The Whole World in Your Hand

Google Earth is by far one of the most amazing applications.  I only spent a few minutes listening to the Atomic Learning lessons.  I've used Google Earth before and am familiar with most of it's capabilities.  The one feature I either didn't know about or had forgotten was the Tour.  Setting up a series of locations and turning on the turn was fun.

The slide show I watched about using Google Earth in education had several good ideas.  One suggestion was to zoom in on a city where only a few streets and buildings are visible and play a twenty-questions type game to guess which city it was.  This seemed to me a fun way to teach geography.  The virtual drive idea was also cool.  With Google Earth, not only can you visit the location of a field trip you can even see the sights along the way.  A virtual field trip would also be possible.

Using layers to make an interactive learning map was suggested by several sources.  In literature, a map could be created to show the location of authors or places in a story.  In science, a map can be created to show the changing of the seasons over time.

The possibilities for Google Earth are out of this world.  In fact, Google Earth even allows you to take your students on a trip to the Andromeda Galaxy or somewhere closer like the moon.  For younger children, you could to an alphabet field trip; taking your students on a virtual trip to famous places that start with each letter of the alphabet.

From Space to Your Front Door

I must confess a certain amount of trepidation at what I've seen tonight on Google Maps.  Obviously, Google Maps is great for finding addresses, businesses and just about anything you can think of.  It's also great for getting directions from here to there.  But, there is so much more to it.

With Google Earth completely integrated, Google Maps is able to display satellite images of the location you are viewing.  However, Google doesn't stay up in space.  With the help of some specially equipped cars, Google brings maps right to your front door.

View Larger Map

This is an image of my house.  Granted it's several years old, but it is disturbing nonetheless.  In fact, there are some areas that have, for various reasons, required Google to remove the images.  There are plenty of videos on Youtube illustrating some of the crazy things these camera cars have captured.  In this picture, they captured a friend's car parked in our driveway.

Go ahead...give it a try.  See what Google found in your front yard.

Well...on to less frightening things:

I looked at a couple of the lesson plans for tonight.  The one "How do we rock around the clock" seemed a little thin and I couldn't really see how this form of lesson would work.  Then I looked at the one about the Sun and the Moon.  This one had quite a bit more information.  I can think of several possibilities for using this.  Lessons on weather could be done using Google Maps.  I certainly see how this could be beneficial as well as entertaining to the children (and the teacher).

Our Solar System...A "Site" to Behold

Our Solar System

Ok...it isn't much, but at 9:30 at night, it's about all my brain could pull together.  Using the simple tools of Google sites, I created a simple site that redirects readers to Wikipedia for each of the planets and the Sun.  I'm sure there is a lot more than can be done with it, but as much as I enjoy "the final frontier" I'm too tired. 

I will, however, share just one thing about a doctor for whom I once did some electrical work.  His license plate read "Planet 7."  Can you guess what kind of doctor he was?  (True story!!!)

Picasa is a Picnik

I'd like to be able to say all of our family photos are neatly and creatively displayed in a collection of scrapbooks, but they're not. I'd like to be able to say that they are conveniently organized in a photo album, but they're not. Some where in the top of at least one of our closets are several boxes. That's where are irreplaceable family pictures are.

Enter, Picasa. With just a simple click of the button, Picasa scours your hard drive for all your photos organizing them by folder. One of the coolest features of Picasa is the ability to tag photos. Instead of trying to remember where I had them developed and searching through boxes of photos for the the right sleeve of pictures, tags act as keywords giving you incredible access to your photos.

The most amazing (and scary) feature of Picasa is the name tag feature. Under the people panel, after Picasa has scanned all your pictures, it displays all the "unnamed" faces in all your pictures. From this group, you can add name tags to the faces. Picasa will then group all your pictures by the people in the photos.

You also can do a lot of editing in Picasa. Red eye, tone, and color are just a few of the editing features of Picasa. But, if Picasa doesn't have enough editing functions, you have the option to edit it Picnik. Below is a picture (inspired by our recent vacation to Disney) I grabbed off of Google images and cropped using Picnik.

Another Letter to My Wife (now I'm just begging)

My Dearest Wife,

Do you remember that chemistry class you took way back in college? I found an app for the iPad today called Elementals. It is a really cool interactive Periodic Table of the Elements. Click on an element and the animated atom stops by for a visit. With the atomic weight and number of protons as well as its classification, this app would have been a fun way to learn about the elements. Too bad there was no such thing as an iPad back then. But, hey! There's still time for our kids.

Doodle Buddy would have been a great app to have along for the 13-hour ten hour trip we took to Orlando last month. With a cool, built-in tic-tac-toe board, it would have been a great hit on the road (not to mention at a restaurant when the service is reallllly slow).

There are also some awesome music apps. You can play the piano, a guitar, or even a xylophone. How cool is that? Pluto Music is not only fun but it's educational. You choose a song to play and then the musical bar starts moving. You are giving clues as to where on the bar the note should be and you are encouraged to "play" along with the music.

Another app I had a chance to try is Dragon Dictation. This amazing app converts speech to text. The possibilities for this app are limitless. No more note taking. Sit up front and let Dragon take notes for you. Got a great idea you need to get on paper. Let Dragon write it for you.

Of course, there's always YouVersion. This Bible App has so many translations. You can even read the Bible in Euskara (just in case you every needed to). The little speaker button at the bottom of the screen is probably my favorite part. Click on this and presto the iPad starts reading the Bible to you. Very cool!!!!

I could go on and on and on and on...well...you get the picture. There are too many amazing apps to write about. Besides, it'd be a lot better if I could just show you, but since I can't bring the school iPad home, I guess we'll have to pay a visit to Wal-Mart this weekend so I can show you.

Your Loving Husband,

Jerry

Making Googley Eyes at Google Squared

Let me pick my jaw up out of my lap and I'll tell you about the coolest tool I've used on the web.

It hasn't been that long ago that my son (now twelve) did a science project on our solar system.  So, being the great dad that I am I pointed him to the computer, showed him the search bar and said "knock yourself out."  After about an hour or two, he came back and had relevant information on all nine planets (say what you want...Pluto will always be a planet to me).  I then showed him how to enter all that information into a word processor so he could print it out nice and neatly.  Long story, short.  His project turn out great and he got a 100 on it.

Now, as the late Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story.  Today, I was introduced to Google Squared.  This gem is amazing.  What do you want to know?  Type it into the search bar and be prepared to be shocked and awed.  I started with "Presidents."  Then, I tried "States."  After learning that Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia (the sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...not the one known for peaches and the Bulldogs), I tried "Fifty States."  The information was more accurate.  "Periodic Table of Elements" returned a great search grid, so I naturally tried "Planets."  Guess what!  What took my son a couple of hours was completed in under five seconds by Google Squared.  It even lets you add additional columns and if necessary join one "Square" to another.

Obviously, not all information lends itself to a grid layout, but Google Squared will certainly be a tool I use in the future.

Ok...I have to admit...it took me longer to figure out how to put this picture in blogger than it did to created.  Can't you tell?


That being said, Google Docs:  Drawing is a basic drawing program with several features common to most all drawing programs.  Shapes, lines, insert pictures, etc. are all there.  There are some features missing, like a paint brush (or at least I couldn't find one), but for a free program, it's bound to be useful.  I can see myself allowing my seven-year-old daughter to play on this website.

Looking at the lesson plan we were giving, I believe Google Drawing might be a little on the light side in terms of illustrating a book.  Although, I'm not much of an artist, so I could have an entire studio of paints and paper and still not make much of a start.

A Letter to My Wife

My Dearest Wife,

My Introduction to Educational Media class with Dr. Krug has had a serious unintended consequence. We have spend the past six days learning about and experiencing some of the technologies that can support and enhance our teaching and student learning. One such device is the iPad.

We have spent a significant amount of time working with the iPad and I wanted to share with you some of the advantages I have discovered.

• Combined with the power of Google Docs, the iPad makes for a terrific tool for tests and quizzes.
• Using iBook is a great way to encourage students to read.  One of the trends today is digital text books.  Instead of students having to carry five, six or even more heavy text books, these can all be loaded onto the iPad.  With the ability to highlight and take notes and then to see those notes and highlights gathered in one place has the potential for easier studying and longer retention.
• The multimedia and interaction of the iPad is sure to make learning more enjoyable and exciting for the students.
• Most of the literature classics are available for the iPad for free or next-to-free.
• In Rhode Island, Teri Thompson, a 12-year-old student said, “When teachers say, ‘Get out your worksheet,’ I’m like, ‘OK,’ “When they say, ‘Get out your iPad,’ I’m like, ‘Yes! The iPad!’ ” 
•  Some schools are evening offering online classes for either remedial work or advanced placement.
• The iPad makes it possible for students to practice letters, multiplication, or even make music.

Granted, having a iPad doesn't make a bad teacher good, but perhaps it can make a great teacher even better.

Giving the direction things are heading, I'm sure you can see why it is important that I buy an iPad.  Besides, it's only money!!! 

Your Loving Husband,

Jerry

The Human FORM

I did it!  I created my very first test on Google Forms!!!



And!!! I even passed it...with a little help from Amber!

I can seriously see how this will be so amazingly helpful in a classroom setting.  Especially if you can manage iPads for everyone (well...I can wish, can't I).

The lesson plan for the middle school on human dimensions seemed to be a nice, interactive lesson I believe the children would thoroughly enjoy.  It would certainly give opportunity to talk about similarities and differences.

Some Delicious News about Reading and Books

I have to confess some laziness on my part.  I've know about Delicious for some time, but just was never motivated to look into it.  Nothing like a class assignment for motivation.  In the past, I have used Google bookmarks, but, as ironic as it sounds, when I switched to Chrome I stopped using it.  While Google bookmarks gave me access to my bookmarks where every I wanted, I only benefited from my own surfing efforts.  In this respect Delicious is...well...delicious.

While listening to one of the Atomic learning lessons, the speaker subscribed to "crockpot."  That was interesting since I often use the crockpot for family meals.  So, I combined Delicious with Reader and subscribed to an RSS feed for "crockpot" "recipes."  Needless to say, I'm am now quite hungry.

The simplicity of having a "tag" button at the end of the address bar means, I'll be using delicious from now on.  Having access to what others feel is important is going to be useful in so many areas of my life (not the least of which is teaching).

While I've know what RSS is, the few times I've attempt to use a reader never produced much success.  However, Google Reader seems very intuitive.  I've dropped the gadget on igoogle and have my crockpot receipes waiting for me on my home page.  How could life be any better?

I've used the Collectorz suite of software for some time, but Library Thing takes this to the next level.  Price is certainly a factor.  Who can argue with $25 for a lifetime membership?  Book Collector may be a little fancier in appearance, but the community, collaborative nature of Library Thing is great.

I have some much homework to do!!!

Color Me Blown Away

Ok.  Now keep in mind, I'm still using Microsoft Excel 2003, but I am thoroughly impressed with Google Docs:  Spreadsheet.  I've been using spreadsheets for...well...I don't remember the =DATE().  Perhaps the newer versions of excel include some of these features.  I don't know and probably will never know because I'm hooked on the price of Google Docs.

I was first struck by the number of functions.  I can't be sure but I'm convinced there are at least twice as many functions in Spreadsheet as in Excel.  Granted I probably won't be using the ERF() or other Engineering functions any time soon, but any calculation you need to make, Google spreadsheet has the function for it.

When considering the Gadgets and Scripts, there is just way too much for me to process.  I can honestly say, I'll be playing with this application for a long time.

I looked at the lesson plan for the middle school consumer product testing.  Perhaps it is just my inexperience as a teacher, but I feel like the main purpose of the lesson, understanding consumer product testing, is lost in among the technology.  I would think that the time involved in teaching the kids to use all of the Google Doc applications would swallow the consumer product testing.  I think a simple survey conducted in class by hand would be more likely to help students grasp the concepts set forth in the standards.

It's Mail Time!

Keep in touch and stay on schedule...that's what Google Calendar and Gmail are all about.  Google has made it so easy to keep up with your email and calendar.  No more leaving your day planner on top of the car.  With Google, your calendar can be with you no matter where you are.  I've been using it for some time and love the portability.  Literally, I can access it everywhere.  I have it on my phone.  I have it on my laptop.  I can access it at school.  Anything you could want a digital calendar to do this thing does.  Recurring events...done.  Notifications...done.  Color coding...done.  To-do lists...done.  Not that you need to or would even want to, but you can even have Google Calendar sync up with offline type calendars.

Gmail is just as handy as Calendar.  I can't get away from my email anymore.  I have all my other accounts forwarded to my Gmail account.  That means I have a lot of emails coming through my account, but no worries.  With the impressive search feature, I can find just what I need.  The stars also help find the important stuff.  Of course, I'm always a little "weirded out" when the ads on the page relate to the information in my email, but...oh well...it's the times we live it and I guess Google has to make money somewhere.

While I've used Gmail and Calendar for a while, I had never seen iGoogle.  The many gadgets make this a nice portal page.  And, guess what!  There's my Gmail and Calendar, again!  The weather and news gadgets are staples on my home page.  I never turn on the television for this kind of information any more.  I like the clean layout of the Classic template.

Google has some homeruns in the Calendar, Gmail and iGoogle.

PowerPoint Lite?

I have to admit, when I first opened a Google Docs: Presentation, I thought I was looking at my old trusty friend PowerPoint.  The slides looked the same.  Most of the icons were the same or similar.  It was quite easy to create a presentation.

I did note a few weaknesses that would prevent a die-hard PowerPoint user to convert.  The ability to add only Google (YouTube) videos certain presents some limitations.  I was also disappointed, even within this limited ability, with the lack of an advanced search ability.

Another glaring absence is the ability to use a Master Slide.  While the Themes make changing the over all look and feel of the presentation very easy, without a Master Slide, the ability to place recurring information (e.g. copyright license information) isn't as natural.  Sure you could copy a slide with the information, but having the master slide do it for you is nice.

With all that said, the unique features of Google Docs, unlimited revision history, simple collaboration and external, off-site storage, make Google Docs:  Presentation a nice tool.  Providing access to this tool to students would be a great way to introduce them to the concept of the PowerPoint-type presentation.

The SeaMonkey on Your Back

Watch out Internet Explorer.  Firefox, your time is up.  Move over big boys, SeaMonkey's coming.  Well...maybe not.  As I looked over this browser, I felt I had turned back the clock to IE3.  At first I didn't even think monkey boy knew anything about tabs since there doesn't appear to be an obvious way to add a tab graphically.  Command-T did work, but it was only an educated guess on my part.

Now Shiira on the other hand has a unique twist on the concept of tabs.  Rather than a simple name (which is sometimes not all that descriptive) across the top of a tab, Shiira displays small thumbnail images of all of your open web pages at the bottom.  While this is nice it does take up some precious screen real estate.  Shiira does give you the option to hide this information, but that kind of defeats the purpose.  One nice feature I think would be useful, is the ability to display all of those web pages similaneously.  However, I was unable to fully test this function because every time I click on one of the enlarged thumbnails, "Shiira quit unexpectedly."

All in all, I believe I will stick with Google Chrome.  It is a nice, clean browser that is fast and easy to use.

Old Habits and Such

Ok...I'll have to admit.  Google Docs looks very much like a certain word processor program I use quite frequently. All of the commonly used functions are easily accessible.  I noticed there are only a handful of fonts, but who needs Squiggly Serif G, anyway.  The ability to share documents and collaborate on documents has the potential for immeasurable usefulness.  I really like the feature of having unlimited revision history.  I can't count how many times I've written a piece only to get to a point after a correction and realize that I like the new direction even more.

Seeing how many teachers have used Google Docs for lesson plans has started the wheels turning.  In a school system where multiple teachers teach the same grade/subject, this would be infinitely helpful.  Collaborating with other teachers through this tool could greatly improve the breadth and depth of the education provided.

That being said, I'm rather fond of Squiggly Serif G.  Giving up my word processor and putting all my documents "in the cloud" is a little uncomfortable.  But, I'll adapt.

My Typing Teacher Was Right

Ok.  If you tell her, I'll deny it, but my 9th grade typing teacher was right.  I almost dropped out of my typing class because I was so tired of hearing her rant about knowing your home row.  After checking out some online typing tutors, apparently that home row thing is really important.  Actually I knew that before now.  Those little bumpy things on the "F" and "J" keys are worn out on my desktop computer as are the letters of the home row.  So worn are the letters of my keyboard a beginner typist would have no hope.  Having run through a few home row typing tutors however, I still hate "ASDF" "JKL;"

Her wisdom didn't end there.  She insisted that typing the word rather than typing the letters was the "proper" way to type.  I quickly learned the truth on the online tutorials as my typing speed was less than stellar when I was typing the random letters of the home row.  Once I moved on to the word drills, my speed, while still less than I thought I typed, improved dramatically; that is, until I hit words like "judiciously" and "scullion".

So, thank you to my typing teacher.  Sadly, I can't remember your name, but I remembered what you taught me.

PC Refugees Take Heart

If you're like me and cut your teeth on a PC before the first Windows was ever "framed", you may be more partial to a Fuji rather than a Macintosh when it comes to apples.  Trust me!  I completely understand.  Please don't think we a traitor, but it might be time you give the Apple OS a fresh look.

After spending some time on the Atomic Learning website, I am admittedly shocked at how many similarities there are between the current evolution of Windows and Snow Leopard.  Once you get past the fact that the Close-Minimize-Maximize buttons are on the "wrong" side of the windows and the missing right mouse button, you might be able to navigate Leopard fairly easily.

The first word that comes to mind for me is clean.  Two features that help keep the leopard desktop clutter-free are Stacks and Spaces.  My Windows desktop looks a lot like my office desktop...cluttered.  Application icons strewn all over the place.  Stacks (admittedly nothing more than a fancy folder) provides a nice neat place to "hide" all those application icons.  With these close at hand on the dock, finding the right application is easy.

Spaces takes multitasking to a new level.  Imagine a multi-screen set-up without the desk space.  Leopard gives you the ability to created multiple spaces.  Within these spaces, you can open applications.  Once the spaces are set, you can quickly and easily switch between them with customizable shortcuts.

While I'm not prepared to run out and buy a Mac (not that my wife would let me), I can understand why so many of my friends like their wormy-old Apples.

Blogging about Bloggers

I perused a few of the blogs listed.  Dr. Curt Bonk's blog, TravelinEdMan, seems to be geared toward higher education settings.  However, his most recent blog, Bonk's Last Principles of Learning, while the specifics were geared more toward college students, the principles hold some value for other educational environments.  The principle of convenience as well as the principle of cheerfulness and optimism seemed especially practical for younger students.

Clarence Fisher's blog, Remote Access, seems to focus on teaching across distances.  From the posts I read, I got a real sense of his passion for bringing people together for teaching-learning experiences through the use of technology.  I was intrigued by the reading aloud sessions he discussed using Skype.