Virtual Field Trips with Expeditions Pro

 

Expeditions Pro

Taking virtual field trips with Expeditions Pro

Created by Scott Aten, April 28, 2022

Many of you may remember Google Expeditions.  This was a great tool that allowed students to travel virtually to locations all over the globe.  Teachers could expose students to sights they may never have an opportunity to see or experience.  Unfortunately Google elected to stop supporting this tool, much to the disappointment of teachers everywhere.  Expeditions Pro is filling the void left by the retired Google Expeditions.  

Expeditions Pro is a free download from the app store and is available for both IOS and Android devices.  Teachers can then choose from hundreds of existing tours from around the world.  Here are a few examples that are available now:

• American Revolution - Massachusetts
• Ancient Rome
• Flight 93 Memorial
• Lincoln Assassination
• US Federal Government
• The War of 1812
• African Safari
• Artic Regions
• Rainforest Rambler
• Under the Sea
• Machu Picchu
• Exothermic Reactions
• Photosynthesis 
• Solar System
• 7 Wonders of the World
• New tours are constantly being added

The teacher downloads the tour with the app on their phone.  Once downloaded the teacher selects "Class" in the menu at the bottom and choose "Lead".  Students install the app on their phone, choose "Class" and then "Follow".  The teacher's tour is then available for the students to follow.  

Both the teacher and students need to be on the same network, so if you would like to run a virtual tour with your students you should start by putting in a help desk ticket and choose "tech integration" as the category.  Be sure to allow a few days for the tech department to set things up.  

We have a set of View Master Views that you can schedule to use.  Students will need their own cell phone to participate (we have 3 loaners but not enough for a full class).

If you would like me to come and help you please feel free to schedule me to come and assist you.  I am always ready to come help.  

[Green Technology Training Center]

[Click here to go to the YouTube Channel]

For more helpful information and the archive of previous posts, look for items in the menu to the left.

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

BuzzIn.live ~ The simple online buzzer system!

BuzzIn.live

The quick and easy way to play a buzz-in game with your students.

Created by Scott Aten, January 29, 2020

Every once in-awhile someone asks me for something that is a new challenge for me. Last week Mr. Froelich at GHS came to my office with this question, "Do you know of an buzzer game that I can use with my students?". My first thought was something like kahoot, but he didn't want something that
required him to build all the question. He just wanted a simple way for students use their phones (or Chromebooks) to "buzz-in" on questions that he would ask out loud. Here is what I found: BuzzIn.live.

This site is silly simple to use. As the teacher you go to the site and click the "Host" button. Once there you will see a unique join code is created for you. Students then go to buzzin.live website on their device (phones/Chromebooks) and click the "Join" button. Once there they type in the join code you have provided and type their name (or whatever they want to use as their name). That is it, the game is ready for you to ask a question to the class.

During the game you will see the order in which the students "buzz in". You can then clear the board for the next question and continue on for as long as you would like.

In the settings area you can:

1. Choose to see just the first person to buzz (default is to see them all in order of buzzing)
2. Turn on/off the buzzing sounds of the student devices
3. When a buzz sound is played on the Host device
4. Disable/Enable others to join a game later

This is what the student device looks like.

They just tap the big green "BUZZ" button if they know the answer. That sends their name to the Host device. Really cool! Students do not need to be on the school network to play.

I went back to ask Mr. Froelich how it went and he said it was a success and was easy to use with his class.

Next time you are looking for a quick and fun way to review with your students, give buzzin.live a try!

[Green Google Training Center]

[Click here to go to the YouTube Channel]

For more helpful information and the archive of previous posts, look for items in the menu to the left.

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

Random Name Selector

Use the Mobile Google Classroom app to randomly select students.

Created by Scott Aten, January 17, 2020

Just heard about this cool feature available on the phone app version of Google Classroom. It has the built-in "Student Random Name Selector" that uses the names of the students in your Google
Classroom. It will keep track of what students have been called on, who is absent in the class, allow you to skip a student until later, and show you how many students that have not answered a question. If you use Popsicle sticks with names on them to randomly select a student to answer questions, then this may be a nice alternative. Here is how it works...

1. Just download the Google Classroom app on your phone
2. Open your Google Classroom
3. Click on the "People" button
4. In the upper right corner you will see this buttonclick it.

[See a video walktrhough of the app on my phone] Another option that I have talked about in the past is to use Flippity.net and use the random
name selector from that site. Here is a demo of what the random Name Picker looks like using Flippity.

If you would like help with Flippity, please feel free to schedule me. Both are great options to ensure you are getting all of your students involved with the discussion.

[Green Google Training Center]

[Click here to go to the YouTube Channel]

For more helpful information and the archive of previous posts, look for items in the menu to the left.

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

Gmail Changing the Default Phone Setting from Archive to Delete

Gmail Phone Settings Setting your phone up to delete rather than archive email.  

As we move closer to the date of our change from Outlook to Gmail, I want to continue to pass along helpful tips to make your transition as smooth as possible.  When working with Gmail on your phone, if you swipe across a piece of email you will see that the default setting is to “Archive” the email - not delete it. Remember that archiving a piece of mail does not delete it, but rather moves it to the “all mail” area.  If you are like me, I don’t want to archive most of the email I get, I want to delete it. I have created a short video that demonstrates how to change the default setting from archive to delete email.

How to change the default setting of a swipe from “Archive” to “Delete”: [watch the video]

In case you missed the Gmail training, below are a list of video tutorials on how to use Gmail on your laptop/desktop/chromebook.

Videos

• How to access Gmail
• View Mail in you inbox
• Make my Gmail look like Outlook
• Gmail Labels (similar to folders in Outlook)
• Where did my email go?
• Using stars and importance indicators
• Compose Email
• Adding a Signature
• Contacts in Gmail
• Distribution Lists (Groups)
• Gmail Bonuses (Take Back and Canned Responses)

If you have any additional questions or have any issues after May 21st, please feel free to contact me.

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

Calendar on Your Phone

A complete video example of how to setup your iphone.  

Yesterday I provided you directions on how to setup your phone with Gmail.  Today we will focus on getting Google Calendar on your phone and a few of the things you need to setup with calendar.  I have created a video of me installing and setting up my phone with the Calendar app. I have an iPhone, but the process will be very similar on an Android phone as well.

[Watch the Video]

In case you missed the Calendar training, below are a list of video tutorials on how to use Calendar on your laptop/desktop/chromebook.

Videos

• How to Access Google Calendar
• Across the top of Calendar
• Clear up the left menu of Google Calendar
• Add an Event to google Calendar
• Sharing Calendars
• Add a new Calendar

If you have any additional questions or have any issues after May 21st, please feel free to contact me.

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

Gmail on Your Phone

Gmail on Your Phone A complete video example of how to setup your iPhone.  

We are just a few days away from moving from Outlook to Gmail/Google Calendar.  Hopefully you have had an opportunity to get trained on Gmail, if not there are helpful links below.  Today what I would like to show you is how to get your phone ready for the transition. I have created a video of me installing and setting up my phone with the Gmail app.  I have an iPhone, but the process will be very similar on an Android phone as well.

[Watch the Video]

In case you missed the Gmail training, below are a list of video tutorials on how to use Gmail on your laptop/desktop/chromebook.

Videos

• How to access Gmail
• View Mail in you inbox
• Make my Gmail look like Outlook
• Gmail Labels (similar to folders in Outlook)
• Where did my email go?
• Using stars and importance indicators
• Compose Email
• Adding a Signature
• Contacts in Gmail
• Distribution Lists (Groups)
• Gmail Bonuses (Take Back and Canned Responses)

If you have any additional questions or have any issues after May 21st, please feel free to contact me.

Green Local Schools
Tech Integration Team

Google Waze

Get the best route, every day, with real-time help from other drivers.  Real people working together in the best GPS app I have ever used!

My first big summer activity was taking my 14 year old down to Columbus for the Nation's State Baseball Tournament.  Between driving to different fields, hotels, and restaurants, I needed a lot of help getting around. I am not real familiar with Columbus and find driving in that city very frustrating, so for this trip I downloaded the Waze app (shown above) and was extremely happy with all the features.

The great thing about this app is that a community of users help you know real time information on traffic conditions, helping you take the best and fastest route to your destination.  Here are some of the features:

• Get alerts when approaching police, accidents, road hazards, traffic jams (shared by actual drivers also using the app)
• Community edited maps that show changes to roads at the local level
• See friends who are driving to the same destination when you connect via facebook.
• Find the cheapest gas through community-shared gas prices.
• Save trips in a favorite areas
• Schedule trips and be given the best time to leave to arrive on time.
• Automatically recalculates your route if you miss a turn or decide not to follow the recommended route.
• 100% FREE!

One of the things I like the best is the voice guidance.  It gives instructions early enough for you to know what your next turn is as well as when you make the turn, an idea of what is coming up next.  For example “Exit on left on exit 2A and stay right”. The display shows you the miles to your next turn, icons of upcoming issues, estimated arrival time, how long the trip is in miles and time, and your speed versus the speed limit.  

I can’t say enough about this app - give it a try on your next summer trip.   I don’t think you will be disappointed.

In the next issue we will start to get into some things you can use in your classroom.

Have a nice rest of your summer

Google Photo

Just in time for Summer, see how Google Photo can clear space on your cellphone for all those memorable Summer activities.

If you are like me you have a lot of pictures saved on your phone.  I am always reluctant to delete them off my phone and rarely plug my phone into a computer to move them off.  So what can you do when you phone starts telling you that you are out of storage space? This is where Google Photo can help by storing the photos in the cloud and allowing you to delete them from your phone.  Here are the steps to be successful with Google Photo:

Step 1: Install Google Photo on Your Device
Works on Android and iOS devices, there is also a web-based version that will work on your desktop PC or Mac. The app icon will look like the image above.

Step 2: Select the Quality Level
You have two choices here.  High quality is free but will reduce the file size.  For most of us this should be fine as it is still a nice photo and is able to reproduce a sizable print (12X14) of good quality. Once you make this selection, Google Picture will begin to move copies to the cloud.  I had around 300 images on my phone and began the process at 10:00 one night. I noticed that it was still moving images the next day at school and it finished around 11:00. I selected the option of only backing up when connected to WiFi so I didn’t use my phones data allowance.  Going forward when you open the Google Photo app it will backup any new images you have taken.

Step 3: View Your Images in the Cloud
If you log into your Google account you should now be able to see the photos (and videos) you had on your phone using the Google Photo web app.  The nice thing is that you can also use any of these images in other Google Apps (i.e. Docs, Slides, Sites, etc). One thing you should be aware of, if you delete an image from Google Photo you will also delete it from your other locations.  Google gives you a warning first, but just be sure you never need the photo again.

Step 4: Have fun with Your Images
Now you can edit the images using some of the basic editing tools like cropping or rotating,  adjust brightness or contrast, or use some color filters. You can also create collages, animations and stylized photos as well.  If you really get into it, you can create albums, movies, and stories as well! Wait a minute - did this just give you some ideas of how you might use Google Picture with your students?  Sorry that was a mistake, I know you are on Summer Break!

Step 5: Clear Space on Your Phone
Feel free to delete the photos from your phone’s picture area because now they are in the cloud.  To clear space on an iPhone (steps 1-7) Android Device (steps 1-4):

1. Make sure your photos and videos have been backed up. (Items that are not backed up will have this icon .)
2. Open the Google Photos app .
3. At the top left, tap Menu , then Settings.
4. Tap FREE UP SPACE and follow the instructions.
5. When you see a prompt asking for permission to delete photos, tap Delete.
6. Open the iOS Photos app (not the Google Photos app).
7. Go to the Recently Deleted album and delete those same photos and videos.

If you want to keep some photos on the device, simply delete the pictures individually in the picture area.  If you need more information: https://support.google.com/photos/

Enjoy the extra space!