iPodsibilities Blog

Mobile Learning Experience 2011

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:59:22 -0400

Presentations from the Mobile Learning Experience 2011 Conference:

iPodsibilities Session:
Discover the possibilities of using iPod touches, iPhones, and iPads in your classroom to individualize and differentiate instruction for all learners. This IEAR-affiliated presentation will prepare you to teach a variety of lessons for a range of subject and grade areas, distinguish appropriate educational apps, locate resources for future lesson planning, and assess students’ learning.

Presentation:
Mobile2011 iPodsibilities.mov
PDF copy of presentation:
Mobile2011 iPodsibilities PDF.pdf

Appsolutely Accommodating Session:
Discover how iPod touches, iPhones, iPads, and the App Store are changing the world of special education. Examine accessibility features on the mobile learning devices and view a large collection of apps to help students communicate ideas, access curriculum, organize information, and track data. Learn how to locate apps in the App Store for individual students with individual needs. Investigate how apps can accommodate exceptional students both in the classroom and at home.

Presentation:
Mobile2011 Appsolutely Accommodating.mov
PDF copy of presentation:
Mobile2011 Appsolutely Accommodating PDF.pdf

iAuthor an iBook Sessions:
Learn how to become an author in minutes by using an ePub template to create an iBook that can be viewed on an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad in the iBooks app. Discover how to embed audio, photos, video, and web links to make a personalized multimodal iBook. iBooks are great for both students and educators to assist in the creation of books, reports, papers, lesson unit outlines, and other classroom reading materials.

Presentation:
Mobile2011 iAuthor an iBook .mov
PDF copy of presentation:
Mobile2011 iAuthor an iBook PDF.pdf
iPad Proposal iBook:
iPad Proposal iBook.epub
iPad Proposal PDF:
iPad Proposal PDF.pdf

Please email me with any questions or comments :)
iPodsibilities@me.com

Breaking Down Barriers Between General Education and Special Education

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:57:02 -0400

Thanks to the overwhelming popularity of mobile learning devices like phones, iPods, iPads, laptops, and netbooks, students of all abilities are using technology to discover new ways to immerse themselves in the learning experience. Students now have access to educational tools that allow them to enhance their own learning, wherever and whenever they want. Teachers have opportunities to individualize instruction in ways that simply didn’t exist five to ten years ago. Student learning is extending beyond the typical school day and students are taking their knowledge to a whole new level by utilizing technology to access information. With a big push for inclusion and a growing awareness of the importance of universal learning tools, technology is helping to break down classroom barriers and merge the world of General Education and Special Education.
My philosophy on the importance of using technology in education stems from my background in special education and adaptive technology. For years, I have offered exceptional students the opportunity to use adaptive technology to access information, accommodate learning, and assess their knowledge. When I began co-teaching in general education classrooms, I quickly realized the importance of using technology as a tool to individualize instruction for all students. Any educator can tell you that everyone learns in their own way, and technology lets us offer a variety of tools to assist students’ in learning in a way that works best for them. It is true that some students may require a specific tool to access information, but it is also true that many other students can benefit from that same tool. For example, an individual with a visual impairment may require auditory support for visual information (i.e. audiobooks, screen-readers, and text-to-speech tools); but there are many students without visual impairments that will benefit from the same supports just because they are auditory learners. By giving students the tools they need to succeed, teachers are opening doors for students of differing abilities to enhance their own learning, to invest in their own future, and to demonstrate their knowledge in a way that is meaningful to them.
As educators, we want all students to demonstrate more than just the ability to echo facts, and we want students to use the appropriate twenty-first century tools to collaborate, share, and offer their own unique perspectives. We know that students’ knowledge needs to be meaningful, social, and authentic, and there are a ton of technology tools that can give students with ranging abilities opportunities to work together to accomplish these things. Individualization is crucial for all of our students, not just those with disabilities; what is meaningful to one student may not be meaningful to another. Students’ thrive when they have the opportunity to be social, to debate issues, to question others, and to be fully included in the learning process. Technology can provide more students with the opportunity to have individualized and differentiated instruction, and it can do it in a way that lets them be truly authentic learners.
There is a clear paradigm shift happening in education, and technology is definitely playing a large role in that shift. No longer is technology being viewed only as an activity or a means of accessibility, it is now seen as an essential learning tool. It is an essential tool for students of all abilities to individualize, to discover, to collaborate, to create, to share, and to inspire. Most importantly, technology is a tool that can break down all kinds of classroom barriers and help make General Education and Special Education, well, just Education.
Cross-posted on EdReach.us

Get Connected: The Power of a PLN

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:50:33 -0400

“When we are connected to others, we become better people.” -Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
These days it is hard to imagine my life without Twitter, which is pretty humorous because two years ago I was rolling my eyes at just the mention of Twitter. I was definitely one of those people who thought tweeting was only about what you had for lunch, who you shared that lunch with, or where you ate that lunch. In all honesty, I only joined Twitter because I wanted to know what my students were doing; I have a huge issue with my students using technology that I don’t know anything about. So I asked my students what they liked about Twitter and got a range of answers from “I want to know what Britney is doing” all the way to “I get breaking news alerts.” So I signed up and started following all kinds of news sources, celebrities, friends/family on my contact list, and of course, anyone who followed me. It didn’t take long to figure out how to operate Twitter but I just didn’t see it as useful in my life, personally or professionally. I thought is was surely a fad that would fade quickly.
That was until I saw people I admired, people who talked about things I wanted to hear about, people who liked the same things I did, tweeting great resources and experiences. (Thank you to @TonyVincent for reigning me in!) And they weren’t tweeting about their lunches; they were tweeting about their thoughts, their ideas, their experiences, their passions. I was hooked. I dropped the personal account and began a more educational-based account, one that I saw as an extension of myself as an educator. It only took a few tweets before I realized how having a Personal Learning Network (PLN) could change me as an educator. People had fantastic articles and resources to share, and I had a forum to talk about the things that I am truly passionate about in an online community where others cared to listen. I asked questions, and I got immediate answers from expert educators…how often does that happen? If you are a new teacher, I highly recommend that you be a part of the Twitter community. If you aren’t comfortable tweeting just yet, you can still make great use of Twitter searches. You can locate some excellent resources just by searching hashtags like #EdReach, #EdChat, #EdTech, #IEAR, or #SpEdChat (just to name a few, but there really is a search for almost every topic out there… Jerry Blumengarten has a fabulous list here). Once you experience the wealth of resources that are available on Twitter, I am positive that you too will want to be a part of the conversation.
My PLN is an amazing part of my life. It is filled with smart, forward-thinking, honest educators whose resources have changed my classroom in ways they will never know. My PLN pushes me to stay connected to what is happening right now in education and to stay connected to phenomenal educators who make me want to be a better educator every day. For these things, I am truly grateful as a professional.
But this week I am grateful on a truly personal level. This week I experienced the amazing power of my PLN. As an educator, I think it goes without saying that I love teaching and learning. I love working with students and I would be lying if I said I know how to separate work from home. And I’m alright with that because my job represents a huge part of who I am. My “work” is not just professional, it is personal. I think most people who work with any group of people closely would agree. I love what I do and I do what I love, and that alone makes it personal.
Last Sunday evening, I got a phone call that I had hoped to never receive. Our middle school’s Emergency Phone Tree was being used to contact every staff member in the school: a 7th grade student was missing. My thoughts swirled around: “I hope she is safe”, “things like this don’t happen in our school”, “you only hear this kind of stuff on the news”, and most importantly, “what can I do to help?” Upon finding out that the local police, state police, and FBI were involved, I personally felt helpless. Until I realized there was one thing I could do: I could help to get the word out. People don’t vanish… SOMEone saw, or might see, SOMEthing. So I hijacked my Twitter account where I usually only focus on all things iPod and iPad and tapped into a community I knew could help me, my school, and most importantly, my student in a desperate time of need. I kept sending her photo out and asking others in my PLN to do the same …and kept hoping someone would recognize her. And after four frightfully long days, we received word that she had been found. Someone had seen her and recognized her from posted photos; she was returned to her family safe and unharmed. My school, my community, my family and friends, and kind of surprisingly, my PLN breathed a huge sigh of relief and celebrated her return right along with me.
(Side note: Many have inquired about the student and what happened to her, but I believe her story is hers to tell, not mine. I am simply thrilled that she is safe.)
Once the cheers of joy were shouted, and the news was tweeted, I found myself thinking about a community of educators who had helped me not only on a professional level, but also on a personal level. They could have ignored my requests to retweet something that didn’t have anything to do with iPods, iPads, Apple technologies or education at all. They could have carried about their day, but they didn’t. They retweeted, emailed, and FaceBooked her picture because I needed help. Their messages of caring concerns and support reminded me that “when we are connected to others, we become better people.” I could never express my sincerest thanks to every, single person who shared her photo, but I hope this message reaches each of them: my deepest gratitude for your help is more than I can ever express in words.
Although I do not know exactly how the woman who discovered the missing student had seen her photograph (and I certainly cannot say that it came from one of my postings), I can definitely say that she saw the photograph because so many people were sharing it. I used TweetReach.com to see how far one of my tweets of her FBI Missing Persons poster had traveled, and I was BLOWN AWAY. That one tweet had been seen by over 29,000 people! All because my PLN clicked “retweet” …WOW. Now, THAT is the amazing power of a PLN.
So on both a professional and personal level, I thank my PLN and the EdReach community from the bottom of my heart. I am humbled by your support and knowledge on a daily basis: you have truly made me a better educator and a better person.

Cross-posted on EdReach.us

5 Reasons Why I Want iPad 2 in My Classroom

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:50:07 -0400

There has been a good deal of discussion about whether iPad 2 is really that much better than iPad 1. Is it really worth the price if you already have iPad 1? Should schools be purchasing the new iPad or should they buy iPad 1 because the price dropped? Is iPad 2 really that different from iPad 1? Like many educators, I too asked these questions. And then I watched Apple’s iPad 2 Keynote and immediately decided that my answer was yes: I definitely want iPad 2 in my classroom as soon as possible. Here are my top five reasons why:
1. Video Mirroring: Video mirroring allows iPad 2 users to share what’s on the iPad screen with others on a bigger screen (could be a TV or a projector). Students can see what you see, and see every step of the way. With iPad 1, teachers and presenters ran out to buy iPevo Point 2 View document cameras so that they could share the screen of the iPad with a bigger audience. As much as I love the iPevo cameras, you still have to contend with the camera constantly auto-refocusing and the occasional glare of overhead lights. Video mirroring will be fantastic for teaching, modeling, sharing, and presenting all kinds of content. With video mirroring, a class can make better use of having only one iPad in the room (as many school are currently in that situation). Students with visual impairments can magnify their screen size. Teachers can use an educational app to teach an entire room full of students. Video mirroring takes using the iPad in education to a whole new level.
2. Two Cameras and FaceTime: iPad 2 has two cameras: one on the front and one on the back. Not only can you now take photos and shoot HD video, you can also connect with others that have iPad 2s, iPhone 4s, Macs, and the new iPod touches by using FaceTime over a Wi-Fi network. This feature alone can help push down our classroom walls and expose our students to a global community of learning. Students can visit people and places from around the world with a tap of their finger. High school students can mentor middle school students without leaving their respective schools; students can participate in class from remote locations; sign language interpreters can be connected with to help sign for hearing impaired students; students can collaborate with other students from around the world. And did I mention that you can shoot photos and HD video?
3. Content Creation: iPad 2 ends the debate about whether students can do more than just consume content on an iPad. Apple welcomes even more content creation to the iPad 2 with the iMovie and GarageBand apps. Although iMovie isn’t new to iOS devices, it is new to the iPad’s large screen size. Using iMovie, students can now shoot, edit, create, and share movies anywhere and at anytime. GarageBand, a favorite on Macs, turns your iPad into a recording studio. Students can play a collection of digital instruments or record a song or a podcast…right on the iPad. And you can’t forget about using Pages (to create documents), Numbers (to create spreadsheets), and Keynote (to create presentations) and many, many other third-party apps to create even more content.
4. Size and Durability: I honestly wasn’t sure if the iPad could get any thinner, but it did! And with less width (it is a third thinner), comes less weight (up to 15% to be exact). The iPad was redesigned to be made of only two essential surfaces instead of three, making iPad 2 smaller, lighter, and more comfortable to hold. The unibody engineering can help ease parents’ and educators’ fear of handing this device over to young children or careless students, as the device is stronger than ever.
5. Speed: I think back to days where I would type in a web address and then leave the computer for twenty minutes while the webpage loaded. Thankfully, those days are gone. Students today expect for technology to be quick and available almost instantly, and, well, I do too. I don’t know a lot about the inside of iOS devices, but according to Apple’s website: “Two powerful cores in one A5 chip mean iPad can do twice the work at once. You’ll notice the difference when you’re surfing the web, watching movies, making FaceTime video calls, gaming, and going from app to app to app. Multitasking is smoother, apps load faster, and everything just works better.” And one might think that all this new power might affect the battery life, but iPad 2 stays strong with 10 hours of battery life.

Although I will certainly be the first to admit that there are still quite a few features I would like to see on future iPads, I know that iPad 2 will be a phenomenal addition to my classroom.

Written for EdReach.us

iThink iCan: Using Mobile Learning Devices to Individualize Instruction

Sun, 6 Mar 2011 16:25:51 -0500

If you want to make something popular these days, it seems like all you have to do is throw a little ‘i’ before your product or idea. Clearly, Apple has expertly created this hype with their iconic mastery of product branding. How did the ‘i’ become so popular? The consensus is that the original lowercase ‘i’ that first showed up in Apple’s iMac stood for ‘Internet,’ yet many people have come to associate the ‘i’ with the word ‘individual.’ It makes sense to me: Apple’s iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iLife products can all be highly personalized for the user. That personalization is the reason I fell in love with my first iPod so many years ago: I could carry my entire personal music library with me to listen to whenever and wherever I wanted. It was a powerful idea that quickly translated to my classroom due to the personalized tools and resources students could have access to, wherever and whenever they needed them. Mobile learning devices like the iPod and iPad have absolutely transformed how I use technology to accommodate exceptional students of all abilities. I have become an advocate for mobile learning devices because of the plethora of opportunities they offer students in the classroom. And it seems that I am not the only one that feels that way.

Last year’s release of the iPad helped make mobile learning devices a very trendy topic of discussion in education...

Head over to EdReach.us to read the rest...