Monthly Archives: May 2012

May 9 2012

App Review: The Poetry App

Cost: FREE

iTunes: Download

Age: High school (or any age that is studying one of the 14 poets)

Subject: English

Fun? It’s definitely a different way of looking at poetry.  The production value, so to speak, is high for a free app.  If you happen to be studying any of the 14 poets included, it’s going to be more fun than reading from a book.

Easy to Use? Like all iPad apps, it might take about two minutes of self-navigation to get your swipes and touches in line.  After that, it’s easy.

Get the job done? For the somewhat limited number of poems it offers (being pretty critical), it does a great job.  It’s nice to have an actor reading each one and the graphics and interface make it fun to use.  I find when studying poetry with more advanced students that I want to go into more depth.  There must just be something frightening about that simple text on a page because many students wind up either being afraid of it or not liking it (or both).  This app could help.

If I had an iPad in class I’d

1) Teach the poems in the app.  They’re good poets and a good variety.  Work them in.

2) Have students make a similar project for a poem using the app as a model, especially with access to video equipment.

Use it in a cool way?  Tell us about it in the comments.

Final Grade: 3.0

May 7 2012

Video Story Problems – Math and Science.

Video math problems are simply put one of the coolest ideas I’ve ever seen used with the iPads.  To see students have to present and solve a math problem using iMovie blew me away.

You’ll see a couple examples of it below but the premise involves a camera, a math problem and some creativity.  Each student has to illustrate a concept or problem visually.  The videos normally range from :30 seconds to two minutes and really drive home the points.  Once uploaded the students can even review them at home from the web.

Below is a video from a third grader.  The videos give the students a chance to not just solve the problem but come up with their own problem then solve it.

In terms of training, most teachers used the iPads or video cameras as part of their getting to know you activities at the beginning of the class.  That way, the students could get used to the camera, editing, etc. and not lose any class time.  It’s rather incredible how quickly the students pick up the editing and use of the iPad.

Most teachers created their own video channel on Vimeo or Youtube and uploaded the videos themselves after they were done, just make sure all your students have signed the consent form.  Plus as you continue to do this project, you’ll accumulate a nice collection of awesome videos!

I’ve also attached a Video-Story-Problem-Planning-Template that I’d recommend your students use.  Most teachers that use video stories stressed the importance of a clear road map for the video along with a script and storyboard.

Teachers also allowed their students to use flip cameras or their own cameras.  They could also bring it in on smartphone or flash drive and then have the teacher upload it to the vimeo channel.

Some cool examples I’ve seen?   Ratios of clovers in lucky charm marshmallows or percents in tipping.

If you’re really interested, I STRONGLY recommend you watch the video below.  It’s 15 minutes long but will really help you move forward with this in your class.

Complete Instructions

The Complete Video Math Problems Web Channel