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.
Google Drawing: A New Digital Canvas
Google Drawing is another tool within Google Drive that may be useful in the classroom. The use of this drawing tool is very simple and should be intuitive for anyone who has used a similar software, such as the drawing toolbar in Microsoft Office. Google Drawing enables students to insert lines, shapes, photos, clip art, text, and more; it could be used for simple charts or (for talented users) fairly intricate drawings.
In the elementary lesson plan I reviewed, "Book Buddies,"the teacher asks students to use a digital drawing tool to illustrate settings and characters for books they were creating. In a high school English language arts classroom such as I intend to teach, I can imagine using Google Drawings to allow students to work in dyads or triads to complete storyboards, either for books they have read or stories they are writing. I can also imagine asking students to use Google Drawings to design their own editorial/politcal cartoons in a lesson exploring inferences or graphic media. Designing and filling in graphic organizers for pre-writing and analysis strategies is another activity students may collaboratively complete using Google Drawing.
Although I probably will not use Google Drawing very frequently in the classroom, I am glad to know it is there for whenever I should wish to implement a lesson plan activity which requires students to work collaboratively to draw or design graphic organizers.
In the elementary lesson plan I reviewed, "Book Buddies,"the teacher asks students to use a digital drawing tool to illustrate settings and characters for books they were creating. In a high school English language arts classroom such as I intend to teach, I can imagine using Google Drawings to allow students to work in dyads or triads to complete storyboards, either for books they have read or stories they are writing. I can also imagine asking students to use Google Drawings to design their own editorial/politcal cartoons in a lesson exploring inferences or graphic media. Designing and filling in graphic organizers for pre-writing and analysis strategies is another activity students may collaboratively complete using Google Drawing.
Although I probably will not use Google Drawing very frequently in the classroom, I am glad to know it is there for whenever I should wish to implement a lesson plan activity which requires students to work collaboratively to draw or design graphic organizers.
"Finders Keepers": Delicious, Google Reader, & Library Thing
I am very pleased to have three new online resources/tools in my arsenal: Delicious, Google Reader, and Library Thing. All three of these web services help users to be more efficient and organized. Delicious organizes bookmarks; Google Reader organizes RSS feeds; and Library Thing organizes books in an online catalog. All of these sites are also social services that allow users to browse and find recommendation from other users.
I now have my own profile on Delicious, a "social bookmarking" service that allows users to save, organize, and search for website bookmarks. I love Delicious because I can now access my bookmarks from any computer, not just my MacBook. It was very simple to import my bookmarks to Delicious, and it is interesting to see how many other Delicious users have also saved the same bookmarks. I also found several new bookmarks to add to my personal education stack by searching under the tag "lesson plans"and browsing through the most popular websites under this tag.
Google Reader is another online tool for saving, organizing, and browsing websites of interest. Google Reader uses RSS to quickly display the lastest feeds for websites to which users have subscribed. Often when I get online, I go through a mental checklist of several blogs I follow by my favorite authors. Because I did not want to crowd my bookmark toolbar, I would manually type in the URL for each blog when I wanted to check for updates. Now that I have a Google Reader account and have subscribed to all of the blogs I follow, I can just go to Google Reader to quickly scan all of the lastest feeds without having to look at the websites one by one. I am excited about my new Google Reader account because I think that it will help me to more quickly and effciently keep up with my favorite authors' blogs.
Library Thing is another online service I am very excited to discover. Library Thing allows members to organize their book collections into a detailed online catalog. I love that I can view the tags, rommended books, and reviews for all of the books I add in my library. Library Thing also allows members to organize their books in categories such as "to Read," "Currently Reading, and "Read but Unowned." I have already set up an account and have begun the on-going process of cataloging the books I own in my personal library. In the future, I can envision having two separate accounts on Library Thing: one account for my personal at-home library and one account for my classroom library. Because I will be an English language arts teacher, I hope to have a very large classroom library, and Library Thing could be a great help in organizing and keeping track of my collection. I like that students could "check out" books from my library by recording "Out" and their names in the tag field of the books. I believe Library Thing will be a very valuable online resource for me in the years to come.
I am very excited about my new accounts/profiles on each of these online service websites, and I look forward to using them further.
I now have my own profile on Delicious, a "social bookmarking" service that allows users to save, organize, and search for website bookmarks. I love Delicious because I can now access my bookmarks from any computer, not just my MacBook. It was very simple to import my bookmarks to Delicious, and it is interesting to see how many other Delicious users have also saved the same bookmarks. I also found several new bookmarks to add to my personal education stack by searching under the tag "lesson plans"and browsing through the most popular websites under this tag.
Google Reader is another online tool for saving, organizing, and browsing websites of interest. Google Reader uses RSS to quickly display the lastest feeds for websites to which users have subscribed. Often when I get online, I go through a mental checklist of several blogs I follow by my favorite authors. Because I did not want to crowd my bookmark toolbar, I would manually type in the URL for each blog when I wanted to check for updates. Now that I have a Google Reader account and have subscribed to all of the blogs I follow, I can just go to Google Reader to quickly scan all of the lastest feeds without having to look at the websites one by one. I am excited about my new Google Reader account because I think that it will help me to more quickly and effciently keep up with my favorite authors' blogs.
Library Thing is another online service I am very excited to discover. Library Thing allows members to organize their book collections into a detailed online catalog. I love that I can view the tags, rommended books, and reviews for all of the books I add in my library. Library Thing also allows members to organize their books in categories such as "to Read," "Currently Reading, and "Read but Unowned." I have already set up an account and have begun the on-going process of cataloging the books I own in my personal library. In the future, I can envision having two separate accounts on Library Thing: one account for my personal at-home library and one account for my classroom library. Because I will be an English language arts teacher, I hope to have a very large classroom library, and Library Thing could be a great help in organizing and keeping track of my collection. I like that students could "check out" books from my library by recording "Out" and their names in the tag field of the books. I believe Library Thing will be a very valuable online resource for me in the years to come.
I am very excited about my new accounts/profiles on each of these online service websites, and I look forward to using them further.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Google Forms: A Great Surveying & Quizzing Tool
Setting up a quiz or survey on Google Forms was surprisingly simple and straightforward. I really like that many different question format options, the different themes to choose from for the form design, and that the forms were so easy to share via email. When it came to using the self-scoring feature for the forms, I had a little trouble at first setting up the spreadsheet using formulas (formulas make me think of math, and math makes me want to hide under my bed curled up in the fetal position). However, with the help of my classmate, I persevered and figured out how to set up the formula to automatically calculate answers, and I understand how this would help teachers to save a great deal of time when grading assessments. Although I will need to practice more with Google Forms before I will completely comfortable implementing it in my curriculum, I can envision using this program in my classroom for student surveys and quizzes. For instance, I may use Google Forms to quickly survey students concerning their dominant intelligences and interests at the beginning of the school year.
In the high school language arts lesson plan I reviewed, titled "Writing for Context, Audience, and Purpose," students used Google Forms to design and execute polls asking their classmates to respond to questions regarding "shared readings, pop culture, news items, or events in the class or school or local community." Student groups used the information garnered from the survey/polls combined with material learned in class to collaboratively create and share a class newsletter through Google Docs. This lesson plan was very much student-centered and project-based, and I can imagine students enjoying using Google Forms and Google Docs to create an authentic, relevant product in the form of a class newsletter. I really like this lesson plan idea, and may very well steal and modify it for use in my own English language arts classroom someday.
In the high school language arts lesson plan I reviewed, titled "Writing for Context, Audience, and Purpose," students used Google Forms to design and execute polls asking their classmates to respond to questions regarding "shared readings, pop culture, news items, or events in the class or school or local community." Student groups used the information garnered from the survey/polls combined with material learned in class to collaboratively create and share a class newsletter through Google Docs. This lesson plan was very much student-centered and project-based, and I can imagine students enjoying using Google Forms and Google Docs to create an authentic, relevant product in the form of a class newsletter. I really like this lesson plan idea, and may very well steal and modify it for use in my own English language arts classroom someday.
Gmail, Google Calendar, & iGoogle
I have used Gmail for a long time now, but I learned several new things about Gmail's features this evening from the Atomic Learning tutorial website. For instance, I learned how to adjust my settings so that an automatic signature with my information will automatically appear at the bottom of all of my outgoing emails. I also learned how to change my inbox setting from classic to show unread mail first. The neatest think I learned tonight about Gmail was how to filter my inbox messages so that they automatically are labeled or marked as important.
I have some limited experience with Google Calendar, though I have always preferred my traditional pen and paper calendar planners. Even after only a brief overview of Google Calendar, I can easily see its great potential in the classroom and in the workplace. Google Calendar has wonderful sharing features that could be utilized to share various calendars and schedules with colleagues, parents and students. I can imagine making a class calendar available for students and their parents where they could quickly reference homework assignments, exams, and field trips. I really liked the options under Settings to dim past or future events, show or not show weekends, and set-up automatic notifications for events. I also watched the four minute "Using Google Calendar for Lesson Planning" video on YouTube and was very inspired. I liked how you can use the labs feature to enable document attachments to calendars. I will almost certainly utilize Google Calendar in the future when planning curriculum units and lesson plans.
I officially love iGoogle and it is now my homepage on my MacBook. I am so sad that Google is going to be doing away with iGoogle next year, and I am hoping that maybe they will change their minds. I set up my iGoogle homepage to display the weather, the time & date, news, the current moon phase, Gmail, Google Calendar, and a To-Do list. As a language lover, I also added the quote-of-the-day, the word-of-the-day, and the Bible verse-of-the-day. I am very excited about my new homepage, and I hope that it will contribute to my efficiency and productivity.
Altogether, I am very impressed with Gmail, Google Calendars, and iGoogle, and I would recommend these programs for anyone who uses the Internet (in other words, pretty much everyone!).
I have some limited experience with Google Calendar, though I have always preferred my traditional pen and paper calendar planners. Even after only a brief overview of Google Calendar, I can easily see its great potential in the classroom and in the workplace. Google Calendar has wonderful sharing features that could be utilized to share various calendars and schedules with colleagues, parents and students. I can imagine making a class calendar available for students and their parents where they could quickly reference homework assignments, exams, and field trips. I really liked the options under Settings to dim past or future events, show or not show weekends, and set-up automatic notifications for events. I also watched the four minute "Using Google Calendar for Lesson Planning" video on YouTube and was very inspired. I liked how you can use the labs feature to enable document attachments to calendars. I will almost certainly utilize Google Calendar in the future when planning curriculum units and lesson plans.
I officially love iGoogle and it is now my homepage on my MacBook. I am so sad that Google is going to be doing away with iGoogle next year, and I am hoping that maybe they will change their minds. I set up my iGoogle homepage to display the weather, the time & date, news, the current moon phase, Gmail, Google Calendar, and a To-Do list. As a language lover, I also added the quote-of-the-day, the word-of-the-day, and the Bible verse-of-the-day. I am very excited about my new homepage, and I hope that it will contribute to my efficiency and productivity.
Altogether, I am very impressed with Gmail, Google Calendars, and iGoogle, and I would recommend these programs for anyone who uses the Internet (in other words, pretty much everyone!).
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Using Google Spreadsheets in the Classroom
Most of my experience with spreadsheets is through Microsoft Excel, though I have used Apple Numbers on occasion for personal records. I am very familiar with spreadsheet software due to my time working as a secretary in a university registrar's office. Google Spreadsheets offers an alternative software that gives users more collaborative options such as sharing, editing, and commenting. I was impressed with the many similarities between Google Spreadsheets and Excel, such as the ability to rearrange columns and rows, sort alphabetically, and format cells. Entering and editing data in Google Spreadsheets is just as easy to master as in other similar software programs. I was impressed with the many quality charts, maps, graphic organizers, and other gadgets that were available for insertion in Google Spreadsheets, as well as many templates to choose from in the template gallery. Like Google Presentations, I would probably only elect to use Google Spreadsheets if I needed to work collaboratively on a spreadsheet with someone or a group of people. I still find Excel much easier to manipulate, and Excel and Keynote have more formating and design options. Excel also makes using formulas easier, whereas the function option on Google Spreadsheets left me a bit confused.
I liked the lesson plans that demonstrated how to use Google Spreadsheets in the classroom to document experiment test results and lab work, and I can see Google Spreadsheets potential for collaborative projects in the classroom, particularly in math and science classrooms. As an English language arts instructor, I can envision having students use Google Spreadsheets within Drive to create spreadsheets that record and reflect related data. For instance, maybe at the beginning of a curricular unit studying various genres, I might have the students survey each other concerning their favorite genres, record the answers in a spreadsheet, and create a pie chart to reflect the data. I could also have students work in pairs to create a new vocabulary log in which they would enter information into the spreadsheet according to the vocabulary word's definition, where they encountered the word, the part of speech, synonyms, antonyms, and etymology of the words. I look forward to using Google Spreadsheets in the classroom for collaborative projects.
I liked the lesson plans that demonstrated how to use Google Spreadsheets in the classroom to document experiment test results and lab work, and I can see Google Spreadsheets potential for collaborative projects in the classroom, particularly in math and science classrooms. As an English language arts instructor, I can envision having students use Google Spreadsheets within Drive to create spreadsheets that record and reflect related data. For instance, maybe at the beginning of a curricular unit studying various genres, I might have the students survey each other concerning their favorite genres, record the answers in a spreadsheet, and create a pie chart to reflect the data. I could also have students work in pairs to create a new vocabulary log in which they would enter information into the spreadsheet according to the vocabulary word's definition, where they encountered the word, the part of speech, synonyms, antonyms, and etymology of the words. I look forward to using Google Spreadsheets in the classroom for collaborative projects.
Taking Google Presentations for a Test Drive (Pun Intended)
I was impressed by the collaborative features of the presentation program in Google Drive. In many ways, Google Presentations is similar to PowerPoint and Keynote, so most students who are familiar with these programs should be able to adapt and use Google Presentations with little to no specific instruction. Like PowerPoint and Keynote, Google Presentations allows the user to choose templates and layouts; create slides; arrange slides; insert text, images, and video; and select from various transition options. However, I would only opt to use Google Presentations if I specifically wanted to use it for collaborative purposes due to its unique sharing, commenting and editing features. PowerPoint and Keynote have a great deal more design, format, and layout options, which are valuable for encouraging and facilitating creativity and effective visual communication skills.
I reviewed the middle school language arts lesson plan titled "Choose Your Own Adventure Story." For this lesson, students were required to work in pairs to compose a Choose Your Own Adventure Story about leprechauns and to create a non-linear presentation in which the audience selected different hyperlinked options which determined which slide they would view next, and hence, how the story would progress. I appreciated that the lesson plan included example presentations, specific instructions for linking to slides within a Google Drive presentation, video tutorials, an evaluation method, NCTE and ISTE NETS-S standards for students, and a detailed scoring rubric. I especially liked the provided Flow Chart & Presentation Template, which gives the students clear guidance in how to format their story/presentation. This is one lesson plan that I can see myself "stealing" and adapting for use in my own classroom.
I reviewed the middle school language arts lesson plan titled "Choose Your Own Adventure Story." For this lesson, students were required to work in pairs to compose a Choose Your Own Adventure Story about leprechauns and to create a non-linear presentation in which the audience selected different hyperlinked options which determined which slide they would view next, and hence, how the story would progress. I appreciated that the lesson plan included example presentations, specific instructions for linking to slides within a Google Drive presentation, video tutorials, an evaluation method, NCTE and ISTE NETS-S standards for students, and a detailed scoring rubric. I especially liked the provided Flow Chart & Presentation Template, which gives the students clear guidance in how to format their story/presentation. This is one lesson plan that I can see myself "stealing" and adapting for use in my own classroom.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Browsers: My Experience and Preferences
Tonight in class, I learned that I have browser options that I could potentially download and use on my Mac OS. Until tonight, I thought that I had to use Safari because that is the browser that came with my Notebook. Most of my experience with web browsers is with Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. Tonight I explored many browser alternatives including Google Chrome, Sea Monkey, Sunrise, Camino. The two browsers that I liked the best were Google Chrome and Sunrise.
I liked Google Chrome as an alternative to my current use of Safari because its menu and tool bars are very streamlined and uncluttered. I also liked that new tabs were ready and waiting to be clicked, and I was impressed by Chrome's claim that one independent tab could crash without bringing down the whole browser.
As of now after my brief exploration, Sunrise is by far my favorite of the browsers I looked at this evening. As an avid fan of bookmarks, I really like the way Sunrise organizes the bookmarks so that you can view all of them in a separate window to the side for easy viewing and selection. I also appreciated the user-friendly tool bar options such as the screen capturing/snap shot of the current page, the "select user agent" where you can easily switch to a different browser, and the zooming options. Another feature I liked about Google Chrome and Sunrise was that both browsers allow you to type in a web address or a search term in the same URL field.
I appreciate the opportunity this evening to explore alternative browsers, and I plan to download Sunrise to my personal computer soon.
I liked Google Chrome as an alternative to my current use of Safari because its menu and tool bars are very streamlined and uncluttered. I also liked that new tabs were ready and waiting to be clicked, and I was impressed by Chrome's claim that one independent tab could crash without bringing down the whole browser.
As of now after my brief exploration, Sunrise is by far my favorite of the browsers I looked at this evening. As an avid fan of bookmarks, I really like the way Sunrise organizes the bookmarks so that you can view all of them in a separate window to the side for easy viewing and selection. I also appreciated the user-friendly tool bar options such as the screen capturing/snap shot of the current page, the "select user agent" where you can easily switch to a different browser, and the zooming options. Another feature I liked about Google Chrome and Sunrise was that both browsers allow you to type in a web address or a search term in the same URL field.
I appreciate the opportunity this evening to explore alternative browsers, and I plan to download Sunrise to my personal computer soon.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Keyboarding Programs: Tutors, Games, & Tests, Oh My!
I always enjoy a good challenge and welcome opportunities to improve my skills, so I very much enjoyed the various keyboarding programs I explored in class tonight. The various keyboarding programs provide tutoring, games, and/or tests to help keyboardists improve their keyboarding skills. I have utilized free online programs like these before, particularly when I first began a secretary/receptionist job that required quick and accurate keyboarding, and now I can type about 65 WPM with an average of 97% accuracy. My goal is to bring my WPM up to at least 75 while maintaining or improving my current accuracy.
Not all keyboarding programs are created equal. I was very impressed by the programs provided on typingweb.com; I like how this one website offers helpful tutorials, engaging games, and tests to track progress. I found the feedback concerning problem keys very helpful as well. Teachers can create an account on this website that they can use to track their students and refer them to different keyboarding activities. I played the game Type Toss, and find myself smiling while I typed. I can see myself coming back to this website just for fun.
Some of the other keyboarding programs I like and to which I would refer students include touchtype.co and typing.madefun.net. I like touchtype.co for beginning keyboardists because it is a keyboarding tutor program that shows a picture of the keyboard on the screen and the keys light up as you press them, providing the student with visual guidance so that they do not have to look down at the actual keys. I also like typing.madefun.net because, like touchtype.co, it provides a visual of the keyboard on the screen while you type; however, unlike touchtype.co, the keyboard on typing.madefun.net is color-coded to instruct and remind the student concerning which fingers are responsible for which keys.
I am glad to have had the opportunity to explore and test these various keyboarding programs, and now I will be able to confidently refer struggling keyboardists to helpful programs as well as continue to develop my own typing skills.
Not all keyboarding programs are created equal. I was very impressed by the programs provided on typingweb.com; I like how this one website offers helpful tutorials, engaging games, and tests to track progress. I found the feedback concerning problem keys very helpful as well. Teachers can create an account on this website that they can use to track their students and refer them to different keyboarding activities. I played the game Type Toss, and find myself smiling while I typed. I can see myself coming back to this website just for fun.
Some of the other keyboarding programs I like and to which I would refer students include touchtype.co and typing.madefun.net. I like touchtype.co for beginning keyboardists because it is a keyboarding tutor program that shows a picture of the keyboard on the screen and the keys light up as you press them, providing the student with visual guidance so that they do not have to look down at the actual keys. I also like typing.madefun.net because, like touchtype.co, it provides a visual of the keyboard on the screen while you type; however, unlike touchtype.co, the keyboard on typing.madefun.net is color-coded to instruct and remind the student concerning which fingers are responsible for which keys.
I am glad to have had the opportunity to explore and test these various keyboarding programs, and now I will be able to confidently refer struggling keyboardists to helpful programs as well as continue to develop my own typing skills.
Google Docs: A Whole New Playing Field for Collaborative Learning
Google Docs is a wonderful new digital media tool that teachers may use to facilitate collaborative learning in their classrooms. When using traditional word processors such as Pages or Microsoft Word, students have to repeat an attach-email-download cycle in order to share and edit documents. Google Docs takes out the email middle-man and allows users to share, view, and edit documents simultaneously from different locations.
My classmate and I practiced using Google Documents in a test document. I was very impressed with all of the different features, particularly the editing tracking, comments, and research features. We were able to quickly and effectively communicate and edit our document, and we had fun while doing it. I can easily see the Google Docs great potential for collaborative projects in the classroom.
I really liked the middle school lesson plan that utilized Google Docs to create a collaborative new vocabulary project. Each student/student pair contributed one slide dedicated to their assigned vocabulary word, and the teacher later shared the complete presentation with all the students slides to the whole class. I can see myself using a similar activity in my language arts lesson plans.
Monday, July 9, 2012
My Mac OS Tutorial Experience
My first introduction to computers came in kindergarten when each student was paired with an adult helper who guided us through a brief exploration of the new Apple desktop computers the school had recently purchased; I remember enjoying pushing the buttons (what little kid doesn't like pushing buttons?), but also being intimidated by the big machine and not really understanding what relevance it held for me. Throughout my elementary, junior high, and high school years, I became better aquainted with computers while accessing and utilizing them in the school library, but my interest really took off when my parents bought me my first laptop, a Windows PC, when I went to college. Three years ago, my husband surprised me with my current MacBook to replace my outdated PC laptop. Although I have had this laptop for years, I still am not very familiar with its many programs and applications. Computers have always intimidated me, and (having no idea how they really work) I have always attributed their wonderful powers to magic.
I learned several basic things through the atomiclearning.com website this evening; things I probably should have learned years ago. I learned that the bar with all the icons on the bottom of my MacBook screen is called the Dock. I learned that the icons on the right side of the Dock line are called Stacks. I learned how to add and remove items from Stacks, and I learned how to change my Dock preferences. Unfortunately when trying to move Applications from Finder to my Stacks, I accidentally let go too soon and my Applications went POOF! I am sure I will learn much more about how to use my Mac as I try to search the magical realm that is my computer and seek to restore my Applications folder to its rightful place. Let the adventure begin!
I learned several basic things through the atomiclearning.com website this evening; things I probably should have learned years ago. I learned that the bar with all the icons on the bottom of my MacBook screen is called the Dock. I learned that the icons on the right side of the Dock line are called Stacks. I learned how to add and remove items from Stacks, and I learned how to change my Dock preferences. Unfortunately when trying to move Applications from Finder to my Stacks, I accidentally let go too soon and my Applications went POOF! I am sure I will learn much more about how to use my Mac as I try to search the magical realm that is my computer and seek to restore my Applications folder to its rightful place. Let the adventure begin!
Professional Blog Review
I chose to review Will Richardson's blog. According to his "About" page, Richardson is a parent, a former educator with 22 years of experience, an award-winning author, and the co-founder of Powerful Learning Practice. In his writing, Richardson focuses on "the intersection of social online learning networks and education." For instance, in his July 3, 2012, blog post titled "Personalized Flipped Engagement," Richardson discusses the deeper meaning and practical application of three words often tossed around in educational circles --personalization, engagement, and flipped. Richardson's blog is well-written and organized, and he just won over one more follower!
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