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Apple iPads or Android Tablets? See What More Than 1000 Educators Decided
311 year ago
Since March I have been running this little survey that is a limited comparison between the current preferences between Apple iPads in the classroom or Android Tablets. It obviously doesn’t take into account the other platforms that are on offer such as Windows machines.
There has been a fantastic response with over 1000 responses submitted and counting!
From conversation with colleagues on Twitter it seems that many people are heading towards Apple products due to the maturity of the App store and the sheer range of Apps that is available.
It would seem from these results that most educators are opting for the iPads over tablets running Android operating systems.
If you took a moment to vote I am really grateful – it would also beneficial to all who are interested in investing in iPads for you to leave a comment explaining your current thinking about the two types of devices. Explaining the thinking behind your decision process could really help others in the same situation.
Are Online Behaviours Affecting Reading Skills?
41 year ago
In my final weeks of school our class had our usual Tuesday afternoon guided reading session, where we get the opportunity to work on some reading text with a small group of children. One particular comment from a pupil has stuck in my mind, so I thought I would share some of my reflections with you.
Whilst exploring a text we came across a particular word that became the focus of our attention. Although the group had no problem reading and pronouncing it they didn’t know what it meant. I aimed to set the children off exploring the definition from the information we could acquire from the sentence and the text overall, we may have even cracked open a dictionary or two…
“We could just Google it!”
As you can see the comment from one of the group stuck in my mind for a number of reasons. Firstly it indicated to me how much web searching had become part of how these 9 and 10 years olds process the information they see in the world. The concept of search applies to so much around them and the need for a better understanding of how we instruct and guide our classes to filter what they find, has never been so more acute.
Equally the appropriateness of using different tools is a key part of navigating the learning landscape, indeed one of the most difficult aspects is helping young learners make better decisions regarding the tools they use.
Of course I was not surprised by this comment after all many of the children have Kindles and the latest model has a full Oxford English Dictionary available on it. The children simply have to move a cursor and the definition will be displayed on the screen at the bottom. I remember writing lists of words I didn’t know from texts during my English degree and finding out later.
The immediacy of information and indeed the expectation for it is all to clear. We expect results, definitions and answers faster nowadays and so do the children in our classes. The question is what are we doing about it?
Within the browser too you have access to dictionary tools to help when you are reading online. I use Google Chrome’s extension which allows you to double-click a word and a little pop-up dictionary definition appears. I use this loads – no more written lists of vocabulary for me!
Another reason the comment struck a chord with me is how the decision to Google a word comes ahead of trying to establsish meaning from reading skills, such as reading into the context and exploring the sentence further. Of course, this one comment should not be over played. However in my opinion it does hint at the ways children are thinking about processing the information, from reading material or otherwise, we work with everyday.
I am of course an advocate for the appropriate use of technology, where it can transform learning and add value – and in this instance it is not a “this skill replaces that skill” scenario but an opportunity to reflect on the ways we can enhance what we do and take advantage of ideas children have.
To answer my own question in the title, yes they are in a broadly positive way, but especially children in primary school or elementary need support and guidance to help them filter the information they search. They need contextualised examples and ongoing references to the ways we search and use information tools – I think this is a pivotal aspect of teaching and can only become more acute in the coming years.
Embedding Google Maps on Your Blog or Website
101 year ago
This is a pretty straight forward process, but it also can have a variety of different outcomes depending on which map you want to display. It is useful to know these options to offer a richer visual experience on your blog or website.
Here is the basic run through:
- Navigate to the location on Google Maps that you want to embed elsewhere.
- Click on the LINK button above the map.
- You can take the second link of HTML to embed in your blog – this is the default size 450 by 350.
- Useful to note here that this is iframe code which doesn’t work well in WordPress (or Edublogs for that matter) – so if you have a WordPress blog write your blog post in the Visual editor and when you are ready switch to HTML editor, paste your code and then publish straight away. If you switch back to the Visual editor the code will get stripped out and your map will vanish.
Customise your map for embedding:
- Hitting the Customise and preview embedded map link will give you a bunch of options and allows you to refine exactly what you want embedded.
- The map sizes you can choose from are Small, Medium, Large and a Custom option for you to define the exact size.
You in fact have four different choices for the style of map you can use at this point.
Earth = Google Earth (plugin needed)
Ter = Terrain style
Sat = Satellite imagery
Map = Map
For a fifth and sixth option you can combine the Satellite or Earth imagery with the Maps labels, a little rollover on each button.
Here are the examples of the different maps that you can display embedded below, plus an extra bonus. I particularly like the Google Earth choice that provides that functionality to any user, they of course need the GE browser plugin which is available on Flock, IE, Firefox and Chrome.
GOOGLE EARTH
GOOGLE EARTH and MAP
TERRAIN
SATELLITE
MAP
SATELLITE and MAP
STREETVIEW
To embed Streetview just drag the little Orange pegman to the map and find your preferred Streetview, then just follow the process explained above, easy. You can always alter the view on the Customise page if you need to.
The location of these maps is the Angel of the North. It is worth looking out for these special locations where Streetview goes offroad and follows footpaths to get up close to various monuments or unique locations.
There you go, seven different types of maps to embed in your blog or website – I hope you found this little guide useful.
Addition in Adelaide – A New Maths Map
01 year ago
I have begun a new Maths Map in Adelaide focusing on addition ideas that can be seen or referred to on the map. It would be great to have your contributions it is very easy to do:
How can you contribute?
- Explore the maps below for the ideas already added, follow the links to open them in a new window.
- Click on EDIT in the left panel.
- Zoom close to the city and it’s surroundings. (Don’t forget Streetview)
- Find some TOPIC ideas you can see.
- Add a placemark (use the right colour for the age group it is best for – see purple pin)
- Explain the activity in the description.
- Change the title to show how many ideas there are.
- Send out a Tweet or write a blog post to highlight this resource and encourage others to contribute.
View 6 Addition Activities in Adelaide in a larger map
Make sure you explore the other maps in Nottingham, Madrid and Paris that are currently running, you can see all 4 on the Maths Maps page.
My Dad Doesn’t Google
111 year ago
by tombarrett
in Google
We have been spending some time with my Dad who has been visiting us from Australia. During his stay with us I realised, more than usual, how the internet makes no impact on his life. It led me to think through the behaviours that many of us have grown accustomed to.
I kind of get the impression that members of his generation either made a choice to have a computer and so eventually to use the internet, or indeed let it pass them by. My Dad worked in insolvency for many years, times of tape dictaphones and typists. His business offices were all about paper information and it was physically organised. I remember book keeping – spreadsheets must have been a sight for sore eyes.
Dad lives in South Australia for most of the year now and enjoys writing letters to us about all of his adventures. His penmanship is fantastic and I always enjoy reading them. It almost feels strange to hold a personal message for me, handwritten with a fountain pen. Usually his missives are two or three pages of A4. We may have learned to communicate via 140 characters (or less) but what has that restriction done to old fashioned letter writing? What have we given up?
I was lucky enough to have Google Voice Search demonstrated to me by the mobile Product Manager at the Teacher Academy in London. It works really well and with the new Froyo 2.2 update will allow you to control much of your phone with just your voice. I showed Dad and tried it with the search term “Best restaurants in Adelaide”. As the phone recognised what I had said and immediately displayed a map with the eateries he was pretty impressed. Then he went through the list and said, “Eaten there, yes and that one, and that one, enjoyed the starters there…” He hadn’t done such a search but had probably visited these places in his own journey to find out the restaurants he enjoys. Perhaps they were recommended, but I can safely say he wasn’t swayed by a single online review. What experiences he must have enjoyed exploring those places. His opinion probably contradicted that of some reviews – good that he hadn’t run that search after all, perhaps he would have missed out. How much do we truly make up our own mind these days?
If we so choose, we can control a deluge of information and news to come to us, on our mobiles, on our televisions. A constant feed or stream. Every day Dad heads to the shops to buy the newspaper. That is his way of gathering the daily news, from the printed press. The obvious criticism is of course that it is from one source, but what must he gain everyday from his journey to gather it? Would you walk somewhere to pick up a blog update? The physical act of collecting it is an investment, everything is a click away for us, we don’t invest in the gathering of information in the same way – we can pick it up and drop it just as quickly. It is the impact of this on the information sources themselves that is the most intriguing.
Every evening/morning he listens to the radio, well he calls it the “wireless” – my “wireless” is no less important to me.
The crossword he does is the cryptic one, you know the really tricky one. He doesn’t jump on Google at the first sign of trouble but puts it to one side and gets a cup of tea. He lets the information brew as well and slowly he forms connections with something he read here, a past crossword clue there or a fact he knew. It might take a few moments or a few hours but suddenly he would let out a victorious serendipitous yelp as he figures it out. Not a search query in sight other than his own synaptic workout. Sometimes he finished the puzzle, sometimes not, but he has probably on average 18-24 moments of serendipitous victory a day. That can only be good for your brain.
–
It has been interesting to make these comparisons in internet and non-internet use, however I wouldn’t change the way I interact with it now. It offers me a great perspective on my self and my work. It allows me to connect to others both near and far. I can find out stuff without really trying, I don’t even need to type.
But my behaviours raise questions too – do we have a stronger sense of self nowadays or are we too reliant on our networks, connections to others and “you may also like”? Can we form genuinely unbiased opinions of products and services, restaurants and experiences with the internet? Do we need to? Will the good in life always rise to the top of the web? There are things we don’t consider important anymore because we can Google it – surely the journey to the papershop can be just as important as what we collect.
Thanks Dad for causing me to think this through.
I say more yelps of serendipity please.
Bringing the Google Teacher Academy to the UK
61 year ago
by tombarrett
in Google
Did you not hear it back in April? It would have been about 7.15 in the morning on April the 15th. It would have sounded like someone whooping with delight (and yes perhaps the sound of feet doing a little jig) as I found out that Google were going ahead with a UK based edition of their Teacher Academy.
There was some serious grinning on the way to work that day.
On July 29th 2010 the first ever Google Teacher Academy outside of the US took place in London, it was the culmination of over 2 years of perseverance and “mild harassment” as Cristin Frodella, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Apps for Education, put it.
Ever since 2007/2008 when I began seeing US teachers sharing their ideas and experiences at teacher academies I began my mini campaign to bring it here. After all there was a huge community of teachers in UK and Europe who were busy innovating with Google tools in the classroom. I felt that it was only right that we had the same opportunity to celebrate and champion our successes.
Sadly taking the GTA outside of the US wasn’t possible back then and as I have realised more recently Cristin has had to show her own perseverance to continue to run the event for teachers in the US. Nevertheless I continued to send the emails.
Samantha Peter who works in London for the Ed Apps Marketing Team was the main target and she has been fantastic in helping me to continue to push for the event here. She helped to setup a meeting with Cristin at BETT 2010 and they were able to put a face to all of the emails. To cut a long story short Cristin later emailed me on April 15th with the good news.
On a personal level it was amazing to help bring the Teacher Academy to the UK and to be part of the planning team that did it. But I was a participant too – the GTA was new to me, and the event was special in its own right. Different than anything I have worked on or attended before.
We all feel we want to make a contribution to the communities we work in and I consider this to be one of my most important.
The cohort was truly international and was also made up of a large UK contingent who never stopped innovating or making learning exciting for kids in their classes just because the Teacher Academy wasn’t coming to our shores. Some of them will no doubt be part of the next event.
The style was one of positive urgency – that we were going to use every valuable moment to learn something new. Not a second was wasted. This was clearly a very different professional development event, of which UK teachers had never likely seen before.
I am sure it will be the first of many more to come. If not then “Compose Mail” is only a click away.
Smoots Away!
01 year ago
Today I suddenly spotted the little ruler icon for the Distance Measurement Tool in Google Maps – click on the image to take a closer look at how to switch it on.
Google Maps Session at #GTAUK
51 year ago
During the Google Teacher Academy UK I ran a 30 minute session on Google Maps. It was a bit of a whirlwind of a training session but hopefully allowed the participants the chance to briefly play with Maps and also to think about how we could use Maps in a different way.
Here are some of the highlights:
Overview
10 minutes
- San Francisco map from 1915 – mapping has come a long way. 95 years of progress.
- Classroom ideas – Google Streetview, seeing Tom teaching PE, exploring Whitby Harbour and Abbey during work on Dracula with Year 6.
- Classroom ideas – James and the Giant Peach, using the map to tell a story.
10 minutes
- Activity time – add a placemark and continue the story in the Story Map
10 minutes
- Practical thoughts about classroom use
- Mashup Magic – some examples of the API use
Presentation
Google Maps GTAUK Page
One of the strongest elements of the Google Teacher Academy is the huge resource that has been accumulated on the GTAUK wiki. Each presenter has had a page that they have populated with a vast amount of links and all sorts of resources for people to explore further. Here are a few of mine and be sure to explore the rest on my Google Maps page.
Mashup Magic:
- Geotag your Pictures - http://www.panoramio.com
- Geotag your old Pictures - History Pin
- Over 120 historical maps in the Google Maps Rumsey Historical Maps
- Scribbling + Maps = ScribbleMaps
- RadarVirtuel – real time European air traffic
Google Maps in Other Languages:
- Chinese Maps - http://ditu.google.cn/
- French Maps - http://maps.google.fr/
- German Maps - http://maps.google.de/
- Spanish Maps - http://maps.google.es/
- Italian Maps - http://maps.google.it/
- Russian Maps - http://maps.google.ru/
Google Maps beyond Earth:
Activity: Story Maps
On the wiki I have outlined two different activities for the participants to look at but with little time to explain them we used the Story Map idea. I gave a simple story starter in a placemark on Westminster Bridge in London:
It was exactly where they said it would be. The Thames swirled below me from a passing barge as I lifted it too my chest.
The bridge seemed quieter than usual, and yet I could feel eyes watching. Which way now? I needed to get moving. I had already spent too long.
I turned and pressed on.
The participants would then choose from a number of story paths I had drawn on the map using the line tool, adding placemarks and continuing the story. It was a simple idea that showed the collaborative potential of maps that is often overlooked. You can see our efforts below.
View GTAUK – Story Map in a larger map
Mashups
One of the last things that I showed was the amazing Kinomap that allows users the ability to map a video route such as a bike ride or a run. I showed a cyclist doing a tour of the Googleplex – well worth a look. (It also has a mobile app you can download)
An amusing diversion
If I could do it again?
There are a couple of features of Google Maps I wanted to emphasise and demonstrate more clearly, time was a little tight and I probably didn’t do them justice.
Distance Measurement Tool – can be added from the Labs link at the top and appears in your maps “Created by Others”. It is really useful as a comparison of units of measurement. It even has Smoots, which the GTAUK planning team spent a bit of time talking about the day before the event.
URL Shortener – the links provided for Maps is always really long. Again from Labs there is the URL Shortener. But the trade off is that you lose the option to grab the embed code.
Place Pages – recently added to the mobile version of Maps, it is really handy to have a single page of information about landmarks and search results. From a search result placemark look for the More Info link – it is a single web page summary about that place pulling in photos and information from other sources. Useful for classes when they are doing any type of research.
Collaborate - each map gives you options to collaborate with others. From the top of your map find the Collaborate button on the left, opposite the Edit button.
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I hope that those of you who were with me in the sessions enjoyed them and took away something you could use in the classroom – and for those who weren’t, that there is something in this blog post or in the wiki to instigate some ideas. Please let me know.
