5 APPS I USE WEEKLY

GOODREADER ($5.49)

I see it as a 'Finder' equivalent for my iPad. I can organise pdf documents downloaded from the net, from my email or from my linked Dropbox account. The ability to create folders and add, delete etc files into these folders easily make it an excellent resource, particularly for those looking to move towards a paperless classroom. Recently I annotated my class marks from their reports using the highlight button and instantly shows how students are going - great for visual learners. I'm eager to try other features over this next term.




EVERNOTE (Free)
Links to so well between the Evernote website and the MacApp. Sometimes I need my iPad, sometimes I need my MacBook, it syncs seamlessly between both. Organising notebooks and notes within these is great for teachers - each student has their own notebook full of formal results, and informal notes. Along with the ability to tag notes, any info on students can be easily archived and located. This works the same for committee and meeting notes. It even suggests the name of a new note you create based on appointments in your calendar! A must have for iPad. A must have for teachers.



NUMBERS ($10.49)

Some people are not sold on this App, but I love it. It does work slightly differently to how the Mac version works, but that's its advantage. I use the 'tick boxes' on the forms section for a quick checklist in class. This works for attendance and record keeping. It still uses SUM, MAX, MIN, AVERAGE features of it's Mac brother, but generally if I want those features, I will use my Mac. Brilliant for 'on-the-run' mobile uses (eg Excursions).

SHOWME (Free)
I'm only juts getting into this one, but have hardly put it down. ShowMe essentially is a whiteboard that records all screen markings as well as voice. We set this up with students talking through how they complete Maths sums - and learned a little about their thinking, where their understanding trails off and their misconceptions. It's difficult to get this feedback from traditional pen and paper methods. Parents can be shown these movies to see exactly what they are doing in class. The movies can be uploaded to the web and then downloaded - having this synced more easily (Evernote style) would be a great advantage to future updates, but still works a treat.


SPORTING APPS
OK, another 5 to the list, but in my coaching roles I enjoy using the features that these apps offer to help develop skills of players.

iScore Basketball ($10.49)
Brilliant for keeping stats during a basketball game. We used this with our A team for each game last season. The stat reports and scoring charts provide invaluable feedback to coaches and players. Well worth the expensive price tag.








nxCricket HD ($14.99)
Another outstanding scoring/stats app. Scoring charts, manhattan graphs, score worms, ball-by-ball tracking features all allow individual palyers to disect their game, see their batting and bowling strengths as well as the coach to see how the team is playing on the whole. Again, well worth the money. Non-HD version available for a cheaper price.







Cricket Coach Plus HD ($2.99)

We used this extensively for its record function. It can show player their action and superimpose it against a video modelling good skill execution. Lines can be drawn on paused video to outline weaknesses in a batting, bowling and throwing action. The ability to email to players is also a great feature. A must have for the new-age cricket coach!







Footy Coach Plus HD ($2.99)
By the same developers of Cricket Coach Plus HD, and very similar features. With the help of older players and parents, we will be taking a bank of videos of each player's skill and working through it with them at the time and also to disect afterwards to aid skill development. Interesting to see the videos side by side from Week One to the end of the season!

FILENAME CONVENTIONS

Any teacher collecting digital files from students (or staff pooling/sharing files) will have endured the lack of order when 30 files come together with 30 different filenames! The disorder and inability to know what, who or when the file was created or created by is a frustration easily fixed.

Teaching about filename organisation is the new age equivalent of having your desk tray organised (usually by book size and crayon/pencil case size!). Below are some pointers to keep those pesky files is order. A simple conventions checklist to teach students (and staff!) to help their organisation and your sanity when you get to dropbox, wikis, shared server folders etc.

• Filename examples:
• T2W1-MyTermGoals-nanhea17.pages
• T2W2-LetterToMrNankivell-21HN.pdf
• Folder examples:
• T2W1-MyTermGoals
• A-English
• B-Mathematics

• Don't use spaces. Although computer searches are pretty good, some don't like spaces or it doesn't read them as well, if you're organised anyway you probably won't use it!
• Don't use underscores (the _ symbol). It is difficult to see quickly with hyperlinked filenames.
• Put the date at the front (a code that works for me - T1 = Term 1, W5 = Week 5). If you need to use dates, use year-month-date as it will sort all 2011 together, then all 2012 together underneath.
• Use letters or numbers to order folders that you don't want sorted by alphabetical order (see e.g.).
• Use the students name/code/logon at the end so it is ordered by class list (see e.g.).
• Use hyphen to denote parts of the filename (see e.g.).
• Train the students to use the EXACT filename you want, if it's not correct, don't accept it.
• When having students download a scafold or digital sheet, use the correct file title with a hyphen at the end for students to 'Save As...' only having to add their name/code/logon.
• Use colours on folder to aid visual clarity (available in Finder on the Mac).

EXAMPLES

Image A: No guidance for students = filenames all over the place. Who belongs to which file? What is it? When was it done?

Image B: An essay about Australia completed sometime in Term 1. Students are given a code based on their position on the class list (surname alphabetical). E.g. 04FD is Fred Dennis. He uses this code for all his files.

Image C: An iMovie TV Report complete in Term 2, Week 5. Students use their school computer logon to denote their file. E.g. the last file was created by Robert Zander. In this case the 15 stands their graduating year, obviously meaning these students are currently in Year 9 (in 2012).

PS Installing DropBox and then signing up to http://dropitto.me allows students to visit your site and 'drop' files through that site straight that are downloaded straight into your dropbox folder. Easy!

P.A.G.E.S. for 'N2ICT' (New To ICT) Teachers

Integrating technology into the any teachers classroom can be frustrating, time consuming and unrewarding. Teachers who have technology 'lumped' on them or who are expected to use it well immediately rightly put walls up and find reasons for not utilising the myriad of opportunities that lie patiently waiting for enthusiastic educators to realise their power in enhancing the curriculum.

For me, small steps are needed for me to introduce something into my classroom and my teaching. It must do a job. If it doesnt - I don't use it. The novelty wears off when learning objectives are not met and students lose motivation. Here are 5 things that teachers, of any experience level, to try who are new to integrating ICT in their classroom. Let's call these of our colleagues 'New to ICT', or N2ICT teachers. Feedback most welcome.

PLAY
How do young kids learn things that are not part of our curriculum in schools? By PLAYing. Hence, early childhood teachers factor in structured play where kids can try things, muck up and the world doesn't collapse. When presented with an iPad for the first time, it is reasonable to assume that a person could 'break' it by pressing 'the wrong button'. But that's exactly how to learn! Press 'the wrong button' and you'll know not to press it next time! N2ICT teachers should be encouraged to try and 'break it' (the software, not the hardware) so they can see what could work for them in their teaching. Play, play, play.

ACCESS
There are many resources available for N2ICT teachers to ACCESS. Let's start with the room next door. "What are you doing with ICT?" does not need to be timetabled in, nor does it need to whip up a verbal frenzy amongst staff. These 'here's one idea' moments are generally all anyone can handle in passing conversation. These brief discussions over time can elicit a great variety of resources from a variety of ICT areas. As stated above, if it does a job for you - use it and you win. If it doesn't - do not use it! There's no right or wrong.

GOOGLE
I haven't mastered this, but can fumble my way around to find a relevant image, graph, kids' website etc. to enhance my lessons. There is so much more that GOOGLE searches could be used for or to refine searching, however it does a job for me. N2ICT teachers entering their learning area or specific concept to teach with keywords such as 'school', 'for kids' or 'education' will open a world where students can explore ideas outside of the classroom. Imagine teaching without websites or the web? We used to. This small step will open doors.

EMBRACE
ICT can easily get a bad name. 'The network's down' or 'it cost too much' are common counters for ICT's effectiveness, but let's get real - the network isn't always down and for ever expensive piece of software there's an online equivalent waiting to be used. Resources are also sitting in every teachers classroom. The students. Setting up an 'expert session' where students can teach other students can help teach the ICT skills needed to quickly and effeciently negotiate software. Teachers do not need to be ICT experts. Having students 'go-to' people for websites (Edmodo, Google Images, Evernote) can relieve the teacher of the burden of feeling a need to be the expert. it's empowering and certainly communicates to the class your expertise lies with the teaching and helping them learn content. You'd also have to be hiding under a rock to not hear about free PDs that are available. I was read 7 PDs flyers in one week last term... They're out there if N2ICT teachers want to EMBRACE ICT.

S.A.M.R.
I love this model. It says to me that it's OK to use a laptop for word processing, but it's not OK to keep doing it lesson after lesson, year after year. N2ICT teachers can substitute something that they currently do (eg Substitute pen and paper for Microsoft Word, Apple's Pages MacApp, or Notes on the iPad). The next steps are to AUGMENT, MODIFY and REDEFINE so that the end

The following image was posted on Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano's brilliant blog 'Langwitches': http://langwitches.org/blog/category/technology/ and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. It gives a definition and examples of each stage for N2ICT teachers to work with. I still refer to it regularly to see how I can improve my teaching to 'Redefine' for students who don't live in a society that I lived ina t their age, so don't want to be educated the same way I was at their age.