Best iTunes U for Early Childhood Educators

Not only can you build your own course in iTunesU and choose to share only with your student or to the world.  I found it quite a good tool for professional development.  There're lots of topics and subject area available free with different education institutes.

The following are some I found useful as an early childhood educator:

USF University of South Florida - click on USF on iTunes U on the top menu bar and something of interest are the lit2go series, it has a lot of classic literature for children, such as rhythms, poems, short stories, fairy tales.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for Kindergarteners:
Features Robert Louis Stevenson poems for children, as well as classic nursery rhymes like "Jack and Jill", "Little Bo-Peep", "Hickory Dickory Dock", and "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep".

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 1st Graders:
Features more classic poems and fairy tales including Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky", "Fire! Fire! Burn Stick!" from Aesop's Fables, "Humpty Dumpty", "Peter Piper", and "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 2nd Graders:
Features "The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter, "The Hare and the Hedgehog" by The Brothers Grimm, more Robert Louis Stevenson poems, and an unabridged audio book called The Outdoor Girls in Florida by Laura Lee Hope.

Georgia State University - Best Practices Learning Library

- Some ideas/ games for the early childhood setting, e.g. the story stick is great to extend a story-making interest
- Working with English Language Learners

MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art
MoMA Audio: Kids

Harvard EdCast
- How to Discuss Tragedy with Children
- Toxic stress on early childhood

Eastern lllinois University
- Nutrition Through the Life Cycle - Have a lot of topics on nutrition and recipes for family to pursuit a healthy diet and lifestyle

Other channels worth subscribing:

• Edutopia, The George Lucas Educational Foundation on Technology Integration
• Classroom 2.0
• Stanford on iTunes U - click on the Standford on iTunes U site in the middle
  - Center for Teaching & Learning

Padlet for Parents Feedback

Padlet is a blank wall for collaboration, you could add anything, text, photos, videos.  Drag and drop, very easy to use.

One scenario I'd use in an early childhood setting is to set up our ipad (or computer), asked parents to add feedback while they're in the centre, or send the link out and they could post their comments on the wall.  You could also get those shy parents who doesn't want to speak out their comments, or parents whose English is not their first language, they could write in their language, record an audio note, it's all about making it more convenient for the parents.

Example: Parents feedback on our field trip

After everyone has posted their feedback, the wall can be exported as pdf, as documentation.

Padlet is also great for group research, staff collaboration on a topic of interest.  Brainstorm what you know on a topic, and add on as you go, as padlet works on a lot of devices.  There's more on their feature page.