Google Documents Google PresentationsGoogle presentations are part of the wider Google Docs suite of online ‘office type’ applications which include a collaborative set of tools including a word processed documents, spreadsheets and Presentations that can include survey forms. Google Presentations allows the collaborative editing of ‘slides’. This is set up by the author of the presentation and If they can also give you permission, to invite others. This greatly enhances the collaborative nature of the application and makes it ideal for class use. As you may already have noticed we are using Google Docs Presentations as part of the collaborative tools in the some of the Activities in the course.
As with most Web 2.0 tools you need to register for a Google account. When you do this you will also have access to GMail and all the other types of Google Docs.
Twenty_Two_Interesting_Ways_to_use_Google_Docs
Google Earth The development of virtual online maps with Google Maps and Google Earth has probably been one of the most important and significant applications of Web 2.0 for education. It would not be unreasonable to devote an entire course as to how these tools could be used in the Primary School. Although these tools have many complex and sophisticated features, everyone, and we are thinking of the whole school community, can find something of value, for example Children can clearly identify and relate to the places and spaces on view. Children can find their street, zoom in on their home. They can measure distances between places or discover where their food comes from.
If children are working collaboratively on for example e-twinning projects, then these tools should really help them develop their understanding of where their fellow pupils in other areas and countries live, (probably the next best thing to being there). The video clip below, shows how children can use mapping software and an interactive whiteboard collaboratively.
Clip extract from Teachers TV sourced under a Creative Archive Licence
In addition to the obvious visual geographic and spatial information these applications, often referred to as Web GIS are layered with additional data that connect many facets of our planet and our lives upon it.
Google Maps
Google Maps is a free online virtual mapping service that provides online maps globally. Users can swap between man made and physical features and satellite imagery, or combine them in one view. One of the most tactile and rewarding properties of this application is the ability to zoom in and out to provide different viewpoints on our environment. The amount of detail that can be resolved on a specific area is dependent on the resolution of the satellite imagery for that area with built up areas tending to have more detailed images.
12_Interesting_Ways_to_use_an_Google_Maps_in_
Google Earth
Although they are very closely related, and share a good deal of the imagery and data, Google Earth differs from Google Maps in that you need to download the Google Earth application to your computer ion order to use it
. This then accesses the data from the Google Earth servers and allows you to customize the way you use and display the layers on Google Earth. Google Earth itself is worthy of an entire course in its own right. Many instance of Google Earth being used will probably be familiar to most of the general public such as news item and zooming in on football stadia on Match of The Day. It is often featured in the media features such as astronomical, underwater or historical data are added.
Google Earth as a platform
In fact Google Earth might be seen as a platform which can be used for sharing and distributing third party and user content. Google integrates some of its other tools such as Google Sketchup into the application. As with Flickr, many third party services are building on this.
Files
The key element of Google Earth are downloadable files called KML (Keyhole Mark Up Language) files which contain data that is integrated with the virtual mapping application to provide and visualise data in a web browser such as Google Earth and Maps. The KML code is open to all developers to create many of the rich data layers now availalable.
Some ideas from teachers for using Google Earth
Tom Barrett has created an excellent presentation which outlines some of the opportunities that Google Earth provides for learning.
25_Interesting_Ways_and_Tips_to_use_Google_Ear
5 Lesser-Known Google Tools for Students & Teachers Most people hear “Google” and think of the search engine. But, there is much more to Google than just Internet search. I’ve written about and constructed how-to guides for many of Google’s other products, but there is still more that teachers could find useful. Here are some of the lesser-known Google products that teachers should know about for the 2010/2011 school year.
Google Fast Flip is a magazine-style display of popular articles from some of the most popular websites on the Internet. Content is drawn from news outlets like The Washington Post, Popular Science, The New York Times, and Reuters. The visual display makes it easy to quickly browse through websites. Fast Flip can be a useful resource for social studies students and their teachers.
Google Books virtual bookshelves: Google Books provides an index of millions of books and periodicals. Books and articles in that are in the public domain can be viewed, read, and downloaded in their entirety. Titles not in the public domain can be previewed. If you create a Google account you can build virtual bookshelves of your favorite titles. Bookshelves can be private or you can choose to make them public for others to view. Reading and literature teachers could build virtual bookshelves to share with students when they need to select an independent reading book. Teachers could ask students to contribute their favorite titles to the bookshelves. Learn how to make a Google Books virtual bookshelf here.
Google Image Swirl is an image search tool intended to help people visually refine and alter their searches for images. To use Image Swirl, just enter your search term as you would in the regular image search service. The results of your search will be displayed in a grid similar to that with which you’re probably familiar. Click any image in the grid a web of more, related, images will appear. Click an image in the web and another web of images will appear.
Google Wonder Wheel is a search refinement tool that helps students visually refine and alter their web searches. Wonder Wheel displays your original search term(s) as the center of a web with six to eight branches of related search terms. Click on any of those related terms to see the results for those terms. To access Wonder Wheel you must first run a standard search then look for the Wonder Wheel link under the “more search tools” list on the left side of the search results page. Learn about more search refinement tools in Beyond Google.
Google Scholar allows you to search for, find, and read full text legal opinions from scholarly journals, US federal and state district courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. You can search for opinions by case name (like Miranda v. Arizona) or by topic (like school busing). Google Scholar could help schools reduce or eliminate the need to purchase updated legal opinion books every few years
As with most Web 2.0 tools you need to register for a Google account. When you do this you will also have access to GMail and all the other types of Google Docs.
Twenty_Two_Interesting_Ways_to_use_Google_Docs
Google Earth The development of virtual online maps with Google Maps and Google Earth has probably been one of the most important and significant applications of Web 2.0 for education. It would not be unreasonable to devote an entire course as to how these tools could be used in the Primary School. Although these tools have many complex and sophisticated features, everyone, and we are thinking of the whole school community, can find something of value, for example Children can clearly identify and relate to the places and spaces on view. Children can find their street, zoom in on their home. They can measure distances between places or discover where their food comes from.
If children are working collaboratively on for example e-twinning projects, then these tools should really help them develop their understanding of where their fellow pupils in other areas and countries live, (probably the next best thing to being there). The video clip below, shows how children can use mapping software and an interactive whiteboard collaboratively.
Clip extract from Teachers TV sourced under a Creative Archive Licence
In addition to the obvious visual geographic and spatial information these applications, often referred to as Web GIS are layered with additional data that connect many facets of our planet and our lives upon it.
Google Maps
Google Maps is a free online virtual mapping service that provides online maps globally. Users can swap between man made and physical features and satellite imagery, or combine them in one view. One of the most tactile and rewarding properties of this application is the ability to zoom in and out to provide different viewpoints on our environment. The amount of detail that can be resolved on a specific area is dependent on the resolution of the satellite imagery for that area with built up areas tending to have more detailed images.
12_Interesting_Ways_to_use_an_Google_Maps_in_
Google Earth
Although they are very closely related, and share a good deal of the imagery and data, Google Earth differs from Google Maps in that you need to download the Google Earth application to your computer ion order to use it
. This then accesses the data from the Google Earth servers and allows you to customize the way you use and display the layers on Google Earth. Google Earth itself is worthy of an entire course in its own right. Many instance of Google Earth being used will probably be familiar to most of the general public such as news item and zooming in on football stadia on Match of The Day. It is often featured in the media features such as astronomical, underwater or historical data are added.
Google Earth as a platform
In fact Google Earth might be seen as a platform which can be used for sharing and distributing third party and user content. Google integrates some of its other tools such as Google Sketchup into the application. As with Flickr, many third party services are building on this.
Files
The key element of Google Earth are downloadable files called KML (Keyhole Mark Up Language) files which contain data that is integrated with the virtual mapping application to provide and visualise data in a web browser such as Google Earth and Maps. The KML code is open to all developers to create many of the rich data layers now availalable.
Some ideas from teachers for using Google Earth
Tom Barrett has created an excellent presentation which outlines some of the opportunities that Google Earth provides for learning.
25_Interesting_Ways_and_Tips_to_use_Google_Ear
5 Lesser-Known Google Tools for Students & Teachers Most people hear “Google” and think of the search engine. But, there is much more to Google than just Internet search. I’ve written about and constructed how-to guides for many of Google’s other products, but there is still more that teachers could find useful. Here are some of the lesser-known Google products that teachers should know about for the 2010/2011 school year.
Google Fast Flip is a magazine-style display of popular articles from some of the most popular websites on the Internet. Content is drawn from news outlets like The Washington Post, Popular Science, The New York Times, and Reuters. The visual display makes it easy to quickly browse through websites. Fast Flip can be a useful resource for social studies students and their teachers.
Google Books virtual bookshelves: Google Books provides an index of millions of books and periodicals. Books and articles in that are in the public domain can be viewed, read, and downloaded in their entirety. Titles not in the public domain can be previewed. If you create a Google account you can build virtual bookshelves of your favorite titles. Bookshelves can be private or you can choose to make them public for others to view. Reading and literature teachers could build virtual bookshelves to share with students when they need to select an independent reading book. Teachers could ask students to contribute their favorite titles to the bookshelves. Learn how to make a Google Books virtual bookshelf here.
Google Image Swirl is an image search tool intended to help people visually refine and alter their searches for images. To use Image Swirl, just enter your search term as you would in the regular image search service. The results of your search will be displayed in a grid similar to that with which you’re probably familiar. Click any image in the grid a web of more, related, images will appear. Click an image in the web and another web of images will appear.
Google Wonder Wheel is a search refinement tool that helps students visually refine and alter their web searches. Wonder Wheel displays your original search term(s) as the center of a web with six to eight branches of related search terms. Click on any of those related terms to see the results for those terms. To access Wonder Wheel you must first run a standard search then look for the Wonder Wheel link under the “more search tools” list on the left side of the search results page. Learn about more search refinement tools in Beyond Google.
Google Scholar allows you to search for, find, and read full text legal opinions from scholarly journals, US federal and state district courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. You can search for opinions by case name (like Miranda v. Arizona) or by topic (like school busing). Google Scholar could help schools reduce or eliminate the need to purchase updated legal opinion books every few years