Beans In The Pod

 More and more I see teachers using blogging as the means of communicating classroom activities and instructions to parents and to the outside world. The questions I get asked the most is how can I use the blog to display student work. Well, many knew they can can post pictures of student work and video of student activity, but no one knew that audio, as in a podcast, can be posted to blogger as well.

Let me introduce you to Podbean.com© I've used this web2.0 tools for a few years now as a means to transfer podcast projects in the classroom into embeddable mp3 players that can be placed with ease on your blog post.

Every year... well at least the last two years the 5th grade team does a science camp where the students rotate to 5 different teachers to learn 4 different objectives. The fifth class, my class, culminated all the objectives into a project class to where student groups had to use GarageBand® to create a song that demonstrated mastery of a specific concept within any of the 4 objectives. The project was recorded as a podcast, turned into an mp3 and uploaded to Podbean.com in order to be posted within a blog. Like this:

Podcast Powered By Podbean

It's very easy to do! Students now can record themselves reading and you can post on your blog for grandma to hear. Students can interview Abraham Lincoln and post for a Social Studies project during President's Day. You can do anything with a podcast, now you can post so everyone can see... I mean hear.

The following link will take you to the Podbean user guide for instruction. Have Fun!
Podbean Help

Toontastic is Fantastic

As I play around with ways to use the iPad in the classroom, I came across a new app that I simply adore. Now, I know that sound a little frilly, but if anyone knows me, my passion for education is centered around technology. One of the areas that I have focused on in the past is digital storytelling using Web2.0 such as Xtranormal, Storybird and Voicethread. I've tried a few beta tools that didn't pan out, but I enjoy the idea of students expressing themselves via technology. Well, I just so happened to come across another storytelling tool that I am thrilled to talk about: Toontastic. Toontastic was designed for educators to implement in the classroom on an iPad by writing a storyline and

adding animation and characters. It includes a study guide with questions such as "How many scenes are in your story?" and "What's the conflict?"

Designed in partnership with Stanford’s Graduate School of Education and Zeum: San Francisco’s Children’s Museum, Toontastic inspires the artist and writer in every child while teaching key storytelling principles that help to promote Creativity at a young age.

Toontastic’s drawing tools bring kids’ wildest ideas to life alongside virtual playsets chock full of pirates, princesses, far away galaxies, and many other characters and settings to spark the imagination.

Cartoons can be shared online via ToonTube, Toontastic’s Global Storytelling Network, to help children connect to friends and family and learn about other cultures, customs, and lifestyles through stories created by their peers around the world.

Put a voice to your students creativity and animate their imagination with Toontastic.

iPad, do you 2?

I waited and entire year with bated breath for the announcement of the iPad2, ignoring all my educator friends who had already implemented the use of the iPad first generation in the classroom. Because I enjoy using Skype and relish face time capabilities with students and parents in and out of the classroom, I wanted a camera on the iPad prior to taking funds from my baby girl's clothing budget. Now, I can't wait to put my hands on the device. Just watching the genuine excitement on the faces of students that are expose to such a powerful tool is enough for me. Definitely check out the video above and see how Apple is changing the landscape of education with the iPad.

If you are already using the iPad, here are a couple of sites I found that review and recommend apps for your classroom that can be used for both your iPad and iPods.

Fun Educational Apps
iEar