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Virtual Tour of 360 Cities

By Gabby Lembo

Summary:

After looking and taking the online a virtual tour on Stock 360 I am completely impressed and surprised I never heard about it sooner. The website had 3D pictures of places,cities, beaches, and basically any place you can think of on this website. Not only did they have so many insane places that people dream to once see in real life, but the experience of being able too click around and see it in 3D made it so much different and more realistic. When you click on the places, it offers a video/picture that you can click around and get a idea of what it looks like in real time.

My Thoughts/Opinons:

As someone who dreams of traveling the world and seeing all different places this website was extremely cool to research and explore! A lot of these places on this website are on my bucket list, and I want to visit at least once in my life. Getting to do a 3D tour was the closest I can get to visiting it at this point in my life. I have always wanted to go to Italy, because I am Italian. Going to see Florence and Rome and try home made gelato and pasta is something I have always wanted to do! Not only does it give the experience of getting to see it in real life but it can also help people plan future vacations. There is so many different places around the world and some of these places I have never heard of. This website is not only extremely unique but it is also extremely educational. I highly recommend this to anyone just to take a look!

Below are some images of what the website looks like/ offers:

Lets Collaborate and Communicate!

By Gabriella Lembo

Background Information:

After reading the Communicators chapter in the book “Introduction to Sail the 7 C’s” by Microsoft Education, it allows you to deeper think about you collaborate and communicate with others in work, classrooms, and everyday life.

Communicating in the classroom:

Teaching isn’t just about lecturing slideshows, but building a strong connection with your students should be the bare minimum especially in small class sizes. I have had teachers where I was so close with that I would sit in their classroom outside of my class talking to them. This is because they made the effort to connect and build a relationship with their students.I would go to some teachers to rant, update, or even for advice. Teachers shouldn’t just be about teaching but also taking on the role of being a trusted and friendly adult. We have all had teachers we have disliked, whether it be because of the workload, their personality, or how they graded. Having a relationship like this and dreading the class can make you dislike the class or topic you’re learning. For example, math has always been my worst subject. It takes me awhile to catch on and also be able to understand it. I have had plenty of teachers throughout middle school and high school where the way they taught never made me understand what we were learning. It made me hate math even more that I felt uncomfortable reaching out to them to ask for help or that I was struggling. I have also had good math teachers where they taught to my needs and also made it clear they were here for me and anyone else. Communicating to your students clear instruction and also making an effort for them can be extremely beneficial in their learning experience. This chapter empathizes that communication is the backbone in education.

Communicating with your classmates:

Communicating with your classmates is a really big part of going to school. School has made me have a lot of the people I call my best friends. It all started in classes we had together where we began talking about the work and realizing we had a lot in common. One of my best friends, Alivia, I met junior year of high school because we had 3 classes together is now one of my college room mates. Communicating with your peers can simply just collaborate ideas, opinions, and working together on classwork and projects. I like working together with others because it allows me to see other perspectives and ideas that I would not have thought of myself. It also helps with the workload, you can evenly distribute the work and work on the areas you excel the best at.

” The art of communication is the language of leadership.” – James Humes

Videos:

Check these videos I found about communicating in classrooms and also miscommunication

How to use communication in classroom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzWyjlg4kNs

How miscommunication happens and how to avoid it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCfzeONu3Mo

National Geographic Classroom and How to Use it!

By Gabriella Lembo

What is National Geographic?

National Geographic is a company that is on many streaming services and cable for you to watch. Not only are there videos beautifully captured with high tech camera, editing, and voice overs to learn more about the environment that we can’t see! It shows in depth footage of animals that are “dangerous” for humans to get a better understanding of like lions, cheetahs, polar bears, etc. National geographic provides not only videos but also articles and factual evidence to prove issues like climate change and other environmental issues.

Benefits of National Geographic:

  • Learning deeper into planets biodiversity
  • Practicing conservation
  • Challenges the environment faces
  • Motivating clips
  • Taking action
  • Learning more about different parts of the world
  • Documentaries
  • Diverse cultures
  • Scientific discoveries
  • Complex topics

How teachers can use National Geographic:

National geographic is great for informing people inside and out side the classroom. Because the documentaries are so interesting it doesn’t feel like learning! This program offers a lot of interactive learning and critical thinking. Teachers can base a lesson plan on National Geographic during units like the planet, climate, animals, and environmental issues.

What it offers:

The website holds tons of informative features to further expand your knowledge.It offers donations, links, websites, and other people who are interested in changing the world. The website has a whole area where you can meet and know more about the people who do the exploring. They have a section on their website, ” Experiential Learning”, where they have virtual field trips, and interactive lives. This includes behind the scenes footage and stories and also stories from researchers.

There is tons of lengthy videos and information for free!

The virtual tours are all over the world. They have tours of the ocean, solar system, Native Americans, and history.

The lives provide a option for students to ask questions in real time and have the opportunity to talk to the researchers. This is a unique and creative learning experience!

Below are some images I have collected to show more about National Geographic:

Overall thoughts:

After researching and exploring National Geographic website further I can see how effective their website can be for learners. They are very well known for their documentaries and photos but I don’t think people realize how many resources they provide on their website. They provide endless websites, lives, and videos. I can see this being beneficial for people who have interest in the environment or being used in science classes. It is a interesting and a easy way to learn! Watching videos is something I enjoy more than reading out of a textbook. I am sharing this so others can know more about the resources National Geographic has to offer. Get more involved and learn more about our planet!

Collaboration in Education

By Gabriella Lembo

What is collaboration?

Collaboration is coming together with one person ( or many) to express opinions, elaborate, and combine ideas.

People use collaboration in their everyday life’s. In my opinion, some things are easier when you have someone to assist you and navigate in helping you. Collaboration can be anything from helping you in a group project to even someone helping you with in groceries. As humans, we work together to help each other out. Along the way a simple gesture can lead a friendship.

In my education experience, I have enjoyed collaborating with others for projects, home works, and assignments when allowed. Dividing up certain tasks/ jobs makes the assignment more enjoyable as well has having company around you. I have created a lot of friendships and even have talked to people I would have never talked to before when teachers assigned partners. Although this seems comfortable or awkward, it actually isn’t.

On the other hand…

However, as much as collaboration is extremely beneficial, there CAN be negative aspects. I have had a couple experiences where I have gotten stuck doing a lot more work and picking up others slack. This can be extremely frustrating when in a work environment because working together is suppose to make it less detrimental! This can happen sometimes, so people chose to work with people that have the same work ethic as them. I enjoy working with others when I feel like we have a lot of different ideas to explore and bounce off of each other. There have been a couple of times where I can even improve work with others rather than by myself. I have noticed that I can create really good projects and presentations when I am surrounded with others that can expand my thinking process. I think teachers should use collaboration in classrooms more often and even try pairing students up with others they think would work well together!

Collaborating in other ways:

Collaborating can in all different kinds of ways. Putting students in centers, groups, and taking them out of their comfort zone.

Below is a picture I found on X from TCEA , it shows creative ways to get the students the students involved.

Elementary Education AI Dicussion

By Gabriella Lembo

Introduction to Article:

Getting Started:

When working in an elementary-level environment it is important to explain what the concept of this lesson will be. Being aware that you need to explain everything to a child is important to keep in mind. Explaining what Artificial intelligence is to a younger student will be the start. Although most people are aware of what AI is, you must explain it to all students to have a basic understanding. This article gives you advice on how to introduce this to the students. You can make connections to how they use AI without knowing it. This can be objects like …

  • Alexa
  • Google Assistant
  • Netflix
  • Spotify

This can make it easier for the students to make the connection.

Video Comprehension:

To further make sure of understanding for students the article suggests using videos like

 “ What is artificial intelligence”. If the teacher is having a hard time explaining AI in a way a child in the grade level of 3-5 will understand, then the video is a fun and easy way to ensure comprehension. I’ve seen this technique used a lot throughout my years at school from elementary level to even high school level. 

You can explain that AI can be used as a “Google” kind of resource. It is there to help you, you can research subjects and also ask questions about math, reading, science, etc. Having these students be aware that AI is an additional way to improve understanding of a topic rather than using it to cheat is very important. You can demonstrate how to properly use AI to its full extent and all features. 

Definition:

  “ AI is the science and engineering of creating computer programs that can imitate human intelligence. AI cannot become human, but it can perform tasks in a human-like way”( Page 15).

This image shows a representation of AI

Ending It off…

I personally think having class discussions is a great way to see where all students fall in understanding the topic. It is not just a lecture but rather everybody can contribute different opinions, ideas, and work off of each other. This teaches students how to participate in a group discussion and understand the material being presented. Having a class discussion on how they already use AI will be a less “intense” way of introducing the subject with simple understanding. I think with a topic like this a group discussion is the best way to start off!