Monday, November 12, 2012

Teaching News

Teaching News

Inspirational Teachers and Amazing Apps at Teachmeet iPad!

Posted: 11 Nov 2012 01:00 AM PST

Last week, I was extremely fortunate to be able to attend Teachmeet iPad. The event was a a fantastic opportunity to learn about the experiences that other teachers have had using mobile technology in the classroom. Lots of great apps and ideas were shared, so here are a few of my favourites:

* Stephen Hawke started the evening off by demonstrating a wonderful music app called Figure. It allows pupils to easily create fantastic musical compositions by combining different drum, bass and lead tracks. They can also experiment with rhythm, volume, tempo, keys and more. This Youtube video gives a demo of what is capable using the app:

Click here to view the embedded video.

* Steve Bunce recommended Coach’s Eye as a way of reviewing, annotating and sharing videos in Science. He also suggested using Huntzz to make real-world treasure hunts. Could your pupils make their own treasure hunt around the school grounds or further afield?

Huntzz

* Andy Knill shared a number of useful geography apps, including Globe, Earthbuzz and Disaster Alert.

* Teachable.net also shared some findings from their research about using iPads in schools.

* Nic Hughes recommended using the Doceri app to control a class computer using an iPad. The mobile device can then be passed around the class allowing all pupils to interact with whatever is being displayed on the computer. He also demonstrated how to use Edcanvas to share suggested websites, online tools and videos with children so that they don’t need to type in lots of long and complicated web addresses.

* Laura Woods and Neree Sale from Elm Park Primary gave lots of examples of how they use iPads throughout their school. I particulary liked their idea of using Facetime to have a virtual talk with characters from stories!

Elm Park Primary

The Reflection app was also used effectively throughout the night to wirelessly share the iPad’s screen with the computer (and then with the audience via the projector). I definitely need to try using that in the classroom!

There were lots of other great presentations and a huge number of apps shared. I spent most of the evening furiously taking notes using Evernote on my iPad! I’ll be taking a look at all of the apps in more detail and adding them to Teaching Appz over the coming weeks.

A huge ‘thank you’ must go to Anthony Evans for organising such a successful event. It must have taken a huge amount of time and effort and he also did a great job introducing the speakers and presentations. Anthony also mentioned Code Club (a set of after school coding clubs for children) and shared a great video that was filmed and edited on iPads during his school’s residential visit:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The event was also a great opportunity to meet some wonderful people who I know from Twitter and Facebook, including Dawn Hallybone, Linda Hartley, Jay and Christina from Teacher’s Pet and many more.

A raffle took place with prizes of an iPod Touch and over 200 free app codes. Thank you to the sponsors and app developers who kindly contributed the prizes. The app developers who gave away their apps on the evening included Teacher’s Pet, Nosy Crow, TeacherLED, Primary Games, Simon Haughton, Mr. Thorne Does Phonics, InKids, KeyStageFun, Arcademics, Motion Maths, The Champion Hare, demografix and Primary Apps. They all have some great apps, so do take a look at their sites! The raffle raised over £100 for Tommy’s, a charity that funds research into stillbirth, premature birth and miscarriage.

Teachmeet iPad was a great success and I’m looking forward to spending more time exploring everything that was shared!