Chirp QR

     Chirp QR is a great resource for the classroom!  This app allows users to quickly and easily record audio and get a QR code that is linked to that audio.  When you open the app, to get started, all you have to do is tap on the bird to record.  When finished, tap the bird again.  Then, tap on the QR code icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.  That's it!  The app automatically generates a QR code that is linked to the audio, and it saves the code to the camera roll on the iPad.  Once it is in the camera roll, it is simple for students to upload it into eBackpack, where teachers can print the code and pair it with student work.  This would be an awesome tool for creating interactive classroom or hallway displays of student work.  Simply have students record themselves reading a book, talking as if they are an important figure from history or a literary character, or reflecting / explaining a piece of their writing or artwork.  The possibilities are endless.  Anyone with a QR code reader on their device can walk the halls, scan the codes, and hear directly from the students!  I love simple but powerful tools!

Virtual Field Trips

If you are looking for a way to thoroughly engage students and reach the modification and redefinition levels of the SAMR model, then check out some virtual field trip options. Virtual field trips can take many shapes and forms. There are lots of tools and resources out there for you and your students! Let’s talk about a few!

1. Nearpod: Nearpod is an app for the iPad and a website on your MacBook or PC. Once you go to the website to create an account, you can select free lessons and virtual field trips to share with your students. When you launch a lesson, you control what is on the students’ screens, so they will not see the next slide or photo until you switch to it. Some of the free virtual field trips offered at Nearpod are: Explore the World’s Tallest Building, Exploring Communities, Explore the Oceans, Caves, Native American Housing, Patriotic Landmarks, Mars, Ancient Egypt, and more. Once you as the teacher click to start the trip, students look at their iPad to view the scenes. They can spin around, look up and down, and zoom in and to really experience the sights. It is AWESOME and free!

2. Google Street View: This is a free app for the iPad and iPhone that allows students to visit places all over the world. While you change the view by tapping on the iPad screen instead of moving the iPad, you can still look behind you, up, down, and all around. You can even zoom in on images. The Google Street View app is free. In addition to viewing locations within the app, users can also create a 360 degree image. So, when you take that trip to Cancun, Mexico, you can create a virtual field trip for your students for free! Check out this link below for more information about Google Street View: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gnDzesRFyU.

3. 360 Panorama: This app is my favorite for creating your own virtual field trips. This is because the images you create can be uploaded to their website. This provides you with a link that can be shared with students. They do not need the app to view your 360 degree creation. Two other bonuses to using this app to create virtual field trips for your students are that you can put your link into a Nearpod lesson and you can embed it into an iBooks Author book! Now the virtual field trip truly is a part of your classroom materials and can be accessed again and again! Of course, you get what you pay for. This app costs $1.99, but it more than pays for itself in the experiences it provides!
Please let me know if you need help or are interested in more information on how to do this!!!! Check out this link to a 360 image of the NHS library . . . I did it in 5 minutes so it is a rough image but it will give you an idea of how it works. Click on the link and be sure to tap on the little circle in the left hand corner of the image to enable the gyroscope.

http://360.io/ZQ7jD3

Please let me know if you decide to use this app! We’d love to build a repository of images for virtual field trips for NWCS students by sharing our 360 photos in one place. :)

Creating on iPad

      Over the past three years, we have learned so much about using iPads in the classroom!  We now use the device for content delivery in eBackpack, for real-time feedback and assessment with apps like Padlet and Socrative, and for communicating with outside experts using Skype, Google Hangouts, and Twitter!  Students are also creating using the iPad.  They use iMovie, Keynote, and Shadow Puppet for presentations and create their own books and comics using Book Creator!  Here are a few more ideas for you to think about over the holidays!

Video Collage and Digital Storytelling
    
     There are so many ways to incorporate these creation activities in the classroom!  Students can create a video collage in iMovie or Shadow Puppet using a series of images.  They can record their own narration along the way and insert subtitles to label important information or terms.  This would be a great way for them to demonstrate their understanding of historical concepts, novels, vocabulary, and more!  Using copy-right free images from the Library of Congress and other sites, students can create powerful movies to show what they know, recreate historical events, and teach their classmates! They can create interactive book talks, commercials, or public service announcements!  They can use images and record themselves reading their original stories or poems, too!

Keynote

     Many people have been using Keynote in their classrooms for presentations, but it can be used for much more!  Because students have Keynote on their devices, teachers can put a slide or presentation into eBackpack, and students can open the file in Keynote on their devices and edit it.  Some teachers have put slides with images on them and students then create their own versions of it.  Perhaps they label a diagram, explain a concept, or point out examples of literary elements.  Students can create animations using the build and magic move tools in Keynote, too.  They can make interesting stories with their own uniquely-created characters.  Keynote could also be used to create post cards with pictures of places important in history.  Students could then send the post card via email or share it in eBackpack and ask their peers to investigate that particular location and to come up with important facts about it.

Aurasma

     Students and teachers can use Aurasma to create a learning wall full of target images that when scanned launch informational videos about the image.  Historical newspapers, primary source photographs, diagrams, math problems, vocabulary words, mentor text book jacket covers, etc. could all be the triggers on the wall that launch student-created iMovies, book talks, PSA's video collages, Doceri whiteboard tutorials, and more!

eBackpack File Sharing

     If your students have created something in digital format, and you would love for other students to be able to see it, you can create a group for the project in eBackpack.  Call it oral history interviews, Book Creator books, or iMovies.  Then, add your students or have them join the group with a code.  In the class settings, turn on "Member File Sharing."  Now students can load files to the group and view other students' work as well.  Be sure to tell students what to name their files so it will be distinguishable among all the other creations. You can also turn on "Member Commenting."  This will enable students to be able to comment on others' work as well.  Since their comments always include their names, it will be simple to see who says what.

Instaweb Webpage to PDF Converter (iPad / iPhone App)

   

      Instaweb is an app for the iPad that will convert any website or article to PDF quickly and easily. The app also allows you to take your newly created PDF and move it to another app, such as eBackpack, Google Drive, Notability, Evernote, and more!

     When you open Instaweb, you are immediately taken to the Google search page.  In the search bar, type in the website you would like to convert.  For example, you can search for Fox News, CNN, etc. For language arts teachers, this also works with Inspire Databases.  When a research article is only available in HTML full text and not PDF, you can create your own PDF.  

      Once you are on the webpage you want, tap in the lower left hand corner on the set of horizontal lines.  This will clean the webpage up and remove ads and other clutter from the page.  Next, tap on PDF in the lower right hand corner.  To get to your newly created document, tap on Files at the bottom of the screen.  Now, when you tap on the PDF you want, you can choose to move the file by tapping on the sharing icon (the box with the arrow up). 

     If you want to organize your PDFs within the app, you can create folders!  While on your Files page, tap on My PDFs.  Now, tap on "Tap to add a new folder."  Name your folder.  If you have some files you'd like to move to a folder, swipe from right to left next to the file.  Tap on the folder icon. Tap on your PDF file, and then tap on the folder in which you'd like your PDF to be saved.

     Instaweb is a great tool to use while gathering materials for students and lessons!  If you didn't grab this awesome app while it was free, email me, Angie Smith, and I will arrange to get it for you!

Real Time Collaboration in Pages and Word Online

For those of us who have loved the real-time online collaboration that Google Docs has offered us,we now have additional tools we can use for the same results!  Once an iPad is updated to iOS 10, and Pages is also updated, students can collaborate in real time on their devices!  This is an wonderful feature for which many of us have been waiting a very long time!  Although it is an AWESOME upgdate to Pages, there is one drawback.  The person who creates the original document to share must have iCloud storage available.  Many students and teachers have limited or no iCloud storage space, so that is going to be a challenge.  The good news is that only the person who originally creates the document needs to have the space.  The collaborators do not have to have iCloud storage available.

To start collaborating in Pages on the iPad, start a new document (or open an existing one) and tap in the upper right hand corner on the three dots.  Tap on "Collaborate With Others."  Tap continue and then choose how you would like to send the invitation to your collaborators.  Email is a great option! Type in the email addresses of the people you want to share with, and send the invite!  Once a collaborator receives the email, all he or she needs to do is tap on the link in the email.  That link will open the document in Pages, and the collaboration can begin!  It will be important for everyone to have a chance to practice, as collaborating on a document in real time can be a challenge.  Giving each person his or her own space on the document helps a lot!

In addition to real-time online collaboration in Pages, we can also collaborate in Word online.   Students need to login to their Office 365 account. They can use the webclip on their iPads or go through Safari.  Beneath where it says Collaborate with Office Online, they will need to click on Word. Be sure to tell them not to click on Open Now to open and work in the app.  To collaborate online in real-time, they need work in their browser, not the app.Now they can start the document by choosing New Blank Document. When they are ready to share, they simply tap Share. Now they begin to type in the name of the person with whom they would like to share. Names will start to pop up as they type. They should select the person with whom they would like to share. Then hit share again at the bottom of the screen. The invited person will receive an email with a link to the document.  They should click on the link and choose to edit in Word Online.

Real-time collaboration brings many awesome possibilities into the classroom!

Aurasma

           

          Aurasma is an exciting tool to use in the classroom! This app / website allows you to create interactive images in just three steps. When users open the Aurasma app, they simply hold their device over the printed image, and they are suddenly taken to videos, PDFs, and websites! Students can hold their device over a picture of a math problem and watch it come alive with directions on how to work through it. Then, they can double tap the screen to be taken to a website where they can practice with the skill. Students can scan a picture of a polar bear and suddenly find themselves watching a video of a polar bear running on ice. The best part is that students can create these “auras” too!

          To begin, we will start with the website. Go to: https://studio.aurasma.com/home. Sign up for a free account.You will probably want to set up a username and password that are simple and generic so that your students can login and use the account as well. Your username will be how parents and others can follow your account, so you might want to make it something easy to remember. To be sure you get access to all the awesome features, click on My Account in the upper right hand corner. Under Account Administration, click on Enable Features. Click the box where it says Web Overlays and then click Upgrade. This is completely free. Now you are ready to create an Aura.

1. In the upper right hand corner, click on the plus sign next to where it says Create New Aura.

2. Click on the plus sign to upload a new trigger image. This is the image that you plan to print (that students will scan to launch the video). You can take a picture with your iPad and airdrop it to your Mac or download from the internet! Name the image, and choose BROWSE to get the picture from your files. Once you have your trigger image chosen, click Save. Then, click next.

3. Now you will choose your Overlay. This is the video or PDF or website that will appear on top of the trigger image. Once you have chosen the video, click save. If you’d like, you can add more actions to the Aura. In the box to the right, click Add Actions. Under where it says When Overlay is tapped, click on Add Action. Now you can add a URL that will take students to a website. Just paste the URL in the box. Then, click SAVE. 

4. Now you are ready to share with students! Click Save in the upper right hand corner. Then, click share. Now your aura is ready to be viewed! 

Parents and others can view your Auras by downloading the app (Android and iPhone) and searching for your username. Once they find you, they simply need to follow you. Once this happens, anytime you print a trigger image or post one, users will be able to experience the aura. The Aurasma app can be found in the app portal on student iPads. Creating an Aura on the iPad is just like doing it on the web. It will be easier if students all use the same login and password ( the username and password you used to set up the account). This way, they can add their own auras and view others. 

To create an Aura on iPad: 

1. Click on the plus sign in the upper right hand corner to create a new aura. 

2. Take the photo of the image you want to be your trigger image. 

3. Now choose your overlay (video). 

4. Share.

Aurasma makes it easy to create amazing images in just a few short, simple steps! 

Overlays can be videos from Doceri, iMovie, or the camera roll. Teachers can download videos to their Mac or Pc and use those videos as overlays in their Auras. The possibilities are truly endless!

Panorama 360

Teachers, are you planning a summer vacation trip to the Grand Canyon, Washington D.C., or New York City?  Now you can bring those experiences back to the classroom and to your students in the fall.  Using an iPad app called Panorama 360, you can take 360 degree pictures of the sites you visit and upload them to the Panorama 360 site.  You will then be given a URL to your pictures.  That URL can be placed in an iBooks Author Book or a Nearpod Presentation to create a virtual field trip for your students!  Virtual field trips are becoming more and more popular with the use of tools such as Google Cardboard, Nearpod, and more.  Now you can use Panorama 360 to create your own customized field trips.  To get started:

1. On your MacBook, go to https://bookry.com and set up a free account if you don’t already have one.
2. At the top of the screen, go to Author Tools, and choose to start a new book or simply open a book you have already created.
3. Name the book (if you have created a new one) and click create. You are only creating a book to have somewhere to store the widget you are going to create. So, don’t stress about the name!
4. On the right hand side, click on Add Widget.
5. Choose the 360 PanoramaWidget.
6. Now, go to your iPad and download the 360 Panorama app from the app store ($1.99).
7. Use the app to take your 360 degree photo.
8. Once you've finished taking your photo, you will need to touch the 'Upload' button and upload your photo. (You will need to create an account the first time you do this).
9. When your upload has finished you can now touch 'View my panorama'. This will open your panorama in Safari. Write down the URL of the photo listed at the top of the screen.
10. Go back to your MacBook to the Bookry website and the 360 Panorama page.
11. Type in the URL of the photo into the box where it says Panorama link. 12. Click Save.
13. Now, click Download.
14. Open your iBooks Author book.
15. Open Finder and go to Downloads to find the new widget you just made.
16. Once you find the new widget, drag it onto your page in iBooks Author. At this point, you might want to edit the caption and title above the widget.

That’s it! You now have a Virtual Field Trip widget in your iBooks Author book for students! If you want to use the field trip in a NearPod presentation, choose to add content from the web. In the box that pops up, type your photo’s URL. Now students can experience the field trip in multiple places!