Tag Archives: Apps for learning

Techie Brekkies for students

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This term we decided to start a new venture two or three times per term to support students keen to share and use technology together. Our first, early in September, was an introductory ‘fun time’ in Escape Rooms. We provided a simple ‘Covid Friendly’ breakfast and our event was booked out in two days.

Following this we held another event today when students came prepared to work in Minecraft to imagine and design a new library space. Again breakfast was a very important element.

We saw some amazing designs emerge – a floating library high above the earth with a lift system, a Japanese inspired building, a library with a ‘dungeon’ space deep below the earth for the Teacher Librarians to plot together, and a beautifully organised library full of books surrounding a pool!

This was a great example of how collaboration and teamwork occurs in that vital ‘Third Space’!

 

 

Digital Fluency – Where to begin…

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The sheer number of tools available can be overwhelming. Learning a new tool can be a steep learning curve but usually only for a short time before its use becomes indispensable. Every tool has a different purpose and every user has immediate and personal needs. Matching these is what can be difficult.

TeachThought has listed 9 Digital Learning Tools every 21st Century teacher should be able to use. Useful tools come… and are then superseded by something better whilst others stand the test of time. This list is a good place to start – to find readily accessible and practical ways to implement technology and become fluent in its application.

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iPad Apps for Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy

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Kathy Schrock has revised her former Bloomin’ Apps for iPads into a format showing the “interlocking of the cognitive processes”. Appropriate Google Apps and Web2 Apps are also charted below these.

Since the cognitive processes are meant to be used when necessary, and any learner goes up and down the categories as they create new knowledge, I was thinking another type of image might be more explanatory.

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Open a Guided Inquiry Unit with these: Interactive Sites for Education

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The first step of Guided Inquiry is to Open the topic area to the students with a wide range of experiences and information. They go on to Immerse themselves in this broad topic area then Explore and finally to Identify an aspect of personal interest.

This site has an large variety of interactive activities for many topic areas and could be used by the teacher on an interactive whiteboard or individually by students on personal devices. The activities would be very beneficial to students in the early stages of inquiry learning.

Select the subject area

Select the topic area

Select and explore the available activities

Evaluating Apps for Education

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It’s that time of year – end of term evaluation is taking place; evaluation of the products of students’ work, of outcomes achieved, of teaching methodologies…
As we move into the use of technology in the classroom using Apps on hand held devices, how should we be evaluating Apps when we purchase them and before we use and recommend them? This rubric from a post by Tony Vincent on LearningHand is valuable.

Khan Academy – Videos for Learning

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This website (with recently released free App) has a wealth of videos on educational topics – mathematical concepts, biology, art, history and more. Secondary teachers: Integrating one into lesson revision or as a starting place for discussion would work well with these videos. Many are available on YouTube and can therefore be embedded into Moodle lessons.

Apps plus SMART Board – ‘switched on learning’ @ Broughton

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This morning one of our teachers used an iPad App to teach her PDHPE class about the human heart. The IRC’s new SMART Board attached to an iPad had the students enthralled – as of course did the teacher’s excellent demonstrations,manipulation of the App and her questioning techniques! It was a wonderful example of quality teaching and switched on learning!