I had not had any previous experience with Google Earth before now, though I had often heard others sing its praise. Having now downloaded Google Earth and explored it myself, I agree that Google Earth is an amazing application of modern day technology that I could not have imagined existing when I was a kid. I can easily understand how Google Earth can be employed as a powerful tool in the classroom.
A. I learned about many interesting Google Earth features through the Atomic Learning tutorials. For instance, I learned that users can measure distances in Google Earth by selecting the Ruler from the tool bar. Many different measurements styles are available including miles, kilometers, and yards. I measured the distance from Taiwan's northern tip to southern tip to be approximately 232 miles. Another feature I learned about through an Atomic Learning tutorial is the History tool. For instance, I zoomed in on the Johnson University campus. The most recent view of Johnson's campus is from April 23, 2012. It was really surreal to see my van parked outside my townhouse (and my husband is right, I do park crooked!). Using the History tool, I was able to view Johnson's campus all the way back to 1992. It was very interesting to see the different phases of construction that the campus as undergone. When I looked at the image of Johnson's campus from March 30, 2009, I was able to find my car parked outside of the trailer on campus that we lived in at that time.
B. I love, love, love Google Lit Trips! I discovered the Google Lit Trips website under the high school ideas section. Google Lit Trips use Google Earth to map locations, journeys and events in novels. For instance, I explored a Google Lit Trip for Night by Elie Wiesel that shows the various locations discussed in the book and has historical photos and descriptions from WWII embedded in the placemarks. I also looked at a Google Lit Trip created by students that shows the place of birth of 15 famous poets and has placemarks that you can select to view a brief biography of the poet and listen to embedded podcasts of a selected poem being read aloud. I have already saved several Google Lit Trip KMZ files, and I look forward to using some of these lit trips and creating my own.
C. The Google Earth Education Community website is a very valuable web resource for teachers. Some of the information on the website includes instructions for making Google Earth presentations, organizing locations into folders, and creating and personalizing placemarks. The Google Earth Education Community website also has various lesson ideas and examples of Google Earth applications organized by academic discipline. For instance, under the Literature category, there are seven different Google Earth related ideas and downloads. I particularly like the William Shakespeare Locations in Plays that uses Google Earth to show 89 different locations found in Shakespeare's plays.
I am enamored with Google Earth right now and am already imagining using it in multiple ways in my classroom for both teacher and student generated presentations and projects. I look forward to experimenting with Google Earth further in the future so that I am better prepared to utilize it in the classroom and teach my students to do the same.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Google Maps
Before exploring Google Maps further, I had only associated Google Maps with looking up directions. I did not know the extent of Google Maps' functions. I really like how you can switch from map view to satellite view. I also like the option to turn on photos and view photos taken from different parts of the selected map area. For instance, I zoomed in on Qingdao, China, turned on the satellite view and photos, and was then able to view pictures from various areas of the city. My husband and I hope to move overseas to teach, and I can imagine Google Maps being very helpful as we strive to familiarize ourselves with whatever city we move to, both before and after we arrive.
I really like the idea of using Google Maps in the classroom. I reviewed the high school English Language Arts lesson plan titled "Historical Novel." In this lesson plan, the teacher instructed the students to use Google Maps to create a map and plot the journey taken in the novel My Brother Sam is Dead by adding comments to the map describing the different steps in their journey and the major events at each location. I like this idea of using Google Maps to help students better appreciate the topography and journey distances in novels as well as using it as a visual organizational tool for them to track the characters' progress through the novel.
Google Maps would also be very useful to help students create mental images for the settings described in novels. For instance, a rural student may not appreciate a description of the city as a "concrete jungle," but Google Maps would help them to zoom in on New York City and see the seemingly chaotic, crowded maze of buildings and roads. In the same way, if a class is reading a novel set in a foreign country, they could use Google Maps to gain a better understanding of the location.
I look forward to using Google Maps more in the future and implementing its use in literature portions of my curricular units.
I really like the idea of using Google Maps in the classroom. I reviewed the high school English Language Arts lesson plan titled "Historical Novel." In this lesson plan, the teacher instructed the students to use Google Maps to create a map and plot the journey taken in the novel My Brother Sam is Dead by adding comments to the map describing the different steps in their journey and the major events at each location. I like this idea of using Google Maps to help students better appreciate the topography and journey distances in novels as well as using it as a visual organizational tool for them to track the characters' progress through the novel.
Google Maps would also be very useful to help students create mental images for the settings described in novels. For instance, a rural student may not appreciate a description of the city as a "concrete jungle," but Google Maps would help them to zoom in on New York City and see the seemingly chaotic, crowded maze of buildings and roads. In the same way, if a class is reading a novel set in a foreign country, they could use Google Maps to gain a better understanding of the location.
I look forward to using Google Maps more in the future and implementing its use in literature portions of my curricular units.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Picasa: A Great Software for Organizing, Editing, and Sharing Graphics
I downloaded Picasa to my MacBook, and the software proceeded to upload all of the pictures on my computer to my Picasa photo library. I really like Picasa because of its organizational features and editing options. I also appreciate that users are able to create web albums to share with specified people. For instance, I plan to use the Picasa feature that remembers and identifies faces to search through my vacation album for photos of my sister and her family so that I can make a web album to share with her. This process will be so much simpler than having to sort through the photos manually and burn them to a disc to mail to her.
I look forward to experimenting with Picasa in the future and becoming more efficient with its use. I can envision using Picasa in the classroom to share photos with students and their parents in a secure place where I can restrict who has access to the photos.
Please see below for an example of editing done with Picasa.
Before: A photo of my footprint and my son's footprint on the beach.
After: I straightened, cropped, transitioned to B&W, and added text.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Google Sites: My Very First Wiki!
I chose to create a website for a hypotehetical English Language Arts III Classroom. I chose this topic because I imagine that I will be creating many such wikis in the future once I have my own English classrooms. Please see URL below to link to my Google Site.
https://sites.google.com/site/mrsmiddletonela3/home
https://sites.google.com/site/mrsmiddletonela3/home
Game-Based Learning: Micro-Games in the Classroom
"Gamification" is a new approach to education and learning that is garnering more attention and seems to be gaining momentum. Game-based learning seeks to capitalize on some of the attributes of highly addictive games and harness them in the classroom in order to increase student motivation and foster interactive learning. Three main categories of games used in game-based learning include micro-games, macro-games, and virtual worlds. I chose to closely examine and play two different Engish related micro-games: Furious Frogs and Grammar Ninja.
The micro-game Furious Frogs is an Arcademic Skill Builders Games. This game allows players the choice of creating private games in which they compete against the computer or public games in which they compete with other real-life players. The game requires players to put into practice what they know about antonyms, synonyms, and homonyms. Each player is represented by a color-coded frog, and the goal is to eat the flies/words that are the antonym, synonym or homonym for the target word. The game provides feedback describing ranking, accuracy, rate, and words missed. I enjoyed playing this game, particularly when I was competing against other players rather than the computer. I can imagine using this micro-game in 7-9 grade classes as a fun practice excercise for students to play during a lesson on synonyms, antonyms, and/or homonyms. I think that the students would enjoy competing against each other and the game would help their identification of appropriate synonyms, homonyms, and antonyms become more reflexive.
The micro-game Grammar Ninja is ICT Magic/English game. This "academic combat" game allows students to be ninjas and throw ninja stars in order to identify parts of speech. At the master ninja level, students are asked to identify nouns, verbs, adjective, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, and articles. Students/players first choose their level of difficulty: Beginner Ninja, Skilled Ninja, or Master Ninja. While playing the game, students click on words within sentences to identify parts of speech. I like that if they pick the wrong word, the word blows up and the game tells the student what that which part of speech that word really belongs to (e.g. if a student identifies "hot" as a verb, the computer will tell the student that "hot" is actually an adjective). The student/player can also use the mouse to make notes and scribbles on the page or click the Question Mark button if they need help or hints. I really had fun playing this game and enjoyed the sound effects. One limitation to note, however, is that the game could only be played two to three times before sentences and questions began to be recycled. I can envision using this game as a reinforcement activity in a lesson plan about the parts of speech. I think that students of all ages would enjoy this game, and they could play as individuals or in pairs.
"Gamification" is a new concept for me that I look forward to exploring further. I was very skeptical about the value of micro-games when I first set out, but now I can better see their potential as occasional and quick reinforcement/skill-practicing activities that could spice up lesson plans and allow students to practice what they are learning in a non-threatening context.
The micro-game Furious Frogs is an Arcademic Skill Builders Games. This game allows players the choice of creating private games in which they compete against the computer or public games in which they compete with other real-life players. The game requires players to put into practice what they know about antonyms, synonyms, and homonyms. Each player is represented by a color-coded frog, and the goal is to eat the flies/words that are the antonym, synonym or homonym for the target word. The game provides feedback describing ranking, accuracy, rate, and words missed. I enjoyed playing this game, particularly when I was competing against other players rather than the computer. I can imagine using this micro-game in 7-9 grade classes as a fun practice excercise for students to play during a lesson on synonyms, antonyms, and/or homonyms. I think that the students would enjoy competing against each other and the game would help their identification of appropriate synonyms, homonyms, and antonyms become more reflexive.
The micro-game Grammar Ninja is ICT Magic/English game. This "academic combat" game allows students to be ninjas and throw ninja stars in order to identify parts of speech. At the master ninja level, students are asked to identify nouns, verbs, adjective, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, and articles. Students/players first choose their level of difficulty: Beginner Ninja, Skilled Ninja, or Master Ninja. While playing the game, students click on words within sentences to identify parts of speech. I like that if they pick the wrong word, the word blows up and the game tells the student what that which part of speech that word really belongs to (e.g. if a student identifies "hot" as a verb, the computer will tell the student that "hot" is actually an adjective). The student/player can also use the mouse to make notes and scribbles on the page or click the Question Mark button if they need help or hints. I really had fun playing this game and enjoyed the sound effects. One limitation to note, however, is that the game could only be played two to three times before sentences and questions began to be recycled. I can envision using this game as a reinforcement activity in a lesson plan about the parts of speech. I think that students of all ages would enjoy this game, and they could play as individuals or in pairs.
"Gamification" is a new concept for me that I look forward to exploring further. I was very skeptical about the value of micro-games when I first set out, but now I can better see their potential as occasional and quick reinforcement/skill-practicing activities that could spice up lesson plans and allow students to practice what they are learning in a non-threatening context.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Google is a Verb: Optimizing Google Searches
Using Google to conduct searches has become so commonplace, modern English speakers now use Google as both a noun and a verb. I often hear others or even myself say something like "I'll have to google that later" or "You should google such and such." Most people are fairly familiar with basic Google search procedures such as using specific keywords, but not everyone (including myself before tonight) knows how to use Advanced Searching, Image Searching, Google Custom Searching, and Google Alert.
Google users may use a number of operators to restrict or better define their search results. For instance, one well known operator is the use of quotation marks around exact phrases or lyrics. Operators that I had never heard of before include using a dash before words or websites you want excluded from your search results (e.g. memoir -samsung), using an asterisk in place of unknown words (e.g. "to be or not to be, that is the *"), and using two periods to indicate a number range (e.g. wikis in the classroom articles 2006..2012). If you are unable to remember these search operators or are uncomfortable with their use, you can always select the Advanced Search option to the side of the standard Google search box, which will guide you through an advanced search checklist for narrowing or specifying your search query.
Advanced Search can also be used for image searches. For instance, I performed an advanced image search for pandas with the following restrictions: colors in image-full color, type of image-photo, and region-china. If using an iPad, users may also use Google Goggles to take a photo of an image and search for other related images based on that photo. For instance, I used Goggles to take a photo of my keyboard and Google pulled up search results showing other Apple keyboard images and related websites. This neat iPad feature only makes the little greedy voice in my head shout louder "I must have an iPad of my own ASAP!"
Google Custom Search is another tool that teachers may be interested in using if they wish to create a Google search specific to their website (if they have one) or a custom search that restricts students to specified web information sources. I am interested in this Google feature, but will need to explore it more in depth before I would be comfortable setting it up in my own classroom.
Google Alert was my most exciting discovery of the night. I had never heard of this Google feature before; essentially, the Google Alert feature allows users to sign up to receive email notifications when new search results are found for a specified query. For instance, I created two Google Alerts this evening; I should now receive email alerts when Google finds new news for the searches "dyslexia high school" and "common core state standards initiative," both of which are the general topics of research papers I am currently developing. Google Alert has great potential for aiding teachers in continual professional development by assisting them in staying on the cutting edge of teaching strategitis, technology, and educational reforms.
As always, I am very pleased to have learned the above new tips and tricks that will help me to better use Google in the classroom and for professional development.
Google users may use a number of operators to restrict or better define their search results. For instance, one well known operator is the use of quotation marks around exact phrases or lyrics. Operators that I had never heard of before include using a dash before words or websites you want excluded from your search results (e.g. memoir -samsung), using an asterisk in place of unknown words (e.g. "to be or not to be, that is the *"), and using two periods to indicate a number range (e.g. wikis in the classroom articles 2006..2012). If you are unable to remember these search operators or are uncomfortable with their use, you can always select the Advanced Search option to the side of the standard Google search box, which will guide you through an advanced search checklist for narrowing or specifying your search query.
Advanced Search can also be used for image searches. For instance, I performed an advanced image search for pandas with the following restrictions: colors in image-full color, type of image-photo, and region-china. If using an iPad, users may also use Google Goggles to take a photo of an image and search for other related images based on that photo. For instance, I used Goggles to take a photo of my keyboard and Google pulled up search results showing other Apple keyboard images and related websites. This neat iPad feature only makes the little greedy voice in my head shout louder "I must have an iPad of my own ASAP!"
Google Custom Search is another tool that teachers may be interested in using if they wish to create a Google search specific to their website (if they have one) or a custom search that restricts students to specified web information sources. I am interested in this Google feature, but will need to explore it more in depth before I would be comfortable setting it up in my own classroom.
Google Alert was my most exciting discovery of the night. I had never heard of this Google feature before; essentially, the Google Alert feature allows users to sign up to receive email notifications when new search results are found for a specified query. For instance, I created two Google Alerts this evening; I should now receive email alerts when Google finds new news for the searches "dyslexia high school" and "common core state standards initiative," both of which are the general topics of research papers I am currently developing. Google Alert has great potential for aiding teachers in continual professional development by assisting them in staying on the cutting edge of teaching strategitis, technology, and educational reforms.
As always, I am very pleased to have learned the above new tips and tricks that will help me to better use Google in the classroom and for professional development.
Monday, July 16, 2012
iPad Apps: Educational Tools for the Classroom
Tonight we explored many different educational apps that are available for the iPad. Three apps that I find very exciting and can imagine using in the classroom include the language arts apps Shakespeare and Dictionary and the social studies app Globe.
The language arts app titled Shakespeare could be a very valuable resource in any language arts classroom when studying the various Shakespearian plays. This app allows users to read all of Shakespeare's plays on the iPad and to navigate through the plays act by act. The app also provides scene breakdowns that summarize the various scenes. Some of the tools include the options to change the backgroud and font colors, changing the font styling, and changing the size of the font (which could be very useful for visually-impaired students). If the user were to upgrade to the Pro Edition for $9.99, he or she would have access to 40,000 words in a glossary, 18 portraits, 80 quotes, and facts about the birth, life, and death of William Shakespeare. I really like this app because it contains all of Shakespeare's plays, facilitates easy navigation within the plays, and provides scene breakdowns. If students were one-to-one with iPads, it would be cheaper in the long run to access the plays through this app rather than buying hardcopy Shakespearian texts. I wish the Pro Edition were free, but it is reasonably priced and I can imagine the glossary feature in particular being very useful for students who struggle to understand the many archaic words in Shakespeare's writing.
I also like the language arts app titled Dictionary. This app allows users to look up words by typing them or speaking them. The results of a word search provide the definitions, origins, synonyms, and anonymous of the searched for word. The user can also listen to a digital recording of the word's correct pronunciation. I love this app because it is so comprehensive. Dictionary is a one-stop shop for definitions, pronunciation, and a thesauras. I can imagine asking students to use this app as a supplemental resource to hardcopy dictionaries and thesaurases when exploring new vobabulary and synonyms.
The third app that I really like is titled Globe. This app presents users with a 3-D interactive globe that t can be rotated every which direction. Users can tap countries to quickly pull up the related Wikipedia articles with information such as the country's history, demographics, culture, economy, etc. I really like this app because it could help students to become familiar with the locations of countries and help them quickly review background information on individual countries. I can imagine using this app in an English language arts classroom when studying multi-cultural literature that requires students to quickly assimilate background information. Students may also use this as a secondary resource when gathering background information for a research paper pertaining to different countries.
I am excited about these apps and the many other educational apps already available and currently being designed for future use in the classroom. I believe that in the years to come we will see apps transforming the way learning is approached in the classroom.
The language arts app titled Shakespeare could be a very valuable resource in any language arts classroom when studying the various Shakespearian plays. This app allows users to read all of Shakespeare's plays on the iPad and to navigate through the plays act by act. The app also provides scene breakdowns that summarize the various scenes. Some of the tools include the options to change the backgroud and font colors, changing the font styling, and changing the size of the font (which could be very useful for visually-impaired students). If the user were to upgrade to the Pro Edition for $9.99, he or she would have access to 40,000 words in a glossary, 18 portraits, 80 quotes, and facts about the birth, life, and death of William Shakespeare. I really like this app because it contains all of Shakespeare's plays, facilitates easy navigation within the plays, and provides scene breakdowns. If students were one-to-one with iPads, it would be cheaper in the long run to access the plays through this app rather than buying hardcopy Shakespearian texts. I wish the Pro Edition were free, but it is reasonably priced and I can imagine the glossary feature in particular being very useful for students who struggle to understand the many archaic words in Shakespeare's writing.
I also like the language arts app titled Dictionary. This app allows users to look up words by typing them or speaking them. The results of a word search provide the definitions, origins, synonyms, and anonymous of the searched for word. The user can also listen to a digital recording of the word's correct pronunciation. I love this app because it is so comprehensive. Dictionary is a one-stop shop for definitions, pronunciation, and a thesauras. I can imagine asking students to use this app as a supplemental resource to hardcopy dictionaries and thesaurases when exploring new vobabulary and synonyms.
The third app that I really like is titled Globe. This app presents users with a 3-D interactive globe that t can be rotated every which direction. Users can tap countries to quickly pull up the related Wikipedia articles with information such as the country's history, demographics, culture, economy, etc. I really like this app because it could help students to become familiar with the locations of countries and help them quickly review background information on individual countries. I can imagine using this app in an English language arts classroom when studying multi-cultural literature that requires students to quickly assimilate background information. Students may also use this as a secondary resource when gathering background information for a research paper pertaining to different countries.
I am excited about these apps and the many other educational apps already available and currently being designed for future use in the classroom. I believe that in the years to come we will see apps transforming the way learning is approached in the classroom.
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