WhatWasThere

 

Wouldn't it be nice to go back and spend a day in a city like New York or Chicago or even your own town back in the day.  Say like during prohibition  and visit a speakeasy.  You can do it now, well kind of.  Though historical pictures superimposed on current google streetview WhatWasThere allows you to type in an address and see what was there.  To see the website click here. 

If you used an idea from this website then buy Mr H a gatorade :)  Thank you

Roll Some Dice

If you would like to randomly roll say 3 20 sided dice for some reason there are many websites that will do this for you but I just found out you can do this on Google very easily.  I wanted 3 d 20s so see below:

If you want just one then type in d20 in the search box.  As you see you can add, for example, a 4 sided die also.  If you click on any of the die on the screen that die will disappear.  I am not going to give you a link to google as that would be like giving you the phone number for 911.

Digital Archive of The Windsor Star

Using Google Newspaper Archive (click here) I was surprised to see that they have 4297 archived issues of the   The Windsor Daily Star from July 31 1935 - November 13 1959 (click here) and 7505 issues  of The Windsor Star archived from November 13 1959 - December 31 1986 (click here).  Prior to Windsor amalgamating The Border Cities Star serviced Riverside, Ford, Walkerville, Windsor, Sandwich and Ojibway.  To see the 3538 archived issues from September 3 1918 - February 7 1935 click here.

Search ReSearch

If you really would like to use Google better than you might want to follow Dan Russell's blog, "Search ReSearch".  He has searching challenges that use image searching techniques .  To see his website click here.  He has a nice blog article on how to do an image search in Bing.  To see that click here.  Thanks to Richard Byrne for pointing out this site.

Song Maker

Song Maker by Google is a new tool that you can make....wait for it....music. with just a few clicks.
Click here to visit the webpage.

Tour Builder by Google

This is what  Katie Siemer has to say about Tour Builder, "So what is Tour Builder? Tour Builder uses Google Earth technology and allows you to add a sequence of locations on a map that users can click through like they’re going on a tour. You can upload up to 25 photos and YouTube videos to go along with each stop on the tour. You can also add a description and links to additional resources for each location that you add. When users view the Tour, they will click “next” on the tour to be taken to the next point on the map. Check out this example by the Jane Goodall Institute to get the gist of it. Tour Builder was originally created, “to give veterans a way to record all the places that military service has taken them, and preserve their stories and memories as a legacy for their families,” according to the Tour Builder website. Obviously, Google saw the cool ways this could be used in education and beyond and eventually made it public."

This tool could easily be used in History or Geography but you could use this in English class when discussing a novel that the character travels around.  You could easily build a tour to show your class.   Or you could have your students build a tour of the book they reading.  To see Tour Builder click here.

Countdown Timer for your class

Yeah I know Google has its time and place.  Not sure if I mention this before but if you need a countdown timer in your classroom for when your students, say have a little break or some other reason you can use Google.  Just type in something like "set timer for 10 seconds"  or whatever and it will beep when done.  Below is a Screencastomatic video I made of this.

Google Etymology

Google is at it again.  Do you want to know the root of a certain word.  No problems.  In Google just type the word "etymology" in quotes and then the word you are interested in.  For example I used carnivore and this is what I had returned.

Another etymology site to check out is the Online Etymology Dictionary (thanks Larry Ferlazzo).  This can be found by clicking here.

Google Timer

If you need a no nonsense timer in your class try Google.  See the screencast below.

Google Ngram Viewer

Well last week I posted about Google Cultural Institute.  Today I will post about something that Google came out with in 2010 but this simple online tool is still relevant as a tool for studying social relevance of words throughout history as recorded in books.  You can see the Ngram Viewer by clicking here. For example if we look at "men" versus "women", we see women started to catch up to men in the early '70s as feminism really took off and ten years later caught up.

There are other interesting things that can be looked at in your social science class.  To try yourself click here.  Why is dog always more popular in the written word than cat?  Easy, there are more dogs than cats! 

Not so fast buckoo.  It depends.   See the following data for the US from the petfoodinstitute.org

There are many others you can play around with in a truly scholarly fashion.  You would guess that Friday is the best day of the week.  Not so fast.

Many others can be found by clicking here.  As ususal TED ED has an awesome video about ngram as shown below.  If you have the time, you may find it enjoyable.  Well at least I did.

Google Cultural Institute

This is a great website for students and teachers of Art, Geography and History, among others.  This is an online site of historical and cultural people and places.  This is the place to "Discover exhibits and collections from museums and archives all around the world.Explore cultural treasures in extraordinary detail, from hidden gems to masterpieces."  To see the website, click here.

My Reading Mapped

If you use Google Maps this could be great in your classroom.  From their site, "This site is an extenstive compendium of documentaries, in the form of interactive Google Maps on Historic Events. In a sense it is a library of maps that allow you to do much more than just watch and read. You get to digitally experience the event by finding and zooming in on the locations you read about in the related eBooks. You get to follow the explorer from location marker to location marker on almost a day-by-day basis. You get to see up close the actual ancient ruins, forts, and pyramids. Many of the maps have Google Earth KML files that enable you to digitally walk the map in 3D and experience the exploration for yourself."

I looked at the WWII battles but there is so much more at this site.  Click here to visit it.

Google Classrooms Fieldtrips

Google is at it again.  They announced Monday their new launch.

Watch a video about what they are doing below.
To see the the Classrooms click here.    This is what Tech Crunch has to say about the new launch, "Field trips generally venture only as far afield as the local heritage village, where you’re likely to catch pilgrim ‘Ezekial’ behind the butter churning hut sneaking a modern-day cigarette. Google wants to offer a more far-reaching experience, with a new Connected Classrooms initiative that lets classes take “virtual field trips” using Google+ Hangouts. So instead of learning about pioneer times from a local drama student who has to keep the goat stables clean in addition to infotaining the kids, you’ll check out the Seattle Aquarium, Minnesota Zoo or the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Google says that teachers already employ its social network in classrooms, but the Connected Classrooms program is designed to make it easier for more of them to do so. It offers not only those virtual excursions mentioned above (along with a number of other destinations), but also provides teachers a chance to work together on class plans and learning experiences for use both in the classroom and out.

Field trips take place at specific times, since they’re actually live hosted events that offer interactive learning experiences, and teachers can check out Google’s calendar to find out more. The first three are happening today, where Seattle Aquarium staff will take classes participating underwater; the Minnesota Zoo explores the Black Bear and their habit of sleeping through the colder seasons; and Solar Impulse, a long-range solar plane project, offers a chance to speak with the founders and learn about the design of its wing and cockpit. Upcoming trips over the rest of the month include virtual photo walks and museum tours provided by National Geographic and others."

Google Lit Trips

This is a free website.  You will have to fill out a quick survey though.

From their website

So What exactly are Google Lit Trips?
The short version is simple. Google Lit Trips are free downloadable files that mark the journeys of characters from famous literature on the surface of Google Earth. At each location along the journey there are placemarks with pop-up windows containing a variety of resources including relevant media, thought provoking discussion starters, and links to supplementary information about “real world” references made in that particular portion of the story.
The focus is on creating engaging and relevant literary experiences for students. I like to say Google Lit Trips “3-dimensionalize” the reading experience by placing readers “inside the story” traveling alongside the characters; looking through the windshield of that old jalopy in The Grapes of Wrath.

What Google Lit Trips AREN’T
Google Lit Trips aren’t like sparknotes and other resources that can be used to circumvent the need to actually do the reading. They are designed to stimulate higher level thinking skills and to connect the story’s themes and messages to the issues of the real world in which students live.

To go to the site click here.

TIME Timelapse powered by Google

On Thursday May 9th, Time, Google, NASA and USGS released Timelapse powered by Google.  You can watch the last 30 years of satellite photography of anywhere on earth.  According to Louis Perrochon,     "We sifted through 2,068,467 images—a total of 909 terabytes of data—to find the highest-quality pixels (e.g., those without clouds), for every year since 1984 and for every spot on Earth. We then compiled these into enormous planetary images, 1.78 terapixels each, one for each year."

They have selected a few very stunning timelapses for you to view by clicking here.  You can move around the world and zoom in anywhere.  This might be an interesting tool in the classroom to look at erosion or climate change.  I have zoomed in on the east side of Windsor, east of the WFCU center.  You will notice a large rectangular green area gets built up over the last 30 years around the Banwell Hill - St. Josephs area as highlighted in the red box below.

If you would like to watch the development of this area click here.  You can zoom out or move anywhere else in the world you would like.  When you are done, if you would like to share the new view, click on the icon that looks like this