Afternoon Tech Rotation Part 1: Google Maps, Earth and SketchUp

Google Maps, Earth and SketchUp presented by Thomas Cooper

Tools that Talk to Each Other
How could you use these tools?
Google Apps- preschoolers learning their address and then find it on Google Earth
Lower School - Research explorers and then posted text into Google Maps
Middle School - Bought 30 GPS units from Garmin. Plotted out a scavenger hunt at the zoo (3 different paths) and students
used the tool to calculate mathematical questions- shortest route/ route that does not make you repeat any site visited

Google Maps
Go to My Maps and then click on Measuring Tool

Google Earth Pro
Email geec@google .com If you are interested in a Google Pro grant.
Back and forth questions and answers to verify that you actually need
Handles GPS data and also contains MovieMaker which enables you to animate tours
Measuring Tools provide the polygon and circle additionally to measure the distance and area. Using the polygon, you can draw any path that you want and determine distance which will enable you to compare alternate paths.

Collaboration and Google Earth
How can we use Google Earth to post collaborative tools online?
To write code on Google Earth look for the KLM Handbook on Amazon.

SketchUp
Major undate has just been launched- SketchUp version 7
When in Rome...Teach!
Competition just launched for teachers to build curriculum about this layer- Deadline February 2009
Check it out at Google.com/educators
Turn on 3D layers
Go to layers and then Gallery in layers
Look for Ancient Rome 3D
You can view 3D images of what Ancient Rome looked like


Visit Geo Education Home
Training teachers in astronomy using Google Sky
Also working on the National Geographic Bee

Tech Tool Rotation #1 Google Docs

Google Docs - The End of Flash Drives - Presented by Erica Hartman

What can you do with Google Docs?

• Promote group collaboration

  

• Keep track of grades, attendance, or
  any other data
• Facilitate writing as a process
• Teach revision. proofreading and editing skills
• Create quizzes and tests using spreadsheets forms,
• Encourage collaborative presentation skill
• Collaborate on a document with fellow teachers
• Maintain, update and share lesson plans
• Track and organize cumulative project data

Connection make the difference!
Students love that they can see that their partner is or is not doing their part on the project by checking the document history.
Students also twinkle when they see that their partner is online at the same time that they are and are editing their document.

Inserting footnotes enables them to make comments, suggestions. It is added as a popup on the side of the document.
The variety of templates available simplifies the creation process. Just make sure to retitle the template when it goes into your docs.
Students can also Insert Comments by selecting the item from the menu.

Google Spreadsheets
Tip- make sure you always set the time settings so it updates correctly
Simple use- se to have student record the number of minutes they are reading independently
Highlight data to create chart

Google Gadgets
Able to highlight and select data and then create a gadget
Screencast on inserting charts and gadgets in spreadsheets

Google Forms
Use forms for students to evaluate their blogs or anything
Use forms for voting and then use the Google Analytics to analyze the data

Google Apps for Education and Docs
Hosts it on her own domain created on GoDaddy for under $5.00 as opposed to using one though Google
Students share all docs with the teacher and their partner
Students cannot access email and Google chat
On the Link Library there is an example of permission form for students use of gmail for students under the age of 13

Writing curriculum with other teachers

IDEA - Boot Camp for Parents

Tech Tool Rotation #1 - Google Sites

Image via Wikipedia


Google Sites- Presentation by Lisa Thurman

What is Google Sites? It was recently acquired by Google and launched last February.




Some elements of Google Sites to explore:

• To embed YouTube videos- you only need to paste the url
• Embed Google Docs and Spreadsheets- Unit on biotechnology
• Purpose and Audience- Decide first and then select the tool
• Google Site gives you 100mb of storage
• Google Apps- 10 gig of storage
• Here are 5 different types of page types which can be changed for each page
• Filing Cabinet
• Calendar
• 23 themes to choose from

Cheryl Davis: Example of how to use Google Sites with professionals- Use it ot create and collaborate on living curriculum documents

Example of use with students

• How to embed VoiceThread on a Google Sites. Follow this Screencast! Screencast on embedding Voicethread to Google Sites

What a Day...Google Teacher Academy, New York

Image by via CrunchBaseWOW! What a day is planned for us at the Google Teacher Academy in New York today! Sixty educators including administrators are gathered here to learn about all of the Google apps, to explore innovative ways to use them in education, and to meet and connect with all of the wonderful and talented people gathered here today.

INSPIRING IDEA #1

Expanding Learning Networks Beyond School Walls -

• Write a Letter to the President Project
• Use Google Spreadsheets to create groups of students- sorted by High, medium, low, reading levels to create homogenous groups
• Created a Google form to poll students asking them what their goals were, what they were excited about, what questions they had
• Using Google Docs students worked collaboratively to write a letter to the President. Using the Footnote feature, students were able to provide constructive criticism offering suggestions and ideas for revision.
• Revision history was useful in knowing what work was done
• Created a template for students to use as the basis for their letters.

RESULTS: Rigor+Engagement+Differentiation=Student Achievement

piZap.com