEVONthink and other apps based on unique artificial intelligence technology.

Tuesday

ArtsConnectEd is an interactive Web site that provides access to works of art and educational resources from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Walker Art Center for K-12 educators, students, and scholars.

Wednesday

ThinkBinder means to change how students study with their peers. They have constructed a study group environment around a simple, focused set of tools to allow you to work more efficiently.

Thursday

Fold3 believes that it is the web's foremost collection of original military records, providing convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served.

COD - 5/24/2012 - Fold3 [History]

Fold3 believes that it is the web's foremost collection of original military records, providing convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served.

Original records at Fold3 help you discover and share stories about America's everyday heroes, forgotten soldiers, and the families that supported them.

Fold3 is a redesign and rebranding of a site previously reviewed here, Footnote.com, as part of a move to focus on creating the premier website for military records.

The site's name, Fold3, comes from a traditional flag folding ceremony in which the third fold is made in honor and remembrance of veterans who served their country.

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COD - 5/23/2012 - ThinkBinder [Study]

ThinkBinder means to change how students study with their peers. They have constructed a study group environment around a simple, focused set of tools to allow you to work more efficiently.

ThinkBinder believes that group discussions, shared notes, and real-time interactions should be maintained in a private hub uncluttered by e-mail and generic cloud solutions.

ThinkBinder has tools to:

• Discuss. Ask questions, upload videos, share links, and more.
• Chat. Study live with your peers via text and video chat.
• Share. Share videos, pictures, and links directly with their bookmark button.
• Collaborate. Work on problems together with a collaborative whiteboard.
• Manage. Keep your group calendar and files organized in the cloud for easy access.

Watch a video: Meet ThinkBinder

ThinkBinder tools are designed to facilitate seamless communication and collaboration. Sign on and, all in one place, ask a question about homework, work through a problem on a collaborative whiteboard, then video chat with study partners.

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COD - 5/22/2012 - ArtsConnectEd [Art]

ArtsConnectEd is an interactive Web site that provides access to works of art and educational resources from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Walker Art Center for K-12 educators, students, and scholars.

With Art Finder, ArtsConnectEd users can search over 100,000 of the museums’ digitized items including works of art, texts, audio and video, and interactive resources.

Art Collector makes it possible for users to save, customize, present, and share items in Art Collector sets. Everything can be commented on, tagged, and rated.

Ask an Educator allows users to submit questions about using ArtsConnectEd to real teachers who already use the site.

Through a train-the-trainer model, ArtsConnectEd is training teachers who conduct teacher workshops in their regions. So far, more than 3500 K-12 and pre-service teachers have participated in workshops focusing on the effective classroom use of ArtsConnectEd.

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COD - 5/21/2012 - Needful Things [Tools-Mac]

Needful Things is a group of useful and convenient apps and services for Mac OS X from DEVONtechnologies, the makers of DEVONthink and other apps based on unique artificial intelligence technology.

The apps:

EasyFind finds files and folders by name or content using advanced Boolean operators.

Grid moves and resizes your windows with a single keystroke.

PhotoStickies shows your favorite pictures floating and borderless on your desktop.

ThumbsUp creates thumbnails for your website in seconds.

XMenu adds one or more menus to the right side of the menu bar that provide access to your preferred applications, folders, documents, files, and text snippets.

The services:

Blueservice sends selected text to Bluetooth–compatible devices directly from your favorite app with a single click.

Enter calculations into any service-aware app such as TextEdit, Mail, or Safari, and CalcService calculates the result with a single keystroke.

WordService provides a large number of commands for working with selected text, such as Reformat text paragraphs; Clean up tabs, quotes, line endings; Remove unwanted text parts; Sort lines or paragraphs; Change case; Insert date, time, or file path; and more.

PDF2RTFService is a filter service that allows applications capable of reading rich text files, e.g. TextEdit, to open and save PDF files as paginated rich text (.rtf) documents.

All of the Needful Things apps and services are completely free to download and use.

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Education vs Employment

This infographic from focus.com shows the relationship between education and earnings. A college degree is not necessarily a pre-requisite to having a well-paid career. Nor, does that degree guarantee a great income.

The Rearview Mirror 5/19/2012

For those of you who may have missed a Catch of the Day or who didn't have the opportunity to look at some of them during this past week, here's a second chance.

 

Monday

The Faculty Project brings together the best professors from the world's leading universities to teach online for free.

Tuesday

With understoodit, teachers can get student feedback in real-time allowing them to make "in-game" changes during classes to help students better understand difficult topics.

Wednesday

TeacherCast is a broad-ranging online resource created by a classroom teacher for teachers. Educators will find podcasts, app reviews, videos, a career center, and much more.

Thursday

Safe on the Street, presented by BMW, is a road safety education website for 7-11 years olds, their teachers, and their parents. Fun activities, stories, puzzles, quizzes, and contests help kids learn how to keep safe on the street.

Ignite a Fire with DO Lectures

Similar in concept to the TED Talks, DO Lectures are stimulating presentations from people who are changing the world.

DO Lectures is built around a simple idea — "that people who Do things can inspire the rest of us to go and Do things, too". Each year a group of such inspiring people are invited to come together and tell what they do. They can be small DOs or big, extraordinary DOs. 

DO Lectures hopes these talks are "fire-starters" that will inspire the viewers to go and DO amazing things, too.

COD - 5/17/2012 - Safe on the Street [Safety]

Safe on the Street, presented by BMW, is a road safety education website for 7-11 years olds, their teachers, and their parents. Fun activities, stories, puzzles, quizzes, and contests help kids learn how to keep safe on the street.

The Safe on the Street gang along with some of their friends will show students how to be safe when they are out and about. Safe on the Street has been designed to help educators teach valuable road safety lessons within their curriculum.

It is assumed that the children have a basic understanding of the operation and use of a computer. Opportunities are provided for using technology to:

• Find things out
• Collect and analyze information
• Develop ideas by creating and presenting in words and graphics
• Communicate findings and results
• Collaborate in reviewing and evaluating the work as it progresses

Interwoven throughout all the Safe on the Street activities and extension ideas are cross-curricular links into other subjects with a strong focus on English but also science, maths, art, geography, etc.

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COD - 5/16/2012 - TeacherCast [Resources]

TeacherCast is a broad-ranging online resource created by a classroom teacher for teachers. Educators will find podcasts, app reviews, videos, a career center, and much more.

Some of what teachers can do at TeacherCast:

• Listen to the TeacherCast Podcast, a weekly round table show featuring real teachers.
• Find the perfect app with over 100 app reviews to help you choose the best materials for your classroom.
• Watch video tutorials demonstrating todays best apps and web applications.
• Read great articles written by educators about todays hot topics.
• Use the TeacherCast Career Center to search for and post a job.
• Subscribe to The TeacherCast Newsletter.

A free iPhone and iPad app lets you take TeacherCast with you on the go.

In the summer of 2011, Jeff Bradbury created TeacherCast.net to help his fellow teachers learn about the latest technologies available for education. Jeff teaches in the North Brunswick Twp School District.

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COD - 5/15/2012 - Understoodit [Tools]

With understoodit, teachers can get student feedback in real-time allowing them to make "in-game" changes during classes to help students better understand difficult topics.

Understoodit allows students to anonymously, and immediately, inform their instructor that they are confused or that they understand. 

Understoodit can be used on devices that teachers and students already own: smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and laptops.

Watch a video introduction to understoodit

Understoodit can be a good alternative to expensive classroom "clicker" systems. You can sign up with your email address to create a free understoodit beta account.

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Spark Supports Creative Kids In The Pittsburgh Region

Spark, a program of The Sprout Fund, creates a sustainable support structure for the Kids+Creativity Network, a group of people in the Pittsburgh region working together across disciplines to provide all young people with opportunities to learn and be creative.

Spark provides catalytic support, technical assistance, knowledge sharing, and enhanced communications to the Kids+Creativity Network. The goal is to "spark" more relevant and imaginative learning opportunities that make compelling use of technology, media, and the arts.

Spark serves two distinct groups:

• Kids and adolescents aged 18 and younger, as well as their families and caregivers
• Educators, technologists, media producers, researchers, grantmakers, entrepreneurs, cultural leaders, and other professions serving youth

Watch Pittsburgh: Building a Regional Learning Network

Spark hopes to build greater awareness of and access to exceptional learning experiences for children, youth, and families in the Pittsburgh region.

 DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

COD - 5/14/2012 - Faculty Project [Online Learning]

The Faculty Project brings together the best professors from the world's leading universities to teach online for free.

The vision of Faculty Project is a series of free online courses taught by instructors who have been recognized for their excellence in teaching or have shown a talent for educating, that will dynamically engage millions of learners around the world who do not have access to the world's great institutions of higher learning, but do have an Internet connection.

Faculty Project launched early this year with courses taught through online video, PowerPoint, PDF, and articles on Udemy.com. Learners can interact with each other and the instructor via a course discussion board. 

Faculty Project promises content will be available for free, forever, to anyone who wishes to use it.

 DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0 

The Rearview Mirror 5/12/2012

For those of you who may have missed a Catch of the Day or who didn't have the opportunity to look at some of them during this past week, here's a second chance.

Monday

Wolfram is well known as the maker of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Demonstrations Project, some of the most dynamic math teaching and learning tools available. The Wolfram Education Portal opens the door to the best of all of their technologies in one place.

Tuesday

ReadCube is a tool designed to help researchers be organized and save time, while discovering more.

Wednesday

GoGeometry from the Land of the Incas offers a large variety of resources for teaching and learning about geometry that mix dynamic geometry, animations, science, and Incan history in order to increase student interest in Euclidean geometry.

Thursday

Musicardsis an ever-growing collection of highly-customizable online music theory flash cards.

COD - 5/10/2012 - Musicards [Music]

Musicards is an ever-growing collection of highly-customizable online music theory flash cards.

Musicards can be used by both beginning music students who are becoming acquainted with key rudiments of music, as well as intermediate and advanced students who want to fill in gaps in their existing knowledge or increase their music fluency.

Musicards are grouped in eight categories: Note Names, Key Signatures, Intervals, Triads, Piano Note Names, Reading Piano Notes, Guitar Note Names, and Reading Guitar Notes.

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