February Technology Tidbit
Monthly Useful Technology Information
Please let me know if you would be interested in an open tech session for March!
Geo Tools from Google
- Google Maps-this is an app with Google that can be shared and collaboration can happen on just one map for your class to use. This would be great to give students a visual on lessons you are creating.
- Google Tour Builder-On Google Maps, others have built historic tours already ready for you to use.
- Google Views-Look at a Map and it provides content on views others have shared of that particular area.
- Street View-We can't actually travel to every site in the World, but we have access to view this thanks to Google. You can use the street view to actually bring your students down the street of the area you are telling them about. See the effect of natural disasters-only available on certain areas but very cool!
- Google Gallery-People can put up maps of others have created of different places across the world. Need an overlay of the Lewis and Clark trail? Or want to show the areas Civil War battles took place? This is a great place to find maps that area already done for you.This overlays old maps on new maps.
- Google Time Lapse-Google has access to satellite images from the 1980s through today. You can go and see the growth of areas, the changes in areas through time lapse. Incredible for kids to see. Do you want to show how the connection between a city's growth the the water source changing (Like Lake Mead)? Do you want to see the change in glacier size? You can even see the growth in your own city over the last 20 years.
- Google Maps Engine Lite-Convert a spreadsheet into a map-addresses, latitude and longitude. Students could fill out a form on where they want to visit, you can take that data and import that information into Google Maps. You can pull data not just from your own data but charts online too, just transfer them to a Google Spreadsheet.
- Game options
- Smarty Pins-You have a push pin and you can put it anywhere on the map from a trivia question asked. Super fun, you try to get as close as you can to the location answer.
- GEO Guesser-drops you somewhere showing Street View and you have to figure out where you are.
- GeoSetter-Like Geo Guesser, but you get to create it.
Presentation Program Options
- Powtoons
- Prezi
- Google Sites
- Prezentit
- Animoto
- Viddix
- Vcasmo
- Creaza
- Present.io
- MyBrainShark
- Slide Rocket
- Authorstream
- Slideboom
- Photoshow
- Voicethread
- MuseumBox
- Shwup
- Vuvox
- Ahead
- HelloSlide
- Jux
- Present.me
- Zentation
- Empressr
- Popplet
- Glogster EDU
- Kizoa
- Slideful
How can you connect your classroom to the world? Video Conferences
You can use the many different tools such as Zoom, Skype and or Google Hangouts to connect with experts in the field and what an experience that would be for your kids.
Connecting the world, doesn't just mean to experts. You can also connect to other classrooms. Your students can have a buddy to check their writing or practice their speeches with from another class. How will you connect your classroom outside your walls?
Sites that range from free to having to pay for that have great live lessons or workshops for kids: Creative Learning Factory, Connect2Texas.net, Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration.
Nasa offers free resources and video conferences, but use this now. Coming in May their funding will be cut and it will no longer be available to educators.
Resource Links: