Make your mark on Google with Handwrite for Mobile and Tablet Search - Inside Search

Make your mark on Google with Handwrite for Mobile and Tablet Search - Inside Search:

Hat tip to my colleague, Kristin Day, for sharing this great new accessibility tip for mobile devices. Now you can skip the keyboard when you want to do Google searches and use handwriting instead. Enabling this feature is pretty straightforward.

1. Open your mobile device web browser and go to http://google.com.
2. Locate the gear icon on the top right hand corner.
3. Tap on the "search settings" link.
4. Select "enable" under the Handwrite section and then tap save at the bottom of the screen.
5. To begin using handwriting tap on the "g" at the bottom right hand of your Google search screen.

This could be a great feature for younger students who are unfamiliar with the QWERTY keyboard, practicing letter formation, and students who struggle with selecting individual keys on the virtual keyboard. This can also be a time saving tool when you are searching on the go.

For as a video demonstration and more information about this feature follow the link at the top.

'via Blog this'

Curating the web with Scoop.it

I'm exploring options for curating and sharing the web as I find apps, articles and how-to's that support student centered learning. As you can see from the screenshot of my Chrome toolbar, I haven't exactly settled on one tool to use.

Diigo, Scoop.it, list.ly, livebinders, edmodo, twitter, pinterest - What tool are you using curate the web?

 

How to enable diigo bookmarking in Safari on the iPad

While I am no diigo guru, I have come to rely on the bookmarking and highlighting features it offers. I use the diigo browser extension for chrome to make saving websites and web highlights a snap. I recently learned how to enable similar features using the iPad's Safari browser and have create a brief tutorial showing how to set this up. The tutorial assumes that you have downloaded the diigo app for iPad and that you have created a diigo account.

For more information about diigo and its uses in education take a look at this resource.

(My Diigo Notes) Study touts benefits of a "wired" classroom

• Study touts benefits of a 'wired' classroom
  tags: research
  • The 40-year retrospective study, published in the Review of Educational Research journal, concluded that classrooms where computer technology was used to support teaching had a "small to moderate positive" effect on learning and attitude.
  • The literature shows that more recent, sophisticated applications of the technology produce greater positive gains than older applications, he said.
  • "There were many studies that said that it actually had a negative impact. But the preponderance of evidence suggests that it has a positive impact," said Schmid.
  • In a followup study now under way, Concordia researchers are looking not so much at whether computer technology in the classroom has a positive effect, but under what circumstances positive effects are observed.
  • If the technology is used solely as a content provider — for example, if iPads are used as alternatives to books — then there won't be any positive change, he said.
  • The researchers' preliminary analyses show that things such as PowerPoint presentations don't have much effect on student learning or attitude, Schmid said
  • "Where technology does have a positive impact is when it actively engages students, when it's used as a communication tool, when it's used for things like simulations or games that enable students to actively manipulate the environment."
  • Herzliah has been piloting a digital/human exam reader in Grades 7 and 8, an iPad application that the Jewish day school adapted for its needs.
    
    Students who are auditory learners — who do better when things are read to them — can use the iPad to listen to exam questions. The questions are read into the computer tablet by staff members.
  • Students said the process made them more independent in exam writing, Grumberg said. And by using headphones, they were able to block out external noise, allowing them to focus better on the test.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.