DoodleCast for Kids is an iPhone/iPad drawing app specifically designed for preschool children aged 3-6. The app provides visual (pictures and word bubbles), and audio prompts to support their drawings, and also allows them to create drawings from scratch.
Children can use the different coloured markers to draw, and their voice is automatically recorded once they touch the screen. Their narrated drawings are recorded as videos (up to 3 minutes long) within the app, and these can be easily exported to the iPad camera roll by tapping “Save”.
Screen-casting is capturing what is on the screen of your iPad and adding a narration or music sound track. You can capture a drawing showing how the picture develops. This works well in teaching mathematics where the teacher can demonstrate the calculation as if they are working on an interactive whiteboard. The whole process gets recorded and can then be shared and replayed.
Show Me is a simple screen-casting app suitable for early childhood through to early secondary students. It provides a whiteboard, pens, eraser, and support for importing images.This app is extremely user-friendly; simply “Tap to record, and start talking”.
Completed screencasts are uploaded to the ShowMe website, where they can be shared (for free) with a unique weblink, and embedded into class blogs or webpages. The ShowMe website features a community collection of screencasts for all learning areas, which teachers can use in their classes for free.
Requires WiFi?: Yes, to upload finished products. It is not possible to save completed work to the iPad.
Management Tip
To use this app in class, teachers recommend creating a shared class / teacher ShowMe account, and establishing a standard naming convention (using students’ names) to identify student work. (Tip via EdTechTeacher Tip & @nate_kremer)
Educational Applications
Create a repository of video lessons for your class / school wiki / website
Explain mathematical thinking, written work
Present an argument, or explanation of a topic (literacy)
Enable students to demonstrate their learning, comprehension skills, and understanding of topics across a wide range of learning areas.
Make the pages come alive by using augmented reality.
Augmented reality combines computer graphics and images of natural objects to make a 3D image or simulation. This is used in advertisements and texts indicated by a large A icon.
To use this app in class, the students can create their own video footage to link to an icon. This is good for learning journeys to showcase project work.
It can also be used outside in treasure hunts and discovery trails, where icons are posted around the school. When students scan the icons using the Aurasma App or the iPad the Auras they have created will spring into life giving the audio and video commentary.
This post is an answer to Jamie’s question today about working with video footage. This is not an app but I hope this does what you need Jamie. You may have to do this on a computer and then upload to the iPad. I am still searching for an app to do this. Embed plus lets you crop, loop, annotate and embed video footage. Let us know how you use it in your class.
In one of the classrooms in the Tips2012 Project, the students will be creating videos. We wanted ways for them to annotate and customize the video.
I tweeted for help, and Jamie Forshey, an Instructional Technology Coach and the writer at EduTech for Teachers blog sent us this response:”I have my students using Vlix. They have made some pretty neat videos on this one.”
Vlix is a free app that allows you to personalize video. You can add text and music and a wide range of special effects. Vlix allows the easy sharing of video via email, Facebook, twitter and YouTube. You can add the video to an online community site www.vlixvideo.com
Thanks Jamie, I think we will have fun with this one.
All Australian Schools are in the process of preparing to implement the Australian National Curriculum. Previously each state in Australia designed and implemented their own curriculum, which led to problems in resourcing. It has been difficult when students and teachers transferred interstate.
Information and communications technology (ICT) is a dimension embedded in each area of this curriculum in all grades.To implement this, schools and educational institutions will need to use technology in different ways. The weekly visits to the computer lab and shared use of desktop computers will not allow the flexible. ubiquitous integration of technology required by the new curriculum.
Mobile technologies will allow students to gather data and express their learning anywhere, anytime. This prompted this research project – teachers will be using mobile touch technologies in the form of iPads to integrate technology (ICT) in every learning area.
I love Ted Talks, short videos from inspiring speakers “ideas that can change the world. Now there is a special Ted Ed YouTube stream for educationTEDED”
Visit the Teded youtube site for inspirational videos. This is a good source for stimulating videos that can be used in class learning challenges.
If you teach media or have students making videos on iPads then this TEDED video by Kevin Allocca is worth watching. It discusses why videos go viral and explains how trends work in new media.
If you have a great lesson you present in under 10 minutes go to TEDED. They could help you to animate it and make the video.
The new iPad is being released in 11 more countries today Click here to watch the video of the “New iPad” launch.
There are some pretty exciting features – the quality of the video you can create is close to professional level standard. My research uses video diaries and live classroom videos as part of data analysis. So I can use the iPad to shoot my high resolution videos needed for the project. Plus there is an updated iMovie app for quick editing.
Another favourite new feature is that you can use the “New iPad” (iPad3) to create your own wireless hot spot in your classroom and connect five WiFi devices, which is very useful for teachers who don’t have a robust wifi network at school.
There is no Siri (voice activation), but according to the launch video the new iPad has voice dictation. This will be great for students with special needs. In other news, the iPad 2 prices have dropped, making then more affordable for schools.
We are using iPad2s in the Tips2012 research, and the teachers and students are doing so many fabulous things to engage students and promote deep learning and creativity. we are currently encouraging teachers to contribute to our iPad research survey, where you can also enter our draw to win a $50 iTunes voucher!
Skitch makes it easy to draw, capture and annotate screenshots on the iPad – taken from your iPad camera, web pages, photo roll, or Google Map. Skitch makes it easy to explain something, give instructions, or communicate ideas using images. (See Skitch for iPad)
Skitch is integrated with Evernote, and saved images can also be shared via AirPlay, email, twitter, or saved directly to the iPad photo roll. There is a Mac desktop apllication too.
For: Teachers, Students (Middle Primary – Secondary)
Wikipanion is a simple, easy to use app for navigating Wikipedia on the iPad (without the need to launch Safari). It provides easy search and bookmarking functions, and offers the option to save images directly to the iPad. It comes with the built-in WikiDictionary for easy reference.
Tools 4 Students is an incredibly useful iPod Touch / iPad app, providing teachers and students with 25 editable graphic organisers to organise their thinking and comprehend new information.
Students can save their work on their iPad, export to Dropbox, or email completed organisers to their teacher, who can share them via Google Docs or print them off. The app can also be projected onto an whiteboard for whole-class demonstrations and activities.
Strip Designer is a comic-strip creation app for the iPad which transforms your own photos (or Creative Commons Internet images) into comic-book style images through the use of strip styles, speech bubbles, stickers, and frames. Finished products can be saved to the iPad photo library, emailed, or shared on Flickr and other social networks.
The iBooks iPad app is so much more than a glossy bookcase. It is a place where you can share ePub e-books, PDF files, and student (and teacher) created resources; enabling users to curate & create a library of digital reading material on their iPad.
For: Teachers, Students, Administrators
Cost: Free
Requires WiFi?: No for reading. Yes for uploading and sharing content
Educational Applications
Share student work (in PDF or ePub format) with parents and classmates as digital portfolios or yearbooks
Use the Book Creator app, or iBooks Author (Mac), to create collaborative class books and teaching resources
Store levelled readers (e.g. www.readinga-z.com) for use in reading centres
Use the built-in highlighter and sticknotes to practice reading comprehension skills
Share digital textbooks (requires iTunes 10.5.3 or later)
Teacher Tips: How do I add material to iBooks?
To add PDF and ePub materials to iBooks on your iPad, you can import files via iTunes, import from Dropbox or GoodReader, or save files directly from Safari. It is possible to save and share students’ work in ePub format from other applications, such as Pages for Mac.
You can purchase quality eBooks from the Apple iBooks Store, or find free eBooks on Google, which may be a better option for educators.
Teachers may also like the dotePUB browser bookmarklet (available for Safari), which enables users to save ANY website as an ePub file, which can be added to iBooks via iTunes. (Tip via iPads@Burley).
Puppet Pals HD is a highly regarded animation / storytelling app for iPad, which is suitable for K-10 students, and has a variety of educational applications.
To use Puppet Pals, students select characters, settings, and a title; and then narrate a story while animating the characters and props using their fingers. You can create your own backdrops and characters using pictures from your Camera Roll, and export the finished video files to iMovie, YouTube, etc.
The app itself is free, but we highly recommend purchasing the Director’s Pass (about $3 via in-app purchase), which allows you to download and use a wider choice of characters and backdrops, including any future content.
For: Students (Early Childhood – Secondary), English Language Learners
Comics and cartoons have a HUGE range of educational applications across the primary and secondary curriculum, and can be easily integrated into a range of subject or topic areas.
Comic Life for iPad is an easy-to-use comic / cartoon creation app for students from Grades 1-12. It provides a range of templates, and enables users to import pictures (from their Camera Roll, or Creative Commons sources on the Internet), captions, and special effects (thought balloons, onomatopoeia).
This app mirrors the Windows / Mac version of Comic LIfe, and allows users to print, email, or share their comics on Facebook. Comic Life for iPad also features an “in-tray” option, which allows users to share comics with other iPad users nearby).
DoodleCast for Kids is an iPhone/iPad drawing app specifically designed for preschool children aged 3-6. The app provides visual (pictures and word bubbles), and audio prompts to support their drawings, and also allows them to create drawings from scratch.
Skitch 
Strip Designer
