How Big is Space? 4 Simulations to Show

Astronomy has always been a favorite topic of mine. From the time I was a child, I have loved learning about the planets, stars, other galaxies, black holes, supernovas, and more.

One thing that I have always struggled with though is grasping the actual scale of space. This is a common problem for most of us, and something that can really help our students better understand scientific concepts they are learning in school.

So how can we get a better understanding of the massive scale of the universe and the objects contained within it? One option is to use simulations that can help model space. Thankfully there are several excellent online, interactive simulations that can do just that.

See below for four of my favorite space simulation sites. Each approaches the concept of scale a little differently, so check each out to see which ones will work best with your students. And be sure to let me know of other scale simulations you have found that I can add to this list.

Free Webinar - Mathigon

Mathigon is an amazing, free collection of online math manipulatives, activities, and instructional content for teaching and learning math.

I am excited to be hosting a 1-hour webinar with David Poras, the Head of Content for Mathigon, where we will be exploring all the awesome features of this free site. The webinar will be recorded for those who cannot attend live.

• Mathigon Webinar
• Thursday, May 13, 2021
• 3:30pm to 4:30pm EST
• Watch the webinar live on YouTube - Live stream link
• Add the webinar to your Google calendar - Calendar link

See below for more details about Mathigon in preparation for the webinar...

What's New in Google - April 2021

Catch up on everything new in Google Workspace for Education from April 2021, and see great ideas and resources!

Below is the recorded video from our April 2021 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda with all the awesome resources and Google updates from the last few months. This includes lots of new Google updates and 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 Workspace news and features
• Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
• Share best practices of how Google Workspace 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 April 2021 meeting:

75 Super EdTech Blogs to Follow

One of my main sources for new educational technology ideas, tools, and resources is reading blogs. Every day is an adventure to see what new technology integration ideas I can learn, explore, and share with others.

Over the years I have collected a large list of EdTech blogs that I read. To make this process manageable, I use Feedly to pull all of the blog posts together so I can visit one single location to see everything that is new. For more details on how to use Feedly, see my earlier post on the topic.

In case you are looking for some new EdTech blogs to follow, below is a list of 75 of my favorites. Two quick notes of clarification first though:

First, the blogs are simply listed in alphabetical order. Some of the blogs are very well known, while others have a smaller following. Some generate new posts every day, while others only add new content a few times per month. The one shared characteristic of all of these blogs is I have found them to be valuable and have learned from each one. To keep things simple, the list is alphabetized.

Second, the list is far from complete. I am sure I am missing many, many excellent EdTech blogs … and I want you to let me know what I am missing! As much I hope to expand your PLN, I am also hoping to learn about many other blogs. Please use the comments section below or message me on social media to recommend any valuable educational technology blogs that you are aware of.

New Google Meet Layout Coming in May 2021

Google Meet has gone through a lot of changes over the past year as Google responded to the needs of educators, students, and other users. Thankfully Google has continued to listen to our needs and have just announced a new round of updates.

To keep you and your students from getting caught off guard, see below for a short 5-minute video where I run through a live demo of the new layout, as well as written details about these changes.

For schools on the "Rapid Release" schedule, these new features will start rolling out on May 3, 2021 but may take up to 15 days to reach everyone. For schools on the "Scheduled Release" schedule the start date will be May 17, 2021, and again may take up to 15 days to roll out to all users.

Explore 37 Years of Changes with Google Earth Timelapse

Back in 2013 Google launched an awesome standalone tool called "Google Earth Timelapse" which could show you how any location on Earth has changed over the past few decades with an animation created from all of their collected satellite imagery.

Now Google has made this project even more powerful and useful by bringing it inside of Google Earth itself. Although the standalone Timelapse site still works, you can now open Google Earth and access the same content through a built-in timelapse feature. This brings the added benefit of being able to move in 3D while viewing the changing landscape from the past 37 years, making Google Earth a truly 4D experience now!

Beyond that Google has also created themed collections of timelapses in Earth, as well as over 800 prerendered timelapse videos for you to use.

Altogether these resources can help students understand better than ever the changes happening to our world including forests, water, agriculture, wildfires, mining, urban growth, and more.

See below for a short video demonstrating how to use all of this new timelapse content, as well as written directions.

Free Webinar - Math Whiteboard

Math Whiteboard is a fantastic free interactive whiteboard tool designed specifically for teaching and learning math. 

I had the privilege to host a free one-hour webinar with Donald Carney, one of the creators of this tool. 

The webinar was streamed live on YouTube, but was also recorded, so if you missed the live stream you can still watch the recorded session.

See below to watch the video, and to read more about the features of this awesome tool for math.