Google Earth is Not Just a Toy it is Edutainment

It is always fun to play around with programs that may have some value.  This not so with Goole earth.  Google earth is a multi dementional and interactive, education machine.  This as the tutorial stated is and window to see Arial satellite of the sun, moon, Earth, and Mars, as well as, up close imagery.  You are able to see various images, and elevations of a particular land mass.  You can even navigate under bodies of water and see the sea life as well as its terrain.  You are able to view historical recreation of a particular land mass and see how it had changed over the course of time.    With respect to mars and the moon you can look at images from lander and rovers.  You are able to watch the various paths they proceeded on and those images they took.  Another neat feature is the ability to creat and then play back a tour using  specific points on the earth.  Say you wanted to map out a trip for a friend, you can do that.  You can also give them historical facts on where they are going  You are also able to see the lighting patterning from the sun  for a specfic location and at a specific time of day and date. 

So what does that have to do with teaching.  Like I said Google earth is fun and interactive, but it can also be educational.  You are able to look up certain historical charters and not just see there geographical location.  You can also see what that particular person is famous for.  For elementary students it was suggested that you use American tradition to mark out not just there location.  Google earth will also tell you specific information about that tradition.  I looked at a Google earth wiki established by Cindy Lane that was called Google Earth Goods.  See gave various resources on how to use Google earth in the classroom.  These suggestions were similar to the ones I stated above.  But this wiki is a great resource tool to help teacher justify with great success how Google Earth is both fun and educational.  That these programs can help meet the standards of various content areas.   I wonder when Google universe is coming out.

Google Is Mapping Out The World

I love Google maps.  I am not sure of the accuracy of there direction because I have not use them all that much.  But what I am impressed with is the capability of this program.  Yes, you are able to get direction and find various businesses.  But that is only the tip of the iceberg.  When you first pull up Google maps there is a search bar that pops up.  When you type in an address before you hit the second or third letter it is giving you pretty accurate possibly of addresses.  Then you click on the one you want and you see its location.  Then you have the option to choose to see the actual street where that particular location resides.  Once you get the street view you are able to pan around and see  the surrounding area.  My wife and I are looking for houses to rent and before we actually went to those locations, I checked them out on Google maps.  I checked the distance from that house to Dollywood and from there to various colleges.  If you need direction from point A to point B you are able to modify them by determining things like whether or not you wanted to go on toll roads or not.  You can even look at the terrain of a particular place to see if you can miss the rollacoster roads for those who get car sick like some in my family do.  If a particular business is your final destination you can look up info about it like customer reviews.  You could even write one yourself.  Last with respect to personal applications you are even able to create your own personal directions for someone else to use when visiting a specific location.

Know for the teacher side of life.  A teacher could use this program to create activity or even a whole lesson around Google maps.  The expert on this program showed how she used Google maps to do a discovery activity on a particular volcano.  She even did a activity on a virtual tour, which I thought both of those would engage the student as well as teach them various aspects of Google maps.  The lesson plan I looked at was on the earth, sun, and moon.  This lesson plan had starter questions about the Earth, sun, and moon.  They also had various aspects that was desired to be covered.  What I thought was vary useful and helpful was the thumbtacks and images on the map itself.  The student could click on one or the other and get important info of general inquiry.  They could get specific information about that place.  One of the images talked about moon illusions.  Another one talked about the moon race.  This site is definitely broad and specific in its capability.  Way to help us map things out Google.

I Have My Sites on Google

Here is the simple nuts and bolts of Google Sites.  Google sites will allow you to create a website and or a wiki.  When starting out on Google sites  you have a blank home page.  From that point you can select what type of page you desire.  you can have a  webpage that you can organize your info and choose various widget to put in place.  You also have the option of making an announcement page, which is similar to a blog.  This will allow you to put informative information, as well as, various opinions and journals about life in general. Next you can use the file option to categorize  uploads and downloads that you want people to look at.  Last you have the option and the ability to create a list of reading assignment or instructions.  This website or wiki can be access publicly or there is  the ability to put parameters around who can view it.  Wal-mart watch out Google is the new monopoly in town.

When I went to put together my own I found a nice feature.  You can choose blank template or have a created template.  I must say that there is a lot for me to learn about.  I am overwhelmed with this gain.  I am not stress, but I will need time to play with this site before I will be able to make this interesting.  Here is what I have so far.  The reason I choose this title because there is a consensus that teachers are not needed in the classroom for students to learn.  I am not buying that notion.  I have a lot more to gain form this gain.

What's Teaching Got To Do With IT?

A Picnic For Picasa

Well I took a picture to the Picnik and was surprised.  This program is free and is simple and easy to use.  Though it has enough advance option that it makes using it worth your wild.  Picnik allows the family photographer or lets say the non professional a program that will give the basic Photoshop plus a few neat enhancements.  You are able to in this program to do the basic editing as well as some fun enhancements.  Under the create option you able to add frame, text, psychedelic color schemes, and a lot more.  Some of these options cost, but the free ones are fun.  This program would be useful for those art type classes or if students are making flyers using photos they could manipulate them in a serious way or a fun way.  This program is a neat, basic and free.  I will let my wife know about it.  But she probably already knows about it.

Know lets see what Picasa can do and I hope this none creative human can understand what this Atomic learning segment is saying.  The interface of Picasa is a lot more involved.  The pictures you have can be organize into albums.  Which can be categorized into files and folders.  You can tag your photos, which essentially allows you to categorize them into categories like star or blog photos.  You can search your photos for specific photos.  When selecting your photos they pop up in your selection tray, which is on the bottom left of your screen.  Once you put the photos in the tray you can then decide to upload them into an email or select various other action for those photos.

Picasa is like Picnik in that the basic function of editing  images is available.  Unlike Picnik Picasa organization of the photos is what impresses me.  The movies option allows you to take photos, video, and music to form a movie.  You have the option of selecting individual photos, as well as, use an album that you put together as your photos for your movie.  You can take out certain photos and add photos.  So your not stuck with what is in the album.  Syncing the music and the photos together is farly east and you have timing options that will allow you to specify the rhythm of the music and photos.  You can also determine what happens in between the slides.  You are also able to add text only slide and phtot and text slide.  So this would be useful in a presentation for a student.

Picasa and Picnik are well round programs that allow the begginner photographer or the advance to manipulate and organize their photos in practical and complex ways depending on the occasion.  I will like to look into this programs when I have more time.  But until them That's all Folks.

Customize Your Search and Wonder What Is On The Wheel

Google Custom Search is not just good for the classroom, but for any home with kids.  You first need to have a Google account.  Once that is established you can set it up.  You first name the custom search.  Then you can describe its function or what the purpose of this search is.  Next you select the language.  You are given the option to set the parameters by only allowing one to search the websites you want.  Your search can be any website with the emphasis on what you have selected.  There is an advance option that will allow you to choose whether or not they can search the entire domain or just certain pages you selected.  Then on the left there is a control panel that will give you the ability to embed your search book on a wiki page or blog.  This is under the look and feel link.  You need to make sure that you embed both the search box as well as the parameters or your search.  When you are through with this you can test to make sure that everything is set up the way you want it.  If you do not choose to put it on a wiki or a blog.  You also have an option of putting on a Google page but you need to make sure you send the link out so people can find it.  This is a great tool for kids and teenagers to make sure they are staying on the appropriate websites.  Especially for those younger more unfamiliar students you can introduce searching on the wed and not over load them.  This is a wonderful tool.

A wonderful wheel it is and I will use it more myself.  Wonder wheel will give even the most advance searcher the ability to make there search more of a  specific topic to search.  Every time you click on a result from the wheel it will narrow down your search even more, talk about octums razor.  This will save time and frustration when searching a topic that may be vague at first because you are not sure specifically what too type. As you select from the wheel on the left hand side your are given the top websites to choose from.  This is my new best search friend.  Underneath the wonder wheel you are given an option  to have google look at related searches.  Once again if you cannot find what you need you can look at what other options are avaliable based upon the particular topic you choose.  This helps to stay within the specfic word comdination you used while expanding the search.  Last is the timeline option.  This will give you a spectic timeline of your topic.  This option will also allow you to look at information associated with a specfic time period.  Students will not just get a timeline but they will get the abiltiy to see a thorough history during that time period.  All three of these options will allow students to have thorough and substantive search on the web.  High five Google on these features.

Last point you find these option after you preform a normal search on the left side under all results.  Have fun searching.

APP Attack

The first app I looked at was the NASA App.  This was not just well designed on a structural level but it also was informative for an astronomy class section of science.  When you first open up the App you see an image of our solar system.  What this page allows you to do is select any of the planets in the Milky Way as well as the sun and moon.  When you select one of those you get a data sheet on specific information about the sun, like what it is define as and the distance the sun is from earth.  At the bottom of the home page you have other options like NASA TV that have various information shows.  There is also videos of various shuttle launches and things of that sort.  Last there is a feature page that has main documant on the solar system as well as births of the world.  This Apps while allow  a teacher to unleash an imaginative mind in this particular App.  Because this App is informational as well as interactive a student can gain much knowledge and enjoy it at the same time.

The next Apps is called Math Drills Lite.  This App allows you to practice and drill math problems in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  You open it up and select which one you want to practice or have a timed drill.  Then it gives you ten problems.  This App is good becasue it covers all four basic math problems and it allows you to practice or have a timed drill.  This version is not the full version but will allow students to sharpen their basic math skills.  If a student is done with a test, has completed their assignment early, or having problems with basic math.  They could send time sharpening their skills. 

The third App was the BBC news app.  It is simple to use you can hit the news folder and select one of the news site they have.  It will then give you a selection of Top stories, US and Canada and more.  You also can turn on its is live radio that will give you the top stories via radio.  This will allow you to get current events as well as more recent top stories.  I like this option because students can look up current events for civic classes or for various research they might want to do on current events.    So I think this App will give access at their desk so they can write while they are doing this research.

The Not So Meaty Google Drawing.

Here is the little bit I found on Google drawing.  Like the rest of the Google APPS, Google drawing is free and you are able to find it on whatever computer you are on, as long as there is internet access.  Google drawing counter part is the complex Adobe illustration.  Google drawings makes easy the abiliy to make charts for events like wedding, when you are trying to keep organized the seating arrangement.  For simple charts like a flow chart.  Google drawing allows you to whip up one in a short notice.  Like the rest of Google docs you can copy the imge or chart onto a different doc.  If you are felling confident you can publish the drawing.

As far as using Google drawing in the class room.  Students can use it to make drawings so they can illustrate a short story or a long one.  You can use it in art class as a supplement activity.    You can even put graphs on various math problems or to go along with a survey.  You can even make cartoon strips.  I feel like I am rambling know.  I think this is about the right amount for the information I had to work with.  I am just kidding.  I hope that is alright that is to kidd.