Sunday, August 02, 2009

No Posts for 3 months

It's nice to have a break, and get some real life in between posts. Not that I've been having much of a break. The NSW DET blogging tool, of which my classes and I were beta testers is a real winner. Safe, simple blogging for students, classes staff, public or private or groups.


The trick now, once they gloss has faded from the "shiny new toy" is to get some procedures and policies as to what constitutes effective pedagogical use.

So what on the horizon for this edublogger?
  • I launched into twitter with gusto. Fun, and very useful, just like "they" say. Has helped me numerous times.
  • Google docs has finally (yay) been unblocked for staff use at least. Next to push for the unblock for students.
  • I'm running another Intel TEO (Teaching Essentials Online) course beginning the end of this month.
  • More "play" with the blogging tool. Let's see if we can get our scratch creations published and shared huh?
  • All this as well as an active "real life".
Speaking of real life......do you all have multiple twitter accounts (and other social network tools) which separate proffessional from home life, or do you (as does gen y) just mix it all in together.

I'm inclined to mix it all up so far. Maybe its just the old boomers who see the need to separate life into work/play/home. The kids dont seem to care.

All for now. Be back later with more thought, tools, tips, and trick.

Friday, May 01, 2009

intel webinar

An online version of this doc can be viewed and downloaded from Here
The word version of this doc can be downloaded from here. 

Using Google Earth and Google Maps with Blogs/Wikis

Mark Collinson

Mullumbimby Public School

NSW DET

 

 

 

What did students do?

This is a small activity which formed part of a broader multicultural day. Other activities on the day included researching and making traditional costumes, mask making, cooking traditional foods, locating and retelling traditional stories, and learning traditional dance. Guest speakers were invited to cook, tell stories, play music, and dance.

In the library, children were invited to put a pin on the map to show where there “ancestors” originated. The following activity is an extension of that. One that can be shared with a wider audience(e.g. relatives in ancestral home) than those people that walked through the library and saw the wall display.

 

How does this activity enhance student learning?

By enhancing the “wall map” activity, and being able to share it with a global audience, the children were much more enthusiastic about the activity. The “immersive nature of Google Earth and the ability to zoom in and fly from place to place makes it fun.

 

Why Use Google Earth in the Classroom?

  • To provide a sense of reality and purpose for learning within the K-12 classroom
  • To engage and excite learners
  • To help learners conceptualize, visualize, share, and communicate information about the world
  • To provide cross-curricular learning options
  • To add a new dimension to learning environments not previously possible
  • To leverage ubiquitous tools for learning 
  • To create active, exploratory, and empowering learning environments
  • To give students opportunities:
    • to exhibit their learning to others
    • to use emerging technologies and digital tools
    • to communicate their research in a personally meaningful way (using Web 2.0 tools)
    • to view their world from a more connected, global perspective
    • to enhance map reading and navigation skills
    • to engage more complex dimensions of human perception

from: http://www.alicechristie.org/gearth/index.html

 

What syllabus outcomes does the activity address?

 

From the NSW HSIE change and continuity strand…

 

The activity meets the aims of HSIE by enhancing the student’s sense of personal, community, national and global identity;

 

It meets the objectives of HSIE syllabus by:

  • providing knowledge and understanding  ofcultures in Australia and other places, their diversity and similarities and how they influence people’s identities and behaviors.
  • by developing skills in acquiring information, and social and civicparticipation

 

By studying change and continuity, students should develop historical knowledge and understandings about their heritages and the past, and how these have influenced the present and may influence the future.

 

The activity fulfils the HSIE foundation Statement Outcome:

Students explain how different cultures and traditions contribute to Australian and community identity. They examine a variety of local and othercommunities, investigating similarities and differences including ways of living, languages and belief systems.

 

Outcomes and Indicators

CCS2.2

Explains changes in the community andfamily life andevaluates the effects of these on differentindividuals, groupsand environments.

Indicators:

  • listens to life stories of people from different culturalbackgrounds
  • distinguishes between primary and secondary source material when acquiring information
  • uses historical language when referring to source material, e.g. primary source, secondary source, oralhistory, life story
  • identifies the contributions of some significant peopleand events to community heritage.

 

CUS2.3

Explains how shared customs, practices,symbols, languagesand traditions incommunitiescontribute toAustralian andcommunity identities.

 

Indicators

• identifies diverse customs, practices and symbols sharedby their local community and all communities withinAustralia

• listens to and retells traditional, religious and ethicalstories that relate to some groups in the Australiancommunity.

 

Here is an example of what we did.

The students were asked to find their country of origin. Speak to grandpa or grandma. Record a story of why they came to Australia, or what life was like in hometown or even how life is different here.

Then for this session.

1/ Find place on Google Earth.

2/Putplace mark on Google Earth and name it.

3/ Give a quick story 1-2 mins about the place or why ancestors left to come to Australia

4/ (Extension) Email friend or relative the link to the map we publish, and invite comment

http://mullumwriters.blogspot.com/2009/02/where-are-we-from_18.html

 

.

How is it Done?

 

A simple (one hopes) 3 stage process. (Oh yeah, you will also need a google account.)

 

  1. Add place marks on Google Earth.

 

  1. Import place marks to Google Maps.

 

  1. Link the maps code to your wiki or blog.

 

 

1a) Open Google Earth. Right click on my places and add a folder. Name it (for example) origins.

 

 

b) Find your place of origin and click the add place mark. Drag the place mark to your point of interest and name it. Repeat and add more points of origin

 

 

c) Make sure all placemarks are in yourorigins” folder. If they are not in there, just drag them in.

 

d) Right click the “origins folder and Save Place As a kmz file (keyhole markup language…it harkens back to the days of the cold war….read about it on Wikipedia).

 

2 a)Open Google maps (maps.google.com) and login to your Google account. Click my maps.

b) Create new map, name itorigins, make sure it is a public map, and then save.

 

 

 

c) With the new “origins” map selected, click Edit,

 

 

 

d) Then click import,

e) Choose the KML file that you saved in Google Earth, and then choose “upload from file”.

 

f) Your Place marks are now on the map.

 

g) All that is left to do is to get the code and paste it into your blog or wiki. Click “link” and copy the html code ready to paste.

 

That’s it for the maps part.

 

Next to embed into your wiki/blog.

 

3. a) Open your blog, go to new post, and use your blogs specific, “insert html” feature. All blog platforms are slightly different, so you may have to look for the feature.

 

This e.g. is WordPress (of which Edublogs is a variant).

 

Paste it in., and update or save your page.

 

b) That’s it!View your blog/wiki.

 

 

 

Review

 

  1. Add placemarks on Google Earth.

 

  1. Import placemarks to Google Maps.

 

  1. Link the map’s code to your wiki or blog.

 

As a follow up activity, I would get those children who put a place mark on the map, to email the blog link to a relative or friend and invite them to view and comment.

 

Further resources

http://www.google.com/educators/p_earth.htmlGoogleearth site for educators

http://www.juicygeography.co.uk/googlecoursework.html 10 ways you can use Google earth with your students

 

Questions?

Feel free to email me

mark.collinson@det.nsw.edu.au

http://c21skills.blogspot.com