iPad Apps & Tidbits

As many of you know, I've resigned from being full-time at my beloved Hawkins County for a career at the collegiate level. I've been so humbled by the outpouring of love and support from my colleagues. Many of you have emailed me and I appreciate the kind words. I was shocked at how many teachers emailed me to inquire as to whether or not I was going to keep the blog (you know this one that I rarely post on). Apparently there are several of you that 'look' but don't 'follow' this blog. With this in mind, I'll try my best to do a better job at posting when I find something of interest.  Feel free to actually 'follow' instead of just 'cruising' the blog :-)
Otherwise, if you Tweet @hcs_tech, I've tried to keep it more current.

Apps

• Mooklet - build a story with pics & add words
• Storyrobe - add audio to pics & build a story
• Book Creator- create books w/ images, words, video - paid app but worth it 
• Trading Cards - very cool! Have students build & review material
• WOTR - build words 
• ClassDojo - app for tracking behavior and 'rewarding' students
• Zondle - AWESOME! Review games on the website and app
• Scootpad - AWESOME! Review Math & LA based on common core content
• Math 7 - negative #'s, absolute value, order of operation
• Science 8 - matter, geology, weather
• Word Thief - thief takes letters & you spell the words to get them back
• Rocket Speller - beginning speller - shows the word & kids organize the letters
• Word Seek - see how many different words you can build
• Math Bingo - add, subtract, multiple, divide with Bingo
• Action Movie - cause and effect...just plain FUN!
• Tootastic - build your story & video all in one stop
• Think fast - mission about the past
• Bubbsie - take a picture & add a word bubble
• Word Abacus - use the abacus to create words
• MathJam - flipcards
• Numerosity - basic arithmetic free, simple addition answer correctly to keep the dog happy
• Biography - facts about historical figures
• MyCQs - create quizzes
• Opposites - addictive!

App Resources
~great websites that have done the work for you~

Appitic - fabulous site & 1 of my fav's! The apps are broke down by content area, Bloom's, Teacher, or Theme!
Whitsitts Lab - K-4 & PD & Apptivities & More!
EducApps - Apps listed by content area in a pdf...kind of busy but has good apps

 

Suggestion
I suggest signing up on http://happipapi.com where teachers can 'try' apps out for developers. I average 1 free code per 6 weeks and several of the apps have been awesome! In fact, if you see a paid app in the list above, I actually got it for free from happipappi!

Technosized Academy

Get ready for HCS's 1st "Technosized Academy" on May 24th!

Oh my goodness, I'm so excited! We never expected such a large response! We've had 171 responses and 286 checked it out and/or started the survey process. The wheels are in motion...we sent out a save the date invitation, a survey to see the interest areas of our teachers, completed the walk through to evaluate technology availability at Cherokee, we have an open call for presenters form on standby, and we've already lined up a few people to present. We're gearing up for what we hope will be an annual event!

Many of you have emailed me about registering for the event. We'll send out more information once we have the sessions lined up and the presenters secured. Stay tuned, once I catch my breath and get with Rosie, we'll send out more information!

Other Tidbits

Websites:

Weebly - A few of you have indicated that you'd like an option, other than frontpage, to dabble at creating a free website. For a quick and user friendly suggestion, start with a weebly. The layout has drag and drop capability for easy editing.

Animoto - my old fav! I recently recommended this website to Julie Newland. I was so excited when Ms. Tamma Jackson (ChurchHill Intermediate) allowed her student to use this as a presentation tool in lieu of a poster board. Thanks for letting the kids infuse technology into your curriculum! The student had a blast and I heard that all of the kids enjoyed it! Side note: it's free for educator's, that's right...look for the link on the bottom left and sign up to get the $30 year membership for free!

Apps:

Zite - This app takes all your favorite sites & articles, from multiple areas, and turns it into one easy to read 'magazine'.

StoryLines - great app for centers with a few iPads but multiple students...assign a topic, put the students in groups, 1 student starts and the others add to it - excellent for small group activities!

Happy App'ing

I'm reflecting on my presentation at the ATA conference yesterday. I had a good turnout with about 40-45 attendees. I love it when I have the opportunity to share information! New apps and ways to implement the iPad is the hot thing right now. I'm blessed to be a part of it! I really love it when other people share with me and I can pass it on. Here are my top 3 fav's from the conference. Let me know if you use these in your classroom!

1. Sock Puppets - introduce and/or review material by building a puppet show, give the kids a topic and let them create a skit in pairs to demonstrate mastery learning....cute app! My son and I made a puppet show reviewing multiplication. I'm updating my blog and I hear him still playing with it. We did the 1's together and sounds like he's flying solo to create a review of his doubles. 

2. Socrative Teacher & Socrative Student -  build quizzes and get instant feedback....no clickers = no problem, this app will turn your iPad into a free clicker, build quizzes with the teacher app, take them with the student app (must have wifi)

3. Comic Touch Lite - use a picture, write a blurb...infuse this into your curriculum by challenging your students to use a picture and a few words to reiterate the lesson

Happy App'ing!