Using the Classroom iPads to Create and Submit Assignments

I’ve been asked by several teachers lately how students can submit assignments from the iPads to the teacher.

The problem with many of the solutions you find online is that they are designed for schools that have a 1:1 iPad program where each student has his/her own iPad all the time.  In our current situation, where we share classroom sets of iPads that may be in your classroom today but in another teacher’s room tomorrow, and where students/teachers can’t install a particular application that stays logged in all the time, it is harder.  Another problem is that many apps require students to login using email addresses (which many of our elementary students do not have).  Add to the mix that we are limited to Free or Low cost apps, and the task seems difficult indeed!

However, I do have several suggestions.  There are several free APPS that allow the teacher to create a class and allow students to create accounts in that class without using email addresses.  The two that come to my mind immediately are Edmodo and Showbie.  Once you have created your class account, you give the code to the students so that they can join your class.  Any assignment they create or upload will be visible by you.

I know that Showbie will actually allow you to create documents from within the APP.  I’m not sure about Edmodo.  If not, then there are other free APPS that can then be shared with or opened in Edmodo or Showbie (or even copied and pasted into Edmodo or Showbie) in order to submit them to the teacher.   I use a 99-cent app called Notability and also the free apps, Side by Side and Documents Free (plus others that require permanent email logins).  Several of these apps will also allow you to use the microphone on the iPad to convert speech to text for students who have difficulty with typing (or for those of us too lazy to use the iPad keyboard).

Have some of you found an easier way to submit electronic student documents from the iPad without using email?  Would you share? 

Flipped Classroom free webinar series

Announcing the Flipped Learning Network’s 2013-214 webinar series                             Hosted by Cisco WebEx with additional support of TechSmith.     Registration is now open for the free series starting in November.  Join one or all of these online interactive events.  For an overview of all of the events, click here.  Click on the links below to register for each event. Don’t worry, once you enter your info, the system will auto-fil the others! November, 2013 Collaborative Flipped Learning -- Part I English teachers from opposite coasts, Cheryl Morris and Andrew Thomasson met via twitter at the FlipCon12 annual conference and spent a year creating videos and sharing lessons for their classes. They finally met face-to-face at FlipCon13. Hear how they work collaboratively from California to North Carolina. Wednesday, November 13 at 4:00 pm ET/1:00 PM Free. Register now. December, 2013 Collaborative Flipped Learning -- Part II Zany math teachers Steve Kelly and Zach Cresswell create possibly the funniest, yet informative, videos for their students. With costumes, props and nicknames, the duo works collaboratively at the Mt. Pleasant High School in Mt. Pleasant, MI. Wednesday, December 11 at 4:00 pm ET/1:00 PM Free. Register now. January, 2014 Open Educational Resources in a Flipped Classroom Dr. Beatriz de los Arcos with the OER Research Hub Project at the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University, UK, along with the Flipped Learning Network, conducted an online survey spring of 2012 looking at how flipped educators are using OER. This webinar will cover the survey results and share examples of how teachers are using OER in their classrooms Wednesday, January 8 at 4:00 pm ET/1:00 PM Free Register now. February, 2014 Ready or Not -- CCSS in a Flipped Classroom Jon Bergmann and Jerry Overmyer, flipped learning pioneers, will discuss how the Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Standards are being used in flipped classrooms to ensure students are college and career ready. Newly minted Dr. Overmyer will also present his research findings on flipped math classrooms Wednesday, February 12 at 4:00 pm ET/1:00 PM Free  Register now. March, 2014 Flipping in an Early Elementary Classroom Kristin Daniels, FLN board member and national trainer, will lead a lively interactive session with early elementary teachers and how they flip out with their younger students. Examples of flipped lessons and units in a variety of subject areas will be given. Wednesday, March 12 at 4:00 pm ET/1:00 PM Free  Register now.  April, 2014 Flipping in Higher Education Dr. Helaine W. Marshall, FLN board member and noted researcher, will moderate a session with other professors who implement flipped learning into their college classes. Don’t confuse MOOCs (with absolutely no interaction between instructor and students) with flipped learning where the key to success is the interaction between the learners. Wednesday, April 9 at 4:00 pm ET/1:00 PM Free  Register now. May, 2014 Book Release with Jon and Aaron and others Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams, authors of Flip Your Classroom: Reach every Student in Every Class Every Day (ISTE, 2012), will host a session with other co-authors of the next book looking at subject- and grade-specific flipped classrooms. Hear from nationally known experts in their field on how they became converts to the Flipped Learning model. Wednesday, May 14 at 4:00 pm ET/1:00 PM Free  Register now.  These free events are brought to you by Cisco and TechSmith. It is through their generosity that the FLN can offer these as a benefit to the members of the NIng, our online community of practice.    Visit Flipped Learning Network Ning at: http://flippedclassroom.org/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Cyber Bullying: Should Parents Be Responsible?

The sad case of 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick (see link at the bottom of the page) prompts my question: Should parents be held responsible for minor children involved in cyberbullying?  Perhaps this case hits a little closer to home because I have two daughters .... and one of them is named .... you guessed it ... Rebekah.
Perhaps you'll say, "My child wouldn't do such a thing." or "My children know better."  But, what if your child becomes the target of some other child through no fault of their own, or even BECAUSE they refuse to take part in a group bullying?

Most responsible social networking sites do not allow children under the age of 13 to have accounts.  This is true for Facebook and the other accounts mentioned in the article below.  Some sites even require parent permission for younger teens.  But the truth is that children routinely lie about their age to create these accounts.  That's where parenting comes in to play.  How do children access these sites?  Are they using the family computer?  Do they have a computer in their room?  Do they have a smartphone? So what's a parent to do?

First of all, we should enforce the age limits for our children.  They are there for a reason.  What do we teach our kids if we routinely ignore rules and allow them to lie about their age?  We should not allow them to have social networking accounts before the proper age (even if EVERYBODY ELSE has one). Let's not jump off that bridge with them.

Secondly, we should periodically monitor the internet devices that our students have access to.  I've had many conversations with parents who give many different reasons why their young children NEED smartphones and laptops in their rooms.  There are different opinions on that.  But, if they have one, do you monitor the APPS that they use?  Do you have internet filtering on your WiFi network at home?  Do you check the internet history from time to time?  Did you know that they can use their Wii or XBox to access the internet if you have a WiFi network in your home?  You should require that they "friend" you.  I know that there are ways around that, but every little bit helps. I know a number of parents who have joined Facebook, Twitter, and others just so they can monitor their children from time to time.  My wife has not been shy about telling our children that they should un-friend some people due to the language and content of the posts that show up on our children's pages.

Thirdly, we should have conversations about what is allowed and not allowed online. Do they know what type of information is safe to share online?  Would you put a sign in the front yard indicating that you would be gone for a week?  Yet we often use Facebook to tell all our friends (and sometimes the whole world if our privacy settings aren't right) that we are headed for the beach!

And finally, parents should educate themselves. Many are surprised to learn that 12-year-olds aren't supposed to have Facebook.  How would you know?  Does anybody actually read those terms of service?  There are a lot of good things available on the internet.  Use the internet to help educate yourself on how to prevent the bad!

Link to New York Times article on the bullying-induced suicide of Rebecca Sedwick:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/us/felony-charges-for-2-girls-in-suicide-of-bullied-12-year-old-rebecca-sedwick.html

Another Virtual Technology Conference Coming Up!

DEN VirtCon

Did you know that the Discovery Education Virtual Conference, VirtCon, is coming up soon? The Discovery Educator Network Fall VirtCon will be taking place on October 19th from 9am to 4pm ET. This is one of Discovery Education’s annual flagship community events, and typically has more than 2500 educators from all around the world attend!
This is a free professional development event that gives us an opportunity to support YOU, our community of educators, and help you learn about creative and effective ways to use our services, especially Discovery Education Streaming Plus, Techbook, and Progress Zone.
This unique blended virtual conference features 3 keynotes, more than 20 concurrent sessions and is 100% free to attend.  While thousands of people do attend virtually, the VirtCon is a great opportunity to host a Discovery event at your own school or district!  We provide nationally acclaimed keynotes and presenters, and you can craft your own individualized Professional Development day around it.  Some schools set up a projector and run the sessions all day.  Others display the keynotes, and then take a break to reflect, discuss and synthesize the presentation as a group.

I have other obligations on that day, Saturday, October 19^th and can’t attend.  Otherwise, I would consider organizing a Face-2-Face event where we could participate together and discuss.  If anyone is interested in hosting such an opportunity at your school, I would help you organize it.  Although being able to participate at home in your comfortable clothes is very convenient.  It can be even more fun if you get together to share and discuss the event with your friends (It’s a good excuse to bring a few snacks and order a pizza or two also!).