Google Teacher Academy: What I Learned

I recently had the honor of attending Google's Teacher Academy in Mountain View, California.  It was the most amazing professional development that I have ever been to, and I had the opportunity to connect with some superstar educators from all over the globe.

Here are my first two tips:

1. Primary Articles

You can  use an advance Google search to find primary documents from a long time ago!  Imagine reading a newspaper from 1850 with your students.
Mark Warner explains how in this Youtube video.

2. Editing Online Websites

This is one of the neatest tools that I have found for reading strategies!  You can practice summarizing, main idea, generalizations and more by exploring expository text online and customizing your own content!  Student engagement was also increased when they saw their name "added" to the National Geographic Kids News site.
Check out this one minute video to learn more:

Here's an example from my classroom:

Source: National Geographic Kids

See it on Google Drive

I will be doing an entire series of Google Tips and Classroom Tricks, so stay tuned!

What innovative technology are you using in the classroom?