iPad apps for administrators

iPads have been the talk of the year technology wise. Everyone wants one, you can do anything on them and they are more portable than computers are. iPads have been not only changing the technology world, but also the educational world. Many schools have gone to the way of the iPad. This method has seemed to work in a lot of schools that are wealthy enough to afford this high price technology item. It keeps the kids involved and paying attention. The iPad offers many features, one that is used very often is the feature of applications it can have on its hard-drive. People download applications on their iPhones, iPods, and now iPads. For teachers and school administrators, there are specific apps to download that could help with their school duties. Some of these apps include, Google Docs, Drop Box, Adobe Ideas, ReaditLater, Skype, Zite, Google Translate, TED, and Dragon Dictation. Of these programs the only one I am totally familiar with is Skype. Skype is a program where you can "video chat" through your iPad. This program could help out with administrators who aren't at school for important meetings, they can still be included through this video chat feature. Out of the programs I wasn't familiar with, the one that I thought was most unique was, Dragon Dictation. This program "does it all for you". Using your built-in microphone on your iPad, you can dictate memos, documents, blog post, and more. This could be useful for teachers so they don't have to waste time typing, they can talk through the built-on mic and make memos, documents and other important files on the go.



http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home

http://www.nuance.com/talk/?utm_medium=ps&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=Dragon&utm_term=dragon_dictation

6 Must-Have Teacher Technology Tools

With the world becoming more and more technologically advanced by the day, it's almost a "must" for teachers to incorporate technology into their lesson plans. Not every school has enough funds to supply these technology needs, so the teachers are starting to take technology use outside of the classroom. 6 technology tools that teachers could use outside of the classroom are: Facebook. Facebook can be useful to engage students in and outside of the classroom. Teachers can maybe make an option for their students to take quizzes through Facebook too. The second useful tool teachers could use is Twitter. Twitter is an internet site that keeps you up to date on current events going on around the world. Students could check out other Twitter accounts that could potentially relate to what is being learned in the classroom. Another tool teachers could use is FlashcardExchange.com. This website is for creating and sharing flashcards. You can view these flashcards on your computer. This could be very useful for visual learners. Another tool that could be useful is Google Earth. Google Earth is a site that would be very helpful for geography or history teachers to use. This site from a satellite view can show you the whole world. You can type in exact addresses and this site will bring a you a view of the destination. Drop Box is another useful tool. We use this tool here at Trinity Christian College. Using a drop box makes handing in assignments easier for students and grading the assignments simple. And the sixth tool that could be useful for a teacher within the classroom could be the Classmarker. This site allows teachers to design, administer and grade tests online.

"Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds these days, and keeping up can be a challenge. But it's important that teachers find the most effective ways to keep students engaged and interested in learning."

http://blog.simplek12.com/education/6-must-have-teacher-tech-tools/

http://www.facebook.

7 Tools For Basic Effective Communication

The teaching tool I chose to write about in this blog are, the 7 tools for basic effective communication. This is a free tool that will give you tips on how to communicate better. Discover 7 tools to help you assess your communication skills, send clear messages, tips for using nonverbal behaviors and more! Using this tool, you will get tips for choosing the right communication method and considering other important factors that impact effectiveness. You will also learn effective listening and feedback skills from this tool.
This tool is a free membership for teachers that know integrating technology in the classroom will help their students. After you select to join this membership, you get instant access to a collection of:
Over 500 hours of technology how-to tutorials anytime anywhere
Live online webinars with today's top experts
All the help and support you'll ever need from your very own personal learning network
This site is also helpful, because of the rubric it gives you, that is also printer friendly. This rubric is a self evaluation rubric. It has check-boxes, in which you can check off how successful you have mastered some of the skills this site has taught you on communication during your lessons. This site is for teachers who are serious about their jobs, and want to continue to get better at what they do, to make the learning environment for their students better and better every year!

http://blog.simplek12.com/education/basic-effective-communication/

Top Math YouTube Channel

I found this "Top Math YouTube Channel" tool very interesting, and potentially very useful for math teachers, or tutors. This tool shows students how to do certain studies of math, and shows it step by step on a YouTube video. I actually watched a couple of these videos, and I really think if I had videos to watch like this in middle school and in high school, I would have done much better in math, and understood the concepts better. For younger kids, just saying the word YouTube, makes them more interested in what they are learning about because its a fun program to run. I would like to watch videos like this, rather than watching my teacher lecture up in front of class for 50 minutes, or write math problems on the white board and have them solve them while you sit and watch. I think many students would tend to agree, they think they know the concepts or how to do problems while their teacher is explaining it to them, however, I think many students when they go to do the homework by themselves, they forget how to do what the teacher taught them that day, or do it incorrectly. This YouTube mathematics channel could help kids see problems in front of them while they try and do their homework by themselves, it would serve as an example for them. 

From a teachers standpoint, I would also think this would be kind of a fun task to experiment with, and see how your kids like it, and see how it easy it would be to create one of these videos and upload them to YouTube for your students to see. 

 http://blog.simplek12.com/education/top-math-youtube-channels-for-all-ages/

iPad Apps for Education

With schools and teachers who have the funds and resources to afford an iPad, there are many different applications you can download to help our your classroom experiences. With iPad Webinars, you can share resources and collaborate with co-workers and colleagues better than ever before, and eliminate paperwork too. Another addition to this application is a remote that will that you can access your computer or iPads system network from anywhere. You can help your students not to get bored too with this application, by creating digital stories, and by having the access for your students to do multiple other activities on this app, and to have fun while learning.
http://blog.simplek12.com/education/best-ipad-apps/

First

This is my first post to this blog.