Top Ten Reasons You Need (and Deserve) to Be An Apple Teacher

 

Apple Teacher is a excellent program of free professional learning Apple Education released last summer in the United States. Through a digital badge system, Apple recognizes each mini-course you successfully complete. The mini-courses include badges in Pages, Keynote, Numbers, iMovie, GarageBand, Productivity and Creativity in either iPad or Mac strands. I highly recommend completing matching mini-courses in both strands concurrently, i.e. complete the "Keynote for iPad" and the "Keynote for Mac" at the same time as it helps you understand the nuances of a program based on the device you are using. There are also coding badges available in the fabulous Swift Playgrounds covering basic coding concepts through implementation in the classroom. So why sign up?

1. Rich resources. Each mini-course has a fabulous multi-touch starter guide with step-by-step instructions, classroom examples and helpful tips.
2. Self-paced. No one needs to know you are learning in your pjs! Learn what you want, when you want. 
3. Build a strong foundation in the Apple ecosystem. Forming a solid understanding of iWorks (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) and learn how they fit together and extend learning.
4. The Apple Teacher community (#AppleTeacher) is a wonderful way to grown your Professional Learning Network (PLN).
5. Different perspectives. In the Apple Teacher program, you are learning from the best of the best. These teachers use technology in such interesting ways and you will gain new perspectives on how to use technology in your classroom. I never thought about using Numbers to organize students' research for example.
6. Evolution. Apple Teacher is a program that learns and grows with you. The recent addition of Swift Playgrounds is the first example but I am quite certain we will see more added to this program.
7. Classroom ideas. You will learn not only how to master certain apps but also gain new ideas in how to implement in your classroom. Real life, practical learning!
8. Magical. When you go outside your comfort zone, that's where the magic happens. Perhaps you have been hesitant to learn spreadsheets, or coding, or GarageBand (I know I was!) - well, this is the perfect program for you. Stretch your learning and take a risk - - you never know where it may take you.
9. Professional recognition. In most fields today, professional learning is key and education is no exception. What's lovely about the Apple Teacher program is you are earning professional badges from a highly respected educational company which will transfer no matter where you go.
10. It's FREE!   

 Apple Teacher is expanding around the world!

Fake News - Resource Roundup

Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see. ~ Benjamin Franklin

It's truly a blessing and a curse, our students have immediate and broad access to  information yet they do not know how to discern fake information from real information. In our current political climate, the situation is exacerbated. When I first began to teach digital fluency at NBPS, I always began with Eli Pariser's Ted Talk on filter bubbles. It's a powerful piece but never seemed to really sink in with students as much as it did with our faculty. However, in today's world where our president complains of fake news, students are now more aware of the issue. However, the question still remains, how best to teach our students to discern the fake from the real? 

Some recent sources on this thorny issue may help.

New Literacy (adapted from lessons byErinn Salge & Kathy Rettberg) NEW
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZQrk_Nr1MKRfz-ff32P8nM8K6RCxtcN_fHsZLOTcdkQ/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000#slide=id.p7

NPR: Fake Or Real? How To Self-Check The News And Get The Facts
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/12/05/503581220/fake-or-real-how-to-self-check-the-news-and-get-the-facts?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=politics&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews

The Challenge Facing Libraries in an Era of Fake News  http://theconversation.com/the-challenge-facing-libraries-in-an-era-of-fake-news-70828

Can Your Students Spot Fake News? Here are 47 Links to Help http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.ca/2017/01/can-your-students-spot-fake-news-here.html?m=1

Media Literacy and Fake News Lesson (C-Span Classroom) http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2016/12/media-literacy-fake-news-lesson-plan.html#.WHZj_TssRUM

History Teachers Unite! We’ve Got Fake News To Fight  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/nick-shepley/fake-news_b_13530506.html

Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/articles/most-students-dont-know-when-news-is-fake-stanford-study-finds-1479752576

And my favorite resource from John Spencer who provides some great ideas and guidance to help teachers implement a guiding philosophy in class rather than just a one shot lesson.  Fake News Is A Real Problem: Here's How Students Can Solve It   http://www.spencerauthor.com/2016/12/fake-news-is-a-real-problem-heres-how-students-can-solve-it.html/

 Any other fab resources out there? Let me know in the comments!

Book Creator - The Ultimate App for World Language

Have you wanted to find a simple yet creative way to have your world language students demonstrate their understanding and articulation of whatever language you teach? Book Creator to the rescue! As I have written before, it is truly the Swiss army knife of apps!

Recently, my colleague Amy Jonas, the chair of our World Language and Culture department began  an amazing project with her Spanish 3 students. The students wrote a simple yet entertaining animal story  and illustrated these stories (sometimes with hilarious photos of their pets). The students were required to write the text in Spanish and attention must be paid to the correct spelling and grammar. The students had a very easy time adding the text and illustrations to their books in the Book Creator app. All of their work and illustrations had been saved into their Google Drive so that Amy could provide feedback as the projects progressed. Once that part was completed, the students went through a simple cut and paste operation into the Book Creator book. The app learning threshold is low yet the app is so versatile as to allow them to add photos, clip art, video or to draw illustrations within the app. The students then presented their stories in class, reading the text aloud in Spanish as they turned each page (this is an easy feat since we are 1:1 iPads with an Apple TV connected projector in each classroom). The students were assessed on the creativity of their stories, their presentations and on their correct use of language.

Part two of the assignment is to go back into their books and add audio to each page. Once the books are finished, these high school students will bring their books over to the Lower School students to share. The books will be published to the community as well. Giving our students an authentic audience validates their work and provides a higher purpose and motivation to write a stellar story.

Below are some illustrations showing the students work: