Welcome to our Pre-Christmas "Educational Technology" sale...well, not really a sale since it's all FREE. Once you check these out, you will understand my enthusiasm.
BEST APP I have ever seen: Splashtop
PROS...Splashtop allows you to control your desktop (PC, laptop, netbook...) from your IPad over WiFi. Your IPad (IPhone, Droid...) turns into a mobile version of your desktop computer. You can access documents, work on programs that normally are not available on IPad (Smart Notebook, for instance), watch flash videos (yes, I said it...flash), play online games and access documents from your hard drive.
CONS...Slight lag time when playing flash games, but that is to be expected since you are accessing another computer via wifi.
ADDED BENEFIT...Since you can control your desktop with your IPad at this point, if your desktop PC or laptop is connected to a smartboard...you can control the smartboard as well. To be honest, I haven't tested this out yet, but have it on good authority from my techie co-workers that this will work nicely. Think of the ability to walk through class and still use your Smartboard while you help a student at THEIR desk.
Look for me at school for a demo!
BEST "I Should have thought of this" ONLINE TOOL: YouTube for Schools and the KHAN Academy
PROS...YouTube Education and the KHAN Academy collect educationally-related YouTube videos and provide a safe access point for students and teachers to find relevant and meaningful videos for classroom uses. I particularly like the KHAN's selection of videos (almost strictly for MS/HS) and how they incorporate videos with exercises and the ability for students to post questions. Social media at its best in the classroom. Tons of math demonstration videos.
CONS...Videos are selected by the organization running the site, which means you are stuck with what they think is appropriate. At this point, the videos look pretty solid to me. A great way to categorize YouTube videos and find them easily.
BEST "New" Website to Follow: Edudemic
Well...it's new to me!
PROS...The subtitle of the site really tells it all, "Connecting Education & Technology." Great lists of tips and tricks, newsworthy items, lists of useful websites, and even some irreverent educational humor litter this site. For the most part, there are some excellent ideas and inspiration for your own ideas here, as well as trending items in technology. Sample Items:
- 30 Great Blogs by Students
- 9 Tools for Using Wikipedia in the Classroom
- Today is Update Your Parent's Browser Day (article)
I will definitely add the feed to my list of daily reads.
CONS...Slightly overwhelming to start, too many links upfront but they are broken up nicely on the navigation bar at the top.
I hope this is a start, maybe some tools for you to peruse over holiday break. Please have a safe and healthy holiday season. -P
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