360 Degree Learning with Google Tour Creator

Google has a rich history of creating map-related tools that can be used across all subject areas for engaging, immersive learning experiences. Some of these include Tour Builder, Earth, Expeditions, My Maps, and many more (see my slideshow on Google mapping tools).

Recently Google has launched a new tool called Google Tour Creator. This tool allows you and your students to create 360 degree tours, which can then be shared with and viewed by others. It is very much like creating your own Google Expeditions.

Don't have a 360 degree camera? That's ok! Although you can use a 360 degree camera to take pictures for Tour Creator, you can also just use the images from Google's Street View, or you can use a free mobile app such as Cardboard Camera to take the photos.

Tour Creator can be a powerful way for students to demonstrate their understanding, learn from others, and put themselves inside of a virtual experience. Tours could cover:

• Scenes from a novel
• Locations from a historical event
• Biomes from around the world
• Highlights of a city in a different country
• Biographical information from a person's life
• A student-written fictional story
• And much more!

In this post we will explore Google Tour Creator and detailed directions on how you and your students can create your own tours today.

EdTech Podcast Spotlight - Edufuturists

Anyone who knows me well, knows how much I love podcasts. Pretty much any subject that comes up leads to me saying "I was just listening to a podcast on that the other day!"

In the past I have shared posts on "12 Terrific Podcasts to Learn Something New Everyday" and "11 Great EdTech Podcasts". Well I have come across a new great podcast to add to that list… the "Edufuturists Podcast".

The Edufuturists podcast is a weekly show hosted by Ben Whitaker and Dan Fitzpatrick, and focuses on the future of education and the impact of technology. They have one guest on each week for an interview that is limited to exactly 15 minutes. As much as I appreciate podcasts of all different lengths, it is exciting to find one that packs so much great content into only 15 minutes (or about 10 minutes for me since I listen to everything on fast speed.)

I recently had the honor and pleasure to be a guest on Ben and Dan's podcast. Even though my voice sounds terrible from a rough cold I was fighting, the show is still excellent! You can access the episode with the link below:
Edufuturists Episode 4 - Eric Curts

And you can find all of the other episodes, and links to subscribe to the podcast at: www.theedutechproject.com/edufuturists

A big thanks to Ben and Dan for creating and sharing this valuable show!

Turn Google Slides into an Animated GIF with this Free Tool

I recently came across an awesome tool that can take a Google Slideshow and save it as an animated GIF (thanks to Infinitely Teaching for the tip!) This free tool is called Tall Tweets (odd name, I know) and is created by the awesome Amit Agarwal.

With Tall Tweets you can import a Google Slideshow, set the duration for each slide (as well as some other options), and then create and download an animated GIF version of your slideshow.

This can be used with many Google Slides projects to export the final product, including:

• Creating Stop Motion Animation with Google Slides - Resource link
• Creating Online Comic Strips with Google Slides - Resource link
• Student Created Storybooks with Google Slides - Resource link
• Or just saving any slideshow as a GIF!

There are many tools that can make animated GIFs, but it is always helpful to find one that is free and super easy to use. See below for detailed directions on how to use this great tool…

Create Halloween Rebus Stories with Emojis and Google Docs

In earlier posts I have shared Google Docs templates for creating Emoji Rebus Stories for both Wintertime and Valentine's Day. With Fall coming soon, I have put together a Halloween-themed version.

Anyone who grew up reading Highlights magazine in the dentist waiting room will quickly recognize a rebus. Basically it is a story where some of the words are replaced by images. This can be a fun activity for students, both to create and to read. It may even help with younger students who are not proficient at spelling but can choose the image for the word they want.

See below to get a copy of the template, as well as detailed directions for how to use it.

What's New in Google - September 2018

Catch up on everything new in G Suite for Education from September 2018, and see great ideas and resources!

Below is the recorded video from our September 2018 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda and all the awesome resources and G Suite updates from the last month. This includes 18 new Google updates and 23 Google resources for your class.

The monthly meetings are hosted by the Google Educator Group of Ohio, but are open to anyone from any location. The purpose of these meetings is to:

• Connect Google-using educators
• Share the latest Google Apps news and features
• Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
• Share best practices of how Google Apps is being used within schools
• Ask questions and get answers

The video from the meeting is recorded and available for later viewing for those who cannot attend or connect live. See below to view the recorded video, agenda, and all the resources from the September 2018 meeting:

Create Your Own Story Cubes with Google Drawings

Story cubes have long been a popular item to give inspiration for writing. Typically they are regular cubes with a different picture or word on each face. Students can pick a few cubes and then roll them to randomly get elements for a story.

Although you can certainly buy these cubes, you can also make you own. Better yet, students can each make several story cubes and then you will have dozens and dozens to use from your class.

One easy way to make your own story cubes is to use Google Drawings with pictures, emojis, or text. See below to get copies of my Google Drawings Story Cube templates, along with detailed directions on how you and your students can make these.

Full Bleed - Finding Balance Between Technology, Work, and Life

Note: This is another cross-post from my other blog - "Eric the Rad" - where I share some thoughts on life from a nerd's point of view. This one deals with finding balance between technology, work, and life. As educators this is a critical issue for so many of us, so I felt it would be valuable to share here as well.

Back when I was in high school I was the editor for our school yearbook. I learned loads of publishing skills including developing photos in a dark room (with actual chemicals, as this was way before anything digital), writing corny captions, and designing creative layouts.

As part of making layouts, I learned the term "full bleed". This is when you take a photo, or some text, or any design element and run it right up to, or even over, the edge of the page. Normally you would have a margin around each page, but with full bleed you have a picture that breaks out of the traditional constraints and extends off the edge.

For high school yearbooks, full bleed is a good thing. For your life, it is not...