Google Keep Notes; Now in Google Docs!

Google Keep has always been a wonderful tool for keeping notes about anything that is important to you.  You can organize them quickly, add images, drawings, and even checklists.  But now Google has kicked up the productivity of Google Keep by allowing you to access your notes directly from within a Google Doc!  Another great feature is that you can now take notes from directly inside of your Docs and have them tagged automatically in such a way as they always appear front and center when you open that Doc again!

Check out the video below for a walkthrough of the process and some instructional ideas for using Google Keep together with Google Docs!  You can also read the full announcement from Google here.

Google Lit Trips and Tour Builder

Tour Builder is all about telling a story.  With this resource you can build a clickable, interactive story that guides students to different places around the world.  Watch how Bobby Lake, a high school history teacher, talk about the stories he creates for his students using Tour Builder.

make sure to read the whole post for more!

Google Cultural Institute

 The aim of the Cultural Institute is to preserve and promote culture online

If you have not had a chance to browse the Google Cultural Institute, I highly recommend it.  Outside of simply navigating the art museums and  wonders of the world, you can examine primary source material on major historical events in history.

Finally, if access through our district Google accounts, you can create your own personal lists of personal collections that you value, curate your own galleries, and even push all of this material to your Google Classroom courses!

This is a powerful tool, and one that can be incorporated in to a wide variety of curricula.  Check out the YouTube Channel dedicated to the Institute.  Go explore today, and make sure to share your experience with your peers!

Sean Mullins | Instructional Technology Coach

Pharaoh Google Presentation Project

In 6th grade, students study Ancient  Egypt and the Pharaoh's who were a major part of the country's development.  As a culminating project to this unit students collaboratively created data research sheets and Google Presentations.

Amber O’Day  and I  worked together on multiple days before the project to create the data sheets and set up the project to present key information about 6 different pharaohs from Ancient  Egypt.  This was to supplement a section from our book explaining the different dynasties and rules of specific pharaohs. We began by creating a data sheet that students would share with their group and with myself.  This allowed me to be able to monitor the work being done and also keep track of adjustments/corrections being done by each student in the group.  I did this using revision history, a feature within all Google Docs.

We explained on the first day how to retrieve the copy of the data sheet  from their Shared with Me within Google Drive and re-share the document with their group members.  Each person in the group was given a topic to research and all would work on the document together.  We also explained they would need to include their sources and we talked about the differences between a search engine and a website.  Sources the students were able to use for this project, ranged from internet sources, Discovery Education, and book sources.  The students worked on this data sheet for 2-3 days.

Once finished with the data sheet, we introduced the students to Google Presentations and allowed the students to begin work on a presentation they would give as a group at the end of the week.   As with the Google document/data sheet that was created for students to work collaboratively, we revisited how to share and work collaboratively with Google Presentations.  Each student took their category and created a slide(s) on Google Presentation which was shared collaboratively among the group.  The same rules applied and I was able to virtually monitor as well as monitor physically.  Students also created a source slide within their presentation.  This process took another 2 days plus one more to practice presenting in front of the class.

This project was very successful in many ways.  It allowed me to really see how the students worked in collaborative groups, using research skills, as well as presentation skills.  I will repeat next year and hopefully add to the project.

Amy Dabler
KJHS
6th Grade Social Studies