I've talked about Google Drawings before and how great it is for graphic organizers but what I didn't write about is how it can be used like a Thinglink.
If you haven't used Thinglink, it's great for using with your students. It takes an image and makes it interactive. Students can create hotspots over the image that link out to YouTube videos, pictures, text, Google Docs, websites, etc. The thing that limits you, however, is the customizable options. You're limited to only a few hotspot options and it's not collaborative in real-time. That's where Google Drawings comes in. You can insert images (whatever images you choose) and link them to websites, pictures, videos, etc and have your students collaborate on the same image at the same time. Here's an example that I've created. All hotspots have a yellow boarder around them for easy viewing. Happy Drawing!
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Can we just take a moment to talk about how neat Google Drawings is? Talk about graphic organizer heaven! Possibilities are endless for what you can do with it!
I'm currently working with my US History teachers and their students over civil rights. Another DLC, our librarians, and myself created stations for the students to research court cases, people, events, and speeches. For most of the stations, we used Google Drawings to have the students create things to demonstrate their learning. Here are a few links to show you how we used Google Drawings: Our Timeline Template Our MLK Speech Graphic Organizer Our March Madness Court Cases Bracket I've also compiled a folder of graphic organizers created with Google Drawings that I've gathered from websites and trainings, combined with some I've made myself. Folder of Graphic Organizers Take a look at these and let me know if you have any questions! I don't know about you but I get sick and tired of receiving tons and tons of emails every day. I get confused about which thread I'm on and, let's be honest, I don't need twenty different email chains about piddly things. I've started using Google Hangouts with my team and I really love it. I don't hear my email ding a hundred times a day, I can have separate chats depending on if I only want to talk to Middle School or High School, just a few people, or our entire group. If someone has a quick question, it's quickly answered and we don't have to receive emails. If you're busy, just mute the chat and you don't have to hear notifications. Unmute it whenever you're ready. I have a few of mine muted all of the time and I check them when I have time throughout the day. If you use Gmail through your work, you can search via your email for any topic you've discussed previously in the hangout. I love that you can video chat about certain things, hold online meetings, etc. (up to 15 people) and even record PD sessions through Hangouts On Air and broadcast them on Youtube. You can make the broadcast watchable for as long as you want, even after you've aired. We have Google Hangouts turned off in our district for students, but the benefits of using it are really great! Invite all of the members of a group and the teacher to a hangout and discuss project information right there!
Such a great tool for PLCs, departments, organizations, etc. Check it out!
I've compiled some of Google's updates since May of 2016 on the Smore below. I've also added a few of my favorite sites that integrate with Google Classroom.
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AuthorDigital Learning Coach & technology lover. Constantly looking for innovative ways to engage students and facilitate 21st century learning. Archives
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