This tool needs a Google account login and needs to be done and viewed on a computer with Google Earth as opposed to a mobile device, but it is worth it! I have used this tool two ways. The first was students wrote about a city and then share to me via Google Docs. I then copied and pasted their work, including images, into a tour which took us all around the U.S. and Canada. Later, I made a web quest assignment and had them read through the information and play around on the Google Earth portion of the virtual tour. The other way I used it was as a way to present my own tour. I made one about my hike on the Inca Trail and the other I plan to make for next school year will be about my trip to Iceland this summer.2) Picture/Postcard Wall
I got this idea from my mentor teacher in Ecuador. He had just been on a tour with his wife from Ireland to Kenya. I loved getting to see pictures from his experiences. It made me respect even more how much he knows about different places, made me feel like I knew a little more about him (which also adds to the respect element), and it made me think, "Ooh, I want to go there..." I use this in my classroom to inspire my kids to go places. I see it in their writings. Here's an example from a student about the Great Lakes. "I didn't think they were so big in the [beginning]. Until, I saw that picture in [my teacher's] classroom. I thought it was cool that it looked like an ocean."
I also use this technique for the kids. I ask them, or they volunteer, pictures from their own adventures, This way they get a sense of belonging in the classroom and I get to learn more about them. One year a student came back from vacation and brought me a postcard from New York. This past summer I received a postcard from another student from Yellowstone National Park. What made it even better was that this student wrote on the card about how he was applying what he had learned in my class to his real life.
3) Prezi
Went to some amazing ruins lately? Present in a way that's not your typical slideshow. You can design your own template or use one that has been created for you. There are maps, bulletin boards, circuit boards, and way too many other choices to list.4) Cultures and Stereotypes Discussions
Often times, talking about my own stereotypes and experiences helps students realize how misguided and uninformed stereotypes can be. Talking about your own learning experiences helps students open up to the world and understand that it is okay when things are different than from what they know.
5) Where in the World is my Teacher?
Remember "Where in the World in Carmen Sandiego"? Make your experiences into a game for your kids! See if they can locate where you are based on geography, history, or cool facts! How much more fun would it be to find your lost teacher using latitude and longitude than merely using coordinates to locate a random city? Take a silly selfie with your best "where am I?" expression and write up a few clues and let the students figure it out. Maybe the first person.group to answer correctly wins a souvenir from that place. Key chain? Left over currency? Candy? I wonder where Ron Clark would get lost...
6) Guest Speaker
Have a travel buddy, native from a recent destination, or even a tour guide come speak to your class! Now, I realize they may not be able to come all the way from where they are. Good thing there are programs like Skype out there! This is a great tool for a virtual tour or interview session. Skype is a great tool for class pen pals. I attempted to set that up one year with my mentor teacher back in Ecuador, but the scheduling never matched up. Other years I have had parents come to speak. One was an art collector and had pieces from Maya and Aztec. Another parent was from the Caribbean and talked about life on her home island. One of coworker's parent is from Cuba and actually came to the U.S. during their revolution. I know a teacher at my school who got a friend to come speak to her class because that friend had just returned from a visit to Antarctica!
7) Global Trek
If you don't have access to Google Earth or you don't have a Google account, you can try Global Trek from Scholastic News. This allows students to tie in dream destinations, historical backgrounds, current events, and cultures from around the world. It even allows students to start a travel journal. Students will need Flash to operate this tool. Mapman quizzes are fun from Scholastic News as well.
There are so many other ways to make your own experiences come alive for your students. There are more than that to make your students' own experiences come into play in the classroom! Whether you teach lower grades and use Flat Stanley or slightly older students and use some of the technological tools I mentioned above, it doesn't matter as long as the students are engaged and learning. On top of that, hopefully you are inspiring them to get out and see this big, beautiful world we live in!
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