Putting it all together - Google Sites!

For the past 6 weeks I have shared with you many wonderful resources found through Google that can assist you as a teacher.  I personally have geared the posts to covering how they can be used with Digital Photography, but don't let that stop you from using the material in what manner suits you best.  I think something important to remember in all of this is that technology is just a tool, it either works for you or it doesn't, and if it does not work, don't use it, or alter it until it does work for you.  

So I have shown you how to use Google Drive, Forms, Google Maps, and so many other fun options that Google has given us to use as educators to help educate our students, and to help show them the world.  A great tool in all of this is Google Sites.  With it, you can customize it to what you want to show people, the possibilities of what you can create or audience you can gear it towards is unlimited!  I have mine set up to help Digital Photo 1, 2, & 3 students get the resources they may need.  On my site I have a main page and on that main page is information about me, along with many of the wonderful links I have created showing you how to do something for this blog.  So I have a link to this fantastic Blog, along with my personal search engine I created, Google Tours, and my Google Slide that is filled with links to fun locations for my students to explore.

For other resource pages I have links set up to files in my Drive that my students may need, things like lectures, or presentations, handouts for an assignment,and even tutorial videos for editing.

So if you are looking for a central location to put all the amazing tools or links you want your students to use or have access to - Google Sites is the best option for you I think.  

Check out my Google Site and use it to help get yourself started! Josh Davis Digital Photography

And watch this video to get started making your own!

As always, get out there and make your 📷Picture Perfect📷 opportunities with your students! 

Google: Helping you get where you need to go!

While the majority of this blog has been spent mentioning the features and applications that Google has to offer, I want to spend some time now focusing on the great tools that Google offers that allows you to explore the world while sitting in front of your computer.  Between Google Earth, Google Tour Builder, & Google Maps you can literally show your students the world and have them share theirs with you!

I love just the thought of Google Earth, the ability to zoom down on our planet and view areas from above in either 2D or 3D.  You can set project points so you can revisit an area and it's details, picking which view to save it in, and once you hit play it's like a tour hopping from one location to the next.  My favorite feature though is Street View, it allows you to view the area as if you were standing there!  A very handy feature if you are a photographer and want to view a location before you set out to photograph there. 

Entering & Exiting Street View is easy once you are in Google Maps.  Once you find the location you want to view (I suggest using the Search Option symbol 🔍 on the left side of the screen) you can click on the person on the bottom right of Google Earth and drag them to the map.  When you do this blue lines will appear letting you know where you can put your person for Street View.  Once there you can adjust by zooming in or out, rotating view, and even moving down the street as if you were walking or driving!  This is something I am going to have my students use so they research locations before they go take pictures.  I think this aspect of research will help them save time on location and help them plan for better photography sessions as well. 

Watch these videos on using Google Earth & Street View!

Google Earth Tips & Tricks

Google Earth Street View

Google Tour Builder is another great/fun feature to use with your students, or have them use.  With Tour Builder, I used it to showcase areas that I like to take Urban Ruin pictures at, feel free to view my tour, every spot has a Street View to really give you a good point of view!  Using Street View in Tour Builder is very similar to using it in Google Earth.  I thought this virtual tour would help give the students shooting location ideas, while at the same time give them general examples of what I am of looking for project wise.  It is also something that I could add to as students use Google Maps to help data base Urban Ruin shooting locations.  Google Tours is something that could be used for many Advanced Photo projects to help give students ideas of shooting locations in or around the local area.

Watch this video on creating your own Google Tour!

Google Maps is something that I will use in order to have the students help me make Tour Builders.  In Google Maps you can create a map and then share it with your students, like on Google Classroom with an assignment.  After granted access to it, they can add locations to it.  I will share location maps with my Advanced Students for each project, and then have them add photo locations to it, this will help future students as well as we data base optimal local shooting locations.  If you want to know where students went over the summer and have them compare, you could do something similar.  I like the ability to edit locations once you add them to the map, gives it a little personal touch.  While editing, students could also add tidbits to the location, maybe why it is important to them.

Watch this video on using Google Maps!

 

I hope you enjoyed the tidbits this week and use them to share your world with your students, and have them share their world with their friends and with you.  Now, get out there and work on your 📷Picture Perfect📷 opportunities!!!  

YouTube Tricks & Resources for Art Teachers

I have found out that sometimes in order to get the concept of my lesson across to my students it is more helpful to show a video versus trying to explain it 10 different ways, the use of visualization is a powerful ally in the world of teaching.  I first started using video to help me instruct when it came time to teach the concept of certain photography techniques, such as Dodging & Burning.  Working with small mechanics in Photography, it can be hard to show students how it works while in a big group, and you can go from small group to small group, but there is no guarantee that students will be able to see what you need them to in order to understand what is happening.    

Enter in YouTube and it's fun tricks that make it easy to show all your students a concept at once, give them access to information from you (PhotoShop Tutorials in my case), or even introduce them to concepts or ideas beyond your realm of expertise!

This video of the Slo-Mo Guys explaining how the inside of a camera works is a great visual that helps students understand what happens inside the camera to take a picture.  You can upload a video to start at a specific time, or even upload it to start & end at a specific point.

I will be the first to admit it, I DO NOT KNOW IT ALL!  And I do not know it all about Photography either, I mean I like to consider myself pretty knowledgeable, but Photography is a vast medium that has changed very fast in the Art world in a short amount of time and it would be hard to know everything.  Understanding this, I know my students will not be experts either, nor will they have my experience to remember or know as much as I do.  YouTube allows you to create a playlist of videos.  With this playlist, you can gather resource videos, like I have done to share with my photography students.  Or if you create tutorials for students to follow, you can give them the link to access all of them in one location.

Another great thing about YouTube is the YouTube Studio!  With the YouTube Studio you have the ability to edit videos you created in YouTube.  You can trim videos, add music, add end scenes, combine videos, & more.  Great way for students to throw some pizzazz onto a project to turn in, or for educators to add that just right finishing touch before letting students watch it.

Watch this video on how to use YouTube Studio

While these next resources tips aren't about YouTube, I do find them to be very beneficial to Art Teachers in general.  At times, with most of the Art medium being so physically based, it may not seem like you can do much with it online, let alone find a way that allows students to truly experience it.  I found these next resources helpful in not only giving students access to much art, but allowing them to experience & it as well.

Google Arts & Culture is a fun site that allow you and your students to explore the Art world in a variety of ways!  You can look at Art by Artist, Medium, Theme, Locations Nearby, even Mood!  The site is made up of videos, images, interactive studios, virtual reality tours & more to help you & your students experience Art.  What I mention barely scratches the surface of what the website entails, really a great resource for any Art Educator. (View Screen Shots)

Experiments with Google has a Subsection titled Experiments with Google Arts & Culture.  This website combines Art & Technology to become interactive in the process.  Students are able to learn about Art by playing vs reading.  You can color famous paintings, solve puzzles of famous masterpieces, and even see how Art & Science are combined by looking at a project that shows the predicted sea level rise. (View Screen Shots)

Lots of fun resources this week to help your students explore their creative side more, and allow you to give them access to information at one place, or help them explore the bigger world.  As always, get out there and work on your 📷Picture Perfect📷 opportunities with your students!

Google Classroom & Other Fun Google Tools

Google Classroom is something that as an educator I heavily rely on.  I began my foray into teaching Digital Photography the same time my district was switching us to the GSuite and was thankful to have a central place where my students could not only turn in their work, but have access to information from me that would help them do their projects.  When first starting, I was working to convert teaching B&W film Darkroom Photography (Explained) into teaching Digital Photography (Explained).  Just like the transition of moving from teaching a very physical art media to one that is more digital with physical elements, so too have I moved my instruction from physical to more digital with physical elements and try to show paths for the students to explore creativity on their own.

Watch this video on creating your own Google Classroom!

Google Classroom is a useful tool, but remember it is a tool and only as useful as you make it.  What I think makes it successful is the ease with which you can organize and keep track of information, students, grades, and even who has & has not completed what assignment.  Not too mention the ease with which you can customize it to your needs and the needs of your students.  You have the main stream where students interact with what you put there, whether it is assignments, announcements, or even a discussion you want your students to participate in.  

The Homework tab is what I like to show students to utilize. For a busy class, or if you have two sections of a class in the same hour, you can organize the information by topics to help the students find what they need easier.  I like to have a place for them to access resources such as tutorials & the lectures explaining how the camera works, as well as a place to access all their assignments.  (See Screen Shot 1)

When it comes time for assignments I can attach Handouts, Power Points, Videos, and more to help students understand the concept of the project.  (See Screen Shot 2)  And once the students turn them in I have a place to leave feedback for the students to see. 

Google Classroom as it works with so many other features (Such as Google Hangout) allows me many avenues to share the photo work that is being done with the other students and have them comment on it, so even though it may be digital or online we can still interact and learn from each other.  Another item that helps to make Google Classroom so successful to use with students is being able to use it with some of the Extensions & Apps you can get for Google Chrome.  Google Classroom Extensions (Check out this website for 5 Great Extensions to use) allow you to share videos & websites easier on classroom, & so much more! 

A useful feature that I use often is the ability to load quizzes that you can create from Google Forms from your Google Drive into Google Classroom.  Google Forms is a useful feature because of its ability to have the quizzes grade themselves and the various kinds of data it tracks for you. 

Check out this video to get started using your own Google Forms!

Did you also know that when you create an assignment in Google Classroom it automatically gets added to the Calendar belonging to the class you created?  A useful feature to add to your Google Site so parents can see the approaching due dates of assignments.  

Speaking of the Google Calendar, being a part of the Google Suite it comes with many great features that allow you to stay up to date and notified of your events, assignment due dates, and able to customize to your needs - sharing with co-workers or friends & family! 

Watch this Video on utilizing Google Calendar!

  

At the end of the day, Google Classroom can be a great resource for you and your students.  A place where they & you can organize information that will help them take the next steps on their educational journey to be successful.
  

Now, as always, get to working on your 📷Picture Perfect📷 opportunities with your students!

Google Drive & Bitmoji Fun!

This week's Picture Perfect tips center around Google Drive & the fun you can have with Bitmoji!

With Google, it's not just a fancy search engine or easy email tool to use to communicate.  It also comes with its own storage center, and this storage center itself come with great features.  With a personal account, Google will give you 15GB (Gigabytes) of free storage, and after that you can upgrade to Unlimited.  As a teacher within a district, your school Google account is unlimited, which is a good thing considering the large amount of files and photos we save!  It's important to keep those favorite projects and project examples from students past of course.

So along with a massive storage capability, Google Drive has many fun features and tools, one of which is its own version of a Microsoft Suite.  With G Suite you get Google Docs, Sheets, & Slides to use, the equivalent of Microsoft Word, Excel, & PowerPoint.  The Google programs work very similar to the Microsoft version, and if you do have a Microsoft document you want to save to your Google cloud (for a school project perhaps), when you upload it you have the option of converting the Microsoft file to a Google Doc, and the Microsoft versions convert to the Google versions quite easily with minimal if any change.

"BUT THAT'S NOT ALL"!!!  Your Google drive also comes with fun features, such as Google Forms, Google My Maps, and my favorite, Google Drawing.  As an educator, Google Drawing was super helpful in creating a Venn Diagram that I could customize for my student's digital projects.

All these fun features make Google Drive great, but I think the best part, or what really sends it over the moon is the ability to not only share to whomever whatever file type you would like easily (and choose how they interact with it), but also the ability for groups to work on a project simultaneously!  That is a great feature to get kids to work together, and continue to work together whether they are in the same room or not.  You can also use this to get the whole class to work on a project or presentation, something where every student can add a piece of information or fun tip!

Watch this video for a quick tutorial on utilizing your Google Drive!

A fun way to interact with students, or have students interact with information is to create a Bitmoji Interactive Slide using Google Slides and the free Bitmoji Extension you can add to Chrome.  You will still have to have the Bitmoji App on a phone where you can create and customize your Bitmoji Avatar.

I used the Bitmoji Interactive Slide to create a Virtual Classroom.  The virtual classroom has links for the Digital Photo students to review lectures, watch tutorials I created, search the custom search engine I mentioned last week, watch videos explaining how a DSLR camera works, change the settings online with an interactive DSLR, and search around National Geographic's website.  This interactive slide will make it to where Digital Photo students can access most, if not all the Digital Photo information they may need to be successful or just review.

Try out the slide for yourself! Hit play and hover your mouse over some of the items!

And if you liked interacting with my slide, I suggest you watch this video here to help you create one of your own!

Alright, time for you to get out there and continue working on your 📷Picture Perfect📷opportunities!  "See" you next time!

Google Custom Search Engine, Gmail Tip, & Google Meet

Did you know that you can create a custom search engines on Google for students to use?  As someone who teaches a VERY visual art class with Digital Photography I always want students to look at other photographer's work, I feel it helps them see what is possible, and often it leads to students being inspired and working on putting their own twist on their artwork.  With a custom search engine that you create, it is made up of only the websites that you want students to use to pull information, or in my case, inspiration from.

For my search engine, I wanted my students to have access to visual inspiration, but I also wanted them to be able to have access to photography communities and websites that would be able to explain technical information for them.  I used websites such as National Geographic for the visual and information avenue, but I also used 500PX for students to create online portfolios to store their digital work, and also communicate with other photographers about their work and be able to share ideas.

Feel free to try the search engine and type in any type of Photography idea you may think of!

I highly suggest you create your own custom search engine if you have students do any type of research during your time together.  

Below is a video that will help, I found it very easy to follow and full of useful tips to help personalize the search engine. 

This is not the only tip I have for you this week!  This next one applies to Gmail, and has saved me more than once!  Ever accidentally emailed the wrong person, hit reply all, sent an unfinished email because you got interrupted, or even sent something to everyone when it was supposed to go to just one person? Gmail allows you to enable “UNDO SEND” for situations just like these!



1) While in Gmail - Click on Gear icon (Settings)

2) Click on See All Settings Tab

3) Barely scroll down and click on UNDO SEND option & choose how long you have! Don’t forget to scroll down and SAVE CHANGES!  
No more unwanted sent emails!  Use the screenshots for extra help!

Last, but definitely not least for this blog is Google Meet.  If you are like me, you had experience this past spring with communicating with students via cameras somehow.  For me it was all on Zoom, and that worked out fine for talking with students, but there was more I wanted to do with them but didn't know how.  Google Meet is the answer for me, and it may be the same for you, especially if you use Google Classroom for students to get and turn in assignments and have access to information like tutorials.  

With Google Meet, you can link it with Google Classroom as an Assignment or Announcement so students can have access to the link to join, and if they can't join while the meet is in progress they still have access to the meet if you record it, allowing students to still get the information but work at their own pace.  For me personally, I would use Google Meet to critique (discuss) the student's latest project photos with them as a group.  Group critiques help students learn from each other what is successful, and what is not, and helps the group grow vs individual critiques which helps the individual photographer grow.  

If you need help setting it up, I suggest you watch these two videos, they helped me understand how to use it and gave me the idea of using it for critiques!

Lots of useful tips this week!  

Hope this helps you out, and as always get out there and work on your 📷Picture Perfect📷 opportunities for your students!

Google Chrome Browser: A great resource for educators

When our district first switched over to using Google Chrome for our daily work environment I was really excited because it would allow me to work better with my Digital Photography students, little did I know then how much I would grow to appreciate, and honestly depend on all the options that the Google Chrome browser has to offer me as an educator.  If you don't have it, I suggest you download it here - Google Chrome

If you are not using Google Chrome as a teacher, I cannot express enough how many opportunities you are missing out on to communicate with your students, or even to give them essential life skills they will need to have to be successful in the work force.  Google Chrome as a browser allows you to add Apps, Extensions, and other resources that can be useful tools for you or your students to use.

Apps - Web Based Applications that are designed to be used in your browser.  Allows you to do things such as create files (written documents, slide presentations, data sheets, etc...), edit photos, and listen to music without installing software on your computer or Chromebook.

Extensions - These are custom features that you can add to your Google Chrome Browser. Some extensions include sharing information with your Google Classrooms easier, and others help with grammar problems while using emailing or typing. 

Google Keep - Note taking Application that is available for students as a mobile app and web application.  Not only is it great for helping to organize student's notes, but they can also use it as an alarm to help them keep them on task and even more organized. 

Google Chrome as a browser is very fast and was built to process information in a speedily manner, it is also very intuitive and simple to use and navigate.  Google Chrome also grants you access to many great features, such as cloud storage, digital classrooms to communicate with students, calendars, and much more that will be discussed as this blog continues.  With the ability to communicate with students so strongly in a digital manner it helps to move to a paperless environment, while also meeting kids in their method of learning, and allowing for stronger communication and giving feedback to students as they work.  

Below are two videos that were shared by a teacher of mine that I would like to share with you.  I found them both to be helpful and hope you do too! 

8 Outstanding Chrome Tips!

 

How to use Google Chrome to 

  improve student efficiency

Ok, now get out there and start exploring your 

       📷Picture Perfect📷 opportunities!!!