I have been working with some 5th grade classes making movies using the iPads. Some of the students were creating trailers for books they have read. I created the storyboards below to help them plan their movies.
Storyboard – Coming of Age
Storyboard – Expedition
Storyboard – Swashbuckler
Storyboard – Teen
See the finished book trailers.
5th grade class’ book trailers from their book club books. Created on the iPad. They used these storyboards below to plan the shots.
A close friend of mine, Jim Wenk, is going to pilot a math class for ELL students using iPads, and he asked me for some recommendations for apps. I didn’t have too many recommendations, so I asked my PLN. Below is what was suggested & who suggested the app. All are free unless otherwise noted.
From Julie Garcia – http://imiddlemath.orgAlgebraTouch $1.99
DiaMath $.99
Numberline
Julie also contributes to http://www.appitic.com/.
From John Gulick
Algebra Touch $1.99 – Nice process of how Algebra works, but too easy. Kids get bored with it after a few times since it’s not flashy.
MatheMagics $1.99 – Easy Algebra Fast – Can work with both of these and incorporate them into a curriculum
MatheMagics $1.99 – Mental Math Tricks – Ditto
Brain Tuner 2 – Kids love it, teachers love it. I would use it everyday as a warm up activity as kids are coming in class.
Kelly Grogan
A++ Measuring Finger
From Richard Byrne:
4 Dice $1.99
5 Dice $1.99
Sushi Monster
Marble Math
Fetch Lunch Rush
A few I knew about:
Meteor Math - A drill & kill for basic math operations.
Maths.
Slice it! Begins
Calculator Pro
Use your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to shoot hi-res videos and photos with special effects rendered in real time. Download Movie FX Cam
iPhoneography is giving away several cool apps for three days only. Many video & photo apps included. Get your apps before November 21, 2012. See the apps in the iTunes Store.
A couple of weeks ago at the Learning 2.0 conference I went to an iPod photography workshop by Dave Caleb. This was an outstanding session, and I came away with ideas for being a better photographer, and new apps for my iPod. My favorite app from the workshop is Pro HDR. When there is mixed light in a scene, Pro HDR will take two photos, with different exposure for the amounts of light. Then it combines the photos. The photos below were taken this past weekend during my neighborhood photo safari with my wife.
Normal iPod Camera
iPod with Pro HDR
See more examples of what Pro HDR can do for your photos. This is a great app, and really worth the $1.99.
This week in The Fish Bowl we are doing some basic iPad training. I developed this iPad Anatomy handout listing the hardware features for those who are brand new to the iPad.
A while ago my son started playing with Action Movie FX (Bad Robot Interactive, Free). This app will add various effects to your video. The app comes with four effects including Missile Attack, Car Smash, Demolition Rock, & Rough Terrain, & there are more available for purchase. One thing I don’t like about this app is that you must use video that you record in the app. You can’t use videos from your camera roll. Guess which one my son used in the video below.
The second fun video app is Vintagio (MacPhun LLC, $2.99). Vintagio adds silent film effects to movies in your camera roll, or allows you to film original material withing the app. You have choice of effects, quality, soundtrack, and playback speed. The video below is the Vintagio version of the video above.
This is the second of three blog posts about my experience at the Learning 2.0 conference.
A very informative session I attended was on the implementation of iPads. The presenter, Sheldon Bradshaw from Western Academy in Beijing had recently implemented iPads into the school and was sharing with us some of what he learned throughout this process.
His recommendation on iPad covers was to weigh the cost of the cover versus the cost of the iPad. Some of the best covers cost close $100 (otterbox.com & goballisticcase.com), meaning that with a class set of 20 iPads, the cases could add another $2000 to the purchase, or in other terms, take three iPads out of students’ hands. His suggestion was to find something reasonably priced, that when closed covers the entire iPad.
His suggestion on carts was that a homemade solution is going to be more cost effective without losing functionality. Some of the carts can cost $1000. His school built one for a little over $100 that works well.
Syncing and charging has brought some challenges to his school. Apple did not follow international USB standards, meaning standard USB hubs will not both charge and sync the iPads. WAB chose not to buy expensive charge & sync ports, but to use two processes. The have USB strips on the cart to charge and bought an extra set of cables to sync (with D-Link 7-port powered hubs). They only sync every couple of weeks. When OS 5 comes out there will be wireless syncing, so this might not be an issue very soon.
App purchases are a challenge for WAB to do legally. Apple does not have volume licensing internationally and in China the app store is very different from the US app store, and does not carry all of the apps they need, or at least does not carry the English version of the app. The way they resolved this was by having someone who was traveling to the US purchase iTunes Store gift certificates for the budgeted amount. Then they set up a “master” iTunes account for the school that they used to make the purchases and sync the iPads. They also set up a sub-accounts for each iPad, to legally purchase one license for each iPad. The master account “gifts” money to the sub-accounts to purchase the necessary apps.
Another topic of discussion was app evaluation. He recommended that the school come up with some type of process for making the decisions on the purchases, including who decides, what criteria is used for evaluating an app, how to track what has been tested, collection of information, and how to keep track of what apps are purchased and what version of the app is on the iPads. Sheldon also recommended these two sites for iPad app reviews: iear.org and momswithapps.com. He said to remember to focus on purpose. Don’t get caught up in the hype. These are the apps WAB uses. More detailed notes from this session by Wes Fryer.
You might be interested in my post on teachers’ favorite iPad apps.
I collected a list of favorite iPad apps that were shared by attendees at the 5th @pple Meetup on Friday, September 23 at Apple Korea Headquarters. If you are a progressive educator who is integrating technology in your classroom in Korea & would like to be invited to future Meetups, please leave a comment on the @pple Meetup blog and we’ll put you on the list.
Apps shared (In no particular order):
Prices not listed. Almost all of the apps are free.
Flipboard – A fast, beautiful way to flip through the news, photos, videos, and social networking updates.
Zite – Personalized news, articles, blogs, videos and other content from both mainstream and niche publications & sites.
SoundCloud -Capture sound & share it online.
BrainStorm – Multi-device brainstorming.
ProHDR – Fully functional photo editing.
CamScanner – Scan using your camera.
Diigo Browser – Browser that is very similar to Chrome.
PowerSchool – App to access PowerSchool.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit – Interactive Peter Rabbit book.
BrainPop – Learn something different each day.
Comic Life – iPad version of the popular Apple app.
Poplet – Capture ideas & collaborate with others.
ScreenChomp – Use this like an interactive whiteboard.
GPS Log – Document your adventures & share them online.
Google Translate – Translating tool.
Word Lens – Translate printed words using your camera.
Texit – Easy way to create mathematical equations.
Formulus HD – Find the formula you are looking for.
Math Ref – Math reference application. Formulas, tips, & examples.
EduTecher – Powerful app for free ed tech resources.
Jibbigo – Korean speech translator. They have other languages also.
My LessonPlan – Lesson plan creator.
Audiogalaxy – Stream your music or playlists.
RedLaser – Barcode & QR code scanner.
i Like Free – Lets you know which apps are free for a limited time.
Soundrop – Draw lines & watch as they begin to create music. Very addicting!
Edmodo – Stay connected to Edmodo.
Epic Citadel – Want to see how incredible iPad graphics can be? Download this.
Moms with Apps – Recommendations of children/family friendly apps.
Seoul Bus – Seoul bus information, including closest stop & how many minutes until your bus arrives.
GoodReader – Robust pdf reader.
AudioNote – Combination notepad & audio notetaker.
Idoms – Idioms for English learners.
FlickStackr – Flickr photo sharing.
Prezi Viewer – View Prezis on the iPad.
SnapSeed – Add high quality effecs to your photos.
iMapMyRide (iPhone) – Map your bike ride & share rides with others.
Web links:
KIS’s list of iPad apps
40 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes in Class
Wes Fryer’s notes for Sheldon Bradshaw’s iPad rollout session at Learning 2.0
Bloom’s iPad apps
iPads in Education Ning
Apple’s iPad Page
Educational apps
Built in iPad apps
iTunes U
20 Must have educational apps
What do students think of using iPads in class? Pilot survey results
