In Review - dotEPUB

Hello readers,

For those of you you have an iPad, this post is for you. For those of you who have an iPad without 3G, you will enjoy this post even more so than those who do.

Introducing...

dotEPUB

The idea is simple; this website helps you convert any compatible webpage into ePub format, so it can be be viewed on an iPad using the iBooks application. To actually use the function is even simpler.

If you have an iPad, you save this site as a bookmark. If using a desktop, install the extension onto your browser. When you find a webpage, simply click the button/bookmark and the page will begin to convert into the ePub format. It is that easy!

There is also an immersive mode; for pages which contain unnecessary links and images, you have the option not to include them on your document so it only contains text.

The following is an doteEPUB converstion of THIS PAGE, detailing my university course:

This little application is helpful when you need to save pages ahead of time or as documents to continually view. The ease of use means you don't have to worry about printing unnecessary pages and worrying about whether a webpage will be later available or not.

Since finding this gem, I haven't stopped using it, and hope that you too find joy in how easy it is to convert webpages to ePub format.

For those using a kindle, there is the option for MOBI file conversion .

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 2

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Shirt Target City Dressing $15.00

Handbag Forever New $39.95

Necklace Colette by Colette Hayman $9.00

Sunglasses Temt $10.00

Miss Tracy xx

What's in the Box?

Organic ramen stir-fry with Korean BBQ tofu and mushroom, broccolini, carrot and corn

Gluten free cheese rings 

Strawberries 

Miss Tracy xx

My Educational App Collection

Good morning all,

I have been posting a few app reviews lately and thought it was about time I showed you my app collection. It's taking a while to come up with this many educational apps and I have had some great sources; the Ipadopedia, a children's literature unit I took in first semester and a music education unit I just completed.

But lately I have found a new source, the Education section of the iTunes store. This section of the store caters for varying levels of education, from early childhood straight up to self education for adults. It is meticulously organised, much like my iPad, and has great sections:

• Reading
• Maths
• Physics 
• Chemistry
• Music
• Writing
• Life Science
• Geography
• Astronomy and Earth Science

And so we begin the journey through my iPad! I have provided a picture of each folder and the apps they contain and what section I find them useful to store under.

LMST BLOG

• Dropbox
• Pic Stitch
• Pinterest
• Tumblr
• Blogger
• Twitter
• Mailbox

COACHING

• Coach My Video
• Ubersense

DEMONSTRATIONS

• Educreations Interactive Whiteboard
• bContext
• Class Act Lite
• Show Me
• Brain Pop

DIAGRAMS

• Mind Meister
• Prezi
• Lovely Charts

DOCUMENTING

• iZip
• Jot Not
• Evernote

LITERACY

• Story Wheel
• Chain Story
• Outline
• Claro
• Rhyme Zone
• Character Prompts
• Writing Prompts
• A Novel Idea
• Poetry Creator

MANAGEMENT

• Teacher Kit
• iStudiez Lite
• Chore Pad HD
• Pocket Picture Planner

MATHS

• Algebra Touch
• CALC
• FluidMath
• Soulver
• Mathletics Student
• Calculator 
• iMathematics
• Triangle Solver

MEASUREMENT

• Multi Measures HD
• Tuner Lite
• Pano Tuner
• MultiMeasure 
• M Tools
• Timer+
• iSetSquare

MUSIC

• Baby Chords
• Sound Prism
• Electric Guitar!
• Magic Zither
• Core Synth HD
• Music Sparkles
• GarageBand

SCIENCE & GEOGRAPHY

• The Human Body
• iCell
• Planets
• Google Earth
• Memory of Colours

SOUND MANAGEMENT 

• Too Noisy
• Decibel 10th

And as usual, all apps I have posted today are available on the App Store however please note some are free and some are paid so please check before you press the little green button!

Miss Tracy xx

LMST Tumblr News!

VISIT THE LMST TUMBLR

Miss Tracy xx

Style File - Placement Day 1

Cardigan Target Essentials $10.00

Shirt Dotti $19.95

Skirt Temt $15.00

Shoes Famous Footwear $19.99

Miss Tracy xx

In Review - The Teacher's IpadoPedia

Hey readers,

Recently I decided to peruse the (free) shelves on the iTunes bookstore and was astounded by the number of free books available in the education section. I came across textbooks, guides and many other wonderful things and promptly downloaded all that I could see. The first book I decided to read was 'The Teacher's IpadoPedia, An A-Z of using iPads in the classroom' by Philip Johnston.

The Teacher's IpadoPedia

An A-Z of Using iPads in the Classroom

Philip Johnston

After my first placement and some of the material we have been covering in class, I have come to realise what an impact technology can have in the classroom, both good and bad, and how this comes into play when I eventually am in the classroom. For these reasons, I decided to go with this book first and was pleasantly surprised with what I had found.

This book blew my mind! Not only was it incredibly well written and set out, Johnston commented on a large range of topics including:

• attendance 
• managing homework
• archiving
• coaching
• photocopying
• quizzing
• creative writing
• taking notes

The book is divided into categories, with app listed which can either perform a task or help aid the process of the mentioned categories. Not only is there a wide range of apps, free and paid, to cover the categories but the book is cross references when apps have multiple functions. 

The actual layout of the book is clean with small chunks of information and plenty of pictures to accompany. The great thing about this being an eBook is that often the text is interactive! Beside the text, you will often find videos which demonstrate an app and how it works and text is often hyper-linked to show you exactly what app you should download and where to find them.

I have already downloaded some of the apps and can see their potential for use of them in the classroom. Other I have been able to integrate into my university life! Overall I enjoyed reading this book, it was not text heavy, it flowed well, you could jump chapters without feeling lost and the interactive nature made finding what Johnston what talking about incredibly easy.   

Philip Johnston has also step up a great website for the book which includes sample pages, links to download the book as well as a contact page if you would like to speak with the author. The website can be found here.

As Johnston said in the foreword, reading this book does not mean you have to apply everything that you read about but rather take what you like and make it work for your classroom. There are some great apps listed and the great thing is the discovery, while Johnston may list the app for one use, you could find a totally new use, either for the classroom or for your personal life!

For those of you who are still unsure, you have nothing to lose as this book is 100% free to download from the iBookstore!

Stay tuned as I discover more education eBooks from the iTunes bookstore!

Miss Tracy xx 

Style File - Introductory Visit

Blazer Dotti $29.95

Top Dotti $9.95
Leggings Cotton On Body Active $10.00

Shoes Famous Footwear $20.00

Bag Colette $49.95

Necklace Colette $4.00

Miss Tracy xx

What's in the Box?

Pasta Salad - Wholegrain penne with roasted capsicum, olives, zucchini, mushroom, spinach and eggplant.

Mixed roasted nuts

Chobani blueberry yogurt

Miss Tracy xx

In Review - Blogger, the App

Good morning!

Now, I'm sure many of you readers also maintain a blog and perhaps even use Blogger as your preferred platform but how many of you knew that Blogger had an app?

I came across the app awhile ago, completely by accident, and since it cost me a total of zero cents I promptly downloaded it. After playing around with it for a bit and placing it in the 'LMST Blog' app folder on my iPhone, I finally got a feel for what I could this app for.

The app itself is quite easy to get the feel for, you log in and you will see the first screen on the photo set below. From this menu you can see your posts, both published and scheduled and your blog. The blog view is similar to that of the second picture in the photo set above, only it will be your blog! The post list view, shown in the second photo below, is quite similar to that of the web version of Blogger however less tags are shown. From this menu you can also edit or delete these posts by simply pressing the encircled arrow.

You can also change the app's settings and create new posts from here. And this is where my problem with the app begins. As you can see from the third photo featured above, there are similar inputs as the web version, post title, post content, labels and locations. There are also the options to add photos, either from your mobile library or by using the camera. However not similar to the web version is the easy ability to create text, move photo around, add links and format text; some of these features are not even present while others take time and plenty of patience to take form.

While these are deal breakers for me using the app solely for blogging, it doesn't stop me from using the app to make quick fixes and check up on scheduling dates. Check out the app for yourself and let me know what you will do with the app! 

DOWNLOAD THE BLOGGER APP 

Perhaps my next review will be on the web version of Blogger? You never know!

Miss Tracy xx

Assignment File - Sketchbook and eResource Part 2

Hello there,

As promised, here you will find part 2; the eResource. This part of the assignment asked us to create a live webpage using Web 2.0 technology, focused on a single topic relating to the visual arts. This resource would not only be for assessment but for our fellow pre-service teachers as well as teachers out there already teaching with access to the internet.

I chose the theme 'A Bug's Life' after covering a number of artists who focused on natures and the creatures in it. Since I was already extremely familiar with Blogger, I chose this as my method of presentation.

And so my discovery unit was born! Click the title to take a peek...

A BUG'S LIFE

This unit looks at the topic of bugs and insects as a stepping stone for visual art exploration and how to weave this knowledge into other aspects of curriculum and the learning environment.

One aspect of this assignment that I had a hard time working out was the lesson plans I was expected to create.  While I have done 3 curriculum based units, we have not touched on writing lesson plans yet, primarily since we are still studying early childhood. So I took to the internet and put together a template myself, which you can view  as PDFs in the appropriate sections. 

I also had many internal (and one external) debates on how these activities I had designed should be assessed or documented. In the end, I devised a simple rubric with smiley faces, which can be completed by the teacher, student or together as a reflection exercise.

I was very happy with the outcome of both pieces of work and with my hard work and perseverance, I earned myself a credit (C)!

Miss Tracy xx