E-Books – Whole Class Reading

I was very impressed to discover a Kindle download today, that allows you to read Kindle E-Books on your computer, via a free program to download from Amazon for Mac or PC. If you have a PC in the classroom that is connected to a projector / IWB, then this allows for whole class reading sessions which can be together from the growing collection of e-books available on the site.

I downloaded a free e-book from Roger Hurn, with the program allowing you to add bookmarks, notes, and change the look and size of the text, according to your set-up. It also syncs to any linked devices which you have on your Amazon account.

A great free tool to encourage whole class reading, and is a tool I look forward to use in the classroom.

The Eye of the Pharaoh is available via Amazon.

 

Check out Collins Big Cat: It Was a Cold, Dark Night Story Creator

Check out this application on the App Store:

Collins Big Cat: It Was a Cold, Dark Night Story Creator HarperCollins Publishers Ltd Category: Education Updated: 14 Dec 2011

iTunes for Mac and Windows

Please note that you have not been added to any email lists. Copyright © 2012 iTunes S.à r.l. All rights reserved

 

Animoog

Animoog_test.mp3 Listen on Posterous

Released a couple of days ago, Animoog is already at the number 1 spot of the iTunes top paid iPad charts, and I can see why. This amazing synth application really is innovative and easy to use. I can see great potential for use in schools, especially for anyone who wants to create some sounds / music to support their Space Topic / Alien learning sequences. You can listen to many samples of the sounds available within the app here, or you can just sit back and listen to my wonderful first recording. I know I’ll be playing with this app for a long time to come. Certainly worth the 69p cost!!

 

Emailing to Evernote: Tips to Help You Organize

Following a conversation over the weekend, today I received instructions how you can organise tags and destinations to your Evernote account when e-mailing content…

> Did you know that you can send it to
> to a specific notebook and assign tags to it? Here’s how:
> > 1. Select a destination notebook for your email by adding @[notebook name] to the end of the subject line.
> 2. Add tags to your note by typing #[tag name] at the end of the subject line. This feature works with existing tags in your account.
> 3. To designate a destination notebook and add tags, be sure to list the notebook name before the tags.
> > An example subject:
> Fwd: Recipe for Bouillabaisse @Recipes #soup #fish #french
> > Happy emailing and organizing in Evernote!
> > via The Evernote Team

 

Isle Of Tune

I do love it when you come across an app which makes you think, “Wow, I can see how this could work in a school!”, and although this app could easily activate a head-ache for the poor teacher, it is one of the most creative music composition apps I have come across…not only for the iPad, but online as well.

‘Isle of Tune’ is not free (£1.99), but does make the most un-musical person able to create simple compositions quickly and easily. Using the idea of a virtual town, the user creates a road for vehicles to drive around (or backwards and forwards), then place different features you would see in a town which are where the music is created. For example, the bridges are actually a piano keyboard, with the user changing the note as they wish. The houses, plant-pots, street-lamps & signs all have different musical attributes, which again allows the user to change the musical note or sound. I played with the app for 20 minutes before generating a musical master-piece (although the folks around me told me to turn it off!!!)

I am still exploring the app, and have found it is possible to save your file as well as explore other work shared to the community, but I have yet to discover how you can export your creation into a manageable format. This may be there, or it may be a future development for the site. More information is at www.isleoftune.com/support/

 

Book Creator for iPad

It is very rare that I come across an App for the iPad that generates such enthusiasm for the potential it offers for educators and students. As my regular followers will be aware, I am a huge advocate for the marvellous opportunities myebook.com offers educators and students, but no application has matched this site for the iPad, until very recently.

Book Creator for the iPad is now catching up, providing a platform for pupils and educators to be able to create their own publication, which can be published via the Apple Store. With a very user-friendly interface, the app allows the author to easily manipulate images and text within the book. I used images from my own photo gallary on the iPad for this example, but would encourage pupils to use an art application to create their own images, which could then be imported into the book.

Once you have completed your master-piece, then you simply ‘Open in iBooks’ (or any other e-book app you may have) and there you have it!

Once opened, your publication is readable within the iBook app you selected.

Redjumper’s site explains how you can sell your publication in Apples iBookStore, details here. But this shows how pupils can be inspired to write for a real purpose, proving a great motivation to write. In class, I propose to use a story-book planner so pupils can plan their publication from stories they create. This could be done in small groups, or for individuals, depending on the resources you have available to you. Teachers themselves could create short stories which could be shared during Guided Reading or whole-class reading sessions.

The UK-based developer, Dan Amos, promises that he is developing the ability for authors to create video and audio within the app, so this is certainly an app worthy of downloading and keeping updated.

I think I had better get on with my story-board.

 

Chalk Board for iPad

I have been aware of this chalk board facility (it’s not an app, so it’s free!!!) for a while, and is certainly a site worth bookmarking within your favourites. Go to http://chalk.37signals.com/ on your iPad, and you will see a couple of chalk sticks, an eraser and, when you click the arrow, the option to press and save your completed work to your library. If you use a browser that allows VGA output (and you have a VGA adapter) then this nice little site will allow you to share via projector etc. The site works nicely if you have a stylus.

 

Your Private Life?

Can comments on twitter be used against you as a teacher?

Human rights at work – here. Interesting, within the text it mentions…Your employer has the right to monitor communications within the workplace as long as you are aware of the monitoring before it takes place. Monitoring can cover: emails; internet access; telephone calls; data; images. Your right to a private life means you have the right to some privacy in the workplace. You can’t be monitored everywhere. If your employer doesn’t respect this, they will be breaching human rights law (as well as UK law).

Comments / opinions on this are appreciated.

 

For those we care for…

These words, via Richard Gillard, struck a chord with me today.

I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh, I’ll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow
’till we’ve seen this journey through.

 

New School Year…Same Old (macro) Politics

September bring a new school year, but as I have been stuck at my computer this morning, I hear various calls from educators who maybe excited to back in front of their pupils, but the macro politics of their setting continue to frustrate. I noted this tweet from @danhaesler which sums up the feeling of many:

(Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/danhaesler/statuses/110635654047731712

)

Macro politics within schools can be horrible. People vying for power; nasty comments/reactions to colleagues (usually down to jealousy); lack of professionalism are all evident in many settings which can make the experiences of adults not too pleasant. Most adults do not let this effect their teaching, but it can eat the individual internally. What, I think, is missing in many establishments is the sentiment noted in the tweet above. At the end of the day, teachers are there for the pupils. Each setting should have a shared sense of responsibility towards their pupils, giving every pupil the experience they deserve (they all deserve the best). Politics within schools will never disappear, but when it starts to impact on the learning of pupils, then it needs addressing.