Google Earth can be a fun way to learn about a wide range of subjects.
A. I learned that in the Google Earth 5, that you can navigate under the ocean and even explore the sea terrain. You can use a hide or display button to view the ocean's surface, and look just above it or just below it. I also did not know that Google Earth will allow you to see Mars and actually let you take a tour and record and video it. You can follow the path of the Rovers and see where they have been. This was very interesting and could be incorporated in an excellent science lesson for the students.
B. I looked at Elementary section and thought this was interesting as well. This site gave some wonderful ideas for lessons. The students could use Earth to recognize states, countries, oceans, etc. and even track rainfall. However, Earth could also allow more sophisticated assignments such as learning the US Presidents and finding the state where each was born. This site also gave an idea of learning about different monitory systems, and finding the country where the money was used.
C. The last thing I looked at was The Google Educators. This site was full of information. It tells how to get started using geo, and how to get classroom ideas and activities. It suggested lessons using geo for subjects such as Biology/Ecology. History, Math and Physics etc.
Earth is a fun tool to work with and could add some fun interaction to the students.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Maps
I have used maps in the past but in tonight's lesson I learned that I can save and share my favorite maps. I can add text, photos and video. I think this is a great idea, because I continually have youth events for my 8th grade girls at my house and I can now share my map.
I did not know all the search features that went along with searching for businesses. You can search for a business and a map will appear. If you want to search for others businesses of the same nature you leave the "where" box blank, but leave the previous map open, and Google maps will find other businesses. You can click on the business and it will give you details. You can also modify your search by adding terms, such as near and end.
The Google lesson plans were pretty neat. I looked at several and "Mostly Weather" was my favorite. This was a Kindergarten lesson to learn about weather and climate with videos, games and writing prompts. Children learn such things as the coldest city in the US, the city with the most rainfall, snowfall, and the most tornadoes. When the child clicks on the city a quick overview appears and on most of the cities a picture shows up.
I also looked at "The Role of Volcanoes in The Twenty-one Balloons." The map showed a couple of volcanoes and when you click on them some interesting facts appear. The map interacts with the information in the book.
The last lesson I looked at was "How Do We Rock Around the Clock?" The map has several marked sites and you can click on them and see how rocks and minerals affect our lives, with food clothing, shelter, etc.
I did not know all the search features that went along with searching for businesses. You can search for a business and a map will appear. If you want to search for others businesses of the same nature you leave the "where" box blank, but leave the previous map open, and Google maps will find other businesses. You can click on the business and it will give you details. You can also modify your search by adding terms, such as near and end.
The Google lesson plans were pretty neat. I looked at several and "Mostly Weather" was my favorite. This was a Kindergarten lesson to learn about weather and climate with videos, games and writing prompts. Children learn such things as the coldest city in the US, the city with the most rainfall, snowfall, and the most tornadoes. When the child clicks on the city a quick overview appears and on most of the cities a picture shows up.
I also looked at "The Role of Volcanoes in The Twenty-one Balloons." The map showed a couple of volcanoes and when you click on them some interesting facts appear. The map interacts with the information in the book.
The last lesson I looked at was "How Do We Rock Around the Clock?" The map has several marked sites and you can click on them and see how rocks and minerals affect our lives, with food clothing, shelter, etc.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Sites
https://sites.google.com/site/reedshumatechristie/ is my Sites address. It is a work in progress.
I loved the idea of Sties, but this was by far the most confusing assignment. I think it would have been better to start out with a blank template, but I chose an existing one called our family. I chose this topic because we were suppose to pick a subject that we knew a lot about, and I hope I know a lot about my family. With our busy lives I thought this would be a great way to keep up with fun pictures, busy schedules and upcoming events.
Sites gave the option to change the existing calendar to my Google calendar, but I could never get it to change. I was quite frustrated after trying several times to switch. I also wanted to upload some family pictures from my Yahoo account, and I could not get this to work either. I will continue to explore and try to figure out what I am doing wrong.
I loved the idea of Sties, but this was by far the most confusing assignment. I think it would have been better to start out with a blank template, but I chose an existing one called our family. I chose this topic because we were suppose to pick a subject that we knew a lot about, and I hope I know a lot about my family. With our busy lives I thought this would be a great way to keep up with fun pictures, busy schedules and upcoming events.
Sites gave the option to change the existing calendar to my Google calendar, but I could never get it to change. I was quite frustrated after trying several times to switch. I also wanted to upload some family pictures from my Yahoo account, and I could not get this to work either. I will continue to explore and try to figure out what I am doing wrong.
Images
One of my favorite features in Picasa is the editing feature. With the editing capabilities you are able to get rid of red eyes, rotate, crop, use the clarity feature, contrast color, make the picture black/white or sepia. There are several other editing features like, "I feel lucky" which is a random choice that sometimes darkens or sometime lightens the picture.
Picasa allow you to create albums of your pictures, which can be shared with family and friends. This is especially nice if you have family out of town.
You can also create invitation cards and Christmas cards using you favorite pictures. There are wonderful templates that will help you with your masterpiece.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
iPadApps
This was a fun assignment. In fact, I felt like I was playing instead of working on an assignment. I looked under Art and checked out the iColoring Book Lite. This is a simple coloring game where you use your finger to color. You can pick the color to fill in the picture and if you get out of the lines, you can tap on an eraser and erase your mess up. You can also put colors on top of colors. This is a great app for young children (and even older folks if you like to color). It could be useful in the classroom to help young children develop fine motor skills, because it uses hands and fingers. It can also be used to teach the young students their colors.
The next app I explored was again under art, and is known as the Doodle Buddy. The is a fun way to use creativity and self entertain, and if a teacher has some down time she could fill in by using this app. You can doodle (draw) by using your finger. Different colors can be selected and backgrounds can be added. There are stamps that can be selected and by touching the screen the stamp appears.
Next, I chose the Piano Free under Music app to explore. This was way cool and I felt like I found a new toy. This can integrate some basic piano and music to the classroom teaching music notes. It could also help with hand eye coordination, and sound recognition.
There are several options to change, such as, volume control, octave and tempo settings and color changes for the keys. When a song plays the keys light up, so that you will know which one to hit. The notes can be on sheet music or in a fallen note pattern. I tried both and it took a minute to get the hang of it.
The last app I explored was Biology 3DBrain. This is a group of 29 interactive structures that can be turned in 3D rotation. You can click on the word parts of the brain and it will show where the parts are and give an overview, the function and basic information, tell about case studies, possible disorders and brain damage problems. You can also click on links to modern research about each part of the brain. This app was very informative and could be used very effectively in the classroom to teach biology. It was not nearly as much fun as the others apps I explored, but was the most educational app, which could add some spunk to learning the brain.
The next app I explored was again under art, and is known as the Doodle Buddy. The is a fun way to use creativity and self entertain, and if a teacher has some down time she could fill in by using this app. You can doodle (draw) by using your finger. Different colors can be selected and backgrounds can be added. There are stamps that can be selected and by touching the screen the stamp appears.
Next, I chose the Piano Free under Music app to explore. This was way cool and I felt like I found a new toy. This can integrate some basic piano and music to the classroom teaching music notes. It could also help with hand eye coordination, and sound recognition.
There are several options to change, such as, volume control, octave and tempo settings and color changes for the keys. When a song plays the keys light up, so that you will know which one to hit. The notes can be on sheet music or in a fallen note pattern. I tried both and it took a minute to get the hang of it.
The last app I explored was Biology 3DBrain. This is a group of 29 interactive structures that can be turned in 3D rotation. You can click on the word parts of the brain and it will show where the parts are and give an overview, the function and basic information, tell about case studies, possible disorders and brain damage problems. You can also click on links to modern research about each part of the brain. This app was very informative and could be used very effectively in the classroom to teach biology. It was not nearly as much fun as the others apps I explored, but was the most educational app, which could add some spunk to learning the brain.
Searching
I loved learning about searching. I am used to searching using the standard search box, and this lesson opened my eyes to a whole new way to go about it. I searched "Images" by looking for tulip. Thousands of images came up. Tulips of many colors, sizes and varieties. If I were looking for a specific tulip I believe this is the way to find it. I also searched Tennessee under "Images," and I was very surprised to find many different kinds of images appear. There were maps, flags, mountains, bridges, cities, a quarter, a big orange "T," Tennessee Titans, and many more. This is a great way to advance one's search.
I also looked a Google squared, and was most impressed. This site gives you a very detailed chart of what you are searching for. I searched Presidents and got results box headings of: name, image, description, religion, party preceded by, spouse, and occupation. The presidents of the United States were then listed in rows and the above columns filled in the information about them.
I then Google squared Knox county elementary schools and short term mission trips and received an abundant of information. This is definitely the site to use if you are comparing something or wanting to find out about more than one of something.
The last search I used was Wonder Wheel I searched for presidents and on the left hand side about 1/2 way down the screen was the words Wonder Wheel. I clicked on this and it brought up a wheel and the spokes were related searches or ways to define the search, such as, president pictures, president timelines, vice presidents, order of presidents, republican or democratic presidents. Under Wonder Wheel was timeline and when I clicked on this a timeline of articles about different presidents appeared.
I think these searches will be very useful in the classroom to broaden the searches of subject matter. I also think in every day searching, it is great knowledge to have. I am going to show my husband how to Goggle square.
I also looked a Google squared, and was most impressed. This site gives you a very detailed chart of what you are searching for. I searched Presidents and got results box headings of: name, image, description, religion, party preceded by, spouse, and occupation. The presidents of the United States were then listed in rows and the above columns filled in the information about them.
I then Google squared Knox county elementary schools and short term mission trips and received an abundant of information. This is definitely the site to use if you are comparing something or wanting to find out about more than one of something.
The last search I used was Wonder Wheel I searched for presidents and on the left hand side about 1/2 way down the screen was the words Wonder Wheel. I clicked on this and it brought up a wheel and the spokes were related searches or ways to define the search, such as, president pictures, president timelines, vice presidents, order of presidents, republican or democratic presidents. Under Wonder Wheel was timeline and when I clicked on this a timeline of articles about different presidents appeared.
I think these searches will be very useful in the classroom to broaden the searches of subject matter. I also think in every day searching, it is great knowledge to have. I am going to show my husband how to Goggle square.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Drawings
I found Drawings to be very similar to the Word documents and Excel spreadsheets that I have used. With this app, one can create flow charts, design diagrams, add color, and shapes. Clip art can be added via the internet or the you may choose from the art or figures that is preselected. Computer slides can also be designed to make an interesting presentation. Objects can be rotated, moved, and resized. Like all Google apps the drawings can also be shared with others, which is a great feature. I think that Drawings could be a great benefit to teachers. Teachers can make assignments more fun and ascetically appealing to students. If given the opportunity students can show creativity in completing homework with Drawing to make it more fun and interestig. I had not head of this app and was glad to find out about it.
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