EDU 747 Blogs

Google Maps features include a few different ways to view the maps, you can see the street view, aerial view, terrain view, or satellite view. You can look at maps in two dimensions or three dimensions. You can get real time travel information and also projected times based on the usual traffic patterns at the time you wish to travel. Routes can be mapped out for walking, bicycling, bus or driving. You can also create timelines. Google maps can be shared, embedded, and printed. There is a tour feature as well. One of the advantages to the use of Google maps is that it allows students to take a tour of a place with which they are unfamiliar.  It can help create a better visual image about the setting of a story or an area where some historical event took place. It allows for creativity in creating custom maps and timelines. Some of the disadvantages include that while you can look back in time to see how an area looked in the past but you can only go back a certain number of years....

Blogs are a great educational tool to integrate in your classroom. Blogs allow for self expression and enable you to write about your experiences and achieved learning. Students can use blogs individually or as a means of collaborating with others. Blogging, ¨encourages students who are shy about talking in class to share their ideas¨ (Google, n.d.) . Because blogs are a public forum, students will work to produce their best work. There is an audience they are writing for, their parents, peers, and others will be able to see their work. This motivates students to put forth their best work and helps to build their self-confidence. Who doesn't like to put their best foot forward when in public? It has been shown that students who write blogs have better writing skills and improve their writing when they are blogging (Alsamadani, 2017).    Educators are also given a voice through their blogging experiences. They can collaborate and share their resources, successful teaching exper...