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Virtual Field Trips with Google Cardboard
Google Cardboard is an affordable virtual reality viewer. The sets are typically made out of cardboard or plastic, keeping them cost-effective and easier to use in classrooms. By sliding a smartphone that has the Google Cardboard app installed into the headset viewer, users can experience a 3D virtual reality at a low cost.
Using Google’s Arts and Culture Expeditions, students can use their Google Cardboard headsets to take virtual field trips to a variety of places. The tool allows you to choose from five different subjects; Science and Technology, Arts, Geography, Natural History, and History. For this post, I’ll be discussing a virtual field trip that is useful for history classes.
There are multiple topics under the history tab from ancient history to Black history. By clicking on the Egypt option, viewers can take a 360-degree tour of the Pyramids at Giza. Each slide gives a brief description of the history.
After touring the pyramids the expedition moves on to teaching about The Great Sphinx. These slides give a history of The Sphinx and some fun facts as well as a 360-degree view of the historic site. Following these slides, a brief overview of the Mastabas, the structures used as tombs for nobles located near The Great Sphinx, is given as well as a tour of them.
Many other important historical locations throughout Egypt are shown in this expedition including the boat pits located at the bottom of the Khufu’s Pyramid, the Causeway, and Cairo.
On the main page for the Egypt expedition, there are even more stories to be found including Myths and Heroes and The Curse of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Below the stories collection is 8,910 items that students can view to explore Egypt even more in-depth.
These expeditions with Google Cardboard are a great way to give students a new view of history. The tool allows them to step into the location or the time period through virtual reality, giving them a better understanding of the subject. Using Google Cardboard to teach students about the culture and rich history of regions all around the world can be made easy with the use of virtual reality.
Thank you for reading!
Samantha Pollina
Out of Eden Walk
In 2013 Paul Salopek began his journey, traveling in the paths of ancient migration patterns, titling it, The Out of Eden Walk. He documented his travels through writing, video, audio, and pictures. Every 100 miles he marks his recordings. In this post, I will discuss three of the locations Salopek documented.
Salopek began his journey in Africa, in the Ethiopian Rift. He provides a panorama view of his first milestone, showing a group of people, a vehicle, and the desert. Idoli Mohamed, an Afar pastoralist is the first encounter he writes about on his journey. He asks him three questions; who are you, where do you come from, and where are you going? Idoli answers he is a pastoralist however, he doesn’t want the same life for his children. He would prefer for his children to attend school. Idoli explains people say the Afar people are from Tadjoura, Djibouti. He says that if they can be educated they could go anywhere.
At every milestone, Salopek takes a picture of the earth and the sky. In his first milestone, he shows the pile of goat dung he stands on at mile 0 of his journey and the sky, showing how bright the sun is, describing it as a “blast furnace.” Even in the picture of the sky, it’s easy to see that there are very few clouds and there are no trees for shade. This shows how brutal the conditions are in the area.
On day 654 of his journey, Paul Salopek is near Mt. Subhan, Turkey. At this point, he has traveled 2600 miles. He wrote Mt. Subhan is an extinct volcano, “it’s cone arrowed 13,000 feet into space and was very stormy. You rarely saw the summit.” The panorama shows green grass-covered hills, their cargo horse, and his traveling partner. While there are some clouds that can be seen in his panorama, none are seen in his earth and sky picture, again showing how brutal the sun is.
Salopek encounters two young boys, Yusef (14) and Eyep (15). He asks the boys the same three questions; who are you, where are you from, where are you going? Eyep answers for both of them, they are cousins from Turkey, he wants to be a teacher and Yusef wants to become a geological engineer.
Milestone 74: Every Story Contains Silences
Milestone 74, 3184 days and 7550 miles into the journey, is Salopek’s most recent milestone, posted on October 26, 2021. In the introduction, Salopek explains that he had to put the trek on hold for 20 months due to the Covid-19 Pandemic due to closed borders. He explains that crossing the border into China became completely impossible when Myanmar’s army took power in a coup. In order to continue his journey, he needed to take a plane into China. This means he skipped 251 miles, and two milestones.
At this milestone, he meets flower farmer Jiang Ji Bing. Again, he asks the three questions. Jiang Ji Bing answers that he plants flowers that are used for medicinal purposes, he is from Tengchong, and once the flowers are picked he is going back home.
Jiang Ji Bing’s flower farm is pictured in this milestones panorama, as well as mountains and buildings. In the earth and sky pictures, Salopek is standing on a partly paved path, much different than the previous two milestones discussed in this post. This shows how different each area he visits is. Some are completely barren, some are in the middle of nowhere, and some are in the middle of cities or farms.
The Out of Eden Walk is a great resource for students. This could be used in a history classroom to discuss ancient migration patterns. The documented journey is also great for showing students the diversity of the world through people, cultures, and environments. Paul Salopek showcases his journey in a way that focuses on archaeology, culture, environments, and more. This is an important resource to educate students on the social and ecological aspects and difficulties of different people around the world.
The site also features an “In the Classroom” tab which provides resources for students and teachers about the Out of Eden Walk. It offers resources from National Geographic, the Out of Eden Walk homepage, and the Pulitzer Center. These sites provide outlines, lesson plans, and educator notes.
Below is an introduction video posted on Vimeo for the Out of Eden Walk.
Thank you for reading!
Samantha Pollina
Hyperdocs help promote the joys of learning and long-term success
![[Image description: a young boy learning at a laptop.] Via Unsplash.](https://blogs.stockton.edu/webtools/files/2021/11/photo-1597933471507-1ca5765185d8.jpeg "[Image description: a young boy learning at a laptop.] Via Unsplash.")
One of the major aspects of incorporating technology into learning is the freedom of exploration it allows students. When students are given the initiative to do their own exploring on a certain topic, it provides them a sense of ownership and therefore they have a vested interest in learning more.
This is where Hyperdocs can be incorporated into a “Creative Writing Challenge”, which is a Hyperdoc that provides students with resources to explore creative writing. I found this Hyperdoc on the Teachers Give Teachers Twitter page, and clicked on the first title that caught my eye, which was the Sample Creative Writing Challenge Hyperdoc.
Not only does this Hyperdoc give students room to reflect on their own opinions of writing, but it introduces them to Storybird, an online storyboard platform that students can use to make their own interactive, visually compelling stories. The Hyperdoc also provides an article called “13 Stunning Places to Publish Student Art and Writing“. This feature was especially exciting for me because I was never provided with an opportunity to publish my creative writing before college.
Getting published at a young age, no matter the platform or the material being published boosts someone’s confidence in sharing their work. As a writer or an artist, sharing your work is so important. In fact, it’s crucial to kickstart any career in the arts. Also, getting published at a young age is vital to establishing a sturdy portfolio.
It also provides students a place to start and gives them time to be creative and add to their portfolios. This is so important, because when I got to college and had the chance to be exposed to freelance work as well as internship opportunities, the job application always wants a writing portfolio, and I always wish that I had the chance to work on that long before college.
This is why Hyperdocs is important because it directly connects students to the world. It is also the height of interactive learning, especially since it provides students with different platforms for submitting and participating in online discussions and projects. It gives them more than a traditional written assignment to hand in, or a response typed on a Word Doc to be submitted to Google Classroom or even their teacher’s email.
So far in my Hyperdoc research, I have stumbled across Google Forms, Padlet, Jotform, Submittable, and so much more. The more students are exposed to in this fast-paced, technological world, the better; they will be so ahead of the game. Who knows what long-term effects that can have on their professional lives?
Microsoft Translator breaks language barriers and accessibility problems
![[Image description: A collaborative learning setting.] Photo courtesy of Unsplash.](https://blogs.stockton.edu/webtools/files/2021/10/photo-1592303637753-ce1e6b8a0ffb.jpeg "Learning setting.")
As someone who is on their way to becoming fluent in a second language for the first time in their life, learning about the benefits of Microsoft Translator in this week’s chapter immediately stood out to me. And that is just for one person; the benefits of Translator reach schools, workplaces, and individual relationships alike (both abroad and on our screens).
For a school like Chinook Middle School in Clyde Hill, Washington, where students speak 32 different languages, Translator is a necessary tool. Principal Russel White, who liked to meet with parents four times a year, always had to use interpreters at language-designated tables. But that all changed when the tables grew in numbers and not every language was represented because of a lack of resources. Luckily, when he teamed up with the school’s IT department and started to use Microsoft Translator, he no longer had to rely on interpreters and constantly worry about not having all the resources to provide the right subtitles to every foreign tongue there.
The app’s website explains how it “provides free resources, tools, and how-to guides for live captioning and translation in the classroom.”
This takes global collaboration to a whole new level. Once the language barrier is broken, the possibilities for global communication, collaboration, and education are endless.
Translator bridges the language barrier with advanced technology that helps students see a transcript in their language on the screen at the front of the classroom, or on their devices. The app also allows what the lecturer is saying to be translated so they can listen to it audibly.
This is useful for foreign exchange students, or for teachers conducting virtual lessons to students on the other side of the globe, or simply for teachers and parents who speak another language to communicate effectively.
And the benefits don’t end there. The app is also useful for learners who need special accessibility tools, such as students who are hard of hearing or deaf. With the combination of translation and accessibility tools, Translator increases inclusivity and accessibility in the classroom. This is extremely important, as hearing difficulties are common throughout the world, and make accessibility tools in any learning environment crucial to the success of the student.
Education, and the way tools and empathy for the hearing-impaired come into play, is a major part of the mission of the National Association of the Deaf. This just shows how important a high-tech app like Translator is, in the way that it can help people with learning disabilities as well as foreign students coming to exchange cultures.
It’s one of the greatest bridges to cultural awareness, and one of the most fascinating tools I have come across this semester when learning about the different tools teachers with “teacherpreneurship” traits can utilize.
Sail the 7 C’s: Chapter 2
Microsoft Translator!
In chapter 2 of Sail the 7 C’s, I learned about a learning tool called Microsoft Translator. Microsoft Translator makes it possible for teachers to communicate with students whom do not speak the same language. This tool makes it easier for schools to have interpretation services.
Microsoft Translator can be used strictly in English as a captioning or transcription tool. It can add captions to meetings or create a transcript for a classroom conversation. Many students can benefit from having access to subtitles, captioning, or live transcription, especially if their first language is not English in an English classroom. I will definitely want to use Microsoft Translator in my future classroom if I have students whom do not speak English like me. Check out this Microsoft Translator tutorial below!
I hope you enjoyed my blog post, thanks for viewing!
Global Learning Library
The Global Learning Library (GLL) is library of recordings by teachers and professors from around the world. This tool is not exclusive to just educators, learned people from any field can make a presentation here.
Likewise anyone can watch the presentations that are in this tool, from businesses to non-profits to parents wanting to learn with and teach their children. And with a subscription to their service you are able to have video conferences with the speakers.
By looking at the GLL Speaker Library you can see how the presenters cover a wide range of subjects. There is Coastal Management, Entrepreneurship, Culture, History, Water Systems and so much more. Their videos also range in various age groups, from Kindergarten to College.
Here is a link to an about page of the Global Learning Library with a video trailer.
Empatico
The tool I chose is “Empatico”. I chose this tool because I like the fact that as a teacher I would be able to connect my students with other classrooms around the world!
What I find useful about Empatico is that it allows students from across the globe to communicate with each other so they can all work and brainstorm together. I think this is also helpful for students to develop social skills and gain a new perspective on what other classrooms may be like in different countries. See how Empatico works here!
I would use Empatico in my classroom by finding a partner class for my students to work with based on similarities! I would have our students work together through video chat for certain assignments so they can all brainstorm and learn from one another! You can check out Empatico here!
Thanks for viewing!
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