We just spent two amazing days with the staff and students from Epping West Public school. I don't think I've ever experienced such a warm welcome! As part of the sessions the first goal was to create a buzz around using technology. The staff meeting on the first day was geared towards giving teachers the confidence to get the ball rolling. We had a lot of laughs with the art gallery exercise and some very creative entries into the modern masterpiece competition. For all the

One of the key questions I’m asked when working with schools is “What are the best apps for the classroom?” This is a difficult one, as the answer will largely depend on how familiar the school is with using iPads. A lot of schools we work with often find drill apps beneficial as they reinforce key skills and enhance what are sometimes pretty dull activities. As engaging as they are, there’s a lot more that can be done with the device to enrich learning. Some tools are easier

You might have heard of this one before! It's been around for a while, but this update has made a world of difference. The key is in the title with the added 3D. This is an awesome app for digital literacy. Students can use the large selections of backgrounds and characters that come with the app to make professional looking projects. If they are more creative (and they should be encouraged) they can draw their own. As well as guiding students narratives through a story arc,

There's always something awesome to discover when you go looking for apps. I'd not heard of this one, but someone was kind enough to share it with me. Epic is a collection of digital books, and some collection at that. You'll need to sign up as a teacher and enter your schools details, but it's totally free. Once you've registered you can add your entire class either manually or through google classroom, without a login. Students can add books they've read and enjoyed as favo

'Everything machine' from Tinybop allows you to transform your iPad into a variety of cool gadgets. From the simple drag and drop nature of the building process to the cute iconography, there's a lot here that will appeal to the creative's in your class. Fed up with students taking your cookies? Well, maybe it's time to turn the iPad into a motion sensor. Take a photo of the cookie 'thief' and transmit it to another iPad with the transmit function. There's a lot of content he

There's a huge debate raging at the moment about schools killing creativity. But of the hundreds of schools I’ve visited I haven’t met one teacher who sets out to be uncreative. I see teachers are as stressed by standardised testing as their students. Often teachers are struggling just to keep their head above water in a world of fast-paced technological change. This is compounded if you’re not, as one teacher put it, ‘a techno whizz’ . Can I reassure you, YOU ARE NOT ALONE a