Featured Student Work - October

This is a weird and wacky facts poster put together by two hard-working students! The students researched the facts using National Geographic's interactive "Weird But True" book. Check out the quality facts and design work, nice job!

Rubrics for Lessons

Today I worked on creating rubrics for all the new lessons I've created! Teachers are finding the rubrics very useful and they are a great way to measure what students are taking away from our sessions. 

Subject Areas Include:

-Solar System

-The Writing Process

-Narrative/Expository Writing

-Insects

-Reading Comprehension 

-Place Values 

School Year 2011/2012

Hello!!! I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the school year. BrainiApps has lots of new activities and educational apps for this school year. We are headed to Waters Edge Elementary to run sessions this month, along with Ideal School, New Horizons Elementary, and Banyan Creek Elementary.

Want to be the next school to bring BrainiApps into your classrooms? Contact me at patrick@brainiapps.com

FaceTime Interviews

Today the students conducted interviews and learned about a few different careers. The interviews were done via FaceTime which the kids loved!!! Check out the video we made afterwards which can be seen on the BrainiApps YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/brainiapps

Student of the Month Goes To......

Ethan Cole!!!!! Here is just one of the wonderful pieces Ethan completed during BrainiApps sessions in the month of April :) Ethan has a great interest in computers, the iPad in particular, and is a hard working student. There were lots of great pieces completed this month by so many great children! Thanks again for all the fun kids :)

New Webpage Design Launching Soon....

BrainiApps is working hard on re-designing our web site! The new site will include video footage of BrainiApps iPad learning sessions and several new student examples. The children have created some really great pieces of work and we're excited to share it very soon! The new site will be completed by the end of May so stay tuned... We may even include a little game directly on the site for everyone to enjoy!

A big shout out to Cory John and his amazing graphic design work :)

Patrick McNeece
Creator/Instructor - BrainiApps, LLC
patrick@brainiapps.com

iPad 2 coming....

Great news released by Apple....The iPad 2 is available for pre-orders and delivery starts March 11th! BrainiApps will be puchasing a few 2nd generation iPads for sure!!! We are also looking for any generation 1 iPads who people might be selling or generous enough to donate :).  E-Mail me at patrick@brainiapps.com if you have any to donate or sell. THANKS for all the support.

Upgrades to iPad2 -
Double Battery Life
Camera Front and Back
Higher Resolution Screen
Thinner and Lighter Design
Upgraded Cases Available as well

Student of the Week Display

 JACK SCHMELL - 4th Grader @IDEAL School



I decided to display some of the work done by fabulous student's during BrainiApps iPad Learning Sessions. Congrats to Jack Schmell of the IDEAL School for being the first piece to be displayed here on the BrainiApps blog! Stay tuned for more displayed projects :)

Patrick McNeece
Creator/Instructor - BrainiApps, LLC.
www.brainiapps.com

Phonics game :)

Creating phonics games with your children is a great way to get involved in their learning. You can also use this game to play with your kids, or if you're a teacher of course you could use it in the classroom. This is a photo of a recent Letter-Correspondence (Phonics) game that I created using simple everyday materials.

Materials: Scissors, glue, cardboard or file folders, computer with printer for images, 4 Ziplock bags, and a pizza box.

The Objective: To get children to make a letter relation to a sound using photos/images. (example: Onion starts with the letter O)

**Phonics are a vital part of elementary curriculum and using games is a great way to get kids involved and keep them engaged.**

Game Title: "Order Up!" - A Fun Letter Corresponding Game for Children

 

 

Toontastic!

The new Toontastic App is amazing! I recently discovered this app during my daily educational app searches on the App Store. The developers did a wonderful job of creating interesting backgrounds, templates, characters, and forms of sharing the completed animated cartoons. Parents and Toontastic users can register an online account and view their children's work as well as others in the Toontastic community. Check it out! http://toontube.launchpadtoys.com and the App can be purchased on the Apple App Store. Worth every penny for sure :)

New example :)

Students used Encyclopedia Britannica's Solar System App and the GoSkyWatch App to research and pull photos for their digital news articles. Here is a brief example :)

"Why the iPad Matters" - Wonderful Article

In this article are some great scenarios for educators and students. Chris Dawson's comments on digital portfolios are exactly what we try to accomplish at BrainiApps. The collaboration methods mentioned make me think of the endless amounts of interactions both students and teachers can have. I agree that if implemented correctly, this tool "MATTERS" big time in the world of education. I realize the article is a few months old but still a MUST read.
http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-reviews/1787-education-why-ipad-absolutely-matters.html

Patrick McNeece
Creator/Instructor - BrainiApps, LLC.
patrick@brainiapps.com

Example Project :)

Here is an example project created during a BrainiApps iPad learning session.

Top Educational Apps for iPads

We use several well developed educational apps during BrainiApps iPad learning sessions. Of course we have our favorites though! Included are some reasons why these particular apps are more useful than others on the market. They are in no particular order, just our 5 favorites!


1. Story Buddy - A great way for children to create their very own digital story books. Books are limited to 15 pages. However the features are pretty cool and really easy to use.
2. Life Cards - This is a favorite because there are so many useful templates to choose from. Our favorite is the newspaper article template. During sessions with BrainiApps children research current events or created informational short stories. We then put the information into the template and create digital news articles. SUPER FUN :)
3. Encyclopedia Britannica's Dinosaur App - Encyclopedia Britannica has produced apps on several topics other than just dinosaurs and they are all wonderful. This app has tons of great features. The children's favorite feature seems to be the Dinosaur Dig where they get to dig up dinosaur bones and determine which dinosaur they found.
4. Pages - We use this app a lot to tie in what the children have learned and create a culminating project. The poster layout is great for children to create posters about certain topics our lessons will cover. With new technology comes new ways to create research papers and presentations on. Pages is a great app that will assist children in producing creative word documents.
5. Rocket Math - This a wonderful app that keeps children engaged for hours practicing their math facts. Any app that gives the appearance of being a game while staying truly educational is great. This app allows children to build creative rockets and motivates them to practice those addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication facts.

The Sweet Sixteen - 16 Funs Things for Parents and Children

   The following is a list of sixteen short creative activities to help form stronger bonds between parents and their children. Parenting isn’t always easy, but it should be fun. We all get caught up in our professional lives and day to day tasks. However, finding time to have fun as a parent and having fun as a child are far more important than any task that needs to be done in a given day. Here is a challenge for every parent and child to consider. Do ALL of the fun activities together that are mentioned on this list. Getting started on your first activity is often the biggest challenge. Make the time today and let the fun begin! It is truly amazing how just a few minutes each day can make you feel great as a parent and make a world of difference to your child. As the saying goes, “It’s the little things in life that matter most”. This is especially true in the eyes of a child.

   You can decide who picks the first activity and then rotate each time you move onto the next. It should also be noted that these can be done with children and adults of ALL ages. There are roughly four weeks in each month so complete at least two activities per week for a total of eight activities per month. Listed are sixteen activities so spread them out as you wish. We are never too young to have fun! Good luck and feel free to share your stories on your favorite activities.

THE SWEET SIXTEEN

A List of Fun Activities for Parents and Children

1.       Choose a song everyone knows and sing it from start to finish. This is great to do in the car or in the kitchen. P.S. - Props will take this activity from a good time, to the time of your life!

2.       Stop in the middle of your homework and take 30 minutes to do you absolute most favorite thing in the whole wide world. Maybe it’s a sport or a video game? Oh and make sure mom or dad do it with you! But of course no matter what it’s over in exactly 30 minutes and then it’s back to finish your homework.

3.       Get out some construction paper, colored pencils, stamps, stickers, or anything artsy. Write a thank you card to one another and share them at dinner that night. Even if you are going out for dinner or grabbing on the go at a drive through, DO NOT forget to exchange thank you cards.

4.       Make a small piece of jewelry for each other using yarn, pipe cleaners, paper, beads, colored string, or materials of your choice. Make sure to wear it for a whole week NO MATTER WHAT!

5.       Laundry basketball!!! Split the laundry into two equal piles. Mom or dad gets one pile and the kid(s) get the other pile. Standing about 5-8 feet away from the washing machine begin to shoot the laundry into the washer. Add up each person’s score and see who won “Laundry Basketball”.

If it’s a tie, wait until the wash is done and do an overtime round using the wet clothes. Shot the wet clothes into the dryer and determine the “Laundry Basketball” champion.

6.        Kids activity - Get two rolls of toilet paper and turn your mom/dad into a mummy.

 Parents activity – Get two pillow cases and make your child a ghost.

Now see if the ghost can un-wrap the mummy without taking off the sheet.

7.       Together you will write a letter to a family member who doesn’t live with you. Include a small present/gift that you created together. Here’s the twist! Leave it halfway unfinished and challenge the family member to finish it then mail it back to you.

8.       Buy a pack of plain white stickers. Take a whole sheet each and write one word on each sticker about the other person. (Example – mom, caring, beautiful, fun, energetic, hard working, smile, etc.) After you are done exchange stickers and stick them on your shirts for the rest of the day or evening. 

9.       Make smoothies together! What’s more fun than that and delicious?!

10.   Take out two pieces of paper. Each of you will write a “secret message” to one another. After your finished writing, fold it up and put it in the refrigerator. Make sure in the morning you put each note in the correct lunches and do not read them until you eat your lunch. It makes it even more fun if you use a decoding system so that each person has to solve their “secret message”.

11.   Pick your favorite sport and do a “pick ‘em” challenge night! Look up the schedule of games for that particular sport and find the games being played that day and night. Have each person create a list of the teams they think will win. Check to see who got the most correct the next day and find out who won.

12.   Go out for ice cream! Except this time kids it’s your turn to say thanks. You must use that hard earned chore money to buy for yourself and mom or dad. P.S. – All moms and dads are limited to small sizes and one topping J

13.   Turn off all the lights and play a good old fashioned game of Hide n’ Seek In The Dark!

14.   Using only paper clips each of you must create a small sculpture for one another. After the amazing sculptures are complete, bring them into school or the office and display them on your desk for at least a week.

15.   Take a picture together of your goofiest faces EVER! Print and post the picture on the fridge or front door in your house for at least a week. If you don’t have digital cameras or printers just draw an amazing picture of two goofy faces that can be displayed.

16.   Get at least 4 index cards each! Write one word of an object on each card. Get some tape or string so that the card can be stuck to or tied to your head. The mom/dad will tape or stick their cards (one at time) to the child’s head. Do this one at a time. The child then has to ask questions until they guess what object is taped to their head. Then the tables are turned and the child tapes his/hers to mom/dads head and the same game is repeated. AMAZINGLY FUN and ENTERTAINING!!!