Earth

 I had heard of Google Earth but have never used it.  From what I have seen it is really interesting.  You can look at the oceans from the waters surface, under the waters surface or even explore the ocean floor.  Another feature Google Earth contains is the ability to look at maps from the past.  It shows what a location looked like decades ago.  The most interesting aspect I have seen is the feature to look at Mars.  You can see the surface of Mars and even see where scientist have explored using rovers and landers.  All the features that you can use on Earth you can also use on Mars including historic maps.  This program is full of surprising things you can do.  You can see the sun rise and set in certain locations even.

Google Earth can be a useful resource in the classroom.  The idea sheets give a lot of ideas for integrating it into your class.  One idea is to have students practice identifying states and countries.  Another interesting idea is to have students identify where they live and then write about their home life.  The students can then look at the map and see where there classmates live and how their home is like or different than theirs.  For older students, they can create an overlay for migration.  They can show how different people groups have moved and what the migration pattern is currently.  This idea is from the middle school idea sheet but I think it could also be adjusted for other grades.  This program can be used in so many ways and in all content areas.

One of the links I looked at was the Google Earth for Educators website.  This website has a lot of information for teachers to integrate this program into the curriculum.  It has many ideas for the various features such as having the students use the 3-D Building feature to look at famous architecture and even public landmarks.  It also gives ideas by content area and even lesson plans.  This website also shows some samples of student work and has a discussion forum.  Using Google Earth in the classroom is it a great way for the students to create experiences with the content area and to learn collaboratively.

Maps

I have used Google Maps quite a bit especially when travelling.  There are still several features that I have never used.  I have never used the traffic overlay feature where it tells you where the highest concentration of traffic is on on your route.  Another feature that I find very interesting is the ability to make your own maps.  You can create a route and even put in stops noted with icons or pictures.

In one of the lesson plans that I looked at,  the class used it for a math lesson.  They made a route and put in stops using pictures and captions.  At each location they noted how they encountered math and how they solved it.  This is only one of many ways that Google Maps can be used in the classroom.  This can be a very useful resource for a teacher and learning oppurtunity for students.

Images

I used Picasa to crop this picture.  I used the cropping feature and added a border to enhance the picture.  I also added a watermark to my picture sense it is a picture that belongs to me.  In my opinion the watermark is one of the most important features because you can say not to copy.  I take a lot of pictures and the watermark insures that it is accredited to me.  Between the watermark and changing the resolution so it is less desirable, it lessons the chance of somebody using your picture when uploaded to the internet.  Another feature that I found very useful is the image processing features.  You can change the colors and effects of your pictures such as negative, black and white, and soft focus.  It changes the entire look of your picture and makes it look more professional. 

I like using flikr to search for photography ideas but would rather use snapfish for my online photo gallery.  For my personal photography, I use Windows live gallery.  It is very similar to Picasa but I feel it is easier to use. I like that on my windows computer it was already downloaded and all my pictures automatically open in the windows live gallery.  I can then crop and customize before sending them to be printed at a store using the same program.  It works very well for what I need personally.

Sites

https://sites.google.com/site/mrsatchleys2ndgradeclassroom/

This is a class website for my fictional 2nd grade class.

Revised

Game-Based Learning

One game that I played is Game Goo.  I found this game very interesting.  It incorporated curriculum standards such as opposites, spelling, and poetry.  It is very colorful and easy to use. There are many mini games and each have a funny story that you use knowledge to help the character complete a task.  I think it would be useful for reinforcing these language arts standards and other skills for Elementary students.

Another game that I found useful, is Spelling City.  You can play different games but the main feature is to put the student's spelling words into the program.  You can then take a spelling test, vocabulary test, play games or use flash cards using your list of words.  I find this very useful for elementary students to practice their spelling words or vocabulary words. It comes up with sentences using the words and you can even print out handwriting worksheets.

Searching

On Google, there is an advanced searching feature which allows you to search more precisely.  This feature allows you to use search terms in various ways.  It gives you multiple boxes to specify which words or phrases must be in the result.  A feature that I find interesting is being able to specify reading level when searching.  If you are searching for an article for a 5th grade class to read, you can set the reading level to basic.  After you search it tells you what percent of the findings are in each reading level so if you can adjust it to get more results.

Using Google search engine you can search for images.  I have always been a little freaked out about this feature because of the possibility of images that appear being immodest.  I now know how to filter this using the advanced search option.  Along with a lot of other features it allows you to filter the images.  It also allows you to search for images that are black and white or contain a certain color.  This would be great to use for a class if you need something like an orange butterfly or a black dog.  You can also control for what region the image came from, type of image and size of the image.

Using Google custom search you specify the places that your students can get their information from.  I have this feature on many websites used to search within their website but did not realize how useful it could be in a classroom.  You can do the free version on your class website and then the students can search in a safer environment.

iPad Apps

Draw App

This app is very simple and gives you colored pencils and a place to draw.  It does have 3 games built in but you would not have to use them.  I like it because it is simple and can be used for multiple ages.  I would use this app as an evaluation tool by students drawing or writing there answers to questions and then holding them up.  Most  teachers use small whiteboards but I think this would be quicker and simpler.  The teacher can see if the class understands the concepts and which students need extra help.  Students could also use it to draw a part of a story or to predict what comes next in a book.

Leaf Snap

This app is really cool because you take a picture of a leaf and then it tells you what kind of tree it came  from.  It would take some training for the students to be able to use it but it would be great for students.  I would have students go outside and each bring back a couple leaves and then use this app to take a picture and figure out what kind of tree the leave came from.

Puppet Pals

This app lets you choose puppets and backdrops and record your movements to make a puppet show.  This would be a really cool app for all of elementary and even some of middle school students would enjoy it.  I like that the students can be creative and would help in language arts as well.  I would have students create a puppet show and then let them share it with the class.

Drawing

Using Google Docs Drawing feature is easy and seems very useful for children.  You can make drawings using shapes and lines and also insert text boxes and word art.  Using this program, you can upload pictures from your computer or from the Internet.  Students could upload a picture of their self even.  In the lesson plan, "Book Buddies,"  the students make a book using Google drawing and a painting program.  This is a great activity for elementary students to learn the sequence of a story and other language art concepts.

When studying a story, students can make a drawing about the story.  They could also make their own story using this program.  Students can work collaboratively in groups to create a drawing with the live editing that Google Docs features.  A teacher can use this program in multiple content areas.  It also has math equation symbols so it could be used for that as well.

Delicious

I found the Delicious website very easy to use.  It took only a few seconds to create an account and seems very useful to bookmark websites where they can be accessed anywhere there is Internet.  This website reminds me of pinterest where you pin websites instead of bookmarking them.  The basics seem to work very similar but Delicious is much more in depth.  When using the word clouds in the search feature things about actual clouds showed up and bookmarks referring to memory and media.

Google reader seems like a lot of information in one place which could be helpful or overwhelming.  I could see using this personally as a site to obtain news.  In a classroom, I could see looking at the website with the students but feel it is too much for them to really be able to do an assignment alone with.  In high school, I could see teachers using this website all the time.  They would be old enough to do assignments and projects based on this website.

Surprisingly the one I like the best is the library thing.  I love how you can find other people who are reading the same thing as you.  I think as a teacher you could get suggestions on good books to read to your class.

Forms

I found this very difficult to use.  Creating the questions and sending it was easy but getting it to self grade was very difficult.  I understand why it might be useful in a college course but as an elementary school teacher it does not seem as useful.  I might feel differently if I worked with it more.

I like how the lesson plan about graphing used the Google docs forms.  I like how the students just answered the questions and it made it into a graph.  This seems like it might be useful in a younger classroom used like this.

Gmail, Calendar, and iGoogle

A feature that Gmail has is that you can set up a filter.  When using the filter, you give it a word or phrase and tell it what you want done with those messages.  If you want all your mail from a teacher forwarded to a separate email address all you have to do would be set a filter up with the teacher's name and tell it to forward to a certain address.  Another feature that Gmail has is that you can add a label to messages.  When you are reading your emails, you can add labels on certain messages so they are easier to find later.

One feature that I found interesting with the google calendar is that you can get reminders text to your cell phone.  I use my phone way more than an actual computer so having my events text to me is an awesome feature.  Another feature that I found interesting was that you can use the calendar without the Internet.  It is only a read only version but at least you can still see your events,

I actually had an iGoogle homepage at one time and did not care for it but I can see its advantages for some things.  I like that you can add the different apps like the weather and even games.  A feature that I was not aware of is that you can get your email displayed on your iGoogle page.  This puts everything you need in one spot which is convenient.

Spreadsheet

When using the Google Docs Spreadsheet feature, I found it very similar to Excel.  It seems like you add data and formulas the same way which I found to be very easy.  I really like how you can use templates that other people have already made.  While I appreciate that more than one person can work on the spreadsheet at one time, it concerns me that the data can be changed.  I used to work for an organization that did parenting research and we had spreadsheets of our data.  We had procedures in place to prevent one person from messing up our entire spreadsheet of data so I can not imagine more than one person being able to change data at the same time.

In the lesson plan, "Introduction to Scientific method Marble Stacking Using Google Spreadsheets,"  the teacher used a spreadsheet for the whole class to put in there hypothesis, method, observations, and conclusions.  I like how this teacher projected the spreadsheet onto the screen so the students could see as they worked with each other.  I see myself using this kind of lesson plan when working with upper elementary students to learn math and science concepts. 

Browsers

I looked at Safari, Firefox, Google Chrome and Sea Monkey.  Firefox and Chrome both have tabs that are presented as soon as its opened whereas Safari and Seamonkey tabs have to be added by the user.  Chrome and Seamonkey both have only one bar for address and search.  Safari has two boxes one for search and one for addresses.  Firefox has two boxes but the address bar will search in google if you only type search terms.  Chrome has independent tabs so if flash crashes in one tab all your tabs don't crash.  According to Rachel, Firefox will slow your computer down because it uses a lot of memory.  Just while using it during class I observed that it is slower than Chrome and Safari.  Seamonkey also has a button on the toolbar to print which is a good feature if you print a lot directly from the Internet.  I also took a quick look at Sunrise and noticed that the favorites come up as a sidebar which I really like. Also, in Sunrise you can take a screen capture and save it to your desktop very easily.

Presentations

Google presentations is a really neat and easy way for students to make presentations.  It is different from PowerPoint because it has built in chat so students can work collaboratively.  It uses real time editing so students can not only work together but also edit the presentations along with the teacher.  Google presentations uses google images when searching for pictures to add to the presentation.  This makes adding visuals much easier and quicker than PowerPoint.  PowerPoint usually has to be purchased but Google presentations is freeware.  The downside is the presentations are only online so students will have to have access to the Internet to work.  From what I saw the presentation themes seem more basic than PowerPoint with less options.

In the middle school lesson, "Consumer Product Testing Experiment," the teacher used Google documents in many different ways.  The students created a survey, input data into a spreadsheet and then made a presentation.  This teacher let the students create a presentation instead of the teacher making a presentation.  The students were given directions to use colors, percentages and charts.  The students used words and visuals in there presentations.

Keyboarding

http://www.typing.madefun.net/nacvik.php
This website works pretty well except the last of every line messed up and the results were not in English.  This could be a pretty big drawback when trying to teach students to type.  The results would not be accurate or easy to read.  This website is free to use which makes it a great resource for students. It goes through many variations of the letters which would help students get familiar with the keyboard.

http://www.freeonlinegames.com/
This website had many games on it.  I played a game called farm defender that is designed for children. The game was about typing individual letters quickly.  I also played a game call trash typer.  This game was about typing entire words but seems to be very relatable to the student's lives.  The games on this website do not seem like they would be suitable for beginners but I think after students have the basics they will be a great resource for them.

http://www.typingmaster.com/individuals/bubbles.asp
This website contained a game called bubbles.  This game uses a very common theme for children (fish: Nemo) to make typing fun.  Many children will be able to relate to this game and would love to play this game.  The purpose of the game is to type single letters to pop the bubbles.  This would help students familiarize their self with the keyboard by them playing a game that is fun.

Documents

Google Docs is a lot like other word processors but with the benefit of being able to have more than one person working on a document at one time.  This can benefit a teacher in many ways.  If your students are working in groups, they can each work on the same document at the same time.  Also, teachers or peers can edit students work immediately.  Teachers can even see how students are doing on their work as they are working rather than wait for the work to be turned in and then realize that the entire class did not understand the assignment.

Google Docs also has the capability of chatting with others.  If students are editing each others papers, than they can chat with each other about what needs to be changed.  You can also collaborate on a document by sharing the document with someone else.  They then will be able to edit the document.  Many people can work on the same document at the same time.  This will work great in the classroom when doing group work and having students edit each others work.  I think the collaborative feature will be a great benefit in the classroom.

I looked at several lesson plans that used Google Docs.  In one lesson plan, the teacher had each student make a website with Google Docs.  I like that Google Docs is not just typing documents but rather can be websites or various projects.  This teacher used Google Docs in a way that let the students  create which according to Bloom's Taxonomy is high level of thinking.  In another lesson plan, the teacher uses Google Docs for students to make predictions and respond to they book they are reading as a class.  This enables the students to work together but each share their predictions and ideas.

Mac

I have been a computer user my entire life.  I had a computer in my home even as a small child.  I have primarily used Windows with very minimal Mac experience.  I learned that the Mac track pads can be used almost like the touch screen of an iPad. You move your fingers up to go down and down to go up. It is like you are grabbing the screen and pulling it up or down.  I also learned that you can zoom in using the mouse even if your zoom is not on.  Also, the Mac features full screen apps.  I had never seen this feature before.

Blog

In the blog, Practical Theory:  A View from the Classroom, the author talks about effective teachers.  He discusses characteristics of a good teacher such as using students' inquiry.  He also discusses how good teachers make students feel empowered.