Google's Other Side

Browser by JuralMin CCO

If you know me, read any of my blog posts, or follow me on Twitter you will recognize one pattern.  I talk about and share out a lot of Google resources.  There is even a joke that I will respond to “Hey, Google”.   Most people know about how Google Docs can be shared between students and teachers to increase communication and editing, or how to use Google Slides to facilitate collaborative group work.  If not, check the links above from Educator’s Technology Blog and Alice Keeler’ Teachers Tech.

What many people don’t know are the side projects Google has put together to bring the world to students and teachers.  Here is a list of some of my favorites, see which ones you enjoy the most.

Google Cultural Institute - Google has curated a resource for anyone looking to do research or just discover about culture and historical setting of events that have changed the world.  To bring this into your classroom, try having students create their own galleries or have this as a starting point for a socratic circle.  I love just going in here and exploring what I can find.

World Wonders Project - Find your way through the wonders of the world.  Examine historic photos or visit the pyramids of Giza.  Swim with the fish of the Great Barrier Reef.  Use this in your classroom to set the scene for a novel or find the significance of these sites historically.  

Art Project - Walk the halls of the most famous art museum, and don’t get yelled at for getting too close.  In fact, zoom in on Van Gough’s Starry Night and see his brush strokes.  Have your students create galleries to bring reading to real life, or use this to bring “Art in the Dark” to an interactive experience.  

Google Moon, Mars and Sky - Google Earth has been out for a while, so let’s take a trip that is out of this world.  In Google Earth, under the top toolbar, click on the planet symbol and choose your destination.  See NASA imagery, follow rover tracks and seek out landmarks.  Use this as an extension activity or brainstorming activity to get the creativity flowing in your classroom.

Google Maps Treks - Using Google Maps Street View technology, go on virtual field trips to exotic locations.  Follow the steps on Jane Goodall’s chimpanzee research or take a closer look at the Taj Mahal.  Use this in your classroom to gain a deeper insight and a first person perspective of world that is normally not reachable.

Google Trends - The Internet of things and big data is becoming commonplace in our society.  Use these ideas to help stir interests and discussion in your classes.  Use Google Search Terms to track interests and relate to current events.  You can search multiple terms, varying lengths of time and locations.  Bring up the discussion of correlation and causation.  So does education cause career growth?

There are so many other tools that Google has available, that I will share with you at a later time.  But for now, go do some exploration and see what you can find.  

Reviewing for the Year's End

A question was posed in the Instructional Technology Specialist Google Plus group about review for year end exams.  There were a lot of great suggestions, so I thought I would compile them here, and maybe add some more of my own.  The goal for most of these is to make the review process engaging and enticing to students.

Kahoot (+Kristina Wambold)- Quick multiple choice review game.  Set up or find topics from the public listings, and run a game on the classroom projector.  To spice it up, play with your kids and give them some grand prize for beating your score.  I would post the winning scores on my Twitter accounts with the kids Twitter/Instagram handle attached.

Quizizz (+Patrick Reid) - Like Kahoot, but the questions appear on the student devices and questions are self-progressing.  Also the memes that appear after each question also are pretty motivating.

Quizalize (+Charlie Gerancher) - This is a new one that I have discovered, but seems to become one of my favorites.  Mainly because of the dashboard that is provided for the teachers as their students progress through the questions.  Also, this one provides for team grouping.  You can see how a team and individual students are doing and what needs to be reviewed again.  

QR Code Scavenger Hunt (+Patrick Reid) - Make a series of multiple choice questions with the answers being QR codes.  Each QR code will either tell them it was a wrong answer, or where to go for the next question.  This one gets your kids up and moving, and is team building.  The link provided makes this job way easier than I have done it before.  

Flippity Quiz (+Mary Comer) - Create a series of questions and answers in a Google Sheet, then this script will create the results into a customizable Jeopardy style game board.  I used this a lot for vocabulary terms that I had already created in a Quizlet.  Works well for team play from 2 - 6 teams.

Some other ideas I had as I thought back of ways I have reviewed with my students.

Review Squares - This one goes back from an English Language Learners strategy.  You print or share a series of boxes with the topics of an upcoming test.  Then you give each student one minute to write what they can remember about any topic.  While that student is writing the rest are reviewing their notes.  The apparent goal is for the student to get more information/items on their paper, then the next team.  The hidden goal is for the students to review their notes and notice details.  

Slap It - Write or project key terms, topics or ideas from the subject matter.  Give to students fly swatters.  Have each student face away from the list of terms.  Read off the question,  the students turn to find the answer.  While they are doing this their teammates can help by saying the answers, but they must stay in their seats.  It gets heated quickly.

Congo Line Review - Have students create a question(s) and answer(s) to what they think might be on the test.  Have students stand in two line facing each other.  They then take turns asking and answering questions.  Once this is done, one student at the end shimmies (yes they must dance with the provided music) to the end of their line down the center, and the rest of their line shifts down.  The other line stands still and greets their new partner, and the question and answering continues.  

When reviewing making it student centered, and questions being student created will give you greater success.  Many of these will give you an idea of how students are prepared for the upcoming exams.  Be sure to stop and take the time to go over and adjust your teaching when you see spots that need additional assistance.  Any other ideas you would suggest?  Any favorites that your students repeatedly request?

Besides Worksheets for the iPads

Many times when teachers are trying to include more technology into their classroom, they will substitute what they know with a technology device.  This is know as Substitution, within the SAMR model of tech integration.  There is nothing wrong with staying at this level, but Substitution is the same as asking Knowledge based questions from Bloom’s.  Just as we expect our students to comprehend at a higher level, we should model that higher level.  Here are my suggestions to raise that level and produce higher order thinking from your students.

Knowledge Retention and Recall

Quizlet - using this webpage as a base tool create vocabulary list with term definitions, and images for students to study. Then let them use their iPad apps to study using the multiple versions of study tools.  The study tools give full access to multiple parts of their thinking including basic flash card review, spelling, and game-based review. Then let students complete on the own the matching game section to see who could get the fastest time. Let them submit these times as the actual grade. Give them a set standard that they have to be to get a base grade and then break down the times the coordinate with other letter grades. This will help drive students engagement by allowing them to decide how high they want to raise their grades by by only playing a game.

Padlet - Gather questions that are higher order thinking from a worksheet that you would have given them, and let them submit their answers on a Padlet board. Then I have the boards that can then be saved as a PDF and share on a class website.  It be a good review activity for those that were gone or it just need time to look back on it. Padlet is device agnostic so that even if it's not on iPad, it could be access on any web browser. Also you can use tablet as a brainstorming tool. Use it as a categorization tool, or a way to get students talk together to where they can share and collaborate on how best to answer a question.

Word clouds - Have students create a word cloud of the vocabulary terms that are important to the lesson. Then have students write out an explanation of the Word Cloud created.  The ABCya Cloud Generator is a pretty solid free app on the iPad for word clouds. The word cloud can then be saved and shared on with the teacher or attached as an image to the explanation below.

Quizzes and Assessments

Google Forms - I could include this tool in any of these locations, where I found a lot of useless was by making quick quizzes for assessments. Using a multitude of different question types you can make individualized assessments every student in your class by using the “Goto Page Based On Answer Choice” option. Also you can use Add Ons like Super Quiz or Flubaroo to automate grading, and return to the students the email for further review.

Kahoot, Quizizz, or Quizzle - All of these are tools that can be used as a game based quiz for your students. All the tools are able to convert the results into a spreadsheet that spreadsheet can then be used as a way to track progress. I made my students use their real names when sign in to these programs as an easy way to track their progress. To lower the fear of failure I would give them the base score, and then give them additional points based on correct responses. The correct responses added to a total score to a passing grade but just participating will give him at least a 50.

QR Code Scavenger Hunt - Who says quizzes have to be when the students sit still and answer questions? Create a QR scavenger hunt by placing multiple choice question around the room. Each ABC or D answer has a specified QR code. The correct QR code will take the student to the next question on the scavenger hunt. This is a great way to get your students up and active. My students always seemed to respond better to answer a whole list of questions if they were up moving around, instead of being stationary on a worksheet. Here’s an example of one I made for steps of mitosis.

Those are just some ways that you can use mobile devices in your classroom. I find the easiest way to change what you used to do, to what you can do is add motion and activity into your plans. What are some ways you use mobile devices in your classroom? How do students respond?