10 Ways to Use Google Earth For STEM
The days of pointing to a globe in front of a classroom of students, complaining they can't see anything, has been past for a long time. Google Earth has made it easy to visit anywhere on earth easily. We where all impressed with its amazing satellite images and street views BUT there have been a lot of new items added to Google Earth recently. As a teacher when I dove into it I was shocked and amazed. There is much more than the traditional maps to use in the classroom. I kicked myself for not using it sooner. Check out the ten things I found that can be used in class to learn and explore. 1. Time Travel Using the time travel tool up on the tool bar you can explore different times of satellite images. This is an amazing way to study changes in building, weather, water levels, as well as whatever you would do with your ability to travel through time. 2. Flight Simulator You can fly a Jet or a small plane over any place on Earth or out of Earth. This is a fun way to test your flying skills while enjoying views from high above. With the full landscape mode on as well as 3D building it makes the experience so realistic you may get a little motion sick. 3. Space Exploration Google Earth may soon need to be renamed Google space exploration. You can now visit the moon, Mars, and many other constellations. The images taken from powerful cameras gives you such a feeling of exploration. Warning-be careful your Treck-y or Star Wars Side may take over. 4. Scavenger Hunts This one can be a blast! There are so many strange things that have been captured on Google Earth. Some of which must be strange camera tricks and others that may make you question humanity. Last year I stumbled on a story of a man that drove his car into a small pond and I was able to go back in time and see the car. It was a little eerie but what you will discover will be very exciting.
5. Animal Tracking
You can now follow animals that scientists have tagged. You can research their migration pattern, You can even follow a digital path showing nearly their every step. This is so fascinating and much more research based than facts on a page. 6. Shipwrecks Search underwater shipwrecks. Attached YouTube videos showing dive ventures bring them to life. An article pops up when you click on the shipwreck sharing information such as who has explored it and the history of how it came to be. 7. Measurement You can measure almost everything accurately. Measure distances from place to place or just the diameter of the building you are in. You can use this for learning real life relations of measurement conversion. I have found the distance I traveled before or after a long trip. I have also found the perimeter of our Disneyland Rides as well as our school playground. 8. Explore your Neighborhood Ok I know this one is not that new but it is still as fun to do as always. Plus, with updated images and 360 upload exploration you are bound to find something new you didn't see before.
9. Explore Famous Landmarks
You can visit the Stature of Liberty, The Eiffel Tower, or even Gettysburg. You can avoid the crowd plus get different views that you would only see if you purchased a helicopter ride. Go to strange exotic places. Even choose a place at random and see if others can figure out where they are with clues around. 10. Global Awareness Global Awareness is packed with so much information you will be amazed by the large variety of perspective you gain. Anything from droughts, wildfires, wars, or even political unrest. Get a feel for what is really going on in our world. This one you have to play with to really know its value.
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Digital Readers Theater - Toontastic App
We are all looking for something fun and new to enhance our class. Well here is an app that is so fun you may find yourself doing your own story or book report. The app is Toontastic, and you may have heard of it. It used to have a 2 dimensional app that has now been improved to a 3D app that is made for telling stories. The best part about the app is that it is free and the creators want it to stay free for educational use. I have used this app for story telling, I have used it for students to do a readers theater. It helps those shy kids that don't want to stand in front of the class because it is prerecorded. The best thing I found is that students read over there script dozen times more because they review their recording and want to get it perfect. The app breaks down a story into 3 parts a beginning, middle, and end. It also has a more complex 5 part story. Or if you are looking to integrate science it has a scientific method version that goes over each step. The animation is so easy and entertaining, it will be hard to not enjoy yourself. This is a must have app on all educational devices. Try it out and let us know how it worked for you.
Dominoes Race for S.T.E.M. Activity
My kids where checking out YouTube videos fell across these dominoes races where they stack up hundreds of dominoes and make them do cool puzzles. They where so excited to try them out themselves they saved up their money for over a month to buy some. Once they got them I confiscated them and took them to school to use with my class. The Setup
<< At the end NO MATTER WHAT you start the race. >> (REFLECTION>> Afterwords you discuss what worked and what didn't and let them devise a new plan for the next round. ) Each day I did 2 rounds but could have easily done 3 with no complaints. As they started to work I realized they where learning much more than I anticipated. What They Learned
I gave each group several chances to create the track and each time it improved immensely. The first round they did't complete it. The next time they did, and the last time they finished it very well in less than 5 minutes. With all of this they had a blast and where begging to do the activity again and again. It convinced me to get a set just so I can have one on hand for my class. Check it out in action in the video below.
I had a blast and felt that this was one of the easiest setup for a S.T.E.M. activity with one of the best payouts of learning. Give it a try and let us know how it went for you.
Below is the set I purchased. I looked around a lot for my kids because they used their own money I wanted them to get the best value for their money. I found this one with 600 dominoes as well as machines included. The set worked perfectly and I could not find another that even came close for the price. It was enough for me to do the activity without any students running out of dominoes. I noticed that some of the wood pieces in the machine where loose so I put a small dab of Elmer's glue on them and they have worked great. Please Feel Free to share your success and challenges with this activity.
Noisy Classroom/Quiet Classroom
Noisy classrooms can be a nightmare, but so can a quiet classroom when you have just instructed your class to share with each other. The problem is not the talking but to do the right type of talking at the appropriate times. ***If you are a teacher like me you want students to listen when its direct instruction, talk when in a discussion, share when they have something valid to share and speak out when when it is time to defend an opinion. I have battled this idea for many years and experimented with several methods and final found a useful technique that works extremely well. The first idea most teachers jump to is the Noise O Meter. A light that gives a signal when students are too loud. This works okay for a short time but you have students that love to make the meter go off. The problem is that the light only helps control the sound from getting too loud, it doesn't help when you want students to share appropriately and students get desensitized to the sound. The best way to achieve a good classroom where students learn to use the appropriate level of sound for the correct activity is to train them. I use a light that can be changed with a remote. You can change it from anywhere in the classroom. Then I color code the light with a breakdown on the wall. I make a light for each kind of volume level I would like in my class. As they practice each sound level I reward them for keeping the level as I have color coded them. Light Colors and Their Meaning Red- Don't talk without raising your hand. Yellow-Whisper Green-Actively working on assignment Blue- Don't Disturb the teacher White- Use your digression At first I use the lights to teach the sound level. After using the light system for a while you can implement the white light. The white light is a way for students to use their judgement of how they should be acting. They learn to judge by the activity and what you say how they should be acting. Eventually all you have to do is leave the light on white and they will be able to make the right decision based on what they have learned. Unintended Bonuses Red light also means do not enter classroom. In the mornings or after recess if I need a few more seconds to get started I leave the light on red. I train students not to come in unless the light is red. This gives me a little more time without answering the same question 100 times, "Can we come in yet?" Blue light means do not interrupt the teacher. This is for a sanity check. Those moments when you need to take roll, deal with a behavior issue, or just get something pressing done, the blue light tells students to not bother you and if you have a student leader assigned they can go straight to them for questions. Final thoughts Although this is not the noise o meter and doesn't automatically beep when students reach a certain level, I have found that this is a better learning tool to teach a variety of sound levels and makes the students aware and responsible to change their own sound level to the appropriate activity. I love using it and because there are so many different colors you may be able to customize this to your own needs. I recommend you give it a try. Its fun and easy and could have many more uses. Please share other uses you have found below in the comments. <<<Please share with your friends that may want classroom Management tips Subscribe to be update with more classroom tips.
Using Digital Education Technology In Today's Analog School
By Anita Bern | Submitted On October 29, 2013 It's mind-boggling: more than sixty percent of our first graders will some day work at jobs that are not even created today.We can't even imagine what kinds of jobs exactly might those be, but one thing is for sure: it will has to do with technology. That's why every child needs to learn how to use technology. It is important to note right away that this enormous emphasis on technology use does not mean that the teachers will become less important, quite contrary. Technology is here to be used as a tool by teachers and empower them to deliver lessons in a way that the old analog school, still stuck in the last century, is simply not able right now. Teacher are indispensable as the most powerful motivators that exist to actually get children to learn, using the most modern technology or not. Examples of using education technology in practice include, for instance, incorporating rich media and online resources as means of accessing knowledge. Even games can be used as education technology, especially adaptive software that is made to be greatly interactive. Classroom assessment tools can enable teachers to immediately spot the gaps in their students' knowledge and tailor their teaching accordingly. Data analysis and management tools can offer valuable feedback that assists teachers and school leaders in better information management. Some studies have found that when technology is involved in learning, the students are more engaged in knowledge acquisition. Since technology in the classroom offers specialized learning, struggling students are more likely to catch up with their peers when they can use education technology. Of course, it is impossible to talk about education technology without at least mentioning e-learning and the MOOC (massive open online courses) revolution. They are giving the students around the world the unprecedented access to the best schools and best teachers available today. At the moment, MOOCs are used in higher education almost exclusively, but in the not too far off future they may be used from kindergarten! It is hard to stress enough how important is incorporating modern education technology and all it can offer (we're only just starting to scratch the surface on its possible uses and benefits) in today's school. Expenditure on technology in schools is steadily rising every year, and around the world. Mobile technology, such as tablets and laptops are contributing to this rise the most. School leaders obviously firmly believe that investing in education technology is the way of the future. http://edtechnologyideas.com is an education technology peer-reviewed journal that publishes papers focused on new uses, ideas, and theories related to education technology in schools. Published bi-monthly, this education technology journal is free to access, submit, and publish. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Anita_Bern/232243 Sign up for our newsletter to get more articles like this.
New in Smart Notebook
Smart-board has introduced the new smart lab on Smart Notebook 17. It is packed with fun interactive games and built in apps than make learning fun and the setup easy for us teachers. With the new features that allow students to respond and contribute from devices in the classroom I was very excited to get back to my class and get started. If you haven't had a chance to play don't worry, I have done the playing and found a few tips to get you up and running in no time. The first activity I found very fun and easy was the "Shout It Out" activity. What I loved most about it was:
In "Shout it Out" you are able to have students throw ideas, answers, or images directly up on the smart-board from their devices and then be able to interact with them as a teacher. I loved playing with it and can't wait to see whats next. Video Tutorial for Shout it Out for Smart Notebook 17 I put this video together to help you get started. If you enjoy please sign up for our newsletter for more cool tips. Leave a comment of something you would like me to explore next or some ideas for using the "Shout it Out" activity for. |
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Author- Jeff Hall is a techy-teacher.
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