Google Docs - Ecology

Card

Reflection:

Although I have a lot of experience using Google Docs to write essays for classes, I have never attempted to use it to create an educational tool catered to children. I was interested to see that there were quite a few different templates that look to be created for children. I decided to use a template that I felt interesting without being overwhelming.
In creating my Google Doc, I tried to focus on providing information that would be easy to access and absorb. I didn't want the Doc to feel intimidating to children or like it would take a long time to read all of the information. I feel like the template I used made this goal a lot easier. Because of the template, I was able to focus on content instead of on design.

Some of the positive qualities about Google Docs:
It is easy to use
Leaving comments is simple
Collaboration is quick and painless
Any changes are automatically saved

Some negative qualities about Google Docs:
The tools and formatting options it has are very basic
It requires internet access which isn't available to every student at home

Overall, I feel that Google Docs is an effective tool for teaching and collaborating with and among students. Any content can be easily shared and altered or updated. Any course content can be supplemented by Google Docs.

Standards:

3rd grade science standard 2, Students will understand that organisms depend on living and nonliving things within their environment. UEN Standard
Global Collaborator
I strive to broaden my perspective, understand others and work effectively in teams using digital tools. ISTE Standard
Standard 5
Use Technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. EdTech standard

Thing Link - Basics of Music

Feel free to visit the thinglink page to view and interact with the image there.

Reflection:

Making this thinglink image was easy and intuitive. When I first set out to use thinglink, I was a bit intimidated. I had never even heard of it! After viewing a couple of examples from previous students, I immediately saw how useful this tool could be.
Although the old adage (a picture is worth a thousand words) maybe true, it is still helpful to have some explanation when viewing images that may be difficult to understand or that students may have to refer back to multiple times. Thinglink allows users to place explanations, descriptions, and labels on top of an image without obstructing the entire image or cluttering the image with text.
Despite my initial concerns about using thinglink, I found the tool very easy to use and learn. I didn't even have to use a tutorial. I'm sure that using tutorials or getting tips from more experienced users will help me add more finesse to my thinglink images and make them easier to use for my future students.
I could see this tool being helpful in teaching a variety of subjects. As I already demonstrated, it can be used to aid in music instruction, but it can easily be applied to math, reading, writing, science and really anything that would ever use an image or text. It could be used in math to correct a students work and show them exactly where they made a mistake and how to fix it. The same can be done for writing. In reading, it could be used to add notes to an assigned reading excerpt or to ask questions at relevant spots in the reading instead of only at the end or beginning of the reading exercise. In science it could be used to label equipment in an image to help students familiarize themselves with the equipment and its uses or purposes before getting to a hands-on activity.
I think imagination is the only limit to the variety of applications this tool can have!

Standards:

UEN Standard 4.m.p.2: The effects of various dynamic levels, tempos, and articulations.
EdTech Standard 7
Use telecommunications and on-line resources (e.g., email, online discussions, web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classrom.
ISTE Standard:
Knowledge Constructor, I critically select, evaluate and synthesize digital resources into a collection that reflects my learning and builds my knowledge.