A Handy Google Drive Cheat Sheet for iPad Users

9:31 PM    

August 25, 2014
Here is another great Google Drive resource created and shared by Shake Up Learning. This is basically a Google Drive cheat sheet for iPad designed specifically to help mobile users of Drive.If you are planning to use the Drive app with your students in this new school year then this cheat sheet is definitely a must have. It will provide your students with visually enhanced instructions to assist them discover the different features the mobile Drive offers. They will particularly learn how to locate incoming files and folders, identify recently modified documents, access shared folders, see items downloaded to their devices, and locate uploaded files. There is also at the end of this  sheet a selection of other other important  Google iPad apps.


Check out this link if you want to save a copy of Google Drive for iOS Cheat Sheet to your Google Drive.


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Excellent Back to School Resources for Teachers

11:13 AM    

August 24, 2014
I have been receiving several emails from teachers from all around the world asking for back-to-school resources. So instead of responding to each one individually I make a post and share it with everybody here. I am also having a hectic life, extremely busy with my PhD studies and all the readings and research that it entails. I am saying this because I do find it hard to catch up with my mail and respond to your inquiries. That being said, my apologies for those whom I did not get to answer back.




As for the back-to-school resources, I have recently started sharing posts featuring different lists of resources and materials specifically compiled for teachers to use during the first week of the new school year. Among the posts that I have shared here  are :


Today I am adding another wonderful resource from my favourite educational platform Edutopia. If you are a teacher and you are not reading Edutopia's materials then you are missing out on many good stuff that can help you with your teaching and pedagogy.

A few weeks ago, Edutopia posted a resourceful post featuring a wide variety of back-to-school resources.This collection is so rich in diverse materials to help you make a difference in your teaching. Here are some of the materials I have read from Edutopia's list:

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7 Icebreakers to Use with Students in The First Week of The New School Year

5:03 PM    

August, 2014
looking for some icebreakers to use with your students? The graphic below created by Busy Teacher features 7 practical icebreaker activities you can employ in your class using Post-it notes. These activities are:

Hidden treasure
Write several icebreaker questions on the sticky side of post-it notes and stick them to the board. Each students takes turns choosing 1 sticky note and answering the question on the back. He then chooses another student to answer the same question.

Two truths and a life
Give each student 3 post-it nots. On 2 notes, she writes something true about herself, on the third- something false. Students share in groups of 4-5 and try to guess which statement is each player's lie.

Question mixer
Write the name of a well known person on a sticky note. Stick a note to each student's back. Students ask classmates 1 yes/no question at a time until they have figured out who is on their back.


Where are you from?
For a class of internationals, give each person a post-it not flag to place on their home country on your classroom world map. After everyone has placed their post-it, students try to guess whose note is whose

Get to know you
Have each student write 5 facts about him/herself on a post-it note, then put the notes on the board. Choose one and read it aloud. Try to guess who wrote it. When you get the right S, that person takes a turn with the remaining notes. Continue until all the note are gone.

A matched set
Students write 5 fun facts about themselves, turn the paper in to you. Write each fact on a post-it along with a matching one with that student's name. When students are not in the room, put the post-it all around the room. Students race to match the names with the correct facts.

All star class
Have each student draw a self portrait and display them on a bulletin board in class. Each person writes a positive adjective describing each of his classmates on a star shaped sticky not and sticks it to the self portrait. Do this activity in 1 day or over a period of time, let students take their portraits home.



icebreakers

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Enhance Students Writing Style with This Free Interactive Visual Map

8:41 PM    

August 23, 2014
After the Essay Map post I shared a few days ago, today I am sharing with you another wonderful web tool from the popular Read Write Think. Persuasion Map is a powerful application that helps students hone in their writing skill. Using this web tool students will be able to practice and experiment with persuasive writing style.



Here is how Persuasion Map works. First, students start with identifying their thesis statement or goal. Then, they move on to determine three main supporting arguments to back up their thesis statement or claim. For each of these supporting arguments they are asked to provide a substantiated fact or a set of examples to validate it. All of these ideas are sketched in an interactive map graphic that students can draw on  to organize their arguments. Then end product or finished map can then be saved, emailed, or printed.



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Excellent iPad Tips,Tricks, and Resources for Teachers

8:19 PM    

August 23, 2014
I received a couple of requests over the last few days to feature a post about tips for managing iPad classrooms. I know several of you, if not at the start of the school year then at least at some point during this school year will probably be drawing on iPad as a teaching resource to scaffold students learning. To this end, I went ahead and compiled this list hoping you will find it helpful. Enjoy

iPad Management Tips and Tricks

Techchef4U has this wonderful cheat sheet that features some important guidelines and tips on iPad management. You can download this document in PDF format from this link.






Places to look for educational apps

Here are some of the trusted platforms where you can search for educational apps to use with your students.
 iPad Apps Evaluation rubrics

Here are some wonderful rubrics to help you and your students better evaluate the apps to use in your class.

 iPad Posters for your class

There is a section here in Educational technology and Mobile Learning where I feature iPad posters that teachers can use in their classes. Here are some samples I selected for you.


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Edmodo Resources for Teachers A Comprehensive Chart

12:58 PM    

August 20, 2014
I have recently started posting a series of articles featuring a wide variety of Ed Tech tools, tips, tutorials, visuals, posters, and guides to help teachers effectively integrate technology in their classroom teaching. All of the resources I share in these lists have already been covered in separate posts here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning.The thing with blog posting is that new posts eat away older ones and as such so much of interesting and helpful content is being  buried in the archive. Twice every year, on the start of a new school year and on the first week of a new year, I revisit the  archive and repurpose those materials into lists handy for teachers to access from a single page.

Image source: http://goo.gl/NOxEE0


In today's post I am sharing with you a list of resources help make the best of Edmodo in your class.




Edmodo Resources
Links
Guides
PDF Resources
Edmodo Apps for Teachers
Edmodo Tips for Teachers
Edmodo Student Resources
Edmodo Professional Development Resources
Edmodo Parent Resources
Edmodo Cheat Sheet


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Step by Step Guide on How to Use Google Drive to Collaborate With Others

9:51 PM    

August 21, 2014
Google Drive has some wonderful features that enhance collaborative and group work. The video below by Andrew Boan walks you through the different collaborative features in Drive and shows you how to use each one of them. Some of the things Boan covers in this tutorial include:
  • How to create a shared folder
  • How to share the folder with others
  • Add a file to a shared folder
  • Upload a file directly into the shared folder
  • How to create and share a new document in shared folder
  • How to work collaboratively on a document
One of the great feature I love about Google Drive is the ability to share shared folders with others. You can easily create a shared folder and share it with your students. Anytime you add something to this folder, all students will be able to see it instantly in their Drive. You can use shared folder to share assignments, learning materials, documents, and videos with your students. In this way you will not have to worry if every student has got a copy for they can all access it in their Drives. Here is a step by step guide on how to create a shared folder on Google Drive.

Watch this video to learn more about how to use Google Drive to collaborate with others.



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