iPad Application Lists for Special Education

Posted by Erik Hilton in Apps, Free on April 6, 2011

As we look for ways to use our iPads with our special education students, here are a few lists that I have found.

It seems like a waste for me to come up with a list of good apps, when here are four resources.  One of the great things about our new connected world is that resources are available and many times you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

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Evaluating Online Information

Posted by Erik Hilton in Free on February 18, 2011

I was given this resource by one of our teachers today and believe it is something that may help many teachers.  For students, finding reliable information online can sometimes be a challenge.  Even for some adults, finding reliable and good information online can be a challenge.  It’s not always as easy as typing something into Google and clicking the first result.

Enter RADCAB, a great resource for evaluating information online.

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Top 200 iPad Apps

Posted by Erik Hilton in Free, iPod on February 8, 2011

We will soon be rolling out some iPads for our Special Education departments in each school.  We believe this will an outstanding variety of tools for our students.  Many of the popular iPod Apps have iPad counterparts that take advantage of the larger screen and form of the iPad.  A variety of the tools we use such as Evernote, Dropbox and Google Apps will also work with the iPad, making it a welcome addition to our technology resources.

Some of the Apps available in the App Store are specially targeted to Special Education and will take the place of a variety of tools we currently use.  We are excited to begin this program. I will be posting more about this topic as we get into using them.

If you are curious, I was given this list of the Top 200 iPad Apps.  It’s an interesting collection and will surely be a valuable resource as we evaluate of purchasing opportunities.

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50 Open Source Apps That Replace Popular Education Apps

Posted by Erik Hilton in Free on January 31, 2011

In a previous post, I mentioned the availability of Free/Open Source software for schools.  Here is an excellent list of some specific apps and what they could potentially replace in paid software.

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Top 40 Podcasts for Teachers

Posted by Erik Hilton in Uncategorized on January 14, 2011

Podcasts are an excellent way to learn about topics of any kind.  The obstacle that many people find is that there are so many podcasts out there that it can seem difficult to find just the right thing.

Finding time to preview podcasts can be a time-consuming task, but once you find some good information or one that covers a topic that interests you, it can be a great reward.

Podcasts can be listed to via a computer, iPod or other portable music player.  Some podcasts even have apps for smart phones that will stream them directly to your phone.

We have published a few podcasts resources, but here is a link to a good collection of podcasts directly for teachers.

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Break Time

Posted by Erik Hilton in Uncategorized on December 10, 2010

Just a quick note – posts will be suspended for a while until after the new year.  If you would like to contribute to this form, please contact us.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Search With Flair

Posted by Erik Hilton in Free on November 20, 2010

We all know Google and how powerful it is.  Sometimes, though, changing things up can be fun.  Here are a few search engines that add some flair to a regular search.

  • Search Cube – A visual search engine
  • Boolify – An educational Boolean Web Search Tool
  • Doodlebuzz – A search engine to draw for your results.

These are not necessarily any better than Google or other search services, but they can make the act of searching just a little more interesting.

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Multimedia Projects and Content

Posted by Erik Hilton in Free on October 16, 2010

As we look at multimedia projects, we find that some of the loops and tracks in GarageBand is a limiting factor.  We also can’t encourage our students to upload their personal music collection and use because the brings up questions of copyright.  Short of creating original music and content, there do exist some solutions in the legal realm.

Here are a few resources for digital multimedia content that is free via a Creative Commons license.  CreativeCommons is a way for content creators to protect their work, while at the same time giving others the freedom to distribute, make derivative works and remix their work.  For example, the content throughout this site is protected by a Creative Commons license.

Music seems to be a popular item that is tricky.  Whether making a podcast or photo montage, music is what can get copyright troubles started.  To avoid these potential problems, check out jamendo.com.  It is a site of free to download and other works licensed under a Creative Commons license.

If you are looking for other resource such as photos or videos, try search.creativecommons.org to search for content that is licensed via Creative Commons.

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Edutopia – Another Great Resource

Posted by Erik Hilton in Blogs, Free on September 4, 2010

Edutopia is a product of the George Lucas Educational Foundation.  Within the web site is a vast amount of resources, networking opportunities and insights.

According to the web site,

The George Lucas Educational Foundation is dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process by documenting, disseminating, and advocating for innovative, replicable strategies that prepare students to thrive in their future education, careers, and adult lives.

Check it out, it’s a great resource!

Oh yeah, one of our valley teachers was featured on Edutopia in January of 2010. Check out the article on 1:1 laptop programs by La Junta High School teacher Chris Ludwig.

You can also follow them on Twitter @edutopia

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iLearn Technology

Posted by Erik Hilton in Blogs, Free on July 17, 2010

The web is full of educator blogs like this one.  There are unbelievable resources available for free.  One of t he things I would like to begin doing is making a list of notable blogs on this site.  How that shows up in the future will probably be in the form of a separate page that links to these, but for now, here’s a great one.

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