Google Earth, because it's been around for a while, may
not be as exciting as other Google tools, but it's still a powerhouse for the
classroom. Here are a few tips and tricks to get the most out it.
One of Earth's
newest features is the ability to view images of the world at different times.
When looking at a particular location, check to see if there's a date at the
bottom left of the screen. If you click on the date, you can drag a slider
between the historical date and the present day. This can be great for looking
at deforestation, effects of World War II on cities, and more.
Make sure you're
taking advantage of all of the different layers available. See city lights from
NASA, view live weather systems, discover shipwrecks, and much more by
selecting different layers. If you haven't looked in a while, Google
continually adds new layers for you to discover.
Remember that
Google Earth isn't just about land features; you can also use it to explore
underwater. You can travel the oceans by zooming in and then use various layers
to find new things like expeditions, dead zones, and National Geographic facts.
If funds have been cut for
field trips, travel the world virtually with Earth. Explore landmarks,
parks, museums, and important world cultural spots with your students. With
over 5 million miles of road in over 40 countries with 360-degree, street-level
photos, your students can explore the world without leaving the classroom. Tutorials Gallery Explore: 3D Buildings Mars Moon Sky
From the 10/07/2014 edition of TCEA TechNotes newsletter.
October 25th, 2014: Free Day of
Professional Learning
Coming
to you LIVE from Discovery Headquarters in Silver Spring, MD, we
present the Discovery Education Streamathon!
We're taking you back to the 70's with a telethon-style, day-long
virtual professional learning event. Join thousands of educators across
the world for this free "idea-sharing" marathon where we will
get you diggin' some new, groovy ways to integrate Discovery Education
into your instruction.
Host
a 70's bash at your district pad to watch live-streamed presentations
by the Discovery team, cool videos and other edu-tainment.
·Share the love! Tweet about the event using the hashtag
#DEStreamathon. Let other educators in your district know about it so
they can participate too!
Out-of-Sight Presentations
Streamathon's
mission: to educate, inform and inspire you with ideas, knowledge, and
instructional strategies that you can put right back into action. Tune
into our variety show of presentations, from "50 Ways in 50
Minutes" focused on creative ways to use Discovery Education to
"Whose Board is it Anyway?" focused on student use of the
popular Board Builder tool. We'll sprinkle in edu-tainment
intermissions and audience participation throughout the day.
Visit
DiscoveryEducation.com/Streamathon
for more information, including a schedule of presentations, guest
speaker information, and how to host your own Streamathon viewing
party!
Discovery Education in partnership with
American Heroes Channel and the National Military Families Association present
the My Hero Is Contest.
Join Discovery
Education, American Heroes Channel, and the National Military Families
Association in honoring our military members and families by recognizing their
service and bravery through the My Hero Is Contest.
Get your students
involved by using our free resources and classroom activities around Veterans Day. Then, have them honor a current or veteran
military hero or military family member in their lives by creating and
submitting 30-second tribute videos. The school with the largest number of
videos submitted will receive a special school assembly honoring local veteran
heroes.
To support Veterans
Day and your students in creating tribute videos, we are providing a number of classroom resources including a Veterans Day
classroom activity, videos, and tip sheets on storytelling and interviewing.
Learn more and help your school win a special school
assembly honoring the brave veterans in your community.
If you're interested in learning more of what Google can offer your classroom, check out Google's Educator Training. It includes some great training tools and even certification!
Google Street View Treks (use Chrome) are an awesome way to "journey beyond the road" and explore places around the world. Select the location you wish to explore, scroll down the page and click on items you want to learn more about.
As educators, it's our responsibility to talk with our students about cyber security and digital presence. Below are helpful resources and formal lessons that you can use in your class, but not all discussions about cyber security and digital presence need to be formal ones. Even reminding students to be careful and think before they post something counts!
Lessons (10-20 minutes each)
Go to... Eduphoria's Forethought
Scope & Sequence (#1)
High School: Digital Citizenship: Digital Citizenship Lessons (#2)
Select the topic (#3)
Select the related resources (#4)
Look through the lesson and attachments (#5)