Create Beautiful eBooks

Drop your manuscript into Vellum and it will open as a book divided into chapters. While in Vellum, you can edit your book or start writing a new one. Books may be shared with family and friends and uploaded to online stores. There’s a free download to try the software; if you wish to purchase, the cost is $49.99 for a single book, $99.99 for three books, and $149.00 for five books. The product was developed by Pixar veterans, so one wonders if Vellum may evolve to include interactive capabilities appropriate for exciting eTexts? In the meantime, it looks like a very nice solution for students and educators who want to create good-looking eBooks.

The Wireless TabCam Streams, Records, Presents, and Shares

TabCam, a wireless streaming camera, works with iPads, Android tablets, and computers and can present live video with annotations, highlighting, and more without “being tethered to the camera.” The device captures lessons, which can be used for future reference and for use with substitute teachers and students who were not present for the lesson. The advantage of having a wireless device that has a battery life of eight hours can’t be underestimated in a mobile classroom. Take a look at the videos, which describe using TabCam for flipped and blended instruction. The price on the Touchboard site is listed at $527.99. Kathy Hagar, a Director of Technology on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, tells us that she purchased several at a price of about $515 each and that her teachers love them. If interested, do a query on the AVer site.

Differences Between e-Readers and Tablets

The CNET Community, in its Tablets Forum, offers a comparison between e-readers and tablets—information that parents of your students may find helpful this holiday season. Advice is given in answer to a question from a parent of an eight-year-old who wants to know what is the best mobile device for her child. Answers include visiting an electronics store to have a salesperson demo different products, finding products that fit the interest and age level of the child, going with tablets because they have more functionality, and thinking about going to the library for traditional books if all that is needed is a book reader. Some CNET members suggest that if parents already have an iPhone, for example, that purchasing an iPad or iPod Touch is a good idea.

Parents should also keep in mind that schools are successfully putting digital devices to work in classrooms with younger children. Tablets have more flexibility for learning activities and, dressed in a sturdy case, they usually can endure time in backpacks and accidental drops. Of course, checking with school personnel about devices that children can bring to school and use in the classroom is always wise advice.

iPads Dominate School Market

According to the Education Week article, “Educators Weigh iPad’s Dominance of Tablet Market”, iPads claim nearly 94% of the school market in tablets. Keith Bockwoldt, Director of Technology, Township High School District 214 in Illinois, tells of a flood of visitors to his district who are anxious to learn about the 1-1 iPad initiative. Although, Bockwoldt says his focus is on transforming learning, not on the device used, those who observe the Township program go away “sold” on the power of iPads.  With the expense of iPads, some schools are looking to less costly devices such as Google Chromebook, Microsoft Surface, and the new Google Play. But, David T. Vinca of eSpark Learning says, “It’s our belief that the most engaging education experiences for students are being created for the iPad.”

While the market today is dominated by the iPad, with the fast-moving pace of technology, who knows what types of devices will be in our classrooms of the future?

Classroom Timer Apps

If you are looking for a classroom timer that will work with the iPhone, iPad, or iPad Touch, the Classroom Timer Pro ($1.99), by Walsall Academy, is easy-to-use and good for timing classroom activities. There is a free version of this product, but the Pro version had better reviews. Glen Storey offers Silent Light—Classroom Timer and Decibel Meter ($3.99) for the iPhone and iPad. It uses the microphones on iPhones and iPads to monitor noise; you can share its screen through projectors and Apple TV.   Designed to help students with management and productivity, ClassTimer by Ventura Educational Systems ($.99) requires iOS4.2 and is compatible with iPads.

Free High Quality Flipped Video Tool

Bridget McCrea’s article in t|h|e Journal tells how teacher Natasha Rausch struggled with finding the right app for her lessons. When introduced to Knowmia Teach, she not only embraced the tool, but also made suggestions for improvement to its developers. She wanted to “incorporate a camera and video recording option so that teachers could record themselves over the slides...” FaceTime was added and other changes were made to make the product even better. Rausch says that the app helps her not only with homework videos, but also with materials to help students review content, lessons for use when she must be absent, and much more.

Projects: Photos Editing on the iPad

As students look more and more to report creation on mobile devices, a photo-editing tool has become a must. SnapSeed is a photo editing app that comes highly rated and at the right price—free. It has a simple interface and options such as crop, size, rotate, fill and stroke, text, wrap, gradient, fade, lens flare, and camera fill. Although, it is not a full-featured photo-editing tool, it’s said to be able to create wonderful images. SnapSeed was named the best mobile photo app of 2012 and the iPad App of the Year. If you are looking for photo-editing apps that have more options, take a look at Photogene ($2.99) and Adobe Photoshop Touch ($9.99). These and other photo apps were recommended by John Paul Titlow at Readwrite.com.

 

For additional recommendations for photo-editing apps, search the App Store for Fun with Filters.

Math Bingo

Fun with math for Kindergarten through Grade Three, Math Bingo ($.99) by ABCya.com, motivates children to learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with five Bingo games. The games range in content level from easy to difficult. Bingo Bugs are given as rewards; a scoreboard displays student scores.  Three bonus games come with the app. According to a review in Education World, Math Bingo “is a great app to supplement regular math lessons.”

Fun Gumdrop Cases for Mobile Devices

Rugged protection in gumdrop colors -- Gumdrop’s Drop Tech Series cases provides virtually indestructible protection for mobile devices such as iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and other devices and tablets. The cases feature dual material construction and reinforced rubber corners for shock absorption. Replaceable screen covers are included, as is access to ports and controls. There’s even a Designer Series, which includes Gumdrops in blue with pink, orange with blue, purple with pink, and yellow with blue. Of course, the cases also come in basic black. Then, there’s Army Green, red, etc . . . . The cases have been put to use in schools, by fire departments—even on fire engines, by medic units, and with children with disabilities. Volume discounts are available for schools. 

According to our six-year-old quality testers:

Zoe: “I have a pink and blue one, which is really pretty. My mom says if I drop it, it won’t break, but I’m not supposed to drop it.”

Lebby: “Mine is black. I use my iPad all the time because I make movies and read books with Raz-Kids. The Gumdrop is really safe for my iPad, and that is very important.”

Shake the Proteins

Simply shake and tilt an iPad to learn about proteins that break down sugar in cells. Sugar Shake includes a free version with eleven levels and an interactive menu. The app helps older students understand how chemical reactions work at the molecular level. All they have to do to get points is to set off a chemical reaction. Fun.