Welcome back to the Roundup! My internet is up and running again (hopefully for good) and it's time for some tech news! First up, Mind/Shift has a new post on "How Video Games and Social Media Fuel Students' Passion for Art." The post discusses the growing trend of interest driven art creation can offer an artistic outlet for students in districts where art programs are lacking or nonexistent.
Over the past month, the HP Catalyst Academy has been offering free STEMx professional development courses online. Two days ago, they announced that they will be releasing a second round of free classes geared towards middle and high school. Each of the classes takes 6-12 hours and teachers who complete the classes will earn a certificate of completion (or digital badges!) You can check out their online catalog to see some of the awesome classes they have available.
Special thanks to Aronne Watkins for this news; the Tennessee Library Association has just released a formal study on "Tablets and Children: Intuitive Technology and New Literacies." The paper "discusses the intriguing opportunities that tables offer for children to interact with technology, and how those opportunities translate for librarians and young patrons." It's a good read, especially for all you library media specialists out there!
Free Tech for Teachers has five new resources to check out:
Curt Rees at I Know This Much is True has an awesome post entitled,"Wow! Augmented Reality Sandbox." And he's right, "Wow" is definitely the right word. In the post he shares the video below which covers an upcoming museum exhibit that uses augmented reality, a Kinect sensor, and a projector to do something pretty outstanding with a normal sandbox. Just check out the video, it's awesome...
Jamie Forshey at EduTech for Teachers has a new post on "Writing with Web 2.0 Tools." In the post she talks about her recent Writing with Web Tools Workshop from Techapalooza 2013. Forshey covers how to "help students make meaningful visual connects to content through writing and technology" and she covers web-apps like Wikispaces, Edmodo, Edublogs, Google Docs, and a ton more!
Ed Reach has four new podcasts to check out:
Tablets (and especially iPads) often steal the classroom tech spotlight, but Google Chromebooks (running only $250) can be an awesome alternative. If your school is thinking of adopting Chromebooks (or you've already got them!), Edudemics new post, "How To Get Started with Chromebooks in the Classroom" will be right up your alley!
iLearn Technology has a new review of "Snap! Digital Reading Program." The program is a collection of interactive books that are organized by reading level and can be printed or viewed on a PC or tablet. Plus, all the books are aligned with the Common Core Standards. It's not free, but for $89 you do get a ton of interactive content. Check out their site for more.
Finally, Getting Smart opens with a piece on "Finding New Professional Development at Edcamp." For those unfamiliar, Edcamp is a relatively new form of PD in which passionate speakers and teachers organize free events to share ideas. The organization is now worldwide and over 100 events have already happened this year. For more information, here's a a good page that covers the basics.
Getting Smart also has two new reviews up. The first is over BloomBoard which is an awesome app for managing professional development, teacher observations, and teacher feedback. You can also check out the Roundup's review of BloomBoard here. Finally, theyreview iAnnotate, a "fantastic productivity tool that engages users directly with various text documents." It's great for teachers who want to grade and be able to write on digital papers.
Getting Smart also has two new reviews up. The first is over BloomBoard which is an awesome app for managing professional development, teacher observations, and teacher feedback. You can also check out the Roundup's review of BloomBoard here. Finally, theyreview iAnnotate, a "fantastic productivity tool that engages users directly with various text documents." It's great for teachers who want to grade and be able to write on digital papers.
The Lightning Round...
- Educational Technology share The 7 Killer Skills every 21st Century Student Should Have
- They also reviewApraxia - A Great Speech Therapy App
- Edudemic has the 9 Best Web Tools Teahcers Will Use This Year
- And they also discuss 4 Ways to Showcase your Learning Online
And that's it for our weekend edition! Thanks for reading and we'll be back on Monday! We'll end today with a new infographic from Edudemic and Spinx Web Design on the Most Awaited Technology Devices of 2013. See you Monday!
Courtesy of: Spinx
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