YouTube & Picasa

Tonight I have experimented with some of the features of YouTube and Picasa.

YouTube

I'm sure many of you have used YouTube at least once or twice. As an educator, YouTube can be both  rewarding and a major headache. There are many educational videos out there for teachers to show students. However, those videos come with advertisements, comments, suggested videos, etc. Luckily, there are two sites that work in tandem with YouTube to address this problem: TubeSnack and QuietTube.

TubeSnack allows the user to create custom playlists from links to videos on YouTube. I love the idea of TubeSnack because I can create a bookmark to my videos that I use frequently. This makes it much easier for me to access the videos in a quick manner while scrolling through them quickly. Here is a link to an example of a TubeSnack playlist that I created to review daily skills with my kindergarten kids (alphabet sounds, numbers, counting, etc).

Curious on making your own? Watch the video below to learn more:

My favorite part about TubeSnack is that you can play the videos without the advertisements and comments on each video.

QuietTube also allows you to play YouTube videos without the comments and suggested videos. Here is a quick video on how to get set up on QuietTube

The only disadvantage I see of QuietTube is that there is still a small advertisement that still plays at the bottom of the video while it is playing. 

Picasa

Picasa is a great tool used to organize, edit, and share your photos. My favorite thing to do on Picasa is to make photo collages. I made a sample photo collage of our 100 day celebration earlier in the school year. This is how it turned out:

Want to make your own collage? Download Picasa first from here.  Watch the video below to learn how to make your own:

Picasa is fairly simple to use and I would highly recommend it. It has many features that allow you to share your photos online with others. 

Have you used Picasa, QuietTube, or TubeSnack? What did you think?

Google Earth vs. Google Tour Builder

Google has created two great tools that allow you to take a virtual trip around the world. Let's compare these two applications.

Google Earth
I absolutely love Google Earth! If you have never interacted with Google Earth, you can download it here. Google Earth allows users the opportunity to view virtually anywhere in the world. You can even view buildings in 3D. I also love the ability to view below the ocean to view various shipwrecks, research discoveries, etc.

Check out the "street views" that you can see in Google Earth:

I also found the "historical imagery" feature to be so fascinating. I love the ability to look back over the years to see how areas have changed dramatically.  Check out the video below to learn more about this feature. 

When I began exploring Google Earth, I immediately started wondering how I could use this with my students. The more I researched, the more information and articles I found about Google Earth. As an elementary teacher, it is sometimes hard to adapt technology for elementary students. This website is a forum for teachers on how to use Google Earth. There are many posts that address ways for elementary teachers to use Google Earth. I also enjoyed this website which has excellent tutorials for educators who are just beginning to use Google Earth.  The website has basic tutorials, as well as advanced tutorials.

I plan on using Google Earth to teach my kindergarten students the differences between a globe and a map, which is part of our curriculum. In Google Earth, you can switch between the 3D view and the Google Maps view. This tool will be helpful to show students that you can access maps (and globes) digitally as well as on paper in person.

Google Tour Builder

Google has now created Tour Builder that can give others a virtual "tour" of the places you have been. Google Tour Builder works in tandem with Google Earth. You can download and learn more about Google Tour Builder here. Want to see it in action? Check out this tutorial to see more:

I love the ability to add pictures and videos right in to the tour. When I began using Tour Builder, I thought about how I could use this in my classroom. I began thinking of the historical curriculum I could use Tour Builder with. I decided to make a tour about Abraham Lincoln. Part of the kindergarten curriculum is to introduce students to Abraham Lincoln. Usually I read books to the students about Abraham Lincoln. As you can imagine, books don't always give students a deep understanding of the topic. Therefore, I made the tour about Lincoln. You can view my tour here. 

Many of my fellow classmates came up with some creative ideas on ways to use Tour Builder. Some of those ideas included tours of Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark's expedition, and famous athletes. 

Have you used either of these tools? Which one did you like the best?