Notes – Making a Virtual Grocery List

The other day, I asked my 16 year old to please get a piece of paper so we could make a grocery list. What did he show up in the living room with? Yep that’s right his iPad. “No, I need paper to make a list we can take the store,” I replied. His response of course was “you can take your iPad”. Of course he was right. That’s exactly how their digital brains think. As if the was a thirds hand, that iPad goes just about everywhere he does.

Although a foreign concept to me, being a supportive mother, I of course gave it a try. Oddly enough the use of the iPad wasn't an issues. The Notes APP works like a steno pad but with endless pages. Easy to use, simply touch and type your list. The only dislike for the idea was my preference of being able to dog ear the list or mark off the things I got. Granted I could simply delete the item of the list on the iPad, it was just different.  Funny thing was that what actually made using the iPad at the grocery store an issues was that Security was worried someone might steal it. The guard was very polite and reminded me to be extra careful with it then proceeded to follow us around the store with extra vigilance.

Notes is an APP that come pre-installed on your iPad and is great for anything. It’s like never running out of a sticky notes again. As I have become more comfortable with my iPad, I have found myself frequently popping over to the Notes APP to jot a note, paste some text I need to keep for later, and make lists when I need to just brainstorm. I even found myself using it for tracking three UPS packages I was expecting while state-side  An interesting feature of the iPad is the seamless integration between APPs, URLs, and internet connection. When I pasted the tracking codes into my Note, the iPad immediately recognized the letters and numbers as a UPS shipping code. When I later returned to the Note to “copy” the code to paste on the UPS site, the iPad saved me the work and asked me if I wanted to track the package when I had merely touched the code in an attempt to copy it.

There are many other “NOTES” APPs available in the iTunes APP store, some free and others at a nominal charge. There are also numerous “papers” and “pages” APPs. Each with similar features and of course their “unique features” that are suppose to make them worth their 99c or $1.99 cost. While I do have EverNote, Pages, and Memo on my iPad, I find myself more frequently simply using the good old trusty Notes APP that came with my iPad.  Not to say that the other APPs don’t have “special features” of value, but for your basic list making, a place to hold a temporary blurb of text, and note taking needs, NOTES is just fine with me.

Now there is a Notes Plus for the iPad and it is rumoured to be a culmination of all the great features of other note APPs in one but with it cost of $7.99 it will have to wait for a review from me.  When it comes to Annotation Note programs… that’s a topic for another Blog Posting… 

To see a view a peek at Using the NOTES App check out this 2:05 min You Tube Video:

Pathbrite - e-Portfolios for anyone

If an employer asked for "proof" or "evidence" of accomplishments, what could you show them? For our student this same issue exists. Every year juniors and seniors apply for college admissions. How do they stand-out or demonstrate their learning beyond a school transcript? We all know that abilities and skills can be measure beyond an A or B in class. Even more importantly, we know that an A or B does not really mean that the student has "learned" the information beyond the short term.

Originally designed for the professional in mind, teachers can use in the classroom for FREE too. Pathbrite provides next-generation solutions to mapping out what you've already accomplished and showcase experience with images, PDFs, videos, and more. 

"Go beyond the traditional resume with Pathbrite and tell your story better than ever before. Pathbrite helps you truly stand out by delivering next-generation solutions that you collect, track and showcase a lifetime of achievement, and recommend pathways for continuous success." - Hiles, CEO and Founder of Pathbrite.

What we discovered during our workshop was that through Pathbrite, "users can document, analyze and map individual achievements of all kinds against individuals’ goals and those of their peers – what’s called a Knowledge Graph. Students use Pathbrite and their performance relative to a wider Knowledge Graph to differentiate themselves to get into their preferred schools or land the jobs of their dreams. School admissions officers and employers rely on Pathbrite's Portfolio Platform to get a holistic view of candidates, and to better evaluate their readiness for and organizational fit to the opportunity at hand." 

Image using this in your classroom. Consider the power your students can have with they can showcase and highlight their work. For back to school night or parent teacher conferences, student's work is able to be displayed digital, in their own words, and even track years, growth, and academic improvement. Take scrape-booking to a whole new level.

View a short 3:20 minute video tutorial on Pathbrite.

Check out the APP at the iTunes APP store for FREE:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pathbrite/id517433430?mt=8

Geography Awareness Week & Geography APPS

I have heard it all too often said that the "national ___ day" was invented by the greeting card companies to sell more cards... Well here's a new one - Geography Awareness Week! Brought to you by National Geographic Education, it's a fun celebration of places around the world. Haven't found a greeting card for it but their website does provide a mission Booklet and Teacher's Guide. There is even a Badge Certificate and Stickers for students. 

The 2012 celebration week is happening NOW, November 11 to 17.  National Geographic is celebrating with all kinds of geography education aspects including Mission: Explore, Declare Interdependence, and Guerilla Geography.

Check it out via Safari: www.geographyawarenessweek.org

National Geographic has a wonderful array of APPs for the iPad too. Unfortunately not for free but rather a nominal $1.99

Keeping with FREE for education resources, there are some 5 star rated FREE Apps on geography that can be downloaded from the APP store.

The iPad can be an amazing classroom TOOL... Yes it is a device but really the point of the iPad in the classroom is to be a tool just like a projector, a calculator, whiteboard, and so forth. Which means it is meant to be used to CREATE and INNOVATE. 

It is not about the actual device as much as it is about using what the device can do. When asked "why an iPad" many educators will reference the large array of content APPS such as e-books and information available. Or they will talk about the ability to give students videos to watch. Both of these are great content provides and allow the student to be a consumer of information. However, what is less often mentioned is the creation options the iPad can provide students. 

Our goal as educators needs to be focused on that general statement of "engaging students". Even more importantly we need to help our students understand how to ask questions, think critically, create, and innovate. Through innovative creative projects students are learning to search and find information, then critically evaluate that information, and ultimately produce a product that demonstrates their learning and though process along the way. 

The iPad, when integrated effectively, can provide students the platform to be the producer of high quality creation. Frequently when approaching an iPad activity, educators ask their technology integration specialist or tech coaches, "What APP do I need?" or "How to I ___ with an iPad?". The thing is, there are 1000s of APP available to chose from and if you ask 10 tech specialist you most likely will get 8 to 10 different APP recommendations. However today at the Ed Tech Teacher sponsored iPad Summit in Boston, I was shown a link to a great resource list on APP and when they are best used.  

Ed Tech Teacher Co-Founder, Tom Daccord explained it very clearly. If you know what you want your students to produce, if you know your learning objectives, or you know your desired end results, then you can find the right APPs. Their resource page is beautifully designed to work with those goal or outcome statements of "I want my kids to ____." From the link to their APP resource page you can select an outcome statement to find helpful in identifying APPs that your students can use to reach that desired end result through a student-centric creation.

Check it out: http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/mobile-technology-apps/ipad-as