Teaching Today and Sharing

There are so many exciting ways that ipads can enhance learning in the classroom and so many exciting activities that teachers are doing and sharing. I came across Mr P’s ICT Blog – Ipads in the Classroom and picked up so many ideas that I could use for my own classes using apps such as Tiny Tap (read about it here), Mad Libs, Wordventure and Citadel (a computer generated medieval  kingdom, amazing graphics, which  showcases the technical capabilities of the award-winning Unreal Engine 3).

Here is a repost of using Citadel to make a trailer using the imovie app.   Fantastic work!

There are so many apps available for education –  it can be overwhelming and maybe a bit daunting on where to start.  A great new site I came across today which I would like to share is Educational iPad apps and free ipad teacher tutorials. Paul has put some great short tutorials together with  ideas on how to use ipads in learning – a great way to get started using them in the classroom.

There are so many education apps now available, particularly for younger students.  My challenge has been finding suitable apps to meet the needs of older students with literacy and numeracy difficulties that are not too obviously age inappropriate.  The following list can be used by older students and the other great thing is that most of them are free!

Note: the literacy apps: Same Sound, Same Meaning, Opposite Oceans, are very difficult to come by on itunes.  They are available via the creators – NRCC website (right hand side of the page – games).  I have downloaded the first two mentioned  quite successfully, however, when I tried to download them on additional ipads they were identified as not being available  in Australia.

Looking for real life learning on money for a class, I came across this fantastic resources at Practical Money Skills.  All resources are free and download as workbooks as well as accompanying PPTs.  Resources are available for Primary and Secondary, as well as special needs.

If you haven’t come across it yet ABC Splash this is a fabulous resource full of free  videos, audio clips and games.   The ABC has collaborated with Education Services Australia to provide  hundreds of new learning resources directly to the Australian Curriculum.

Available on the site are  latest technology  games, virtual worlds and immersive digital experiences.  Resources for English, Maths, Science and History across the curriculum.

Worth exploring!

I was amazed when I came across the National Film Board app it has a huge library of  documentaries, animations, alternative dramas and interactive productions on the net.   also has  playlists and upcoming online releases. All resources are free for personal use and  schools and institutions can apply for a subscription.  Alternatively you can access the resources on the internet.

A huge library of age-appropriate resources for young adultscan be accessed at skills workshop.org. All resources  are all linked to specific levels of the UK Adult Numeracy and Literacy Core Curriculum. Thank you so much for the wonderful sharing available here!

BBC Skillwise  Fabulous site, All free English and Maths for adults.   English and Maths skills for work. Maths includes numbers, percent, calculations, measuring, shapes, graphs.  Videos, worksheets, games and assessments to level 1 (which is workplace entry standard).  English resources include reading, writing, grammar, spelling, speaking and listening.  What is great about these resources is they cover the basics in an adult style so are great to use with learners with disabilities without appearing childish.

Literacy resources : Skills workshop.org

Numeracy resources : Skills workshop.org

Vocational Numeracy Online is a resource for students in vocational education and training.  Relevant and meaningful numeracy resources for young adults which focuses on numeracy skills for occupational use. For example it includes numeracy relevant to the automative industry, business, community services, construction work, food and retail, manufacturing  and engineering, tourism, sports and recreation.  Undoubtedly meaningful and relevant learning for 21st century learners.

Unfortunately the last time I checked for this resource I could not find it.

Due to an issue with my site name, I have moved locations and renamed. Hope you will still continue to visit!

Education is becoming more and more exciting as a result of new technologies. Computers continue to revolutionize education and anyone who has seen what is available in the way of educational apps is sure to agree that it really is a great time to be a student!  There are numerous apps for education and it can be a little overwhelming in deciding how to find them and what to use.  There are many apps to support special needs learning as well as literacy, numeracy, languages, social skills and so on.  I must say, that there seems to be an incredible number of apps for younger learners.   After that, although there may be apps to support learning (such as text to speech), I am seeing a lack of resources for older students with learning difficulties.  No doubt the market will continue to evolve.  Below I’ve listed some of my favourite places to find educational apps.

Special Needs Apps for Kids (SNAPPS) is an amazing site made up of a community of parents, teachers, doctors and therapists sharing information on how they are using apps with special needs kids. This is an easy to navigate site drop down menus to enable search for specific needs.

 Smart Apps for Kids  Lots of apps on here are free for trial – usually for a limited time – usually an hour or two.  A great way to look at apps before purchasing.  Most of them do seem to be for younger children.

Appitic: This is a directory of apps for education by Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs) for teaching and learning.  The site is easy to navigate and is extremely well organised under key learning areas as well as categories for Blooms Taxonomy and Multiple Intelligences.

Apps for children with special needs: alphabetical listing and information about all suitable apps

Ipad curriculum: is a great site which will enable a search for suitable app via subject, grade level, price and Blooms Taxonomy. A comprehensive review is given for each app.

Apps in Education: apps categorized under KLAs with great reviews.

Apps for literacy support Spectronics comprehensive list of apps to support literacy.

Ipad and Ipod resources for education: comprehensive listing of apps according to subject area.

Spectronics apps for education: Spectronics blog of Australian, NZ and many others.

Ipads for learning: Apps categorised into subjects for easy searching.

Gerry Kennedy, Spectronics, Ipads in SEN, is an excellent read with tips and ideas for using ipads in special education.

Difference Differently is a fabulous teaching resource developed by the Together for Humanity Foundation.

The site has been developed for Australian  teachers and students to promote diversity.  There is no doubt that in an ever-increasing globally connected world, we all need to be able to interact with people of diverse cultures and beliefs.  Difference Differently provides curriculum resources across  English, History, Geography and Civics and is aligned to the Australian Curriculum, supported by the Department of Education and Training and supports the objectives of the Melbourne Declaration.      Resources include personal stories, media reports, contextual information, online forums, quizzes, interactive activities and reflection tasks.  Activities are interesting, stimulating and challenging.

Modules are available for both primary and secondary students across subjects mentioned above and include topics such as Thinking Globally, Defining Identities, Who Can be Australian? Mapping Diversity, Many voices.  You can view a demo of the site here. To get full access to resources, teachers need to register themselves and their students.  The site is set up so that only  teachers have access to their enrolled students.   It includes teacher resources and teaching strategies.  Teachers can also clock up PD hours by taking the Teacher Diversity Program offered.

A fabulous resource, spread the word and promote diversity in Australia.