Google Docs on Youtube

There is now a youtube channel for Google Docs. Most people know about Google Docs (ie word documents) and Presentation (ie PowerPoint), but few know about charts and my new favorite - drawings which is better than Microsoft Paint. Above is how to make a Google Docs Drawing which I use for my map quizzes and tests.

Hundreds of Multiple Choice Questions
These are five stemmed questions which your students can do on their own. It breaks US history into 32 sections and has 50-60 multiple choice questions for each.

SnagFilms for US History

Watch more free documentaries
Learning.snagfilms allows you to watch full length films or capture parts of them.  You can also embed them (as I have done above) or put them in your PowerPoint (actually it would work better in Google Presentation mode).

History of the American Revolution in Five Minutes

Changing the Education Paradigm

This is a very interesting video that essentially (in a very entertaining way) describes how our schools were created for an industrial age and asks if we are preparing them for our current world.  I laughed at part of it as I thought of someone who this week complained that I was expecting my students to work too much online - as if they won't need it after high school!

More on the Civil War Photos

If you look a few posts back, you can see some recent acquisitions by the Library of Congress of Civil War pictures.  Above is a short video about them. The pictures, by the way, are NOT copyrighted.

Test Taking Strategies

This is a nice link I just found explaining to AP US kids the ins and outs of the multiple choice section of the test. I agree with about 98% of it. It is very detailed and has lots of good info that you might want to add.  The key this year is to remember that there is NO penalty for guessing (look for four stemmed questions in two years).

US History in Cliff Notes

Cliff Notes has an online outline of US history.  Here is part one and part two.

Malcolm X at Oxford U

This is a short clip that I found at a new (for me at least) cool site called Open Culture.

Classzone Maps

Why pay for the expensive hanging maps when you can show these on your television or LCD. This has US and world maps and has them in political and physical ones. You can also move the maps around and zoom in and out. When you get to the site, you will need to click on your state and subject and then look for the "Rand McNally" link at the top in the middle and click on it

Did you ever want to show only part of a video.  Well go to splicd and you just enter in the start and end times as well as the url and you will be all set. Here is a how to video. It only takes one second to make your new video and you even both a new url and code to embed it.  I found this bit from this ed tech site.

New Amazing Group of Civil War Photos

This is from a collection just donated to the Library of Congress from a collector in VA which has never seen photos from the Civil War.

Interview People via the Web

I have been looking for a free service for a while to interview people via the computer.  The most I have found is ones that allow a free month.  But thanks to "ShellTerrell" whom I follow on Twitter (from Germany), I found Wetoku.  All you do is give a link to the person you want to interview and get online at the same time and push "start."  Immediately you have a link and embedded code to put on a website.  The only disadvantage is that it is not as good quality as some of the other paid ones, but for the price it is excellent.

How to Use Google Docs

Yes, there are some videos (go to the browser to find them), but the item below is for those who prefer reading to know how to work Google Docs.

Google Docs - Tipsheet and Resource Guide