Apple's Introduces New Licensing Program

Under Apple’s old licensing program, schools had a difficult time keeping their Apple software current and compliant, largely due to unpredictable upgrade cycles on the part of software developers. Schools usually make a big software purchase up front and then forget about it – that is, until something doesn’t work like it used to, and they’re forced to upgrade. And this is typically several revisions down the line. The new Apple Education Licensing Program makes it easier for schools to keep their Apple software up to date by offering a new annual coverage plan, giving schools a consistent set price and date that won’t fluctuate from year to year.

Most importantly, the new bundle structure allows schools to receive new releases that become available during the year. In addition, the Mac Software Collection and professional applications can be licensed for students to use. Under the new program, they can even take their applications with them after they graduate (legally)!

Schools can also choose the way they wish to distribute Apple software: such as their institution’s secured network or physical media kits. Apple charges a one-time, 10% enrollment fee when they sign up for a license, but Apple will waive the fee if schools enroll before December 13, 2009.

Included in the Mac Software Collection bundle is the latest Mac operating system, iLife, and iWork. Schools are required to cover 100% of the institutionally-owned or leased Mac computers, and at-home licenses for faculty and staff can be included in the total count. The Mac Software Collection bundles range in price, from $899 for up to 25 seats; to $199,999 for up to 10,000 seats. Other titles available for license include: Aperture 2, Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Express, Logic Studio, and Logic Express. Licenses for Apple’s IT applications are also available.

10 Uses for a Document Camera in Your Classroom

Our school just purchased document cameras for the entire upper grade. If you're new to the world of document cameras, here are ten ways you can use a document camera in your classroom.

1- Place a book under the document camera. As you read aloud to your class, students can see the picture or even follow along with the text.

2- Place math manipulatives (clock, blocks, money, a protractor) under the document camera. All the students can watch as you or a student work a math problem with the manuliputives.

3- During oral reports, students can place their visual aids under the document camera. Students are inspired to add much more detail when they are aware their work will be displayed in this manner.

4- Place a piece of lined paper under the document camera. Project the lines onto the whiteboard, and students can view handwriting demonstrations with "real paper."

5- Place a digital timer under the document camera. Students can watch the countdown projected on the wall as they finish their assignment.

6- Place a mealworm pupa in a clear container and place it under the document camera. When it's ready to come out, watch it emerge.

7- Show student work samples. Choose a student who will let you edit his or her paper to model proper editing, or show off a "perfect sentence."

8- Use the title button to display the objective on the top tenth of the screen throughout the lesson.

9- Use the freeze button when teaching math. Freeze the image of the problem. While students are working on the problem, unfreeze the image, and Voila! There's the solution.

10- For fun, point the camera at your face and say something - anything! From their next homework assignment to your school's announcements - Kids enjoy watching you get a little silly.

What are some ways you use a document camera in your classroom?

Turn 100 Words Into $100K

What school wouldn't benefit from some serious tech dough? If you're like most tech-savvy teachers or administrators, you've got a wish list a mile long. How would you spend $100K? One laptop per child? Does your school need a new media lab? Just look over the prize list below and consider how all that computer equipment, software, and consumer electronics products could benefit your school and write a 100 word essay about it. That's it.

Just do it! What have you got to lose? If your school is in need of technology, you'd be crazy not to nominate your own school. Anyone 13 or older can enter! What a great challenge for your middle or high school students. What if the 100 word essay that wins is a student from your own class? Wouldn't that be awesome! It's also a great way to involve the parents and family members in your community.

Samsung's Four Seasons of Hope Education Essay Contest benefits U.S. elementary, middle, and high schools through the delivery of new digital technologies and software. Individuals throughout the U.S. are invited to nominate a public or state-accredited private K-12 school to receive Samsung and Microsoft product donations by submitting an essay on "How the consumer electronics, computer equipment and software awarded through Samsung's Four Seasons of Hope could benefit your school."

Grand Prize package (1): Winning school will receive $210,000.00 awarded in the form of $100,000.00 of the following Samsung merchandise:

-Thirty (30) 24" LCD Monitors

-Fifty (50) 16" Screen Notebook PCs

-Ten (10) Color Laser Printers

-Five (5) Multifunction Laser Printers

-Twenty (20) HD Digital Camcorders

-Sixteen (16) Digital Cameras

-Six (6) Blu-ray players

-Two (2) 32" LCD HDTVs

-Two (2) 37" LCD HDTVs and Two (2) 40" LCD HDTVs;

-$100,000.00 of Microsoft software;

-$5,000.00 grant from DirecTV (awarded in the form of a check) and the DIRECTV GOES TO SCHOOL® package;

-$5,000.00 in Best Buy @15 Gift Cards (certain terms and conditions may apply on use of gift cards as specified by Best Buy);

-one (1) Classroom Assistant Dog - not sure how that prize fits in to the mix...

-Total Estimated Retail Value (“ERV”) of the Grand Prize package is $210,000.00.

First Prize package (15): Each winning school will receive $50,000.00 awarded in the form of $24,000.00 of the following Samsung merchandise:

-Twelve (12) 24" LCD Monitors

-Ten (10) 16" Screen Notebook PCs

-Two (2) Color Laser Printers

-Five (5) HD Digital Camcorders

-Seven (7) Digital Cameras

-Two (2) Blu-ray players and Two (2) 37" LCD HDTVs;

-$24,000.00 of Microsoft software;

-a $2,000.00 grant from DirecTV (awarded in the form of a check) and the DIRECTV GOES TO SCHOOL® package.

-Total ERV of each First Prize package is $50,000.00.

Second Prize (5): Each winning school will receive $10,000.00 in Best Buy @15 Gift Cards (certain terms and conditions may apply on use of gift cards as specified by Best Buy).

-Total ERV of each Second Prize is $10,000.00.

At first, nominations were due by November 1, 2009, but that deadline has been extended to December 1, 2009. Nomination guidelines are available on the Samsung website.

Clicker Wars: Senteo vs. Renaissance

My sixth grade students performed very well on the California State Standards test in Math. So well, in fact, that in a recent conference with my principal, she asked me what I believed was the highest contributing factor to this success. "Besides good teaching...?" I asked as I theatrically fogged up my fingernails and buffed them on my shirt... Well, there is one thing -- last year, my students were given more immediate feedback than in any previous year.

We were using the Senteo Student Response System, i.e. "Clickers." These responders have one leg "up" on Renaissance Responders in this: Senteo's provide instant feedback directly on the clicker! The ones from Renaissance do not. Granted, they do display the number of answers scored correctly. And yes, teachers can set a preference that allows students to see their score as a percent (or number) correct, but that's not the kind of feedback I'm talking about. Renaissance needs to make it so that the moment a student submits his or her test, each child's Renaissance Responder should display an "X" next to wrong responses, and a "✓" next to correct ones, similar to how Senteo does it!

I can not overstate how important instant feedback is to children. I am aware of a work around: I can print out a report for each student after each test. This is not a viable solution for two reasons: 1) it's not instant enough. I want my students to immediately go over their test and check their understanding. It's not enough to know they missed three out of 12. They need to know which three they missed so they can analyze their results, reflect, and repair their understanding. 2) It wastes time, money, ink, and paper. I have to take time to distribute a class set of print outs to students, waste 30+ pages worth of ink, and 30+ pages of paper. I'm trying to cut down on paper usage, not increase it.

I hope Renaissance addresses this issue as soon as possible. I'm certain their developers can make this happen. Until they do, I don't mind using the Renaissance Responders for anonymous responding, but Monday morning, I'm going back to the Senteo Response System when I need to give formative assessments because instant feedback is critical!

Integrating iPods in Education

iLearn Technology is an edublog written by technology specialist Kelly Tenkely. In her latest issue, the author explores six ways the iPod can be used in the classroom to support learning. Kelly suggests which iPod is best for education and discusses how podcasts, slideshows, videos, text files and eBooks, the Internet, and applications can be a viable part of curriculum. Her online magazine (eZine) called "iLearn" is also noteworthy and well worth a look, especially if you appreciate (or are at least open to) the Apple/Mac platform and have an interest in integrating technology into the classroom.

Web Grading Made Easy -- And Free!

Every year, I flip back and forth between whether or not I should use a paper-based gradebook or a software one. Around the beginning of the month, I started asking my colleagues what they use, and a couple of them (Thanks, Teri and Christine) told me how happy they are using SnapGrades for their grading system. I've tried many options -- from the government-issue brown (why are they brown, anyway?) paper-based gradebooks, to computer software solutions, including Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. I've tried MicroGrade, Gradebook, and even a Google Docs Gradebook template. Until this week, none have impressed me as much (and as quickly) as SnapGrades. I am hooked on SnapGrades for several reasons.

But first, what is it? SnapGrades is an Online "Web-based" application that lets teachers create and maintain an Online gradebook that is customizable to meet their own personal grading needs. There's a little work involved: you have to first input your students' names, set up the classes or subjects you teach, and that's about it. The best part is: it's free. The site constantly updates, so there's no "save" button required, which is a huge headache reducer.

There is a paid membership available. $49.99 for the year buys you a single user license. For about the price of one Mocha Frappuccino per month, you can give parents and students Web access to grades 24/7. You also get the ability to send Email alerts, Spanish translation, administrative access, and report cards school-wide. A word of caution: bear in mind that when you give parents and students Web access to their grades, you're placing an expectation upon yourself that you will be current with your gradebook maintenance (which may or may not be realistic). For example, there are times when you may want to factor in classroom participation points (which can have a positive or negative impact on a your students' grades) and you may not wish to factor in those points until you get closer to your grading deadline.

You had me at iPhone. The idea that I can add an assignment, input students' scores, and have it automatically update my gradebook, all from my iPhone! is truly remarkable. Another notable feature is the ability to weight assignments in a straightforward way. For example, in my Math class, I choose to make quizzes worth one assignment; exams are worth two assignments; midterm exams are worth three assignments, etc...

If you aren't committed to a gradebook solution, or are unhappy with your current one, do yourself a favor and try it. Visit http://www.snapgrades.net.

Kindle 2: Why Schools Aren't On Board...Yet

As a proud owner of the PRS 500 e-reader, I commend Sony on their integration of e-ink before the Amazon Kindle. It's truly a remarkable piece of technology and the PRS 500 has served me well: it has forever changed the way I purchase and read books, much the same way the Palm Pilot changed the way I organized my life.

But there's a new kid on the block, and it's called the Amazon Kindle 2. Being able to download a book, magazine, newspaper, or blog while soaking in the sun at the beach feels like a magical experience. That sounds great, coming from a teacher during his summer break, but what about the average student in the classroom? What are the educational implications? Most kids I talk to would love to trade in their 30+ pound backpacks, filled with outdated, over-priced text books for a portable, flexible, lightweight e-book reader such as the Kindle 2, but is the world ready for this? Is it time?

Not yet. Three big obstacles stand in the way: Price, Publishing Considerations, and Color. First, the price of the device needs to come down -- way down. Amazon dropped the price of the Kindle 2 back in July, 2009 from a whopping $359 to $299. This was a great move for people who were on the fence, but in order to get schools on board, there needs to be a sub-$100 consumable device in this space -- one that won't make teachers paranoid to let it go back and forth from school to home.

As for publishing agreements, education leaders need to create some kind of licensing agreement with publishers and perhaps even invent a system whereby kids can digitally "check out" books from a "cloud" library.

Color. I don't know what kind of technology would be required to pull off a color e-reader, but the world is in color and it's hard to convince people they should be content with black and white, no matter how crisp and clear it is (and the text and images do indeed jump off the screen on the Kindle 2). In fact, novels, newspapers, blogs, and even the content of most magazines are a pleasure to read on the Kindle 2, but compared to an eye-popping, full color image in a social studies or science text book, it pales in comparison.

I'll post a more detailed look at the Kindle 2 in an upcoming review, but for now, suffice it to say: Fix these three issues and you'll see a huge move towards e-book readers in the education sector.