I shared last year how I have gottten the students to write the HBL journal using Google Doc. I assigned it in Google Classroom and made a copy for each student. They could color and write on the doc. I supposed they could do so as the image was inserted into the Google Doc I had created for them.
The students definitely could type on Google Doc. You can see below that they have typed their answer below the questions. I would then open it up in Google Classroom App my iPad or Samsung Note to mark it just like I would on paper.
Rich text formatting is available Now!
What I do presently to enhance the text without the rich text formatting was either to highlight the text and press ctrl+U to underline or ctrl+B to highlight. I could also generate fancy text using the following website and then copy and paste: https://lingojam.com/FancyTextGenerator
We opened our classroom for teachers from another school to show how our students used their personal learning devices in class.
We had started on 𝟭:𝟭 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 using iPad in 2019 and it was a real blessing for 2010. I must thank our HOD ICT in rolling out the 1:1 PLD program and also ensuring the infrastructure support such as 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗩 so that we can mirror our iPad screen to the projector screen easily.
Of course I am also thankful that we are already on the 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲.The ease of organising the lessons via the 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 and the ability for the students to use technology in their learning. The Sec 3 had fun on an overseas virtual fieldwork in UK and made interesting findings on 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵. The Sec 1 love that they can explore the field sites along the Punggol waterway from their seats using 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵. They would have gotten all wet if they had gone there for their GI as it started raining so heavily.
Sec 1
We completed stage 4 of our Water GI using 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺, 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 as well as 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 for collaboration. I have placemarked the field sites and embedded the data they had collected from their water test. The groups entered the data into 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺 and the teachers were able to help the classes collate their data for the to analyse on the 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁. They were able to make observations of the field sites using the street view and explained how the features they have observed on 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 showed human activities and the impacts on the waterway. They are able to collaborate with their members to present the conclusion on their GI using 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀. https://sites.google.com/a/moe.edu.sg/sec-1-geog-2021/2021-water-gi
To show the changes overtime I have also used Juxtapose JS to create a time slider using 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 images from 2010 and 2020.
Was a bit apprehensive carrying out the same lesson with a sec 1 NA class but I was so pleasantly surprised that they showed more enthusiasm. As they visited the site using Google Earth, many were excited and asked Mrs Lily, is this the oxygen pump? Is this the aquatic plants that purify the water? Is this the turbidity barrier? Teacher, this construction site has a fence, so the soil will not be washed into the river? Teacher do we only write the bad things which affect the water or we can write on the good ones? Teacher I live there, the construction of the block is already completed, why does it still show a construction site?
I was bombarded with so many questions and at the same time feel happy that they are asking questions cos that is part of inquiry based learning. Definitely engaged as they take ownership in collecting the data (evidence) in this geographical investigation.
I think it's a joy to see them having fun in learning, discovering more about the environment around them.
For this I am grateful with the use of technology. 😊
In fact I learned from them too, as they are so proud of their findings, I get them to screenshot the Google Earth images into their slides as evidence. Original plan was just for them to write on their findings but learned from them that I should let them include as evidence for their conclusion. Will definitely change that for all classes next year.
Sec 3
We used Google Earth to understand coastal studies for map reading. I have integrated a topographical map into the 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 file. The students visited the south of UK (Seaton) and learn how the map representation came alive with 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 showing them the actual site of coastal landforms they have studied. They also better understand the concept of space, scale and place as they made measurements of the spit and made observations of how the spit has affected human activities in the area. https://sites.google.com/a/moe.edu.sg/sec3geog/google-earth
This was continued from the Coastal GI using 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵, 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁 and 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 on 15 Mar. With Google Earth, the students visited the place marked field sites and made observations of the environment. They annotated a field sketch to explain the coastal processes which could have affected their investigation. It is blended learning as I also included the fieldwork simulation of measuring the sediments I had collected. They did the wave frequency via a pre-recorded video. They also measured the gradients on the models I have created. https://sites.google.com/a/moe.edu.sg/sec3geog/geographical-investigation/gi---coast/2021-coastal-gi-fieldwork-simulation
Updated 3 April
Google Earth provides opportunities to explore geographical issues such as Climate Change.
Other than the Google Earth kmz file 4 degrees which shows areas most affected by global warming in terms of temperature changes.
The following is for teachers who already have their classes in Google Classroom.
You can select the students and then give them the sharing right to a folder/document/spreadsheet/slide easily with the email generated in Google Classroom.
You can also select the students which you want to give the rights to for a particular folder/doc/slide/spreadsheet rather than select all.
To select the emails - click on the first email then press shift and click on the last email to highlight the email. Press Ctrl with C to copy
There is a new user interface which was introduced on 14 March. It will take some time to get used to it and some parts will be fixed in the next release in June.
Definitely like the mobile friendly interface.
I also like that there is class groups and that I could see the score and who has yet to complete the assignment easily.
Major Change
1) SLS can now be accessed on any mobile device (e.g. mobile phone, tablet and desktop). Site elements are repositioned depending on the format or screen size.
2) Users will see a refreshed user interface throughout the site. While functionalities have not been changed significantly, placement of buttons and icons may differ from the previous interface.
Improved Features
Lessons and Assignments
The Lesson Editor now mirrors the Student's view of the lesson, in the main area of the Lesson Editor. Details that are optional or not visible to students are housed in cards on the right drawer in the Lesson Editor.
The Click-and-Drop motion replaces the Drag-and-Drop motion, which is difficult to carry out on touch-screen devices. For Teachers, there is now no limit to the size of the base image that can be used, and it is automatically resized to fit the page.
The Activity List can be accessed by clicking on the left-most button of the header of every lesson and assignment. This allows Teachers and Students to access the Activity List no matter where they are on each page.
MOE Library and Community Gallery
In place of catalogues, Teachers can see resources filtered based on their teaching or learning levels and courses, and subjects and adapt the lessons.
MathType and ChemType now supports handwriting input, which digitalises Math and Science formulas. Handwritten mathematical and scientific content are auto-translated to computer notations.
Live Lesson
The "Host" button has been removed as all lessons are now "Live". With a 60 second polling interval once any users enter an assignment, comments and in particular Interactive Thinking Tool (ITT) are updated as possible, regardless of whether teachers were present in the assignment.
Credits: Li Huili (Harley Li) from Westwood Primary School
How do we hide those parts of our SLS lesson that we do not want students to access yet?
Go to the top left menu of your assignment page to see the activity list. You can switch off access to each activity with the toggles (similar to old version).
Where is the Student’s View now? I cannot seem to find it now.
The Student’s View is no longer available. The view teachers are seeing in lesson creation is what students will see too. However, many teachers will still want to have the old version back as it is useful to ‘test out’ the lesson before assigning. Feedback has been given to MOE ETD and they will look into it.
How do I delete an activity/tab from a lesson?
You will need to click the ‘pencil’ on the top right of your lesson editor first to enter the edit mode. After that, use the top left menu (see pic) to go into your activity list. Next to each activity you will see an overflow menu (3 dots). Clicking on that will allow you to delete the activity.
Previously, we can copy an activity of a lesson package to another lesson package. Are we no longer able to do this now?
The feature will come back in the June release. In fact, copying of activities will be enhanced (copying of multiple activities at once, and from different lessons). Given the scale of the mobile UI changes (to make SLS more mobile-responsive), there are limited features that can be released this time round.
Grateful for the opportunity to host one of the sessions. As I shared on how to use Google Earth, I learn too!
One of the participants, Saravanan, asked if the ruler can be used to measure radius of a circle. I have always been using the ruler to measure distance e.g. the length of the spit or the breakwater and has never cross my mind to use the ruler to measure a circle or other shapes. To my pleasant surprise, it can do so - one area which our colleagues teaching Mathematics can tap on to get the students to see Maths at work in the real world. That's why I love to share - cos I learn too.
Another participant is a history teacher and is keen to try creating the kmz files for her students to see the historical events in real places. You can also create tour in Google Earth as you "fly" from one place mark to another with the sound recording. I showed the participants how they could embed information, pictures and even videos into the placemark. You can get the students to create too but they would need a desktop. There are also Fairy tales and WWI &II quizzes created using Google Earth.
Check out all my posts on Google Earth.
http://ezitnew.blogspot.com/search/label/Google%20Earth
I am still learning and as I learn, I share. Of course as I share, I learn too.
You are welcomed to leave a feedback at https://tinyurl.com/lilyty
after which you will automatically receive a thank you card. This is done via certify'em, an add on to google form. My students love the certificates after they completed a quiz or checklist. I have modified it so that it auto send a thank you card to replace the cert. Try it out! Thank you.
So happy to hear that there is now the option of showing the question and answers on student's device in Kahoot. This is especially useful as the students at the back of the classroom cannot see the screen clearly.
In the Game options, scroll down to General and toggle the following option on: “Show questions and answers on players’ devices”.
My students love kahoot. Students also feedback that Kahoot allows them a quite check for their understanding and I was able to address their misconceptions with the instant feedback. I have also shared all my kahoot quizzes for geography on my Geography Google Sites.
Google Translate has some AR features as well. Download the app and use it to translate words on objects. All you need to do is point the device towards an object that displays a word and you’ll get a real-time translation.
Let your student use the Google Translate app and translate the menu or even instructional manual in a foreign language. They will learn a lot of new words and recognize words they have already learned.
Top is the original packaging in Chinese and bottom show how the English translation pop up in AR
Click on camera on the bottom right of the Google Translate App.
The English words are translated to Malay in AR using the camera.
