A School Mobile Educational App

1. A School Mobile Educational App Having an app for educational purposes can further you in your studies and help you be more successful in life.

2. What is a mobile app? (Application): • Made for mobile devices, (iPods, iPhones. iPads...) and is a piece of software that you can easily download for free or purchase, most commonly through the Apple App Store.

3. Introducing…FUTUREFOR LEARNING • After researching a variety of different apps out there, this PowerPoint will tell you all the elements that I am including in this useful School app called Future For Learning. • This PowerPoint will display all my ideas and is only a start to what I want to create out of this.

4. Elements in my App: • In the app, you will find each of the 5 subjects (French, Math, Science, Social Studies, Science) laid out on the page and when you tap each subject name, you will find useful video links, educational games and helpful skills to master the course. The content in each subject will help you to gain your knowledge on that specific course. • Second, there will be a section for memorization/fun brain games. • MOOC • A section on Online Tutoring • Surrey Connect • Online Counselling • iTunes U • Online Homework Club.

5. In the French subject category there will be.. • Flashcards • Word searches, crosswords, hang man. • You can rate how well you know each vocabulary word and then after you rate it, the app will decide when the word will show up again on the flashcards based on how well you know it. • You will receive a long list of useful and valuable vocabulary. • Audios for the French pronunciation

6. In the Science subject, this category will.. • help you memorize any kind of reading passage. You can take a picture of the sheet of paper you need to memorize and add the paper to the app. • take out the important words and it is your job to remember the missing words and to fill in the blanks. • assist you in your skills for memorizing key vocabulary and information. • provide students a “cool” way to study, substituting the old fashioned way of studying.

7. In the Social Studies Category: • There will be a variety of maps and interesting information and facts about them. • You can compare the maps of present day to the maps of the past • Shows the population of each part of the world on the map, for example the population in 1918. This assists teachers greatly because you don’t have to have a physical map hanged up in your classroom, you can just go on a mobile device and see it. This is better because students who have a mobile device can view the map at home too, not just in the classroom at school. • You are able to go all the way back to the maps during World War II. Just by looking at my screenshots, you already have a good impression on what this app can do and how it can help you in history class.

8. In the Math Category: • Algebra Equations: takes you one step at a time • introduces letters into the equation : Ex/. 3(x+1). • crossing out to eliminate numbers • distribution. Algebra is an important part of math because you study algebra a lot in high school. You start in grade eight and it is used all the way up to your senior math classes too. • lets you come up with your own equations and problems which is good for studying with your friends, so you can create an equation and your partner can solve it. There are different lessons; each lesson teaches you a new element. • Graphs, circumference diagrams, (anything revolving around Math)

9. In the English Category: • Many different books to choose from. This section of the app is similar to iBooks. • Review and rate books. Reviewing books are a good thing to do because it gives you a chance to reflect on what you have read. Just like my teacher, Mr. Stroh said, doing an assignment is one thing and reflecting on what you learned is another thing. So the same goes for reading books.

10. Memorization Category • Here is one of the videos in the app that shows a very interesting and more of a fun way to memorize numbers or words. I use this technique all the time! • http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/memory-games/memory-games-videos/how-to-memorize-numbers.htm • As you can see, this app includes video links to valuable videos that the students will be interested in watching.

11. Memorization Games… • Test your memorization skills. One particular game, doesn’t involve words, instead it involves numbers. It’s very entertaining and addictive. The video to the left shows people playing a game called Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The video describes and tells you that chimpanzees beat humans in the category of memorization. One of the memorization games in the app is similar to the Rise of the Planet of the Apes game. • Chimpanzees outperform humans, so this can help high school students with memorizing numbers and gives the brain a workout. If it’s a Friday afternoon and you don’t want to do homework, then you can play this game which is both fun and educational. Numbers appear on the screen and after a second, they turn blank and you have to figure out where each number was by touching each blank IN ORDER on the screen. Watch this video for a visual description of what the game in the app is similar to: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjs6xm_rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-app_videogames

12. More Memorization and Brain Games • enhances awareness and memorization. It also monitors your growth. Not only does it revolve around your memory but it also helps you with your problem solving skills as well. It tests your memory by telling you to memorize many different ideas, names and locations of certain objects. • assists you with your attention by trying to get you to avoid all the distractions going on around you and to focus when you’re doing work at home and when you are introduced to a new topic. • helps you to be productive which is something that is very important in high school and in university because it leads to success. If you are productive, it means you get a lot of work done in a certain amount of time. A lot of people, even myself need more practice in speed. When I say speed, I mean that you need to be able to act on the spot and be able to react to things right away. • helps you adapt into a new environment and atmosphere. Lumosity… Something similar to Lumosity will be incorporated in the app.

13. More Lumosity! • Thinking outside the box, being able to prevent mistakes and clearly communicating relates to flexibility which is one of the topics Lumosity tests you on. • Based on the reviews after using this app, you will notice big time improvements and the activities in the app help you to improve in the different types of sports that you play. It helped one person win more medals in rowing and it helped another person focus more during competitions. • These activities in Lumosity are created by neuroscientists; evidence and research has been done to prove that there have been improvements after the training. Lumosity is based on neuroplasticity which deals with the brain as if it is a muscle that needs to become accustomed when the brain is given a challenge. Neuroplasticity is when your brain can change in a physical way when it encounters new challenging problems and experiences. • Lumosity is like going to the gym to get a workout, except it gives a workout to your brain instead. Lumosity feels like a game where you have your own personal trainer. For these reasons, by just reading the reviews on this app, it seems like both a fun and educational game and that’s why I decided to include something similar to Lumosity in my app.

14. Small Elements to Include.. Mind Map Maker: • If you want to memorize new topics or if you have a unit test to study for in a class, a good way to memorize definitions and to understand the concepts is to draw yourself a mind map. This lets you to easily organize key vocabulary and to get everything all straightened out. When you do your mind map, make sure it is colourful and make sure you include highlights and illustrations. So by just looking at your finished map, you can easily comprehend the sequence of events and you can remember it when your test comes along. By using a mind map you can quickly pick out and identify the main idea of the concept.

15. More Elements: • A section for alerts for your next upcoming test or when your projects are due. • A live chat: instead of emailing or asking questions via Twitter, you can use a live chat which is used for educational purposes only. • Rhymes to help you memorize a specific order of something. For example, in music the rhyme I learned in order to memorize the order of sharps is: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle.

16. Continued: • The ability to record voice memos so you can hear yourself saying a sentence or phrase over and over again to help you memorize it. (First listen to it as many times as you like, and then try to recite it.) • Flashcards: Use online flashcards to help you memorize definitions for words. The flashcards should have some sort of illustration or diagram on them so you can have a visual memory of the words. They allow you to include voice memos on the flashcards as well.

17. Continued.. • A section to include on just tips/Techniques • For example.. • -Take breaks. Work for an hour and then take a fifteen minute break. After taking a break, recite what you memorized to check if you memorized it properly. • -Do your homework where there are no distractions, work in a quiet place so you can concentrate. • -Highlight information, colour code important sentences of a paragraph. • -Write yourself notes on sticky notes. • -Before you start studying make sure you understand the concept and the information. After you comprehend the work, then memorize it. • -Classify points into groups. • -Work with a partner when studying so you can help each other out and if you have questions, your partner can help clarify them or if your partner doesn’t know, you both can try to find the answer together. (Two brains are better than one.) • -Say all the information you’re studying out loud.

18. Inside the App, you’ll be able to use MOOC • stands for Massive Open Online Course. • A MOOC is a course with information everywhere to be shared with your teachers and other participants. It’s more of an event than a course, where many people can come together and discuss topics. A MOOC gets you used to working by yourself and independently, which helps build life-long learning. Life-long learning is important because the reason why we come to school, the reason why teachers teach us new things, the reason why we are expected to complete homework and understand concepts, is so that we are prepared for the real world outside of school. For example, getting a job is something we need to be prepared for. The school’s mission is to prepare the students for lifelong learning as described in the planners.

19. More info on MOOC • MOOC has facilitators, a beginning and end date, and contains the course work. People can come together and complete work on a topic that interests them. Other participants reflect on your work that you complete and it is shared with everyone that is doing that course. You don’t necessarily have to do assignments but you can make connections to your life with the material and link up your life with other results on the internet. • All video responses, tweets on twitter, blogs and other things on the internet, all join together to form a really unique course. This open course allows you to work independently, and to get familiar to the idea of working alone. It allows you to engage your learning with others. It offers you FREE online courses with no charge to participate. Here is a video that describes what MOOCs are about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW3gMGqcZQc#

20. MOOC • In school, teachers can easily communicate with their students, however if you take an online course teachers can still have the ability to communicate with their students through audio comments about thoughts on a specific assignment, emails and weekly videos for the students about the course. • Exams can be taken at specific locations (regional testing centres) or at home with cameras put up in the room when you are doing the exam to prevent you from cheating. You can also supervise the participant’s mouse clicks to see if a student is cheating or not. 10% of the people who sign up, end up completing the course. • MOOC is not just a course and it is not a school, it is a different way of learning online. There is no limit to how many people can do these online courses. MOOCs are like courses you would take in Universities; however they don’t offer the academic credit unless you decide to pay money. MOOCS usually are talked about on social networks online so that’s how you can get started with a MOOC. There are a variety of courses that you can take such as art, architecture, mathematics, science, physics, biology, chemistry, law, foods and nutrition, music, robotics, marketing, design, languages and so many more. MOOC is not just some random place online to take courses, it is offered by many of the best Universities. Coursera is an example of a technology company that offers MOOC.

21. MOOC • These universities: Wharton School, University of Virginia, Stanford University are examples of participants of MOOC. There are, of course many others. The thing I like about MOOC is that you decide what you want to learn, how you decide to learn it and who you learn it with. It lets you have the opportunity to explore what you can do and not be given specific instructions from the teacher on what to do. • The work you complete is graded or marked by other peers; this allows your peers to have an opportunity to reflect and to see someone else’s point of view on the subject. You can watch the videos at any time of the day and you can rewind the video if you missed any important information, but in a classroom you cannot rewind what the teacher just said. In class you are too busy writing notes so you may miss out information; you don’t have to worry online because you can easily rewind back. It is very unique and will become more popular as the years go by. • Personally I would like to be a part of a Massive Open Online Course; it is a different kind of experience and by hearing what it’s about, it persuades me to participate. *The app will not have MOOC on it, but it will have something very similar to it on it.*

22. Online Tutoring • Online tutoring will be incorporated in the app because it is really helpful. You can easily get help from an older student or teacher, and second it’s all online so you can access a tutor from home or from anywhere on your mobile device. • On the side of the page, there should be the names of tutors and it shows you which tutors are available to help, by having a green dot by their name. This website categorizes the tutors in to subjects. So there are different tutors for each subject. Each tutor has their own profile page with an explanation of their teaching experience, reviews on them as a tutor and a little bit about their personal life so you can get to know what they are like outside of tutoring. • You can use video, audio or text chat to communicate. • There are professional tutors, who know what they are doing. Some of the tutors are graduates, professors, or certified teachers so you know the help you are getting is valuable and is actually going to help you succeed; it’s not just a waste of time. You also know the information they give you will be accurate.

23. More Info on Online Tutoring • If you wish to use the tutoring part of the app, it will include a report card at the end in detail outlining the aspects of the course that the tutor has seen improvement on. Tests are being given to the students in detail.

24. Online Tutoring • The tutor is able to work from home wherever they are in the world. They don’t have to worry about getting ready and driving to work. They can just get up in the morning and go sit down and start working in front of their computer. That’s all! It’s a really simple but an advanced concept. The children don’t have to go to an actual building and meet their tutor face to face. The children don’t need to stress their parents out by having them drive them there and back. They can learn at home safely. It is worth the money you pay due to all the advantages. Even if you’re sick, or injured and you can’t go to your tutor, you can still do it from home on your computer. Your energy and time is used more efficiently and is saved. The technology that is at the child’s finger tips might help them get a gist of the concept more easily due to the new interaction and communication of technology.

25. Sylvan Learning • Sylvan Learning is a tutoring organization. It offers online tutoring. Certified Sylvan teachers do the live lessons. Sylvan offers personalized reading and math help. It offers math, reading, writing, study skills, homework help, college prep, SAT prep, ACT prep, State test prep, and summer camps. • Sylvan Learning will have it’s own section in the app and is used as the online tutoring organization for this app. • Price for Sylvan’s online tutoring varies.

26. Overview • Overall, online tutoring is a really good way to learn easily. It saves time, money, and energy. This is the future now. Everything is online. You don’t need to actually physically be at a place at a specific time. With the progression of technology, I can absolutely see this idea growing even more popular than it already is today and that’s exactly why I want to incorporate it in my app.

27. Introduction to Online Courses • A few students from Sullivan are currently taking some of their courses online. Right now it is not that common, yet most likely everybody will be doing this in the future as the years pass. I find it cool because you don’t need to worry about going to an actual classroom; you can just do your work at home, anywhere at any time. • This allows you to go at your own pace too. Whether as in a classroom, you need be following the class’s speed. MOOC is something that you would do more on your own time for curiosity and you would have to pay in order to get the credit. It doesn’t follow the grade curriculum. Some students from Surrey and I know there are a few students from Sullivan that are doing their courses online. They are doing it through Surrey Connect.

28. Surrey Connect • Surrey Connect offers three different programs. One is called the elementary program which is kindergarten to grade seven. The students have three report cards throughout the year. The Surrey Connect program assists students that are five years old and up. Families that are always traveling or students that are too sick to attend school are supported by Surrey Connect. • They offer workshops, such as thinking challenges, painting workshops, science fair projects, book talks, ice skating as well as many more. Surrey Connect arranges field trips, such as Science World, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Vancouver Museum and the Vancouver Zoo. Surrey Connect can access support services such as counselling, ESL Learning, and LST.

29. Surrey Connect • The second program is called the Secondary program, which is from grades 8-12. Grades 8 and 9 can only register to take courses if they are full time. For grades 10-12 there is more of a variety to what courses you can take and you have an option to do part-time or full-time. More people take online courses in grades 10-12 than taking online courses in grades 8 and 9. These online courses are free to take part-time and full-time for grade 10-12 students. Grades 8-9 are also free. Grades 10-12 have 6 months to complete the online course, however they have to be active every week. Grades 8 and 9 have to complete the courses by the first week of June. Surrey Connect has marks cut-off dates just like in school, so even if you take an online course, you still have to be on top of your studies. There are field trips also such as law courts, PNE, Planetarium and many more. • The last program offered is called the Adult Program, which is 18 and older. Students that have already graduated can take grade eleven and twelve courses, such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math. Adults can take these courses on Surrey Connect to complete their Dogwood Diploma.

30. Is Surrey Connect Right For You? • If you choose to take a course on Surrey Connect, you need to make sure you are a self-motivated and an independent learner who is able to focus and truly understand each concept taught in the course, as it is up to you to learn the material as best you can, since you are not in a classroom environment under the supervision of an actual teacher. • Furthermore, it is very easy to fall behind and you need to make sure you are always on top of your studies as you would be in school. Now you may wonder what Surrey Connect has to do with school mobile apps, and the answer to this is that I want to incorporate Surrey Connect in a good school app.

31. Online Counselling • Online counselling is advantageous because any student can book a session with a counsellor of their choice and talk to them about issues arising at home with their family or concerns about their courses. Counselling serves anyone and doesn’t just focus on students. You could talk about your marriage, family issues, addiction, careers, your anger, stress, eating disorders… ECT. Online counselling will have professional therapists and counsellors. Students have an option to speak to a teacher too.

32. Online Counselling • The online counselling can be through video chat, video conferencing or emailing. More people are using online counselling rather than using the old style way in person. The efficacy is equal to the traditional style of counselling. The end result is not effected and the way the end result is reached is not effected either. People have been booking and attending more appointments through online counselling than the traditional style. Online counselling puts you in to a more relaxing and calm mood because the traditional way may make you feel more intimidated. People have missed fewer appointments in the online therapy than the in-person therapy. Online counselling makes the patient be more open and honest, which leads to a better treatment from the counsellors. People may be shy when they talk in person so that’s how online counselling can allow the patient to tell more of their thoughts and feelings about their situation to their e-counsellor. It is also way more convenient because some people may not have the time in the day to go to an appointment, but online you can do it easily from home which is a big advantage.

33. Online Counselling • There are pros and cons to this idea. If you are having suicidal thoughts and are having a crisis, it may be treated better at an actual office, but anything minor than that can be done through the internet. Daily struggles can be talked about easily on the internet. E-therapy and e-counselling cannot be used as a substitute for in-person counselling; it is just another option to how you want to contact your counsellor and it’s a neat option to have. Online counselling is time efficient as you don’t need to worry about driving there and back and with that being said, it is very useful for travellers. People who don’t feel comfortable face to face in a room with another counsellor can easily go on their computer and start online counselling. In my school app, I want to include a section for online counselling and there could be a list of counsellor’s names with profiles on each one of them, describing their personal life and a little bit about them. This should be free for students for the first couple of sessions but then after that you would have to pay. It shouldn’t be very expensive and the cost should depend on your situation. The app is also going to allow you to speak to a counsellor through FaceTime if that is more effective for you, rather than emailing when you can’t see what the counsellor looks like.

34. iTunes U • You need to have an Apple ID to use this app. This is an app that gives you useful and reliable material for all kinds of courses such as Physics, Social Studies, Calculus, Business, Psychology, Spanish, Economics, Music, Management, Statistics, Anatomy, Shakespeare and many more. There is more than 500,000 free resources on courses, such as lectures, videos, presentations, audios and more. • You are able to take courses made by instructors who are from universities and institutions. You are able to easily access all the materials for the course on your device with no problem. You are able to access and view the list of assignments for the course and check off the assignments you have completed as you go, which helps you organize your work and make things less overwhelming. • You can take notes easily (tap Add Note button) while watching videos, listening to audios or reading novels. The nice feature is that, iTunes U knows the location of what place in the audio you made a note in, making the notes easily accessible after watching the audio. On top of that, iTunes U organizes the notes in to sections based on whether it was from a novel, audio or lecture. This app is very useful as it allows you to view different presentations, play audio lectures and transfer important information to other pupils. • Sending notes and important material from the course through Mail, Twitter or Messages can be easily done with only a few small steps. The other students are notified when new assignments are made or when new messages are sent. • The iBooks app is connected to iTunes and you are able to read books from iBooks directly from the iTunes U app and highlight specific text from the book.

35. iTunes U • iTunes U Course Manager is a tool that allows instructors to create a whole entire course that is shared with students including handouts, quizzes, tests, worksheets, videos, audio lectures, links and material from iTunes, iBooks, the Internet and the App Store. You can include content from the iTunes U app, letting you collect information from different institutions, universities, and museums. • Step by step instructions for building the course are available in the iTunes U Course Manager guide and a maximum of five teachers can work together on just one course for a class. Delivering the course to your students is done by using a URL or code when inviting them to enroll. • Your own course that you made can be found in the iTunes U app catalogue section if you work in an institution. • This app goes far beyond than the knowledge you learn from sitting in a classroom, as it is easily accessible with information directly from your handheld device, making it very convenient. While taking a course on iTunes U, you will always be updated with the latest news and information at all times no matter where you are; as long as you have your device with you. You will always be updated with important educational messages. From reading and researching about this application, it seems extremely useful and valuable throughout high school years and all the way through university. *My app will also provide useful material for courses and will have a whole entire section in the app that is similar to iTunes U.

36. Homework Club Online • Students can get together and chat about struggles they encountered while doing homework and other pupils can use techniques to help them understand the concept. This allows the students to come together and to interact with others at the same grade level as them. • The online chat tool can be monitored by teachers to ensure students are using it appropriately and that it is used as an educational tool only and not as a social networking site. The stronger students can guide the weaker students through difficult course material without providing just the answers for the weaker students to copy from. • This is very useful because if you are stuck on a problem, you can easily access help when needed. If students are using the tool constantly and are too lazy to do the work themselves, then the online teacher will take necessary action and discuss with the student why they are always using the chat tool. • This is great for students requiring extra help with specific subjects because they can either get help from their other peers, or if needed you are able to get help from the teachers who also have online accounts and they can both monitor and contribute to the conversations. Schools have a homework club set up after school for the students to come together to work on their homework, and this Online Homework Club follows the same idea because it is used for getting help, discussing an interesting topic, posing questions, and introducing your own ideas to be shared with everyone else.

37. Homework Club • This tool will make you better prepared for exams because you get a chance to give and receive ideas from other students. • You are able to work with others and use the brain of two or more people to solve a challenging problem or to try to find the answer to an in-depth question. Not only are you gaining your knowledge while doing this, but you are also learning how to cooperate with other people. • Students can use this chat tool to quiz each other before a test. • The tool should allow the students to send audios, and cool educational videos to one another. • The teachers can monitor which students contribute greatly to the conversation and which students take the time and effort to help other students. • This will be similar to a blogging site, where a good blog filled with detailed responses should be formed at the end and can be used to show the learning growth of each individual. The blog should be a good representation of what the students are learning and how they are learning it. Each student should also have their own blog describing their standing within the course. For example, every month they should write a paragraph explaining their understanding of the course and whether they feel very confident and proud or on the other side of the spectrum, feeling confused and puzzled. In the paragraph they should have included how they feel interacting with the other students and whether or not it is beneficial to them. They should also have most of their assignments posted on their blog including a section of what they learned each week.

38. How will the Homework Club work? The online homework club gives the chance for students to actively participate. • There should be a specific time once a week when all the students involved in the Online Homework Club should meet together and everybody should all be online at the same time to discuss the course work. The time can be set up so it is convenient for most of the students. All the other days of the week, the students are welcome to pose questions and to write about interesting ideas. • The students that participate more actively than others will get more marks because they decided to take the time to add new ideas to the blog. Therefore, they receive more credit than the other students.

39. Your future learning all in one app • This app will help you throughout your high school years all the way through college and university… just taps away. • Cost: $9.99 • The reason why it costs $9.99 is because it has to be affordable for students and the Online Tutoring, Online Counselling, will have separate costs depending on your situation. • There are also some paid brain games in the app too.

40. These are my ideas, and I hope you understand that this app assists you greatly in your learning to become a brighter student and provides you with new methods of studying. This is the key to your future learning. I really want to download this app in the future in order to explore its useful features, therefore, allowing everyone along with myself, the ability to experience lifelong learning. Thank you