Plate Tectonics...In Google Earth!

Google Earth is the textbook! It took a couple of classes but I finally figured out what to say to the students that were trying to figure out why we never seem to use a textbook while learning about new topics. For my most recent project the students used a customized KML file in Google Earth to explore the idea of Plate Tectonics. Students navigated different areas of the Earth to learn about the different plate boundaries and the landforms associated with them.

Every region of the Earth is paragraph in the textbook. The Pacific Northwest - Cascade Mountain Range is a paragraph. Iceland and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a another paragraph and so is the Mariana Trench.

All the placemarks that have been deliberately created are sentences (I created them in Google My Maps). Every YouTube video, every image and every word is helping to tell the story and emphasize the main idea.

Although I spent a lot of time putting the content together, I could finally sit back in (not really) in class and watch the students take it in at their own pace. If a student wanted more, we turned on the Wikipedia or volcano layer. If a student was struggling, we focused on the videos. Easy!

This book is different than the ones I never use in the class. It is dynamic. Almost every class period used different KML file because I would discover errors or glitches and correct them for next class. It is differentiated. The content can easily be adjusted based on the learner. It is also chalked full of media. I heard an NPR story about curiosities at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and the next day students were watching relevant YouTube videos of the only liquid sulfur cauldron this side of Jupiter. That wasn't known when my textbook was published.

Just saying. Thoughts?

Click here for the most recent version of the Plate Tectonics KML file.

MEGAmap - MN Geology via Google My Maps

The nine map...five class...differentiated...jigsaw My Maps project was a success. Here is a link the to the actual student-created interactive map. After completing the project I gave the students a survey using Google Forms. Surprisingly, they loved the survey and gave me great feedback. Here is a glimpse.
























One thing that was encouraging was the relatively small number of issues there were related to the technology. I suspect the number one issue that teachers might have wading into a MEGA-technology project would be the tech issues. In reality, the trouble spots arise the first day when a small handful of students will struggle to remember a password or a login name. Other than that, there are a few issues related to embedding but the groups usually help eachother out with that.

The two best parts of a project identified by the students were working in groups and learning about iGoogle (all students signed up for iGoogle and subscribed to an RSS feed of my homework). Hmmmm, interesting. The two worst parts were other people editing placemarks and not having enough time (at least 3 hours of classroom time).

After the map was complete, the students were given a take-home exam and the task was to teach an adult about the MN geologic history using the their notebooks and the Google Map.

The response from parents? iGoogle was cool and it was neat to see what their kids created. Success!

Got a idea for a project? Post it in the comments! Thanks!

learning.21st - Formative Assessment

Since I don't know the end goal of this process I can only get an occasional look in to see the progress. I set up Google Analytics account on a Site I created for TIES and also on this blog. Out of curiosity, I checked it today to see there was any increase in traffic. While I never used the Site until TIES, the blog traffic increased only as much as if I posted a new post.

Conferences can sometimes be a disjointed bunch of sessions that fail to connect to the classroom. Web 2.0 as a stand alone does not need a conference, but to connect it to the classroom it is beneficial to see some applications modeled. I did see a few good sessions and got a little inspiration for doing things differently. I developed more confidence to articulate the vision of getting my students connected from day one and more forcefully lobbying the issue in my building. I also made a few connections with other people doing the same thing with similar visions.

This post is my formative assessment. The last two days outside my classroom were worth it. I connected with people and expanded my network. I grew...and now let's move on.

TIES - learning.21st

Will be presenting this tomorrow at TIES. Looking forward to a couple good days of networking and learning new things. Here is the Site I created for TIES with all the goodies on it. More to follow....

The Ultimate Jigsaw! My Maps

I have been struggling to do something cool with Minnesota History for some time. According to our department, it falls inside the personal 20% that really isn't essential but still fun/important to teach. This year I came up with the ultimate jigsaw where I divided up my 15o students by ability group, across 5 blocks and made a Google My Maps Project. The process of getting started was a bit of a beast but today we were full throttle ahead and real progress was being made.














click to enlarge!

The students are in the process of creating content, links, pictures and constructing their knowledge from resources I pulled together in a public Google Doc. Occasionally a student embeds a surfing video to highlight Minnesota's ancient oceans, but we talk it through until it connects back to limestone and sandstone. Whether the final version of the map will convey that connection is unknown.

When I think back to eighth grade, the only thing I remember about my science class is my teacher using catapults to launch erasers across the room. I was concerned about my jeans, shoes, friends, girls, sports and if I had $.63 for a taco after school. Big picture....the students are learning how to create using the web and picking up a little MN history in the process. Really, how many states can claim lava rock? The students are collaborating with students in other classes. They are learning how to manage browser tabs and become a little more web savvy. With luck, they will also continue to add their maps over a long Thanksgiving weekend. If they do....without being told....then it was worth it.

Stay tuned for a link to the final map!

A Historical Night & Wordle

Check out Wordle! This is a Wordle created using the text from Barack Obama's speech on election night. Wordle is a great tool because it can quickly highlight the main idea of a body of text. How could this be used in your classroom?

from Wordle

learning.21st - Google Docs Podcast "I Have A Dream"

My new course, learning.21st, is now over. Based on discussions and feedback from students, it was a major success! The final project was producing a podcast about the big idea they wanted everyone at school to know about. The four big ideas the students gravitated to were cyberbullying, Google Docs, tricks and tips, and social networking sites like Ning.com. The students used an adapted template to put together their podcast and developed the content on their own. The groups used their newly honed 21st century skills to develop the script in Google Docs and also used a Google Form to submit their group self-evaluation. After a quarter of micro-projects, it was great to watch them use the skills they learned in class and work over several days to complete their final project. It was also rewarding to sit back and hear student discussions about how these tools are benefiting them as learners.

Who said students can't engage in metacognition?

Here is the Google Docs Podcast! Listen to what the students are saying...and then check it out for yourself.

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