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10 Super Helpful iPad Apps for Early Childhood Educators

Guest Blogger — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:24:20 +0000

These days it seems like just about everybody has an iPad. Thanks to their portability and ease of use they continue to be a popular device for casual, business, and educational uses. Educators in particular are finding them useful for early childhood lessons since the touch screens allow children of all ages and levels to start learning in new and inventive ways. But with so many apps in the iTunes store it can be daunting to find the best ones for your needs. Here are 10 iPad apps that are great for early childhood educators.

Swapsies
Allowing toddlers and young children to see what they can be when they grow up, the app allows users to swap out clothing to dress up the figure as a doctor, firefighter, police officer, and more. A great way to help with fine motor skills for young children, this app is a great alternative to getting all of the required costumes to play a real game of dress up.

ABC Expedition
Highly rated and perfect for toddlers and up, this app takes users on an adventure where they can learn about their animals and their letters. With a wide range of sites and sounds the app is both stimulating and educational at the same time.

Preschool Music
Featuring classic songs that every child should know, the app lets children play and create their own music without the need for a range of musical instruments. This app is a great way to introduce children to music without having an extensive music department.

Super Why!
Interactive literacy games are a great way to help your children find the joy of reading. Featuring the same popular characters from the PBS Kids show, Super Why! teaches reading, letters, and sentence completion at age appropriate levels.

Slide & Spin
Another app designed to help develop fine motor skills, toddlers ages 18 and up will have to spin or slide knobs and levers to reveal the surprises while learning about colors as well.

Toddler Flashcards
Perfect for teaching reading and even offered in multiple languages, this is perfect for those wanting to get a jump start on teaching children other languages that will serve them as they grow up.

iWriteWords
Teaching letters, words, and fine motor skills at the same time, this app allows users to learn by tracing out letters and words and is perfect for younger users just learning to spell.

Montessori Counting Board
A great introduction to counting for toddlers and young children, it lets them count up or down from 1 to 20 and they can even count by dragging numbers.

My Math Flash Cards
Great for young elementary school children to work on the math lessons they’ve studied in school. Includes addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division so that it’s great for kids as they move through the different levels of math.

LetterSchool
Perfect for kids learning their numbers and letters, this app lets them trace both, including numbers from 1-10 and both uppercase and lowercase letters. Multiple users as an option is an added bonus.

Christina W Brannon is a graduate student working towards her masters of art teaching degree. Thanks to online mat degree programs she’s even able to complete this from her own home. To learn more about these kinds of programs visit: matdegree.org.

10 Super Helpful iPad Apps for Early Childhood Educators is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

5 Reasons Why Educators and Students Need to Use Google+

Guest Blogger — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:25:06 +0000

Since its inception, tech experts have raved about Google+, the social media platform that some predict has the goods to take down leading social networking site Facebook. Although Facebook still reigns supreme and Google+ is still in the midst of growing momentum, the rookie social media site is still a strong contender in changing the way users interact with one another — especially when it comes to the world of education. To learn why Google+ is the better social media platform to help engage educators with their students of all ages, continue reading below.

1. Less Privacy Issues
While some instructors decide to “friend” students on Facebook so that they can more easily share class updates as well as give assignment deadline reminders and provide supplemental educational materials like news links and videos, the truth is that the privacy lines are too blurry on Facebook—you want your students to see some of your statues that pertain to school assignments but not the ones that deal with your personal life. The sentiments are vice versa with your students. It’s just uncomfortable getting a deeper look into a student’s or teacher’s “outside” life. While some instructors choose to create separate accounts in order to resolve this issue — one for personal use and one for professional use — it’s just too much work. Google+ however allows users to separate people into “circles.” These circles easily allow users to choose what can and cannot be seen between people. So for example, teachers can put all of their students in the circle appropriately labeled “students” or “Geography 1:00 p.m.” for example, and you don’t have to worry about cross contaminating info or letting inappropriate material seep through.

2. No Age Restrictions
Currently Facebook has an age limit restriction—only those who are 13 years or older can apply for an account. While the age restriction is understandable (too many child predators lurk cyber space) because there is no age limitation on Google+ even those who teach elementary can use the social media site to enhance their student’s education—it’s just important that educators instruct their students from adding strangers.

3. No Limitations
While Twitter can also be a very engaging social media site to utilize, the problem is that users are limited to their character use—even in direct messages, users have to send multiple messages if they go over 140 characters. This can become quite troublesome if a student asks an instructor to explain a problem in greater detail for example. However, with Google+ there is no such limitation and both students and teachers can ask questions, give responses and leave comments without having to short change themselves. This option is also idea for introverted students—those who may be too shy to ask additional questions in the classroom but need help once they’re at home doing assignments on their own.

4. Provides Archived Material
Google+ also trumps Twitter because old information is easy to retrieve and access again. Unless a student or teacher “favorites” a tweet, it can be hard to go back and look for a tweet that was posted two weeks ago since it gets buried underneath the myriad of other tweets on the timeline. Google+ is organized and is easy to bring up again since everything is marked by dates.

5. Provides Opportunity for Remote Parent-Teacher Conferences
Last but not least, sometimes parents who have late night meetings can’t leave their desks to attend their child’s open house. Sometimes parents without transportation can’t make it to a much-needed parent-teacher conference. Sometimes students who are taking online classes don’t have the time to drive to a brick-and-mortar campus that may be hundreds of miles away to have a conference with their teacher or professor. Google+’s neat “hangout” feature however paves the way for group video chat capabilities so that important “meetings” and “conferences” are more convenient and can take place over the internet instead of in person.

Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online colleges, online degrees etc. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

5 Reasons Why Educators and Students Need to Use Google+ is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

Online Tools Help History Research Come Alive

Guest Blogger — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:31:17 +0000

Much has been made about technology’s ability to better facilitate a wide range of educational opportunities. With the advent of tablet computers in classrooms, ever-growing internet resources, and cloud computing platforms that help school administrators go wireless, there are boundless instruction possibilities when it comes to making use of new technological advances. This applies just as much to the second grader as it does to the graduate student, to the person learning to be a lawyer as to the person taking radiography courses, for instance.

Despite its wide educational applicability, however, technology in the classrooms is usually just touted for its uses in several major areas: math, science, and elementary education. While these areas offer some very clear and practical ways for new technology to be used, they overshadow other educational subjects that have, in recent years, been benefiting just as significantly.

History is one such subject, particularly in the realm of research. While historical research was once a venture confined to dusty archives and under-funded historical societies, it is now an increasingly digitized business. And, in the process, it has become far more convenient, accessible, and reliable, too.

This has mainly happened alongside a growth in online historical archives. Documents and files that were once almost impossible to access are now readily available online. These days, researchers can easily pull up century-old census data or court cases online. Such information is not just more convenient to find, but it is also easy to use: by being searchable, a researcher can look for a particular person or case without having to scroll through hundreds of pages and files.

The digital ability to conduct a search also has positive implications for other aspects of historical research. For example, with a growing number of secondary sources digitized online thanks to Google Books, the historian can search an appealing book for a specific keyword. If the keyword does not show up then the book can be quickly discarded. What once might have taken several hours can now be accomplished in a matter of minutes.

Furthermore, technology helps reduce research time by combining a collection of relevant databases. The area of genealogy provides an appropriate example; while public records, birth certificates, and marriage licenses were once all separate entities – entities that had to be examined one at a time – there are now websites that draw information from all relevant sources to create the most comprehensive genealogical picture of a person possible. And with Web 2.0 tools like Evernote, Scrible or Zotero, the tasks of annotating, collecting, citing or organizing the ongoing research are even more facilitated.

The influence on technological advancements cannot be overemphasized on any level, and history is no exception. By making it easier to learn from and interact with historical documents, students can gain a greater appreciate for the subject – and, at the same time, for the study of the past.

Online Tools Help History Research Come Alive is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

iPad Perks: Top 5 Ways the Device can Help you Excel in Online Learning

Guest Blogger — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:51:04 +0000

The holidays are fast approaching and if you’re unsure of what you would like to ask Santa to bring you this year, you might consider putting the iPad or even better—the iPad2 on the top of your wish list. It’s a pricey gift (starts at $499) but it’s an investment well spent, especially if you are an online student. That’s because not only can it help simplify your everyday activities, but it can also be a vital instrument that can help you achieve success while enrolled in an online program (and can be used long after graduation). To learn the top 5 reasons for using an iPad as an online student, continue reading below.

1. Cheaper Textbooks

Online students can purchase hardcopy textbooks just like a traditional student, but they also typically have the option of purchasing e-textbooks—downloadable textbooks that are sold at a discounted rate. For example, a hardcover copy of Psychology: Themes and Variations is sold for $172 at most major retail stores, but it’s sold for only $89.95 in digital form. Granted there will be some textbooks that will not be available as an e-book since the concept is still relatively new, but there is a good selection of e-textbooks that can be purchased (or even rented) and stored on your iPad which leads us to the second advantage.

2. Eco-Friendly

Not only are you saving money, but you are also saving trees by downloading e-textbooks on to your iPad. Also since you can use the device to write and store notes and essays, you are also getting rid of the need of notepads and pencils—both class materials that are also manufactured from trees. Thus purchasing an iPad can help sustain the environment.

3. No Back Ache

Because you’re an online student you naturally don’t have lug around a heavy backpack full of textbooks to classes everyday like a traditional student, but if you like to sneak-in a study session during lunch breaks at work or while picking up your kids from school you might. The iPad on the other hand is light weight (more so than a clunky laptop) and allows you to possess all of your books at one time, which also leads us to advantage number four—

4. Accessible Materials 24/7

Since the iPad allows users to write and store notes and essays, as well as tune-in to video lectures and slide shows via wi-fi connection, you will virtually have all of your class materials with you at all times. This means that you don’t have to worry about forgetting to bring a certain book when you plan on studying at the library for example or even forgetting to bring something as simple as pencil. This also means that you can have impromptu studying times—as long as you have your iPad you can study anywhere when you have time.

5. Apps

Lastly, because the iPad is a product of Apple, similar to the iPhone the iPad allows you to download tons of apps that can serve as additional learning resources at your disposable. From learning to organizational tools, apps can help enrich your online experience and serve as extra supplements when studying for tests and completing assignments.

This is a guest post by Kimberly Wilson. Kimberly is from accredited online colleges, she writes on topics including career, education, student life, college life, home improvement, time management etc.

iPad Perks: Top 5 Ways the Device can Help you Excel in Online Learning is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

How Emerging Technologies are Changing Education

Guest Blogger — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:11:13 +0000

As technology grows it reaches into every nook and cranny of society. Education is a sector which has benefited tremendously from software and computing advances and will continue to do so in the future. Students looking to prepare themselves for a wide variety of careers, from physician jobs to entrepreneurial ventures, are now exploring a plethora of different educational tools and programs.

Podcasts

Producing a podcast is a cheap, creative, and interactive way to educate a global audience without stirring up privacy issues. Video podcasts can be shot and edited with a simple webcam and free software like iMovie and can be streamed across the Internet for maximum exposure. These days you can learn about just about anything through podcasts and many teachers prefer it over stale lectures.

Interactive gadgets

Tablets and other handheld devices are allowing students better ways to interact with their professors and with other students. To provide access to video tutorials and interactive programs, many schools now hand out tablets in the classroom as a way to contextualize lectures and create feedback loops among students. Digital whiteboards are portable interfaces and part of a growing trend toward embeddable screens that may characterize the coming decades. Imagine the utility of a teacher being able to present 1:1 information to a student on a mobile whiteboard. No messy chalk, no cumbersome apparatus. It will be interesting to see how technology like this evolves into augmented reality and even holograms.

e-Campus

More and more students are getting their college education right from the comfort of their own living rooms. E-campus degrees are becoming more high-tech and reputable as technology improves and Internet access proliferates. Self-starters don’t necessarily need a classroom setting in order to learn and may prefer to save money and shape their own study schedules. E-campuses also make it easier on people who are keeping down a job or raising a child while they earn their degree. The more cutting edge programs, such as Oregon State University’s e-campus, offer worthy alternatives to in-class degrees. In the future, telepresence technologies and virtual reality may make it possible to populate classrooms with avatars, combining the e-campus experience with a revamped interpretation of the traditional classroom setting.

As you can see, the stale old classroom days are coming to an end. Vibrant new options are arising in the educational world and this trend is expected to flourish with the arrival of more advanced technologies. The only question now is whether teachers will ultimately be replaced by artificial intelligence (gasp). But we’ve still got a few decades to figure that one out.

How Emerging Technologies are Changing Education is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

Three Valuable Web Tools for Improved Online Learning

Guest Blogger — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:47:49 +0000

As the web continues to evolve and mature, the tools that expand humanity’s options for learning and knowledge grow exponentially. If you think back just 15 short years, answering a quick question about the world required cracking open a dusty old encyclopedia. There was a 50/50 chance that the information it contained was still correct, and you could never rely on encyclopedias to learn about new or breaking information.

Today, to learn something new, we simply Google it or check with others on Twitter, Facebook, Quora, etc. Rarely, when we need a quick answer, do we pull a book off the shelf. These online tools and communities are becoming so efficient at distributing fresh, quality information, that society has completely changed its go-to sources for knowledge.

What I’d like to share today are three online tools that are real game-changers in terms of learning and enhancing your knowledge. These websites span areas such as English grammar, foreign languages, and computer literacy. Whether you use them independently, or as an enhancement to existing online learning you may already be taking, diving into each of these tools can be very valuable for gaining insight and experience into specific topics.

Grammar Improvement

The first tool that is a regular go-to for me is Grammarly. Grammarly is a spelling, grammar, and plagiarism tool all rolled up into a single interface. In terms of usability, it couldn’t be simpler. Simply paste text into the window and click ‘start’. What you get back is the standard spelling and grammar issues, but also rich information on your writing style, tips for improvement, and very advanced reporting on your work. With online learning, this is a great tool to be your final ‘proof reader’ before submitting a document.

Language Learning

Have you heard of LiveMocha? Imagine a social network like Facebook, except instead of connecting with friends, you are connecting with people who want to communicate in other languages.

For example, lets say you speak English but are learning Spanish. The rate at which you learn the new language would skyrocket if you were continually communicating with someone who spoke Spanish fluently. Now, there is very likely someone out there who speaks Spanish fluently, and is trying to learn English. Doesn’t it make all the sense in the world for you both to work on your language learning together?

This is the basic premise behind LiveMocha. In addition to connecting people who want to help each other improve their learning of a second language, there are also training modules, games, and other tools that help you learn faster than just a textbook and translation dictionary.

Online Training Courses

There’s nothing like a good video training course when you are trying to learn something technical. While lectures and labs help, sometimes you just really need to see someone else do it (and have a rewind button handy!). More and more people are using Lynda.com to learn and become proficient with a wide-range of technical skills. From Excel and Photoshop to PHP coding and database development, if you are trying to learn something technical, there is a very good chance that Lynda.com has a course that will help you along your way.

These tools are just three that we feel breathe new life into the options for learning a skill. The days of encyclopedias, textbooks, and lectures being the only way to learn are long gone. These great social and rich-media technologies are empowering students to learn in new and innovative ways that didn’t exist just a few short years ago!

Brian Patterson is a web and IT consultant, passionate about new and innovative technologies. From working with federal agencies on large enterprise applications, to small businesses with small websites, his experience has run the gamut in the IT world. Brian is a partner at MangoCo, an web consulting agency.

Three Valuable Web Tools for Improved Online Learning is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

What Studies say about Social Media in Higher Education

Guest Blogger — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:48:53 +0000

Are college professors using social media? Social Media in Higher Education, a study performed by Pearson, which includes a survey of 1000 college professors, showed that four out of five professors use social media. A little more than half use podcasts, video, wikis, and blogs for their classes. About 30% use social networks to communicate with their students, and almost 25% of the professors had four or more accounts on social networks.

However, just 10 to 12 percent of the professors ask students to use social media tools to create something or post comments. Jeff Seaman, co-director of the Babson Survey Research Group, which performed the study with Pearson and New Marketing Labs, stated “At the moment it’s used primarily as another information resource.”

Among the professors surveyed, the most widely used social media service is Facebook. However, YouTube was the most commonly used social media service to communicate with students. Also, 25% of the professors disagreed or strongly disagreed with the idea that social networks are valuable for communicating with students.

An objective of the Association for Social Media and Higher Education is to create a community for sharing information, tools, learning, and ideas by bringing together social media practitioners, higher education officials, and scholars. The organization recommends utilizing social media to create communities of learning and multidisciplinary collaboration in colleges and universities.

A study entitled “Social Media and College Admissions: Higher-Ed Beats Business in Adoption of New Tools for Third Year,” performed by Dr. Nora Gamin Barnes, Ph.D., found that 95% of colleges and universities utilized at least one form of social media to recruit prospective students. The study also indicated that colleges and universities are ahead of major businesses regarding the use of social media. The study showed that 51% of colleges and universities admissions offices have a blog for their school while just 22% of Fortune 500 companies have a corporate blog and 42% of the Inc. 500 companies have a corporate blog. The report also showed that 46% of colleges and universities use online videos to provide virtual tours of their campuses, virtual visits to dorms, and sample lectures from faculty members.

Social media has worked its way into higher education. However, in the classrooms it is primarily used as an information source and not in an active way (e.g. students tweeting in class). Perhaps things will change in the future as the younger generation, which has grown up with social media, return to college classrooms as professors.

This is a guest post from Brian Jenkins, who has been writing for BrainTrack.com since 2008. He contributes articles about a variety of college and career topics.

What Studies say about Social Media in Higher Education is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

Making Learning Real: A Problem Based Case Learning Resource

Jorge Goncalves — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:49:23 +0000

Making Learning Real is a comprehensive resource site for Problem Based Case Learning (PBCL) tools, videos, and more for instructors, students, and business partners. PBCL employs real-world business situations as the context for learning by asking students to solving current and authentic problems based on real scenarios at local businesses.

In this environment, students and teachers engage in a process that embodies the whole range of experiences and skills needed to become effective in the workplace: brainstorming, proposing solutions, and then testing, revising, presenting and implementing them. This teaching method significantly lowers the barriers typically separating the classroom from the work world by providing students with valuable experience.

Throughout the site, you will find videos featuring actual instructors, students, and business people often in authentic classroom situations. You will also find useful classroom tools, information about professional development programs, and other resources.

The Making Learning Real website is a collaboration between the Innovation in Teaching and Learning for Technological Education (ITL) project team at Nashville State Community College and the WGBH Educational Foundation. This website is one aspect of a large-scale resource development and dissemination project focused on PBCL and funded by a National Science Foundation grant.

A good starting point is the Tools and Resources section. Here you can find a PBCL Design Tool, a Need to Know Board, a Habits of Mind Checklist, a Scoring Rubric for Presentations, an Observation Form and a Learning Log among others.

Making Learning Real: A Problem Based Case Learning Resource is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

Facebook for Online Courses – How Good (or Bad) is It?

Guest Blogger — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 06:58:58 +0000

This is a guest post contributed by Carrie Oakley, who writes on the topic of online colleges . Carrie welcomes your comments here or at her email id: carrie.oakley1983(AT)gmail(DOT)com.

It’s the single biggest phenomenon that has completely changed lives; it is so important that it has a starring role in a movie; and good or bad, it’s here to stay and improve some lives even as it ruins others. At the end of the day, Facebook is just another technological wonder, one that has taken the world by storm and which, for all the criticism it gets, still manages to be the most addictive and most populous social network today (it has over 500 million users, more than the population of most countries in the world – the exceptions are China and India).

Every business that wants to be recognized and flourish is on Facebook, so it’s no surprise that most online schools are setting up shop here too. It’s the best way to seek publicity and spread the word that they’re in the business of offering online degrees, diplomas and certificates for those who are interested. As with any aspect of Facebook, the profiles of online schools too have their pros and cons.

On the plus side:

They educate people about the options and opportunities that abound on the Internet.
They offer alternatives to expensive on-campus education that most often involves massive changes in your personal life.
They allow you to learn from the comfort of your home.

But on the downside:

Many schools could be just taking you for a ride – the degrees they offer may not be accredited or they may just take your money and not offer you anything substantial in return. To avoid getting scammed, check out the reputation of the school before you sign up and before you send any money.
You could end up wasting time on Facebook instead of spending time on your lessons; what with the many distractions that this site offers, it’s so easy to lose track of time.
You don’t get to meet and socialize with your classmates (others who have signed up for the course) in real life – all your interaction is of the virtual kind and this could sometimes make online education a lonely activity.

Perhaps one big advantage that Facebook offers when it comes to online courses is that you can immediately flag profiles that seem like scams and which have dubious reputations. This way, you not only avoid getting cheated, you also save others from the same fate.

Facebook for Online Courses – How Good (or Bad) is It? is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.

LearnCast Mobile Learning Grant

Jorge Goncalves — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:29:46 +0000

LearnCast to Award Educational Technology Grants to 50 Schools: Achieve Labs Inc., creator of LearnCast®, will supply their web-based mobile learning software to 50 schools for the purpose of creating mobile learning courses.

Achieve Labs™, the creator of LearnCast®, a mobile learning and technology company, has announced a nationwide academic technology grant for K-12 schools and higher education institutions. Achieve Labs is supplying its web-based mobile learning software to 50 schools for the purpose of creating quality mobile content, to improve student engagement and better test scores.

The LearnCast® Mobile Learning Grant provides a single author license to 50 schools who meet the qualifications of the grant. Teachers will use the LearnCast publishing tools to create mobile content including lessons, topics, quizzes, exams, chat and polling along with online tools for measurement, performance, and reporting.

Once published, mobile content is delivered via the Apple® app store and other popular mobile app stores. Content is accessible by students via free downloads from the app stores as well as through SMS and email. Mobile devices, laptops, net-books, and desktop computers can all view the mobile content.

All public and private schools who are interested in applying for the LearnCast® Mobile Grant are invited to apply online at the company’s web site: www.LearnCast.com/grant. Schools who have met the basic qualifications of the grant will be notified by email and have instant access to the LearnCast® tools as defined by the program.

“LearnCast is a powerful educational tool geared toward today’s learner. Now, they can learn in the same manner in which they play,” says Jackie K, National Board Certified Biology Teacher.

Teachers are looking to inspire their students by using mobile technology, something most students use every day in and out of class. “Instead of fighting the natural adoption of student preferred technology such as mobile phones and mobile devices, we should be doing everything in our power to encourage learning, regardless of the delivery medium”, states Clemons.

Continue reading the full press release.

LearnCast Mobile Learning Grant is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.