Last week, I posted on Twitter when a highly engaging math app went on sale for 60% off. I didn’t oversell it by any means: It’s just drill and kill simple math facts with fancy graphics and music but it’s fun. I’m torn on whether to mention the name of the app here (I will …
Category: Educational Technology
My Guide to iPad Deployment in School
Almost two years ago to the day, I wrote a post, “The iPad: Why Teachers Should Care.” Flash forward to today, both of the schools I work at have purchased one iPad for each classroom. Although I’ve already mastered how to manage all the iDevices in my personal household, learning to manage iPads in an …
The iPad as RTI Intervention Toolkit
While waiting for the iPad to arrive in my reading intervention classroom, I’ve had a lot of time to think and plan how I will use the device. Ground Rules I don’t want hundreds of apps. I’m looking for a few favorites. I don’t want more drill and kill. The reading intervention programs I teach …
Creating Your First iPhone App with HTML Flowchart
I led a workshop this past weekend for Computer Using Educators: Los Angeles on how to create your first iPhone app based on my previous post, “How to Create Your First iPhone App.” In order to further simplify things, here is a flow chart of steps to take in order to begin the process of …
New Book: What School Leaders Need to Know About Digital Technologies
I’m honored to have a chapter I authored on integrating digital video production in the classroom published in the just-released hardcover book, What School Leaders Need to Know About Digital Technologies and Social Media edited by Scott McLeod and Chris Lehman. The other chapters are written by several of the educational technologists whom I’ve come to …
Technology in Schools is a Waste, Or Is It?
The New York Times featured an editorial calling into question the efficacy of bringing computers into schools in light of increasing budget cuts and flatlining test scores in the Kyrene School District. (Sorry for my delayed reaction. The beginning of the school year’s a lot of work!) Many of my edtech friends were up in …
A Teacher’s Guide to the New Final Cut Pro X
You may have heard that Apple has released a new version of their movie editing software, Final Cut Pro. The reviews are in and they’ve been mixed. Even Conan O’Brien made fun of the new software. I’ve been using Final Cut Pro since they released version 1.0 nearly a decade ago. I have some of …
iMovie ’09 Bootcamp
If you’re in the Los Angeles area this summer, please join me for this year’s iMovie Bootcamp at the Los Angeles County Office of Education, July 20th and 21st. Participants will learn how to use iMovie ’09 thoroughly, including advanced features like green screen and picture in picture, and have the opportunity to edit pre-shot …
Royalty Free Photos, Music, and Video List (Updated)
Here is my updated list of Royalty Free Resources for multimedia projects, including photo and music options. I’ve also included this list as a permanent page on my blog, accessible on the right hand side under pages. I’ve tried to list only options that I’ve actually used. Most of these royalty free options require attribute …
Should Kindergarteners Use iPads?
Much fuss has been made on Twitter recently about schools, such as one in Auburn, Maine, giving iPads to all students in kindergarten with former Assistant Secretary of Education, Diane Ravitch (@dianeravitch) exclaiming on Twitter that she hoped the kindergarteners would break the iPads and that the students should be out playing instead of using …