Via: OnlineEducation.net
Via: OnlineEducation.net
With the announcement of the 2011 Edublog Award winners, there are now two more award-winning wikis in the Wikispaces community. And we couldn’t be prouder!
ICTmagic
First place for the 2011 Best Educational Wiki went to Martin Burrett for his ICTmagic wiki. It’s a truly inspiring collection of IT resources for students and teachers, and it’s sure to give you more ideas than you could possibly have time to try. ICTmagic was also our Featured Wiki last August, so you can read more about it in Martin’s own words.
Resources for History Teachers
Second place went to Robert Maloy of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His Resources for History Teachers began as part of a class in 2006. Then, in the best tradition of all great wikis, it grew through the combined efforts of Professor Maloy’s students, along with K–12 educators and students from around the world, into a rich, multimedia, cross-referenced sourcebook for anyone interested in teaching or learning about history.
We were also very excited to see that many of the people we have previously profiled on this blog were nominated for Edublog Awards, including Andrew Churches of the Educational Origami wiki, Gwyneth Jones of the Daring Librarian wiki, Shawn Avery of the Student Math Movies wiki, and Craig Kemp of the Ruma Tahi wiki.
And congratulations to Linda Yollis, winner of the Most Influential Blog Post award, whose Educational Blogging wiki we featured in November.
In fact, we want to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the Edublog winners and nominees, across all the categories. The amazing educational content you are constantly creating and sharing all over the Web makes our work more satisfying, and inspires endless conversations around the office. Be sure to check out all the winners and nominees for yourself.
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Scribbled.com.au is a highly creative site for those who want to learn about innovative art and craft ideas.
Scribbled is packed with activities to suit all abilities but best of all everything is laid in in step-by-step directions with photographs to support them. There are a number of themed ideas for all major events of the year with new crafts and activities being added each week.
Teachers will also love the video tutorials and printables to jazz up their classrooms. There are also activities and games particularly aimed at younger children.
Take a look at scribbled today and release some of your creative energy.
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This collection of ready-to-use graphic organizers will help children classify ideas and communicate more effectively. All of our printable graphic organizers are designed to facilitate understanding of key concepts by allowing students to visually identify key points and ideas. By using graphic organizers across all subject areas, you will be empowering your students to master subject-matter faster and more efficiently. We have graphic organizers for reading, science, writing, math, and for general use. You'll also find blank printable templates like graph paper, dot arrays, and other useful tools. Access them here.]]>
Ultimate Titanic has appeared just in time for the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. It is specifically designed for teachers and students to learn about the most famous maritime disaster of all time.
There are a number of amazing images, videos and text based content that will definitely appeal to teachers and students without overwhelming them with irrelevant information on Titanic.
Best of all Ultimate Titanic must surely have the biggest collection of Titanic lesson plans and teaching resources based around the 1912 disaster covering all key learning areas and ages. The amount of content here would surely warrant an in depth unit on Titanic and all the hard work has been done for you. There is something here for everyone.
The Titanic is one of the most amazing industrial feats of all time wrapped up in a story that Shakespeare himself could not have scripted and still appeals to students and learners of all ages.
Students are still fascinated by the story 100 years on. Be sure to check out Ultimate Titanic Today.
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I am big fan of the iPad and can see a lot of potential for it in education even if it is a little hard to define still after nearly three years on the market.
In the past I have identified some of the short fallings in using iPad's as a mainstream educational computer but today Cnet published an intersting article about why Apple's latest innovation and reworking of the textbook may be just too much for schools to adopt in a financial and logistical sense.
The article is here and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it as I know many schools have had mixed reviews of iPad's thus far.
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With the iPad out now for nearly three years now and already in the hands of millions of teachers and students around the globe their seemed to be a clear void in the purpose for bringing them into a classroom. This was of course beyond a range of useful apps targeted at specific areas of the curriculum such as some of the ones we have identified in the past.
There was no real connection between the teacher, student and the iPad that was intended by apple to actually enhance teaching and learning.
Today in New York, Apple went some way to addressing that and will surely start a frenzy of digital publishing to meet their vision as outlined below by introducing three new and / or improved products for the iPad.
Here is the official and quite corny promo video for all of these products fro Apple with a breakdown of each below it.
iBooks 2
Beyond being that annoying icon on your iPad that you could never put into another folder and iBooks had never really been a great success for Apple who had dominated music and apps because most people who wanted to read an e-book would do so on a kindle which had a monstrous catalogue, much cheaper price point and genuine battery life.
Apple's solution to this was quite innovative as per usual and that is to reinvent the e-book for today's students. An e-book will look a text book from the 1950's up against some of the example texts Apple have created which you can see below.
This was probably what every company in the world wanted to do with e-books already but didn't already have hundreds of millions of devices in users hands and billions in the bank to develop and refince e-books.
iBooks 2 looks amazing is packed with multilayered, text images and data which is always up to date with the press of a button and offers students the ability to take notes, images and information and use it as they desire.
Take a look at it here.
iTunes U
iTunes U builds on iBooks but also incorporates Apples own learning management system where teachers, professors, publishers can not only publish great content but also set tasks, projects, lectures and link to any area of the web to develop a purpose for the iPad.
iTunes U now offers a syllabus, teacher bio and a course description and overview. You can get assignments here, bringing you to specific parts of your textbook. you can also keep tabs on homework and course material, and highlight and take notes on texts.
iBooks Authoring Tool
This is the kicker from Apple that will really accelerate the growth of this platform and make paper and pulp publishers totally rethink what they are doing. iBooks Author looks to be ( As I have not yet trialled it - I will access it shortly and let you know my thoughts ) a beautiful drop and drag, WYSIWYG publishing tool to turn that 5 kg door stop book on human anatomy into a 21st century text book kids will be excited to open again. Once again it simplifies the publishing process in the same manner Garageband and iMovie did ten years ago with audio and video. Take a look below.
Obviously there are many questions still to be answered in the real world about iPad's and education and their worthiness on a book list which we will explore in greater detail in future but there is now after three years a clear commitment, business plan and opportunity for Educational publishers to deliver curriculum like never before.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Apple's latest keynote and quest for world domination.
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Well for the first and last time for 2011 I am going to actually promote some last minute gifts for Teachers. The great news is that because they are all digital resources you can download them and gift them in minutes without leaving your computer.
The New Teachers Kit: Work Smart not Hard
Newly Qualified Teachers save Hours with this printable, editable kit for first time educators! Signs, displays, rosters, labels, charts, advice from a teacher who did it the hard way. Click here to check it out
A Teacher Resource For Learning The Strategies Of Master Teachers. Click here to see it.
Teaching jobs can be extremely difficult to secure. Discover the Insider Secrets to Acing your Next Teacher Interview! Click here to See it.
A leading provider of online training for teachers, including classroom management, teaching diverse learners, and incorporating technology into the classroom. Click here to see it.
Speeches for Teachers and Principals
31 inspiring speeches for students and staff . Fantastic time saver. Click here to see it
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Featured in the recent iPad TV ad "Learn".
This is the best integer practice app or program I have found in 34 years of teaching math. - Tim Seiber, Math Teacher
MathBoard is a stunning app for teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems. The number of customization options available make this a brilliant app for making math fun for elementary school children. -www.androapple.com
MathBoard has charm without losing track of its fundamental purpose (Arithmetic drills). - MacWorld (4 out of 5 mice)
MathBoard is a fantastic math learning tool for your iPad. -- MathBoard is appropriate for all ages from kindergarten (with simple addition and subtraction problems) to elementary school where learning multiplication and division can be a challenge. You can control the range of numbers you want to work with, the amount of questions you want to answer and even assign a time limit per quiz. MathBoard will make learning math fun.
MathBoard features:
- Random problem generation (up to 250 questions per quiz).
- Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Squares, Cubes and Square Roots
- Number ranges are configurable from -9999 to 9999, including the ability to require certain numbers to be in each problem.
- Intelligent "wrong" answer generation makes guessing more difficult. Includes the ability to omit negative answers.
- A quiz can be timed, and timing can be set as a countdown timer or elapsed time.
- A quiz can be saved making it simple to replay a similar quiz or the same quiz at a later date.
- Wrong answers are reviewable with both the incorrect and correct answer visible (and equation displayed). You can even generate a quiz from just the wrong answers.
- Problem Solver for Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division will explain the required steps to solve these types of problems.
- Quick reference math tables for Addition, Subtraction and Multiplication.
- LanSchool EdApp certified.
- Supports VGA/HDMI/AirPlay Output.
Wolfram Alpha Algebra Assistant
Taking algebra? Then you need the Wolfram Algebra Course Assistant. This definitive app for algebra--from the world leader in math software--will help you quickly solve your homework problems, ace your tests, and learn algebra concepts so you're prepared for your next courses. Forget canned examples! The Wolfram Algebra Course Assistant solves your specific algebra problems on the fly, often showing you how to work through the problem step by step.
This app covers the following topics applicable to Algebra I, Algebra II, and College Algebra:
- Evaluate any numeric expression or substitute a value for a variable.
- Simplify fractions, square roots, or any other expression.
- Solve a simple equation or a system of equations for specific variables.
- Plot basic, parametric, or polar plots of the function(s) of your choice.
- Expand any polynomial.
- Factor numeric expressions, polynomials, and symbolic expressions.
- Divide any two expressions.
- Find the partial fraction decomposition of rational expressions.
The Wolfram Algebra Course Assistant is powered by the Wolfram|Alpha computational knowledge engine and is created by Wolfram Research, makers of Mathematica---the world's leading software system for mathematical research and education.
The Wolfram Algebra Course Assistant draws on the computational power of Wolfram|Alpha's supercomputers over 2G, 3G, or WiFi connection.
Includes tutorials, lessons, quizzes, flashcards, decision trees, calculators, and glossaries for terms, formulas, and symbols.
◊ “This app is the best statistics tool I’ve ever seen.”
◊ “This could very well be the future of university textbooks.”
◊ “It's a great tool to go to for an easy answer.”
◊ “I can learn anywhere or anytime.”
◊ “The quizzes help ensure I comprehend the lessons.”
◊ “It gives real-life examples in each lesson and tables so I can easily reinforce the information I just read.
The app was designed by educational psychology Ph.D.s, statistics teachers, and software experts. Many of us learned stats the traditional, boring way – through books and lectures. We always wanted more interactive, visual, and engaging ways to learn stats. Statistics has many abstract concepts so we use real-world examples to anchor your understanding.
Includes tutorials, lessons, quizzes, flashcards, decision trees, calculators, and glossaries for terms, formulas, and symbols.
◊ “This app is the best statistics tool I’ve ever seen.”
◊ “This could very well be the future of university textbooks.”
◊ “It's a great tool to go to for an easy answer.”
◊ “I can learn anywhere or anytime.”
◊ “The quizzes help ensure I comprehend the lessons.”
◊ “It gives real-life examples in each lesson and tables so I can easily reinforce the information I just read.
The app was designed by educational psychology Ph.D.s, statistics teachers, and software experts. Many of us learned stats the traditional, boring way – through books and lectures. We always wanted more interactive, visual, and engaging ways to learn stats. Statistics has many abstract concepts so we use real-world examples to anchor your understanding.