Yesterday after school, staff at Spring Hill Elementary participated in a Professional Development session delivered via videoconferencing. ISTE's SIGIVC host and Google Certified Teacher Paul Hieronymus from NORT2H (Northern Ohio Research & Training Technology Hub), together with five interactive sites shared just a few of the FREE tools that Google offers to search and collaborate.
You can use Google Earth to simply search for a place or try one of the many advanced features, such as recording a tour or importing GPS data. Google Earth for Educators offers Classroom Resources; lesson plans and ideas on how Google Earth can help students learn. Also available are Tutorials and Tips, Student Showcase, and more.
Looking for a complete, fully interactive, 3D human anatomy model? Google has recently demoed an interesting WebGL application called Body Browser, which lets you explore the human body just like you can explore the world in Google Earth. You can peel back anatomical layers, zoom in, and navigate to parts that interest you. Click to identify anatomy, or search for muscles, organs, bones and more.
Please note: You must install a WebGL-enabled browser. These are available for download at the link above.
Ever wish you could create a personalized, customized search engine that searches only across sites that you specify and displays results that you know will be right for you or your students? Google Custom Search Engine (CSE) allows you do do just that. Want your students to access only child-safe sites? You can pre-select the sites, list them in the settings of your new search engine, and then let your students use it -- knowing that they're searching the web safely. And because you choose the sites to search, they'll get a limited number of highly relevant search results, making the time they spend online more efficient and rewarding. All you need to do is choose the websites and pages you'd like to search, then follow a few simple steps to create a CSE. Think of it as putting the power of Google web search to work for you.
Find out about these programs and so many more at Google for Educators. Here, you’ll find a teacher’s guide to Google Tools for Your Classroom. To spark your imagination, you'll also find examples of innovative ways that other educators are using these tools in the classroom. If you would like to schedule me to work with you or your students on Google Apps, or would like to request a PD session, please contact me at sbarracl@access.k12.wv.us.
No comments:
Post a Comment