10 Ways to Use Google Hangouts to Transform Learning

My class "hanging out" with Education Secretary Duncan on Google Hangouts

In our world today, we can stay connected in unprecedented ways. Why just call or text when you can “see” someone who is hundreds or thousands of miles away? Even President Obama used Google Hangouts in 2013 during his fireside chat with the country. If you haven’t used Hangouts before, it’s time to examine the possibilities.

In education, using Hangouts is a great way to connect and collaborate with other educators without giving out your phone number. It’s a powerful tool for making connections, working collaboratively, and introducing the world to your students. Many educators have embraced Hangouts to enrich both their students’ learning experiences and their own professional development. Below are some ways educators are using Hangouts to step up the learning.

Make Student Connections

You can connect students with their peers from around the country, or even from abroad if time zone differences permit. Below are some ideas on how teachers are using this fabulous video calling tool in their classrooms.

1. Book Talks: Classes that are reading the same book or similar genres can discuss novels together and make book recommendations to one another.
2. Mystery Hangouts: In this activity, two classrooms video chat with each other but do not reveal their individual locations. Before meeting online, both classes research facts about their own state and create clues about their location. Then, each class takes turns asking “Yes” or “No” type questions in a race to solve the mystery. More details on how to get started could be found on my blog here. To find classes to connect with yours, visit the Mystery Location Calls Google+ Community or reach out to members of the Connected Classrooms Workshop Google+ Community.
3. Presentations: Give students an authentic audience. They can present their projects to other classes or adults. Recruit parents, community members, or career professionals to provide a captive audience for your students.
4. Project Collaboration: Classes that are studying similar themes or topics can collaborate on a project together in a way never possible before.

Bring in the Experts...For Free!

1. Guest Speakers: Inviting a speaker into the classroom has never been easier...or cheaper. Video calling enables anyone from around the world to “visit” a school. Also, as an added plus, Google Hangouts has the ability to handle up to ten people in a video call at once and up to fifteen using a Google Apps account. This means that there’s never a dull moment or radio silence during the call. Last year, my classes were able to participate in two amazing Hangouts on Air. We got to speak with Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee and Education Secretary Duncan.
2. Virtual Field Trips: With video calling technology becoming more popular, many companies are now offering virtual field trips via Hangouts on Air, which is a public Google Hangout that broadcasts a live recording of the event. After the video call ends, it is archived on the host’s YouTube channel for anyone to view again later. Here are a few companies that are offering or (have recently offered) virtual field trips that could bring that out of classroom experience to your students: Learn Around the World, Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants, and SeaTrek.TV. Occasionally, announcements of virtual field trips from various members of the Connected Classrooms Workshop Google+ Community will be posted.

Learn and Collaborate from Anywhere

1. Virtual Classes: One year, we had one student at my middle school who progressed so quickly through his math studies that he was ready for Algebra II. Unfortunately, we didn’t offer this course on our campus, but we did at another school in our district. Thanks to Google Hangouts, this student didn’t have to transfer schools and, instead, he attended math class virtually and received all his instruction online.
2. Office Hours: Sometimes students need more one-on-one attention or perhaps they were absent and need to catch up on what they missed. Teachers can schedule Hangouts to hold virtual office hours to provide the assistance students need.
3. Professional Collaborations: With everyone just a video call away, educators can work on projects and share ideas with anyone around the world. Many educators have forged powerful connections (called PLNs) via social media platforms like Twitter and Google+, and they’re using Google Hangouts to learn together or to plan professional development events for educators like Edcamps and PLAYDATEs.
4. New Twist to Webinars: More and more, companies are turning to Hangouts on Air to host their webinars. It gives educators a choice: watch the webinar live and participate in a “Question & Answer” session with the presenter or watch it later at one’s convenience. A great example of this is the webinar series from Imagine Easy Solutions.

The possibilities of using Hangouts in education are endless. How will you transform your learning and the learning of your students?

Abbreviated version of this post was originally published on WeAreTeachers.

A Trip on the Wild Side: From the Rainforest to the Desert

“Water, water, every where,

Nor any drop to drink.”

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

According to USGS, the earth’s surface is 71% water. What many students don’t know is that this doesn’t translate into an unlimited supply of drinking water, especially considering that 97% of it is ocean water.

Near Hoh River by Wsiegmund /
CC BY 2.5 

With all lifeforms dependent on water for survival, it’s important that our students understand the role of water and how it affects our present and our future. Bring this lesson to life for your students by joining Kari Vigerstol, senior hydrologist on +The Nature Conservancy's Global Water team, and science teacher Tyler DeWitt as they first visit Seattle’s unique watershed before zipping over to the Verde River, a vital water source for Arizona’s dry desert. During this live broadcast, one classroom will be chosen to participate live using Google Hangouts on Air.

Don't miss this great learning opportunity for your students! Event details are listed below:

“Wild Biomes: From America’s Rainforest to America’s Desert”

April 8, 2015 at 12 pm ET.

Register here for this unique event.

Classes that can watch the field trip live on The Nature Conservancy’s Google+ Channel or they can watch it as a live stream on YouTube at this link. Classes can also watch an archived copy or other Nature Works Everywhere productions by visiting The Nature Conservancy’s YouTube channel.

After watching the virtual field trip, students can continue the learning by using these fantastic supplemental materials:

• How Natural Areas Filter Water
• Managing Salmon to Support Healthy Forests
• Gardens Activity Guide: Water

This virtual field trip is the second in a series of future broadcasts that will examine the interconnectedness of people and nature. This program is designed for students in the third through eighth grade.

Through this program, students will gain a greater awareness and appreciation of the following key concepts:

• Biomes (temperate rainforest, desert)
• Water quality
• Water quantity
• Pacific Northwest
• Urban watershed
• Arizona desert
• Verde River
• Geography
• Rainfall
• How water affects people and how people affect water
• Where does your water come from?

The Nature Conservancy is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving the beauty of our natural world. That is why they created +Nature Works Everywhere “to help students learn the science behind how nature works for us -- and how we can help keep it running strong.”

The partnership between us and nature has never been as important as it is now. Do your students understand where we belong in this fragile relationship? Let’s bring this lesson to life for them and help them become our future changemakers!

This blog post is sponsored by We Are Teachers.

Beyond the Textbook: Virtual Field Trips for Science & Social Studies

"WP 35, SDr9776" by Stefan Dressler / CC BY-SA 2.5 

Have you ever wanted to take your students on a field trip around the world? What if they could visit the deserts and grasslands of Africa for free? Would you jump at the opportunity? On February 5, 2015 at 12pm Eastern Time, this opportunity will become a reality for your students.

Join +The Nature Conservancy's Charles Oluchina and science teacher Tyler DeWitt as they host this wonderful learning opportunity for students using Google’s Hangouts on Air. This 40 minute live broadcast, "Take a Virtual Field Trip to the Deserts and Grasslands of Africa," will transport your students to Burkina Faso to learn how one African farmer solved the challenges of desertifcation before heading to Kenya to learn the benefits of ecotourism and how grasslands are vital to the sustainability of the earth. Then, teachers will be able to extend the learning for their students through a first peek at +PBS LearningMedia's fabulous online collection of videos, interactive games, and lesson plans from the new PBS series EARTH A New Wild.

To sign up for this unique event, register at the Nature Works Everywhere website by clicking here.

Classes can watch the live virtual field trip or the archived copy by visiting The Nature Conservancy’s YouTube channel. This virtual field trip is the first in a series of future broadcasts that will examine the interconnectedness of people and nature. This program is designed for students in the third through eighth grades.

Through this program, students will gain a greater awareness and appreciation of the following key concepts:

• Working with nature so nature works with us
• People and Conservation
• Desertification
• Smart Development
• Ecotourism
• Habitat
• Grasslands
• Reforestation
• Land preservation

+Nature Works Everywhere also have fabulous lesson resources for science, geography, and social studies classes. Some examples of what you can find on the Nature Works Everywhere website are listed below:

• Farming the Desert: Science lesson
• Farming the Desert: Social Studies lesson
• The Value of Ecotourism
• And many more!

The Nature Conservancy is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving the beauty of our natural world. That is why they created Nature Works Everywhere “to help students learn the science behind how nature works for us -- and how we can help keep it running strong.”

The partnership between us and nature has never been as important as it is now. Do your students understand where we belong in this fragile relationship? Let’s bring this lesson to life for them and help them become our future changemakers!

This blog post is sponsored by We Are Teachers.

Oh, The Places We Will Go with Google’s Connected Classrooms!

What if you could take your students on unlimited field trips?  What if your class could visit Antarctica or speak with a NASA astronaut? With Google’s Connected Classrooms, this is now absolutely possible.

In recent years, Google has taken their video calling service, known as Hangouts, to a whole new level by introducing the ability to broadcast a live recording of it. These Hangouts on Air allowed anyone to create broadcasts on the Internet for free. Then, Google stepped up their game by launching a new educational outreach program called Connected Classrooms, in which students around the world can participate in virtual field trips via Hangouts on Air.

During every Connected Classrooms event, a few classes are invited into a special Hangout on Air where students can ask questions and interact directly with experts and distinguished guests. Other classrooms can follow along by viewing the live broadcast, submitting questions in the Q & A feature of Hangouts, or by accessing an archived recording at their leisure.

By partnering up with educational institutions, non-profit organizations, businesses, and famous individuals, Google has created a fantastic program that will bring the world into your classroom. Below are some places where students have ‘been:’

• Seattle Aquarium – Classrooms everywhere were treated to a free field trip to the Seattle Aquarium’s Window on Washington Waters exhibit where a scuba diver in the tank took live questions from the audience and broadcasted this interchange to the world.
• Above the Arctic Circle – This hangout started above the Arctic Circle in Alaska and ended in Berkeley Lab in California. Students learned “how and why scientists study permafrost to better understand the vulnerable Arctic ecosystem — and what may happen to it as the climate changes.”
• Dogsledding Through Google Glass – Dave Freeman, a wilderness explorer and dogsled guide from the Northern tundra of Minnesota, took students on a “ride” on his dogsled. Students were able to experience this unique trip through the wilderness from his Google Glass perspective.

Those adventures sound amazing, don’t they? After learning about Connected Classrooms, I couldn’t wait for my class to participate. When when our turn came, I couldn’t have been more ecstatic.

To commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, Connected Classrooms partnered up with Peace Jam, and they invited three classes to speak with Nobel Peace Prize Winner Leymah Gbowee. My students and I couldn’t believe our luck. Then, a couple of weeks later, we received another special invitation. The White House, in partnership with Connected Classrooms, was looking for one middle school class to speak with Education Secretary Duncan. I am proud to say that my students conducted themselves with poise and maturity as they presented their questions to these distinguished guests.

Google+ Hangout with Education Secretary Duncan

All my students were absolutely thrilled to have been given the opportunity to participate in these two wonderful Connected Classrooms events. Not only did they learn from the wisdom of our special speakers, they also learned how to conduct themselves professionally in front of a live camera. The students who presented their questions practiced their public speaking skills in an authentic environment. They also became the superstars at our school that day and were the subject of their classmates’ envy. What student doesn’t want that?

To participate in a Connected Classrooms event, you will need to join the Connected Classrooms Community on Google+. By joining this community, you are also tapping into a global network of educators which was never possible before. Are you teaching Spanish and want your class to chat with other classrooms in Spanish-speaking countries? Are you teaching social studies and want your students to actually talk to their peers who live in the country you are studying?  Connected Classrooms is the place to find these contacts. Feel free to reach out to the other educators in this community. Everyone is very welcoming and quick to respond, and I’ve witnessed many fantastic connections formed through this community.

Join the Google+ Connected Classrooms Community if you haven’t already. I look forward to interacting with you there!

This post originally appeared on the CUE Blog on June 10, 2014.

Let the Guessing Begin

Last month, I stumbled upon the Mystery State Project. In this activity, two classrooms video chat with each other but do not reveal their individual locations. Before meeting online, both classes research facts about their own state and create clues about their location. Then, each class takes turns asking yes/no type questions in a race to solve the mystery.

The first clue should be rather general and vague with each subsequent clue becoming more specific and obvious.

The other class went first and our exchange were as follows:

1. Other class:  Our professional baseball team is very famous.
2. My class:  Are you on the East Coast?
3. Other class:  No.
4. My class:  We are west of the Mississippi River.
5. Other class:  Are you located in one of the central states?
6. My class:  No.

Some classes like to assign specific roles to students (i.e. greeter, clue giver, questioner, researcher, runner, photographer, videographer, notetaker, etc.).  However, I like giving all my students some camera time with the other class so this is the method I implemented.

1. Form teams of three or four students.
2. Set up three or four chairs in front of the camera.
3. Each team gets a chance interact with the other class by giving clues and asking questions.
4. Teams waiting in the wings can strategize as they wait their turn.  They should also be furiously researching and debating over the answer, maybe even tweaking their clues or questions if needed before they sit in front of the camera.
5. The team that guesses the location of the other class can win a prize.

It was a fun activity for both my students and myself. I loved how they immersed themselves in researching our state so that they can come up with the best clues. Inadvertent learning. Which teacher doesn't applaud that?

When the day came for our online meeting, both classes were really excited. Our mystery partners were enthusiastic and welcoming. Both sides worked hard to guess the other's location with the use of search engines and maps. The period flew by quickly, and soon we had to say goodbye. Later my students asked when we could do it again.

To find other educators who are involved with mystery video calls, you can join Google+ Communities like Connected Classrooms or my friend Jo-Ann Fox's Mystery Location Calls.

What do you think of this activity? How could you adapt it to your classroom? If you'd like to join us in this activity, please contact me. I look forward to working with you!