Google Earth Across the Curriculum

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Most of us have seen the wonders of traveling the earth courtesy of Google Earth, but have you had the chance to consider its vast resources and how they might help you in the classroom? Google Earth has become one of those resources I can't live without as it contains so many incredible pieces that complement each part of my curriculum. Whether I'm using it for a geography lesson or conducting a lesson on area, you can be sure that I'm going to use Google Earth first! 


In fact, the more I learn about Google Earth the more I grow to love it and appreciate all the different facets of it! Lately I've been doing many presentations for educators on the benefits of Google Earth and just how they might use it in their classes, whether they're teaching kindergartners or college students, whether they're discussing science or art. 


Here is a link to the outline I use for my course: tinyurl.com/GEATC2. Inside you'll find tons of links to fantastic resources and ideas for projects. One of the most beneficial links you'll find is to a document I worked up regarding Google Earth Layers: tinyurl.com/GEATC2Layers. This document lists all the layers within Google Earth 6 and highlights how some of them might be used by different subjects.

Have a great time using Google Earth and if you have any questions or comments about my presentation, please leave a comment. Also, feel free to use any of the material I've provided, but please, give credit where credit is due. Happy travels!

Cell Phones in the Classroom

School District 5 of Lexington and Richland Counties in Irmo, South Carolina, a suburban town just outside the capital city, is the latest district to permit cell phones and cell phone use inside the schools. They are the latest school district to approve a measure that is not only making many teachers and parents wary, but one that begs the question, "Can cell phones be integrated successfully into the classroom or are they bound to remain marginalized?” While one could speculate about its future implementation, the real answer lies with the individual classroom teachers. It lies in their willingness to allow phones in their classroom, their creativity to integrate them into the curriculum, and their ability to direct learning while their students are using a device that could easily become a distraction rather than a tool.

While modern cell phones possess many abilities, most people typically think of texting, video games, and the ability to use facebook as the main functions, and they are immediately turned off from the idea of allowing them within the classroom, much less using them as an educational tool. However, when one considers the real power and strengths of cell phones, he may reconsider his position.

As cell phone ownership and use continues to grow around the world, the capabilities of cell phones continue to grow as well.  Check out this snippet from Walking Randomly.com (accessed June 20, 2011):

According to the current Top 10 Android Linpack results, a tweaked Motorola Droid [cell phone] is capable of scoring 52 Mflop/s which is over 15 times faster than the 1979 Cray 1 [supercomputer].  Put another way, if you transported that mobile phone back to 1987 … it would be on par with the processors in one of the fastest computers in the world of the time, the ETA 10-E, and [it] had to be cooled by liquid nitrogen.

Simply put, modern cell phones have incredible capabilities that cannot be ignored! Furthermore, many areas have adopted “one laptop per child” initiatives, but given the widespread use of cell phones and the fact that they rival many computers in abilities, cell phones may prove to be a readily viable option for allowing students access to the Internet and providing them an opportunity to connect with their classmates, peers, community, and the world in new ways!

So, how might I use cell phones in my classroom?
Rather than listing a myriad of resources, let’s consider several broad applications for education.

1. Class Discussions
The media has recently produced several stories of teachers using Twitter as a conversational tool in their classrooms. (Click here for CNN’s story or for Philly.com’s story). By posting a question on the board and by utilizing Twitter students can engage in a class conversation that gives a voice to every student and no one person is allowed to dominant the conversation, which encourages quieter students to participate. No one is being asked to stand in front of the class, but everyone is able to share his/her thoughts, opinions, and understandings with everyone else. CoverItLive.com also has mobile capabilities, which acts like Twitter, but can be embedded into a website for later review.

2. Class Polls
Want to know if your students understand what you’ve just taught them, in spite of the fact that no one is raising a hand? Try a cell phone-generated poll by using a site like PollEverywhere.com. Students can text in answers to a classroom poll and watch as the numbers change before their eyes! Poll Everywhere is free and easy to use and would allow you another way to engage your students.

3. Web Quest
Lately you may have seen those funny black-and-white codes the size of a postage stamp popping up on everything from movie posters to a carton of eggs. These are called QR codes and, by using a cell phone’s camera, these codes will direct a web browser to a specific site on the Internet. You can generate a QR code for any website by visiting a site like qrcode.kaywa.com. Then, print up the QR codes for different websites you’d like your students to visit. This is especially useful if websites have long and complicated URLs.

4. Microphones
Many sites (i.e. VoiceThread.com, Voki.com and Blabberize.com) accept phone calls from users to record a comment on the page or add their voice to an avatar.

Technology and the Curriculum Standards

Given the manner in which technology has moved into our lives and the way has set itself up to be indispensable in our daily routines, most of us are looking for ways to bring more technology into our classes. We are looking to engage our students and trying to replicate the connection kids have to their cell phones and iPods, all in the hopes that they will exhibit a similar interest in our classes and prove to be more industrious. This desire can often lead teachers to utilize technology to a greater degree, which garners the attention we so desire. Yet, when we do this, do we find that the technology ends up helping our students to learn the content material or is the technology overshadowing their understanding of the topic? In other words, when technology is introduced into a lesson are students still learning educational information or are they simply learning how to use a computer program?

Our goal as teachers shouldn't be to use technology for technology's sake, for the reason that we want to make sure our students are learning the subject material first. Now, we definitely want to use technology, but we want to be sure that we're using technology as a way to teach the content. We must remember that the content is the goal and the material is the end objective; technology is merely the means to an end, but never the end itself. Therefore, technology lessons need to be aligned to the curriculum standards.

When you're creating a lesson and looking to include technology, begin with the end in mind. Ask the question, "What do I want my students to learn as a result of this lesson?" The best way to answer this question is to decide upon the standard you are looking to address in your lesson. This is your final goal and this will help guide you as you begin to plan out your class. By starting the process with the curricular goal in mind, you’re on a better path than if you approach the process with a specific program in mind and trying to figure out how this program might fit into your class. If you begin with the program and try to add the goal later you’re in jeopardy of teaching the technology rather than teaching the curriculum. (That’s not to say it can’t be done, just that it’s more difficult.)

As you begin deciding which technology to use, ask yourself another question: Do I want the technology to act as the mode of instruction (i.e. are the students going to learn the information as a result of using the technology) or will the technology act as an assessment? In other words, which part of the instructional process will the technology serve: teaching the lesson or assessing the understanding?

A second question may be, “What about aligning my lesson to the technology standards? Aren’t those important?” Absolutely! However, the technology standards are not intended to be the goal of a lesson like curricular standards are, but they are designed to lie on top of the curricular standards and act as a conduit for learning. Technology (and the technology standards) is designed to accompany the lesson and to guide the learning, but it should never be the learning.

Animation

A fantastic way to engage your students is to create cartoons or some kind of animation. There are numerous sites for such activities, such as Kerpoof, XtraNormal, and Be Funky, and each is an incredible way to allow your students the ability to express themselves creatively. One of my favorite sites is ToonDoo, which is an easy-to-use comic strip creator. In a matter of minutes students can create professional looking comics that can act as a class project or an assessment of their learning. The example below shows how students might create a comic about Revolutionary War taxes being levied on American colonists.

By rnovak | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

Collaboration

Collaboration is one of the best ways to increase learning and create a sense of community. Many tools are readily available to facilitate collaboration, whether that is peer-to-peer or teacher-to-student or student-to-student collaboration. Any way it is done the goal is to learn together, sharing understanding and resources. A great resource to consider is a ning. This is general term referring to an online learning community where people of similar interests pool their combined resources and knowledge in order to help the group at large. Nings exist for art teachers, people with cats, or mountain bikers; they exist for every possible group you can imagine.

How might a ning be used within a classroom, in a traditional teacher-and-students setting? Suppose the teacher set up a ning to discuss topics they had been discussing in history class. Perhaps they can list or catalogue their understandings of over-arching themes and show how history repeats itself. Students are quick to grab onto a resource like a ning because they are accustomed to using sites like Facebook, Google+, and MySpace, where they join together with their friends and discuss a variety of subjects.

Nings can also be used to encourage professional growth. Participants can discuss current methods they are implementing and topics being discussed in the classroom. Everyone that participates in a ning benefits, whether they are actively participating or simply reaping the benefits of others' experience.