COD - 10/31/2012 Educreations [iPad Whiteboard]

A special series of posts this week is featuring four iPad apps that can help you use your iPad effectively with an interactive whiteboard. Today's featured app is Educreations.

Educreations turns your iPad into a recordable whiteboard with voice recording, realistic digital ink, photos and text, and simple sharing.

Simply touch, tap, and talk to create an engaging video tutorial. You might use Educreations to explain a math formula, create an animated biology lesson, add commentary to historical photos, or diagram a basketball play. If you’re a “flipped classroom” teacher, you can put your lessons on the web so students can watch them before and after class. You can tutor a student who can’t be in your classroom. Embed your Educreations lessons on your blog or website, or they can easily be shared through email, Facebook, or Twitter, so you can broadcast your ideas from anywhere to anywhere.  Students can view the videos on their own devices, or they can be easily presented on an interactive whiteboard.

Features of Educreations:

• Record and replay your voice, handwriting, and drawings 
• Create multiple whiteboard pages
• Choose from 10 different ink colors
• Add text to any page 
• Add photos from the iPad camera, Photo Albums, Dropbox, or the Web 
• Animate images by dragging them around while recording  
• Choose who can view your lessons (with an account) 

Watch a video demo of Educreations


Create a free account and share your knowledge with the world by posting your video tutorials on educreations.com. The Educreations app is free. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

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

COD - 10/30/2012 SyncSpace [iPad Whiteboard]

A special series of posts this week is featuring four iPad apps that can help you use your iPad effectively with an interactive whiteboard. Today's featured app is SyncSpace.

SyncSpace for iPad is a zoomable drawing space that can be shared in real time over the Internet. It is a shared whiteboard that lets you sketch out your ideas in a nearly limitless, zoomable drawing space.

With SyncSpace's deep zooming you are not limited by the size of the canvas or the amount of space remaining in an existing sketch. You can zoom in to add detail or zoom out to add context to a drawing.

As a tool for collaboration, SyncSpace drawings can be viewed and edited by other SyncSpace users you invite by sending a link via iMessage or email. In meetings and schools, SyncSpace can discover and broadcast the existence of nearby shared drawings using Bonjour. There are no limits to the number of people who can collaborate on a drawing.

Drawings can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, your photo library, or emailed as PDF files. You can also send SyncSpace drawings to any iPad app that handles PDF files, such as Dropbox, GoodReader, Evernote, iBooks and more. Sketches can be displayed on a nearby AppleTV or any HDMI or VGA-connected display. Collaborate on drawings using SyncSpace or view them with zooming and real-time updates using a web browser on a computer, mobile device, or interactive whiteboard.


Watch a video demo of SyncSpace

SyncSpace Free is a free app. SyncSpace Pro is $7.99 (USD). SyncSpace app. The free version is identical to the Pro version in function but is limited to three drawings. Both require iOS 5.0 or later.

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

EXTRA - 10/30/12 - Printable Calendar

Printable Calendar is a utility that is exactly what it sounds like: a clean, simple monthly calendar that you can print straight from your web browser. To use this utility simply print the web page. It is easy to change the month and year to any month you need.

COD - 10/29/2012 ScreenChomp [iPad Whiteboard]

A special series of posts this week will feature four iPad apps that can help you use your iPad effectively with an interactive whiteboard. Today's featured app is ScreenChomp. 

ScreenChomp for iPad is a simple doodling board with markers and one-click sharing tools to create a sharable, replayable video that helps you illustrate concepts and procedures with more clarity. Students can view the videos on their individual devices or they can be effectively presented on an interactive whiteboard.

ScreenChomp lets you capture your touch interactions and audio instructions on a plain background, or an image from your iPad's camera roll, from Dropbox, or take a picture. You can sketch out your ideas and talk the viewer through the “how” and “why”, then share your video to ScreenChomp.com and get a simple web link you can paste anywhere. 

 

It's easy for both teachers and students to create bite-sized, targeted lessons that can be shared online, again and again. Students can use ScreenChomp to help each other with homework and collaborate on projects. Teachers can present information and skills to kids who are away from school, or record a few tips to send home with them. If you are using the "flipped classroom" model, ScreenChomp can be a very handy tool.

Watch a video introduction to ScreenChomp

ScreenChomp was created by some innovative teachers with learning and idea-sharing in mind. The app is free and there’s no need to create or manage an account, just post and share. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

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

The Rearview Mirror 10/27/2012

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
TalkTyper is a web app that provides free speech recognition. It makes voice dictation available to anyone.

Tuesday
Textivate is a web app which allows users to automatically generate a variety of interactive browser-based activities based on any provided text.

Wednesday
The goal of The Futures Channel is to "produce and distribute high quality multimedia content which educators in any setting can use to enliven curriculum, engage students and otherwise enhance the learning experience."

Thursday
Drawing on digital sources from the largest library in the world, the Library of Congress, Beyond the Bubble expands history teachers' assessment options.

COD - 10/25/2012 - Beyond the Bubble [History]

Drawing on digital sources from the largest library in the world, the Library of Congress, Beyond the Bubble expands history teachers' assessment options.

Beyond the Bubble's digital assessments take only a few minutes and are easy to score, come with rubrics and samples of student work, promote academic literacy, and provide a view into the thinking of students.

The assessments align with the Common Core standards. Each one is keyed to one or more standard and includes a link identifying the relevant standards.

Beyond the Bubble calls these exercises “History Assessments of Thinking". Each asks students to extend beyond simple factual recall to apply information in a specific historical context.

Beyond the Bubble assessments focus on the following aspects of historical understanding: evaluation of evidence, historical knowledge, and historical argumentation.

Beyond the Bubble was developed by the Stanford History Education Group. SHEG draws on over twenty years of research-based experience working at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

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

COD - 10/24/2012 - The Futures Channel [Video]

The goal of The Futures Channel is to "produce and distribute high quality multimedia content which educators in any setting can use to enliven curriculum, engage students and otherwise enhance the learning experience."

 

 

The Futures Channel strives to connect STEM subjects to the real world, putting what students are learning in context, so that they might envision their own futures. 

 

The Futures Channel also provide an avenue through which science, engineering, and technology professionals can reach out to their future potential workforce and spur their interest in their fields.

 

Each week The Futures Channel features a selection of new movies and educator favorites that are available for two weeks. Some movies, however, are always available because of their popularity. You can find these by clicking on any of the "Real World Movie" categories.

 

 

The Futures Channel DVDs offer an affordable solution for educators to have access to a large selection of The Futures Channel videos anytime they want without having to access the Internet.

 

The Futures Channel was founded in 1999, and has partnered with schools around the country as well as a wide range of publishers, science centers, professional development providers, public TV stations, websites, and more to provide high quality real world digital content.

 

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

COD - 10/23/2012 - Textivate [ELA]

Textivate is a web app which allows users to automatically generate a variety of interactive browser-based activities based on any provided text.

 

 

Textivate is intended as a way for teachers to provide multiple interactive activities based on texts of their own choosing, which can then be shared with other educators and accessed by students.

 

Simply type or paste up to 500 words of text into the text box on the Textivate home page and click on the "textivate now" button to see all of the available exercises. Textivate automatically generates the exercises based on the length of the text you input.

 

 

Textivate also will generate an html code that you can use to embed that exercise into a blog, wiki, or web page.

 

Students are not expected to attempt all of the activities available for a particular text. Choose those activities which are most suitable to your needs and to the age and ability of your students. Textivate activities are well suited to use with an interactive whiteboard.

 

 

Watch a video Introduction to Textivate

 

Textivate is currently in beta. Anybody can use the website free of charge. However, some of the features require that you register.

 

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

COD - 10/22/2012 - TalkTyper [Speech Recognition]

TalkTyper is a web app that provides free speech recognition. It makes voice dictation available to anyone.

 

 

Anyone with a computer can use TalkTyper which first became possible when Google introduced speech input in version 11 of its Chrome browser. Before that, most people had to use the keyboard to enter information into a field in the browser. Speech input allows you to talk rather than type.

 

Speech input allows anyone to create text on a computer, even if they cannot type because of physical disabilities or other problems such as dyslexia or dysgraphia. TalkTyper enables anyone who can click on a button and speak to write on a computer.

 

Watch a video demo of TalkTyper

 

To use TalkTyper, click the microphone icon and begin speaking. When you're finished, click the copy button, and then paste it into your document, email, whatever.

 

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

The Rearview Mirror 10/20/2012

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

Fixoodle is a language learning community where people studying languages can help each other to learn.

 

Tuesday

LearnersTV provides thousands of free downloadable lectures in biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, engineering, medicine, management and accounting, and many more fields.

Wednesday

Teachem makes it possible for anyone to create a class from YouTube videos by adding time stamped flashcards and review questions.

Thursday

Superflashcard is a web app to create, study, and review flashcards using the theory of spaced repetition for long-term memory management.

The Math Code

In working with CTC teachers, I have discovered that one of the reasons they struggle connecting the content in their own fields to the Common Core math standards is that they are confused by the specialized mathematical vocabulary. Each area of human knowledge, whether it be math, healthcare, auto repair, or anything else, has its own unique, specialized vocabulary that can be a mystery to outsiders. Once a teacher learns what theses “secret code" words really mean, they realize that many of the activities they ordinarily do in class will touch upon one or more of the math standards.

 

In order to help overcome this difficulty, I have compiled a short “dictionary” of some of the math terms that are frequently bumps in the road to relating curriculum with standards. By no means is this meant to be a comprehensive list. 

Click HERE to view online or download The Math Code

COD - 10/18/2012 - Superflashcard [Flashcards]

Superflashcard is a web app to create, study, and review flashcards using the theory of spaced repetition for long-term memory management.

 

 

The Superflashcard memory management system utilizes repetition with an optimal interval to help you avoid forgetting what you've learned and retain information faster and longer.

 

Create flashcards for what you want to memorize. Review your flashcards anywhere using a Superflashcard mobile app with an optimal schedule based on your own "forgetting" curve.

 

The community database enables you to discover new flashcards created by other Superflashcard users. Share your flashcards with others as well.

 

 

Superflashcard is available at Android Market, Apple Store, and Amazon App Store. Apps for Windows phones and Blackberry phones are being developed.

 

A basic Superflashcard account is free and allows an unlimited number of flashcards, spaced repetition, import/export, and printing. The premium account (free for educators) adds more image capacity and personalization.

 

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

COD - 10/17/2012 - Teachem [Video]

Teachem makes it possible for anyone to create a class from YouTube videos by adding time stamped flashcards and review questions.

 

 

There is a lot of video on YouTube, including over 700,000 educational videos in its EDU channel. Teachem feels that while this leads to a lot of opportunity it can also be very overwhelming. Starting a class on Teachem can take as little as 30 seconds.

 

You can go further than just creating a single class. You can first create a school. Then you can create as many classes as you want in that school by adding time-stamped flashcards and review questions to the videos. You can have as many schools as you want, making them open to the public or private just for your own class.

 

Teachem is a free and easy way to share your subject outside of the classroom. Create classes from your own collection of videos, or easily add any of the thousands of other YouTube videos on your chosen topic. Add your time-stamped flashcards at any point to any videos.

 

 

An unusual and interesting feature of Teachem is that the FAQ page is a series videos using their own features.

 

Watch a video: Teachem: Learning Has Never Been Easier!

The creators of Teachem believe their website can do for teaching what blogging did for publishing, open it up to the masses.

 

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

COD - 10/16/2012 - LearnersTV [Video]

LearnersTV provides thousands of free downloadable lectures in biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, engineering, medicine, management and accounting, and many more fields.

LearnersTV provides:

• Free video and audio lectures of entire courses conducted by faculty from reputable universities around the world.
• Free lecture notes will help the students in examination preparation and studies.
• Science animations giving students fun and innovative ways of learning.
• Free live, timed online tests with instant feedback and explanations to refine your test taking skills.

Most of the materials offered by LearnersTV are licensed by the respective institutions under a Creative Commons License.

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

COD - 10/15/2012 - Fixoodle [Languages]

Fixoodle is a language learning community where people studying languages can help each other to learn.

If you are trying to learn a language, post to Fixoodle in the language you are trying to learn, then wait for people who speak that language to correct your writing. See how a native speaker might write the same thing.

 

Help others learn by fixing the errors people make in short posts written in your native language. Fixes are automatically highlighted. 

• Original: Fixes are automatic make highlight.
• Fixes: Fixes are automaticallymake highlighted
• Final: Fixes are automatically highlighted.

As a reward for fixing, any posts you submit for correction are displayed higher up in the list of posts awaiting fixes. Translate short pieces of text that people have requested. You can learn from how other people translate, too.

 

 

Fixoodle is social learning with groups, messaging, videos, and friend functions. Get to know people from other countries, find language partners, start language exchanges, and get connected.

 

Watch a video intro to Fixoodle

Through posting, fixing, requesting, and translating, Fixoodle helps you learn other languages and have a little fun at the same time.

 

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

The Rearview Mirror 10/13/2012

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

LiveMinutes is a free online collaborative meeting service focused on document sharing.

Tuesday

Citelighter is a browser plug-in that saves and organizes your research and formats it to a bibliography, stored in the cloud, that's accessible anytime, anywhere.

Wednesday

Claco ia a free website where teachers can find crowd-sourced lessons and resources, keep everything organized in virtual binders, share lessons with a click, and grow their PLNs

Thursday

Study Champs is a free educational website designed to provide an online resource to students in primary and middle school and their parents and teachers.

COD - 10/11/2012 - Study Champs [Activities]

Study Champs is a free educational website designed to provide an online resource to students in primary and middle school and their parents and teachers.

Study Champs resources cover math, English, science and social studies. The content includes educational resources such as printable worksheets and games, tutorials, interactive online games, quizzes, stories, flip books, and more . 

Kids can also enjoy fun activities like reading stories, coloring sheets, brain teasing games, and learn amazing facts, too.

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

COD - 10/10/2012 - Claco [Resources]

Claco ia a free website where teachers can find crowd-sourced lessons and resources, keep everything organized in virtual binders, share lessons with a click, and grow their PLNs.

Collaborate with educators across the hall or around the world using Claco. Connect with educators like yourself and build lessons in real time. Ask questions and share your own teaching skills.

Claco enables you to store all of your resources in a single place. Store and easily access all of your websites, videos, files, and more. Using the Claco “snap” button allows you to instantly move resources to your Claco binders. You can even align those resources with the Common Core standards.

It takes just a click to easily and quickly share your resources with students, parents, and colleagues..

See how to use Claco binders in a video

Claco is currently in beta. It is free and pledges the core service will always be so.

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