Subscriptions and Sign Ups

What Subscriptions and Memberships Are Worth The Time and Money?

As always, this blog post is aimed at, but not limited to, the EPSB K-3 educator. This blog post is a work in progress. I would love feedback as to what educators recommend and I will incorporate any feedback into the post.

Your Feedback

I would like to get feedback about the websites listed below. In your comments please rate any site you discuss out of 5. Once we have enough feedback I will add stars to each link to indicate the overall rating.

TIME - Free Websites That Require A Username

The Internet is a time saver and a time waster. I am hoping with the help of our greater PLN that we can save you some time. The Div I Edtech bloggers have created a Top 5 section to help get you started on narrowing down websites to check regularly. What I am hoping to do with this post is focus on those websites that require you to have a username. Are they worth the time it takes to sign up?

I am going to skip the free worksheet focused websites. I am going to list the ones that I commonly stumble upon when I search the web for classroom activities and ideas.

Glogster

Glogster is a great Web 2.0 tool. It is relatively simple to use. I have used it as a teacher to make interesting content to share on my class blog. I did not like that I would have to create an account for all my students for them to use it. I did not think in grade two that we would use it enough to warrant the effort.

Lesson Plans 

I am looking for anyone who has used this site?

SMART Exchange

I recommend getting a username for this website. Creating Notebook files can be time consuming. Downloading a file that someone has made on a topic you are working on can be a great jumping off point. 

Teachers' Domain
I really like this site but often forget about it. It it is digital media for the classroom. It provides content for many subject areas but I find it is most useful for science. I used it more as a division II teacher. 

MONEY - Subscription Based Websites

Now there are many great websites that are subscription based. Unless your school or district has deep pockets, it is not possible to have a membership to every great site. I am hoping to compile a list of recommended (by me and others) subscriptions that include some comments to help you decide. Some of these websites have a free component. Many memberships/ subscriptions have whole school options. 

ABC Teach

ABC Teach offers limited access for free. I have never signed up for their membership package. I like that they provide interactive content.

BrainPop
BrainPop offers limited access for free. The content they have for free is engaging and effective. Our school is currently looking into purchasing a membership this year. I'll provide a more thorough review if we do.

Learning A-Z Products
Learning A-Z provides a variety of different products:

• ReadingA-Z.com
• Raz-Kids.com
• VocabularyA-Z.com
• WritingA-Z.com
• ScienceA-Z.com
• Reading-Tutors.com

I have been using Raz Kids for the last four years. I find it is a great support to the home reading program. It is also a great reading centre that you can individualize. The quizzes are challenging for weaker readers but in general provide a good accountability check for students.

Mathletics and Spellodrome

Our school has been using Mathletics for three years. As a grade two teacher, I use it for centre work. I like that I can differentiate for each student (if I so wish) so that when they are at the Mathletics centre they are getting what they need.

We just started using Spellodrome at the end of last year as part of a promotion by 3PLearning. Again, I like it for centre work but find it is less functional currently for individualization.

Spelling City
I highly recommend signing up for the free membership. It is an easy to use site. I have never used any of the subscription only activities. 

TumbleBooks

Our school has had TumbleBooks for a number of years and the staff really like it. We provide the username and password to families to support the home reading program.  BookFlix, provided by LearnAlberta is an equally great program but has more steps involved in accessing it. TumbleBooks is a little easier to get to for the younger student.

Quia

Quia is a great place to create your own interactive content that you want to make available on the Internet. I had a membership for years and found it very useful with grade 3s and higher. I stopped renewing my Quia membership as I started using Spelling City, Google Docs and Notebook (Smartboard). 

Website Log

A time saving tip is to have a place where you have your log in information for all your memberships in one place. I use a website log. I created it as a Google Doc so that I can access it from anywhere. I have created a Google Doc that you can use as template - Website Log.

Introduction Lesson on how to use Presentation

This is a lesson I have taught in two grade four classes and one grade two class.  It is expected that students have been on the netbooks/laptops before and have logged onto SchoolZone for this lesson. 

As well, like many lessons, this could be taught in one or two class periods depending on how much time you have or the skill and/or age of the class. I was able to teach this to a grade four class using laptops in 90 minutes. The same lesson was done over two days with a grade two class using netbooks (one hour each day).

Set

To start, I let them know that the main purpose of the lesson is to learn the technology skills they need to do a Presentation for science. I inform them that they will be doing their own presentation after they have learned the skills needed. I believe it is important to teach these skills prior to integrating other curriculum. 

I put up my Presentation Steps poster. As you will see, this is very low tech! :) As I do this lesson as a demonstration lesson in other classrooms, I leave this behind for the teacher. I also usually write on it as I go some reminders. 

Depending on the age and technology skill level of the class, I set a "finish" line for each chunk of activity. For example, in grade four I told them that once they had their laptop, they needed to get to step 4 right away. The grade two class I taught this in had limited technology experience, so we went more step-by-step.

Once everyone is at step 4, I have them put their netbooks/aptops at a 45 degree angle to indicate they are done. At this point I show a short 5 minute video about the science topic the class is currently studying. For example I showed Teachers' Domain: Beavers to the grade twos. This five minutes allowed me and the classroom teacher to problem solve any outstanding technical issues while the video was playing so that everyone was ready to go by the end of it.

Body

After the video, I display a Notebook file that has my beaver research jot notes (for grade four it was about plants). This contains facts from the video. I briefly touch on the fact that we usually don't write sentences when doing research. I let them know we'll be using these jot notes to do our Presentation.

At this point I lead students through steps 5 - 8 on my poster. I have a star between step 5 and 6 because if a student has never used Google Apps before, they will have to agree to the terms of their Google Account. 

I also do not deal with theme in the first lesson, so that is why I have them just select OK when asked to choose a theme in step 8.

When it is time to input the information, put up another poster. The one below was used in my grade four lesson where we worked on plants.

Each time that I teach them a new skill, I ask them to have their netbooks/laptops at a 45 degree angle. I demonstrate it once. Then I have them put their screens back up and walk them through it.

The first thing I have them do is create a title for their presentation. I use a worksheet as an analogy. When you do an assignment, everyone's worksheet has the same title. That way it is easy for the teacher and students to go back and find the activity. I usually show them my Google Drive at this time to illustrate how many documents they may end up having.

If using netbooks, you may find it useful to introduce the F11 function of full screen. 

When you open up a new Google Presentation, it provides a default first slide. I have the students use that first slide and have them input a title and use the subtitle box to put who it is by. At this time I review the use of the "shift" button to make a capital letter. This is a skill most student in grade two are not very familiar with. As well, I introduce the "undo" button. However in  all three lessons I have taught with this format, someone has needed the undo button almost right around the time I am about to bring it up, so it happens naturally.

Before moving onto step three, I pull up the jot notes again and review what we're doing a presentation about. I identify one of the subtopics that we will be making our first slide from. I inform them we'll be doing a list for the purposes of today's activity but that their teacher may be asking them to write in proper sentences for their actual individual Presentation.

For step three, I teach them how to add a new slide by using the arrow beside the plus sign. I ask them to choose "title and body". They type a title that we decide on as a class and they choose 3 facts from the jot notes to write down (those who finish early can do more). I show them the bullet function at this time. In the grade two class I modified this slightly. They chose "title only". 

Once everyone has two slides, I put up another poster.

At this point I go back to my analogy of the worksheet. If they had a worksheet, they'd put their name on it and hand it in. How are they going to hand this in? How will they share it with their teacher?  Again, with their netbooks/laptops at a 45 degree angle, I show the students how to share their Presentation with me. I have them type my last name and have them then look for my full name. I remind them that it must have @share in it. They then press "Share and Save" and then "done".  I switch to my "Shared with me" folder on the Smartboard so that they (and I) can see their file arrive.

Now you may want to wrap the lesson up at this point. I do have one more step that I have taught as a part of this lesson. No poster for this part... yet.

The last part of the lesson is to teach the students how to insert a picture. With their screens at a 45 degree angle, I walk them through the steps. First, they are to select the image icon. This will open up a box. I direct them to the bottom "search" portion. With the grade fours I told them about the Life and Stock Images option. I ask them to leave it at Google. We discuss using keywords. I demonstration a search. I show them how not all the images will fit and that they need to think before selecting. After an image is selected, it will open very large in the slide. So I demonstrate how to size and move it. I walk them through the steps again and let them insert a few images that fit the topic. With the older grades, this allowed me to go into my Shared With Me folder and open all their Presentations and leave them a comment - "great sharing". With the grade twos I was needed to help problem solve. 

Closure

 At the end of the lesson I try to ask some follow up questions, such as:

• how do you undo a mistake
• how do you share
• how do you make a capital
• which icon will allow you to insert an image

With the grade fours, I told them I had left them a comment. Before they shut down, they were to read my comment and write a 3-4 word reply.

With all classes I let them know that I'd work with them again on the technology skills they'd be needing to do a Presentation. I also encouraged them to share what they had done with their parents at home.

Reflections

I initially thought that using the netbooks would be the best option with division one students who had limited experience with technology. Even with using the F11 function, the screen was quite small. I would not use netbooks to introduce Presentation in the future.

Additional Thoughts

I try to weave into my lessons proper technology vocabulary. Sometimes I point things out specifically. So while not necessarily noted above I discuss the use of the words icon, tabs and browser.

Other posts on this topic include:

• Google Presentations in Grade One!?!?
• Google Presentation for Visual Learners

I Would If I Could But I Don't Have The Time So I Won't

The Question I Can’t Answer

In my role as lead technology teacher, I deal with a lot of potentially frustrating things. I need to keep up on the ever evolving world of technology. I need to find ways to provide useful professional development to a staff of varying technological interests, abilities and divisions. I have to deal with weird computer, netbook and Smartboard problems throughout the school. I have to help facilitate reasonable response times for weird computer, netbooks and Smartboard problems. Most days these are interesting challenges; sometimes they are frustrating. For the most part they are all solvable... eventually. The one thing that has left me stumped is how to respond to a colleague who tells me they would love to use technology in the class but they simply don’t know how to find the time.

The problem is they are correct. Using technology effectively, takes time. It takes time for teachers to learn and plan. It also takes time for the students to learn, which means it takes up precious class time. Any attempt to rush teaching technology or integrating technology leads to frustration and generally leads to people not wanting to try “that again”. I touch on this a bit in my previous blog post Direct Teaching of Technology Skills and Vocabulary.

Snowballs!

What concerns me about not being able to provide a good answer to those who do not feel they have the time to integrate technology is that the problem snowballs for the next year’s teacher. So, if the grade one teacher does not have the students use technology, it means more work for the grade two teacher. So now something that already is potentially time consuming becomes even more so.

The Answer?

I do not have one yet. I have some ideas and some suggestions. I am also hoping to generate some comments as to what the readers of this blog think.

Small Chunks of Time Exist!

Often, when planning to integrate technology, teachers think big. They think about projects or research. I think students need a lot of experience logging onto computers so that skills becomes as automatic as tying shoes become. Providing students with an opportunity to read online during DEAR time (I bet no one calls it USSR any more!) is one way to accomplish this without giving up a lot of time. Yes, the first few times will probably not involve a lot of reading. However, my experience is that reading online is motivating enough for students to give them the incentive to persevere through the initial frustrations of learning how to log in. Believe me I am not dismissing the importance of providing students with independent reading time!

Here are some other small chunks of time I think technology can be snuck in:

• Math facts drills.If your class does math facts drills, try doing these online!
• Math Baseball by Funbrain
• Math Flashcards
• Spelling practice.
  Have your students practice their words once a week using something like SpellingCity.
  Students can type their spelling words in Word and print to take home.
• Using Unitedstreaming videos (EPSB teachers).
  Teach your students how to log into Discovery Education using SchoolZone. Instead of playing a video you want to show them on the Smartboard, have them view it on a laptop!
• Buddies.
  If your class does buddy activities, this is a great time to encourage technology use. They could read online or do math activities online.
• Geography in social studies.
  Have students use Google Earth to explore a topic in social studies. You could have students work in small groups of 2 or 3 using a computer or laptop. Read the great post Google Earth in grade one for more ideas.

Start Small and Start Early

One of my colleagues had a personal realization the other day. It was early May and they were discussing one major computer project they do each year. She looked at me and said, “we really need to start this earlier next year.”

Technology Clubs

One strategy I have used in my school is to run technology clubs to help develop the technological expertise in our student population. This leaves the teacher feeling supported in the classroom when using technology. Each month, two students come from each class to learn how to problem solve different technology problems (laptops, Smartboards, netbooks, etc).

A Critical Outcomes School Scope and Sequence

At my school we have started the process of developing a critical learnings scope and sequence for ICT outcomes. As a part of this process, staff have identified one or two skills they expect or hope that students from the previous grade will have.

A Disclaimer!

The above activities and suggestions are not about how to integrate technology effectively in your classroom. They are suggestions to get started with technology in your classroom and to allow your students to develop some automaticity with basic computer skills which will free up time when you are ready for that integrated technology project!

Direct Teaching of Technology Skills and Vocabulary

Teaching Technology Skills
I think sometimes it easy to use technology to teach but sometimes teachers forget to teach specific technology skills. Spending time upfront teaching specific technology skills is important and it is often overlooked or rushed. Sometimes, I find teachers come up with a wonderful activity to do with Google Docs or Web 2.0 skills but end up frustrated because they are trying to teach subject area skills AND technology skills at the same time.

Last week I was in a grade two class demo-teaching an introduction to netbooks lesson. I chose a simple activity, going onto Spelling City, as the platform for teaching the basic technology skills to use netbooks. I purposely used technology vocabulary. As a technology lead teacher, I come by this “naturally” but it may not be something that all people consider. We know that using precise vocabulary is important in science, social studies and mathematics; technology is no different.

Teach Kids to Speak Geek
Thinking about this topic led me to read a post on Elementary Tech Teachers,  A Place for Elementary Tech Teachers to Share where a teacher said: “I love vocabulary because it makes believers of students. They’re excited when they ‘speak geek’ so I spend time every year on it. I have 3 lists for each grade - one for each trimester - and a list for a presentation activity I used called Speak Like A Geek (each student picks a word and teaches it to the class).”  She said that she does this with grades 3 to 5 and each presentation takes about three minutes.

Kindergarten and Grade One
On the same Ning, I read what a kindergarten teacher does to introduce technology vocabulary.  She said: “To help learn the parts of the computer I sing a song to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus”.  --- The buttons on the mouse go click click click, click click click, click click click... the buttons on the mouse go click click click in the computer lab. On the monitor we see our work... The CPU it thinks thinks thinks... With the headphones we hear it talk, hear it talk, hear it talk... on the keyboard we type gently, type gently, type gently.”

Grade Two
I think it is important that teachers use the right word and encourage students to use the correct vocabulary and to have a basic understanding of the components of technology used in the classroom. Depending on the number of ELL students in the class, you may want to do more formal lessons. Including words that are new for the majority of the class as spelling or challenge words may be worthwhile.

Grade Three
The technology vocabulary, if built up in K-2, is more integrated in grade 3 and requires less direct teaching.  When using new tools, such as Web 2.0 tools, new vocabulary will pop up that may be specific to that tool and will need to be taught directly.

Resources I Came Across
Mouse Skills and Vocabulary Activities
ABCya! ABC & 123 Magnets - this would be good to use to teach mouse skills and related vocabulary of click, drag and drop.

Keyboarding Skills and Vocabulary Activities
ABCya!Keyboard Zoo -  Recommended for Grades: K, 1
ABCya! Keyboard Challenge - put a keyboard back together; Recommended for Grades 2,3
Keyboarding Skills from ELearning for Kids - This is a game that has activities for teaching the components of the computer, mouse skills as well as keyboarding skills. Recommended for Grades: 2,3,4,5, 6

General Technology Vocabulary Skills and Activities
Technology Vocabulary Slider Puzzle - Recommended for Grades: 3,4,5, 6
Wordia - help students learn subject vocabulary through free learning games and video
Elementary Tech Teachers - A place for elementary tech teachers to share
Click-N-Learn by Kids Online - Learn the parts of the computer; Recommended for Grades: 3,4,5, 6

A One Stop Shop! The Benefits of a Class Website

Years ago, when I first started using the Internet with younger students, I quickly grew frustrated with the amount of class time was spent dealing with typing errors as students tried to get to websites. Back then I used a Word document for each lesson. I would prepare the links ahead of time and then the students would just have to open the hyperlinks from the document. It made life so much easier! This eventually evolved into a class website. 



Benefits of a Class Website
Here are my top 3 reasons I maintain a class website:

1. Students can navigate the web faster. At the beginning of the year they learn they type  Ms Mondor into Google and my website is the first link. Once there, all they have to do is click on the links related to the lesson at hand.

2. Students can use the class website at home to review concepts and share what they have learned with their families. I often do a "summary of the week" to support this.

3. It is an automatic “bookmark” site. By the end of the year, I have a great collection of websites that I can use over and over again, year after year.

Considerations
Here are my top 3 things you should think about before starting a class website:

1. Time. Setting up an effective class website takes time. I believe it is worth it, however.  

2. Skills. Creating and maintaining a website involves using an online program (I’ll discuss some options below). You may have to invest some time into learning the skills required.

3. Keep It Simple! It is easy to look at other websites and get overwhelmed at how amazing they are. Start small and remember your ultimate purpose is to create a tool that will simplify your students’ experiences online.

Option One: Website or Blog
There are many free options out there if you want to create a website. I like wordpress.com and I know that Blogger is another popular site. Please post a comment if you use another site and what you like about it.

There are three elements that I have focussed on (msmondor.wordpress.com):

1. I use Wordpress’ “blog roll” to store regularly used websites. My students use Mathletics, SchoolZone, Raz Kids and Tumblebooks regularly. So I have these permanently stored at the top of the page for easy access.

2. I use Wordpress’ pages to create a page for each subject area. This is where I store websites that we have already used as a class. I add to these pages throughout the year.

3. I use Wordpress’ “blog post” function to create posts for specific lessons or centre work. I often delete or modify blog posts after the relevant lesson is over.

Option Two: Google Sites
Google sites are easy to create and offer a variety of templates to build from. I had no experience with building a website when I created the “Great Grade 1 Websites” site and in an afternoon I had curricular pages with at least one link on each. One of my main objectives was to create a site the students could navigate independently. I followed the apps model and used pictures as links to websites we have used.



It is easy to embed movie clips and other links to curricular content that will support student learning and involve the parents. This gives students the opportunity to review movies that have been watched in class, to reinforce concepts or enrich their learning by having a conversation about these topics with parents.



Even though the site is a work in progress it is included as a resource link on SchoolZone for my class. The students enjoy going to see what is new as well as playing the games! Including it on SchoolZone also provides easy access so students can find it independently.



Option Three: SchoolZone (Edmonton Public Schools)
If your school uses SchoolZone, you may want to use your class’ SchoolZone page as a class website. You could create an ‘event’ for a lesson that includes hyperlinks. The resources page can be used to store websites students have used in past lessons.

Option Four: Use Someone Else’s Website
There are many excellent class websites out there. If you are not ready to tackle developing and maintaining your own yet, then use someone elses! I will try to collect/add sites that you may find useful as a portal.



Division One General

• Black Gold ICT Division I

Grade One

• Mrs. Cassidy’s Class
• Mrs. Zider’s First Grade
• http://mrssmithgrade1.weebly.com

Grade Two

• Ms. Brown’s Grade 2 Blog
• Ms Mondor’s Grade Two Website (self promotion :-) )

Grade Three

• Mrs. Evon’s Class

I would love to hear your stories about class websites. What have you learned? What to avoid? What works great.

HELP! How do I get my class logged onto the computer for the very first time?

Teacher Preparation

Passwords
The first thing I did this year, when preparing for the technology part of my year, was to change my student’s passwords. Our district required six alphanumeric items (it now requires eight) and it assigns them random and often difficult passwords. While we cannot change their usernames, we do have control over changing their passwords.

What I did was take a real four letter word and one number that repeated, for example work44 (now work4444).  This was a successful strategy for my class this year.

• A suggestion from another teacher was to have the students choose their password and then you change it. This would allow for them to pick something that is more meaningful and therefore easier to remember.
• Another idea is to have students choose a word from the word wall.   
• For our district, the username is their first initial and their last name, sometimes with a numeral. Not only having them memorize their password but their username as well is useful. Making sure their last name is visible on their desk is also a supportive technique for some students.

While all of these strategies take time, as the year goes on using them will save you and your students both time and frustration.

Computer Code Cards
A few years ago I started using a computer code card system in my class. This system has saved me many headaches. Like everything in teaching, spending more time planning ahead  pays off in the long run. Before I print out the computer card template, I decide on three or four websites that require logins that we use throughout the year. I try to standardize their usernames and passwords as much as possible. I also include any school and district wide usernames and passwords.

Once I have created a master document, I photocopy it onto cardstock and laminate them. One stays in the class and one gets sent home. I let my students keep them in their desks (which does mean some may get lost). For students who regularly have difficulty storing their computer code card in an easy to find place, I write their username and password on the back of their mailboxes which are stored in class.

• One modification is to have students store their computer cards in a baggie with their headphones.
• Some teachers choose to hold onto the cards and hand them out and collect them as needed.

One issue that may concern some people is that usernames and passwords are not very secure in this model. The reality is, in division one especially, that password security is non-existent and unrealistic to expect. That is not to say that it should not be encourage, modeled and discussed, especially at the end of grade two and in grade three.

Computer code card template.

Colette Mondor

Going to the lab for the very first time...

I know the feeling of dread I experience in September when I have to bring a new class to the computer lab for the very first time. My mind begins to spin through all the things that have gone wrong in the past. Will they lose their log in card? Will they know how to turn the monitor on? Will the computers even be turned on? I can hear the cacophony of cries “My computer doesn’t work!” “I can’t find my log in card!” “He took my computer!” Here are a few simple tricks that have helped teachers at my school when they introduce a new class to logging onto a computer or laptop for the first time.

1. When you plan to go to the lab or book the laptops, make sure you book 2 or 3 sessions the first week so the students have an opportunity to practice and achieve mastery at this new skill. The extra time you spend this first week will save you countless hours over the course of the year. Having one regular computer time a week also ensures that your students maintain their computer skills. If you don’t use them, you lose them!

2. If you have access to a SMARTBoard, model for the students how to log in using your computer before you take them to the lab. If you don’t have a SMARTBoard, you can call small groups of students up to gather around a computer to see the demonstration. Another simple  simple trick for demonstrations is to actually have a child log on to your computer so the desktop and icons that appear will look exactly the same as the other students in the class (often our teacher profiles look very different from the student profiles). Having the students all watch the process without the temptation of touching their very own computer makes the demonstration much easier. While you are demonstrating, make a list of the steps the students need to complete. Post this chart in the lab, or bring it with you to the lab until the students are competent following the steps.

3. Determine computer assignments ahead of time! One easy trick for assigning computers is to assign computer numbers by class list number. I post the class list on my wall and on the wall of the lab so that substitute teachers have easy access to the computer assignments. Another way to store the assignment numbers is to write the number on each student’s desk name tag. A good way to get the kids to practice remembering their computer number is to line them up by calling out the numbers. This way your students with great memories know every child’s computer assignment and will help the students who struggle to remember their own. When we use the laptops, I have 2 students in charge of monitoring the class as they unplug their laptop as well as when they return it. The assigned student helps to plug in the laptop, check that it has been shut down properly and ensures that the laptop is returned to the correct shelf according to the laptop number. Some of our classes also post their laptop assignment list on the laptop cart to avoid confusion.

4. When you go to the lab for the first time, call attention to those kids who are able to follow steps quickly. I call them my “experts” and I tell  the class who the experts are for each step. We have “Monitor Experts” “Power Experts” and any other kind of expert we happen to stumble upon along the way! One teacher at our school writes the experts names on a piece of chart paper so the students can go “find an expert” when they need help without having to ask anyone. I also ask my experts to circulate around the room offering help until the whole class is caught up on a step.

I hope these tips help. Please leave us comments with tips and tricks that work for you and your class.

Kelly Flasha

Google Earth in Grade 1

As part of the grade 1 Social curriculum we learn about our community. We started with our home, our school,  our community and moved out to our city and our province. Google Earth was the tool I chose to help the students understand how they fit at each level of community. Their first experience with Google Earth was viewing it on the SMART Board as I searched for my house and then our school. My students were amazed by the picture of the planet Earth. As we zoomed in they saw North America, Canada, Alberta, Edmonton, our community and then our school. They were so excited! Then the questions started. "Can I look for my house?" "When can I try it?" "Can we go to the lab and go on Google Earth?". I started thinking of ways they could use Google Earth to search for places that were meaningful for them and to their learning.

First they needed the skills to navigate their way around Google Earth such as how to search, zoom in and out and street view. As part of our calendar time we opened up Google Earth and searched for a place the star student was interested in, by this time we were approaching Christmas so the North Pole was a popular choice. We then looked at the symbols and clicked on them to learn what they meant, which was another connection to mapping in Social Studies. We also went into Santa Tracker where one of the activities was connected to Google Maps and the students were engaged in zooming in and out of the different countries and looking at the buildings and people. The last day of school before Christmas in the computer lab my grade 1's were having conversations about how what they saw was different than their own community. Wow!

Once I saw most students were able to navigate around Google Earth independently I placed pins for two communities, Lac Labiche and Beaumont, which are both discussed as part of our Social curriculum. Their task was to look at each community and compare similarities and differences to complete a Venn diagram using pictures or words to demonstrate what they noticed.

This tool was so engaging for all the students I will be trying to integrate it into other units and subjects.