Friday, April 8, 2016

Google It! Medieval Europe Presentations

We've all heard and used the phrase "Google it!"  I was inspired by this phrase to create a project in which students created their own interactive presentation by recreating a Google logo and thematic pieces on one standard of Medieval Europe.  For example, a student who researched the "bubonic plague" created a Google logo designed to imitate the disease and its devastating effects on Medieval Europe. The pieces of each student's presentation included a VTS (Visible Thinking Strategy) image/strategy (to invite group discussion), an animated map (using interactive PowerPoint slides, Google Tours, or Animaps), an informational piece of writing (narrative, fairy tale, news article, infographic, video, etc.), and a final quiz to test their classmates' listening skills. Most students used Kahoot to create game quizzes to test their teammates learning at the end of their presentations. When finished with their presentations, students also linked the "Google Search" button to the best website they would recommend on their topic.  This week, students took turns teaching their peers what they learned as they presented their "Google It!" presentations, which included their own student-initiated VTS discussions and Kahoot quizzes.  Students also took notes on each presentation in the form of a Mind Map on paper, PowerPoint, or using Coggle (online mind-mapping). Enjoy some impressive and quite creative work below!