Applications for Google Earth

Did you know that you can use Google Earth for more than looking at your home from a  satellite?

 

That's right, Google Earth can give you a lot of information. If, for example, you click the little "+" next to Gallery, under the Layers frame you will see several options. Clicking on one of them, like New York Times, will place icons showing every location where there is a story in the Times. Under 

Geographic Web you can select places where there are Wikipedia

articles.

 

But there is still an even more exciting application that can be used. From the Google Earth website (not the Google Earth program but the website (http://earth.google.com/), you select Gallery from the menu on the left and choose from several topic areas, one of which is Educational. Each topic has applications that can be opened in Google Earth. When you click on the "Open in Google Earth" link the application is transferred to your Google Earth program and can be found under the Temporary Places folder in the Places frame.

 

There are some excellent educational applications that can be used in the classroom. Things like "World Population Density," "Darfur--Destruction of 1,000 Villages," and "Age of Exploration: Magellan's Circumnavigation of the World," can enhance a lecture or discussion with information that visually enhances learning. 

Click here for a short video on adding these applications to your Google Earth program.

Creating Screen Captures

TechSmith, who produces Camtasia Studio and Snagit, also provide a free screen capture program (available for both PC and Mac) that will allow you to create short (5 minutes or less, but should a screeen capture really be longer than that?) videos. 

This product is called Jing. Today, Jing is offering an expanded set of features in Jing Pro, which costs $14.95 a year. For this price you get a better quality of movie (an MPEG-4 AVC), smaller video files, a link to upload directly to YouTube (you can still upload to other video sharing applications like Facebook), and the Jing branding is gone from the final product. 

I've attached a sample video I created using the free Jing. This file was uploaded to Screencast.com, which has some free space for Jing users and clicking on the link will take you to Screencast where you can view it.  The movie gives instructions on adding photos to Office 2007's PowerPoint.

addingPicturePPT

Finding Quick and Helpful Videos for Topics

Have you ever wanted someone to explain Wikis in Plain English, or how about Twitter in Plain English? Maybe you want to have someone explain why you should use the new "twisty" light bulbs in plain English. Well someone has done this. Common Craft has created a series of videos that can be found on YouTube. These explain in simple terms a wide variety of web applications as well as some other topics (like Electing a US President in Plain English).

 

You can find these short movies (around 3 minutes long) by clicking here or search on YouTube for the words "Plain English." There are several other individuals who have created "in plain English" videos. Some are pretty good, some are funny, and some are--well, not everything on the web is worth while.

Watching these won't make you an expert but at least you won't be in the dark. As always, call us if we can help you.

ChaCha is more than a dance

Did you know that you can get a question answered on your cell phone. That's right, as they describe it,

ChaCha is like having a smart friend you can call or text for answers on your cell phone anytime for free! ChaCha works with virtually every provider and allows people with any mobile phone device - from basic flip phones to advanced smart phones - to ask any question in conversational English and receive an accurate answer as a text message in just a few minutes.

All you have to do is text your question to 242242 (ChaCha) or call 800-2ChaCha and ask your question. You'll receive the answer by a text message in a few minutes. You can get the weather, stock info (who wants that now!), scores or answers to general questions in a matter of minutes. Give it a try. Remember two things:

1. Any charges for text messaging on your phone may apply.
2. Students may already know about ChaCha, so watch out for cell phone texting during exams!

As always, please let us know in ITDE if we can help.

Create Easy Animations

There is another Web 2.0 application that can help you create exciting animations by using an application called GoAnimate. Here is a sample I created in only a few minutes on my MacBook.



This is an easy application to learn and the instructional videos are very helpful. You can create some interesting introductions to lessons for classroom or online classes. Give it a try and see what you can create. As always, if we can help please call us.

Here is a great application that you can use to easily create an exciting slideshow? Using ANIMOTO can make you can look like a professional.

This is one of neatest Web 2.0 application I've seen, and once you've seen it I'm sure you'll agree! Take a look at this example I created for the 2009 NUTN Conference:

http://animoto.com/play/FY4aT1CSxDFk4gwLz5M7vQ.

I made this by simply uploading images, selecting the music from the site and ANIMOTO did the rest. Here's the best part--it was FREE! And once your done you can share your video by posting it to Facebook, Blogger, MySpace, or any number of other online sites as well as YouTube.

You need to set up an account (it's free) and then start uploading JPG or GIF images. There are some size restrictions (images need to be less than 5MB) and the free slideshow is limited to 30 seconds, but you can look pretty creative in that time. If you want to create longer shows you need to sign up for an All-Access Pass. Sounds like a catch doesn't it, but it only costs $30.00 a year for unlimited videos of extended length. I really encourage you to take a look at this site. You can use slideshows to introduce content in your classes or for showing off your children. You can even have students create slideshows for class projects. There are lots of creative uses that you can find.

Here is an example of a movie that I created (another one for the NUTN Conference) using the All-Access Pass I purchased (yes, I sprung for the $30.00) and was able to download to my computer when I finished. It's the same length because that is how long the song is.

On Good Morning America today (Friday, October 10, 2008) they did a segment about cheating on tests.  There were some fairly creative ways students had posted on YouTube exposing the way they suggested to each other.  Here are a couple of links to those videos in case you would like to check them out for yourself:

Teacher's Guide to Examination Cheating

Top 10 Ways to Cheat

Cheat and Never Get Caught

How to Cheat on a Test (featured on GMA)

How to Cheat on a Test (by Kiki, also featured on GMA)