Week 8 Scribe Blog

Welcome to week 8! This week, Mr. Fryer introduced us to a new concept called GeoApps. GeoApps are applications which permit learners to connect concepts to geography. We primarily focused on two different resources-Google Maps and Google Earth.
We began class with a short review from last week-and he reminded us to complete our Quarterly Checkup Quiz 2. We also watched a video called “The State of the Internet” by Jesse Thomas. This video presented some very interesting statistics about the growth and impact of the internet in our society today.
The first and important new area that we covered was the site Google World. We learned about many benefits of this site, which included using the site to measure distance and even diameter. Mr. Fryer showed us how easily we could use it, and played a brief video of a homemade cell phone video in which he used Google earth to measure the diameter of the top of a window that he was looking out of. In essence he was proving that the possibilities of technology are literally endless. We also went over how the site can be used to see buildings in 3-d, as well as other “perks” of the site including satellite imagery and ocean floor and surface data from experts, and the site even allows one to take different virtual tours.
Next, we talked about the benefits of using a site called Google Maps. This site is similar to that of MapQuest, but provides a wider variety of tools. One of the best tools is that you can save your maps to your google profile and revisit them later if you need them again. We tested this site out by creating a classroom map, with each student pinpointing a place of interest. One of our assignments this week is creating a map, highlighting places of our choice.
Mr. Fryer also briefly introduced us to Sketchup by google, which is a program that helps to create 3-D models.

Recap of assignments due:
1. Write a video reflection blog over Sam’s EduTopia Digital Youth Portrait.
2. Create a google map on a topic of your choice. Be sure to include 10 placemarks, text, images, and at least 3 hyperlinks that go to a relevant Wikipedia page.

Happy Week 8! –Adrian and Brooke