All Blog Posts (153)

Using Physical and Virtual Printers with iPads

You've heard that you can print from your iPad to an AirPrint enabled printer, so you go to your favorite app and find the Print menu ... only to find that there aren't any printers listed. Your shiny new printer apparently doesn't support AirPrint. Join the club. The list of AirPrint enabled printers is growing but many of us just don't have…

This video, from a New Zealand current affairs show, considers the role of iPads in ECE.

http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/techno-toddlers-video-4972341

This is an edited version of a much more detailed blog post. To read this full post, please see the Trinity College iPad Program Blog.…

I got the bug when iBooks Author was released.  It allowed me to easily combine my love of graphics and my love of teaching physics.  Suddenly it was clear to me that I could create a book.  At the least, I could create a book for my students to use.  At the most, I could create a book that…

This title is really the case study for a wider topic on Remote Apps.

For me this is one of the most exciting (tech) influences on mobile learning ... the interconnectivity between devices.

I have two folders on my iPad [Remote1 and Remote2] which are full of Apps that enable connectivity between the iPad and other devices ... and that connectivity can be both ways.

See the two screen shots below.…

Decisions should be based on facts, objectively considered. -Marvin Bower

I posted here recently my students’ reading scores.  Obviously, we are excited about them.  Student achievement and closing the achievement gap is our top priority.  School-wide, our MAP (Measurement of Academic Progress) scores are up.  

What other positive things are we seeing…

One of the most extraordinary things that is happening in the world is that all of of the collective human knowledge is, if not already, available online, and in most cases for free. This knowledge along with the ability to instantly be connected with one another through social media, email, instant messaging etc is producing an invigorating environment, especially for education.…

Im asked frequently about my thoughts on why Apple didn't add a physical keyboard to the iPad. My response, physical keyboards for tablets are simply transitional devices. We purchase them because we are not ready to let go of the them. 

Fact, typing on the…

In his book "Start with Why"…

I'm sure we all remember our teachers walking into the classroom and greeting us with a pleasant; "Good morning class, please take your seats." All of this came back to me as I read the following article about aclassroom free school in Sweden. Taking notes from companies like Google and Pixar on how they structure their facility to help collaboration and creativity is a great start, but not…

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in new eyes.” -Marcel Proust

A recent conversation between 2 of my students went something like this:

“I saw a python in my yard over spring break.”

“No way! Pythons don’t live here.”

“Yeah huh I really did. I bet you $10.  Have you ever seen one?”

“No. Only on tv.”

“Dude, come look on my iPad. I will show you one.”

At that point,…

I recently received an email from a school administrator that is eager to bring iPads into his school but is also extremely concerned that it could grant students…

Beyond the changes in the educational  experience  South Kent School has seen due to eTextbooks and digital, paperless classrooms, the shift has helped the school move further into the sustainability movement.

When South Kent made the transition to eTextbooks in Fall 2011, the faculty had planned a slow transition to paperless homework, but instead was forced into it overnight.

"Under the guise of a software glitch,…

There’s no doubt that digital classrooms are the future, so when schools spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on necessary technology, they want it to be an investment.

It’s comes as little surprise, then, that many schools see iPads above other tablets as the key to their digital curriculum’s success.

Evidence of the iPad’s power can be found in the number of sales. Between October and December 2011, Apple sold 15.4 million iPads, according…

One of the benefits of getting older is that you can reflect back on a time when things were done differently. Similarly, you can also clearly see when other things are essentially the same. Although the world around our schools is dramatically different, many of the pillars of our educational systems remain unchanged. Given the dramatic and accelerating transformation in the…

“Most of the basic material a writer works with is acquired before the age of fifteen.”-Willa Cather

This week, I stepped into the world of blogging on the iPads with my kindergartners. Through KidBlog students can blog in a safe and secure way. The website states “Kidblog’s simple, yet powerful tools…

Sorry, this isn't a blog post about boating in the beautiful Charleston area. The anchors I'm referring to are anchor charts.  

Anchor charts are valuable visual support tools to assist students in learning new concepts.  Teachers and students may refer to them all throughout the year.  When we are working on new content in our Reading and Writing Workshop mini lessons, anchor…

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Dr. Seuss

I thought it was appropriate to start this post with a quote from Dr. Seuss as it is his birthday month.  There is nothing better than getting lost in a good book.  In fact, I’m often sad when I finish a book.  I miss the story and the characters.  As a teacher, I want to instill that love of reading into my students.

I’ve spent most of this school…

After completing an iPad trial with a year 10 Science class I came to the conclusion that while there are a number of reasonable subject specific apps (particularly for the primary school years), the greatest benefit of the iPad is in the management and organisation of educational life as a teacher or a student. The simple ability to have all of your textbooks on one device is just the beginning. There are many amazing apps such as Goodreader, Evernote, Audio Note, Noterize, Dropbox,…