Talkboard: Create. Together.

Have you heard of Talkboard yet? From what I have seen, I’m really excited about what’s possible!

Here’s how the company describes their app:

Talkboard: Ideas without boundaries

Talkboard is a collaborative whiteboarding app for iPad that lets you sketch out ideas and work on them with others.

Talkboard is a live, collaborative whiteboard that students can use on their iPad. They don’t even need to be in the same classroom, they can be on different wi-fi networks and still be able to work together.  The app even allows participants to chat live which could make any work done outside of class easier. The final product can be exported as a PDF or as an image. Bonus: the app links to their Google Apps account so if you're in a GAFE school they don't have another login/password combo to remember.

My colleague & I spent some time working with it, and I created some ‘how to’ Skitch pics to introduce you to the app.  I also tried it in class, having my students collaborate in lab groups, using the app to write their procedure out together.  (The purpose of the lab activity was to practice writing a clear, concise procedure.)  It worked well!  The drawback was that there are a lot of colors and pen choices to choose from so some students had trouble focussing on writing their directions & instead wanted to draw. I anticipated this possibility because it’s a risk that comes with trying something new in class; like me, some of them needed time to play around with the app before getting serious.  

Our engineering teacher is probably the most excited to use this app.  He has been looking for a program that would allow students to collaborate virtually on the engineering design process [ask→ imagine→ plan→ create→ improve] but needed more than what Google Docs can currently offer.

So what do you think?  Is there a better collaborative app that allows students to work together at the same time?  Have you looked at BaiBoard?  I wonder if it’s similar?  I’ll check it out.

Get Kahoot!

• What if you could check for understanding as a way to guide your instruction?  

• What if we could get a snapshot of where our students are at so that we could re-teach or review material that the students didn't get?

• What if there was an activity that did these things AND your students were begging you use it in class?

My answer is to Get. Kahoot. Now.

If you’re unfamiliar with it you soon will be.  (It spread like wildfire through our district over the last two months.)  Kahoot is a formative assessment activity that students play like a fun trivia game, using their mobile devices. 

It's not just something you make for them; increase their critical thinking & ask your students to create a Kahoot for an upcoming test.  If they sign into GetKahoot.com on their iPad, through the Safari app, they can create their own.

If you’d like to see the game I created when I introduced it to staff, and use it for your own PD, you can search the “Public” Kahoots for some of the title: “Team Meeting Practice Quiz 2014”.  Then “Duplicate” it and edit it how you’d like.

Here’s your first tip - there are two different sites to know:  

• Use GetKahoot.com to create and show the quiz
• Log into Kahoot.it to play

Scroll through the presentation to see the benefits & get some helpful hints for creating your first Kahoot.

Time Saving iPad Tip From the Genius Team! Make Logging Into Google Apps Easier!

Here is a tip from one of our student Genius Team members -- so simple it's brilliant.

Make your apps email address a shortcut.

Logging into apps associated with Google Drive is time consuming on the iPad this year, isn't it?  Our teachers and students are always having to re-enter everything, including our long apps email address, plus finding the underscore can be cumbersome. Make your apps address, important logins, and your passwords a shortcut and you'll get in so much quicker.

Some of you only needed to hear the words "iPad shortcut" and you've got it.  Some of you will need the skitched graphic that's below, and some of you can check out this presentation, that the student made(!),  for more info.