Changing How We Look at Maps

I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time last week.  Part of the Social Studies department was going over their curriculum for the next week.  It was, once again, time for their learners to create a map of Asia.  Wait, did you say create a map?  I LOVE maps as you can tell from one of my former blog posts.  The educators and I gathered together to look at a few example maps I have and I was able to show them how to make maps meaningful.

Did you know you can change the base map to show different types of map?

Did you know you can use the search feature to find locations on a map and add to your map a marker?

Did you know you can add images and videos of to a marker on a map?

Did you know you can draw lines to follow where a river flows through a region?

Did you know you can draw you own shapes on a map to indicate a particular area?

Did you know you can add layers to a map so you can categorize types of markers so you can pick when and what the map should display?

The educators put a list together of the items learners would need to add to their map.

Typically you can create maps using an iPad, but I figured a way around that by creating a map in my Google Drive account, sharing the link to my map and having the learners make a copy of the map.  It worked great!  I was so excited we could figure out a way for this to be done on iPads!!

After the first set of morning classes the educators said their learners were as excited about maps as I am!  Learners asked if they could work on the assignment at home.  Yes!!

My heart is so happy there are others out there who love maps as much as I do now!  How can you use Google My Map to engage your learners with the content?

Choices

We have so many choices.  Sometimes there are too many and it's difficult to make a choice.  While I was at TCEA I had the opportunity to go to a session to learn more about Adobe Spark.  I am very excited to hear Adobe will be changing their terms of service so that any age learner can use their products, for free!  This got my attention!  I have used Adobe Spark before and thought it was easy to use, easy to navigate, and I liked the final product I created.

That got me thinking, what about Apple Clips?  Clips is a native app for iOS devices.  This is great because that means all of our learners have access to the app.  There is no sign-in and you do not have to be connected to the internet.  I have made a few graphics to help learners create their own Clips.

There are so many possibilities with Clips in the classroom!  Here is a quick video I made with my amazing teammate, Alli Pryor, to encourage our PLN to try using Clips.

I'm so excited to see up and coming projects by educators and learners using Clips!

TCEA Take Aways in a Nutshell!

Back from a great week of learning at TCEA!  There is so much to share from spending a week with so many innovative thinkers!  It can seriously be overwhelming!  So, on the car ride home we took a few minutes to share some of our take aways that were on the top of our brains at the time.  Take a listen:

An Apple A Week Podcast Series: Perfect Pages

We have another episode of An Apple a Week podcast series!  This week Alli and I invited our fabulous team member, Megan Kozar, to lend her voice to the podcast to share her thoughts and experiences with Pages.  Check out her full blog post here.

I first started using Pages on my personal home computer when I did not have access to Word.  I use Google Docs all the time, but there have been many times when I needed something on the desktop I was work at.  So I was thrilled to start playing around with a lot of the formatting features.  Then, I started using Pages on my iPad a little more.  It is free!!!  So why are learners not using this amazing tool and always default to Google Docs?

One piece of Pages that really has me championing for the product is the template gallery!  There are so many professional templates ready to be used!  Have your learners select a template so they can focus on the content.  Then they can have all kinds of fun using the formatting features to make their products personalized!

Listen to the podcast to hear our conversation.  How can you challenge your students  to use Pages in your classroom in the next few upcoming week?  And don't forget to share your voice on the Apple in Education, We say YES! Flipgrid.

Infographics for the Classroom

I love graphics!  I love looking at an image to see what information is being communicated.  From reading my blog, you also know how much I LOVE Google Drawings!!  Drawings is my "go to" for most things!  Lately I have suggested to educators to have learners create infographics for various projects in their classrooms.  Our leaners have access to iPads and unfortunately Drawings is not available to be used on an iPad.  So, what other programs do I suggest?

How about Pages?  Pages is *FREE* for users on iPads!  It has some very powerful options when you are wanting to add shapes and text.  It is also does not require wi-fi and can be downloaded as a PDF.  Quick and easy!

How about Canva?  Canva requires wi-fi and learners can log in using their Google account.  There are preset templates and there is freedom to customize your graphics.  Canva can be downloaded as an image or a PDF.

How about PiktoChart?  Pickto Chart also requires wi-fi and learners will need to log in using their Google account.  There are many templates perfect for creating infographics, but you can also customize your work!  PicktoChart can be downloaded to Photos.

How about Pic Collage?  Is there anything Pic Collage cannot do?  Ha!  Ha!!  Pic Collage does not require wi-fi or a log in.  This tool is is easy to navigate with suggested templates or create freestyle layouts.  Pic Collage can be shared as an image in Photos.

When learners are beginning to work on a project I have this graphic to help them decide where to start:

After learners have completed their work I have this graphic to help them export their image for sharing:

Have you asked your learners to share their learning through infographics?  If not, why not try it now?

An Apple a Week Podcast Series Continues with Keynote

We did it again!  The next episode of the An Apple of Week podcast and blogging series are live.  

What do you know about Keynote?  I use it...sometimes.  After recording this episode with Alli I want to spend more time looking at the creative pieces that make Keynote unique.  I think I see collaboration in the near future!

Listen to learn a little something about Keynote and add to the Flipgrid!  I know you have a great idea to share!  Or, do you know something else that is mind blowing?  Share that too!

 

I also talk about the option to scan a document using the native Apple Notes app.  How timely!  An educator came into my office just this afternoon asking about an app to scan documents.  When I demonstrated how Scan Documents works she was thrilled to see how easy it is and not have to download another app!  I will put together a very quick demonstration of how it works and share ASAP!

Taking a leap!

So I did something today that I have never done before and it was fun!  I started a podcast to share with educators.  I have been dragging my heals about creating a podcast because it seems like a really big commitment.  The amazing team I work with encourages us to find the fun!  So, I found the fun and took a leap out of my comfort zone!

Last week I read a blog post by one of my teammates, Alli Pryor, about a blog series several of our team members would be contributing to for the next few weeks.  The focus is on how and why we are using Apple products in our classrooms.   I got excited!  I wanted to contribute somehow.  This week I was working on another project where I am exploring podcasts and learned from Amanda Lanicek and Amanda Mask about Anchor.  And then I had the bright idea to bring these two together!

Now all I had to do was convince Alli we could do this along with all the other million things we are always working on.  So, the two of us took a leap together and landed on our feet.  Check out our first episode here...