Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Find, organize, edit, and share your photos from one place with Google Photos. Automatically upload pictures from any device to one storage platform. Use keywords to locate any uploaded image. Use the editing tools to create animated GIF's from images or combine related images and videos into a movie with a matching soundtrack. Google Photos allows you to upload photos from any mobile device and provides free unlimited storage for photos up to 16 megapixels or videos up to 1080 HD.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (143), images (262), Storage (6), video (257)

Can't take a field trip to Pompeii? Use this virtual field trip that includes photos and 360-degree views of this ancient Roman City. Click on slides at the bottom of the page to see different areas of the ruins such as the Temple of Isis and street views of the entire archeological area.

tag(s): romans (33), virtual field trips (79), volcanoes (55)

Google Maps Book Mash-up chronicles some of the greatest and most popular stories of English Literature and their settings. Click on any book icon to see the book, author, and the setting. Type in the name of any location to zoom in on the map and find books using that location as the setting. Participate on the site by submitting book information to be included on the map.

tag(s): book lists (161), literature (217), maps (207)

The Google Takeout Tool is a backup service to your Google account. It allows you to back up and create an offline archive of your information stored on Google. Select what you want to archive then choose next. Choose the format to receive your archived data and delivery method. Receive data through email or directly into your Google Drive account.

tag(s): organizational skills (90)

Plan and build interactive presentations directly from your Google Drive! Share your presentation on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Your participants can contribute to your presentation using their own device! Simply install Pear Deck and go to your Google Drive. Next, click Create and choose the Pear Deck icon (in your Google Drive). An untitled Pear Deck file can be found in your drive. Click on "Untitled Pear Deck" and rename this file. To create slides, choose "Normal slide" for standard text slides that are not interactive. Add images and text blocks, and a title. Choose a "Draggable slide" to enter a question for input. Add a line or dot for participants to answer the question. Use the "Multiple Choice" slide to enter a question and answer choices. To present, click "Start Presenting." You can use the option to "Open Session Dashboard" and see all of the participants who joined the presentation. You can also choose "Open Projector View." While presenting, use the "Add a Question" tool to enter a last minute question. That can be as simple as a thumbs up or thumbs down choice to check on understanding. Make sure you "End Session" to save the results from the questions. The free account provides basic interactive questions with unlimited interactive sessions, five free presentation imports, and a maximum of 30 session participants. Help can be found by clicking on Menu and then Support. Find more information about Google Drive here.
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tag(s): assessment (146), emotions (47), slides (45), social and emotional learning (81)

Never leave your easy chair as you journey beyond the road to faraway places using Google Maps Treks! Choose Gombe National Park, Pyramids of Giza, Angkor Wat, Colorado River, or the polar bears at Churchill. Tour Taj Mahal, Venice, Galapagos Islands, Eiffel Tower, Mt. Fuji, Everest, Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon Basin, and more. Click on the option and then click the open in Maps or Views button. On maps with multiple placemarks, click the placemark to view information about the location, and then click the title to go to the map. Choose from a variety of images taken at various locations found along the bottom. Some images are photospheres and can be manipulated using the sphere icon along the bottom right. Use the arrows in the sphere to rotate the image, giving a panoramic view of the location as you click. Use the familiar Google map tools to zoom in and out. Some Treks offer short videos that are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): cultures (132), environment (240), images (262), maps (207), photography (126), virtual field trips (79)

Organize student Google documents with Doctopus! This tool is essential for organizing of documents both to and from students. Create a Google Doc template. Next, create a spreadsheet containing the students who will be using the document. When you install Doctopus as a Chrome add-on, a Doctopus folder is created in Google Docs. Be sure that the template you create and the spreadsheet containing student names are in that folder. A script needs to be installed to pull the student names from the spreadsheet and then send them the document. Find simple directions with screenshots here. Doctopus is a Google Chrome add-on and is available for Windows, Mac, Chrome OS, and Linux. This add-on is not available for Windows RT, iPad, or mobile devices as of this time.

tag(s): assessment (146), collaboration (87)

Love Google Doodles, those fun and spontaneous changes to the Google logo? View the gallery of Google Doodles on this site. Click About on the top menu to learn the background of Google Doodle. View the Doodle Archive with the newest Doodle appearing first on the page. Click the information button (i) for each doodle to bring up an information box. Click More Doodle Details to go to the Doodle page or click Search for to learn more about the topic or date. Move from one Doodle to the other by clicking the forward or back arrows on each Doodle page. Click Doodle4Google to view the Google contest. The competition typically takes place during the Fall. Click Classroom Activities for ideas on sparking and nurturing creativity in kids of all ages. Check back to find the next Doodle4Google contest for students.

tag(s): artists (77), creativity (91), drawing (59), gifted (65), STEM (263)

Practice spelling a new way with Spell Up. This activity requires the Chrome browser. Allow your computer's microphone to connect to the website to begin. Choose from beginner, intermediate, or expert level to play. After hearing the word to spell, say a letter and wait for it to appear and continue on until the word is completely spelled (wait to speak when you see the orange dot). Correctly spelled words become part of a tower of words. Incorrect words fall off the screen with the opportunity to try again. Options within the game include a dictionary to hear the definition of words, a keyboard to hear letter pronunciations, and a translator to translate words into many different languages.

tag(s): spelling (95), vocabulary (237)

Calendly is an appointment scheduling tool that syncs with your Google Calendar. Sign in with your Google login and set up scheduling pages with your availability preferences. Choose from several options for length of appointments. Next, describe your event and even add additional questions for invitees if desired. Advanced options allow for making events public, limiting the number of participants, and minimizing schedule notice time. You can add buffer time before and after appointments. Share the link with anyone needing to schedule an appointment with you. They simply visit your calendar to schedule an appointment, and it appears automatically on your calendar. Invitees receive a confirmation screen upon completion of scheduling that includes a link to add the event to their own calendar.

tag(s): calendars (40), organizational skills (90)

Explore the world with this great online geography game using Google Maps (street view images). View the provided image, zoom in and out, and move around to explore the area to find clues for the location. When you think you know the place, click the location on the map to place a flag then choose go. Compare how close you placed your flag to the actual location versus other players averages.

tag(s): cities (17), context clues (5), continents (32), countries (69), images (262), map skills (56), maps (207)