TechChef » iTunes U

30 Dec 2013
Comments: 1

Differentiating the iClassroom

By the number of re-pins on Pinterest and activity on Twitter and Facebook, I take it that people are dedicating a bit of their holiday break to catch up on content across all of their favorite social networks. Sharpen your pencils folks, there is no better time than the present to reveal the latest iTunes U course from TechChef4u.

The Differentiated iClassroom iTunes U course: Download and Digest 😉

This course was actually a collaboration between Tanna Fiske and myself in preparation for our workshop at Learning Forward earlier this month.

Presenting at Learning Forward 2013 with Tanna Fiske

It was designed to provide educators with ideas to channel mobile devices to optimize ideation and instruction while meeting individual student’s needs and includes:

Ideal Classroom Configuration
Note-taking and Lecture Tools
Questioning and Respectful Tasks
Sample iLessons and Rubrics
Tips for Assessing iPad Projects
AND MUCH MORE!!!

The course was originally intended to be used as the foundation for a hands-on workshop.

Presenting at Learning Forward 2013 with Tanna Fiske

However, the collection provides multiple resources and extensions that allow anyone in the global edusphere to experience and interact with the content in order to delve deeper in to the ideals of fostering choice, collaboration, and creativity while still meeting content standards.

While iTunes U may have a few tweaks to truly meet the needs of educators as contributors rather than as consumers, Lenny Dutton does provide some interesting and thoughtful solutions.

Thank you all for your readership and loyalty to TechChef4u in 2013. Looking forward to an app-tastic 2014!

If you would like to see Lisa Johnson present – visit the TCEA 2014 site:

Groovy Graphics in the iClassroom
Sassy SAMR Toolkit
iPad Academy: 1:1 Implementation PD Toolkit
iPad Academy: Instant PD with iTunes U

Interested in 1:1 Deployment or PD strategies and implementation? Looking for a dynamic presenter or interactive workshop? Contact TechChef4u (lisa.johnson@techchef4u.com) for parent presentations, hands-on workshops, keynotes, and much more! Read testimonials about TechChef presentations.

Chic Geek iJewelry on etsy!

1,400+ iPad Lessons Pinned HERE!

Contact TechChef4u to schedule Spring and Summer PD and Workshops: lisa.johnson@techchef4u.com

“Student-Created Books in the iClassroom” iTunes U course is now available!!!

24 Jul 2013
Comments: 4

Do More of What Makes You #Awesomesauce

While it is easy to become discouraged with your own resources and talents when you assemble roughly 400 hand selected Apple Distinguished Educators in one place, it is important to remember this… what you do matters… It matters to your students, to fellow educators, and to the greater good.

Created with Recite This.Com

I truly wrestled and struggled with this post for almost a week. How does one share and reflect on the week at the institute while at the same time staying true to the purpose and vision of of their blog… which is ultimately a platform to share creativity and technology resources with personality and posh that can easily be digested and replicated. (yes, I realize that was a bit of a mouthful… and a run-on sentence).

I think Reshan Richards was on the right track when he said, “I don’t think I can articulate it in a way that people who weren’t there would understand”. Thus I would rather share the essence of the week which I believe can be summed up with this iTunes U course developed by five Apple Distinguished Educators (Christine DiPaulo, Brandon Kari, Jason Kathman, Ben Mountz, and John Waldie).

The incredibly thorough and thought-provoking course is intended for grades 9-20. The teacher’s notes say it best, “the true challenge is to introduce the unit and get out of the way to allow students to arrive at their own conclusions, ask reflective questions” and ultimately create their own story. The 18 week course includes:

articles on writing and establishing a personal brand statement
artistic ventures in designing your own logo
photography assignments on personal artifacts
thoughtful detail to resume and presentation design
research on the etymology of your name
online publishing (e.g. Linkedin, About.Me) and connecting with social media

While the course itself is developed for grades 9-20, anyone can benefit from a metacognitive journey to discover their own professional brand. My dear friend, Rafranz Davis, mentioned she struggled with defining herself and was thrilled to embark on her own journey to be the CEO of Me.

Knowing who you are and what you bring to the table is empowering. – Rafranz Davis

I think the take-away here, is that everyone has a unique personality and perspective… and deserves a voice. Fortunate to be selected and blessed to meet all of the amazing and distinguished educators along the week, I will leave you with a little ed tech fortune cookie.

Discover what drives your passion and makes you awesome and then share it with the world… because your message and voice matters!

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Interested in becoming an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2015? This video speaks to the heart of the mission.

Interactive TechChef Thinglink

Check out the new Chic Geek iJewelry line!

1,100+ iPad Lessons Pinned HERE!

Contact TechChef4u to schedule Fall and Spring PD and Workshops: lisa.johnson@techchef4u.com

“Student-Created Books in the iClassroom” iTunes U course is now available!!!

18 Feb 2013
Comments: 1

iTunes U: PD Please ;)

I have been enamored with iTunes U for some time. When the app-ortunity presented itself to publish my own course, I jumped on it. As Yolanda and I had reunited to present at TCEA 2013, the “student-created books” workshop we had proposed last year for the event fit perfectly as an iTunes U course. At the time we wanted to showcase apps that created books on the iPad rather than simply iBooks Author, as not all classrooms and teachers had access to a Mac. Thus, we reunited to collaborate and create “Student Created Books in the iClassroom”.

iTunes U: Student Created Books on the iPad

The PD iTunes U course includes an app matrix (seen above) of 15 popular book creation apps and video tutorials and student-created examples for each. But wait… that’s not all!

iTunes U: Student Created Books on the iPad

Built in to the course is a teacher task, iLesson templates, pre-planning and additional iResources. One of those iResources is a compilation of apps that support the pre-writing process.

iWriting Inspiration

View more lists from Lisa Johnson

Download this course and enjoy PD on the Go! Check out what educators are saying about the course! If you like the course, please take a moment and add your own review.

Great example of professional development! by Debbie Smith

This is amazing! What I usually have issues with in iTunes U courses is following the author’s organizational system and trying to make sense of it. Yours is so well organized that I had no trouble with it whatsoever. I think we should use this model for the elementary ed summer PD classes that we are going to develop this sememster.

Very Informative and User Friendly Course by Loves2fish2

This iTunes U course was my first and it was awesome! It’s very organized and easy to follow. The number of resources provided are mind blowing! At the end of this course, I was able to create an iBook with ease…and now I plan to take this new knowledge into my classroom and watch my 2nd graders have fun while they turn their writings into creative iBooks to share with their families! If you’re looking for meaningful and useful professional development to do on your own time, at your own pace, I highly recommend this course!

Interactive TechChef4u Thinglink

750+ iPad Lessons Pinned HERE!

Contact TechChef4u to schedule Spring & Summer PD and Workshops: lisa.johnson@techchef4u.com

iPadpalooza 2013 Registration LIVE!!!

HCMS 2013 Site Visits Now Available!
Ted X Youth Austin 3/30/2012!

“Student-Created Books in the iClassroom” iTunes U course is now available!!!