Learning multiplication tables using video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BvE2xjtWerE

Click the link to lean your multiplication tables

5 cell phone apps for education

A combination of great apps all students to make the best of their cell phones and for having fun while learning something new.

Apple's iOS based devices — iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch — are gaining popularity thanks to the wide variety of applications the company offers on its app store. Besides the number of productivity and utility apps there are several educational apps available that could aid in educating young people around us.

Cell phones can be used as good educational tools for toddlers and even for pre-teens for that little extra fun while finishing homework quickly.

1. TeachMe: Toddler

This is a perfect app to get your toddler hooked to your iOS device for learning about letters, numbers, pronunciation, shapes, colours and counting. These are the very basic and fundamental things taught to kids as soon as they step into kindergarten. Topics can be chosen by parents and they can review performance for each topic to see where the toddler needs inspiration to improve.

This iOS app works on a reward based system and offers six different reward scenes — playground, farm, beach, city, pirate cove and underwater reef. For every correct answer, a sticker is rewarded which needs to be placed appropriately in the different reward scenes. Reward based teaching certainly helps in boosting the morale of toddlers and keeps them engaged.

2. A Piano for Kids

All work and no play could make anyone dull. Kids need to play and learn at the same time as they are easily distracted. That's where A Piano for Kids could help. It promises to teach alphabets and numbers using music. Because it has colourful keys kids also love playing around and tapping the different keys to compose their own symphony.

The app carries more than 140 individual sounds. Its multi-touch interface may add to the amusement when kids aimlessly tap on the screen creating random sounds. However, parents can help their children understand as well as associate the letters with colours as well as sounds.

3. Drawing Pad

Drawing Pad is the perfect eco-friendly replacement for kids and teens who love to draw. Users can create sketches and pictures using their fingers with different colour crayons, paint brushes, colour pencils, stickers, and more options.

The blender tool can be used to give a more artistic touch to drawings. Children can paste Photo Stickers in the background to draw on top of them. And parents need not worry about kids getting their hands or clothes dirty.

Drawings can be shared over Facebook, Twitter or via email. The app offers five illustrated books..

4. SkyView — Explore the Universe

Little do kids and teens know that the night sky has several cool stories, factoids and interesting things in it, waiting to be discovered. SkyView's augmented reality based application is a classic example of technology put to good use. By simply pointing the camera at the sky anyone can learn about the several mysteries of outer space and learn cool things with the help of amazing 3D graphics.

Simply take your cell Phone and point the camera to the sky. The app makes use of your location using GPS satellites along with gyroscopic rotation and clubs it with 3D graphics to give you a complete augmented reality view.

You could select the sun or the moon to learn the sky path of either of them during a 24-hour period. Besides that, the app also offers trivia on NASA's final space shuttle missions, compass and horizon display.

Little did we think that learning about those secrets in the sky would be so much fun. There is a free as well as a paid version of the app to suit your requirements. This app is meant for kids as well as those who aspire to be astronomy buffs someday. If you are hardcore into astronomy and would not mind spending quite a lot, then SkySafari 3 Pro is the app but it is costly at $30 (Rs 1,350 approx.).

5. Wolfram Algebra Course Assistant

Most math geeks might have heard of the Wolfram Alpha search engine. This is the perfect application if you want to ace your algebra tests.

Created by Wolfram Research, the Wolfram Algebra Course Assistant app features the Wolfram Alpha computational engine and one can connect to supercomputers via 2G, 3G or WiFi to draw their computational power for complex algebra problems.

The app covers Algebra I, Algebra II and college level algebra which includes topics like simplifying fractions, square roots, expanding polynomials, dividing expressions and so on.

Wolfram Research also offers other interesting apps which cover astronomy, calculus, fractals, general chemistry, personal finance, physics, statistics, and so on.

Conclusion

These apps are priced at between $1 to $10.

Good apps and perfect use of devices can certainly help kids enhance their knowledge as well as develop skills of something they are really good at. Also, it is quite a learning experience for parents and teachers to pass on the love for technology to young ones

Cell phones in the classroom

There are essentially three core stances most schools have took with their cell phone policies. One such policy basically bans their students from having their cell phones at all. If students are caught with cell phones, then they can be confiscated or fined or in some cases the student may be suspended. Another common cell phone policy allows students to bring their cell phones to school and allows them to use them during non-instructional times such as time in between classes and lunch. If students are caught with them in class, then they are confiscated from the student. Another cell phone policy is leaning towards a shift in administrators thinking. Students are not only allowed to possess and use their cell phones, but are also encouraged to use them in class as learning tools.

Schools that ban their students from having their cell phones or limit their usage do this for a variety of reasons. Those include not wanting it to make it easy for students to cheat, being afraid that students are sending inappropriate content, playing games, or setting up drug deals. Teachers also feel like they are distracting and disrespectful. All of these are valid concerns and are why this is such a hot issue among school administrators.

The movement towards embracing the use of cell phones by students as a teaching/learning tool  must begins with educating students on proper use of phones at school.  A cell phone can be a power educational tool. Smart phones especially have the ability to provide students with so much information that teachers cannot deny that they can be powerful technological tools in the classroom.

Reflections

Assignment 2 was some what of a technical nature. It brought out that aspect dealing with mobile computing in the school environment. There was a lot of first for me. They include inserting a video and inserting a power point presentation in a word document. I was engaged in looking at the specification of a number of the hardware that I recommended. All in all I think that it was an excellent idea to have us critiquing and then coming up with our own recommendations. I enjoyed every moment of it.

Best practices in relation to e-safety

Policies and practice

• Does your school have a set of robust policies and practices?
• Do you have an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)? Are parents aware of it?
• Does your anti-bullying policy include references to cyber-bullying?
• Are there effective sanctions in case of breaches of policy?

Infrastructure

• Is your school network safe and secure?
• Do you use an accredited internet service provider?
• Do you use a filtering/monitoring product?
• Do you utilise privacy settings on social networking sites?
• Have you set up invitation-only discussion groups?

Education and training

• Do children receive e-safety education – where and how?
• Are staff, including support staff, trained?
• Do you have a single point of contact in the school for e-safety?
• Do the leadership team and school governors have adequate awareness of the issue of e-safety?

Standards and inspection

• Do you monitor and review all of the above?

Reflections on Tablets in the classroom

I was  really interested in all of the publications on the topic ' Tablets in the classroom' it had my attention. In the case of St. Vincent & the Grenadines where we have already implemented the one laptop per child, I was able the see where we  failed to top in on our teachers who have ICT skills and are prepare to take ICT into the classroom. I am a strong supporter of open source and with Android been the main OS on tablets I look forward to the day when we will get to that stage. I am convince that Edubuntu (the OS that we are using' is the best available at the moment when it comes to open source. All of the apps. that are available in Android are also available in Edubuntu which is a plus for St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

Smart IWB

SMART 480iv Series Interactive Whiteboards An integrated system with exceptional value The SMART Board 480iv interactive whiteboard system is easy to start up and control, so teachers can begin teaching right away. The integrated SMART V25 projector limits shadows and projects a quality image, making visuals crisp and bright. And because the projector is located directly above the interactive whiteboard, the 480iv fits in virtually any classroom. Hands-on learning Delivering dynamic lessons is easy with the SMART Board 480iv interactive whiteboard system. Teachers can present material featuring large, vibrant images. Kinesthetic and visual learners will benefit from interacting with lesson content – moving letters, numbers, words and pictures with their fingers. And students with special needs benefit by being able to see, read and manipulate information more easily. The 480iv also comes with SMART Notebook collaborative learning software, which helps teachers create, deliver and manage high-impact interactive lesson activities Best-in-class resources : Discover free, ready-to-use educational resources on the SMART Exchange website. This vibrant online community makes it easy for teachers to quickly find, evaluate, download and share a variety of classroom-relevant content, including thousands of standards-correlated SMART Notebook lesson activities. Teachers can connect with colleagues in their districts or around the globe to exchange lesson activities, ideas, insights and success stories.