Taking a Virtual Field Trip with Google Cardboard

"Whoa!"

"This is crazy!"

"I feel like I'm actually there."
"Wow!  That is so cool!"
"Is this really Machu Picchu?"
"That guy has no face.  It's blurred out."

"Check out the llama!"

These are just a few of the reactions that Mrs. Salyer's 6th grade social studies classes had in her class on a sunny Thursday in December.  The students were using Google Cardboard to take a virtual field trip to Machu Picchu.  Mrs. Salyer introduced the students to Machu Picchu the day before. However, students were only able to look at static images of the ancient Incan Empire.  Insert Google Cardboard.

For this day, we used the Google Street View app (FREE).  From here we typed in "Machu Picchu" into the Search option and let the app do the work.  Once the app took us to the Andes Mountains, students were able to choose different perspectives to look at the ancient ruins.

Google Cardboard uses a smartphone and NFC technology to immerse the viewer into a 3D virtual world.  And the images are stunning!  You can travel almost any place on the Earth to view nature's beauty as well as man-made architecture.  So where do these 360 degree images come from?  They come from other people's smartphones.  In fact, if you have a smartphone and the Google Street View app, you can create your very own 360 degree image right from where you are standing.  Pretty cool, huh!

So the next time you go on a field trip or a family vacation, don't forget to take out your smartphone, open the Google Street View app, and capture your very own 360 degree image.  You will be thankful you did, AND you will have quite an image to share with others!

For you classroom teachers, if you are looking for immediate student engagement, then look no further than the Google Cardboard.  Let me know when you want to check it out.  You may just want it in your class the next day.

Extra images from the 6th grade virtual field trip to Machu Picchu.

Classroom EdTech at Work: Diigo and Piktochart

WOW!  There is some awesome teaching and learning going on at Delphi Community High School! This week I was fortunate enough to be in 2 different classrooms for half a day each.  On Tuesday I was a guest presenter in Mrs. Amy Tonsoni's (@AmyTonsoni) classroom where I showed students how to download and use the Diigo Chrome extension.  Students were shown how to use the Chrome extension, where to find their annotations, and how to share their article.  Mrs. Tonsoni did a wonderful job of giving the students pointers on where they could use Diigo throughout the current school year.  I had a "great" idea for a card game as we went through working with Diigo, but as most days go for educators, the time went by too fast and we did not get to it.  Instead, the students were given the last 10 minutes of the period to look up an article that interested them, annotate it with highlighting and sticky notes, and then email it to Mrs. Tonsoni.  Below are 2 student examples of what Mrs. Tonsoni received in her email inbox.

Click on image to enlarge.

Click on image to enlarge.

The sharing option is phenomenal!  When a student shares their article with you, it gives the teacher a link to the article AND all the annotations and sticky notes in a neatly organized email.  It is pretty sweet!  I have to thank Mrs. Tonsoni for the opportunity to work with her and her students in her classroom.  It was a great day!

On Wednesday I was a technology resource for three of Mrs. Abby Wagler's classes.  In this case, Mrs. Wagler had her students do a close reading over an article about "Teen Driving" and write down six different statistics they took from the article.  On Wednesday, the students were going to start creating an infographic on these six statistics, along with three others they found on the internet.  After checking out different options, Mrs. Wagler decided to have her students create using the website Piktochart.  Piktochart is a fantastic website to have your students create numerous online presentations.  It has preset templates for presentations and infographics.  Or you can choose to have your students create their own from scratch!  

Mrs. Wagler is a self-described "non-techie".  However, she did a great job with presenting to the students on how to create their own infographic, as well as showing off her first one she created as a sample.  (She originally wanted me to show the students, but I figured she better get over her phobia earlier than later.  Ha!)  This lesson is one of my favorites I have observed in quite some time.  The students were very engaged in creating something that has meaning to them and looks professional.  The ability to share their infographics through the "SHARE" button made it so students could either email or upload their infographic to Mrs. Wagler's Google Classroom.  The sharing ability of Piktochart also saved a whole lot of paper and ink toner.  (The Earth thanks you, Mrs. Wagler.)  Below are some student samples for you to check out.  I firmly believe that the students did a tremendous job, especially since it was their first time!

Student Sample #1                         

Student Sample #2                          

Student Sample #3

How do you think you could use Diigo or Piktochart in your classes?  Need a brainstorm time?  I'm available and willing to help whenever you want someone to bounce an idea around with.

Social Studies, Chrome Extensions, and Google Cardboard

The last couple of Mondays I have had the opportunity to work with Mr. Brian Tonsoni's U.S. History and Economics classes.  Mr. Tonsoni reached out to me to help give his students some Chrome extensions that would help his students organize their thoughts and their research while working in his class this year.  For example, this year his U.S. History classes will be creating their own living History museum.  This is such an excellent way to get students to do some curating and creating in their classroom.  Students are creating their own learning; they are not just consuming it from the leader of the classroom.  

Now, back to the class experience.  I showed the students 4 different Chrome extensions to help them in their learning adventure for this year.  Those extensions are:  SnagIt, Diigo, Google URL shortener, and a fun one--the Panic Button.  

Each of these extensions have different functions.  SnagIt is used for taking snapshots or screen recordings of anything that is in your browser.  SnagIt also allows the user to annotate and draw arrows on the image they clipped.  It is wonderful for creating instructional recordings as well.

Diigo is an online bookmarking tool that allows users to either save an article to read later, highlight text, create sticky notes, and share with group members.  It an excellent resource for doing research on a particular topic.  If a group of students are working together and divvy up the research load, they can check out different online articles or blogs and then share them with their group members.  This is also very helpful for when students are doing research for their own projects or papers.

The Google URL shortener allows users to take any website and shorten the URL for sharing.  This is great and super useful for when a presenter wants to share their presentation to a group.  Instead of sharing the entire url, they can just share a shortened url by using the extension.

The last extension I showed was one of my favorites!  It is called the Panic Button.  In order for you to find out what it does, you will need to download it.  I hate to spoil the surprise!

The last item I showed the students was a fun little device called Google Cardboard.  It is the view finder for the 21st century.  You may remember the red ones from the 80s and 90s that had the little discs and the button on the side.  Google Cardboard is similar, except you use your smartphone and immerse yourself in augmented reality.  In the photos shown, students are using Cardboard to check out other cities from around the world such as Venice, Tokyo, London, and Paris.  In the picture on the right, you will see one of the students "standing" at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower and looking up.  It is really quite entertaining and I believe it will only become more integrated into the 21st Century classroom.  Contact me if you would like what the students call "a trippy experience".  

I believe that Mr. Tonsoni is onto one of the most important new teaching trends that we, as teachers, need to recognize.  We are not the only source of knowledge for our students.  Mr. Tonsoni is off to a great start with relinquishing some of the power of learning in his classroom, and putting it in the hands of the students.

Teacher-Student-Techie Collaboration!

This past week I was finally able to get past the Skyward and Google Classroom troubleshooting and start entering the classrooms to collaborate.  As part of my job, I am lucky enough to still get in the classroom to work with teachers and the students.  My first opportunities came from Mrs. Amy Tonsoni and Mrs. Laurie Kinzie.

The Parnassus think tank.

Over the previous weekend I received a Twitter follower named @DCHSParnassus.  I was initially confused until I realized it was the high school's newspaper.  So obviously I gave them a follow back.  They extended a cordial invitation to meet with the staff and see how we might be able to work together.  I was very excited to meet the staff as they were my first real student interaction I had since coming to Delphi.  (I do miss that part about not being in the classroom each day.  But it is getting better.)  The students introduced themselves and told me their major function within the newspaper.  Wow!  These kids have some great ideas for this year!  I was amazed by how much they think "outside the box".  The newspaper staff really wants to write stories and articles that will positively affect their peers.  The ideas I heard in just this short 30 minutes made my head spin with all the neat things that could be done while collaborating with them.

Parnassus members doing some shop talk.

This year the Parnassus staff has added a videographer.  Collin will be a great addition to the staff!  His experience with creating and editing video will bring a new element to the Parnassus staff and help improve their already awesome website.  You should ask to see some of his wakeboarding videos.  If you get a chance, make sure you meet up with the members of the Parnassus staff. They are constantly brainstorming ideas for the students and staff of DCHS.  Their creativity is something we can all remember and use on a day-to-day basis.  Plus you never know, you could end up being a spotlight interview for them!

Mrs. Kinzie's students looking at drone footage.

The next day I was invited to Laurie Kinzie's Interactive Media 2 class.  She requested that I speak with the students about some of the new technologies that I was able to work with in my project for the Indiana Migrant Education Program last winter.  These technologies included 3D printers, drones, FitBits, Spheros, Ollies, and GoPro cameras.  For this day, I spoke to the students about the drone.  I told them a few of the "cool" things I was able to do with them.  Then we took about 5-10 minutes to discuss how the students thought drones could be used in education.

Students looking at different drones.

After this discussion, Mrs. Kinzie had the students pair up and do some research on multiple different aspects of using drones for education.  The students used the computers to research video footage that was taken from a DJI Phantom drone.  The students were amazed at how clear and stable the footage was even though it looked like the drone was shaking quite a bit.  Some of the kids looked for educational uses for drones.  Others looked into the different types of drones and their prices.  As students completed their research, they shared their results in a common Google Doc. Overall, the students were given an opportunity to research, collaborate, and learn--all centered around a specific piece of technology.

These two experiences are hopefully just the beginning of a very collaborative year among the students, the teachers, and myself.  I look forward to many more collaborations in the near future.

Musings of a 2-Week-Old Technology Integration Specialist

As I have finalized my first two weeks of my new position as the mathematics curriculum and technology integration specialist, I have realized just how much I have learned in a short span.  I have also come to the conclusion that I have a TON more to learn.  However, I must admit something that not all educators come out and say...I LOVE TO LEARN!

Even though learning is one of the most essential aspects of being a technology integration specialist, there are many other hats to be worn for this position.  I would like to take the next couple minutes to expand upon a few of those.

• Relationship Specialist:  Like Mrs. Circle said on the first day, if you do not work on creating and maintaining relationships, your school and students will not work for you.  Creating a relationship with new coworkers may seem difficult for some people, however, I like to think I am able carry on any type of conversation with most people.  This week I was able to work with so many teachers that I had never had the chance to speak with before.  Of course, the main point of our conversations are related to technology issues, but I also enjoy learning more about them, their interests, and their lives outside of the walls of their classroom.  I was afforded the chance to work with Mrs. Tyner and learn about her past trips overseas with students.  What amazing experiences she was able to share with me!
• Collaborator:  I had the great opportunity to work Mrs. Kinzie to create a new activity for her Interactive Media classes.  Oh man, what an awesome time it was to collaborate on a project that we think the students will really have a chance to show their learning and creativity.  I'm not sure how many times one of us would say something and make the other's eyes light up!  This is another part of the position that I love.  The opportunity to brainstorm with my coworkers is a chance not many of us get on a weekly basis.  It is something I hope you understand is a huge part of my day.
• Resource Locator:  I have TONS of ideas and websites in my brain that may help you do something special in your classroom.  Most of them are ideas I have found on Twitter or have just fumbled across on the internet.  However, I have not learned everything and am constantly looking for new, cool technology for your classroom.  If you would like to find something for your classroom, but do not think you have the opportunity, please let me know what you are looking for.  I would be happy to do some research and find the best piece of technology for you and your students.  I had a great chat with Mr. Strasser on trying to find a way to get all of his football players in one list on Skyward to be able to check their grades.  I didn't have the answer right away, but went about checking for possibilities.  Good news...there is a way!  Mr. Walker and I had similar discussions regarding his FFA organization.  I'm thinking through our collaboration and resource locating, we found a great answer for him as well.
• Classroom Helper:  One of my first opportunities to view a teacher using technology in the classroom came from Mrs. Brammer.  The first time I stepped into her classroom she was diligently working on a presentation for her students.  I was there to help make sure her students could log into the classroom set of Chromebooks with their passwords.  Most students could remember theirs, but not all.  With my help, Mrs. Brammer was able to go about her lesson and not have to stop to help students out with getting onto the Chromebooks.  This is where I am happy to be of help to all teachers.  With this new position I do not have the same opportunities to work with students on a daily basis.  However, she actually enabled me to make those connections with the students again.
• Technology Observer:  Friday marked the first time I was able to step into Mr. Tonsoni's classroom.  I have known him from past run-ins at Summer of eLearning conferences and I knew his passion for technology and teaching.  He does not use technology just for technology's sake--he does it to prepare his students for a world outside of the walls of the school and because it makes things easier for himself.  The class I sat in on, he did something not most of us teachers do, he gave the students choice.  I won't ruin his idea, but I will promote his idea and his blog.  Please take a few minutes to hop on over to tons42.blogspot.com and read about his great integration of student choice into his classroom.
• Lifelong Learner:  In order to lead a school in technology integration, I must also be a lead learner.  However, being a lead learner does not just mean I must know everything (or most everything) that goes on technology-wise in the school, I must stay up-to-date on new ideas and innovations going on outside the walls of the school.  This is one of my favorite parts of the job--I love learning!  At night, I usually spend time on Twitter reading about what other schools and tech leaders are trying at their schools.  It is an amazing world out there!  After I read these great blogs and anecdotes, I usually spend a little time thinking of how, who, and where this might fit into our own building.  Are you going to be one of the "Who"s this year?

Learning is the main element of all schools.  It is not just for the students.  It is also not just for the teachers.  It is for EVERYONE involved in a school system.  Over the course of this year I cannot wait to lead our school in learning, technology, and innovation.  I have dozens of exciting ideas running around my head.  (It's really a scary place in there.)  However, without relationships, learning, and observing, it would not be possible to lead you guys in collaboration, integration, and innovation.  I'm extremely excited for this school year and learning along with you.

5 Chrome Apps and Extensions to Start Your School Year Off Right

Each year begins with a multitude of items for teachers to remember.  Google Chrome apps and extensions can make your life easier at the beginning of this year!  Below are 5 of my favorite "Must Haves" to begin a school year.

1.  SnagIt - Techsmith came out with this extension last year and it has been AWESOME to say the least!  You can use it to take a snapshot of your web browser or to create video tutorials for others.  You can also have your students download it and use it for your classroom!  For example, say we have an eLearning day and you want to see what your students completed for the day. Students can take a short video using SnagIt.  They can start their video and maneuver through their tabs and show you what they learned that day.  You can also have the students take screenshots of their work, insert the images into a Google Doc, and then have them explain their learning below each shot.

2.  Adblock Plus for YouTube - If you use YouTube in the classroom (it's great for a flipped classroom) then you are more than likely annoyed by the ads that show up at the beginning of a video.  No more ads, my friends.  Adblock Plus will make your videos instantly viewable without all the extra advertisements.

3.  Chrome Web Store Launcher - The Chrome Web Store launcher allows you to customize a quick launch button with 5 of your most frequently used Chrome apps! This is great because it is accessible no matter which web page you are working on.

4.  Office editing for Docs, Sheets, and Slides - Still creating items in Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint?  Office Editing will allow you to view AND edit items created by Microsoft within your Google Drive.  It is very useful for any items you may already have created in Word or other programs.

I always like to add something fun for you to try on your own as well!

5.  Streamus - Lets you play music while in Chrome.  You can search YouTube videos and Streamus creates a playlist for you to be able to play through your speakers.  You can create multiple playlists.  I like to use Streamus for my "Presentation" playlist.  (*Helpful Hint: Double check your songs for any "languages issues" before you decide to use it in class with your students.)

I hope these 5 extensions and apps help get your organized and excited for the new school year!