Google Cardboard in the Classroom
Google cardboard is a cheap resource that can be used to enhance global learning in your classroom! Google cardboard will grab the attention of all students and keep them engaged in class.
What can you do with Google Cardboard?
- Virtual field trips all over the world
- Watch 3D videos on youtube to explore different parts of the Earth
- Look at 3D exhibits with Sketchfab
- Use Google Maps to walk around different cities
- Encourage students to take 3D pictures of places they visit, so they can share them in class with Google Cardboard (https://ditchthattextbook.com/12-ways-to-use-google-cardboard-in-your-class/)
How can Google Cardboard Enhance Global Learning?
Google cardboard can open a door for students to learn about any place in the world. However, it takes learning to a completely different level by letting students “travel” to each destination. They can travel to any city, any country by the click of a few buttons and explore the beauty of it. By allowing students to explore in this way, it gives them a unique experience that will stick with them for a long time!
Thank you for reading!
Jillian DeMore
@Demorejillian
Out of Eden
Out of Eden is a website that follows the journey of Paul Salopek. Salopek is following the footsteps of immigrant ancestors, literally. His plan is to “rediscover our world”. There are many different journey’s to follow on the website, I chose to follow Salopek’s journey through Myanmar.
‘Plauge Trails’
This journey started in the height of Covid-19, which was an uncertain time for the entire globe. Salopek had to put a halt to his journey in Myanmar, just like we all had to put a halt to our everyday lives. Salopek explained how he has come in contact with plenty of disease throughout his journey, but nothing that has forced him to completely stop. He settled in a small farm town and waited for this all to pass. ” The ancient humans I follow hunkered for 10,000 years on the vanished land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, waiting for glaciers to melt. If nothing else, long walks teach patience. And that destinations are always uncertain.” (Salopek, 2020).
‘Trailing Ghostly Giants’
On this point of Salopek’s walk, he comes across a home of Asian elephants. I thought this was so amazing to see because, obviously, elephants are not native here. It was very interesting to see how the people were using the elephants to help with their work, and how it was so normal for them. They used the elephants as “living bulldozers”, and the elephants will retire when they turn 55. They were trained to help move and breakdown heavy objects; however, they are expensive to care for, so this process is not used often.
‘Walking Yangon’
This part of the journey included Salopek venturing through Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon. I expected the city to be more developed, since it is the biggest city there. However, it was very impoverished. This part was not easy to watch because the city appears to be a very dangerous area. The citizens were protesting their previous election, so there was a lot of violence in the city. In the video, there is a pretty brutal protest occurring where there are gunshots heard and many citizens injured.
Out of Eden is a spectacular journey that so many of us could learn so much from. Living in America, we become blind to what other nations are still going through, but it is important to recognize these differences and how they shape the globe.
Thank you for reading!
Jillian DeMore
@DemoreJillian
Being a ‘Changemaker’ in the Classroom
This week I explore the website WE.org, specifically the section devoted to teachers. WE offers free resources for teachers, so they can make a change in their class without worrying about funding. They encourage teachers to empower their students by offering FREE social-emotional training and other modules for teachers to explore.
What can you find on WE
While exploring through the website, I noticed how each module offered a table of context where they explain what will be offered in the module.
Each module includes sections that train the teacher on the issue being discussed, ways help or support the student, and worksheets/activities to include in class. The worksheets offer training for the students and gives the teacher a way to present what they’ve learned in the module into class.
Using WE in the Classroom
The learning activities given in each module are a great way to incorporate the module into the classroom.
These worksheets can be used for all ages, but they may need to be altered for younger grades to understand. I will use these in my future classroom as social emotional lessons to empower my students on issues that they may face in their lives.
Thank you for reading!
Jillian DeMore
@DeMoreJillian
Hyperdocs
Hyperdocs are a great addition to any classroom because it offers a world of opportunities for the teachers and the students. Hyperdocs are an interactive document that the teacher can share with the student instead of handing out plain worksheets. They allow for students to explore technology while also learning the content. I explored a Hyperdoc to learn more and find out how it can improve my future classroom!
I explored a Hyperdoc pertaining to a Kindergarten history lesson (since this is the grade I aspire to teach). It was very simple, but would be very fun for the kids because it is interactive.
There were three links attached to this document. The first link was a video for the students to watch about United States symbols. Next was a slideshow briefly explaining the symbols discussed in the unit. The last link was a link to ABCya paint where students were asked to paint their own flags.
Hyperdocs can be used for any age level, another reason they are so great! They allow for students to explore by themselves, with peers, or with the help of their teachers to learn a variety of things. Hyperdocs can be used from any subject to even community builders. I encourage all of you to use hyperdocs in your future classrooms!
Thank you for reading!
Jillian DeMore
@DeMoreJillian
Come with me on a Virtual Field Trip!
This week I took a virtual field trip to the Coral Reef in Panglao, Philippines.
I chose to go on this trip because I love the ocean and admire all of its beauty. On this trip, I was able to look at all the different kinds of fish around me. I could zoom in to catch a closer look. I could also look up to see the sun shining down on the ocean water. When I looked down I could see the reef beneath my feet.
There were a bunch of different view options for the video. This helped me see the Reef in so many different ways. I was truly amazed at how clear the videos were.
Virtual field trips are an amazing way to show students in the classroom different places all over the world. This will keep them engaged and excited in class when they see the variety of places they can go!
Thank you for reading!
Jillian DeMore
@DeMoreJillian
Subtitles
This week I ventured into something new. I watched a Korean television show with English subtitles. While, yes, this is something very popular for many people; however, I have never experienced it.
I watched the show ‘A Love So Beautiful‘, it was described as a lighthearted, romcom, which is right up my ally!
I was surprised that most things were very culturally similar to things in the United States. However, I did notice some differences. For example, the students at school wore uniforms that were unlike school uniforms in the United States. Also, they had name tags on their uniforms. It was also interesting to just hear the Korean language, since it is something I do not typically hear.
There were a lot of similarities. For example, high school sports games, teenagers being distracted in class, and a classic teenage love story. The teenagers were also hanging out in what appeared to be a karaoke club. This is not something I think is very common for teenagers in the United States. The characters rode bikes to school and around town. They were seen eating Korean food, things that I have never seen before. They were also seen in a grocery store where I was able to see different types of things sold there as well. Throughout the two episodes I watched, there was sunny weather, and this set the tone for the show. I noticed beautiful mountains over the water and interesting tress I do not see here. Also, the architecture was very beautiful in this setting.
It was very interesting to see the cultural differences in this episode, but also to see the similarities. The teenagers portrayed in this show are very similar to teenagers in the U.S.. It is important to remember that, sometimes, the only thing that makes us different is a language barrier!
Thanks for reading!
@DeMoreJillian
Jillian DeMore
Communication Using Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms is a survey taking tool, however, it can be used in a multitude of ways in a school setting to improve communication.
Using Forms with Students
Forms can be used for any subject in your classroom. From ELA, to mathematics, and even social emotional learning. Forms allows for the teacher to create multiple choice, multiple answer, or open ended questions. By using Microsoft Forms, students are able to add links to their open ended questions in order to prove further understanding. This feature can be incredibly helpful in an inclusive classroom. While this can be used for traditional testing, Forms can also be used to do pre-assessment testing where students are able to vocalize their concerns. Also, Forms can be used as a way for teachers to ask their students questions about their social emotional development because their answers are not visible to classmates. This can help with more fluidity in communication in the classroom.
Using Forms with Faculty
Forms can also be used when collaborating with your team, in a school or any other work place. Forms can help aide staff development by allowing training quizzes and surveys to improve the school environment. Also, Forms can allow teachers to collaborate when planning for school events because it can help with voting for ideas and sharing ideas in a new way.
Uses for Forms
- Pre-assessment
- Quizzing
- Voting
- Survey
- Mathematical quizzing
- Allows students to communicate thoughts in a less traditional way
Use Forms!
I highly encourage everyone to explore Microsoft Forms, and discover all of the amazing features that can be used to help make your classroom more interactive.
Thank You For Reading!
Twitter: @DeMoreJillian
Achieving Gender Equality
The United Nations is working on achieving sustainable development by 2030. There are 17 extremely important goals, but one that really stood out to me was to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
As a woman who lives in America, I know that there is still some inequality. However, I did not realize the severity of inequality in other countries. There is still massive amounts of women underrepresentation in all forms of government, domestic violence/ sexual assault is still very prevalent all over the world, and there are still so many young girls who are at risk for marriage.
Targets and Indicators
There are nine goals in ensuring gender equality by 2030.
- “End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere”
- “Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation”
- “Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation”
- “Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate”
- “Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate”
- “Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences”
- “Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws”
- “Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women”
- “Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels”
Progress
While it may feel like there has been a substantial amount of progress made, unfortunately, there has not. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have went backwards in achieving equality. For example, violence has increased, child marriage has increased, and women are still underrepresented in government (even though they have played a crucial role in this pandemic). Women are still suffering with pay inequality all over the world.
What can you do?
I encourage everyone to look over all of the sustainable development goals, and see what you can do for your community. As for gender equality, inform others on what is going on around the world, send emails, call local government offices, attend events that are listed on the website. There are so many things you can do to make an impact on the world!
Thank you for reading!
Jillian DeMore
@DeMoreJillian
What is the World’s Largest Lesson?
The World’s Largest Lesson is an outstanding website that works toward improving the education of all children. Their goal is to offer free educational resources for children all over the world. They include their resources in 30 languages!
Partners of The World’s Largest Lesson
The World’s Largest Lesson has an extensive list of partners. To my surprise I know about so many of these companies, and I am sure you do to! Their leading partners are UNICEF, Avanti, SalesForce, and Hasboro. These companies all work together to try and spread their goals to as many children they can reach. The World’s Largest Lesson makes it very accessible for any organization to become a partner.
How Can You Use The World’s Largest Lesson in Your Class?
The World’s Largest Lesson has a bunch of different resources to choose from! Here is each category:
- Videos
- Training and Guides
- Quizzes and games
- Projects
- Parents
- Lesson plans
- Introducing global goals
- Future sport
- Distance learning
- Clubs and camps
- Certificates and display materials
- Books and comics
This list of resources can help you provide fun, interactive learning experiences in your classroom!
Impacts of The Worlds Largest Lesson
The World’s Largest Lesson has made their mark all over the world. From providing SDG’s to 1.2 million Nigerians to being celebrated in Denmark by their Royal Highness, Princess Mary, The World’s Largest Lesson has provided so many opportunities all over the world. You can visit their website to see the huge impact they continue to make all over the world.
Thank you for reading!
Jillian DeMore
Twitter: @DeMoreJillian
It is Important For Our Students to Collaborate: Here’s Why
Collaboration is apart of everyday life and, unfortunately, a lot of students have lost the ability to work together during these unprecedented times. Luckily, there are many online tools that allow our students to work together and improve their collaboration skills.
Why do students need to collaborate?
There is an extensive list on why it is important for students to work together. Students should be learning at a young age what the importance of working with peers is. It is a life skill that should be taught very young. Working together allows students to create bonds with their peers, it allows them to gain new perspectives on assignments, and allows them to create valuable work at any age. Students who are working together tend to gain better understanding of the knowledge because they are brainstorming together.
Best Web Tools For Collaboration
- Microsoft Teams : Allows students to work together on most assignments. (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software)
- OneNote : Allows students to write collaborative notes. (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onenote/digital-note-taking-app)
- Class Dojo : Allows teachers, students, and families to connect at all times. (https://www.classdojo.com)
- FlipGrid : Allows students to share ideas in a vlog style space. (https://info.flipgrid.com)
- Skype : Allows students to video chat to work on assignments and projects. (https://www.skype.com/en/)
- Quizlet : Allows students to share study guides and practice quizzes. (https://quizlet.com)
Finally
Next time you are creating lesson plans, think of all the resources you can use to encourage your students to work together. Collaboration in their future!
Thank You For Reading
Jillian DeMore
Twitter: @DeMoreJillian
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