About Me

My name is Scarlett Mora, I am a 6th grade teacher with USD259, Wichita, KS. I am working towards a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis is technology. This blog will follow my journey as I discover new apps and sites to utilize in the classroom.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Google Tools Are ...Not to Cool for School!

Google has many unique and great tools that you can use in the classroom. A few that I find to be the most useful are Google Body, now called zygote-body and Google translator.

Google Body/Zygote body would best be described as Google Earth for the body. Click here to check out Zygotebody . This awesome website explains how to use Zygote body and has links to lesson ideas.Zygote Body how to .  It is also an app.  which you can use it to do  3D dissections. Here is a video that explains how to use the app. 
Below are links to possible lesson plans you can use with Zygot body:
Systems of the Human Body
The Human Body Corp.

Google Translator:  is a free automatic translator. It works without the intervention of human translators, using state-of-the-art technology instead. Google Translate currently supports translation between 57 languages.


In the Spanish class here students wrote notes to their favorite teachers telling them about things they have enjoyed learning about in class. They wrote them in Spanish, I used Google translator and entered the words they had written then translated it from Spanish to English. It was somewhat choppy, since English and Spanish to not speak in the same direction if you will. I was able to piece together what they were meaning. I decided to use Google translator to respond to my students also in Spanish. My sister in law is Bi-lingual I had her check the return notes to make sure they made since. They did not to her, she said it was very garbled and hard to read in Spanish that the words it had used to translate did not really make since, but she said that much as I had to garble it together going from Spanish to English, it does get your basic point across but does always make use proper grammar and make good word choices.  

Sunday, October 12, 2014

My VERY OWN website!!

This week I explored the  world of Google Sites, and created my very own class webpage. I am not going to lie it was QUITE a challenge for me.  I tend to be a jump in and play with it until I figure it out person. Unfortunately I picked the very user unfriendly classroom template, which I do NOT recommend. Since I am stubborn I stuck it out and worked with it until I created a page I am happy with check out my site here.  . The classroom template was the most confusing thing I have ever used. I would like to try to build once from scratch and see how that process goes.
FYI: If you decide you want to change your theme here are detailed directions.

Want to create your own?? This  video may help.

Check out these sites  on how to make your own classroom site. Make a classroom site 


Other Examples of Classroom sites: Miss. Schoenbergers 3rd Grade   Coach Allens PE Page

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Picasa from my casa to yours

Picasa is an image organizer and image viewer for organizing and editing digital photos, plus an integrated photo-sharing website. Get Picasa Here 

Picasa is an amazing tool for sharing your photos with family and friends or even for having students create projects. You can edit, store and share all your photos to this site and have access to them from any internet connected device.  

Youtube Who knew?

Most everyone who uses a computer has seen or used YouTube, an online video sharing site. Whether you are using it to view  fun clips , motivation or educational purposes. it is an amazing tool!  Make the most out of YouTube You can even edit your own videos.
 
A new feature I just learned about and love is Quiet Tube, it allows you to view any YouTube video without the suggested videos , ads or comments . Which makes them safe to show in class, or share on a class website.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Take a Tour using Google Earth

This week I discovered Google Earth , I had heard of it previously but I had not even considered the possible applications to the classroom.  With a quick Google search I was able to find numerous ready made lesson plans that would fit easily into my classroom and curriculum.  This teacher offers suggests some other applications.
Download Google Earth Here



One feature I found to be particularly promising with its classroom applications , is Google Tours. Google Tour Builder is a web-based storytelling tool which lets you easily create and explore stories and places around the world. I made a short tour of Albert Einsteins life. Check It out here   I can imagine infinite applications for tours across curricular areas, Language Arts could to a Shakespeare tour, Social Studies could give longitude and latitude lines and students could tell what they found there.  Watch the video below to create your own.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Do You Drive? Google Drive that is...

This week we got into the meat of Google's Drive.

 Google Drive is a cloud storage service that allows you to store your documents, photos, videos, and more online. From Drive, you can also use Google Docs, Google Sheets, and other applications to create and edit various types of files. Google Drive and Docs. 

This means as long as you have access to the internet you have access to your files no matter where you are in the world!

Do not have Microsoft office? You can still create word documents, presentations (similar to power point), even spreadsheets and forms! For a quick overview check out this video. 


Feeling unsure want some additional info and training ?  Basic training on Drive 

There are many cool ways that Google Drive can enhance learning in the classroom, check out this presentation created in Drive's presentation.40 Ways to Use Google Apps for Education

Google Drive is also  Ipad and IPhone compatible!  It is a great tool to be able to sync all your information across your different systems. Even if your prefer your IPhone but still love you PC.   


Please take my How are you feeling about Google? quick survey created using Google forms. Learn how to create your own Google form my checking this out.



Sunday, September 7, 2014

Getting a Google account and G-mail in all its Glory

If you do not have a Google account you need one now!!  The Google account you create will also your g-mail address. If you already have a g-mail account that is your account as well.  


Now that you officially have your own account lets talk G-mail, My main personal email is still at hotmail.com, I have had it for probably fifteen years and never even considered what I may or may not be missing by staying with it. Today the heavens parted and I heard the angels singing, as I discovered all that G-mail can and wants to do for me. I will highlight a few of the most awesome features.  
Undo:That's right g-mail has an undo button! You accidentally send and email before your done..or maybe reconsider the wording, realize you did not spell check.. If you have the undo feature turned on a little button pops up and give you an extra 10 seconds to stop if from being sent, and it reverts back to a draft. Click on the video below for steps on how to start undoing things.

Todo List: We all have busy lives, we work, have families and more! How can we remember everything we need.have to do? Create a to-do list using your g-mail account.   
There is so many more things that G-mail can do check out an overview here. 

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Google Chrome ..The Browser You didn't know you wanted...

Google Chrome  the browser for all. I am sure unless you have been living under a rock you know that Google is a wildly popular search engine. It is now so much more! It is a whole internet world unto itself, from g-mail to google drive and google docs.  Its an awesome tool that easily be accessed from any device with internet access. Download Google Chrome Here