iPad Apps "Cleaning"?

Have you ever noticed "cleaning" under some of your apps, like Facebook, on your iOS device?  It can happen quickly and unnoticed, because I just noticed it for the first time this morning, so I searched for an answer online.

I found an article from iMore.  The article was written back in Dec of 2011 and its perspective is in iOS 5 (iOS 6 is our latest update), however Rene Ritchie's explanation is helpful and to the point.

Check out the article here.

Twitter Follow Feature

From education-based Tweeps I follow

The 6 Biggest Challenges Of Using Education Technology edmc.me/VfWSkC
— Edudemic (@Edudemic) February 14, 2013

My Twitter Education List 

Invite Experts Across Country to Your Classroom

From Richard Byrne, Skype in the Classroom features some great ideas on how you can bring experts to your students via video conferencing with Skype.  They also allow you to connect with other classrooms and teachers who are interested in collaborating.  Listed in each content category are listings of teachers looking for interested classroom connections.

For instance, just posted Feb 1st, Mr Doktor's urban Middle School Geography classroom is looking to discuss physical, cultural, and socioeconomic differences with another classroom; as well as being involved in a service learning project.

Video conferencing (or Distance Learning) is an amazing way to bring in outside visitors and experts in their field to your students.  Not only can it be FREE (some organizations do charge fees), but it is an exciting and engaging way for students to interact with these visiting experts.

Richard Byrne's example demonstrates Yellowstone National Park's Parkranger, Beth Tyler, who offers to visit classrooms via Skype.  Check out the video on his post from a classroom in Maine.  Skype in the Classroom offers many examples of how you can do this, however, video conferencing can be a simple as contacting a professor of your (our) local university or college and have them discuss material relevant to your unit lessons.  Contact a Geology professor for classroom discussions on strata or volcanoes.

Our school system has Tandberg service available with a long list of contacts and schools in our state system that can be contacted for FREE.  Collaborate with another classroom in another part of our state on a project.

Here are some more great video conferencing ideas from Mashable.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions concerning video conferencing and opptions.

A word of advice:  when searching for good video conferencing content, not all organizations offer FREE video conferencing.  Unfortunately, though they look education-friendly, they are out to make a buck as well.  Sometimes you have to get creative or dig a little deeper; that can go for anything, can't it.

Google Drive on iPad

Google's Drive app on iPad is great.  Not only is it a great container for all of your file storage and documents, but you can create documents on the app as well.

Richard Byrne has released a guide handbook that explains and walks you through how to make the most of this app.

Google Drive for iPad by richardbyrne

You can view document by using the right-side scroll bar; use the download button in bottom toolbar; or the "full view" button.

MLTI GeoGebra Webinar Series

Below is a forwarded email from MLTI offering a FREE GeoGebra webinar series:

MLTI has an upcoming series of four 1 hour webinars that will support middle and secondary level educators using the free application GeoGebra for mathematics teaching and learning.

Webinar topics include:1) building technical expertise with built-in features, tools, and commands;2) using GeoGebra to support the representation, analysis, and discussion of data;3) modifying existing GeoGebra applets; and4) creating your own applets and hosting them online.

Educators do not need to attend all sessions, although sessions 3 and 4 will assume basic working knowledge of GeoGebra.

These synchronous sessions are 3:30–4:30 p.m. Eastern time and will be hosted online for viewing after the sessions are completed. Session content includes topics explored in more depth during the full-day MLTI professional workshops titled Building Technical Skills with GeoGebra 4 and Exploring Data using Applications on the MLTI Image, although participants of these sessions are encouraged to attend.

Please visit http://maine.gov/mlti/events/brochure.shtml#math for a link to online registration.
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Session 1 (Thursday Feb. 21): Introduction to GeoGebra Features, Tools, and Commands
Session 1 will focus on getting to know the GeoGebra interface including Perspectives and Views, the Menu Bar, Toolbar and Input Bar, and the Construction Protocol. Additional topics will include creating sliders, check boxes, and basic dynamic text, as well as incorporating images and conditional visibility. The session will also include using Input Help and accessing online help resources.

Session 2 (Thursday Mar. 28): The GeoGebra Spreadsheet, Spreadsheet Tools, and Statistics Commands
Session 2 will focus on using GeoGebra to support the representation and analysis of data using the spreadsheet view and spreadsheet tools, including the One Variable Analysis Tool and Two Variable Analysis Tool. Additional topics include example applets related to statistics and the use of spreadsheet and statistics commands.

Session 3 (Thursday, May 9): More GeoGebra Features, Tools, and Commands
Session 3 will build on the topics in Session 1 and focus on new features, tools, and commands such as animation, Input Boxes, Buttons, using GeoGebra Script, using LaTex in text objects, and using random numbers, lists, and the Sequence command. Session 3 will also highlight example applets that include these features, tools, and commands.

Session 4 (Thursday, May 30): GeoGebra Applets: Modifying, Authoring, and Hosting Dynamic Worksheets
Session 4 will focus on skills for modifying GeoGebra dynamic worksheets (applets) made by others and using GeoGebra to author and host your own applets. Topics will include opening applets from HTML pages in GeoGebra and analyzing and modifying their construction, basic considerations for authoring applets and combining features and commands, and options for exporting and hosting your applets online.

Twitter Hashtags?

For more information on hashtags, please visit Ratkacher Station

Wallwisher to Padlet: Online Collaboration Tool

Collaboration has been a tool in education that has been at the forefront of importance and effectiveness when it comes to 21st Century skills.  From Google Docs to wikis, collaboration of ideas and content has been proven to be a powerful learning tool in the classrooms as well as in business.

An "old school" online collaboration forum, Wallwisher, has gotten (is getting) an overhaul recently, and is changing its brand to Padlet.  Jonathan Wylie explains Wallwisher's changeover.  I was introduced to Wallwisher about 3 years ago.  Unfortunately, in the tech world, that's "old school".

Originally Wallwisher has been a great platform for teacher/student classroom collaboration.  Teachers can create a "wall" and allow students to post comments on the wall as "stickies".  Classrooms have used this online tool for generating ideas, creating discussions, sharing documents; develop question/answer feedback; treat it like a noticeboard for updates and notifications; and much more.  Wallwisher has continued to improve through the years, and now they will be getting even better.  For now you can access Wallwisher by its

Generally it is the same as a standard forum, but has the visual appeal and user-friendly interface that will get students excited and comfortable using, and can do much more.  Participants to your Wallwisher wall can upload documents that other can view right on the wall.  What a great way to have your students read documents you have posted and comment on the same wall.  Right on their front page they share 12 great ideas on how you can collaborate with your students online.  Any kind of forum like this is a great way to get your quiet, insecure students to speak up or voice an opinion.

Wallwisher makes your walls very manageable and safe.  Students do NOT need to sign up for an account.  You create the wall and set up your security.  You can keep the wall private with a password, so that only those in your classroom who have the link and password can access your wall.  You can customize a URL (providing that no one else has taken it).  Get creative; use your students to generate a wacky name for their classroom wall.