Garage Band in the Classroom

Okay so I have heard of the app and thought..... why on earth do I want that?  Well now I know.  This would be great for a listening station, too bad I do not have multiple ipods:(   Although I do own MANY books with cds, this will certainly help with the seasonal books I do not own. 

AND...........................

Could this possibly be the answer to the voice recording of children's reading that we have been looking for???????  I will attempt to check it out in all my spare time - lol.  Soon, I promise!

http://tekyteach.blogspot.com/2011/09/techy-tip-use-any-book-for-your-listen.html

Sites Worth Visiting

There's so many great sites. Here's a few more I felt were worthy of our blog.

     Ipadschools    Ipods in Education-pros and cons    Writers Studio App   Appolicious with tons of Educational Sites

     Lifecards-Postcard Apps

Apps worth exploring

Well it's been awhile since I have had even a spare moment to play on the Ipad and search for apps, let alone blog about it.... BUT my blog following addiction led me to a link for apps worth exploring.  I personally have not checked them out, but I LOVE the blog that posted them, so I think they are likely worth checking out.  When I find some spare time I hope I remember to do that:)  If you check it out and have comments... please post them!

http://www.kleinspiration.com/2011/09/resources-for-ipads-in-education.html

Puppet Pals

Wow, there are so many great Apps out there. I think I have to do some picking and choosing over which ones are worth teaching and the value of the content. This one seems like an easy, fun one to use in the classroom with loads of potential. I've tried it out without purchasing it but it looks like it would be one of those ones that's worth buying and being able to use the extra options. Here's the description from the creaters of the Apps.

Puppet Pals:
We have always loved animation apps and empowering users to be a content creators and not just consumers. The problem has been, that in the app store, many frame by frame animation apps have been clunky and intimidating. Our goal with puppet pals was to present a familiar straightforward method to create your own "jib-jab© like" animations. All you have to do is select your actors and backdrops, press record, and drag them around. Everything you drag around is recorded in realtime (including your audio). You can even flip characters with a double tap or resize and rotate them using two fingers. The result is a simple and fun way to quickly create your own animated movies. There is something very satisfying about being able to see you animations come to life instantly without the painful frame by frame process.

Puppet Pals

Beware the Sync

Okay so I learned something new after a few frustrating hours today.  You CAN NOT delete pictures from your ipad unless you do it during a sync.  When you are syncing the ipad you can select which photos you want to be on your ipad.  The sync is initially set up to sync all your photos which ended up being half of my memory on the ipad.  So I had to resync it selecting only the few photos I wanted.  the help I found did say you could delete pictures from the Ipad that you took with the Ipad (don't ask me how)!

And why did I learn all this?  Well I was attempting to rent my first movie from the itunes store to watch with my hdmi connector on my tv!  I'll let you know how that goes in another post.
Christine

Ipad's in the Summer.......

Well summer vacation has officially begun and my Ipad has come home with me.  Not only has it come home, it has come on 2 long road trips with me.  And I must say it has been a SAVIOR!  I would purchase my children one of these before a dsi  again that is for sure.  The 7 hours road trip had the Ipad in CONSTANT use and yes the battery life lasted and still had 27% upon arrival.  We do not have movies on the Ipad (have not ventured into figuring that out just yet).  So the 7 hours were spent enjoying the apps and many online books.  I LOVE the option that it will read the books to my 4 year old, no longer am I crawling to the back of the van to be the reader. I also absolutley love the interactiveness of some books.  The really great ones cost a few dollars, but really..... it's a book.  It has been read and loved so many times already that the $3.00 spent on it is really no big deal.  It's what I call sanity money!  LOL

My four year old's favorites are:
There's a Monster at the End of the Book - It stars Grover from Seasame Street trying to stop you from turning the pages as he is scared of the monster at the end of the book.  He keeps you busy untying knots etc to prevent you from turning the page.  $3.99

Mickey's Spooky Night Puzzle Book - A Mickey Mouse book that has you searching for ghosts.   $2.99

These books have also thoroughly entertained my 7 year old son as well.  Although I must admit I am still on the search for a few good age appropriate books for him!

Who knew?????

I have not had time to check this out but certainly plan to as it sounds SUPER cool.  Who knew your ipad could control your PC!!!!!  http://teachinghappilyeverafter.blogspot.com/2011/06/control-your-desktop-computer-with-your.html

Check it out!