EdTechTeam

Global Network of Educational Technologists

Geo Tools

Bring the World to Your Classroom

There were so many “ooohs” and “ah-has” as I read this book! I definitely recommend it for all social studies teachers or teachers that want to get the most out of  Google’s Geo Tools. I know my students will benefit from me reading this book, which is the most important thing when reading any professional development book!

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When I saw Bring the World to Your Classroom by Kelly Kermode and Kim Randall mentioned on my Twitter feed I knew I had to order it. I was so excited the day it arrived. I quickly cracked it open and dug in with my Google Keep handy to take plenty of notes. Kelly and Kim didn’t disappoint. This book made me realize that, even though I was aware of many of Google’s geography tools, I was not familiar with all of the features that were available on each platform. These Google Geo tools like Google My Maps, Google Tour Builder, Google Earth and so many more allow students to explore the world, create, and collaborate. In addition to the deep dives into the many facets of Google Geo tools, the book is loaded with ideas for how to use these tools with your students. Additionally, it contains a multitude of useful links to explore and use to engage your students.

I learned so much from this book: how to customize icons on Google My Maps and Google Tour Builder; how to export My Maps to a KML file to be used in Google Earth; and how to stylize the way markers appear on maps as well as in the layers of My Maps. I became aware that you can navigate through time on Google Street View to earlier images. I also found out about Story Spheres and how students can create their own.

Some of the many suggestions included in the book were to have students create screencasts of their Street View explorations. The links for the student screencasts can then be added to Google My Maps or tours on Google Tour Builder. I also loved the idea of having students explore Google Earth and fill out an AEIOU chart (A=adjective, E=Emotion, I=interesting, O=Oh? Surprised by ___, and U=Um I still have a question about). I plan on using this idea this week!

The book also provided me with countless new links and resources to explore such as my favorite geteach.com by Josh Williams. This website allows you to compare data side by side on 2 maps. It is an amazing resource for any social studies teacher and one that you all have to check out!

Some of the other websites that I learned about from this book were:

If you are looking for more Google Geo tools content to explore as you wait for your copy to arrive, check out these #worldgeochat posts:

Ed Casey has taught 7th-grade world geography in Naperville District 203 for the past 11 years. He’s constantly striving to increase student interest and engage learning about our world. He looks to stay up-to-date on methods and strategies that will get students active in class, with the goal that the skills they learn in class will lay a foundation for them to take action in their community and the world outside their neighborhood. Ed is also a co-founder of the weekly Twitter chat #worldgeochat which takes place every Tuesday night during the school year from 8–9 P.M. CST. My fellow #worldgeochat moderators and I publish a blog that can be found at https://worldgeochat.wordpress.com/.

Ed holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University Chicago. He lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife, two children, and a dachshund who runs the show.

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Build Your Own Adventure: Tour Creator for Google Expeditions is Here!

Did you hear? There’s something new from Google that can get your students exploring the world (without ever leaving their seats)! Read on to learn about this powerful new tool.

Introducing  Tour Creator

Today Google is introducing Tour Creator. Head to vr.google.com/tourcreator right now. Run, don’t walk! Once you’ve arrived at the site you will notice a pretty purple surprise waiting for you. A little button that will get your heart racing as your dopamine levels spike. Does that say, Get Started to create your own virtual tour? Yes, it does. Does this mean that you can click it and actually create your own virtual experience, like Tour Builder, except in VR? That you can add your own 360° images, add your own content, take your students on a personally crafted experience to match your class topic of inquiry or study? Yes to all of the above! Now you can create your own custom adventures for your students to explore!

The Wait Is Over

One of the top requests Google has heard from educators is the ability to create their own Expeditions, and they listened! For several months Google has been testing a beta program for Expeditions allowing teachers and students to capture and curate unique virtual tours. If you were not a part of the beta program but have been patiently waiting for this capability to be opened up to the public, the wait is over – Tour Creator is now open for all to use!

Create Your Own 360° Content Now

Using Tour Creator, you can easily create your own virtual tour using footage from a 360° camera or even curate photos from the vast collection found on Street View. Not only can you add 360° footage, but you can annotate the images with your own custom content. You can then publish to Poly (again, the magic purple button) for your tour to be viewed via the web or in VR by loading the published URL on a mobile device and placing it in Cardboard. It has been confirmed by Google that they will be adding the ability to import these tours directly into the Expeditions application later this year.

It’s time to activate your students and get them exploring and creating their own virtual tours using Tour Creator today! Google has asked educators to get started by, “showing us what makes your community special and why you #LoveWhereYouLive!” Read more in this official blog post from Google.

Dee Lanier
Program Coordinator
EdTechTeam

Putting Learning on the Map with Google Earth

Preparing students for a future with unimagined technologies can be a daunting task.  As educators, we need to assess the tools that we use in our classrooms and consider if technology can make learning more meaningful for students.

Think about the last map you used.  Was it a huge, folded paper pulled from your glove box, or displayed on the screen of your personal device?  Most likely, it was on a device, and our students will use maps on their devices, too. How can we best meet the needs of our students?

 Google Earth is an example of a tool that allows us to engage students in new ways while developing 21st-century skills.  My interactive whiteboard combined with Google Earth has eliminated the need for, what my students call, those old-school pull-down maps.

When I was a student in fifth and sixth grade, I remember we would always look at Germany on world maps to see if Germany was in one piece or two. Does our map say U.S.S.R or all of the separate countries across eastern Europe? Google Earth is dynamic and always updated. This use of technology eliminates the problem of outdated maps.

Google Earth also allows our students to immerse themselves in other states and counties.  I first discovered how well this hooked my students when I was showing them the location of the Grand Canyon using Google Earth.  Without thinking, I said, “here, we can look at it a little closer,” and clicked the icon for street view. My entire class froze and stared – a reaction I was not expecting!  A few students had experience using Google Earth to look at their own homes but hadn’t explored more than that. I clicked on the map briefly to show them how to navigate, then let them explore the Grand Canyon with their own devices.  

The Grand Canyon activity hooked my students on Google Earth, and I took advantage of their excitement through the rest of our map unit. Most activities completed in the past using paper maps work just as well with Google Earth, but with many enhancements. Changing from satellite view to street view helps my students to gain a better understanding of the countries and locations we explore, helping them to develop a global perspective.

I encourage you to give Google Earth a try in your classroom. Current, interactive, and allowing students to view the world in new ways makes Google Earth an exciting classroom tool.

 

 

Bonnie Razler is a fourth-grade teacher in Maryland.  She has a masters degree in Technology Integration and loves using tech in creative ways to allow students to demonstrate their learning. You can follow Bonnie at @BonnieRaz ‏.

 

 

 

Want to learn more about going GLOBAL with your students? Check out Bring the World to You Classroom: Using Geo Tools by Kelly Kermode and Kim Randall

 

 

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Going Global with Inquiry and Google

How does your physical location affect your opportunities? This year at Melbourne Girls Grammar, a goal of the Middle Years staff has been to plan and deliver authentic inquiry experiences to our students. Our aim is to explore new content knowledge, develop 21st-century learning skills all whilst incorporating new technologies to provide innovative learning experiences. This led to a Year 5 inquiry unit investigating the essential question, “How does our physical location affect our opportunities?”

We began with a confronting immersion task to encourage our students to consider the experiences of other children around the world. This enabled them to generate wonderings to drive our unit of inquiry (see picture). The students subsequently investigated the United Nations Rights of the Child to identify what opportunities all children should be afforded irrespective of country of birth.

We enlisted the help of our information services team to come to Year 5 and deliver specialist lessons on how to perform effective searches using our library’s online databases, as well as the pro’s and con’s of using Google to gather information. All students were encouraged to gather factual information about Australia such as imports, exports, climate, literacy levels, average household income etc which could be used as a means of comparison with a chosen country later in the unit.

After developing an understanding of the opportunities afforded to adults and children in Australia, the girls were challenged to choose a focus country outside of Australia to investigate and make comparisons. Students developed a geographical and social understanding of the country to determine if the opportunities afforded to, particularly children, were in line with the UN Rights of the Child treaty. They were specifically asked to attribute cause and effect; How were opportunities affected in that country and why was this the case? The girls loved comparing the physical size of their chosen country with Australia using The True Size website. They also had the opportunity to explore their country through pictures using the Pegman feature in Google Maps.

One of the most important and challenging elements of the unit was the “Call to Action”. An opportunity for girls to use their new knowledge to make a change. Students contacted outside agencies such as charities, businesses and even reached out to politicians. The girls wanted to suggest changes to laws, not only in other countries but also here in Australia. After learning about policies towards immigration and same-sex marriage in Canada and Sweden, they felt Australian laws could be improved.

The unit culminated with students either individually, or in pairs, presenting the information they had found. The girls were encouraged to present their information using Google Slides using a range of mediums, including; images, tables, graphs, and keywords. The Screencastify extension was then utilised to enhance their slide deck with students recording using their voice to create an immersive presentation for their audience. This was a time-efficient way to develop their presentation skills, without having to observe each group presenting.

Each presentation was uploaded into a Google MyMap which was used as an authentic showcase of learning which could be shared with parents. Some students even created Google Forms to share and test the audience’s knowledge after viewing their presentation. Students completed self and peer reflections on their learning which were also uploaded into the MyMap to give a complete picture of the learning journey of the students throughout the unit.

In summation, I believe student engagement is the gauge of the success of any lesson, or unit, in schools. Student Agency in this unit was at a premium. The investment in answering the essential question enabled authentic knowledge construction, opportunities for self-regulation, exploration of areas of digital citizenship, ICT for learning and effective communication. All of these skills will help our students succeed and adapt to the future world of work, whatever that might look like.

 

Rory McCaughey
Year 5 Teacher
Melbourne Girls Grammar School
Australia
@MrMac85

 

 

 

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