Friday, January 31, 2014

What to do if you forgot your Mac iOS passcode or your device becomes disabled after entering wrong passcode.

This handy link to Apple support has been very helpful when one of my precocious middle-schoolers decide to passcode protect an iPad on our iPad cart.  It is still a nuisance but this helps make it a little less painless, especially if you have an up-to-date back-up of the iPad in iTunes.  Also do not skip over the tidbits of information halfway down the page under the heading "If you have never synced your device with iTunes, or you do not have access to a computer".  Click the triangle to the left to un-hide some tips and button combinations they may help you in this situation.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Streamus-a Chrome extension that lets you stream music from You Tube.

I was learned about this Chrome extension in January of 2014 when I read an article about it on Tech Crunch by Greg Kumparak.  I've tried it and I like it.  After you install it, all you do is type Streamus, then hit the space bar or tab button in Chrome's address bar (a.k.a the Omnibar) and then the name of the song you are looking for et volia!  It is in beta and totally no-frills, but it is also free. 

Streamus turns YouTube into the music player you always wanted.
Simple, streaming music.  Forget the bookmarks.  Adding videos to Streamus makes bookmarking YouTube obsolete! Your video collections are accessible from any PC.

No need for tabs. Ever accidentally close a song you were listening to? Yeah, us too. Streamus runs behind the scenes so you can enjoy a seamless, tab-free experience.

Discover new music. Streamus helps you explore YouTube. Turn on 'radio mode' and find suggestions based on your playlists!

Share everything. Your playlists and videos are made portable with a simple click. Share music in confidence with share.streamus.com

40 Resources for Teaching Using Animation and Comics ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

40 Resources for Teaching Using Animation and Comics ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

Friday, January 24, 2014

Outliers The story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell is recommended by Georgetown educators for educators because…

“The book shows that sometimes a person becomes successful due to certain life benefits; birth year, where they live, heritage, and or opportunity. If educators notice students with an aptitude or interest in a specific area, they could help those students by providing an opportunity to explore that area.”

Linda Bruynell


There are many factors that contribute to an individual’s success. Gladwell explores how “…someone’s birth date or family they are born into or the opportunities they are confronted with or time allowed or given on the skill contribute towards success.  It is a gift given to some who have taken that gift and seized the opportunity with enough self-motivation to be the best.”
Susan Dubina


Outliers addresses the question of heredity or environment by examining opportunities for success created through timing, family circumstances, intellect, and cultural environment. As educators, awareness of these factors can increase our understanding of the student’s perspective and improve the delivery of our instruction.”
Mary Lyon


“…the book gives great insight on the diversity that we all experience in the classroom (both socioeconomic and cultural), which plays a huge role in how we teach our students, and how our students learn. For instance, with respect to the socioeconomic background of our students – some may come from impoverished families in which parents may not have time or resources to help their children with school, while others come from parents who advocate for their kids (at times too much). Our job is to be able to understand where our students come from, and provide what is necessary in the classroom to help them succeed.

When it comes to our students’ cultural background, this is a tough one because it may invite stereotypes if/when we begin to take into account their ethnic traditions. I suppose it may help us as educators just to be aware of how culturally different everyone is, and as a result, we can provide a variety of learning experiences to benefit all.”

Sandra Schwarzkopf