meta name="p:domain_verify" content="ba6c53820c8bba96ab73b23 A Chick with 'App'titude!: 2013
Welcome to my 'app' site! It is powered by Pam McGhee. I am a crazy chick who loves any type of technology...from iPads, Kindles to Android devices and in-between! Here I will list tips, tricks and ideas on how to use all this information in your classroom!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

LibGuides

Need a place to organize everything?

Try setting up an account in LibGuides.

There is a fee, though, so you might give LiveBinders a try. It is a very similar organization tool and at this time it is free!

A great example and it also has lots of information that will help make your technology experience in the classroom so much better is here: Joyce Valenza LibGuides!

I am amazed at the amount of great information that can be found here!

Check it out!

Tweeting


Are you an avid 'tweeter?'

I need to utilize Twitter more than I am currently doing.

I ran across some information about a great site--Tweeted Times--through an awesome library blogger, The Unpretentious Librarian. What a great find! ...both the site and the information about Tweeted Times. To read more of her post, click here.

Essentially, this site is a real-time personal newspaper produced from tweets that are on your Twitter account. It is rebuilt every hour and is compiled with the most popular tweets within your account.

This would be great to use in the classroom with kids by setting up a classroom Twitter account and linking your students in. Of course, there would need to be guidelines set as to appropriate posts and keeping your tweets on task to the assignment, but what a fun way to share information or use as a review tool in your classroom in preparation for those upcoming benchmarks, end of course and semester exams!

I hope your holidays are merry and bright!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Happy Holidays

The school year seems to be zipping past us and there are so many technology ideas that I still want to work through the library this year.

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Shout out to Naomi Bates...an amazing techie librarian! I am not sure how she gets everything done that she does: book reviews, book trailers, tech advice, app information...and the list goes on!

She posted this on LinkedIn and I just needed to share it!

Integrating iPad Apps Into High School Content.

This is set up in LiveBinders and if you have never used them, they are a great way to organize your 'stuff!'

The apps are divided by subject content. Click away and enjoy!

I hope you will find ones that work for your area!

Oh, yes....Naomi can be found here: Naomi at ScoopIt, Naomi at Google+, Naomi's Blog and Naomi at LinkedIn.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

eBooks

eBooks have recently become my passion. I honestly never thought that I would like reading books on a device. I wanted to 'feel' that paper when I turned each page...I wanted the weight of the book in my hands.

Well.......I have definitely changed my way of thinking about reading! I love borrowing books from The Tom Green Public Library out of San Angelo and from the Houston Public Library. If you want to know how to do this from central Texas, just let me know and I will be glad to send you the step-by-step instructions.

I also follow two websites, each of who send me a daily email on free and bargain ebooks of the day. They are BookBub and Digital Book Spot.

I just ran across this on Pinterest: http://www.livingfrugaltips.com/finance-and-tech/17-best-websites-to-download-free-ebooks/

I am definitely going to have to check it out!!!!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Great Library Blogs

I am always excited when I find great library blogs because libraries are my passion!

Here are some great blogs to follow:

Ms O Reads Books

Naomi Bates

Pamela Thompson

Redhead Resourceress

Top 25 Librarian Bloggers

Biblia, the Warrior Librarian

Mundie Moms 

The UnPretentious Librarian

If you find others, please share by commenting below!

Pinners to Follow

If you are interested in educational pins, the best way to get started is by following some trusted 'educational' pinners. Once your home feed starts populating educational feeds, it is easy to find other pinners with the same interests.

Listed below are some great pinners to start your educational pinning:

Deb Henkes - http://pinterest.com/dhenkes/

Indiana eLearning - http://pinterest.com/INelearn/

Theresa Cullen - http://pinterest.com/theresaacullen/

Jon Samuelson - http://pinterest.com/ipadsammy/

Eric Sheninger - http://pinterest.com/esheninger/

and, of course, me!! LOL!!

Pam McGhee -  http://pinterest.com/DigitalDiva201/

For all you librarians out there...I just found a great pinner:
Zelia Carson -  http://pinterest.com/zmcarlson/


Want to add even more great pinners? Who are the people above following? Click on their "Following" tab to see if you want to add those to your following list.

Have you found a really great board or pin or pinner? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Remember: You don't have to follow every board of each person you follow!

Happy Pinning!!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

So Many Apps

It seems like every workshop or conference that I go to, someone has 3 or 4 apps for the iPad and/or Android platform that they just can't live without.

This past June, Connie and I and another friend, Carol, were able to attend an amazing technology conference in San Antonio: ISTE, 2013! If you ever get the chance to go, it is worth every penny!

We had some awesome sessions. In this post I will share a few apps and how to use them in the classroom. Watch for a later post that will share some great websites and other technology tools for your classroom!

Dropbox - First 2 GB free. Sometimes your phone provider will have more available for free when renewing your phone contract. Access and share your photos, docs and videos from any device.

CloudOn - brings Microsoft Office to your iPhone and iPad and links it to Dropbox, GoogleDrive, Box, SkyDrive. Free version and a purchased version. Use Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point on your iPhone and iPad to create, review and edit documents.

lino it - online stickie service that offers stickies and canvases. You can post, see and peel off stickies on canvases. Post memos, pictures and videos you take with your iPhone, an even files as stickies on a canvas. Set due dates on your stickies and receive a an Email reminder on the morning of the due date. Stickies with due dates can be viewed in Google Calendar or Outlook.
     Classroom use:
          Make a bulletin board for students
          Students can post reminders for homework, projects, etc.
          Post questions to review
          Put on links for students to access
          Assign projects with directions - great for research projects
          Post a question, students post a response...then have students go back a few days later and responds to someone's post
           Post a short video clip and ask students to watch and post a response
           Build a collage of historical photos, students caption them, why important
           Post a picture and ask student to identify
           Write one word that describes a literary or historical character and an example of when that one word description was evident
           Students can post short book reviews/teasers
           Use this with teachers: have them post ideas, reviews, etc for iPad apps, books, videos, etc.

Class Dojo - great online and iPad app for classroom management
         


Monday, August 19, 2013

Pinterest Basics




Pinterest
What is Pinterest?
    
Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organizing the things that inspire you…kind of like an online bulletin board or scrapbook.
Why Pinterest?
     Organization
     New Ideas
     Tips, Tricks, Shortcuts
     Lesson Plans
     Collaboration
Pinterest Bascis
   
Account – You must have one. Think about what you would like your Pin Pseudonym (name) to be. You can also use your current Facebook or Twitter
accounts.
     Pin - A pin starts with an image or video you add to Pinterest. Any pin on Pinterest can be repinned, and all pins link back to their source.
     Board –a place you organize your pins by topic. You could pin ideas for remodeling your bathroom to your House Projects board, for example.
Boards can be secret or public, and you can invite other people to pin with you on any of your boards.
How to
     How to create a board -  There are basically two ways to pin. If you are viewing your boards, simply click the ‘+’ sign above the words ‘Create a board.’ If you are actually on a pin (you clicked the PinIt button) and have found that you really don’t have a board that works with that pin, simply click on the pulldown menu and then choose  
     How do I pin? – It’s easy. If you are in Pinterest, you can add a pin from a website using the
Pin It bookmarklet or upload an image right from your computer. If you are in your Home Feed on Pinterest, simply scroll over the picture you want to pin. Locate the red ‘PinIt’ button and click on it. From the pulldown menu, choose your board, add a comment and click ‘PinIt’ again.

Organizing
     Boards - Think of names that you can remember. Some pinners are quite creative with their board names. Others use very basic names.  Group them…alphabetically…subject…color?
     Home Feed -  Access your home feed by clicking on the word “Pinterest” that is located at the top of the browser page.
     Following – Follow an entire pinner or choose specific boards to follow.
Collaborating  
     You can allow others to pin to one or more of your boards and let them contribute ideas, information, opinion.
Public Boards – unless you designate your board as secret, each board will be public.
Secret Boards – only you and those you invite can see these boards and any content and comments connected to them.

Mobile apps – are available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

Pinterest has a blog! - http://blog.pinterest.com/

Pinterest Etiquette



Pinterest Etiquette
Be a good Pinterest citizen:
     Don’t just randomly pin. Look at the pin first and make sure it really exists and is appropriate.
     Change the description. Make it notable.
     Pin from the outside. Add more content into the community.
     Re-comment if you try it.

Be kind & respectful. There are real people on the other end of your comments
Be Yourself. Pinning things that interest you or express who you really are is more important than having lots of
     followers.
Give credit. If you pin someone else’s idea, give them credit.
Stay alert. If you see inappropriate content, report it back to Pinterest.
Pinterest is growing and changing. Let them know what works and what doesn’t or if you have an idea that might
     make Pinterest better.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Pinterest for Teachers and Students

The more I explore Pinterest for educational purposes, the more I am fascinated by all of the amazing, creative material that I find...and so much of it is free!

You can collaborate with other teachers, share boards, share ideas, develop lesson plans and so much more!

Check out this website by Wendy Piersall. She developed the Classroom Jr website and has filled it with so many teaching resources--information, ideas, crafts, etc., all for the classroom teacher.

Wait! But what about your students? Visit The Woo! Jr and The Woo! Jr Pinterest boards to involve your students in that creative journey!

Student Created eBooks

I just read an awesome blog entry about students creating their own ebooks. 1st through 5th grade students authored their own ebooks!

Once the books met a specific criteria, the school librarian cataloged those books into the school's online catalog so that they were available for other student and teachers to read! How awesome is that?

Students used an app called Book Creator and had to research their information.

If this sounds like a project that you are interested in, visit this site for more detailed information:
part 1:
http://www.follettsoftware.com/LibraryConnections/archives.cfm/date/2013/7

part 2:
http://www.follettsoftware.com/LibraryConnections/archives.cfm/date/2013/8

Samples of 1st grade authored ebooks:
http://blog.springfield.k12.or.us/weslibrary/mrs-pattersons-ebooks-2/

Criteria for creating an ebook for the library collection:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_ysUQ7z-O38q87IFlqiNyZ5a-pUYiLEqzniZbKzLW9o/edit

Friday, August 9, 2013

Summer time....is over! Back to school

Wow! Where did the summer go? After such an awesome conference in San Antonio, it just seems like the days have flown by!

Connie and I will be presenting at Brownwood on Tuesday, August 20. This time, we hope to include a session on Pinterest in Education.

Check back for more information and get ready to rock this year!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

ISTE 2013

Connie and I just got back from an amazing technology conference in San Antonio! And, of course, the Riverwalk just added to all of the fun!

Watch our blog for information on some of the great sessions we attended.

If you haven't found all of the great Pinterest posts on education, it is time to get started...and you can even collaborate on Pinterest!

Google Drive is simply awesome and we will be posting some basic 'how to's' so you can get started using this resource!

Naturally, we also attended several app presentations and have even more ideas on how to use these in your classroom!

Check back soon! I will begin posting as soon as I recover from all of the great food we had from those Riverwalk restaurants!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

QR Codes

QR codes are becoming increasingly popular in the classroom.

For an easily adaptable lesson to any subject matter, visit this site: Learning With iPads.

Use this with World Geography to study a specific country or countries, English to study poetry or specific authors, or even Foreign Language class to find translations or cultural information.

Don't overlook the power of QR Codes!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

50 Really Useful iPad Tips and Tricks

I have not had a chance to really dig into this website, but so far everything I have read about the various tips and tricks with an iPad has been very useful!

I also notice a link on the site for 80 Free iPad Apps for 2013 and 70 Best Top iPad Games for 2013!

Be sure to visit this one for some great ideas!

Free iPad Webinars

A great site that occasionally features free iPad and app webinars is Simple K 12.

Of course, they would like for you to pay a subscription fee to be able to access all of their other content, but if you sign up to get on their email list, you will receive notifications of several free webinars.

You can also search their site to see what else is free.

Webinars for specific activities

I have been watching some pre-recorded webinars by Kathy Schrock. She is so good at showing you examples of how to incorporate specific apps into Bloom's Taxonomy and then using them in the classroom.

Be sure to check out her website here and also her updated Taxonomy Wheel that I included in an earlier post here.

Once on her website, scroll down until you see:

ONLINE TOOLS AND MOBILE APPS TO TARGET BLOOM'S TAXONOMY
EDWEB WEBINARS SUPPORT MATERIAL 2012-2013



She has some great ideas!!

Apps...apps everywhere!

I am constantly amazed by the number of apps that are available and how they can be adapted for the classroom! Just doing a general browse the other day on the Internet, I ran across this: 20 Amazing iPad apps for Educators.

This also has some excellent tips:  K-12 News, Lessons & Shared ResourcesBy Teachers, For Teachers.

Transportation, copyright, iBooks and more

What a great idea for a transportation unit for Kindergarten students:

http://langwitches.org/blog/2013/05/18/amplification-transportation-survey/

This site is filled with ideas for using technology in the classroom and also pulling in iPads and various apps: http://langwitches.org.

You can also subscribe to receive ideas and updates by email.

I have an iPad...now what?

I found a great site for step-by-step information when you are just starting out trying to incorporate iPads and apps into your classroom.

What do you do if you only have one iPad? How can you use it with a classroom of kids?

What can you do if you have a room full of kids and you are actually lucky enough to have a class set of iPads.

What are some great teacher apps? ...student apps?

What are some basic tips for the iPad?

This site has some great information that can help answer all those questions...from teacher apps, student apps, iPad 101 and more!

Be sure to visit IPAD 4 SCHOOLS.

Pinterest and Education...especially using apps and iPads

Are you a Pinterest aficionado? I admit...I am completely addicted. I have lost track of how many boards I have and how many people I am following!

If you want to find out what Pinterest has for apps and iPads, be sure to follow this user: http://pinterest.com/techchef4u/ipad-lessons/

These two ladies really have some great ideas!

I have added several iPad apps and how to use them in the classroom to my board: Awesome Apps.

I have a few more ideas in this board: Educate.

If you have not discovered all the great tips for education, technology and classroom ideas, check it out soon!!!!

Coleman Technology Institutue

Connie and I had such a great time at the Coleman Technology Institute last week! A big thank you to everyone who helped with 2 great days of learning. The food was great, technology assistance was awesome and everyone was so helpful!

We are off to the ISTE Conference in San Antonio on Friday for 6 days of technology sharing around the world!

Once we are back, watch our site for apps and information we shared during the Coleman Technology Institute. We will also add anything new we came across while attending ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education)!

If you have any questions or think that we forgot to include information that you need, please let us know!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

QR Codes in the Classroom

There are so many things that you can do with QR Codes.

One suggestion is to have your students write a short book review (teaching summarizing) and then post the reviews on your website. Or perhaps, you can talk the librarian into posting them on her library website. The QR codes can be posted throughout the school and you can also attach the QR codes to the book in the library.

Another suggestion is to do a scavenger hunt around the school. Maybe your students have a spelling list, are going on a trip (geography), or some other type of activity.

For a great step-by-step guide to completing a QR Code activity, click here. For more great information using an iPad, go to iPad4Schools.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

iPad Fluency

Have been reading through a great blog by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano!

Her premise is that we need to help our students develop iPad fluency. "Using iPads in the classroom with your students is more than choosing and letting them use apps."

Visit Langwitches Blog to read in detail how we can help our students reach this goal!





Coleman Technology Institute

If you have not signed up for this technology training, I encourage you to do that...and not just because Connie and I are among the presenters! LOL!

It looks like 2 great days of training and fun!

June 11 and June 12, 2012 in Coleman, TX.

Some of the sessions include:
          Google SketchUp for Education and Fun
          Twitter in the Classroom
          Making the Internet Word for You
          Microblogging with Edmodo

and, of course
         iPad Apps and What to do with Them by "Chicks with 'App'titude!

Sign up by visiting the Region 15 Education Service Center Site and clicking on "Professional Development." The session number is 021054.



What to post....where do I post it?

OK, so now we know that all these web 2.0 tools are great! ...and apps...well they are just plain fun. But...and it is a big one...how do we use them in the classroom and with our students? Here is a link to a chart that might help you answer that question.

Check out this link for great information on using iPads and other technology with your students.





Monday, May 6, 2013

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy...how will it help you in the classroom?

Visit this great website that takes this taxonomy and applies it to technology and how to incorporate it into your classroom! A great website to visit for applying this taxonomy to technology in the classroom is by Kathy Schrock: Bloomin' Apps.



Tuesday, April 9, 2013

I just found a great new site by a fellow librarian! She describes herself as an 'all around Nerd,' but visit her blog for great technology tips!

I especially love her link to some amazing apps for the iPad:
App Smackdown.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Sharing Photos on Twitter

Just heard about a great new app that makes sharing photos on Twitter really easy. It is TweetPhoto. Has anyone used this app?

New Presentation coming in June

Connie and I will be presenting at the Coleman ISD Technology Institute this June. We will feature how to use iPad apps in the classroom. This will be geared for all levels. We will have some new apps and also some of the 'old' favorites.

If you have some favorite apps and would like to share how you have used them in the classroom, please share them with us!