<![CDATA[iPad (& More) Resource Center - Lesley's Blog]]>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:37:33 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[Picaboo]]>Mon, 11 Jan 2016 04:40:56 GMThttp://ipads4cat.weebly.com/lesleys-blog/picabooThis year I have a new challenge: I am the yearbook adviser. To make the yearbook, our school is using Picaboo, a website that allows users to order the number of yearbooks needed and we have the ability to return to order as needed. While I am still getting acquainted with the site, I am happy to report it feels similar to making a photo book on websites like Shutterfly or Snapfish; however, I will still be able to teach some basic yearbook terminology as the site incorporates this into the creation features. Picaboo also allows you to build a team and give editing privileges to select members (which should help us avoid the "too many cooks spoil the pot" feeling that could happen so easily!).

Plus, Picaboo provides its users with convenient tutorials. Each video is less than three minutes long and they are specific enough that one could easily return to a topic as needed. Picaboo also has its own blog page with tips and ideas. Yearbook is a new class for me, but I am looking forward to doing it with Picaboo! Check it out if you have the time. 

Cheers,

Lesley
]]><![CDATA[Going back to the basics]]>Fri, 28 Aug 2015 19:31:23 GMThttp://ipads4cat.weebly.com/lesleys-blog/going-back-to-the-basicsOur school year started four weeks ago and, boy, have I been busy! With a new school, new classes, new books, and more than enough work, I'm feeling like a first year teacher again! Plus, I am adjusting to a school where students don't always have access to their own devices or even the internet in their homes, so I am forced to think differently about my instruction. One tool that has become a huge help for me is Google Docs. Since we don't have a school-wide CMS or Turnitin.com or many resources like that, I have chosen to keep it simple by using Schoology and Google Docs. 

Schoology has been a sort of virtual notebook of information so far, but Google Docs has been a game changer for my Test Prep class. (Now that I'm at an Early College High School, students need to take a test that proves they are ready for college courses, so if they aren't, they come to me.) I have had my students completing a project using Google Docs and they have all shared their work with me. Then I created a folder in my Drive for these documents and while my students work on their projects, I can watch their work and add comments. My students have also left me comments in the document and I receive emails about them, so it has been a great way for me to feel like I am reaching all of my students on a more personal level. They are getting the feedback they deserve and I don't feel overwhelmed either. If you haven't used Google Docs before, here is a helpful video to help you and your students get started. 
As always, I would love to hear how Google Docs work for you and if you have any suggestions for me. I hope you find Google Docs as handy as I have!

Cheers,

Lesley
]]><![CDATA[Summer PD: Google Courses]]>Tue, 23 Jun 2015 13:55:16 GMThttp://ipads4cat.weebly.com/lesleys-blog/summer-pd-google-coursesHello, everyone! I know I've said my goodbyes and I thank you all for the well wishes as my husband and I move on to our next adventure, but I do plan to continue this project of blogging at least once a month about using technology in the classroom. It remains a passion of mine and I am happy to share my successes and failures so that we can all do better. As Will Rogers once said, "A [hu]man only learns in two ways--one by reading and the other by association with smarter people." And you know I'd like to keep that association with all of you. :-)

Speaking of doing better, that's what the summer is for, right? It is a time of rest and rejuvenation, but it is also a time for some more PD (professional development). If you're still at a loss of what you can do this summer, let me remind you about the free Google courses. (You can find them here--https://www.google.com/edu/training/get-trained/?utm_referrer= ) These are the courses that are currently available:
  • Classroom
  • Docs Suite
  • Gmail
  • Sites
  • Calendar 
  • Chrome
  • Search 
  • Google Maps
  • YouTube
  • Chromebooks
  • Google Play for Education
  • Android Tablets for Education
  • Implementing Google Apps
  • Digital Citizenship for Educators
  • Slides
  • Sheets
  • Forms
  • Drawings

As you can see, there is a lot to choose from, but they are all free so you could have a very busy summer. Whatever you choose to do, I hope you'll share what you've learned. Happy summer, everyone!

Cheers,
Lesley ]]><![CDATA[Firefox Add-on that lets you save YouTube Videos]]>Sat, 16 May 2015 14:44:33 GMThttp://ipads4cat.weebly.com/lesleys-blog/firefox-add-on-that-lets-you-save-youtube-videosI had this great idea for the Art Festival that will happen in just two short weeks--I wanted to sing Karaoke as part of the festival activities. I've seen my students singing along to their music almost daily, so I'm hoping it will be lots of fun. (Plus, I love to sing, too!) However, my classroom has been recognized as one of the Wi-Fi trouble areas so I am concerned that we will be singing along to a karaoke video on YouTube and then it will stop because it has to load. I know we've all been there, right? It's always embarrassing when your video stops and the kiddos start telling you to play snake as it loads. 

To avoid this situation, I could use PlayTube, the iPad app I recommended a few weeks ago, but that would mean I would have to use my precious iPad gigabytes to store the videos. I set out to find an alternative so that I could use my laptop computer because I have more gigabytes to spare on my computer than on my iPad. Anyway, I found my answer: a Firefox add-on that downloads YouTube videos as MP4s. All you do is click on the add-on link and follow the instructions to install the ialc extension. This add-on has such high ratings because it is so easy to use! It simply adds a download button under the YouTube video which you click on and select the file type you'd like.
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Next, you have to decide if you want to open the video or save it. I've been saving them and taking the files from my Downloads folder and adding them to a special Karaoke folder for the Art Festival. 
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And that's really all there is to it. Easy, right? I've been using it for a week and I haven't had any trouble, so if you are looking for a new, easier way to save YouTube videos, try ialc's Firefox add-on and let me know how it works for you.


Cheers,
Lesley
]]><![CDATA[Play Tube]]>Fri, 17 Apr 2015 14:22:35 GMThttp://ipads4cat.weebly.com/lesleys-blog/play-tubeIt’s official… Facebook and YouTube will be blocked for MAP testing. While I don’t know how to help you with the former, I can help you with the latter. Play Tube is a free app that lets you download YouTube videos so you can play them later, even if you aren't connected to the internet. I've used it a couple times and it hasn't failed me yet. I even have a few workout videos downloaded so I can sweat it out no matter where I am. However, the downside of this app is that the videos do take up your gigabytes so you'll have to be careful with the number of videos you choose to download and perhaps even delete them when you are finished using them. That part might get a bit tedious, but it's better than planning to use a YouTube video to introduce or explain a complex topic and then realizing that the school's internet is down or YouTube is blocked. Now if the power goes out, you are on your own! (Or you can have your 20-some students huddle around the iPad to watch.) Either way, I hope you find Play Tube to be a useful app.

Cheers,

Lesley

]]><![CDATA[30hands]]>Sat, 28 Mar 2015 01:43:56 GMThttp://ipads4cat.weebly.com/lesleys-blog/30handsRecently we had a PD session dedicated to using technology in the classroom and the app I got to use was 30hands. 30hands is a fun app that allows you to take pictures and add narration. It’s very easy to use. Here's a quick tutorial from Brittany Bowers that explains the app quite well:
It’s really an easy app to use, so here’s my brainstorm of some possible uses:
  • You could use it to write an original short story.
  • You could use it to summarize a story or novel that was read in class.
  • You could recreate a children’s book and share it with younger students.
  • You could practice a foreign language by narrating a children's story in that language.
  • You could create a step-by-step lesson for the class. 
  • The students could create a step-by-step lesson for the class as a reteaching activity or as part of a sort of jigsaw. 
  • You could use it as a kind of show-and-tell. 
  • You could use it as an ice breaker and have everyone create an introductory video about themselves. 
  • You could use it to summarize a research project.
  • You could use it to present a possible project idea.
  • You could use it to present a challenge to the students.
  • You could use it to catch students doing something good and share it weekly to recognize those who are always on task or who help others.
  • You could use it to create an end-of-the-year show to celebrate all of your achievements. 
What do you think? Can you think of other ways to use 30hands? Let me know by leaving me a comment or by contacting me directly.

Cheers,
Lesley
]]><![CDATA[Brainstorming with Popplet Lite]]>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 04:42:20 GMThttp://ipads4cat.weebly.com/lesleys-blog/brainstorming-with-popplet-litePicture
Prewriting is an important part of the writing process and I still encourage students to partake in messy brainstorming webs; however, I have students who lose all of their papers! Enter Popplet Lite to save the day. Popplet Lite is a mind mapping application that’s quite easy to use and students can keep their work on whatever device they are using.  (You may still have to search for the work, but at least you know the probability of deleting the work is quite low, right?)

To use Popplet Lite, you double-tap the screen and a “popple” appears. If you tap once in the middle of the popple, you can write (which is what my students do when they are brainstorming). However, the bottom of the square has more options.

1) The first icon is a square and that will allow you to change the color of the outline.

2) After that is a “T” which will also provide the cursor so you can write. At the bottom right side of the screen, you can choose the size of the text as well as the alignment.

3) Next there is a pencil icon that would allow you to draw in the popple.

4) Finally, there is the image icon that would allow you to either open your photo library, take a photo or paste an image.

Making the popples is quite easy, but the best part of the app is moving them around and connecting them. To move a popple, all you have to do is select it and then place your finger on the popple and drag it to where you want it. If you want to connect it to another popple, click on one of the surrounding dots and it will create a popple nearby that connects to the original one. If you forgot to connect them, though, all you have to do is drag the dot to the popple you want to connect.

Finally, once your mind map or brainstorm is complete, you can export your work as a PDF or JPEG. It’s that easy. Give Popplet Lite a try and let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Lesley 
]]><![CDATA[Summarizing in the 21st Century]]>Fri, 30 Jan 2015 01:11:06 GMThttp://ipads4cat.weebly.com/lesleys-blog/summarizing-in-the-21st-centuryI have stumbled upon a great way to get students engaged when it comes to summarizing—memes. This is something they see daily on sites like 9GAG, so while not all of my 9th graders were familiar with all of the memes, there were enough who knew what they were to get excited about them.  In fact, they enjoyed the challenge of finding just the right meme to express their summary. Here are some of the memes they created after reading the first chapter of our book. Can you guess what we’re reading?


If you guessed John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, you are correct. Congratulations!

Making the memes was quite easy: I asked students to go to https://imgflip.com/memegenerator via a link I posted on Moodle, but you could use another site if you like. I know there are many other meme generators available (just google “make a meme” and you’ll see what I mean). I used imgflip because I have used it before and I knew it was easy to use. Basically, all you have to do is add the text and then ask the site to “generate meme” so the students could share their work in our Facebook group or they could take screen shots and upload their work to Moodle.

So there you have it—a very trendy way to have students practice their summarization skills in 10 minutes or less. Plus, as an added bonus, I have some new student work to post in the classroom. What more could a 21st century teacher ask for?

Cheers,

Lesley

(p.s. I hope you'll share your students' work with me! They had a blast doing this and they had no idea how much analysis they were actually doing. Score!)
]]><![CDATA[StudentCallout]]>Fri, 23 Jan 2015 23:53:58 GMThttp://ipads4cat.weebly.com/lesleys-blog/studentcalloutPicture
TeacherKit just got a little more interesting… They have a new app called StudentCallout and I am having a lot of fun with it. The basic premise is that you use the app to call on students randomly. It’s much handier than the envelope of numbers that correlate with student names in my gradebook. Here’s how it works…

1) Open your TeacherKit app and they should offer you StudentCallout as a Christmas gift. If not, you can find it here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/student-callout-by-teacherkit/id944696774?mt=8 

2) When you want to use the StudentCallout, you click on the die that is located at the top middle right of the screen. 
3) Choose if you want to overwrite which class is currently in the StudentCallout app or if you’d just like to switch to the StudentCallout app. You would use overwrite if you are using StudentCallout for the first time or if you are changing classes. Switch means you would switch to or open the StudentCallout app and the class you last used would be there. For example, I use TeacherKit to take attendance for every class, but I use StudentCallout for my Theater class almost every day; therefore, when I have Theater class, all I have to do is switch and I can randomly call on students to perform. It saves some time instead of overwriting, especially since I know I haven’t been using StudentCallout for my English classes recently. 
4) Choose if you want to “allow repetition” or not (it’s an option in the top right corner). If you allow repetition, that means it will randomly select a student from all of the students in your class and it may repeat the same student multiple times. If you only want to choose each student once, then make sure the “allow repetition” option is off and then once a student has been chosen, their circle will fade out and they won’t be selected again. In my opinion, it’s a clever feature for class discussions or activities. 

So there you have it: StudentCallout, a relatively new app that integrates with TeacherKit and helps you to randomly pick students. While it’s not a “must-have” app, I have been having a lot of fun with it. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Lesley 
]]><![CDATA[Turnitin.com Has an App... and it's awesome!]]>Sun, 11 Jan 2015 02:06:28 GMThttp://ipads4cat.weebly.com/lesleys-blog/turnitincom-has-an-app-and-its-awesomePicture
I apologize that is has been a while since I have last blogged, but the end of the semester was quite busy. As usual, I was grading final projects (i.e., blogs, book reviews, and literary analysis essays) and then decided to actually take a break over Christmas break. Nonetheless, I’m back and I have a great new app for many of you: The TurnItIn.com app!

If you are using our TurnItIn.com account, you will be thrilled with the app. It’s very easy to use and I actually discovered a few features from TurnItIn.com by using the app (which I believe is further evidence that the app is VERY easy to use). We never really received any training about how to use TurnItIn.com, so I’ve been figuring it out as I have been going along; however, I’m not going to make you do that with the app. Therefore, here is my step-by-step instructional for the TurnItIn.com app.
(Note: If you discover something else or know something I don’t know, you are now obligated to share this information with me because you know I need your help! Haha!)

Step 1: Download the app from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/turnitin/id657602524?mt=8

Step 2: Login to your normal TurnItIn.com account and follow any other prompts.

Step 3: Once you’ve done all of that, it will ask for a passcode that you will be asked to enter every time you open the app. Enter that passcode.

Step 4: Click on “Accounts” in the top left corner. That’s where you will find “Colegio Americano de Torreon.”

Step 5: Click on “Colegio Americano de Torreon” and choose your class. 
Step 6: Once you have chosen your class, you will see a list of the assignments and you may choose your assignment simply by clicking on it. 

Step 7: To grade student assignments, you will have to click on a student and then you will be asked to Sync Submissions. I would suggest you do that so that you can keep the work on your iPad and computer aligned (unless you just use only your iPad, right?). 
Step 8: Click on a student to open his/her work. If you click in the text area, you can add a quick mark or a comment as you read. You may also click on the bars (located on the top right) to see the originality report. 

Step 9: Once you have done that, you may click on the pencil icon at the top to change the grade and make an overall comment on the student's work.  If you have added a rubric, you also have the option to use that rubric to grade the student (click on the blue "open rubric" button). I love this feature because you can click on the criteria and then click on “Apply % to Grade” and it will score the work for you! 
There are a few more features (like voice comments) that I haven’t used yet, but if you use them, I hope to hear how much you like them or how well they work. ;-) Personally, the part that really sold me was the rubric that did the math for me. It’s great! 

Well, I hope this brief introduction to the TurnItIn.com app has been informational and descriptive enough to help you learn the basics. However, if you need any more help, feel free to find me and ask. 

Cheers,

Lesley
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