So apparently there are some newer features on Google Earth that I was unaware of... specifically, the flight simulator. How cool! In addition, you can view under the surface of the ocean, view historical imagery to see how it has changed over decades, and even take guided tours of the Moon and Mars! Wow! What endless possibilities this creates for the classroom! I went to Google maps just to explore, since it had been awhile and I was able to click on webcam icons all over the country and view random videos. It was funny to hear the dialect in the Crossville, TN video. I can see how this would be a useful tool in seeing the landscapes, and even hearing the different accents around America!
I was curious to know how educators are taking advantage of such powerful technology and bringing it into the classroom. For the youngest learners, they can be asked to identify things in their neighborhood, or things in the community, such as hospitals. Elementary students have been asked to identify community leaders (police, firemen...) create placemarks about life at home (birthdays). Middle school students were learning in the classroom about human migration/ethnic groups and were able to pinpoint and mark this locations! Such a powerful visual tool for the classroom!
I checked out GoogleEarthGoods and learned additional ways in which this tool is used in the classroom. You can view with your class the place you are going before the field trip, maybe a fun little treat to get them excited. You can embed voice/audio onto google maps or take a virtual drive with your students! Anywhere in the world! It would be a fun activity to select a location, drive duration, things to look for, notate things you saw, and other exploratory details. Older students could use google earth and sketchup to contruct a new city. I feel certain this could be a group project that would be fun for all students!
I was very impressed with the newest features on Google Earth and excited to find out the extent of usefulness it has for the classroom! I never would have thought of these uses had I not GAINED tonight ;)
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Maps Ya'll
I searched a few places of interest of Google Maps and it's always interesting. I was a little disappointed to visit some areas in which you could not view 360 degrees at street level. I am curious at how often the visuals are updated, as I noticed it has been 3 to 4 years, judging by vehicles in driveways. I was trying to zoom in a make legible the vehicle tag numbers or mailbox numbers, but with no success. I wonder if this is intentional?
I am the WORST with directions, I can see how this is an extremely useful tool in getting from point A to B. My GPS can direct me and once I get so far it keeps claiming "you have reached your destination" however, I have not! And so it would help if I knew what exactly I was looking for.
I like the feature that you can create maps and even add little icons. This is a helpful tool for visitors because they are always asking "where should I go?" and "whats good to eat?" How easy would it be to have a map. you wouldn't have to tell them its the same map you use for allll visitors ;)
This is a great tool for classroom lesson to learn about other regions or countries, especially with the icon feature.
I am the WORST with directions, I can see how this is an extremely useful tool in getting from point A to B. My GPS can direct me and once I get so far it keeps claiming "you have reached your destination" however, I have not! And so it would help if I knew what exactly I was looking for.
I like the feature that you can create maps and even add little icons. This is a helpful tool for visitors because they are always asking "where should I go?" and "whats good to eat?" How easy would it be to have a map. you wouldn't have to tell them its the same map you use for allll visitors ;)
This is a great tool for classroom lesson to learn about other regions or countries, especially with the icon feature.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Long running joke...
So my cousins and I have an ongoing joke about this restaurant we've created in our minds. Its a fine establishment hidden in the back woods of East Tennessee and it is called Pecan's. Pronounced Peee-cannns with a nice little southern drawl. So, when given the chance to create a website tonight in my tech class, I thought how funny would it be to create this comical website and send it to me cousins! It's one of those 'had to be there' kind of jokes and to give a little background on just how much we love to idealize this little piece of Heaven, we do impromptu Pecan's commercials that sound like car lot commercials. Fast talking, ridiculous deals, and of course, the best southern accent we can pull. Anyway, enough with the excuses, here is the URL to have a little looksie :) Pecan's
Unfortunately, this site is still under construction. I wasn't able to completely edit the original template and make it my own. Hopefully, it will be complete in the near future. I was having some difficulty inserting my own pictures from Picasa. And for whatever reason, I have been unable to edit the heading of the homepage. To be continued....
Unfortunately, this site is still under construction. I wasn't able to completely edit the original template and make it my own. Hopefully, it will be complete in the near future. I was having some difficulty inserting my own pictures from Picasa. And for whatever reason, I have been unable to edit the heading of the homepage. To be continued....
Class shouldn't be this fun!
Now, I've got pictures to edit in picnik! I was laughing out loud looking at the fun "touchups" for pictures! You can tan, whiten teeth, thin or fatten yourself, add mascara, even a wrinkle remover! I mean seriously, the fun is endless. I can't wait to use this for personal and educational purposes! As you can see, I edited my first picture quite a bit! From distortion to limelight to adding text. There is the option to upgrade and create/edit more with pictures, but I refrained. (i.e borders) With the second picture, I simply changed the color effect.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Marco? Polo!
Searching the web can be frustrating and overwhelming when 50,000,000 results come back for a TN state facts search. I don't think this is ideal for a student in a limited amount of class time.
That being said, I LOVE Google Squared! It was like entering a search and the most important details that would come from the website are right in front of you. For example, I searched Sevierville, TN Spas and an image, the description, business hours, and email contact came back to me in a list. So, if I didn't want to know contact info returning in my search I could "x" it out or if I wanted to know additional info such as year established. I was so impressed with the directness and efficient search! This is a great way for students with a computer time limit to search, or obviously, get more useful info from a single search!
I then Googled Sevierville, TN golf and clicked on wonder wheel to break down the info and sift through the results. And as I sifted through the information that was pinpointing a better search result the right of the screen was updating as well with a more accurate site to my search request. I could see how this would be more useful if you were searching in an area you didnt know or a topic you were unfamiliar. That way it's kind of doing the brainstorm work for you.
I checked out the timeline on Google and I must admit I am not understanding its usefulness. Needless to say, I'll discuss the usefulness of advanced searches on Google. This type of search is one way to eliminate sites that arent actually what you are looking for. Not to mention, filtering words that you do not want to return in your search results. The ability to chose reading level is a great tool for filtering classroom searches.
That being said, I LOVE Google Squared! It was like entering a search and the most important details that would come from the website are right in front of you. For example, I searched Sevierville, TN Spas and an image, the description, business hours, and email contact came back to me in a list. So, if I didn't want to know contact info returning in my search I could "x" it out or if I wanted to know additional info such as year established. I was so impressed with the directness and efficient search! This is a great way for students with a computer time limit to search, or obviously, get more useful info from a single search!
I then Googled Sevierville, TN golf and clicked on wonder wheel to break down the info and sift through the results. And as I sifted through the information that was pinpointing a better search result the right of the screen was updating as well with a more accurate site to my search request. I could see how this would be more useful if you were searching in an area you didnt know or a topic you were unfamiliar. That way it's kind of doing the brainstorm work for you.
I checked out the timeline on Google and I must admit I am not understanding its usefulness. Needless to say, I'll discuss the usefulness of advanced searches on Google. This type of search is one way to eliminate sites that arent actually what you are looking for. Not to mention, filtering words that you do not want to return in your search results. The ability to chose reading level is a great tool for filtering classroom searches.
i scream, you scream, we all scream for iPads!!
Today I took the time to "study" three apps on my iPad. First, I checked out a News app called Newsy. You are able to filter the types of articles you wish to view or flip through the pictures and descriptions at your own pace. I clicked on a sports link and silly me, thought I would be directed to an article....nope it was a video. This is me, still not use to the wonders of an iPad. Now, I understand why there is a playlist. You are able to directly "like" this on Facebook, post a comment on the video, share to Facebook, Twitter or through email. There is also a great feature to drag the video into a library. This is a great app for students to easily navigate through current events and find videos they are interested in and share. Pretty impressive.
Next, I navigated my way to the Language Arts icon and chose an app called Lazy Town. What a great interactive book for elementary students! The sound gets me interested immediately from the start. You are able to chose a book off the shelf (or purchase). I was curious to see how much they cost and the book I was looking at was $1.99 and you could view customer ratings and reviews. Since my iPad doesn't have any books, I was able to "try" them. The music doesn't stop at the intro, it continues throughout the story, along with sound effects. There is a narrator that reads as the words highlight along the page. Great reading tool! At the bottom of the screen, there are options to translate to Spanish, have a pop up screen for sign language (very cool!), a play my voice option, bookmark, play, stop, and pause! You were able to skip back and forth through the book, similar to skipping a DVD. Great listening activity for younger kids!
Last, I played on the Doodle Buddy app. It was much like a paint program on Microsoft, but much, much better! You could use your finger to write/draw on the screen and select colors. You could choose a background, text font, decals, and stamps. Don't forget about the fun sound effects, for example, placing a chicken leg stamp on the page makes a "yummm!" sound and a cat goes "meow" and well, you get the idea. You could easily save the image to your album or email it. This is great for an introductory iPad activity for younger students that are not yet able to read.
Thank you iPad for reminding me, once again, why I need you :)
Next, I navigated my way to the Language Arts icon and chose an app called Lazy Town. What a great interactive book for elementary students! The sound gets me interested immediately from the start. You are able to chose a book off the shelf (or purchase). I was curious to see how much they cost and the book I was looking at was $1.99 and you could view customer ratings and reviews. Since my iPad doesn't have any books, I was able to "try" them. The music doesn't stop at the intro, it continues throughout the story, along with sound effects. There is a narrator that reads as the words highlight along the page. Great reading tool! At the bottom of the screen, there are options to translate to Spanish, have a pop up screen for sign language (very cool!), a play my voice option, bookmark, play, stop, and pause! You were able to skip back and forth through the book, similar to skipping a DVD. Great listening activity for younger kids!
Last, I played on the Doodle Buddy app. It was much like a paint program on Microsoft, but much, much better! You could use your finger to write/draw on the screen and select colors. You could choose a background, text font, decals, and stamps. Don't forget about the fun sound effects, for example, placing a chicken leg stamp on the page makes a "yummm!" sound and a cat goes "meow" and well, you get the idea. You could easily save the image to your album or email it. This is great for an introductory iPad activity for younger students that are not yet able to read.
Thank you iPad for reminding me, once again, why I need you :)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Finger Painting for Grownups :)
Finger painting for grownups can be found in Google docs drawing. Fun! Fun! I just created an award winning picture, but unfortunately I haven't figured out how to upload it to the blog. Anyway, I'll just give you a visual. First I inserted an image of hydrangeas by searching Google images. Next, I used the scribble pen to do just that all around the border. Lastly, I added a splash of color and inserted text (my initials) and ta-da! An award winning drawing! I watched a tutorial and noted there was a chat feature in Drawing. I can see how this would be a usable feature when a class project in going on, but otherwise, not sure. This is a great way to enhance presentations and it's free!
I looked at a Language Arts lesson plan that required students to create a drawing and write a story with the assistance of an older "book buddy". This is a great lesson plan to for literacy, creativity, and partnership. Of course, there were certain guidelines about the drawings and criteria for the writing. The finished work was turned into a Google Presentation, or printed to create a book. Great project for first grade!
I looked at a Language Arts lesson plan that required students to create a drawing and write a story with the assistance of an older "book buddy". This is a great lesson plan to for literacy, creativity, and partnership. Of course, there were certain guidelines about the drawings and criteria for the writing. The finished work was turned into a Google Presentation, or printed to create a book. Great project for first grade!
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