Free Apps at Starbucks...

There is nothing like a good cup of coffee to start the day, but now you can add a free iPhone app to your Vanilla Latte!  For years at Starbucks, you could always pick up a little card that offered a "Pick of the Week" song code that you could download directly from iTunes for free.  The other day while I was waiting for my coffee, I looked at the "Pick of the Week" card that is by the register, and I was surprised to see it was not a song...it was for an iPhone/iPad app!  The app for that week was a Dora the Explorer ABC game app that is perfect for my four year old son.  They have also offered a Scrabble game, a Golf Tutor, and the Shazaam music app in past weeks.  The Pick of the Week still does offer songs, but the addition to IOS apps is a fun addition to the morning coffee experience!

Jing and Screencast

Here is a quick post about two great technology tools created by TechSmith.  I recently had to record a presentation for faculty that was originally scheduled for a face to face meeting.  There are lots of ways to do this, but I chose Jing and ScreenCast.

Jing is a free utility that you need to install on your computer.  It gives you the ability to create a screenshot or record video directly from your monitor.  It is very simple to share and record your screen, and free to use for up to a 5 minute video.  After you create your video, you can save a Flash file to your computer, or you can upload it directly to ScreenCast.  Using ScreenCast, you can email individuals a direct link to the file, or you can embed the video to your blog or website.  Both tools are free to use!  They both have a Pro version to give you a little more functionality.

TechSmith also has some software applications that do a little more robust recording, but if you need something simple, try Jing and ScreenCast!

Social Media Explained...

Here's a fun post for Sunday!  Enjoy!

Corkboard.me

Corkboard.me is a great website for collaboration, classroom posts, meetings, book discussion and more.  We have been using corkboard at our school to collect information before meetings to help generate discussions.  It is a simple concept!  You go to corkboard.me, you board link is created automatically, and you add sticky notes.  Once you add a note, they can be seem from anyone who has your link.  You can simply email the link to all the users you need to to give access.  You can use the site for free, or you can pay a small monthly cost to customize your corkboards.  The Pro features allow you to password protect your board, customize the web address, and control who can delete posts.

Today @CorkBoardMe announced that their site works native on the iPad.  I checked it out, and it works very well!  You can access any corkboard from Safari directly!  You can check out the information from the Corkboard.Me Blog.

Corkboard.me is a great resource to help make a powerful "21st Century" change in your school or professional culture!

Who Do I Follow?

I love Twitter!  It is a great way to quickly find resources, share knowledge, and learn from great educators and people from around the world!  I have been working for the past year or so to build a strong PLN (Personal Learning Network).  My network is geared towards education and technology, and I have learned so much!  I would love to share something about so many of the folks I am following, but to keep this a little shorter, I have decided to list a few folks below that I have recently retweeted.

@AngelaMaiers - Angela is an inspiring person to learn from!

@tdeflitch - I have the pleasure of working with Teresa.  She has a great passion for education!  Check out her blog!

@web20classroom - Steve pushes endless knowledge to a huge network. He is a great resource!

@coolcatteacher - I have read Vicki's Cool Cat Teacher blog for many years!  She is a great resource!

@russeltarr - Great history teacher!  I have connected with him in many twitter chats as well!

@rmbyrne - Richard's Free Tech for Teacher's blog should be a must read for all educators!

I have found that building a strong PLN takes time, but it is well worth the work.  If you are struggling with this process, start with some of the individuals I have listed.  They have a strong list of followers that will help you start to see the power of twitter!  Twitter is all about sharing, so do not be shy!  Talk to people, share your knowledge, and you will find your network will continue to grow.  Please feel free to follow me as well @dpiemme.  I look forward to sharing with you!

Computer Science Student Network

The Computer Science Student Network is a new site just launched in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC).  The site has been created to show students of any age they can create, build, problem solve, and work with technology and robotics in many different ways.  Students can explore with science, technology, engineering and math concepts (STEM) in real or virtual ways!  Students can learn about game design, programing in Robot C, and manipulating robots in the new virtual robotic world software.  The Computer Science Student Network is showing students that working with these STEM concepts does not have to start when they are older.  It can truly start now!

iTunes A to Z

If you have an Apple device (iPod, iPhone, iPad), you have probably connected with iTunes at some point to sync of transfer music to your device.  That may be all you have done on iTunes, but there are a lot of features that makes Apple's digital music software very powerful!

iTunes A to Z is a great resource to learn about many of the powerful features of iTunes.  As you look through the features of iTunes from music sharing, radio stations, podcasts, movies rental, and genius selections, you will find that iTunes can be your hub for all of your digital library.  iTunes is also available on both a PC and Mac computer, and it free to download here!