Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has changed its email delivery system, Please make sure you update your email subscription to continue getting our updates together with a bi-weekly newsletter. Click HERE to subscribe.

8 Useful Apps for Working on Video Projects on iPad

No comments

One way to enhance students learning and get them engaged is through assigning them work that involves multimedia, video projects fit in perfectly for this purpose. There are several advantages for making video projects part of your teaching. When working on a video project , students get to collaborate, pool sources, conduct searches, do some writing, experiment with presenting and finally sharing.

Sharing the final product with a bigger audience than their immediate peers in the classroom is one of the best thing students love about creating video projects. In video projects, almost all of the areas of literacy are at work and now with  mobile technology, students can work on these video projects anywhere with or without internet connection.
Next time you want to assign a video project for your students, make sure you recommend one of the following apps to them. Enjoy

1- iMovie


Make beautiful HD movies anywhere with iMovie, the fast and fun moviemaking app that puts everything you need to tell your story at your fingertips. Browse and play projects in the Marquee view. Create Hollywood-style trailers or sophisticated home movies in minutes.* And share your finished projects with the world – right from iMovie.

2- Videolicious

Over 1,000,000 downloads! Videolicious 2 is completely rebuilt to make video creation even easier and faster! Instantly combine your videos, photos, music and stories into a stunning movie masterpiece. Just talk and tap to create the perfect video. Super fast and easy movie making -- now with incredible cinematic filters!

3- Splice Vide Editor

Splice together HD photos and videos in an amazingly simple way. Add music tracks from your iPod library, sound effects, transitions, borders, effects (like Ken Burns, slow motion and fast forward), trim video and audio, narrate with your own voice, and much more.

4- ReelDirector

If you really dig video editing and want to take full control, you should get ReelDirector:
  • High quality HD output, only re-compress when necessary, quality loss due to editing is minimal.
  • Highly customizable text treatment - where you want it, how you want it.
  • Unique transitions: out of focus fade, white out - 28 in total.
  • Use your own intro and splash videos that were not recorded with iPhone.
  • Real multitasking, renders in the background and no need to restart the whole export if interrupted.

5- Animoto Video Maker

Turn your photos into stunning, professional-quality videos, complete with music and text, with Animoto’s free app!

6- Vidify

Vidify is the easiest way to make fully edited music videos on the iPhone. Simply pick some video clips from your camera roll, select a soundtrack from our music library or your ipod and in seconds Vidify automatically edits a movie for you set to the soundtrack you chose.
7- Fotobabbe

Fotobabble lets you capture moments in real-time and share with your audience (friends, family, fans and customers) via email, Facebook or Twitter. Sharing Talking Photos is faster than video, easier than typing, and more engaging and personalized than sending a picture alone.

8- Doodlecast
Doodlecast is a unique drawing app that records your voice as you draw. Play back your drawing and export it to share with friends and family. Visit the Doodlecast for Kids support page to see the app in action.

6 iPad Apps for Documentaries

No comments

Since the time I published " The Best Free Documentary Websites " Two years ago I got several recommendations from teachers asking to add some new titles to the list. I have been bookmarking several of these tools and I am planning to share them in an extensive list in the coming weeks.

For today's post, I am sharing with you some great iPad apps that will enable you to watch documentaries on the go. I have only featured the most popular ones in this field. If you know about other apps that you think are worth adding to the list, please share with us in the comment form below. Enjoy

1- World Documentary


World Documentary - collection of famous, awakening & mind-boggling documentaries from all over the globe. Categorized in clear n simple manner for an easy use. Get enlightened with past and have thrilling vision about future with this vast collection documentaries.

2- Snag Films

Enjoy more than 300 indie films. You can even snag on your big screen via AirPlay and Apple TV. And keep coming back, we're adding new films all the time!
3- Hulu

Download the app to enjoy unlimited instant streaming of current hit TV shows. Requires a Hulu Plus paid subscription.
  •  Watch the full current season of popular shows including Modern Family, The Office, Family Guy and many others
  •  Enjoy classic series including Lost and Battlestar Gallactica
  • Resume watching from where you left off on your TV or other supported device
  • Watch over WiFi, 3G and 4G
  • Available with limited advertising

4- Smart Documentary Movies

or these people we have created a collection of the most inspiring, beautiful and fascinating video documentaries.
It is your go-to resource for getting inspiration, finding information on a subject and watching a beautiful movie.

5- Netflix

Netflix is the world’s leading subscription service for watching TV episodes and movies on your phone. This Netflix mobile application delivers the best experience anywhere, anytime.

6 Good Video Tutorials on How to Use Facebook

No comments

Today as I was wading through the comments I received on " 7 Google Docs Tutorials for Teachers " I came across this really good link from Paul  to some video tutorials on how to better understand and use Facebook effectively. I checked the videos one by one and I found them very much informative. So I am sharing them with you below.

I know probably all of you have Facebook accounts and may be you are conversant with some of its features not missing on others, the videos below will give you all the help you need to understand how to better maximize your Facebook experience and hopefully for educational purposes and not just socializing. Enjoy


1- Create a profile



 2- Setting up your account

3- Facebook: Sharing on Facebook



4- Facebook: Understanding Your News Feed


5- Uploading Photos and Videos


6- Facebook: Understanding Privacy

RSS Feed Explained for Teachers

No comments

One of the reasons why I did not dwell a lot on the topic of RSS feeds on " 23 Excellent Tools for Teacher's Professional Development  " is because I was planning a separate post for it alone. So what the heck is RSS feed all about and what importance does it have for me as a teacher ?


What is RSS feed ?
RSS feed stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is an XML document that contains the news headlines and summaries It is the kind of format used to syndicate the content of a website. Think of it like this : one TV channel broadcasts a show and it is shown in many other channels . Syndication helps in bringing audience to your content .It is a form of content socializing .Several internet users are no longer willing to be just passive consumers of content , they rather want to be able to save, share and tag it .When you create a high quality content in your site it stays there , it even stacks , but when you have a news feed powered by RSS feed ,it becomes possible for your content to travel all around the world . The Rss feed icon looks like this :



What kind of feed are there in the web ?
Feeds are divided into two main types :

1- Full feed
It includes the whole content of an article , if you create a full feed for your website or blog , then subscribers to your feed will get the full article you post into their feed readers and they don’t need to get back to your site to read the whole of it.
2- Partial feed
This kind of feed includes only a title or headline and a short summary of the content and a link back to the place of the original content.

Why RSS feed is Important ?
Here is a set of reasons why you need to consider RSS feed:
  • RSS feed keeps you updated , you just need to set up your preferences and the content will be coming right into your door.
  • It is time savior : as you know , in our fast-paced world with loads of information out there for you to select from , feeds save you the time to go about wandering from site to site looking for information .
  • It organizes and saves your internet work .How many times we read an important piece of information somewhere in the web then in the next day when we want to get back to it , it is gone , we just can not remember where we found it anymore. With feeds it is the content that will be tracking you and not vice versa.
Are feeds different from emails ?
Both of Emails and RSS feeds are content delivery methods . With email subscriptions, you get content sent to you to the email address you provided. I do not recommend subscribing using your email address for besides the risk of getting bombarded by spam and junk mail, sometimes you might miss important emails because they are buried . With RSS feed you need an RSS feed reader ( like the late Google Reader ) to read the content of the website you are subscribed to. Some RSS feed readers are really user friendly and can organize your feeds in magazine format style.

Alternatives to Google Reader
If you used to use Google Reader to read your feeds then here are some of the alternatives you might consider using as well :

1- Feedly
This is the one I am thinking to use as a replacement to Google Reader. It has a newspaper like interface and works both for the web and mobile version. It also provides browser extensions for both Chrome and Firefox.

This is a great app for both iOS and Android. If you read your feeds on mobile devices you definitely need to consider Flipboard.

This might be a good alternative to Google Reader , it has many interesting features and an attractive interface, however, the basic version is limited in the services it provides and you need to pay for more functionality options

7 Wonderful Google Docs Tutorials for Teachers

No comments

Google Drive has all the features that make it a very powerful productivity suite for teachers. Besides being able to create documents, slides, drawings and spreadsheets , users can also upload their own PDFs and files and sync them with their Google Drive accounts across different devices.

Another good thing about Google Drive which I mentioned yesterday in " File Sharing Tools I recommend for Teachers" is that it is web based and can also work offline. This is probably what distinguished this service from other powerful tools like Dropbox and Evernote.

With Google Drive installed on your computer or tablet, you can access your downloaded docs and work on them the way you want and once connected to internet  you can then sync them to the cloud. Needless to mention the recent upgrade Google releases and which increased the free storage capacity to 15 GB .

To help you better tap the usefulness of Google Drive I am sharing with you these wonderful video tutorials created by Anson Alexander. Enjoy

1- Composing Google Docs



2- Sharing Files



3- Document Organization



4- What is Google Spreadsheet ?



5- Create a mail merge with Gmail and Google Drive




6-Email Multiple Doc Attachments with Google Drive in Gmail



 7- How to Find Google Docs in Gmail

10 iPad Apps to Create Beautiful Sketches and Doodels

No comments

How about using iPad to create awesome sketches and paintings, wouldn't that be awesome ? Well,  I have curated a list of some excellent iPad apps that can allow you and your students to tap into the artistic capabilities of iPad. Wherever you are with an Internet connection, just tap on one of these apps and give vent to your imagination and creativity, capturing the world around you in beautiful sketches to share with others.


 Check out the list I compiled and let me know if there is any other title I need to add to it. Enjoy


Concepts combines the expressiveness of artistic sketching with the precision of drafting into one simple, beautifully-made drawing app that helps you explore, capture and share ideas wherever inspiration strikes. Watch our video at http://youtu.be/VrPd6wDUWlY


Sketch Club provides not just fantastic tools to create but also motivation and inspiration to keep you going through an integrated online community. You can upload your sketches to let others rate and comment as well as enter daily challenges and fun weekly competitions with fabulous prizes!


Get creative with paint without the mess and expense! Explore a packed toolbox of intuitive, natural painting tools like oils and watercolors that let you experiment with color blends and textures on a realistic canvas. ArtRage places the tools of a real art studio at your fingertips.


Autodesk SketchBook® Pro for iPad is a professional-grade paint and drawing application. Using the same paint engine as its desktop counterpart, SketchBook Pro delivers a complete set of sketching & painting tools through a streamlined and intuitive user interface designed exclusively for the iPad experience.


Adobe® Ideas lets you create freeform vector illustrations wherever you are with your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. With a Creative Cloud membership, easily sync Adobe Ideas projects to Creative Cloud and open them for refinement in Illustrator CS6.*


Here is a set of features that My Sketch offers its users :
  • Turn your photos to Beautiful Realistic Sketch 
  • Create unlimited sketches
  • High Resolution
  • Photos can be taken directly from Camera or Photo Album
  • Choose 20 different type of Sketches
  • Adjustment of Brightness and Contrast to achieve the best Sketch Results
  • Sharing via Facebook,Twitter, Tumblr,Flickr and E-mail


Express yourself with impressive sketches like a pencil on a real paper.


SketchGuru is a professional app to make you an artist by creating pencil sketch of your photos.Pick a picture from your gallery or capture one from your camera to generate the sketch.

9- Paper

Paper is where ideas begin. It’s the easiest and most beautiful way to create on iPad. Capture your ideas as sketches, diagrams, illustrations, notes or drawings and share them across the web. Try it free—buy additional tools from the in-App Store.


Professional artists love Procreate. With its gorgeous interface and incredible Silica painting engine, it’s easy to see why Procreate is one of the hottest iPad apps available today.

What Teachers Need to Know about The New Google Play for Education

No comments

iPad's monopoly of the ' school tablet market ' is being compromised now after the announcement of Google Play for Education. Google seems to be moving towards displacing Apple's hegemony of this market by providing a suite of productivity management apps made specifically for teachers and students.



What is Google Play for Education ?

Google Play for Education is a new education program released by Google in their recent annual developer conference. This program is geared towards helping teachers organize, manage and share apps and other learning content with their students. It also aims at simplifying content searching for schools and giving teachers and students access to the same tools that are found now in Google Play Store.

What is the importance of this new program for us in education ?

 Here is a set of the facts you need to know about Google Play for Education :

  •  Google Play for Education is an app store designed specifically for educators and teachers.
  • Apps are arranged and organized by categories such as age range , grade level and other criteria
  • Apps provided in this app store are already pre-approved by other educators
  • Teachers can rate apps , see reviews written by other teachers and also recommend them to their colleagues


How does Google Play for Education work for schools ?

 Teachers need to set up a Google Group for their class on Google Apps and hook the students tablet to it. With their Android- enabled tablets hooked to the Class account on Google Apps, teachers can easily share apps with all the tablets associated with that account.
To face the problem of payments, Google allowed for bulk purchase. " Schools can load accounts with funds for the app store , so a teacher can automatically deduct from that balance if they wish to license a classroom-amount of a paid apps. "

Google Play for Education will be available this Fall.

3 Wonderful TED Ed Talks on Internet

No comments

While going through my Twitter feeds today I came across this list of 7 TED videos on technology. Being  a fan of TED talks , I could not let this list pass without  checking it for new talks I might have missed. Sometimes, we do feel compelled by the constraints of our time to drop interesting videos to watch  but one way to work around this problem is to create a playlist either using a web based tool or just on your browser. On weekends or whenever you have some free time sit down and watch one of these bookmarked talks. I personally find them very much inspiring and as enlightening as the insights you would get from reading a book from cover to cover.

Have a look at these 3 wonderful TED Ed talks on Internet and share with us your feedback. Enjoy

1- Exploration on the Big Data Frontier



2- Network Theory


3- How Farming Planted Seeds for the Internet

Two Handy Ways to Print Posters and Infographics for your Class

No comments

I got a couple of emails recently from some of the readers of Educational Technology and Mobile Learning asking about a way to print infographics in poster size. Well, this is a  real problem for most of us who do not have access to those large printers and sometimes it becomes frustrating especially when you come across an awesome infographic that you want to hang on your classroom wall. Here is a workaround for this problem and I hope it helps.


2- BLockster


Upload an image from your computer and choose how many sheets wide you would like your poster to be once printed. Once you're happy with your selection, you can download the PDF file containing your newly created images and print each one massively blown up, resulting in a  huge pixel poster to stick on your wall
1-  Lightshot

Lightshot is a great tool for making screenshots. I actually use it to capture those screenshots I share with you here. Lightshot is available for both Mac and Windows. Once you get it installed , head over to the infographic you want to print and take screenshots of all its parts. Print out each part separately and then put them together on a poster board. I know it is a lot of work but at least it worked for me several times.

File Sharing Tools I Recommend for Teachers

No comments

In the course of my work as a teacher, MAEd student and blogger, I get to download, upload and share several documents and PDFs. I have been experimenting with numerous file sharing web tools and the ones I found really practical for my work are listed below. Have a look and don't forget to share with us your favorite tools as well.


1- Google Drive
This is my number tool that I use for hosting all my important documents and PDFs and luckily Google has just announced an increase of free storage capacity to 15 GB, learn more HERE.

2- Dropbox
I love Dropbox and use it for sharing my files . The only drawback of this tool is that unlike Google Drive which you can use offline, Dropbox is web based and always requires internet connection,

As for sharing large files , here is what I recommend :