Engagement - Garage Band

Pure Exploration of Garage Band with the only task demand being to explore various instruments and app features.  The students think they are rock stars:)  They love jamming, recording and listening to their compositions.  Engagement is 100%.  I am considering purchasing the paid version for even more instrumental options.  Feedback is welcome if you have made this purchase.  Next step is to use the app to explore musical elements.

Engagement - Sock Puppets

My Grade 2,3 class LOVE Sock Puppets.  I have learned (the hard way) that just like math manipulatives, students need lots of time to explore apps before the apps are used as tools to uncover curriculum.  So, although we have used planners and success criteria many times for retells, students were not given (nor sought out) either of these items for a retell of their independent reading book using sock puppets.  All students enjoyed using the app.  Many students' plays were related to their book.  Although the quality of retells were lower than pencil and paper versions, this was the trade-off for their enjoyment, "This is SO FUN!".  The students particularly enjoyed...in fact, thought it was hilarious, how the app changed their voice for each character.  All students spoke.  Risk-taking increased...that was a HUGE celebration for many students!  All were happy and proud to share their creation.  For the past two weeks, the students have taken the initiative to use sock puppets independently:)

Students drive on Google Drive

This month I introduced the students to Google Drive. I let them play around with it and take the driver's seat, so to speak. It was really exciting to see how quick they were to get through the ins and outs of working on an assignment with a partner or group. After just one period I had a couple of boys going home that night and working on a presentation for social studies. Fantastic!

The students have been creating presentations, using both Google Drive and Power Point, on a variety of self selected topics. It is wonderful to see how excited they are to share and learn from each other, not only about the topic but about the technology and resources they used as well. 

On another note, we have been on the   laptops creating some stories using The Mysteries of Harris Burdick and letters using The Dr. K. Fisher books. I am taking one of Kevin Honeycutt's suggestions and looking into publishing a book of our writing. It would be cool to have a double book where you can flip it one way for the letters and the other way for the stories. I wonder if that's a possibility? I will have to check!

After EQAO, of course.  :)

ICT Technology Day

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For the ICT Technology Day.  I am so grateful I was invited to be a part of it. 

The presentation from Kevin was motivating, inspiring, entertaining, thought provoking …insert other positive descriptors here.

I had the pleasure of participating in the two session facilitated by Jeremy: ePortfolio and My Media.  It left my head spinning but definitely got me reinvigorated and thoughtful about what next year might look like.  I am also grateful I had the opportunity to play around in tldsb.elearningontario.ca  (A great tool that pulls it all together…not intuitive enough for me but that’s o.k. it just means I need to book some time with Tina! …anyone care to join me?)

As wonderful as the presentations were today, I also appreciated the opportunity to network with colleagues.  I have yet another list of apps I need to install and websites I want to check out.  I thank the folks who shared them with me and wish now to share them with you:

(I’m just going to list everything that was in my notes from today.  Not all of them are new but I appreciated the reminder J)

Apps:
Haiku Deck (presentation tool)
Google Alert
Photogrid App (creates photo collages)
Thinking Blocks (Math)
Gizmo (Yeah!)
Music
Ocarina (Smule.com)
Garage Band (free)
Voice Band
Harmonica
Pocket Guitar

Websites:
tldsb.elearningontario.ca
kevinhoneycutt.org    (duh!)
Café Press.ca
Spoonflower.com
getkahoot.com
staff.tldsb.ca/ict/index.php/software  (It looks so pretty now!)

Help!! My autocorrect changed the cord progression App Kevin recommended.  I can’t seem to find it on his website.

SyncSpace

I like infographics. I wanted students to make an infographic of a class lesson. Instead of me presenting the lesson like I had, students instead we're given a pdf copy of my PowerPoint presentation (http://ses4u-smith.wikispaces.com/file/view/Solar%20Nebula%20Hypothesis.pdf/316292582/Solar%20Nebula%20Hypothesis.pdf). They were to summarize the lesson using images, diagrams, labels and annotations.

Assignment: http://ses4u-smith.wikispaces.com/file/view/Life%20and%20Times%20of%20a%20Star.pdf/500406592/Life%20and%20Times%20of%20a%20Star.pdf

I had tried out several whiteboard apps before trying this out. I chose SyncSpace for a variety of reasons: SyncSpace is infinite. You can zoom way in and out and scroll all over; multiple users can simultaneously collaborate on a board; students can view (not edit) the boards on line; images, drawings, and text can be added; is free.

Con: cannot edit SyncSpace on a desktop / laptop computer.

Samples:
Jordan and Jameson
Sean and Maggie
Brett B
Maddie and Nikki
Mariah and Emily
Sam and Jason
Riley and Josh
Liz and Sereena
Emma de
Erik and Maeve
Jenna M
Geo and Kalia

Bullying on iMovie

Students are having a great time creating and editing Anti-Bullying movies.
- Motivational/Inspiring video for someone experiencing bullying
- Anti-Bullying Campaign
- Characteristics/Personality traits of someone who stands up to bullying
- How you would end bullying in Your school

Editing and Special Effects fabulous!  We got taping/drama part done super fast.  Kids had oodles of fun editing - adding music, transitions, title, inserting videos, split screens.  Just viewed near final products.  Kids felt proud of themselves - professional looking and sounding.

Students need to go back and play with music volumes, professional credits.

BEWARE - GREAT ADVICE

Kids had "Peterborough" show up in their title.  The 'locator" - which on so we can find our i-Pads, needs to be turned off for editing. There is a way of turning this off so it does not automatically show up on the screen.  Go to Settings...privacy...location services...toggle off i'movie.  This should solve the problem!

Obervations
Boys tend to be more focused on the technical piece.  They needed pushing to get the dramatic/artistic pieces done.  Girls tend to be more focused on the drama, and needed pushing to get the editing pieces done.

Still editing.  Look for fascinating videos attached to my next blog.

Still loving "Explain Everything" as a quick way to check our thinking before a math summative.  Catching the odd misconception!  Great stuff!  Kids are getting fast at creating and sharing slides.

Still having fun.  iPads are becoming a more functioning tool and less a play toy!!!

Music Apps

Here are two great apps that I am using in my music classes: NotateMe and ScoreCloud.

NotateMe

Available on the App Store

For iPad, iPhone 4 and later

$21.99 (yes... I know that's expensive, but is worth it for one or two iPads)

There is a FREE version called "NotateMeNow" which is a simplified version of this app (only a single staff of notation possible)

This app will turn handwritten music into printed score notation.  THAT's RIGHT!!!  Scribble down a quick melody on your iPad and it will turn it into print quality notation!!!  The program recognizes your hand writing and will find the correct musical symbol to correspond to your sketch.  And it's smart... the more you use it, the quicker it is at picking up your handwriting!!!  You can compose for a solo instrument/voice, or piano, or even an entire orchestra.  AND it will play back your sketches for you immediately.  You can add chord symbols, dynamic markings, etc...  VERY POWERFUL

In my opinion, the BEST part about this is that you can save/export your files as a PDF (ready for printing), MIDI file (so you can hear your creation) or as a MusicXML file - which is compatible with the Finale series of music notation programs!!! (which is also a ministry licensed software package and available for FREE to any school in Ontario).  You can then manipulate your quick sketch on a desktop computer and be ready to publish your own creations.

ScoreCloud 

(thanks to Melissa Stephens at HHSS for this recommendation)

Available on the App Store

For iPad, iPhone 4 and later, and I THINK for the iPod

FREE!!!

This app is awesome!!!  Have a tune in your head that you need to get down on "paper"?  Great idea for a melody in the middle of math class?  ScoreCloud will NOTATE a melody that you sing or play into the iPad!!!  YUP!  It's true!!!  This is a great tool for students during the brainstorming part of composition.  They can get all those ideas down on "digital paper" in a quick and really easy manner.  It acts like recording software... just press record and start to sing/play.  The app analyses the performance and produces a notated version of the performance.  

It can be a bit frustrating at times.  You need to keep a steady pulse and play/sing in tune, or you can get some "interesting" versions of your song.  However, for short melodies, and little musical ideas this is a really useful app!  A great tool for the beginner composer!

Music for iPad

Just wanted to share a link to the pre-amp that I am using in my music classroom that I had at the last meeting in Minden.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/HA957ZM/A/focusrite-itrack-solo-mic-preamp

Cost: $129.95 (but watch for sales!!!  I got mine for $99)

It's GREAT!  A really easy "plug and play" machine.  It allows for an XLR microphone connection and a ¼ inch instrument connection.  The GREAT thing is that it will allow for BOTH inputs to record at the SAME time!!!  This means you can do a really great quality live recording.  This machine plus Garage Band has been an AWESOME addition to my music class - especially my vocal class.

There are other preamps out there (and some do cost less than this one), but to be able to record two distinct tracks at the same time is pretty useful and worth the extra bit of money.

There is a little bit of a learning curve (for some of us less techie types) to figure out which settings to use in Garage Band, but there are lots of YouTube tutorials out there that easily explain the process.

iTunes SALE!!!

iTunes SALE!!!

Who doesn't love a good deal??? Especially when it comes to educational purchases.  
This morning I went to Metro (on the way to school), to purchase a couple more App cards to add to my iPad minis.  The first stand I looked at didn't have any, so I started to panic.  Then I walked further into the store and found a second stand with an abundance of iTunes cards.  With a bat of an eye I saw the sale sign above. So the natural thing to do was to grab more!

As I was paying, the cashier asked me if they were gifts.  I replied with "no, I have iPads in my classroom".  She then let me in on a little secret, which I am going to share with my fellow Tech Fund Friends...  "These App cards go on sale more than anything else in the grocery store".  And they always seem to be when a Holiday is coming".  She said they tend to go on sale about a week before every holiday.  So get into your local METRO TODAY!!!

Cheers!

e-Texts and the 'Potential'

SO! After a great deal of 'run-around' from the e-text publishers, we finally managed to acquire our e-texts for our intermediate students over the March Break (Woohoo!).

The texts themselves certainly open up new opportunities that we previously otherwise did not have, including:
- Ability to highlight specific points for students within readings
- leave 'notes' for them to augment what they are reading and essentially have a 'paper coversation' with them
- develop new strategies for information synthesis, by providing worksheets on Google Drive, which the students can then submitt electronically
- reduced stress as to 'where did ALL THE TEXTBOOKS go???'

We have also experienced some set backs which, although frustrating really aren't that 'BIG' of a deal:
- students struggling with the layout of the program: screen is too small, task bars take up too much space, simply being STUBBORN about having to use computers
- Some students have made points that they find reading from the computer hurts their eyes, and that they much prefer the paper copies of the text (we should note that 5 copies of each textbook were purchased as well, mainly for those students who do not have access to internet at home)


After having access now for several weeks it is interesting to note how quickly our students established a certain 'comfort' level with the e-texts. When given their tasks, they are quicker to get down to business, although the temptations of online games seem to be cropping up more and more...
In terms of the calibre of the completed work from an e-text vs. Paper text standpoint, there really doesn't seem to be much difference, other than the content itself is FAR more up to date than in our previous texts.

Our hope is that in the last months of the school year, we can really maximize the use of these e-texts and that our students start to become more comfortable with this medium of learning. For our SEA laptop students, the biggest set back has been that the text will NOT read back to them... so again, maybe some ground work for improvement needs to be done here, on behalf of the publishers!!

- MES e-Text team

How are we Improving Skills with iPads

FFSS phys-ed department is collecting info to see if our use of iPads in classes is helping students improve.  

Sounds simple, but we’ve been through about 4 different versions of a checklist to collect data.  

Version one  is  what we’ve used historically to allow kids to assess each other.  Then we added the questions to get students to understand exactly how to improve.   But it doesn’t tell us how iPads helped.

Version #3 attempts to get info about how students benefit from iPad use.  It worked well in dance.

 

We still needed to change it for specific sport skills.

Students should be able to, not only watch themselves & see if that alone helps them improve, but also have a chance to analyze their skills (through apps such as Coach’s Eye) & then apply the feedback they get through practice.  Then they can watch a final version of themselves & even compare their first attempts to the final performances. So this is where we are with our data collection!

Pre-ipad/feedback on Success Criteria Post-iPad/feedback on Success Criteria

Before watching any videos Do I think I am doing the following…	Skill:__________________ Success Criteria	After simply watching video Did I actually do what I thought I was doing…	After analyzing video with partner, peer tutor, teacher & using feedback Did I improve …
Yes           No		Yes         No	Yes            No
Yes           No		Yes          No	Yes            No
Yes           No		Yes          No	Yes            No
Yes           No		Yes          No	Yes            No
Yes           No		Yes          No	Yes            No
Yes           No		Yes          No	Yes            No

Did I improve after using the iPad?

Yes                       No

Explain how: ___________________________________________________________________________

Nearpod ~ engage your students

This past weekend I found a new app for student use: Nearpod.

http://www.nearpod.com/

App: https://search.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZContentLink.woa/wa/link?mt=8&path=apps%2fnearpod

This app is great for the class sets of iPads and BYOD. I say BYOD because it is available on windows, android and iOS devices. It is free to download to view the presentations (teacher made). So, if you get your students to download the app onto their device, they can follow along and participate too. I downloaded the app onto the 15 iPads that I have been assigned to. The shared use went really well.

Perks:

• allows you to present assessments (open ended questions, m/c questions, t/f questions)
• allows students to submit drawn answers
• allows you to play videos (.mp4, .mov, .mpg, etc...)
• allows you to upload existing lessons (.ppt, .pdf)
• allows you to add images (.png, .jpg)
• you build/edit the presentation files with a web browser (on iPad or computer)
• the app collects data (student responses) that can be viewed later.
• as activities are occurring, you can monitor the % of student completion and cue those not done.
• you can display student responses/illustrations to prompt discussion
• you can load content from google drive, dropbox, box, or the computer that you are using

Cons:

• $$$$. The app is free. 90% of the features are accessible for the free account. BUT the paid part allows for a couple more features ($12/month; $120/year). 
• Paid features:
• host a webpage within the presentation
• "homework" feature where students can (re)do activity/presentation at home or at their own pace.
• more space for presentations

Video:

Assessment image from a presentation/activity in my class:

The National Film Board visited Central Senior

The National Film Board visited Central Senior school recently to build student and staff knowledge and capacity in the areas of stop-motion film making and clay animation.

Staff and students were involved in two ½ day workshops.  Each classroom teacher identified 5-7 classroom “leaders” to learn alongside them.  Staff and students collaboratively developed stop - time and clay animation videos.  The product staff and students developed in just a short time was amazing - it was a clear indication of what can be created with more time, support and fluency.

The National Film board offers a variety of workshops that target different audiences, ages and purposes.  The cost for the workshop was affordable, however, they capped the workshop at 30 so providing access to all staff and students was not economically feasible.  I believe it would be great learning for technology champions at each school to participate in and then share with their colleagues back at the school.  The NFB also came out with a new movie making APP recently.  You should definitely check it out.

We have included some photos and videos of our experience.  Contact us if you have any questions.

Jamie Stone

Clay Stop Motion Clips

Music Inquiry with Touch Piano and Taiko

In Kinderland we sing and make music daily. We use music to learn and consolidate letter names and sounds, sight words, counting by 1's, 5's, 10's, etc. We write music and record audio and video of us creating music. We love music! So, we decided it was time to do an inquiry about music since the kinders have such great interest in it. On the SMARTboard and iPads we've been watching stomp and other garbage band videos. Pinterest has been helpful for brainstorming ideas about how to make an outdoor music wall. Kinders made their own instruments and recorded their songs with repeating patterns(Math and Music) on video and Garage Band.  We went for a parade at an assembly showing off our instruments. Kinders have also been practising repeating patterns on a piano app called Touch Piano and a drumming app called Taiko.  We've put simple lyrics to these repeating patterns as a phonemic awareness activity with syllables(i.e. apple-apple-pear).

Lego Inquiry with Lego Movie and Blocksworld

In Kinderland we've been inquiring about lego.  We went to see the Lego Movie and yes, "everything was awesome!"  After seeing the movie the kinders came up with wonderings such as, "how is it made?", "who invented lego?", "how do you make lego?", etc.  We have used the iPads in researching videos and websites that can answer our wonderings.  Our vocabulary has been expanding through these questions with words like, creative, manufacture, structure, foundation, etc.  To encourage writing the rule is, if you want to save your lego creation for later than you need to write about it.  Some kinders chose pencils and paper while other students chose to use the camera, video, or explain everything on the iPad.  We take pictures and put them up on our lego documentation panel to show our learning.  Students have been creating lego challenges and writing signs inviting other kinders to take up the challenge.  A new to us app has been Blocksworld.  It is similar to Minecraft in the sense that you can build structures, however geared to a younger audience.  It uses 3D shapes and the students have been excited about creating and sharing their worlds with other classmates.  They challenge each other's thinking continually and taking risks, and this app has introduced experimenting with 3D shapes.  This has been a perfect lead into instructing 3D shapes informally in small groups and formally in Math.  The Lego Movie app has been an exciting way for the kinders to explore their creating in story telling and cinematography.

Real time video feedback

A neat idea for those of you using iPads and AirServer in performance applications:

I have positioned the iPad to video half of my band class performing a song while the other half watches it broadcast onto a screen in real time from another nearby room. Removing the viewers from being in the same space as the performers allows for a more objective analysis of that performance. It's like watching a live performance on TV.

Google drive issues

Wondering if anyone else is having issues with uploading and retrieving files from Google Drive. Several students have told me that when they are looking for the video I shared with them, it appears one day, then is gone the next. In some cases, they were later able to find it in their gmail account as an email.

I am also having "twilight zone" occurrences with my Google Drive. Every day, all of my files vanish to the "trash", and I have to restore them. Anyone else?....

Technology can be a wonderful thing. It can also hold up the creative process.