"Creativity is contagious, pass it on." ~Albert Einstein

Sunday, December 16, 2012



"Christmas waves a magical wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer, and more beautiful. "
 ~Norman Vincent Peale

There is just something magical about this time of year.  Getting together with families, going to Church, sharing stories and just plain relaxing.  One of my favorite websites to use this time of year is the Norad Tracks Santa website.  It has turned into a family tradition at our house.  On Christmas Eve we like to have our laptop sitting on the dining room table tuned in to see where Santa has been or will be next.  I can vividly recall the moments when my children would scream "Santa is coming here next, we better get to bed!"  What I wouldn't give to go back to those days.  Now, as my children have gotten older, we enjoy sharing those special Christmas Eve stories when we were "tracking Santa" on the computer.  Norad Santa also came out with an app this year.  You can check it out here.

Norad Tracks Santa has three main features.  Track Santa is where you can tune in on Christmas Eve to catch a quick video of Santa's current location and where he will be next.  The Videos section contains videos and images of Santa and his reindeer as they journey around the world. The last main feature is one that your kids will love.  It is the Activities section.  Each shop in the village is numbered and will "open" up on that respective day.  You will find all sorts of activities and games in the Christmas village.

If you have a little one in your house, they will love the website.  Fire up the computer on Christmas Eve and create some magic in your household!







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Monday, December 10, 2012

"If you had started doing anything two weeks ago, by today you would have been two weeks better at it."
   ~John Mayer

Making the commitment.  That is the hardest part.

Mrs. Arndt, one of our awesome  teachers for the #aurorahuskies has made the commitment.  She has committed to integrating technology into her curriculum, to preparing students for the world in which they will live in. Giving them "real world" experiences.  Mrs. Arndt, her students and myself get to work together every Monday morning at 8:30.  Talk about starting your day off right!   The great thing about the whole process.....her students are in Kindergarten.

She has stuck with it.  Mrs. Arndt and her students are starting to see the benefits and results of consistency.  Her students are becoming more comfortable with the devices, platforms, websites, terminology, etc.

You really don't have to do anything fancy.  Create exposure, have them learn and use tools they they will be using when they are older.

Have you made the commitment in your classroom?

Here is a simple project Mrs. Arndt and her students did today in class that involves the iPad, Kidblog and Dropbox.

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Monday, December 3, 2012

There is a great feature on the iOS6 update for your iPad.  It is called "Guided Access."  Have a student that can't stay on task with an app?  Perhaps you have a student that needs to use your iPad and you don't want them snooping around your iPad.  Turn on the "Guided Access" feature and lock them into ONE app.   Here is how you do it:


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