It’s no secret that Apple held its World Wide Developers’ Conference in California today. Among the impressive lineup of hardware and software updates revealed was a relatively small feature added to iOS6 that will have teachers dancing in the streets.
All Apple mobile devices, when upgraded to iOS6, will sport a new Single App mode. It’s a very simple feature that, when activated, removes home button functionality. This essentially turns the iPhone or iPad into a single app device, hence the name.
The educational applications for Single App mode are widespread. Without having to hover, teachers can rest assured that students are actually using the math app and not surfing the Web via Safari. Ambitious classes can use the devices to administer tests and quizzes confidently because the temptation to use other apps or the Internet to cheat is removed. In younger grades, accidental touches of the home button will no longer interrupt usage, and teachers will not have to fear inadvertent trips to the App Store.
Single App mode is a pretty minor thing to come out of WWDC 2012, but it is one that will resonate with teachers.
Preschool classroom layouts tend to be much different than traditional elementary school desk arrangements. Spaces are needed, of course, for teacher-led time. But, children of this age are not developmentally ready to sit for long periods of time. They learn through play and interacting with other children. For...
If you’re reading this, odds are you are not one of the 570,000 people in the U.S. infected with the DNS Malware Virus. Congratulations. Yet, while you can still surf around to your heart’s content, ISPs are working overtime to help those less fortunate users find their way back to the information superhighway.
This morning at 12:01 the FBI shut down...
Decades after it was first theorized, scientists have proven the existence of the Higgs boson, or “God Particle” that is responsible for creating mass. The achievement confirms the standard model of physics and can potentially lead to explanations as to how mass in the Universe came to be.
The discovery was made by experiments running through the giant Large Hadron...
I am going to share with you the best advice I can give for creating good rapport with the parents of your students. It comes down to five simple words.
GET BACK TO THEM QUICKLY.
Thats right. If they call you, do everything you can to return their phone call that business day, even if it means calling them in the car on the way home, in between bites of your sandwich or during your planning period. If they send you an e-mail asking a question about their child, reply...
Alexander and the Terrible~ Horrible~ No Good~ Very Bad Day~ written by Judith Viorst~ is a story about Alexander who wakes up with gum in his hair and trips on his skateboard. His mom forgets to put dessert in his lunch box~ and his dentist finds a cavity! Anyone who's ever had a day they'd rather forget will love this cleverly illustrated~ laugh-out-loud account of one boy's day of misfortune. Alexander and the Terrible~ Horrible~ No Good~ Very Bad Day is...
"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence: supreme excellence consists in...
I made it all the way through high school without ever learning to balance a checkbook.
In fact~ it wasnt until my early twenties~ when I started my own business~ that I began to learn the all-important skills of tracking and saving money. If there is one place where our educational system falls short~ it is in the area of teaching young people to handle their finances. Its very possible for students to pass tests~ earn honor roll~ and receive diplomas without...
Assessment of students is a hot topic today in the field of public education. How do we know the students are making adequate yearly progress? Are they learning an entire year's worth of material? Can we fit all that material in and still have retention of the new ideas and formulas?
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A team of neuroscientists is working on a device they say has the ability to “hack” a person’s brain. They are so confident in their work that they will be testing the so-called iBrain on none other than the smartest man alive, Stephen Hawking.
Hawking, who suffers from Lou Gehrig’s disease, is agreeing to test the iBrain in a effort to improve his...
Bullying is a serious thing. And when it happens in schools~ officials must react and act to show that it will not be tolerated. But is it working? Is this effective at all? Can punishment stop the bullying culture that is tainting schools today?
Karen Klein is a bus monitor. She rides school buses with students to ensure that the bus ride is safe and everyone gets where they are going. But on a recent day~ the bus ride turned emotionally painful as a group of boys bullied her....