Chrome, Wheels, and Voices - The Week in Review

Good morning from Maine where snow is covering the ground as the sun rises. The snow might not last much longer though as we're expecting sleet and rain today. Rain is a bad word for folks like me who like to ski. On the upside, it's a great day to make and eat more Christmas cookies with my daughters. I hope that you have something fun planned for your weekend as well. 

As I do every week I've gone through my blog's analytics to find the most popular posts of the week. This week's most popular posts featured handy classroom management tools, a list of Chrome extensions, ideas for making comics, and a game about stopping the spread of COVID-19. 

These were the week's most popular posts:
1. Classroomscreen - Timers, Names, and Noise Meters
2. Google's Favorite Chrome Extensions of the Year
3. SpinnerWheel - A Great Random Name, Number, and Word Picker
4. Seven Ideas for Crafting Comics in History Classes
5. Try Virtual Backgrounds and Immersive Views for Virtual Events
6. Add Voice Recordings to Google Forms Questions, Answer Choices, and Feedback
7. Germ Science Investigation - A Game About Stopping the Spread of COVID-19

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This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission. Sites that steal my (Richard Byrne's) work include CloudComputin and WayBetterSite. Featured image captured by Richard Byrne.

How to Use Seesaw to Annotate Historical Images

In my previous post I wrote about and shared a video about using Jamboard to annotate historical images. Another way have students annotate historical images is by adding their voice comments to the images. That can be done through the use of Seesaw. 

In Seesaw students can upload images then draw and type on the image. Additionally, they can record themselves talking about the image while simultaneously drawing on the image. All of those things are demonstrated in this short video. 

Applications for Education
Using Seesaw to annotate historical images is a good way for elementary school and middle school students to share their thoughts and ask questions about what they see in historical images that you share with them. I like the option for students to record voice notes because it gives them more space to explain their ideas than if they only write notes next to or on the image.

How to Annotate Historical Images on Jamboard

From magnetic poetry to collaborative brainstorming sessions to mapping activities, there are lots of ways to use Google's Jamboard in online and in-person classes. One way that I like to use Jamboard is to have students annotate images that I share with them. In particular, I like to do this to have them add commentary to and answer questions about things that they notice in historical images. 

In this new video I demonstrate how to use Jamboard to annotate historical images. In the video I used an image that I found on Flickr's The Commons. The Commons is a great place to find historical imagery that is free to download and use in your lessons and presentations. 

Applications for Education

I've always been a proponent of using historical imagery to spark students' curiosity about history. By using Jamboard you can share a picture with your students then have them circle or highlight the parts of an image that raise questions in their minds. Those questions can lead to classroom discussion and or be used as the impetus for a quick research activity.