Virtual Travelers - An Extension of Research!

One of my favorite times of the year is when I get to explore with students new ways to search for information and learn new things. Bring on research using safe search engines and other techy ways to extend that research!

We start by learning how to search for information by doing a Scavenger Hunt of famous places from all over the world. My favorite site for this is Britannica Online - it's easy for Elementary friends to navigate, has wonderful images and videos, it reads articles aloud and translates the website in a variety of languages! 

We are Virtual Travelers - to extend this learning, we'll travel to these places virtually by using  the panoramic views in Google Earth. Loading the app onto a computer or accessing it online or on iPad, students can not only explore the famous place, but can explore the culture, the architecture, discover more about landforms, geography and so much more!

UPDATE: Sadly, Google Expedition has been retired - stay tuned for new and innovative ways to showcase new ways of learning. In the meantime….take a look at what we ‘used-to-do’ - perhaps, it may spark what ‘can-be-done’ now. Happy Travels! 

Google Expedition is also an amazing way to see the world. Using Virtual Reality - we are transported on a field trip to these sites. Using the lead device, it's easy to search for places and via the router, the field trip is then transmitted to the explorer's goggles. The sounds of 'oohhs' and 'aawws' from the students adds to the excitement. Hands down, this is a very cool experience!

This is how we roll - literally and virtually!
 

Google Keep - My Favorite Features From A Favorite App!

Google Keep has become one of my all-time go-to apps - especially when it comes to keeping organized or storing reminders. There are many great features, but here are my top favorite:

These features work on the app that is loaded to your device:

Adding collaborators - once a note or list has been created, at the bottom of the note is a box with 3-dots. Once clicked, features to delete the note, make a copy, send it, add collaborators, and select a color label are itemized. Adding collaborators is a snap by email or by typing in a name to select.


Sending a note or list through email, texts or through social media outlets - clicking on 'Send' brings up text, email, social media, and save as an image are some of the options.

Adding voice notes - By clicking on the '+' at the bottom of the screen, select to add a picture, choose an image from the devices photo gallery, draw an image or record a note. By clicking on recorder icon, press and hold the microphone. When finished the message is inserted to the list.

Setting reminders that alert - at the top of the screen is a reminder icon, tap it and add time, date and place.

And, the easy customizeable settings that add even more to the experience! Back out to main screen, click on the 3-lines at the top left, then the settings cog. Here is where more customizable settings can be changed. It's a snap!

Google Keep is a keeper!

What Do Postcards & Digital Citizenship Have in Common?

You might ask what postcards and digital citizenship have in common - it turns out a lot!

Consider a postcard - beautiful pictures of scenic paths, cute, fluffy animals or a fun fact about an antique on one side and on the reverse, a place to add an address, postage stamp and a lovely message to a friend.

     "Dear Friend, Having an awesome time. Wish you were here. Signed, Your Friend"

Consider this: when you place a stamp at the top right corner of that card and place it in a mailbox, is that message you sent a friend 'private'? Would it be a good idea to send a mean message to a friend on a postcard? Would you want to add your private information on it? If the answer is 'no' to each of these, this is the connection to digital citizenship.

When communicating online, being a good digital citizen means that your words are not private and we should always choose our words carefully.

I like to use this connection with older students as a reminder of our responsibility when chatting online with friends - think before posting online. Once the 'send' key is tapped, there is no getting it back. Even a delete key will not reverse what has been sent.

For this exercise, I love ReadWriteThink's Postcard Creator - I like how the program takes the user step-by-step, explaining each area of a postcard is and how to complete it properly. I like how easy it is to edit and print and the final product is pleasant.

This is a good idea

#MetKids - Artwork for Kids!

Lately I've come across some very cool websites for kids to explore Art. MetKids struck me as a great way to not only share the architecture of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but of all the visual artwork that fill this amazing place. With a few clicks, students can learn about all the different areas of the museum from the Tomb of Perneb to Terracotta Krater to even the Gift Shop and that is just a start. Click on the many red and yellow markers on the map and read more about the room and the history of the art in it.

There is also a section labeled "Time Machine", where with a filtered search by era, geography or main topics will display results of more images of the artwork and more historical details...this is fascinating stuff! There is also a videos section that is kid friendly and on topics that are fascinating as well!

Click on the Menu to read the MetKids Blog, learn about programs for kids and families and get details about visiting the museum! Nicely planned out.

I like how user friendly the site is, how it is mapped out for kids to enjoy and that it is as aesthetically pleasing as the artwork it displays - an added plus.

Nicely done Met...nicely done!

Chrome Music Lab - Song Maker!

I love it when I'm tinkering about and a cool app pops up out of nowhere. Such was the case with Chrome Music Lab. It's a song maker, but it is so much more! It's a cool way to explore sounds, tempos and more. This program works on any browser and is easy to get started.

Students can be composers for the day - choosing between varying styles like marimba, piano, electronic, string, woodwind or synthesizer to the many offered measures, set the tempos, press the space bar and away you go!

I like the clarity of the sound. Students can have a jam session and combine their creations. Add vocals by using the devices microphone!

This is a great way to introduce the basics of music production all the way up to the more complex sounds - and it's fun! It also adds an element of technology integration to the music classroom. Clearly a win-win!

This is a grand idea!

Google Translate - Smartphone Style!

I have easily become a huge fan of Google Translate! Using my iPhone, I can speak the words using my phone's microphone, take a picture using the camera or write a word and with a snap, it is translated!

I held the phone up to a friend who spoke Spanish, using the microphone and Google Translate translated it in English for me.

Google hits it out of the park with this one!

Google Keep

One of my all time favorite apps is Google Keep  It is an app that works on computers, smartphones, tablets and seamlessly syncs instantaneously in between them all. This is a great app that offers great ways to keep organized and manage all the "things" in your life - and what a nice addition to the Google Apps family! Google Keep is easy to access, super easy to add reminders, lists and pictures. Added features include setting reminders, adding collaborators, color coding events and items to make them distinguishable, and complete access to a variety of lists that can be created.


I have several Google Accounts and in Google Keep, I'm able to switch in between accounts for my organized list of 'to-dos' for each. This is incredibly helpful.

I'm excited to introduce this to our 4th & 5th Graders - Google Keep will come in handy for them to keep up with assignments, due dates, lists of materials or activities, and so much more.


This is a great idea...and a great app!

Virtual Field Trips - I'm Inspired

I've became so inspired by ideas for using our technology to go on Virtual Field Trips...endless possibilities exists and the wealth of images and historical background that can be learned on these trips is amazing!

Here are some of my favorites:

Field Trip by the the folks at Niantic, Inc. - Niantic is the creator of the famed PokemonGo and Ingress apps. Well, they took that brand of genius and poured it into this fascinating app. With location enabled, landmarks in range pop up and give pictures and historical information - fascinating! It would be interesting to take a device on real outings and learn more about the area travelled!

Google Street View - I've always know this was available and we have used it in the past, but not to the extent it is capable of. The cool part of this app is that a viewing device is not necessary to operate the application, although having one, adds to the full 360 experience. I also like that the user can add content fairly easily.

Cardboard Camera - This is a cool way to take 360 panoramic pictures with a smartphone or tablet. The program comes with easy step-by-step directions, making it fun for even our youngest of friends to operate. Then, view it with a VR/Cardboard viewer and away you go!

Google Arts & Culture - explore thousands of images found in some of the world's most famous museums and learn about people that created them & those that curate them.

                            

Fascinating experiences!

Augmented Reality

Students learned a new word this week - 'augment' - which means to 'add to'.  In, Augmented Reality (AR), easily one of the coolest technologies around, the user uses an iPad, iPhone or other such device; aims the device's camera at a still image (also known as the target or marker). The 3D image that bounces off that image sends the user into an amazing interactive experience with animals, spacecraft, our planet Earth and more. It is the technology that 'adds to' the image that creates layers and an awesome experience!

Here's a few of my favorites:

Zookazam - by the folks of AtlantaAR LLC - allows viewers to interact with some 42 animals - seeing them in a panoramic view. Students can learn all about the animal and it's habitat and even get a selfie with the animal for kicks! Check mine out! We've used this experience with all grade levels at my school - for K & 1st grade friends learning about animals, what better way than to enjoy this experience and see the animal first hand! With 2nd thru 5th, our students learning about Augmented Reality, saw if from this clear leader in the field! I've been a fan for years now!

Spacecraft 3D - by the folks of Jet Propulsion Laboratory - is another wonderful experience that lets viewers learn about and interact with a variety of spacecraft that are used to explore our solar system, study Earth, and observe the universe! Viewers become real space enthusiasts quickly with this experience, with the ability to manipulate robotic arms and learn about each craft's mission and findings! This too works well with all grade levels in our STEM environment!



Earth AR is another favorite to explore a variety of views of our planet Earth! The viewer is also able to get a good look at normal mapping, cube mapping, reflection mapping and more. For fun, we took selfies 'holding' Earth in our hands - students loved that!

After getting a good look and interacting within these fun favorites - students then create their own AR experience by using Aurasma - we bring pictures, videos and more to life as we explore the possibilities and it's made super simple with this program. All that is needed is a still image as the marker and then content to layer (or augment) from that image. Students will pick from a variety of topics - digital citizenship, geography, Colonial America, state symbols and history, the week's vocabulary words, pieces of amazing art or their favorite sport - the possibilities are endless! These are then displayed in our Labs and hallways for all to view!

This....is a great idea!

Stop Motion

It's funny sometimes that I'll get requests for programs or apps that come at the same time from a variety of grade levels.  I wonder....did I miss an email or is this the newest trend?  Such was the case these last couple of weeks with the request for a Stop Motion application. Teachers were wanting to use the app for digital storytelling, to show the live cycles of a frog and one group of students wanted to use it to demonstrate their Genius Hour project.

I'm a big fan of Stop Motion Studio by the folks at Cateater, LLC. It is an Free app that is designed for both iPhone and iPad users. The makers tout their app as the 'world's easiest app' and you wouldn't believe how true of a statement that is.  Simply aim the camera, click, record, add texts, graphics, etc. and then download or share to the various social media outlets.  It is just that simple.  I rate this application for late Kinder-Friends and up.

Coding - Google's Way!

Google again 'hits it out of the park' with these two fun coding experiences:

Made with Code - a series of fun activities and projects that really get the imagination going!  My favorite is Yeti, a cute monster getting ready for the 'big performance' with a jig on stage! Each project comes with easy instructions, but further tinkering is a big part of the experience.  I rate this for 3rd thru 5th grade. It's for both boys and girls, but I've found the girls particularly enjoy it and has become their program of choice.


December came alive with Santa Tracker, where the user is transported to Santa's Village for a large assortment of games, coding experiences and a link to learn more about how the holidays are celebrated around the world (very interesting stuff!).  Kinder thru 5th had a blast trying the various activities!  This made Lab time that last week of School before break actually bearable and fun for all - thank you Google!

Coding Experiences for K-2 Friends!

I'm always on the look out for fun activities for our younger friends in K-2, these are some of my favorite Coding Experiences:

Bits & Bricks by the folks at Lego is cute, fun and Students love it! It's easy to get started and becomes progressively trickier as you go. I like that it's encouraging and shows helpful hints when you get stuck. The program starts with a fun tail of Cybit, an online kingdom where Bits are challenged to solve the puzzles.  The background music and character noises are fun as well! I simply love anything Lego - so enjoying this one came very easily!

Lightbot by the folks at ABCYa! is another fun favorite! All the activities on this site are spot-on, Lightbot is no exception!  Essentially, the bot needs to be moved throughout the maze to turn on the light at the end. I like the easy step by step instructions, showing how to get the bot to move and the encouragement along the way.  Nicely done!

Friends in K-2 were all the giggles with codeSpark's The Foos especially when you click on the belly and the character dances a jig when it gets to the end of the puzzle! The characters are cute and relateable. A word to the wise, however, this one does get tricky pretty quickly with loops and repeating functions, so younger friends may need a buddy to help out in a pinch. Still, Students kept wanting more of The Foos - I guess that is a good sign of the program!

And, we can't leave Kodable off the list - this is a program that is played in Centers, during free-time, in the Tech Lab and at home by all our younger Students - online as on their tablets.  An account is not necessary, but having one gives more whistles and bells, as well as progress can be saved for later, which is a nice enough feature.  Fuzzy friends roll around the puzzle collecting gold coins and more for the younger challenges. For the older player's challenges, they're battling asteroids and bugs in the Bug World, oh my!  I like how it shows the coding language in these challenges.

Great programs from exceptional companies - job well done!

Scratch - Music, Art & Digital Storytelling

We celebrate "Hour of Code" throughout the month of December and explore the world of computer programing with our entire K-5 campus - including Staff and Administration!  It's a month everyone looks forward to every year.  This year, in searching for a fun experience that is collaborated in Music & Art Encores, I came upon these activities using Scratch, a dream of a program by the folks at MIT. The beauty of this program is that an account does not need to be activated to start creating - and - in the Educator section of the site, there are many fun activities to try, lesson plans to help get you started and coding cards for Students to use that gives step-by-step instructions.

With "Make Music" - Students easily add 'sprites' (characters) of musical instruments, select backgrounds, beats or sounds, then click 'play'. Their creations come to life! With Animate Your Name, Students add letters or their name and code it to move in many directions. Add sounds to this activity and it becomes multi-faceted experience.  I'm a big fan of these two activities and rate them for 2nd thru 5th Grade.  Once Students get the hang of it, they then enjoy tinkering in the program and quickly get a certain sense of success. It's perfect!

Surveys, Assessments, Exit Tickets and More...oh my!

This question comes up several times a year: the need to do an assessment or the need to survey a class about a completed unit of study...what program works best?  Here are a few that I use:

Three times a year, I Survey Students in the Tech Lab about a variety of topics we've covered throughout the year. A great program for this has been Socrative (http://www.socrative.com/) There is a 'Free' account and then a recently added (and very cool, I might add) 'Pro' account.  The signup is easy and getting started creating the survey, a snap.  Pictures, texts are added and a 'Class Code' is created.  This code is given to the Students, they enter the 'Room' and can either take the survey at my pace or at their own pace. Once everyone is finished, a report is download to view results. This might be a good option for getting Parents Contact Info along with their interest in volunteering at Open House or any other event that pops up.  The report can then be sorted and printed or saved on a device for access throughout the year.  I am a big fan of this program not just because it's easy to use, but because you can also access it from any device.  I've been in a class where phones, chromebooks, iPads and Macs were all taking a survey at once.  Very cool!


Google Forms (https://www.google.com/forms/about/) is another great option and part of Google's amazing suite of programs. Similarly to the other Google Apps, this is another option for creating forms, assessments, surveys or exit tickets.  Again, very easy to create and the templates are quite appealing. When the questions are answered, by clicking on the tab "Results",  allows for easy & quick access to the data, that can then be converted to a spreadsheet for sort, print and save.  Google Forms is another program we use for Open House, Volunteer Sign-ups and more. I like how the form can be connected to Google Classroom & most all other Learning Management Systems, which makes it incredibly easy to get Students input quickly without creating links or embed codes. Nice feature.

PokémonGo & Me!

The new craze, PokémonGo, (Pokémon GO by Niantic, Inc. https://appsto.re/us/XnIpbb.i) is really quite something.  It's an augmented reality genius firestorm with a geocaching flare.  I have to admit, I resisted the hoopla until so many of my parent friends were getting into it & seeing their fun posts of game accomplishments was catching. Their kids would tweet humorously about their folks and...well...Ok, I'm in! 

This was the first app I've come across that you sign in with a Google email account (specifically), instead of the typical Facebook, Twitter or generic email account. Once in, I created this keechie avatar and away I go.

A few outages made the experience rough at first, but when an app has hundreds of millions globally downloading and playing, at any given time, it's understandable, I suppose.  

Essentially, the app uses your smartphone's GPS as you walk and try to locate the Pokémon along your path. Clever way to get me moving!  Once a Pokémon is spotted, you swipe your screen to launch a poké ball to capture it. With injuries, plenty of warnings have come out to keep an eye on the landscape for safety, or even more humorously, cautioning not to drive and use the app! Indeed! It's easy to get carried away. There are in-App purchases for a variety things from more poké balls to other what-nots and range from .99¢ to $100s (oh my). 

For the most part, I have had fun but several things swayed me otherwise:  the app uses quite a bit of your data plan and really drains a battery...big eye-roll. The overwhelming negative, for me, was how intrusive it is.  With my gmail account and use of my GPS, it's getting a bit too close for my liking. On the other hand, I'm getting out with family and walking - the other day, over five miles!  Felt great and leveled-up while seeing new sights in our community.  That's the other thing, you're able to see things that you may never of know existed.  The local paper, in an article about the app, said it was drawing people downtown to see and experience the area.  Great job!  Makes me want to check it out for my self.

I give the app 9 out of 10 stars.  Thanks again for getting me moving!

Updated 8/3/2016

Keeping Organized with....Google Keep!

New to me, Google Keep, is quickly becoming my favorite app & online program for taking notes. Google has hit it out of the park, yet again, with this one.  In it, I can keep lists of things that I need at the store, appointments that need to be made or things I simply need to remember.  As well, it is a very attractive program as you can add pictures as a header to the note, as well as change the color background of each note.  I like that reminders can be added for days and times in the future and a notification alerts when it comes due.  Another very cool feature is the ability to add collaborators to the note.  This is how we can keep track of due dates and group reminders.  There are two views: a listed view and a 'canvas' view.  On either view, when the item is pressed, it can be moved to another area on the screen or list, making it easy to change priorities quickly. An audio option is also available & useful for adding items. Available online, as well as on iOS & Android smartphones & tablets that sync simultaneously with each added item.  I also have opened up each of my Google Apps accounts, so I'm able to keep notes for my personal account & my school account, as well as switch in between very easily.  Hands down, a great way to keep organized!

Checkmate!

I'm totally into the game of Chess! My Dad was the Master and my oldest brother, a very aggressive opponent!  I used to love watching them play their very heated games!

ChessKid.com (www.chesskid.com) has proven to be a great source for Students to learn the dynamics of the game, strategies, rules and more. 

Setting up a 'Teacher' account and a "Class" account, with 30 Students, was fairly easy.  I decided to choose a 3rd Grade Class, whose Teacher is totally into the game, to test drive this program.  To get started, once they launch the program, they must go through a tutorial with 20 levels that detail each piece and the moves it can make.  As well they learn mechanics and strategies of the game. The instruction is pretty thorough and easy for them to understand.  Once completed, they can choose to play games or solve puzzles.  I particularly like how the program walks the user step-by-step through each move and explains wrong moves or gives suggestions along the way.

It does become social, whereas the Students can 'Friend' each other to play a game.  I found this to be, yet another great opportunity to tie in the discussion of digital citizenship. We talk about communicating online, accepting friendship requests from only those people we know and touch on other proper netiquette tips as well. 

This program is not only online, but also comes in an iPad & iPhone app, as well.  I rate this program for 3rd Grade and up.

This is an impressive program...very well thought out!  Nicely done!

Padlet - A Cool Exit Ticket and More!

I've been a fan of Padlet for awhile now and it always amazes me the ideas that can come to use it with all levels of Students.  This was what we did with our 4th Grade STEM Students.  They had to go on and tell whether they are Scientists, Technologists, Engineers or Mathematicians and answer why they think so.  It's been fun reading their posts...clearly these kids are going places.

Here are other ideas:  Guided Reading responses to text....Chat about Genius Hour activities or mapping out a plan with their teams...Discussion Wall about their hypothesis and then the results of their science experiments.  Endless ideas!

We're also always looking for ways to bring up being good Digital Citizens...before going onto Padlet, we have yet another discussion about thoughtful, kind posts and not leaving too many personal details or tracks for other online viewers. Not only does this discussion minimize crazy posts, but it brings the activity into focus of what is expected when they do leave their mark!

I also like how easy it is to start a Padlet wall, share, print, and more.  Nicely done Padlet...nicely done!

Created with Padlet

Digital Portfolios - Some New Ideas!

One of the best activities, by far, are Digital Portfolios! This is an ongoing activity; a chance for Students to curate, reflect and thoughtfully self-assess their completed projects throughout the year. Each project that is completed, the Student is encouraged to think about not only what the project entailed, but the take-aways, how well they did, what comes next and more.  I like that they are not only gathering their projects in one nice display, but they are creatively writing about them as well...this is an outstanding practice!  I also add in a sharing component. They will share with a friend for a peer-review time or we use their portfolios to present to the whole class.  You can't get too much practice doing that!

There are so many programs that are perfect for Digital Portfolios. Perhaps my favorite is Microsoft's Sway (https://sway.com/)  Sway is an eye-catching presentation, to be certain.  Here...take a look at the one I use to demonstrate with our 3rd thru 5th Graders at my School: Mrs. Moore's Digital Portfolio  "Cards", which come in the form of Headers, Titles, Pictures, Videos, etc. are easily added and Students will comment using 3 or more 'juicy' sentences describing their post. Changing designs of the templates is very simple, as well as how the cards present on the page.  I tell Students that Sway is like Power Point with an added kick!  They like that analogy!

Seesaw (http://web.seesaw.me/) is another wonderful program. But don't be tricked...it's not just for the youngest of Students.  Our 5th Graders use Seesaw as a Discussion Room to talk about books they're reading, kick around ideas about assignments from class and more...and they use the Blog feature to document their Genius Hour projects.  Amazing, the imaginations!  Classes are set up very easily and Students can join by using a QR Code or a Class Code, or multiple Students can be added to the Class in the set up process. Some features I appreciate are approving posts before they are viewed by the Class and accessing a single Student's page with a simple click!

Both programs are Free and come in not only online versions, but iOS & Android versions!

Happy Coding Season!

Coding Season is upon us!  We will, as a whole School participate in an Hour of Code, using Code.org's wonderful  lessons and special games, like Star Wars, Frozen and of course, Minecraft. But I also like to recognize these gems, perfect for our K-5 Students during Centers, for Free Time, for Morning Work, extra Bonus Time, or just about any other opportunity to get the brain waves cracking!   

Daisy the Dinosaur and Scratch Jr are not only great at getting the younger friends started coding, but have an added feature of being a perfect application for storytelling!  In both, add backgrounds, change the character, add text boxes and more. Nice feature! 

Kodable is a true favorite for K-2 friends.  They love the fuzzy friends that go around the tablet searching for coins. I particularly like how this application demonstrates directions and how-to's.  They make it so easy for the younger friends to catch on!  Kodable also comes with a web-based version, (thank you very much!) and this is what we'll start our younger friends with during our Month of Code!

Toca Builders is a favorite of mine for designing and building. The app's five little characters have a specific job to do and it's up to you to get them to work! The imagination can get carried away with buildings, doors, windows, obstacles and more.  This is a truly addicting application.

Fix The Factory is a Lego app, which means...perfection to effects, sounds, resolution, you-name-it! It does get a bit tricky at some of the higher levels, but I like that it is a different type of game compared to the others.  Students, boys and girls alike, will like this one.

Tynker and Hopscotch are favorites for our older Elementary Friends in 3-5 & up. Use blockly commands to create all sorts of different games, spiraling images, etc.  It too gets a little tricky as you level up.  Students like the challenge, tho...so it becomes a competition as to who can get their first.

All these applications are Free, at present in the App Store.  The Free versions give upwards of 20 or more lessons, each lesson with 3 or more obstacles apiece.  They also come with a paid application which will give more whistles and bells.

Happy Coding!