Global Data Sets in Google Earth

Someone shared kmlfactbook.org at Pete&C.  I looked at it at the moment and had totally forgotten about it.  Then, as I was getting caught up with my twitter feed, I saw many people have been tweeting about it.  So I took a second look.  This is an incredible tool for Social Studies teachers.  I am actually a Technology Education teacher but I am planning to use this when I teach about energy. 

kmlfactbook lets you view global data sets in Google Earth or with the Google Earth browser plug-in.  You can view everything from birthrates to energy consumption to internet users.

First, you choose the category and the data set you want to view.  There are seven categories:  People, Economy, Transport, Military, Geography, Government, and Communications.  

 Once you have picked the data, you can click "Preview in Map". This will show the data in the map.

   Then, if you click on a country, the data window will appear.

You can also click the "Download KML file" button to save the data file and open it directly in Google Earth.  Now, you can save it for later use without an Internet connection.  This will open it under your temporary places.

If you want to add it to your places, simply drag it to your "My Places" and rename it.

Now, you can have a bunch of data preloaded to show to your classes. 

Discovery Education Pete&C PreConference Notes/Recap

Hall Davidson

Hall showed us how we can use Wordle and chromakey together. He had us use PollEverywhere to share examples of successes we have had in the last year.  He copy and pasted the results into wordpad and elimated any unnecessary information (timestamp, etc).  Then, he paste it into wordle and captured the image.  Finally, he showed us how to use the image as a background for video in which we could point at the most important words and explain them.

Teach Smarter Not Harder - Porter Palmer

I've used SurveyMonkey for professional development for teachers but I never thought to use it this way.  Use survey monkey as part of your pretest to check the students' comfort levels about a topic before you begin. You use choices like  I don't know how, I need a little more help, and I know how.  You can use the same survey throughout the unit to keep checking the comfort levels to see where you need to make changes to your instruction. Here is an example I made about robotics.

She also showed us Quizlet.  It allows you to make online flashcards students can use to study.  They can also play it as a game or take in  a test format.  Another alternative I frequently use is classtools.net. Here is a quick example I made with Quizlet.

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards | Study science flash cards

One thing that stuck with me is that Porter said Data Driven Decision Making should be called Data Informed Decision Making.  DDDM is like following your GPS and driving into a lake because it told you to. DIDM is like seeing that there is a lake and realizing your GPS is about 500 feet off.  You adapt.

Junior Doodle

This project was shared by Maryann Molishus from Council Rock School District.  It is based on the work of http://fablefolk.blogspot.com/ . She has students tell a story about a word with a picture, video, or drawing that is then posted on her school website.  Here is one example a 2nd grade student did for the word Storm.  It seems like a good way reinforce the idea that words often have more than one meaning.
 

Here is the main site for the project.

http://www.crsd.org/5037092710394/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=89466&5037092710394Nav=|&NodeID=7230

Useful Web Apps

I just stumbled upon this article from SmashingApps.  http://www.smashingapps.com/2010/10/30/9-coolest-web-apps-you-might-not-know-about-but-should.html

I think Alertful is a great idea.  CV Maker looks like it is going to be useful for high school juniors and seniors who are creating resumes.

Free Educational Games for Pre - Early Elementary Kids

I was just introduced to Game Goo, which is a collection of educational practice games provided by Earobics.  The purpose of these games is to provide students with the opportunity to develop early reading and language skills. 

If you teach pre - early elementary education, this is a FREE site you should definitely check out.  http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooey.html

Last Robot Diaries Screencast

I just finished the screencast for sensors.  I used Jing for the previous two screencasts, but I used Camtasia for this one.  I discovered the zoom feature and thought it would be useful for this demonstration.

Download now or watch on posterous

sensor_good_video.mp4 (3344 KB)

Robot Diaries http://robotdiaries.posterous.com

First Two Robot Diaries Screencasts

Here are the first two screencasts I created for the Robot Diaires project.  I did not realize that I had the mic muted, so it defaulted to the mic on the webcam, which was pointing at the floor.  I fixed the audio the best I could in Camtasia.  If enough people think I should re-record it, I will.

Download now or watch on posterous

Parts.mp4 (3251 KB)

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Programming.mp4 (2379 KB)

Robot Diaries http://robotdiaries.posterous.com

Stop Motion

Here are Rob Ruddle's sample stop motion videos.

Download now or watch on posterous

dude_final.avi (12856 KB)

Download now or watch on posterous

triangle.avi (22446 KB)

 

Robot Diaries http://robotdiaries.posterous.com