Book Creator great for learning and fun

Moshoeshoe Primary School pupil presenting her ebook
created on Book Creator

An app that came up during the visit by Fraser Speirs about the use of iPads in schools, is the Book Creator app. It is one of the apps that is part of a suggested learning set of apps being pre-loaded on mobile labs of iPads in schools in South Africa.

Moshoeshoe Primary School is an example of a school that has implemented iPads in their school through corporate sponsors and iSchoolAfrica. They use Book Creator very creatively in the English Second Language classes.

We also played with the app. It is a lot of fun for own personal use, or maybe for that book you always wanted to write. Little Missy dictated her story to me while I recorded it. I could add the video in the book, and wrote the rest of her story, with photos attached to it. The first book is free, and after that you have to upgrade to create an unlimited number. At $4.99 (about R37) it is not a huge amount.

We will be making more...

The creators of Book Creator picked up on my mentions of Book Creator in previous posts, and asked me to write a guest post.

 

The guest post is here: Book Creator adding to the learning experience in South Africa

iPad learning for special needs #iPadLearningZA

I learn something new each time I attend a workshop with regards the use of iPads and learning.

Karen Hart, an iPad Facilitator at Think Ahead, gave a workshop on Wednesday at the iStore on Sandton Drive about app solutions for special needs.

Karen Hart

iPad is the best for remedial teaching, because it has so many inbuilt features! 

(I believe it to be true, because I haven't seen other tablets with the same features!)

The Core Group is responsible for the following:

Local support for educators, parents and learners

• Extensive teacher training

• Curriculum integration

• Infrastructure and technical planning and support

• Parent and learner support (at every single iStore)

        Check out the iParent website for workshops and resources.

• Community of best practise

• International keynote speakers

App solutions for special needs:

Karen Hart:

Dysphasia

A child who can type, but not write.

He will type on the Notability app, and mail it back to the teacher. They could both scan their learning material, and mail it back to each other.

Apps: 

Notability

HD Scanner

Dyslexia

Solutions:

- Maths - Talking Scientific Calculator

- Improving character recognition  - Dyslexia Quest

- Zoom - a built-in function to enlarge text - 200 to 500%

- Speak selection - built-in function to read text aloud

Auditory learning

Struggling learning text documents

- Use in-built voice memo (or something like QuickVoice?) to record his summarized work 

- Memos can be shared via email or iTunes or on iOs devices (sent to iPod)

- The student listens to his summarized work

- App: Text Grabber to convert from image into text file

- In-built Speak Auto-Text (with Accessibility function) can be used here as well

Low Vision and Blind

In-built settings in Accessibility: (first place to change settings for visually or auditory challenged people)

- Inverted colours - black background with white text / with orange and purple

- Zoom function

- Voice-over > speaks every single version on screen

- Flexy: works with qwerty keyboard (chosen app) > builds up dictionary of your own words. Train it and create predictive text. Flexy speaks the iPad to you. 

- Google Maps - direct you step by step

Hard of hearing

This is especially a challenge in the South African context. (There are no sign language apps).

Apps:

Book Creator 
- Can be used to create own manuals and videos for learning.

- Custom creation of visual dictionary

- The books are uploaded onto iBooks

- iMovie (or can also use the normal video function on the iPad)

With iMovie there is an option to make your own movie or use the trailer function for                     instant themes.

In-built features:
- Mono audio on iPad > can customize what level of sound go to ear

- FaceTime > smooth communication

- Camera for use in visual learning and teaching

- The Accessibility feature can be accessed by a triple click at the bottom.

- Voice over - Change rate of speech that iPad speaks with Rotor function (twisting                               motion swipe up or down with three fingers
- Speak Selection (Choose voices)

We were shown how easy it is to use Book Creator and to incorporate video, picture and sounds. 

I have posted before about Book Creator and how great it is for learning and fun. 

Book Creator has also come up again and again as one of THE apps to use with regards learning and teaching. Specific books can be created for specific needs, and children can use this very successfully in their own learning and projects at school. With one app you are able to create many different solutions!

I will do another post about Autism and some of the suggested apps by Elschen Kluge next week.

Related posts:

- iPads for teachers in the primary classroom - Tal Slome

- "Connecting to the past, delivering the future" - with iPads in the classroom by Joe Moretti

- Choosing iPads for your school - Fraser Speirs

"Connecting to the past, delivering the future" - with iPads in the classroom by Joe Moretti

Joe Moretti demonstrating the Augmented Reality app Aurasma

International keynote speaker Joe Moretti, an iPad education expert, demonstrated to teachers on Monday that the use of technology should not surpass the pedagogy in the classroom.

The number of teachers attending the event showed that the vast majority of them has been in the classroom for 20 to 30 years. They are experts in their special fields and experts in teaching. Their knowledge and experience are paramount when adapting to a new environment of using technology in the classroom. Combining that with the children who are digital natives with the use of technology, it makes it easier to make the switch.


Joe Moretti suggested that if there is only one iPad in the classroom available, the teacher already has access to many new teaching methods.

"Connecting to the past, delivering the future"
The pedagogy is still essential for teaching in the future!

New teaching methods with an iPad in the classroom

- Connecting via wireless mirroring to type and show what they are busy with on the iPad. It is not necessary to stand in front of the Black board any more. The teacher can move around with the device in her hand. She can type and draw while moving around. She can ask the students to show what they are doing on the device.

- The camera can be used to record in class, and there are no struggles when saving and searching for the files. It can be uploaded to be made immediately available to all.

- The use of Pages (Microsoft Word) and Keynote (Microsoft Powerpoint) makes it very easy to update and convert the presentations on the iPad. All the previous Word and Powerpoint documents can be uploaded to Dropbox and accessed via the iPad.

- Book Creator is one of the apps that is very easy to use, and it has a myriad of applications in the classroom. It can be learned in 5 minutes. Sound, videos and images can be uploaded as well, and it is very easy to upload it to iBooks.

- SHOWBIE is a great way to share and receive files from students. It has unlimited storage and unlimited class size. It is also free.

- iPad as simulator: There are many ways that the iPad can be used as simulator in the science fields. It can take the students into the human body as well as into space. One microscope that's connected can be shown on all iPad devices in the classroom. The Globilab was demonstrated as a wireless data collection device that makes K-12 science experiments mobile and immediately available.

- Special needs children: Settings were demonstrated to lock the device into a specific app, especially when working with autistic children that gets distracted easily.

- Augmented Reality is a great new way to make old boring posters and learning material coming alive in the classroom. Aurasma was demonstrated as one of the apps to use.

A dinosaurus coming alive on the screen via AR

As always I got very excited when I saw all the endless possibilities and creative uses of the iPad in the classroom. I wish I had an education like this, and I wish my children will be able to have access to this technology!



Related posts:

- Book Creator great for learning and fun 

- Choosing iPads for your school - Fraser Speirs

- Ipads in Education - I want to be a teacher now #iPadSamG

iPads for teachers in the primary classroom - Tal Slome

Tal Slome
iPad Facilitator at ThinkAhead Education Solutions

I was invited to attend Tal Slome's workshop about Apps in the primary classroom. It was specifically designed for teachers using iPads in the classroom.

I love attending these sessions, because I always pick up some great ideas for my own iPad, as well as great apps to download for my preschooler.

Tal Slome's Prezi is here: Subject specific apps for the primary classroom

There are great apps that are being covered for each subject. An app guide is freely available on ZA Books, the South African school books that are available for download on the iPad.


The suggestions to find great apps are a good reminder of how to proceed. How many times have I not downloaded an app, to delete it after just one use. It helps to do your homework, or to make use of  subject-specific guides.

How to find good apps:

- App or iTunes store reviews. 
Remember to check whether the review is from the developer or the user. The developer's view would of course be much more positive!

- Internet
Do a search on the Internet

- Word of mouth 
It helps to ask around and to hear what others are using. On social media, from colleagues and from professionals.



There are great resources for teachers on the web. Parents and home-schooling parents can also make use of it.

Materials and app finders:

- Teacher's Pet : the apps can be found here: Teacher's Pet: Apps & Games
These are great resources to keep handy, especially for assignments.

- Apps Gone Free:
This is a great app to use when searching for top apps that are available for free.


I am planning to play with some of the apps, and give some feedback here on the blog.
The apps are here: Tal Slome's Prezi 


iFile:

I love the suggestion of making use of  iFile. It is $3.99 on the app store, but it is worth to file all your documents and file formats in the cloud.
It accommodates Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, Box.net, SkyDrive, SugarSync, AFP (Mac Shares), FTP/FTPS, SFTP, Flickr, Picasa, Facebook, Rackspace CloudFiles, CloudApp, PogoPlug, WebDav, Amazon S3, Ubuntu One Files, ownCloud, 4Shared, also using Amazon S3: DreamObjects and UltiCloud.



Related posts:

- Connecting to the past, delivering the future - with iPads in the classroom with Joe Moretti

- Choosing iPads for your school - Fraser Speirs

- Book Creator great for learning and fun

- Book Creator adding to the learning experience in South Africa

Write your own children's book

Katherine Graham on Amazon

Do you have a children's book inside of you, just waiting to be converted into words and images? Self-publishing could be the best route, but don't worry – it's not as scary as it sounds, writes guest blogger Katherine Graham.


It's funny how having a child can be compared to a near-death experience. Not something you'd see in a feel-good nappy ad, for sure, but with both my pregnancies as the due date approached, I felt some of the fear that you probably experience before dying. And then, once the baby makes its entrance into the world, it's like you're given your life back again, albeit with dirty nappies, sleep deprivation and all the rest.

I also felt that with this near-death experience, I gained such a clear sense of what my purpose in life was. Up until then, I'd had a foggy sense of what I should be doing, but when I became a mother I-knew-like-I-knew-that-I-knew that my God-given purpose in life was to write. Not just articles, which is what I'd been doing up till then (and still do to make a living), but to write books. And so my journey as an author began.

Whenever you start something new in life, you have to brace yourself for the challenges that go with it. You have to expect a certain level of resistance to your ideas. After I'd written my first two children's books, The Dummy Fairy and Alfonso the Tooth Mouse, I had to endure months of waiting and rejection letters that came from publishers. I suppose that is the point at which many people give up, but something told me I needed to carry on fighting.

I had engaged the services of an illustrator friend, Wendy Paterson, so I had a bunch of great illustrations for both books, plus I had the text which I had written. I got an e-mail from writeforkids.org telling me how now was such an exciting time to be self-publishing children's books on Amazon – it's easy and free and the royalties are better than traditional publishers – so I figured, Why not?

That's how my journey into self-publishing began last year and it's been an interesting ride. Yes, it is fairly easy to get published on Amazon, I've learned, but marketing your own books comes with its own challenges. It's been a very steep learning curve for me, but I'm happy to say that I now have three children's books under my belt – The Poofiest Pong is my latest release and is a huge hit with young kids – and am busy working on my fourth, a magical story set in Lesotho about a flying unicorn called Moonshine. I'm hoping that once I get into a routine and rhythm, the books will just keep popping out and more and more children will read them and enjoy them.


If you'd like to write your own children's book, here are some tips for getting started:

1. Keep a journal where you write down ideas for stories and characters.

2. If you have children, pay attention to what they say and what engages their imagination. Use those ideas to fuel your own creativity.

3. Join a writers' group and try to nurture your writing skills. Remember, talent is an asset, but skill as a writer will always trump that.

4. Flex your creative writing muscles by “working out” i.e. writing for at least half an hour every day. (You can take Sunday off!)

5. Look at the work of other children's writers – Julia Donaldson, Roald Dahl and Shirley Hughes come to mind. What do they do in their books that makes their stories so appealing? Is it the rhyme, the plot, the characters? Bear in mind that children relate most to stories which are told from a child's point of view.

6. Once you've written your story, show it to others whose opinion you value. Read it to your kids or kids you know. Make changes if necessary. It must be thoroughly polished and error-free before it goes to print.

7. If you're going the self-publishing route, you'll need to find and pay for your own illustrator. (A traditional publisher would source one for you.) Contact the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators to find a good one – www.scbwi.za.org – or perhaps you could do the illustrations yourself to keep costs low. You might even know a friend or family member who would be willing to help you.

8. Download Kindle Kids' Book Creator, which is free software, onto your computer. This will help you build your book for Amazon.

9. Next, you'll need to register with Kindle Direct Publishing – www.kdp.com. Once you've done this, you can upload your book title onto Amazon.

10. You'll need to be responsible for your own marketing, which means you'll need to build up a social media presence – a Facebook author's page, Twitter account, Goodreads author page, etc. Having an active blog also helps to engage with your readers. Organising readings at schools or libraries is another great idea.


A journalist by training, Katherine writes regularly for a number of South African magazines. She has published three children's e-books, The Dummy Fairy, Alfonso the Tooth Mouse and The Poofiest Pong. The Lemon Tree, which was longlisted for the Golden Baobab Prize in 2014, is due to be published by Penguin Random House next year. She lives in possibly the world's most beautiful city, Cape Town, is married with two boys and a ginger cat, and loves peaceful, uninterrupted moments sipping tea and reading. She blogs at www.wordcount.co.za.

Related posts:

- Who makes The Poofiest Pong? 

- Children'sBook Giveaway: ThePoofiest Pong, by Katherine Graham

Choosing iPads for your school - Fraser Speirs

Fraser Speirs with Michelle Lissoos

I am passionate about iPads in schools. Especially since I have seen what children are able to do with the iPad, and the yearly iPad in Education Awards which are totally awesome!

(I do not get an iPad for saying this!
I just love LOVE my own iPad2, wishing I have the most recent one! - Hint-hint, Universe!)

 I really hope my child's school will incorporate it in their learning programme. Apparently they have a three year plan in place! I have been one of the parents asking, again and again!

Fraser Speirs toured South Africa recently, made possible through the iStore. His claim to fame is that he is involved with the first school in the world that incorporated iPads 1:1 in their school. He has a background in software development and systems administration, and has been involved daily in the classroom.

I attended a session as part of a roadshow at Kingsmead School on 12 September, where Michelle Lissoos, Head of Think Ahead, introduced him. They provide the iPad solutions to schools, from pre-primary to higher education. They have flexible iPad solutions available, which addresses budget vs vision issues. A mobile lab is one way of introducing iPads to a school learning environment.

ZA Books is the text book store for iPad. It is not only about text books, but a sure way to start on the iPad route in a school.

Education app guides are available for primary and secondary education. Schools also starts with working with a core set of apps, which helps a lot with implementation.

They have made a 12 months interest free finance plan available to schools for buying iPads, and there are different purchase plans to match schools financials.

Fraser Speirs about their 1:1 implementation at Cedars School of Excellence in Greenock, Scotland:

 "Technology must always be subservient to goal of education to be effective!"

- Internet research is available in class to everybody.
- Everyone challenged on a level that suits them.
- 100% more engagement in the class.
- Some statistics:
       - 50,000,000,000 connected devices by 2025
       - 7 connected devices per person on planet
       - The world is already 1:1
- They spent 11 years to get their teachers to use technology.
- iPads with 10 hour battery, 9.7" screen, 1.5 pounds changed the scenery.
- They have found the "sweet spot" in usability, where they have adaptability to most tasks - Tasks of medium to moderate complexity.
- Bringing your own device is not a good idea, with the following issues:
       - big players are going vertical in mobile
       - "Equally bad everywhere" problem
       - "School uniform" problem - devices should be all the same.
- They are hiding the integration cost in cost of staff effort.
- The Web is Not Enough! any more.
- Technology is as accessible as paper.
- Different stages for different individuals / learners.
- Not an ICT project, but about improving education! They are even going into the gym.
- The teacher training programme starts with:

      "It's essential that the teachers live with the iPad" 

- The way of using it in the classroom: Research, synthesize and give back to teacher with the use of apps.
- They have a remedial for children coming from other schools in place.
- The stats show consistent better results!
"Students in iPad classes outperformed every other student!"
- They have put their curriculum on iTunesU. Found it to be very useful!
- During exams they deliberately use iPads less to put in exercises where students have to write for longer periods of times.
- They use Showbie for assessments which can be annotated by the teacher.
- Google Drive also very effective.
- Student teachers are not getting technology teaching > only 1 day in training > major issue ( in Scotland).
- 2% damage and failure over a year > 7 were damaged or failed. 0% stolen and 0% lost! (where Android devices have a 40% failure rate!)
- The right case to protect corners and closes cover of screen. (Important!)
- Ownership > school owns the entire set with a lease for 3 years. It stays with the kid, but if kid leaves, it stays behind.
- Everything begins with the leaders in the school! The head teacher and deputies should be there when introducing and starting an iPad programme.
- Some apps that are great to use: Showbie, Explain everything - whiteboard, Book creator, Adobe Reader, PDF creator
- How to get parents on board? Built cost of deployment in school fees. Parent information evenings, and explaining the educational validity. Today a whole lot more of information to convince parents. University if Holland did a very favourable research study.
- Wi-fi issues and density of use can crop up > performance issues > the solution is to have enough base stations.

It is very exciting times!

Ipad learning for special needs - Autism #iPadLearningZA

With the most recent iPad Learning for Special Needs workshop, Elschen Kluge, an iPad Facilitator at Think Ahead, demonstrated three apps to use in the classroom with regards autistic learners.

Most recently I came across the YouTube videos of Carly Fleischmann, an autistic non-verbal girl whom they thought was severely mentally disabled, but she started to communicate through her computer.



It made me realise just how much innate intelligence can be unlocked through the use of apps like the following on the iPad.

Autism

Not one autistic learner is the same, but it is a neurological disorder which impacts the learner with regards communication and learning, to name but two of the learning difficulties.

The communication apps are therefore essential to establish basic communication in the learning environment.

Verbal Me

This easy-to-use AAC and choice board app was designed by special needs teachers to help nonverbal kids participate in class. Users tap a button and the iOS device speaks the button text aloud in either a boy's or girl's voice. Screen choices include yes/no, alphabet, numbers, skip counting, opposites, bullying, getting dressed, using the bathroom, seasons, emotions, BINGO, sight words, body parts, animals.

Tap on the pictures to hear the word being spoken
(Screen print)

Type your own message which is spoken by the iOS device
 in a pre-selected boy's or girl's voice

The alphabet is spoken when tapped

Tap to talk

Screen print of selections on Tap to talk

The portable, customizable communication app AAC for autism, Down syndrome, apraxia, cerebral palsy, aphasia, any non-verbal condition. All languages, all ages

Social Stories

An amazing app for easily creating and sharing educational social stories, visual schedules and beautiful memories. This is a very valuable tool for any teacher, SLP, OT, direct care staff or parent! Children with special needs often need more direct instruction of social skills. Teaching social skills to any child may be easier and less stressful when visual supports, like social stories are used. The social stories found in this app explain accurate social information and ensures that your child will know what to expect in different situations. 

Social Stories (screen print)

Social behaviour and how to is a big issue with regards autism. Learners are taught how to behave, for example sharing is not something an autistic child is keen to do. They also cannot cope with change in their routines. If there is a change, there is usually outbursts of anger and emotions.

Social Stories can be used for own children when they are struggling with something, not only autistic children.

Some of the Social Stories to choose from
(screen print)

More suggestions with regards autism:

• The teacher or parent can make their own specific book in Book Creator.

• Model Me Going Places is a free app and is also used for social stories.

• Visual scheduling of different activities or daily events helps the learners who struggle with internal organizational skills. Pages on the iPad can also be used to create an interactive schedule, add pictures and text.

• Popplet - handy for planning out the day.

• Hundreds of AAC apps on the iTunes store.

Related posts:

- iPad learning for special needs #iPadLearningZA

- iPad in Education at Sacred Heart College #iPadLearningZA

Free Collins Big Cat apps

Collins Big Cat apps 

I was alerted to the Collins Big Cat apps via Dizzy C's Little Book Blog.

I have downloaded only two at this stage, but I will definitely download the rest as well.
They are very cute and interactive stories, which can be enjoyed by a toddler, as well as school-going children when they start reading by themselves.

I especially love the option to create your own stories with your own voice.
We are having fun already making our own story creations.

"Developed in partnership with Shoo Fly, all  8 apps are free to download until September 2013, and not only support a love of reading but the development of creative writing skills too. 

They feature:

• an animated, interactive version of the book
• a record your own narration feature
• a story creator tool - make your own book using characters, key vocabulary and 
  • backgrounds from the original story
• support for parents to get the most out of the book."

iPad screen print
In the Garden
(photo courtesy of Collins)

The titles are:

Around the world

The steam train

It was a cold, dark night

My bike ride

In the garden

At the dump

Playing story 

The farmer's lunch


The apps are here: Collins Big Cat apps

The best! They are free until September of this year!!

Creative inspiration from Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert

Big Magic - Book review

It's serendipity when you find a book that inspires you to the core. The writer of Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert, takes us on her own journey of creativity. She argues that the creative process should not be a slave driver, but a passionate pursuit to create something more. It's not about the end product, but the process and internal gain itself!

iPads in the Classroom: from consumption to creation - Tom Daccord #iPadEdSummitZA

Tom Daccord:
"Educators shouldn't think of iPads as repositories of apps but rather as
portable media creation devices."

I was extremely fortunate to be invited to attend the first South African iPad Summit this week at The Forum in Bryanston.

Core Group invited three international speakers, with over 400 educators from southern Africa attending. It is a buzz to see all the teachers with their iPads taking notes and photographs and discussing the practicalities of implementation of the iPad. It makes me very excited for our education in South Africa!

SA iPad Summit with international speakers #iPadedsummitZA > transforming and preparing all our learners! pic.twitter.com/SkKyKeUu0n
— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) February 16, 2015

Tom Daccord, who is from Boston in the United States, has worked with schools, districts, colleges, and educational organisations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He was a history teacher for many years!

My head is still spinning from all the new information of the conference today, but here are
A few important pointers taken from the Keynote speech by Tom Daccord:

- Teachers should not focus on app teaching. It is the narrow vision of an iPad. It is not a passive instrument, but should be used creatively!
See the quote on top by Tom Daccord.

- Teachers should build a vision to work towards. What does awesome look like? (Free Teacher Activity Book for iPads in the Classroom available!) That is the starting point of great learning!

- Three commonalities are identified of great teachers using iPads:

1. Empower through creativity. Children should be empowered to demonstrate what they know in different modalities.

2. Connect. iPads connect globally and students have access to the global community and learning. Use social media!

3. Make learning last. Teachers help students to create opportunities to actively learn.
We were told the anecdote of Tom Daccord's step daughter who was in a classroom setting where the teacher told the children to learn Chinese vocabulary and left. The children came up with the idea to incorporate it with making cooking demonstration videos. She still remembers that vocabulary to this day!

3 Commonalities -great teachers using iPads: Empower through creativity, Connect, Make learning last #iPadedsummitZA pic.twitter.com/XIvgZmRRVt
— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) February 16, 2015

- There are evergreen apps that can be used at any point of time with any subject, such as Book Creator, iBooks, iTunesU, Padlet, Notability, Camera.

- The first five days are crucial when introducing the iPad.
Tom Daccord suggests getting to know the students are the most important. It is being done by making use of apps on the iPad, such as the Socrative apps. The teacher will learn more about the children and their background, and the children will already begin to familiarize themselves with the iPad.

---------------------

I will be sharing some more about the Summit in the upcoming days. I have also seen some handy apps that I did not know about. I will probably encounter some more tomorrow!

I hope my daughter's school start their implementation sooner rather than later. I will be that parent phoning again...

(Today I wished again I was a teacher!)

App-smashing 101 with Sabba Quidwal

Sir Ken Robinson:
"We don't grow into creativity; we grow out of it or rather we get educated out of it."

Sabba Quidwai gave a few advanced presentations at the most recent South Africa iPad Summit. The following is stated on her website Ask MSQ:

Sabba Quidwai is a passionate educator ... [who] loves most about the creation of technology-enhanced curriculum is its potential to empower all learners and is driven by the following philosophy:

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." ~ Confucius.

The App-smashing 101 presentation on Tuesday was extremely inspiring teaching how to use apps in a very creative way, by way of app-smashing (combining) the apps.

A definition of app-smashing is the possibility of "students to create content with a variety of apps and then publish it to the web". More information and resources can be found on EdTechTeacher

App-smashing

Sabba focused on technology as being able to reignite the passion for creativity. Our learning through technology opens up the value of/and fostering creativity! (See the top quote by Sir Ken Robinson.)

When using the iPad we are rethinking the iPad as a portable media creation device.
We move away from one tool at one time!

The one screen iPad is being suggested as the ultimate to begin this creative learning experience. We don't need thousands of apps, but only those that let's you push and pull from the device.
A good way to evaluate an app is it's ability to be downloaded/exported as well as being imported into another app.

The evergreen apps that can be used with any subject and in any learning environment:

Explain Everything
Book Creator
iMovie
Touchcast
Keynote
Puppetpals
Skitch
Tellagami Edu
Chromville
DoInk

iPad hieroglyphics

The iPad hieroglyphics provide a base foundation for newer iPad users to understand how to navigate within and between applications.




An example of app smashing:

1. Use Safari to research the information.
2. Create a Storyboard.
3. Create characters in Tellagami.
4. Pull it into iMovie.
5. Create an augmented reality overlay with Aurasma.
6. Create a final trigger image on the wall where the children can look at all the projects.


The following Chemistry of Combos are suggested to use for ideas when app smashing.

The Chemistry of Combos
iPad Educators

The final products can be shared through DropBox or ViewChat.

Preparation is the most important, and should include:

1. The goal or the question.
2. The storyboard makes it easy to understand the thinking and learning process.
3. The creation only follows after that!

It sounds like a lot of fun using this in the classroom. You are only limited by your own imagination!

I can't remember if Sabba or one of the other presenters said this, but: Think of what you want to do, and then search for the app. Do not focus on the apps per se. The technology is not about the app, but what you want to do with it!

There is an app for everything!


Related post:

- iPads in the Classroom: from consumption to creation - Tom Daccord #iPadEdSummitZA

Apple in Education judging 2014 #AEC2014

I get a yearly shot of inspiration when I see the Apple in Education submissions for the Apple in Education competition. These kids are so creative. They are already working with the technology and with the apps in such a way that it boggles my mind.
I am only now starting to use some of it in my daily life!

I was fortunate enough to be invited again in judging a category, Shape of My World, on Friday.

The competition this year changed it's previous brief and "set out with a series of educational challenges - that could be applied across grades and subjects. Through guiding questions, creative solutions and innovative Apple technology they wanted to see how these projects can be brought to life in extraordinary ways."

Michelle Lissoos of Think Ahead introducing the judges

The students could make use of the following apps on the iPad: Book Creator, Camera, iBooks, Explain Everything and EduCreations. There were four of us in each category, and it helped in making the best choice overall!

Fellow judges: Leyla Haidarian, Nikki Heyman and Hayley Owen

Leyla Haidarian in charge of finding the projects

Nikki Heyman, the Scribe for the day!

We spent more than three hours deliberating on 3 age categories in Shape of My World, and we all had to agree on the best three in each.
It took us longer than the rest, but I am happy to report that we found the best three in each.
It was difficult in most instances, but luckily we had the clear guidelines to adhere to:

"Judging criteria:
- Clear indication that the challenge has been addressed, including clear evidence of planning
- Apple Technology has been used effectively (hardware and appropriate apps)
- The project has been linked to the currriculum
- Concept is creative, innovative and original
- High quality of the project presentation"

The Tweet:

This is difficult! IPad judging #AEC2014 @nikkiheyman @HayleyOwenSA pic.twitter.com/uJEOHBeKpd
— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) October 24, 2014

We had a sense at the end of the judging that the teachers could have played a more creative role in suggestion diversity in the use of the apps. There are so many possibilities out there!
Especially with regards the younger age categories. But we were still impressed with the submissions!



The Awards ceremony is on 6 November and I can't wait to see the rest of the categories and how it was interpreted.

Related posts:

- Apple in Education Awards 2013 - the winners #iPadlearningZA

- Apple in Education Competition Awards 2013 coming up #appleined

Lazy days of summer

Halftone 2

We are enjoying thus summer at home! We had an early vacation in the bush in the beginning of December. Now we are totally lazy getting the much needed rest at home!

This year I welcome it. The previous years I felt a bit depressed staying at home over the festive period, but it has been so relaxing to sleep late each day and just chill.

We also love spending time with family and friends!

And deciding on a whim each day to do some of the fun stuff here in Johannesburg...

We went on a drive to Maropeng today, but landed in a loop on the Kromdraai road. (I can see my dad and sister shaking their heads, because they have excellent direction, but even my iPad maps took us to the wrong place!)

It felt like a drive in the countryside and we did not mind. We will definitely go to Maropeng this coming week!

We took a detour to a fabourite place, Maggie's Farm, and of course had pies for lunch.

The pIcture is created by the Halftone 2 app, a comic book creator. It is the free gift available to download today from the 12 Days of Gifts.

The 12 Days of Gifts from the iTunes store are great fun. There is a free fun app or music or game to download from iTunes each day. This is happening from the 26th of December until 6th January. It is definitely worth downloading!