Google Geo Institute

I had a great time with the team at the Google Geo Institute earlier this week. We primarily covered Google Earth and Google SketchUp but both of these applications are so rich with function, there was plenty to play with!

My students working with Mike Arsenault and Wes Fyer.

We also had the opportunity to meet Toby Lester the author of the book The Fourth Part of the World and see one of National Geographics giant travelling maps. Very cool! You can borrow the map for your own school for kids to check out and they come with a binder of activities and information. Find out more about them here: http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/special-events/borrow-map

Finally, I met Mike Hathorn a teacher from Hartford Vermont who is doing some amazing things with Sketchup and his kids. I look forward to doing something collaborative with our students this year.

Students as Tech Support

This is from one of my presentations at the 2011 Building Learning Communities Conference this summer. The best part is about 20 minutes in where the presentation is taken over by one of my students Kris Redman. He interacts with the educators in the room talking about ways he works with teachers as tech support in R.S.U. #19.

Students as Tech Support BLC11

One of the best aspects of the session came after the camera had been turned off. Kris was chatting with Dave McCollum from Tech Smith about how the skills that he was showing, his poise with adults and his ability to communicate, are skills that cannot be represented by a standard paper resume. And with this video, he would be able to show a real example of what he's capable of. To be honest, for me the most important part of presenting at a conference like BLC is as an educational opportunity for my students. Anytime we can show students that we are learning, just like they are, is always a good thing. (And helping teachers is an added bonus.)