App Aroma

I actually found two apps in our class search that I thought were educational and would work well for my final project. They were the National Park Service: National Mall and Parks

National Park Service: National Mall is awesome. It is produced by the NPS and has photos from the National Capitol Region that are just phenomenal. It also allows you to look at each of the individual parks in the area and see what programs are going on that day. You can also make your own digital postcard. I would have the kids who decided to research parks in the National Capitol Region use it to plan a virtual trip to their park(s) and create their own tour of the monuments through the app. The app is free.

Parks: Parks is an app that is set up by state and then by park. It shows you the park contact information and fee structure and also has a link to the park’s website. I would have the kids use this app as a starting off point for their project. They could choose their park and then have the contact information to call the park and find out what there is to do and talk with a ranger to learn more about the park. This app costs $0.99

I really liked both these apps for my final project as they serve different purposes. I wish that the NPS had more apps like their one for the National Mall available to the public. Here’s to hoping!

Google Earth Tour

Due to not having Google earth installed on the library computers, I have not been able to actually put all of my Google earth tour up. I do have it written up though, so this will have to do until I can get my hands back on the Macs again.

Google Earth Tour

-Create your own tour 
*Minimum 10 locations
*Create a balloon at each location with a description, an image and       a link to the Internet on each.
*The theme of your tour is to be educational, such as touring natural features, cities of distinction, sites of historic value, unique geographic features, habitats of specific animals.
*Link to your created tour posted to your blog for all to enjoy.

1. Lewis and Clark National Historical Park: Fort Clatsop

The winter home of the Corps of Discovery from December 7^th 1805 to March 23, 1806, this small log structure housed 33 people and a large dog. Park Rangers offer third person demonstrations and kayak tours in the summer.

www.nps.gov/lewi

2. Alcatraz National Park

Located just outside of San Francisco, Alcatraz was the home to many a murderer and bank robber from 1933 to 1963. The park also covers the Native American occupation of the island.

http://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm

3. Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier is located in Washington State and is home to an active volcano. The park also has one of the highest on the job death rates for the entire National Park Service.

http://www.nps.gov/mora/index.htm

4. Fort Vancouver National Historical Site

Fort Vancouver was one of the first settlements in the Pacific Northwest. They cover a wide range of historical eras and have many demonstrations and first person living history programs. Their living history includes a children’s program and a working blacksmith’s shop.

http://www.nps.gov/fova/index.htm

5. Antietam National Battlefield

Antietam located in Sharpsburg, Maryland was one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Civil War. On September 19^th, 1862 had over 23,000 causalities. Today, the park is extremely peaceful and offers some of the best interpretation you will find in the National Park Service.

http://www.nps.gov/ancm/index.htm

6. Ford’s Theatre National

Located in Washington D.C., Ford’s Theatre National Historical Site is where the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln took place on April 14^th, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth during the performance of Our American Cousin. This was the first presidential assassination and changed the course of our country’s history. Peterson House, or the House Where Lincoln Died is also part of this park.

http://www.nps.gov/foth/index.htm

7. Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg National Military Park is located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and is the site of one of the most important Civil War battles. The battle took place from July 1-3, 1863 and is said to be the turning point in the war for the Confederate Army. It was the bloodiest battle of the war with 51,000 casualities.

 http://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm

8. Statue of Liberty National Monument

Statue of Liberty National Monument is located in New York and New Jersey and is also home to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. The park is one of the highest security parks and includes a x-ray machines for bags and people.

http://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm

9. New Orleans Jazz Historical Park

Located right in the heart of the French Quarter, New Orleans Jazz Historical Park strives to preserve the rich music that makes New Orleans so amazing. The park constantly hosts musical events and includes ranger musicians.

http://www.nps.gov/jazz/index.htm

10. National Capitol Region Parks

There are 17 parks in the National Capitol Region. These include the entirety of the memorials on the National Mall and Arlington National Cemetery. All of these parks are free. The parks are separate entities yet connected at the same time.

http://www.nps.gov/linc/index.htm

"Geospatial Activities"

Activity 1: Mapping the Lewis and Clark Trail across the United States

Age: High School

The students would be put into small groups and each group would take one of the eleven different states on the Lewis and Clark Trail. Each group would be in charge of mapping out the Corps of Discovery’s route through that state and have to make a presentation to the class using technology of some sort. They should include how long it took the Corps to get to each of their sites and how long it would take someone today. Ideas would include a google earth tour, a physical map, a mapquest for a road trip to all of the sites in their state, etc. The objective of this project would be for the students to get an idea of how fast or slow the Corps traveled in each state and how far we have come with our roads.

Activity 2: Local Recreation Areas

Age: Middle or High School

Students would be asked to create a two hour long workout at least three local recreation sites of their choice. This could include participating in activities that the site already offers for example the paddle tour at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park: Fort Clatsop or creating their own, example longboarding on the ocean trail at Fort Stevens State Park. The students would then have to actually conduct one of their workouts and document that somehow. The object would be to show the students that they can use the outdoors to exercise and not just go lift at the gym.

Activity 3: Reading Connections

Age: Higher Elementary

Students would be grouped into literary circles and given a Newberry Honor or Winner book that had a real setting. The students would then each take a location mentioned in the group and make a google earth tour of their book and each student would present their site to the group who would then put all the presentations together and give a report to the class about their lit circle’s book using the google earth tour.

Activity 4: Civil War Battlefields

Age: High School

Students would each be given a different Civil War battle to study. They would have to study and then map out the major points of the battle using a google earth tour. Using balloons, they would need to explain why each of those points was important to the battle. The object would be to gain a deeper understanding of how the battle was conducted. For multiple day battles, a single day could be given to an individual student. 

Google Earth

Over the years I have briefly used Google Earth to look up things for work but not too much else. It's a little creepy and invasive to me. 

Oh, I have also used it to look up all the different Disney Theme Parks around the globe. In fact, that is what I have used it for the most.

In the classroom it could be used for virtual fieldtrips to places, especially Civil War battlefields. 

Web Tools!

This week's assignment in ED 270 was to find 10 websites off of go2web20.net ,  http://bighugelabs.com/ , and  http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/Dominoe+50+Ways and review them for their education value. We were told this assignment would take some time, so I turned on Pandora's 90's Pop station, was greeted with Wannabe by The Spice Girls, and got to work!

1. Popset.com 
    Recommend: Yes
   
Popset turned out to actually be an iphone app created by four friends who wanted to be able to share photos in albums with just each other when they are physically separated. The whole idea of the app is really awesome if the whole class has access to ipads or iphones. It could be used to have the students share photos for class assignments or from class trips. However, without everyone having access to those tools, it becomes a null idea.

2. Befeter.net 
    Recommend: Yes

This site is to show before and after pictures side by side. It's free and I would use it in the classroom to have the kids show before and after on art and math projects. The only problem with Befeter is that is does have a lot of half naked celebrity photos on the homepage that I'm not overly fond of having in an elementary classroom. The intended audience is the general teenage and early adult population, but I think it could be used really well in a classroom.

3. Live Mocha
    Reccomend: HECK YES!!!

This website is for learning language. You get to choose how you want to learn, through study or conversation, if you need to learn fast or take your time, and the proficiency you would like to achieve. Then courses are set up for you for free. I personally set one up for Bokmal Norwegian because I already know a little teeny tiny bit and want to know more since I am Norwegian. The first lesson seemed spot on for words. You have a variety of languages you can choose to learn. This could be really fun in a classroom if you have kids who speak another language so you can incorporate learning some words of their language into the everyday learning in your classroom. I know I will for sure be using this for Spanish after I finish Norwegian. 

4.Notely.net
   Recommend: No

This website was billed as a way to organize your students. Unfortunately all it turned out to be was a website with links to web searches for different ways to organize your students. 

5. Twisty Noodle
     Recommend: Yes

The website gives you free coloring pages for a variety of subjects and interests. This is the website I have been waiting for years. 

6. soshiku.com
Recommend: Maybe

This site helps high school and college students keep track of their school assignments. As their is data entry of that information involved, I personally wouldn't use it, I have a planner, but for a techy person, it is good.

7. koofers.com/
Recommend: Yes

This website allows students to tell and share their class taking experiences including class notes and test hints. It seems a bit like cheating but could be useful when used correctly. 

8. Mailbox
Recommend: Yes

This is an iPhone app to organize your email which is much needed with all the junk email that I get.

9. Gojee
Recommend: No

This was advertised as a website with food recipes. I went to it and found Gojee lingerie instead. Not food.

10. Weduary
Recommend: Yes

This is a wedding planning website that is fairly easy to navigate. It has a ton of different features that you can customize, plus it is free. I'm totally showing it to my engaged roommate.