Monday, January 26, 2009

Elementary Projects- Google Maps and More


If you were to offer 3rd-5th grade students a ticket to anywhere in the virtual world, where would you guess their overall favorite place would be?(*answer below) We have been going all over the map with the help of the updated tools in Google Maps. Driving directions have been the most popular use of Google Maps, but please take a look at what you can find now.

Students wanted to get a close-up look at the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower, and Niagara Falls. Students who have lived in other places got a glimpse of their former hometown, and some even saw their actual home.

These trips took us to Ohio, Tennessee, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Virginia, Nevada, California, North Carolina, and many more. We also got to see far away places like Rome,Tokyo, Berlin, and Lithuania. Travelers shared vacation spots from San Francisco to Washington, DC. Zooming in on South Carolina in Terrain View helped students in their understanding of our state’s geographical layout.

Explore more at Google Maps Tours Video clips, and detailed tutorials will help your family plan trips, avoid traffic, and help children feel more comfortable before riding unfamiliar public transit systems.

First and Second grade Technology classes joined online projects with classes
nation-wide. Students enjoyed checking the map that shows the schools that
are participating in the Winter Wonderland Project. Students shared their knowledge of places, and they learned many new locations too. See
Google Map of participants

Please click here to see some of our Winter projects listed by class:
1st grade: http://winterwonderland.wikispaces.com/gardner1
2nd grade: http://winterwonderland.wikispaces.com/gardner2

More collaborative projects are coming our way for new Technology
classes this semester!
See other items about our classes:
Foreign Languages on Voicethread and Microscopes in the Technology class.

I wonder if the favorite place of the new semester’s classes will also be their *own home?