Try as I might, I could not open any of these apps. I tried on numerous days and all I see after I “get” the app is a cloud with an arrow and no option to open or view the app. Ok, wait…let me try some thing…ok, there it is…I know have 18 new iBooks (I thought these were apps). Let us go with Skitch Lesson Ideas  (http://www.appsinclass.com/skitch.html). This is a fairly straight forward app with the core being that you can take a picture and write on it and insert arrows to make a clearer point (like pointing at the stamen in a flower with a bright arrow) or outline shapes and add a description (the example shows shapes on a fire hydrant with a description of the shape). The most useful feature of this would be to help with foreign language as you can take a picture of someone’s face and list what the areas are in whatever language you are studying, plus it personalizes the lesson.

Did I mention that I feel like a fool for missing where the app downloaded to?

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This review is for Two Guys and Some I-Pads (http://www.twoguysandsomeipads.com/) by these guys… Brad waid and  Drew Minock. They bill their website as “the leader in augmented reality”. They have a lot of links for apps like collar (the 3-d coloring project we did) and similar 3-d programs. The one for the solar system and the virtual racetrack were really cool looking (and yes, I got the Toy Car RC app). I do like the 3-d apps that are available, I think they give the student a better perspective on things (literally a third perspective). This blog is more geared towards the elementary or middle school crowd, however it does appeal to the child in me, as well. I think that it would make for a resource for great starter apps that can be expanded on in later grade levels.

Though, I did not like the ad for Bell Scotch on their website.

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This week I chose to review Moving at the Speed of Creativity by Wesley A. Fryer (http://www.speedofcreativity.org/). Doctor Fryer teaches STEM in the 4th and 5th grades. in Oklahoma. He has authored several books on how to effectively use digital technologies for communication, story telling and assess learning. He recently (Jan 2015) hosted a full day I-Pad workshop at Kansas State University. There are multiple links to various blogs that pertain to the use of technology in the classroom. There is a link (that did not seem to work) that covers twitter use by local police and that one happened here in Manhattan. There are student and educator workshops that Doctor Fryer hosts as well as a blog that is, essentially run by the classroom.

I chose to review  (http://www.freetech4teachers.com/) as using newer technology in the classroom is a fairly recent concept for me and I could use all the help I can get. Richard Byrne has been writing this blog since June 2001 ( I was in Korea and a Gateway computer) and has won Edublog’s Best Resource Sharing Blog five times (so I think he is pretty good at it). He taught high school Social Studies for eight and a half years. He was a pioneer in technology at his school having started a 1:1 laptop program before the rest of the school did. His blog is followed by over 60,000 educator…DAILY.

There is a section that covers Web Tools for Educators, it is a 83 page pdf that covers tech websites with a link and solid description of what they offer on the site broken down by education level (elementary, middle and high schools). There is even a section for ESL/ELL classes.

He has a section with I-Pad apps for School,  Practical Ed Tech and even a section for Android use in the classroom (the operating system not REAL androids). One of the featured apps is the New York Public Library’s Biblion  (http://exhibitions.nypl.org/biblion/worldsfair) an app that shows pictures videos and documents from the 1939-1940 World’s Fair (which, surprisingly enough was held in New York). The media contained in the app has been arranged into thematic stories, theses stories “…showcase the innovations that were on display in 1940 as well as the predictions for the future”. It even goes on to explain why the inventions were significant.

I like this web site and will DEFINATLY be coming back. I am “old school (literally) when I was in school we had film projectors and VCRs (that’s video cassette recorders…I am old). The technology that is being used in the classroom today is a little more “technical” than I am used too, but I learn quick and do enjoy a tech challenge.

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