3D multimedia storytelling with Story Spheres

I’ve been head over heels for virtual and augmented reality for the last year or so.

There just seems like there is so many different ways to use VR to connect students with content. There are emotional connections, the ability to build empathy, a chance to immerse kids into specific places, to connect past and present, to link geography with events.

This ability to build connections make the use of virtual reality tools such as Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear a no-brainer for social studies teachers. I posted a ton of VR and AR resources a few months ago that highlights some basic steps, resources, and tools that you can use to get started.

But one of the things several of us have been hashing around is that much of the VR and AR tools are consume only. The end user of most tools simply looks at or experiences something. The app does all the work.

A perfect example is the very cool Google Expeditions app. I love the tool and its ability to take your kids to lots of places. But it is very teacher driven and the content is pushed out to and consumed by the students.

The good news is that more tools are being developed that allow students to not just consume VR content but to create it as well. The Google StreetView mobile app has always had the capacity to capture 360 degree images but few educators knew about the feature and fewer took advantage of that option. And the Google Cardboard Camera app is designed to easily create 360 photospheres.

But one of my new favorite tools that encourage kids to create rather than just consume is a website called

Tip of the week: New Google Earth. Great! And . . . meh.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of you that I am a huge Google Earth nerd. I love geography. I love maps. I love Google.

It’s a simple formula. A + B = C. Maps + Google = Google Earth nerd.

So when Google pushed out an online version of GE this week, all was right with the world. At least until I started digging into it a little bit. Don’t get me wrong. Any time I can play with an online Google tool, it’s a good day.

The new version does have a few cool features. But I’m just a little disappointed that 

Need some EdTech Gear advice?

I’ve always enjoyed Jonathan Wylie’s stuff. He’s got fingers in lots of pies spending time at the Grant Woods AEA Digital Learning Team, on Twitter, and his own incredibly useful site. He always has great ideas, I especially like his How To posts.

Late last year, he developed something new called EdTech Gear Guides. We’re all looking for the best ways to integrate technology into our instructional designs. And there’s always a ton of great ideas out there but it can be difficult getting all of the details and gadgets and tools and gear to actually pull off that great idea.

That’s where EdTech Gear Guides can help. The guides are:

21st century social studies: tips, tools, and tricks at #maceks17

It’s day one of #maceks17 and it’s already awesome. Meeting old friends and making new ones. I get the chance to do a couple of things today – help man the ESSDACK booth and do an afternoon session. Excited about both. Hanging out at the table gives me the chance to meet lots of different teachers and hear all sorts of stories about what is working in classrooms.

And spending time with social studies teachers talking about technology?  That’s the sweet spot.

But if you’re reading this, chances are you missed MACE and the afternoon session. I get that. Not everybody gets the chance to hangout with the #maceks17 folks. So if you’re curious about the 21st Century Social Studies: Tip, Tools, & Tricks preso, here’s quick summary of what we talked about:

Live blog #mcss17: Inspiring Local Learners in a Global Community

Two words that you really don’t want to hear in the same sentence:

            Minnesota / February

As in, “Hey. I can’t wait to travel to Minnesota in the middle of February.”

But when the two involve the Minnesota Council for the Social Studies annual conference, I’ll risk it. Lots of great people in Minnesota doing some awesome things in the social studies and I am honored to be a part of it. (My session on 3D History is later this afternoon – I’ll post a few details from that preso later this evening.)

I’ll be live blogging throughout the day on some of the cool stuff I’m learning. So be sure to refresh.

Opening Keynote
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon

Secretary Simon highlighted the importance of what social studies teachers do every day by sharing examples of how well Minnesota participates in elections

 We are voters. We work hard at building civic engagement.

The state is the number one state in voter turnout nine of the last 10 elections because of “laws and culture.” He highlighted the efforts that Minnesota makes to ensure that voter registration is as easy as possible with same day and online voter registration. Simon also discussed how early and absentee voting is encouraged.

The state also works hard to encourage kids to vote. I like how Simon talked about how getting younger kids to participate takes more than just using idealistic arguments such as “it’s good for the country” and “it’s your patriotic duty.” Simon suggests that we need to also encourage younger voters to participate also based on self interest and “to be part of something.” That kids need to be encouraged to vote and participate because it will make their lives, and the lives of people they know, better. So Minnesota uses a massive outreach program into the school system to support this sort of civic engagement.

He shared the saying on a tee shirt:  “Choosing not to vote isn’t a sign of rebellion, it’s a sign of surrender.” They work very hard to help kids understand that participating is the smarter choice.

And with the highest rate of voter turnout anywhere in the US,

I feel smarter

No real topic at all here today. But after finishing a great day of learning with 25 super bright social studies teachers, I feel smarter. So just a few of the random things I picked up today and a few others that  I’ve been reading, thinking, and talking about.

Cause if I can get smarter, anybody can get smarter.

• Standalone Sorting activity on the Smithsonian Learning Lab. Mind blown.
• Cause you can never have too much chocolate. Or pie. Just saying.
• Keynote presentation. Being in charge of 28 middle school social studies kids. Overlapping skill sets. (One difference? Someone giving a keynote rarely has to worry about an audience member throwing up or setting something on fire.)
• Man. I have trouble just making eye contact and sticking the firm grip. This guy is on fire.
• Okay . . . you mean there’s more to it than eye contact and a firm grip? And, yes, these skills do translate into the classroom.
• The Ford’s Theater has some awesome teaching resources. Yes. That Ford’s Theater.
• Speaking of museums, the Smithsonian African American Museum of History and Culture just might be the most impactful that you will ever walk through.
• 50 Best Podcasts of 2016. Bookmark #3, #11, #16, #21, #29, #44.
• History is always more complex than what we first think. The white guy in that photo . . . you know. That photo from 1968.