Google My Maps

There is an excellent tool added to your Google Drive this week - it is called Google My Maps. It is very similar to the regular Google Maps, but is now integrated into your Drive. It also cooperates nicely with Google Forms as well - you can collect map data and have it plotted for you. Any grade level can easily use this application.

In your Google Drive, press New, then scroll down the list until you see Google My Maps.  You can generate custom maps that outline the story line of a novel, or events that took place during World War II...etc.  All maps are saved in your Google Drive and can be shared with anyone.

Support: https://support.google.com/mymaps/answer/3024396?hl=en&rd=1

You can integrate data collected in a Google Form (survey) to be seamlessly added to your map.  In the simple example below, the survey asked students to enter their favourite vacation spot.  The spreadsheet generated from the survey is imported into My Maps and placed automatically on the map.  There you can share the map with students and they can add photos to their place marker.  The end result is a tour of these places.

Here is a tutorial video outlining the process: 

Importing data into Google My Maps: https://youtu.be/S3QIq5B0L-o

Piktochart: A Great Visual Communication Tool!

Create exciting and interesting INFOGRAPHICS with Piktochart!

• Free to join
• Use your Google account to sign up

Create great infographics, reports and presentations to display photos, stats, information, YouTube clips, and graphs with this amazing online application.  Students will find it very user friendly and easy to share their work.  Built in graph maker.  Great for class projects in which data is displayed.  Has more features for reports and presentations than applications such as PowerPoint or Google Slides. Many templates and graphics included.

Infographics are easily shared via email.

Please watch this short video:  Video Introduction

Poll Everywhere in Google Slides

Poll Everywhere for Google Slides

This is an excellent add-on to Google Slides!  Set up a free Poll Everywhere account, make your assessments or polls and easily add them to your Google Slide presentation for live, on the fly results!

Your audience can sign in to your poll through a web link or through text messaging.

Available now in Google Labs (beta)

Google Sheets: Explore!

Video Introduction to Google Explore - found within Google Sheets

"With the Explore panel in Google Sheets, you can now spend less time trying to decipher your data, and more time making a point. Explore creates charts and insights automatically, so you can visualize trends and understand your data in seconds. It’s like having an expert analyst right by your side."

Once your data has been entered, click the button in the lower right hand corner of your screen to show the 'Explore' results.  Graph styles will be automatically chosen for your based on the type of data provided.

New Google Templates

Google has recently revamped its templates for products such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.  The templates are now much easier to find and use.  Please share this with students as these can help them with their assignments and projects (as well as yours!).

Examples of Templates:

Docs:  brochure, resume, reports, letters, lesson plans

Sheets:  calendar, schedule, budget, to do list, planner, roster, time sheet, expense reports, purchase orders

Slides: book report, field trip, photo album, certificates, portfolio, lesson plans, recipe book

There are two ways to access these templates. 

Method 1: 

In any of the applications, once open:  >File, >New, >from Template

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Method #2:

Use the app button to access the application and these templates will be the first thing you see.  

Select Docs for example,

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Students could then bookmark the app and use it instead of starting the document from within My Drive.

Drawing is Great for Your Brain!

Drawing and Artwork Importance

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a tool in Google Apps for Education that helps teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and easily communicate with their classes.

Visit https://classroom.google.com/ to sign up as a teacher or student.  School must be a member of Google Apps for Education.

New features (Fall, 2015)

Reuse Posts (from archived classes)

Discussion (start threaded class discussions)

Calendar Integration (see article)  add to student or parent Google Calendars

Share to Classroom (push out websites live to entire class or as an Announcement that appears in the student stream).  All individuals at LPSD now have this extension added to their Chrome accounts.

Storage of Files (store by unit of study all files, URL's etc that students would need for review)
This is found in the About tab.

• Remember that all members of LPSD have the Synergize training modules for all Google products built in to their Chrome accounts.  
• Google Classroom Support

What Was There

http://www.whatwasthere.com/

This is a very interesting site full of archived photos from around the world.  Just search for a location, and select an archived photo you would like to view.  You can look at the photo information or select Google Street View to access a slide that will overlay the photo on top of the current Google Maps view.  You can fade in and out of the archived photo to see which buildings used to be in that spot.  Some cities do not have many photos as this app relies on people uploading their own photos into the website.
 You are also able to use a magnifying lens to zoom in on the photo itself.

What a great social studies project this would make for those grades studying local communities! Or what a great project for someone who has access to archived community photos.

New York City - present day Broadway

Reading about the sinking of the Titanic, 1912 at the Sun newspaper building