Bringing AR and VR into the Classroom; Part 2

In Part 1, we looked at why virtual reality is a good fit in today's classroom. We also talked about different types of VR set ups you could check out.  In this post, we are going to look at all the resources!  I am all about free and secure, so unless stated, these are free resources you can use in the classroom.

The first resource I want to talk about is the one most popular in my district - Google Expeditions.



Google Expeditions allows the students to explore a huge variety of VR locations all while the teacher is guiding them.  For this resource, the teacher will need a device along with the students.  The teacher selects the expedition or field trip, the students join, and then the learning and exploring begins. I have seen students from elementary to high school using Google Expeditions.  The best part is watching a student or class explore for the first time!

New expeditions are added regularly!  Teachers have also created lessons to go allow with several expeditions.  You can see the full list here. You can also learn more about Google Expeditions here.

While we are talking Google, we need to also mention Tour Creator. This allows you to create your own virtual tours using Google Maps.  I mean, how awesome is that!!

For example, after reading Patricia Polacco's book John Philip Duck, the students can explore the Peabody Hotel and other sites around Memphis using the Tour Creator that you created. You could also create a tour of your state capital, your hometown, the US capital, and so many other places!



Discovery VR brings their shows to "life" through VR.  Users can explore Shark Week, Deadliest Catch, and so much more.  This is not teacher guided, so you will want to explore before hand and have clear directions and/or expectations for students.

Discovery VR can be used on a variety of VR devices. They also add content regularly.






Do you use Nearpod in the classroom?  If so, have you checked out Nearpod's VR lessons? What is great about Nearpod VR is you don't need a headset to experience them. There are 36 free VR lessons available you can check out if you don't have a paid subscription with Nearpod.






Two other notable VR resources are NYT VR, New York Times VR and 360cities.  NYT VR would be a good resources for secondary schools.  This app brings the New York Times headlines to life. This is one where the teacher will want to explore first and select the best resource to meet the lesson or discussion in the classroom.

360cities is not an app at all, it is a website. You can explore Mars, New Years celebrations around the world, and so much more!  This is not a resource you want students to explore, but rather for you the teacher to use to enhance a lesson.

These are just a view VR resources you can use in the classroom.  If you are looking for more, these are few places to check out:

Richard Bryne's Free Tech for Teachers website

Cybrary Man's Educational Websites - Virtual Reality

Do you have a favorite VR resource? Share with us!

In the next post, we will explore AR (augmented reality).

The Math Learning Center - An Interactive Resource for the Classroom

I saw a tweet a few days ago on Twitter I should have taken a screenshot of! The tweet talked about how worksheets should be used as a form of punishment.  I love that!

The tweet reminded me of a math resource I have shared with teachers in the past - The Math Learning Center.

The Math Learning Center has 10 interactive math apps students can explore on the computer or iPad. The interactive math apps include:
- Fractions
- Geoboard
- Math Vocabulary
- Money Pieces
- Number Frames
- Number Line
- Number Pieces
- Number Pieces Basic
- Number Rack
- Pattern Shapes

The Geoboard app is always a favorite of mine!  As a 2nd grade teacher, rubber bands would end up in the air or broken when we used the geoboards to explore geometry. With the Geoboard app, you don't have to worry about rubber bands.

The Number Pieces app provides the students with a board to construct, deconstruct, and compare numbers.

These are just two of the 10 apps available.

Have you used The Math Learning Center in your classroom? Which app do your students enjoy? How have you used them in the classroom?

Share your ideas with us!

Oh So Many iPad Apps - new blog adventure

I am constantly looking for educational apps and ways students can use the iPad in the classroom.  I have found that I am not very organized with my findings, meaning they are not in one central location.  With that in mind, I decided to start an iPad app blog and Pinterest board. I don't have much there ..YET... but I am working on adding more resources.

Enjoy!

Oh So Many iPad Apps

iPads in the Classroom

Student Presentations with ScreenChomp

Within the Common Core State Standards, students in grades K-4 are asked to create visual displays and audio recordings for presentations.

Speaking and Listening Standard #5:

K - Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.
1st Grade - Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
2nd Grade - Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
3rd Grade - Create engaging audio recordings of stories or poems that demonstrate fluid reading at an understandable pace; add visual displays when appropriate to emphasize or enhance certain facts or details.
4th Grade - Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

One tool students can use to help bring their presentation to life is with the iPad app ScreenChomp.  ScreenChomp is a free app created by TechSmith that allows students to create digital presentations with their own voice and student created drawings.

As you can see, ScreenChomp contains just what the students will need to create a digital presentation, including a cute green monster!

Students can select from three different pen widths and 12 different colors. Pictures from within the Camera Roll can also be selected for the background, if the students choose. The item between the background and pens will erase the entire screen and the eraser will let you select what to remove. Once the students are ready, they hit the red "rec" button to begin recording.

Students can pause and stop the recording. Keep in mind, clicking stop will end the recording while pausing will let you go back if needed.  You can also watch your time with the timer on the upper right corner.

Once stop is selected, students will get to preview their presentation and either trash it or share it.  If you decide to do neither, you want to at least rename the file so you can find it later on ScreenChomp.  When you click "Share" you are provided with a web address for sharing and future use. Who doesn't want to share student created movies with parents and school stakeholders?!

The Common Core State Standards are not the only standards ScreenChomp can help you meet.  Multiple NETS*S can also be included in the list above.

1b - Create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
2b - Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
5b - Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
6b - Select and use applications effectively and productively.

ScreenChomp doesn't have to be used be one student either. Because you have the ability to pause, a small group of students can create a presentation using the same iPad. You can also find ScreenChomp being used in all subject areas, since this app is not geared toward a specific subject area. This means ScreenChomp can be used to present how to solve and multiple step problem and explain the life cycle of a frog.

So how do you use ScreenChomp?

presentation creation and the iPad

There are so many great apps out there students and teachers can use to create presentations.  One of those apps is free (yes.. free) for a limited time - Doodlecast Pro

Doodlecast Pro has a clean design with easy to understand icons for students and teachers. The presentation can be paused, continued, and saved through out the process.  Students can also open already saved presentations.

Being able to select from multiple background images has great potential. Students can select from multiple math and language arts backgrounds, like graphing paper, a comic strip, grid, and notebook paper. There are also backgrounds for music and sports. Images from the iPad's Camera Roll can also be added to the presentation. One other feature I like about Doodlcast Pro is the ability to add multiple pages to a presentation.

The drawing tools available on Doodlecast Pro include the pen, fill, pointer, and eraser. The pointer (shown above) allows you to change the color and shape of the pointer. The pen and fill allow you to change color and pen size.

Once a presentation is created, you can share through your Camera Roll on the iPad, email, YouTube, or Dropbox.  I like having share options. Student use iPads may not have a "working" email address but may have a classwide Dropbox account.

Doodlecast Pro can be used through out the school day.

~ create an example video on parts of speech to show understanding

~ create a video introducing weekly vocabulary words to post on a class website

~ create a step-by-step video showing how to solve a math problem

~ retell a story 

~ retell a particular topic from science or history

~ create a learning video for a younger class

~ create an explanation video to help reteach of topic or concept

How could you use Doodlecast Pro in your classroom?

No.. the standard doesn't say PowerPoint (part 1)

Teachers... step away from PowerPoint! No where does it say for students to create one!

For most teachers, when they read the below Speaking & Listening standards, they assume it means to create a PowerPoint. Students can use multiple resources that don't include PowerPoint to meet these standards.

Third Grade - #5 Create engaging audio recordings of stories or poems that demonstrate fluid reading at an understandable pace; add visual displays when appropriate to emphasize or enhance certain facts or details

Fourth Grade - #5 Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

We are going to focus on audio recordings and the different resources out there for students and teachers. If your students are anything like my 3rd grade daughter, recording their voice should be no problem.

Vocaroo @ www.vocaroo.com
This is a web based voice recorder. You will find the website is straight forward and rather simple for students to use.

Students go to the website and click on the "Click to Record" button.  They will, of course, need a microphone.

Once the student finishes recording, they can listen, retry, or save the recording.

Students can "save" the recording in multiple ways. The recording can be shared on social media, like Twitter or Facebook. The recording can be downloaded as a MP3 or even made into a QR code.

Audacity (software for PC or MAC) @ http://ninite.com/ or http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

This is a program that can be downloaded for free on either PC or MAC. It looks intimidating, but is easy to use for voice recording.

The students will use three buttons - record, stop, and play. Once the students finish recording their voice, they will "save" by going to "File" and "Export".  Files can be saved as a WAV or MP3 file. These can then be added to presentations as needed.

I have a step-by-step guide for using Audcacity on my blog under "Handout Resources".

iTalk and QuickVoice (iPad/iPhone apps)

Both of these are free apps you can add to your iPad. Students can record their voice and then email it for future use.

   

QuickVoice Recorder is a free app for the iPad and iPhone.

Once the student clicks on the app, they can begin recording. You simply hit the "record" button and start talking. Once you finish, students can title the recording by clicking the "title" button or deleting it by clicking the trash can.

In order to share the recording, students click the second to last button and select "Email Recording".

iTalk Recorder is a free app for your iPhone, but can be downloaded onto the iPad.

 

When iTalk Recorder is selected, students can begin recording my simply clicking the large red circle. Once they finish, they click again to stop the recording.  The recording can be named and the quality can be adjusted.

Students can email the recording by clicking the "i" located on the right side of the recording title.

These tools are rather simple for students to use and can be integrated into the curriculum in multiple ways.

1) Have the students take a piece of text and record themselves for self assessment (or teacher assessment) of fluency, accuracy, pacing, etc.

2) Students can create a QR code talking about why they would suggest a particular book to another student. This QR code could then be available to other students in the library.

3) Create a voice recording of a poem to use along with student created art work to show understanding of the poem. This project could be created with iMovie.

4) Create a voice recording of a final research project to present to the class.

5) Add short voice recordings to your Google Presentation or Prezi.

How do you create student audio recordings? Share your ideas with us!

iPads in the Math Classroom

Quite often I see students using iPads (and technology in general) in the language arts classrooms, but I don't always see it in the math classrooms. Yes, the word "technology" is seen through out the ELA Common Core and not seen through out the Math Common Core, BUT that doesn't mean you can't use technology in math!

So, how can I use an iPad in a math classroom? There are several apps out there that can enhance math standards in the K-6 classroom.

COUNTING AND CARDINALITY

~ Monster Squeeze - This app is by Everyday Mathematics. This app provides two students to practice comparing numbers and working with number line.

OPERATIONS AND ALGEBRAIC THINKING

~ Numbler - This is one of my daughter's new favorite games. This app is just like Scrabble, but with numbers. The player plays against the "computer" to create number sentences using the number tiles provided.

~ Tiny Chicken Learns Math - This is one of the many great apps from Tap to Learn. In this app, Tiny Chicken has to cross obstacles by solving equations.

~ Pick-A-Path - This app is by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Students select a path in order to create a number that meets the target. This app gets harder has you master each level.

NUMBER AND OPERATIONS IN BASE TEN

~ Tiny Chicken Learns Rounding Numbers - Students practice rounding numbers to the ten-thousandth place while helping Tiny Chicken open the vault.

NUMBER AND OPERATIONS - FRACTIONS

~ Virtual Manipulatives - I like this app because it provides students with endless opportunities to practice working with fractions, decimals, and percents.

~ Pizza Fractions - How doesn't love working with pizza? Students can practice their fractions knowledge with pizza.

MEASUREMENT AND DATA

~ Graphs - This app provides both instructional time and practice time. Students can learn about various graphs and then practice what they have learned.

GEOMETRY

~ Geoboard - The name of the app tells you what it can do!

There are also some great general math apps that can fit in any of the domains about. 

~ Marble Math & Marble Math Jr - These two apps provide students with a variety of math problems they practice in a pinball type game.

~ Math Champ - I don't know too much about Math Champ, but from what I have read and seen I need to download this app quick!

What apps do you use in the math classroom?

I should have recorded that...

Have you ever taught a great Common Core lesson/activity and wished later you would have recorded it?  Well, we wish you would have recorded it too!

There are several ways you can record yourself or just your lesson for sharing purposes.

(1) Swivl - www.swivl.com
The Swivl is a great device I came across while watching an App Smackdown session from the Tech&Learning Tech Forum in March 2013. The camera, in a nutshell, connects to your IOS device and records a video including voice of you and whatever is behind you. The video can then be shared via YouTube, iTunes U, and just saved to your computer for later use.

(2) Jing and Screencast-O-Matic
These are just two examples of ways you can create a screencast or video of whatever is on your desktop. You can create a screencast to model or teach a concept to your students. Perhaps you want to explain how students can perform a search on KidRex or NetTrekker, a screencast will allow you to make a reference students can use over and over again. You can also create a screencast on how to solve a two-step word problem using one of the resources above and your IWB software.  The ways and ideas are numerous!

Jing can be downloaded from http://www.techsmith.com/download/jing/default.asp on both PC and iMac.  Jing will allow you to create a 5 minute movie for free. Five minutes is a lot of time if you really think about it. Movies can then be uploaded to screencast.com for further sharing.

Screencast-O-Matic is a website that allows you to create a movie that can be saved to your computer or shared. (www.screencast-o-matic.com)

(3) ShowMe, EduCreations, ScreenChomp, Explain Everything
These are four examples of iPad apps that allow you to create screencasts on your IOS device and share out to others. Each program has its pros and cons, including how the screencast can be created and how it is shared. Educreations, for example, wants you to create an account for sharing. The screencasts you create can be private, if needed.

ShowMe
http://www.showme.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/showme-interactive-whiteboard/id445066279?mt=8&ls=1

EduCreations
http://www.educreations.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/educreations-interactive-whiteboard/id478617061?ls=1&mt=8

ScreenChomp
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/screenchomp/id442415881?mt=8

Explain Everything
http://www.explaineverything.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/explain-everything/id431493086?mt=8

Now that the lesson/activity is scheduled, you do you do?  You SHARE IT!

If you want to share these with your students, create a reference folder through DropBox or Google Drive that contains all of the screencasts. This allows the students to have access to those reference materials.

If you want to share these with other teachers (which we want you to do) then you could create a blog or an iTunes U account.

As teachers around the US are continuing to understand the Common Core State Standards, we need to band together and learn/share with each other.

more iPad apps

Yesterday I worked with teachers in grades K-5 and realized my elementary list would not be beneficial to my 5th grade teachers. I have created an upper elementary teachers list and modified the middle school teacher list.

iPad Apps (just a sampling...)

We are rolling out iPads in our schools for students in grades K-8. Although this is not a 1-to-1 program, it still puts new technology in the hands of students.

In order to get ready for training, I have created a small sampling of iPad apps (mostly free) teachers can download for students to use. This is not an end all, be all list by any means, but it does give teachers and students an introduction into what is available!