14 Smart Tips for Using iPads in Class

By Matt Levinson at Mindshift

For schools that are about to deploy the iPad as their main mobile learning device, there’s wisdom to be learned from others who’ve gone down that road. At Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera, Calif., the first year of a pilot iPad program for sixth-graders has just ended, and some clear lessons have emerged. Here are some tips to help smooth the transition.

1. START CLASS WITH GOOD HABITS. Start out the day with a learning challenge like Google a Day to get students using and searching the iPad in a productive manner, instead of coming in to homeroom, advisory, or classroom and going into their own applications or searches.
2. ASK KIDS FOR HELP. Don’t hesitate to lean on kids for tech support and assistance. Tapping a student to come up with a way to fix a problem with the iPad is a great way to empower students, and gives them a sense of ownership.

 Click here for the complete article.

Students and the stress of Multitasking

Whilst it may be great that we can do a number of things at once on our computers and smart phones, there is a growing phenomenon happening amongst professionals and students who are facing burn out because they never switch off from their digital worlds.

This is a big deal for young professionals and students and is a great starting point to discuss the importance of relaxation and switch off time in our lives.  Many professsionals are actually learning that less can be more when it comes to computing.

The infographic below examines the stresses assocaited with multitasking.

Via: OnlineUniversities.com

Is Microsoft Surface a better tablet than the iPad for schools?

Yesterday, with minimal fanfare Microsoft introduced the Surface Tablet which is essentially the first product Microsoft has released to directly compete with Apple's iPad.

Yes it may well be three years late, but there is no doubting that 'Surface' is looking to be not just a competitor of the iPad at home, but in an enterprise situation such as schools the surface tablet maye some clear advantages the iPad.

Some of these reasons have been listed below that might make you want to seriously reconsider your next purchase of hardware for your school.

1:  Flexibility - The Surface tablet is both a standalone tablet exactly like the ipad with a beautiful screen, camera and tens of thousands of apps; essentially all the features of it's competitor but it is also a 100 percent operational windows 8 PC without any limitations of a desktop or notebook.  This is the first ever do everything tablet.  And to further enhance the experience Microsoft has built in a full keyboard and mouse into the case of the Surface tablet.  - Every box Ticked.

2:  Printing:  Yes it prints, to any printer remember it's also a windows Based PC.  It can Print without any need for AirPrint or the like.

3:  Fully networkable:  Surface can log into any windows based network with the exact same functionality of a desktop or mobile PC. 

4:  Microsoft Office:  Not a scaled back or mobile version but the complete version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Onenote, Outlook and the works.

5:  Flash:  As great as HTML 5 is.  Flash is still one of the webs greatest technologies and is still being improved and enhanced.  All of your old flash sites will work as well as the new HTML 5 format too.

How to keep up with the latest

It is that time of year again...  The time to remind all those people who stop by at Edgalaxy for the latest news in tech and teaching but have not yet truly connected with us to do so...

Don't worry, it wont hurt and will take less than a minute to ensure you are always up to date with the latest tech, tools and toys in teaching.  Here's how you do it.

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5 Historical Misconceptions Explained - Maybe?

This is an interesting video to share with your students for a couple of reasons in my eyes. 

The first one is that maybe there is a great deal of truth to these new found facts and raises the question of why do we find the need to alter history to suit our needs?

And secondly, how do we ensure our history is truthfully recorded and left for future generations to analyse?

We are already seeing living history challenged and debunked such as the absolutely nonsensical debate that possibly man never landed on the moon. Then certain sectors of society claiming that that Jewish Holocaust of WW2 never actually happened.

They are 20 years only a slick youtube video away from a classroom full of kids believing them, and carrying that story on as fact with no eye witnesses to challenge them.

History should be a recount of factual events for generations to reconstruct and analyse, not a dangerous game of Chinese whispers. 

Plenty of great discussion material for teenagers.

10 sleeping facts every student should know.

Napping may save your life

A multi-year Greek study found napping at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes resulted in a 37% lower death rate due to heart problems.

Can't sleep? Don't stress

Even if you can't fall asleep for a nap, just laying down and resting has benefits. Studies have found resting results in lowered blood pressure, which even some college kids have to worry about if they are genetically predisposed to high blood pressure.

Pick the right time

After lunch in the early afternoon your body naturally gets tired. This is the best time to take a brief nap, as it's early enough to not mess with your nighttime sleep.

It makes you smarter

According to Dr. Matthew Walker of the University of California, napping for as little as one hour resets your short-term memory and helps you learn facts more easily after you wake up.

Abandon all-nighters

Foregoing sleep by cramming all night reduces your ability to retain information by up to 40%. If you can, mix in a nap somewhere to refresh your hippocampus.

Drink coffee first

The way this works is you drink a cup of coffee right before taking your 20-minute or half-hour nap, which is precisely how long caffeine takes to kick in. That way when you wake up, you're not only refreshed, but ready to go.

The ultimate nap

According to Dr. Sara Mednick, the best nap occurs when REM sleep is in proportion to slow-wave sleep. Use her patented Take A Nap Nap Wheel to calculate what time of day you can nap to the max

Sugar is not a good substitute for a nap

When we are tired, we instinctively reach for foods with a high glycemic index, but after the initial energy wears off, we're left more tired than we were before.

Missing sleep is worse at your age

For people ages 18 to 24, sleep deprivation impairs performance more significantly than in other age brackets.

Everyday Etiquette for Parents and Teachers

1. When you drop off your child at his classroom, give him a hug and a kiss, tell him you will see him after school and leave! A crying child will stop crying about 14 seconds after mom leaves the room. It is difficult for a teacher to take control with mom attached to her shoulder. Multiply that by 20 moms and you've got the picture. That also includes having a powwow with other moms outside the classroom door.

• Teacher's response: "All right, Mom and Dad, class is about to begin. Please help your child by getting on with your day. Good-bye."

2. Drop off time is not the time for an impromptu conference. If there is a question or concern, schedule a time when you can visit the teacher or call and request a meeting.

• Teacher's advice: Don't feel compelled to engage in a mini conference every time you see the teacher. Simply say, "Good morning."

3. Don't arrive at the classroom early and expect to drop off your child. This is the time that teachers use to prepare and deal with last minute details for the upcoming day.

Read the entire article here.

Career advice for Teachers seeking work outside the classroom.

First off let me just say that I love my job as a teacher.   But I am also very glad that I have had the opportunity to work in over 20 unique positions before settling on teaching over ten years ago as it gave me an excellent sense of perspective and skills which still apply in my career.

I also acknowledge that it is highly unlikely that in 20 years I'll still be teaching as I am just not the type of person who sets up shop and settles in for life.

So if you are considering leaving teaching be it for a couple of years or permanently what are your genuine alternatives, especially if you still want to use your trained teaching skills?

Below are some tips that may help you with this process and I know both you and your students will be better for this experience if your heart is no longer in teaching or you simply need a change of environment to appreciate how much you actually do love your current job.

Identify industries that have a need for individuals with education and training backgrounds.   This is a huge corporate area today as companies know that if they invest in quality professional development staff are happy and stay longer in their role.  Don’t feel as though you should be confined to educational publishing companies, test and measurement service providers and educational assessment specialists.

Submit your resume to both education and non-education related companies. Any boss worth a pinch of salt knows a teacher is a highly organised and creative individual and upsell this in your resume.

Be honest - It is the 21st century and most people will change career paths approximately three times during their working lives.  Don't hide the reasons you are looking for a new career but play on all those strengths and talents that you brought to every class, meeting and report you wrote.

Focus your sights on your skill specialization. English and Language Arts certifications can lead to jobs in writing, editing and copywriting. Science certified individuals may consider working in a lab.  But then you just might want to be the most organised Starbucks employee in history too.  The worst mistake you could make is to do the same job for half the pay, no holidays and little respect from workmates and clients.

Search the web for both education-related jobs by all means but get out amongst that local community you have been contributing too all along.  Chances are if you were a quality teacher then people will be aware of the skills and background you bring to a job.

Finally - never undersell yourself, Teachers are incredibly diverse and multi skilled professionals working with some of the best and worst 'clients' in society.   Don't be afraid to spruke your skill base and enthusiasm to give anything a try that might interest you.

Good Luck.  Lifelong education doesn't have to happen within the walls of a classroom for all of us.