App of the Week: Compare a Twist!

Last week on the MacReach show, we were very excited to talk about the App of the Week: Compare a Twist! This is one of our new favorite apps because it is interactive, customizable, and great for so many ages and subjects. We just love how you can make the app whatever you need it to be! 

Compare a Twist is an engaging lesson platform that allows students and teachers to leverage learning through the personalized creation of compare and contrast activities, AND... they can be shared! Whether you create an activity right in the app, on a Google spreadsheet, or with the companion stand alone Mac app - it can easily be shared with anyone using the app. (See below for how easy it is to share!)

Here are nine ways we came up with for using the app in the classroom... we saved the tenth spot for you! Tell us how you would use the app!

App of the Week: Compare a Twist!

1. start a discussion about a given topic

2. check for students' undertanding 
3. use it to review for a test or quiz

4. examine characters in a story
5. complete classification activities
6. create math challenges
7. learn about other students (icebreaker)
8. find the pros and cons of an event/person/idea
9. decide what to do and what not to do (i.e. lab safety)
10. IEAR community... how are YOU using Compare a Twist??

We always love hearing from other teachers and students about how they use great apps like this in their classroom!

How to share your Compare a Twist activities:

1. Create Compare a Twist Lesson with Google Spreadsheets

2. Use the companion standalone Mac application "Lesson Editor"

3. Make it right in the app and upload with Google docs!

Compare a Twist for the iPad is $2.99 in the App Store

App of the Week: Scribble Press

This week on the MacReach Show, we checked out a great free iPad app: Scribble Press, an awesome way to easily make books on the iPad! Highly recommended for elementary school!

We brainstormed nine different ways to use the Scribble Press app with students in the classroom... but we need help with the tenth. How could you use this app in the classroom?

1. Create simple drawings. The drawing tools are worth the price.
2. Author simple storybooks using the themes and templates.
3. Make greeting card books for the holidays, or even to research the holidays.
4. Find books to read by other kids.
5. Study genres of books.
6. Peer edit before publishing.
7. Play BINGO!
8. Document a process or provide directions.
9. Create social stories, task analyses, or visual schedules.
10. IEAR community... what do YOU think about Scribble Press?

App of the Week: Project 365

Project 365 is an app that helps you document a year with photos. This week on the MacReach Show, we explored how teachers can incorporate Project 365 into their classrooms! Here's what we came up with:

1. Document a daily EduWin!
2. Gather work samples
3. Create a class yearbook
4. Remember the unexpected teachable moments
5. Progress monitoring for a given subject
6. See a growth chart
7. Create a time Lapse for a project
8. Do a daily discovery scavenger hunt
9. Document the life of the school for a year
10. IEAR community... we want to know what you think! How would you use Project 365 in your classroom?

App of the Week: iBooks!

With Apple's recent update to the iBooks app, we are realizing how much you can really do with the iBooks app! On this week's MacReach podcast (Episode 37), we challenged ourselves to come up with 9 different ways to use the iBooks app with students in the classroom! iBooks can be so much MORE than just an e-Reader app! We'd love to hear what you do/could do with this free app!

1. grammar lessons: located parts of speech with different colored highlighters
2. analyze quotes using the notes
3. information scavenger hunt
4. discover a new author/topic/genre using the iBook Store
5. Copy PDFs of Maps, etc.
6. Free books on a large variety of topics (just search Google!)
7. Collections in the iBooks (add new collections) - learn how to organize digital organization
8. eBook publishing... individual pages from students merged together for a student created textbook
9. share student work! customized portfolio, customized yearbooks
10. IEAR community, we want to hear from you! What are your thoughts on using iBooks in the classroom?

App of the Week: Twitter

Many educators use Twitter as a staple for their own professional development, but this week The MacReach Show took a look at how the Twitter app can be used as a tool in the classroom for students. While there are a plethora of Twitter apps available, we chose to look at the actual Twitter Twitter app. Here are a few ideas that we came up with:

1. Online bulletin board: share classroom news/events/updates/HW/PR Tool for your classroom. If you’re not telling your story somebody else is!
2. Take notes
3. Connect with other classrooms globally
4. Locate resources
5. Follow a historical figure (Charles Darwin is a good one)
6. Tweet as a historical figure
7. Tweet a historical event (Continental Congress)
8. Tweet a Book (War and Peace)
9. Live feed of sporting events... and other school events; effective tool for reaching out to the community
10. How would YOU use Twitter in the classroom? How are YOU using Twitter in the classroom? We can't wait to hear your ideas!

App of the Week: Skitch for iPad

If you haven't heard, Skitch is now available for the iPad as an app! According to the iTunes description, Skitch for iPad allows users to "use shapes, arrows, sketches and text annotation to get your point across fast. Mark up photos, screenshots, maps, and webpages then share them with anyone you like."

This week, we challenged ourselves to see how this can be used in the classroom. Here's what we came up with:

1. Art History annotations
2. Annotated instructions
3. Diagrams
4. Document experiences
5. Identifying objects in photos 
6. Annotating maps 
7. Science Lab
8. Taking data
9. Task analysis
10. How would YOU use Skitch in the classroom! The possibilities seem endless!

To hear more about how educators and students are using Skitch, check out Episode 34 of the MacReach Show on EdReach.us! And then share your thoughts here and on Twitter!

App of the Week: VoiceThread

This week's App of the Week is VoiceThread. This free iPad app is a great way to view and create multi-media albums about any topic in any subject area! We had a lot of fun coming up with ideas on how to use it in the classroom, but we would love to hear your thoughts too!

A few good ideas on how to use the VoiceThread app in the classroom:

1. To boost individual participation for shy/timid students
2. To show what you know! Make interactive media album about any topic in any subject!
3. As a pre-assessment: gauge students’ knowledge before teaching a topic
4. Do a zoom-in inquiry for history
5. Work on the 6 Traits of Writing, like 'Word Choice' (using descriptive language)
6. Offer a differentiated evaluation option. Give kids a chance to express what is in their heads without the language arts struggles getting in the way. 
7. Do participate in school, district, city, and world - wide collaboration!
8. To complete entrance and exit tickets
9. To immerse your students in foreign language!
10. How would YOU use VoiceThread in the classroom? How are YOU using VoiceThread in the classroom?