Today we spent a little time beginning or own Google Map.  We will track the blogs we visit.  I plan to post the map we started sometime in the near future.  Today we posted our first and it was a New Zealand blog we visited, Room 2 Learners, about a week ago.
The journey began when we had a 'slightly' challenging time finding the Bay of Plenty on Google Maps and one of the students said, "Why don't we search for it, in Google Earth."  "Great!"  Of course as we searched a discussion of cardinal directions (west and south) took place.  Continents too, "What continent is New Zealand closest to?"  So we searched Google Earth, found it, and updated our Google Map.
From there our dicussion went on to Time Zones.  "What is a time zone?" one of the students asked.  Others explained and then we did a quick search and found New Zealand was almost a whole day ahead of us.  "Wow!"  "Cool!"  There was a buzz in the air.
Next I said, "I wonder how far away they are?" and shared I knew of a tool in Google Earth that might help.  We explored.  I had one of the students read how many miles. 

From Blog Article Related

The next thing I knew another student was curious, "How many inches?" they asked.  So we continued converting the number with a variety of students reading.

From Blog Article Related

It was great!  I loved how a simple, let's begin this map, turned into such a rich experience that we can continue to build on for the rest of the year.

Here are a couple highlights of recent computer lab experiences.

Google Earth was a huge hit.  It has become the most used application in the classroom during indoor recesses.  I've been told that the flight simulator is "really cool".  This experience will support our upcoming georgraphy unit.  It will also benefit our connections with other classrooms around the world and give persepctive when we explore sunrise/sunset and time zones through the Mystery Classroom project facilitated by Journey North.

Most recently, Mrs. Wolinsky introduced the students to TimeAttack.  This is another option for students as they learn their multiplication facts.  Many students were very engaged with gaming aspect and were practicing their facts at the same time!  There is a free downloadable version students can use at home if PC requirements are met.

We'll be starting posting another voiethread soon...It will be a book of snapshots describing December in Maine, modeled after Cynthia Rylant's In November.