Educational Origami

In this on the wire post I have revisited one of my favourite media sits – Mediastorm to see the latest work they are doing. They are brilliant and their videos are challenging and moving.

1. Mediastorm http://mediastorm.com

Media storm produces “Cinamatic Narratives”, short videos that tell a story. The stories are wide ranging some made by Mediastorm themselves, some for clients and some are the product of student workshops. Check out the links:

• About mediastorm – http://mediastorm.com/about
• Client projects – http://mediastorm.com/client/projects
• Student projects – http://mediastorm.com/train/projects
• Publications – http://mediastorm.com/pub/projects

Check out “a darkness visible – Afghanistan” http://mediastorm.com/publication/a-darkness-visible-afghanistan

2. Make online learning more personal – http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/977276#ixzz2HJU5P54C

This is a  list some of which that is worth considering if you are looking at an online environment or reviewing your existing one. The list includes:

• document sharing
• co-working spaces
• group projects
• discussion groups
• social media channels

3. Ask3 ipad application – http://blogs.techsmith.com/for-educators/ask3-for-ipad/

This is a free ipad application developed by Techsmith. Here is the Blurb:

“Ask3 is a free app that allows teachers and students with iPads to easily share knowledge and collaborate via threaded, text and video conversations. By recording voice, drawings, and images, Ask3 can be used to quickly create videos that are shared directly through the app to a small group or class through a private code. To foster collaborative learning, students can pin questions at exact points within a video that are visible to the entire class, and other students can create responses in real-time by adding their own text and video responses. For educators, Ask3 helps teachers learn what information their students understand and areas where they need extra help, allowing them to quickly address challenging and confusing areas right away.”

Also check out – http://blogs.techsmith.com/tips-how-tos/

4. ipads for learning ebook – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/ipads-for-learning/id588683835?ls=1&utm_source=buffer&buffer_share=b9e25

This is a free ebook about ipads for learning. Downloads to iTunes and has some good information and suggestions.

One of the very useful, but perhaps under utilised features of mountain lion is the dictation tool. Once its switched on the world of dictation is opened.

Switch it on by going to system preferences > dictation and speech and switching dictation on you can also select your language type.

From here it’s really easy double click on the function key FN  and speak.

I found the Apple care page on this useful as well. Here is a selection that covers the basic problems you often have with dictation.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5449

Do you have an iPad 3? Try out siri for dictation. Once you have enabled it in settings by clicking on the microphone icon in the pop up keyboard  (Settings > General > Siri). Here is the help file – http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5176

Source: http://km.support.apple.com/library/APPLE/APPLECARE_ALLGEOS/HT5176/HT5176_01–mike-002-en.png

FINALLY….

…. Apple announced that volume licences will be available in a number of new countries including New Zealand. The list is:

• Australia,
• Canada,
• France,
• Germany,
• Italy,
• Japan,
• New Zealand – http://www.apple.com/nz/education/volume-purchase-program/
• Spain,
• UK,
• US

This is great news for the large number of schools that are adopting the iPads as their preferred learning device for their students. The lack of volume licences has made the imaging or softwaring of the iPads difficult. It limits the effectiveness of the Apple configurator tool which uses the volume liciencing codes to distribute the licienced software.

Until now schools have had to purchase individual licences and were unable to access the reduce costs. For example pages costs $13.99 for a single licence but using volume purchasing if you buy 20+ you can pay $6.99 each. This makes a substantial saving for schools as well as allowing uniform distribution of software, quickly and effectively to a fleet of iPads. This is very very good.

Check out the T&C’s http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/volume/nz/terms.html

Worth noting

“Gift Certificates, Allowances and iTunes Cards, and unused portions of Gift Certificates, Allowances and iTunes Cards, expire on the later of, two years from the date of issuance, and two years from the date of last activity if applied to an iTunes Store Account. “

Last night I was a guest at the National Library for the round table discussions on the services to schools provided. It was a fascinating session and one I really enjoyed.

The session was looking at the future of the national Library service through the lens of a SWOT analysis the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.  What I saw coming thorough was the huge service the Library service performance and the opportunity that presents itself for them being leaders in the digital environment. The digital environment is also the biggest threat to the service as well. The changing nature of the digital medium and publishing,  Google’s desire to control every thing all challenge the existence of the service. OER is also making considerable changes to the landscape of learning.

Almost everyone present stressed the digital citizenship aspects and the key validating skills that the staff at the national library had. This led in turn to the digital leadership opportunities that may present themselves for this service.

source: http://www.public-domain-image.com/cache/objects-public-domain-images-pictures/books-public-domain-images-pictures/books-writing-ms-dos-device-drivers-assembly-language_w725_h544.jpg

What was clearly understood by all was that the national Libraries service to schools and the wider national library service itself must change and adapt.

There were a couple of points that came as a surprise to me though I think many of the others in the room already knew them.

1. There is no legal requirement for a school to have a library or to provision one with stock or staff.

2. The average primary school in New Zealand has 160-180 students and the average secondary school has approximately 4-500 students. Half of the  schools in NZ are under this size (this information came from a MinEd staff member) half the secondary schools have under 500 students.

How could these small schools provision a library space with out the assistance of the national library service?

source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QEWhOURarSU/R7derL_lo5I/AAAAAAAABKA/Z0xrgAV3tDU/s320/ebook1.jpg

I am not a fan of reference books like encyclopaedia etc, most are out of date before they are published, occupy space and are seldom used. There are better resources that can be accessed via subscription or in the case of EPIC for free for schools – these are often timely and up to date. Wouldn’t it be better to have a small fleet of ebook readers which link to subscriptions like EPIC as the reference material for the school – I would pick that the cost of the readers would be the same or less than the cost of the equivalent books.

http://www.natlib.govt.nz/services/national-collaborative-services/epic

http://epic.org.nz/

Much to ponder. Much to ponder…..

One of the reasons why iPads and android tablets have flourished is the ease of access to applications. Whether you go to the App store or the App marketplace (https://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/?pli=1) you have access to a huge range of applications at a reasonable cost.

One of the advantages that I see with Apple’s model, is the “vetting” or approval process that occurs before an application becomes available on the App store. The app you install is tested and approved by apple. The speed of this process, the cost of set up & return on investment may be seen equally as disadvantages as well.

If you read the posts and features about Microsoft Windows 8, which has extensive support for tablets you would note that this is a ubiquitous operating system – the same OS operating on tablet, using touch or PC.  Great!

But here is my question, one of the selling points of the ipad and android tablets is low cost and to be fair often lower spec applications. This makes them accessible and useful. But the consistency of applications from PC to tablet raises the possibility of having to pay “full application” price for much of the software. There is after all a considerable difference between what you can do with a fully featured PC, with keyboard, mouse and large monitor.

Will we see a change in the pricing policy for developers and software providers? Since Windows 8 supports both tablets and PC’s will we see reduced feature set apps being run on both platforms?

This, I think, will be interesting to watch.

source: http://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com/2790/as-images.apple.com/is/image/AppleInc/ipad2012-step0-ipad-gallery-01-normal?wid=520&hei=410&fmt=png-alpha&qlt=95

The iPad and other gesture based tablets have capture the minds and fingers of many in education. Whether its in pre-K or senior classes these intuitive devices are making changes to how teaching and learning occurs in the classroom.

The combination of ease of use, cost effective applications, simple navigation and user friendlyness plus a generally lower entry price compare to a full laptop (rather than a netbook) make these the tools of choice for many schools. Its worth noting that for many people there is also a convenience and aesthetic factor as well.

As schools grasp with these devices its great to see people sharing their teaching practice. Here are some sites that I have recently stumbled across that are useful.

1. TCEA - http://www.tcea.org/ipad A useful list of applications broken down into curriculum areas

2. Apps in education  – http://appsineducation.blogspot.co.nz/ This site is broken down again into learning areas and has detailed lists of suitable applications.

3. ipad curriculum - http://www.ipadcurriculum.com/ this is a regularly updated blog on the use of ipads featuring a single app per post

4. ipad schools http://ipadschools.wikispaces.com/home this is a wiki on the use of ipads again detailing apps by learning areas

5. ipad multimedia tools – https://sites.google.com/site/ipadmultimediatools/home this google site is focused on the multimedia aspects of ipad use. It looks at the ipads apps by use rather than by learning area.

6. iPad as… http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/mobile-technology-apps/ipad-as this is an excellent post examining the use of the tool rather than the curriculum area.

7. Bridging the gap – http://bridgingapps.org/ This is a site bridging the gap between applications and disabilities – they have reviewed a number of apps for suitability for special needs students, a very useful site.

Harry Dickens & I wrote the apps for learning book with scenarios from different subject areas to examine how the tools could be used from a variety of perspectives.

This is a very useful site with a great list of different iPad applications sorted by subject areas and then these are broken down in to different categories. The applications are both free and paid subscription/purchase.

For Example – Language Arts apps has sub categories for

• literacy
• reading practice
• hand writing
• spelling
• grammar
• graphical organisers

This is a useful reference site - http://www.tcea.org/ipad

It is also worthwhile reading the Educause – Seven things you should know about iPad apps for learning. This is another excellent synopsis that helps clarify the use of iPads in the classroom.

For the Scientist, here are some free iPad applications that I have recently added to my laptop:

• Owl pellets lite – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/owl-pellet-activities-lite/id413711518?mt=8
• Chemistry Formula practice lite – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chemistry-formula-practice/id422958981?mt=8
• Building atoms, ions and isotopes – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/building-atoms-ions-isotopes/id437001161?mt=8

Educause has just released their latest Seven things presentation. This particular release and update is “Seven things you should know about the evolution of the textbook“. To keep in them this publication is available in pdf and ePub formats.

They detail the changes that are now available in the electronic format compared to the traditional static format. These include 3D charts and tables, interactive maps, continual updates, and quizzes with instant feedback

I have had a limited play with Apples iBook author and the interactive widget that I found included:

• The Gallery Widget – an interactive image gallery complete with captions for each image
• The Movie Widget
• The review widget – this allows you to put in questions and have your readers test themselves and recieve feedback
• The Keynote widget – embeds keynote presentations (convert ppt to key and insert)
• The interactive widget – zoom into areas of a images and see additional information
• The 3D widget – embed 3D models in the Collada file format (.dae) – this is an export option from Google Sketch-up
• The HTML widget – embed HTML 5 code in your ebook – this opens up HUGE potential

How long till we see textbooks like – Al Gore’s Our Choice as the standard.

How will libraries issue ebooks?

I have been enjoying this summer break and having a little technology downtime. However the kids have been playing quite extensively on the iPads as the weather has not always been conducive to swimming and playing around outside.

We have a wide selection of games on the iPad for the “kids” enjoyment and a couple leap to mine as useful tools that could be applied to learning. Why would I want to use games for learning, well they are engaging, self motivating, rewarding and have instant feedback. So here are a couple that I think have potential:

Simple Physics. Here you are required to build structures for a specific task. In the image below its a bomb shelter. The task is to build a shelter that withstands three explosion and remain within budget. The lower the cost the more points. To build it you must consider angles and strength, direction and force. Its fun and engaging. But its more than a bomb shelter, you build dams cranes, tree houses, submarines and staircases.

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/simplephysics/id408233979?mt=8

Here is a screengrab

Tinkerbox – this is a similar physics game to Simple Physics. Here you use logic, force, motion and mechanics to solve a series of problems. The game is supported by a tutorials (see below) that assist you in developing your solution. They are not easy either, there is considerable challenge involved in this game.

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tinkerbox-hd/id415722219?mt=8

Rush Hour – this is a change of style and genre, but is an excellent learning and thinking game. This is a computer simulation of the real game of the same name. The objective is to move the cars in a sequence to allows you to release the red car from the grid lock it is in. The number of cars and the complexity of the sequence varies from easy to hard. Its a great game for developing logic and process. .

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rush-hour/id336542036?mt=8

W.E.L.D.E.R. This stands for Word Examination Laboratory for Dynamic Extraction and Reassessment. Yea its a triffle ostentatious, but behind this mouthful lies a great game for the english student. Simply rearrange the letters and add in a few to create words (they have over 15000 loaded in the dictionary) Spell the word correctly, score the points and the letters are removed. It is a very addictive game.

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/w.e.l.d.e.r./id471056941?mt=8

Its easy to overlook the potential of games for learning. Find a game that matches your learning objectives, that reinforces a concept, that provides a different mode of understanding and you can unlock a world of engagement and fun.

WHAT GAMES HAVE YOU FOUND THAT COULD BE USE IN CLASS? I would love to hear about them.

I just got tweeted a nice diagram showing iPad applications against different levels of Bloom’s revised taxonomy. Its a good and well considered diagram and I like it. Some applications there that I haven’t seen yet and I will have to look up.

The only thing I would say is that the applications are just the medium in which the student demonstrates the level. They facilitate the cognitive action. – This is NOT a criticism, rather a statement from me and one I know that Kathy Schrock has definitely taken into account.

I know a number of people who have questioned whether tools like animoto should be included because it can be so easy, but the reality is yes you can “throw” music and images at Animoto and get a good product. But the deliberate and considered student who designs, considers, structures and evaluate will make the excellent product. Puppet Pals, which is also in the creative slot, is another excellent tool which can be used (I have seen this one work really well with my own kids) to produce creative, well considered, planned and evaluated products.

Tools like Pages and Touch Draw can be used across the taxonomic levels depending on the task and purpose. Taking notes is understanding where as authoring a book is creative, both would use the same tool. Copying a diagram  and making an infographic are at different ends of the spectrum, but still would utilize the graphic development capacity of touch draw.

Nice work and thanks for sharing