New Tools | Technology in Education...Now What?

'New Tools'

Do you tell stories?

Last week I conducted a presentation on Google Lit Trips at SCASL 2008. I was very nervous and excited about the presentation but I think it went pretty well. I only had 50 handouts but over 100 people showed up for the session! If you missed the presentation or the handout, you can find it on my wiki http://techjulia.pbwiki.com I will post a picture of the group as soon as I get the jpg.

Today I ran across another site called We Tell Stories. Instead of using Google Earth to tell a story, this site is using Google Maps.

In Google Lit Trips, you can download a .kmz file and take a virtual trip through a work of literature. We Tell Stories is a new work of fiction. These are not classics or b00ks that you can check out at your local library. This site is actually a contest to read the stories over 6 weeks and follow a girl who has a habit of getting lost. Read more about the site here.

Isn’t it amazing all of the things that you can do now with Google Applications!!?? Check out Google Lit Trips and We Tell Stories to find out more. Then you can start telling your own stories through Google Earth and/or Google Maps.

3 comments March 19th, 2008

Build Your WILD Self!

I was going through my Blogs today and ran across a post that contained a great new site!!

BuiLD YouR WiLD SeLF

From this site, you can create your own Avatar. “An Avatar, SO WHAT??!!,” you ask. The fun part of this site is that your Avatar can be a regular person with Animal Parts. “An Avatar with Animal Parts, So What!!??,” you say. As you browse through the arms, legs, wings, eyes, etc. this site tells you exactly what it is (i.e. fenee fox ears) Once you have created your Avatar, this site will give you more information about the animal and how these parts are important.

As a former elementary Media Specialist, I remember students doing research for an animal project. How fun would it be to research and create your own animal!? This way you are learning about what types of “parts” an animal needs to survive in its environment. You can save your image, print it, email it to a friend, or save it as your desktop image.

Check out this site, and it also will direct you to New York Zoos and Aquariums.

Check out my Julia Fish, The Lio-ho-mon-ger-orse-ish-bird. Can you tell what parts I have? See below to find out!