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Google podcasts is a tool that allows students as well as teachers to create a podcast for their classroom.

One way this tool could be used is to assign a group of students a certain topic and have the students create a podcasts that provided further information about said topic. The students will be able to share their knowledge and the research they learned about their topic.

Another way that students can use this tech tool is by having student listen to an assigned podcast and have them answer questions about the main ideas of the topic. This will provide a way for students to learn new information and check for the comprehension throughout.

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With Google Podcasts, you can find and listen to the world's podcasts for free.

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TPACK is the knowledge teachers use to integrate technology in their teaching. Each of the seven components of the TPACK framework are explained.

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TPACK, or Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, is a framework for the integration of technology in the classroom. The TPACK framework is a helpful guide to providing students with a high-quality educational experience, when technology is incorporated in the classroom.

Though its history is difficult to track, TPACK seems to have first been presented in research written by Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler in 2006, and has since evolved into the framework teachers use today.

TPACK identifies three forms of knowledge:

Technological Knowledge: Knowledge about technology, including thinking about and working with technology, tools, and resources.

Pedagogical Knowledge: Knowledge about pedagogy, including practices or methods of teaching and learning.

Content Knowledge: Knowledge about the content or subject area to be learned or taught.

The TPACK approach does not view these knowledge areas in isolation. Instead, the framework emphasizes the intersections of these knowledge areas, as seen on the diagram:

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)

Technological Content Knowledge (TCK)

Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK)

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

In the center of the diagram, you will see TPACK, which is the model for how to teach with technology.

TPACK therefore gives teachers a framework to combine their knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content for an innovative approach to teaching and learning.

TPACK vs. SAMR

In better understanding how teachers can use TPACK as a guide, it is best to look at TPACK in contrast to the SAMR model. For more information about the SAMR model, visit my recent blog post.

Though at first glance TPACK and SAMR seem to have similarities, the two models are actually quite different.

SAMR - which stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition - is best for providing a high-level view of technology integration in the classroom. SAMR is simple. The issue with SAMR, however, is that it might be overly simple.

TPACK does not treat technology as separate from teaching and learning. Instead, TPACK incorporates the interdisciplinary nature of pedagogy, content, and technology.

As we teach, we combine our knowledge of the content (the material or subject we are teaching) with our knowledge of pedagogy (how to teach). As technology becomes increasingly more ubiquitous in the classroom, we also have to add our knowledge of technology into the mix: combining content, pedagogical, and technological knowledge.

The TPACK Model: Benefits and Drawbacks

With all theories and models, there are benefits and drawbacks to TPACK.

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of TPACK is that it allows teachers to examine and reflect on their practice and how technology is integrated in the classroom (SAMR does the same).

TPACK also recognizes the critical intersection between content, pedagogy, and tech. The reality is that tech isn't going to transform our classrooms or solve our problems if it is viewed in isolation. Transformation really occurs when tech is viewed in relation to teaching and learning.

Unlike the SAMR model, which is often viewed as too simple, TPACK has been viewed as too complex by some educators. Similarly, some educators also believe that TPACK might not be practically useful.

At the end of the day...

TPACK is a framework that can be effective in guiding teachers to incorporate technology into teaching and learning in meaningful ways. TPACK views tech integration as the intersection of knowledge areas - pedagogy, content, and technology. Consider using this framework as you continue to develop your own personal philosophy around technology in your classroom.

Resources

The resources below helped inspire this blog post. Check them out for more information on TPACK.

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All About TPACK: A Teacher's Guide to the TPACK Tech Integration Model

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TPACK, or Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, is a framework for the integration of technology in the classroom. The TPACK framework is a helpful guide to providing students with a high-quality educational experience, when technology is incorporated in the classroom. Though its history is difficult to track, TPACK seems to have first been presented in research...

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This framework asserts that content, pedagogy, and technology are essential intertwining areas needed to achieve technologically enhanced learning.

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Incorporating technology has always been a part of our teaching, but now with distance learning and teaching digitally, we have to incorporate more than ever! Learn about the SAMR model and how it affects online learning and the technology you use in the online classroom!

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Incorporating Technology Into The Classroom - The SAMR Model

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Learn about the SAMR model of technology integration and how to implement technology at each SAMR level to improve instructional quality.

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Good technology integration isn't about using the fanciest tool, it's about being aware of the range of options and picking the right strategy-or strategies-for the lesson at hand.

The biggest obstacle to teaching online probably isn't the technology. Teachers seek out educational technology, in fact, because it "can have considerable positive impacts on student performance," according to a 2016 study -improving test scores and allowing teachers to assess student achievement more efficiently. The big problem is how to integrate it: Beyond the sheer number of tech tools available, the same researchers identified "inadequate professional development and training" as the primary obstacle to using technology productively in classrooms.

Understandably, the emergence of the coronavirus has dramatically accelerated the process of integrating edtech, as educators around the country race to get online as fast as they can. But as many of our teachers have noted, the current state of K-12 online learning is more like triage-a form of crisis management-and not at all like skillfully managed distance education.

What's missing from the conversation right now, which makes sense given the immediacy of the need, is a focus on the bigger question of what the highest quality technology integration actually looks like. That's an important conversation to have, because in a post-coronavirus world there's likely to be a greater emphasis on digital learning, even as we return to physical schools and take advantage of face-to-face opportunities.

A Hierarchy of Tech Uses

A powerful conceptual tool to think about technology integration-and edtech's best uses-is the SAMR model, developed in 2010 by education researcher Ruben Puentedura, who was the 1991 recipient of a Phi Beta Kappa teaching award.

The SAMR model lays out four tiers of online learning, presented roughly in order of their sophistication and transformative power: substitution, augmentation, modification, and r edefinition. When switching to an online format, teachers often focus on the first two levels, which involve replacing traditional materials with digital ones: converting lessons and worksheets into PDFs and posting them online, or recording lectures on video and making them available for asynchronous learning, for example.
Creative Commons
Those are important steps, especially when teaching online for the first time, but in classrooms where tech integration has moved to the mastery level, the last two levels of the SAMR model-modification and redefinition-should also be in the mix. Students in classes where this kind of mastery is embedded find more novel and immersive uses for technology. They are creators and publishers of their own work across multiple forms of media, for example, or they are inviting professionals to provide feedback on their work products, or participating in digital forums with other peers around the world.

It's tempting to think of SAMR as a mountain to be summited. But good technology integration isn't about living at the top of the SAMR model; it's about being aware of the range of options and picking the right strategy-or strategies-for the lesson at hand.

Here's a closer look at good classroom practices at each level in the model:

Substitution

"Substitution" means replacing traditional activities and materials-like in-class lectures or paper worksheets-with digital versions. There is no substantial change to the content, just the way that it is delivered.

The goal here is to keep things simple: there's no need to reinvent the wheel. Scan your lessons and worksheets, convert them into PDFs, and post them online using Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, or a similar file-sharing service. Think about the information you have on your walls, such as the classroom norms, the daily schedule, or vocabulary lists, and convert them into digital formats that students can easily reference.

It may also help to provide synchronous as well as asynchronous versions of your lectures. If you're holding class meetings over a videoconferencing service like Zoom or Skype, provide a recording for students who can't attend. You can also create your own instructional videos for students to view at their own pace.

Augmentation

This level involves incorporating interactive digital enhancements and elements like comments, hyperlinks, or multimedia. The content remains unchanged, but students can now take advantage of digital features to enhance the lesson.

For example, students can create digital portfolios to create multimedia presentations, giving them more options to demonstrate their understanding of a topic. And instead of handing out paper quizzes, you can gamify your quizzes with tools like Socrative and Kahoot.

Teachers can also create virtual bulletin boards-using an app like Padlet -where students can post questions, links, and pictures.

Modification

At this level, teachers can think about using a learning management system like Google Classroom, Moodle, Schoology, or Canvas to handle the logistical aspects of running a classroom, like tracking grades, messaging students, creating a calendar, and posting assignments.

Teaching online opens up new channels of communication, many of which can help students who have traditionally been marginalized. Research shows that girls may be less likely to speak up in class, for example, so they may benefit from backchannels -alternative conversations that can run alongside instruction-that encourage participation.

Zoom's text chat feature, meanwhile, gives students an opportunity to write their questions out, which can feel less intrusive if there are dozens of students participating in the call. Also, students who prefer to collect their thoughts may benefit from slower-paced, asynchronous discussions in an online forum or email threads.

Redefinition

Learning is fundamentally transformed at the "redefinition" level, enabling activities that were previously impossible in the classroom.

For example, virtual pen pals can connect students to other parts of the world, whether it's with other students or experts in a field. Virtual field trips enable students to visit locations like the Amazon rainforest, the Louvre, or the Egyptian pyramids. After reading a book in class, you can invite the author to chat about their work and answer questions.

Technology also provides an opportunity to bring authentic audiences into your virtual classroom, and can make publishers out of your students. Kids can write their own wikis or blogs for public consumption and feedback-and platforms like Quadblogging can connect distant classrooms together so students both write and respond. Students can tackle local problems-like investigating the water quality of a nearby river-and invite members of the community to assess their digital proposals.

Going Beyond SAMR

Finally, consider how technology can be used not just as a way to deliver content, but also to strengthen relationships with your students. For elementary school teacher John Thomas, Seesaw and Flipgrid allow him to share a daily greeting, which his students then respond to-or to each other-with a typed or voiced comment. It's a good way to provide some stability while they're isolated.

How can my lesson be improved using technology?

How can I engage and empower students through technology?

How can online learning more closely resemble authentic, real-world learning?

Remember, again, that SAMR is sometimes thought of as a mountain to summit, but it's really more like a toolbox. The goal isn't to use the most sophisticated tool, but to find the right one for the job. More importantly, however, it's a way to reflect on your technology integration by thinking about a few key questions:

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A Powerful Model for Understanding Good Tech Integration

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Good technology integration isn't about using the fanciest tool, it's about being aware of the range of options and picking the right strategy-or strategies-for the lesson at hand.

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Peardeck is a tool that enhances the usual lecture. This tool allows to interact with the teachers powerpoint using their own devices.

One example for using this in a history classroom would be to use it for a lecture on the Civil Rights movement and provide the students with discussion questions throughout the lesson that they can type their answer too.

A second example would be using the website as a review before a test. I could post the questions on the board and have students type or select the answer they feel is correct and then go over the answers to see what questions the students may have about the content.

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Pear Deck is on a mission to help teachers create powerful learning moments for every student, every day - using the tools you already know and love.

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This website allows teachers to engage students by posting questions for class and having students use their own devices to race to answer correctly.

In a history classroom you could use this tool to assess the knowledge of a students before the start of a unit. I could post images or descriptions of important events and see if my students would be able to choose which event the image or description is describing.

Another way to use this in my classroom would be before a test I could post review questions on the board and the students could answer the questions as a way for them to study.

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This tool helps students by allowing them to play a game that keeps them engaged an entertained while learning.

This tool could be used in my classroom as a review game before a test. It would allow students to answer questions over the content they just learned.

This tool could also double as practice for a budgeting tool in a Econ class. By challenging students to save their in game currency in the class it could help them with the important practice of budgeting.

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Canva is a creation tool that allows students to create using a large variety of formats in order to share the knowledge they have obtained.

One way to use this in a History classroom is to have the students create a timeline of different events that we have discussed throughout our class.

A second use for Canva in a History classroom is to have students create a newspaper article describing a major event that took place during the time period we were discussing.

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This tool allows students to post original content as well as interact with content posted by peers from their class.

One way I could use this in my class is to have students post answer discussion questions and have them also respond to a few of their peers answers as well.

Another way to use Padlet in my classroom is to have students post a video explaining their understanding of certain events in history and having their peers respond to the videos to add onto the information they talked about.

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This is a tool that allows an individual to create a slideshow for a presentation.

In my history classroom I could have students pair up and assign each group a major battle in WWII to research and have the students create a presentation over the research they find.

Another way to use this tool in my classroom is to have students pick an important figure from our current chapter and have them create and present a slides presentation to the class about their important figure.

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Google Slides: Online Slideshow Maker | Google Workspace

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Use Google Slides to create online slideshows. Make beautiful presentations together with secure sharing in real-time and from any device.

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‎Discover podcasts that entertain, inform, and inspire. Explore shows you’ll love from entertainment and comedy to news and sports. Features:
• Stream millions of shows, from the biggest names to the best independents.
• Access premium shows with subscriptions.
• Follow shows and save your favori…

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here.

Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

Learn more about Google Earth.

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Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here. Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

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Nearpod: Foster a love of learning in every student

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Create active learning experiences students can’t wait to be a part of.

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Edpuzzle is a tech tool that allows questions to be applied for students to answer throughout the video.

One way that this tool could be used in the classroom is by assigning a video to the students as homework. The students would watch a video assigned by the teacher and answer questions placed at main points throughout the video. By answering these questions the students would be checking their understnading of the information throughout the videos.

Another examples is to have students create their own EdPuzzle. This task would involve the students finding a video that covers their assigned topic and have them highlight the main ideas of the lesson throughout the video. By doing this the students would be tested on their ability to recall the major events of their assigned topic.

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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Poll Every where is an interactive tool that allows teachers to create polls that students can interact with on their own devices.

One way this can be used is as an exit ticket. Students can answer a poll stating their level of confidence in recalling their memory of the lesson from that day.

Another way that poll everywhere can be used in the classroom is as a bell ringer. The teacher can post a question on the board for the class to answer. A teacher can use this tool as a way to check how the students can recall the information they learned the day before.

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Host interactive online meetings | Poll Everywhere

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Padlet is an interactive tool that allows students to post their thoughts on a connected platform that the whole class can see.

One way to use this in the classroom is to have the students answer a discussion question question regarding the content that they are currently learning about. The students will then respond to two of their classmates to share their thoughts about their answers.

Another way to use this tool in the classroom is to have students share a short video in which they discuss their main takeaways from the lesson they learned in the previous class. The students could then respond to two of their classmates videos.

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Easily create and share online forms and surveys, and analyze responses in real-time.

Create an online form as easily as creating a document

Select from multiple question types, drag-and-drop to reorder questions, and customize values as easily as pasting a list.

Send polished surveys and forms

Customize colors, images, and fonts to adjust the look and feel or reflect your organization's branding. And add custom logic that shows questions based on answers, for a more seamless experience.

Analyze responses with automatic summaries

See charts with response data update in real-time. Or open the raw data with Google Sheets for deeper analysis or automation.

Create and respond to surveys from anywhere

Access, create, and edit forms on-the-go, from screens big and small. Others can respond to your survey from wherever they are-from any mobile device, tablet, or computer.

Build forms and analyze results together

Add collaborators-just like with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides-to build questions together in real-time. Then analyze results together without having to share multiple versions of the file.

Work with clean response data

Use built-in intelligence to set response validation rules. For example, ensure that email addresses are properly formatted or that numbers fall within a specified range.

Share forms via email, link, or website

It's easy to share forms with specific people or with a broad audience by embedding forms on your website or sharing the links on social media.

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We use industry-leading security measures to keep your data safe, including advanced malware protections. Forms is also cloud-native, eliminating the need for local files and minimizing risk to your devices.

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All files uploaded to Google Drive or created in Forms are encrypted in transit and at rest.

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Our products, including Forms, regularly undergo independent verification of their security, privacy, and compliance controls.

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Forms adheres to the same robust privacy commitments and data protections as the rest of Google Cloud's enterprise services.

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Google Forms: Online Form Creator | Google Workspace

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Use Google Forms to create online forms and surveys with multiple question types. Analyze results in real-time and from any device.

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Flip Grid is a tool that allows students and teachers to create videos that help guide instruction.

One way this tool can be used in the classroom is to have students make a video responding to a prompt and post it to the class gird. The student can then pick one peers video to listen to and make a short response video about what they thought about their peers video.

Another way that Flip Grid can be used in the classroom is to have students record an online presentation of a powerpoint using the screen share features. This allows students to still be able to present their materials to the class without having to spend all the time in class doing the presentations in person.

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Infogram is a tool that can be used to make interactive charts, reports, and maps.

One way student could use this in a class room is to create a map reflecting the area we have discussed in history class. I would then have students locate and explain where important events from that area took place.

Another way students could use Infogram is to have the students create a social media post on the platform. I would have students pretend to be a certain country or individual during the time of the war. They would put themselves in their shoes and create a propaganda type post that would reflect what their assigned person or country might have posted during that time.

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Infogram is an intuitive visualization tool that empowers people and teams to create beautiful content.
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Create Infographics, Reports and Maps - Infogram

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Infogram is an easy to use infographic and chart maker. Create and share beautiful infographics, online reports, and interactive maps. Make your own here.

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Infographic Maker Trusted By 11 Million Users - Piktochart

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With Piktochart AI, you can create stunning infographics, reports, presentations, and more in seconds. No design experience needed. Start for free.

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Interactive Printing Press is a tool that allows student to create newspaper articles, brochures, and flyers.

This tool could be used in my high school history class to assign students to create a newspaper article that describes an important event in the era of history in which we are talking about during that lesson.

This tool could also be used in my history class room to have students create a brochure or flyers that is a piece of propaganda. The students would take a side on a war effort we would be learning about and create a piece of work that would be used with the intention of getting others to join their war effort.

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Tiki-Toki is a tool that allows teachers or students to create timelines.

This tool could be used by me in my classroom in order to put in order the events that we have been discussing in class. This will allow my class to have visual that will help them understand the order in which important events in history happened.

Another way this tool can be used is having students create their own timelines. The student could find the 10 events from the Civil war they feel were most impactful. They would then place these ideas on a timeline in order and explain why they were important.

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Tiki-Toki Timeline Maker: Beautiful web-based timeline software

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Create beautiful interactive timelines that you can share on the web. The perfect timeline maker for company history timelines and school projects.

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Online Museums or tours are great tools for letting students explore and see the places of history without them actually having to travel there.

One way to use these interactive tours is to have students independently explore the tour and recall the important information that they learned about at each location.

Another way to use these tools is to have the teacher put the interactive tour on the board and go through it as a class. As the class stops at each location the teacher can describe the significance of each location and answer any questions that the class may have about it.

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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

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The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History virtual tours allow visitors to take self-guided, room-by-room tours of select exhibits and areas within the museum from their desktop or mobile device. Visitors can also access select collections and research areas at our satellite support and research stations as well as past exhibits no longer on display.

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MindMeister: Online Mind Mapping and Brainstorming

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Create, share and collaboratively work on mind maps with MindMeister, the leading online mind mapping software. Includes apps for iPhone, iPad and Android.

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Access Google Drive with a Google account (for personal use) or Google Workspace account (for business use).

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Google Earth calls itself "the world's most detailed globe."

It's true! Zoom in to anywhere in the world. Tilt to see the elevation and buildings pop out of the ground. Click on locations to gather details.

For years, Google Earth (google.com/earth) has been a fantastic CONSUMPTION tool. Consume visuals and info about the world.

Now, students don't have to just consume with Google Earth.

They can CREATE.

Meet Google Earth creation tools

Google recently added the ability to create Google Earth projects. In these projects, your students can stick pins to the globe, add rich media and detailed information, then present it step-by-step like a story.

Use the new "Projects" button in the left sidebar of Google Earth (the pin on map icon). Here's what you can do:

Placemarks

Click search to add and then "Add to project" in the knowledge card. Add to new project or an existing project. Click "Save." You can also drop a placemark by dropping directly on Google Earth.

Lines and shapes

To create lines: Click draw line/shape button in toolbar. Then, click the globe to draw line with series of points. Press Enter. Give it a title to save to project.

To create shapes: Click draw line/shape to draw a shape too. Then, click on the toolbar and click globe to draw. Add several points to draw the shape. Close the shape by clicking on the first point. Give it a title and save to project.

Street View

Click the yellow pegman to see where Street View is available. Find a line or dot to see Street View and click. Set up the view you want. Click "Capture Street View" to add it to your project.

Slides

Add a full screen slide as an introduction, section break or ending. Click "Add to project" in sidebar and choose "Fullscreen slide". Add a title, description, background color and/or background image.
To see a video on adding features to a map, click here.
Editing a place on the map

Hover over a place in the sidebar and click the pencil to edit. (You can also click "edit" when you create a new place instead of clicking "save".) In the edit menu, you can edit the following for your place ...

images and videos (upload, image search, YouTube, Google Drive, your photos or URL)

title

description (including links, text alignment, bold, italics, lists and more)

type of info box (small, large or none)

placemark icon

view (set how the place appears on the screen manually with altitude, tilt and more; also, set it the way you want on the screen and click "Capture this view")

line width and color

shape color and transparency

To see a video on styling the places in your project, click here.
Reorder

Move the items in your Google Earth presentation around by clicking and dragging them into order in the sidebar.

Present

Click the "Present" button to display the project in full screen. Use the arrow buttons to move forward or backward through your project. You'll fly back and forth to the spots in your project.

Using Google Earth in the classroom

These Google Earth creation tools let students tell powerful stories -- and share useful information -- visually on the map.

But what would that look like in the classroom?

Check out the video below to see how a family shared memories, a biologist made a tour of the Hudson River, and a class of students studied how a local lake had been abused.

10 ways to use Google Earth creation tools in the classroom

Want to put the power of these tools in your students' hands? Here are some ideas ...

1. Identify important locations in a story/history

Are you studying a story that has real locations in the real world? Have students drop placemarks in those locations and write descriptions of why they're significant to the story or history.

2. Show the timeline of a person's life

Pick a person from history. A character from a story. Someone a student knows in real life. Plot the 10 most important places in that person's life on a map -- and describe why they're important.

3. Relive a trip

If a student has visited someplace meaningful, have that student drop markers on the most important places and describe them. Add personal photos and videos to make it more vivid. This doesn't rule out students who don't travel, though. They can pick a place they'd like to visit and describe where they'd go!

4. Do a "Day in the Life" project

Through an interview -- or by shadowing them -- students can document the normal day-to-day happenings of someone in their community -- or beyond! Students drop pins where that person goes and describes it in the description. If the person shares photos or videos of their day-to-day activities, add them to make it more vivid!

5. Tell a fictional story

Put students' creative capacities to the test! Each placemark in their Google Earth project can be a page in a story. Upload student-created images (scanned, photos, created with digital tools, etc.). Then present them full-screen and tell the story!

6. Do place-based math problems

Geometry. Distance, rate, time. Ratios and proportions. Any of these can come to life when put on a map and connected to real places. Have students crunch the numbers and share them on their own Google Earth projects. Or take it to the next level and ...

7. Do a collaborative class map

Each student can create a placemark on a class map, adding rich details, images, videos and more to their pins. When each student dives deep into his/her own pin, a collaborative "crowd sourced" map becomes very detailed very quickly!

8. Create a supplement to the school newspaper or yearbook

Where did the sports teams compete -- and how did they do? Where have students worked or done internships? Where have students traveled? The newspaper or yearbook staff can create a Google Earth project with those details. Share it in the newspaper or yearbook for others to see!

9. Create a school/district resource about other schools

Provide a map with addresses, important information, events and more for parents and community members. They can use it to see where events are and gather valuable information. Plus, it's a great visual aid to see how far the school's activities reach.

10. Create a "Where are they now?" map

A "Where are they now?" map is great for school alumni to see what they're doing and how far they've gone from home. It can also be used in the classroom to show where people in current events are and what they're doing.

Even more ideas for Google Earth creation tools
Question: How could you use Google Earth's new creation tools? How have you used MyMaps in ways that could cross over to these new Google Earth tools? Leave your ideas in a comment below!

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Creating with Google Earth: 10 activities to try

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Google Earth's new creation tools let students demonstrate their learning on a map. Tell stories. Share information. Then share it with class!Google Earth

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Playing commercial video games in classrooms can sound promising, but many games also present challenges for teachers. Commercial games can have content that is inappropriate for children of certain ages. Others may be too open-ended, with objectives that can be difficult to identify or assess. Some simply take too long to play in one or two class meetings.

To meet these needs, some publishers "open up the hood"-retrofitting full commercial experiences to meet the needs of classrooms. Minecraft: Education Edition is one example, an educational modification of the popular sandbox video game. In addition to adapting the game, the publisher has a robust website with lesson plans and downloadable worlds.

Another modification is Walden, a game EDU, which is a set of 20- to 30-minute modules adapted from the award-winning full version that can take up to six hours to complete. The educational version includes lesson plans, the ability to stream the game in a Chrome browser, and content-aligned goals.

Access Gaming Platforms Designed for Educato rs

Recently, Ubisoft-the publisher of blockbuster hits such as Assassin's Creed, Rabbids, and the Just Dance series of games, launched Play to Learn. It's a free platform for librarians, teachers, and education professionals and includes four PC titles so far. In Rabbids Coding!, children as young as 7 can learn block-based coding in a game featuring mischievous, rabbitlike creatures.

Other Play to Learn games immerse middle and high school students in different time periods. In Valiant Hearts: The Great War, players experience trench warfare in World War I, told through an interactive graphic novel-like narrative. Anno 1404: History Edition is set during the European Renaissance. Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt lets players and students discover the virtual world of Assassin's Creed, including the Great Pyramids and life during Ptolemaic Egypt at the time of Cleopatra, without any violence, in a guided-tour, museumlike experience.

Use Curriculum Guides to Enrich the Gaming Experience

Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt is one in a series of gamelike worlds available on Play to Learn that can immerse students in history. In this series, a leap beyond displaying images in a textbook or projected from a website, students can explore ancient civilizations and read from the game's encyclopedia-like database. Like a field trip through time, virtual worlds offer different entry points to understand past cultures.

The Discovery Tour lessons can support student engagement as they make rich and meaningful connections to people from the past. For instance, in Ancient Egypt, students can explore agriculture in the Nile River Basin or sail a felucca, a traditional wooden boat. In addition to the Ancient Egypt game, there are Discovery Tour experiences in Ancient Greece and The Viking Age. These two are currently not part of the free Play to Learn platform but are also available as standalone experiences without the need to purchase the entire commercial game.

Discovery Tour includes a robust and free curriculum guide of lesson plans and printable classroom materials. The lesson plans were developed by Robin Sharma and Chu Xu, international graduate students at McGill University's Technology, Learning, and Cognition Lab.

Working with in-house historians and game designers at Ubisoft afforded Sharma and Xu a unique opportunity to develop thoughtful lesson plans that were not just add-ons. The lessons are easy to customize and work in different settings, from one-on-one to learning centers or stations, where small groups rotate to play. Discovery Tour can also be projected on a screen, where one player plays and the whole class views it.

YouTube playthrough videos offer another option if a classroom is further limited in technology. For example, this brief video from Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece explains Sparta's social classes in detail. In this regard, the game footage becomes a multimodal text, providing students with multiple means of representation of what might otherwise be considered abstract content.

Historical Games Have Interdisciplinary Applications

The Curriculum Guide features "cards" with learning objectives, instructional recommendations, and assessments that teachers can easily modify to suit their needs. Discovery Tour is a powerful classroom learning tool that also has interdisciplinary applications. While learning history may seem like the obvious focus, the Curriculum Map categorizes lessons into six disciplines: 21st-century skills and the content areas of science, math, language and literacy, arts, and social sciences. In a math lesson, students explore the geometric shapes of the architecture in the 3D virtual environment and calculate the volume of pyramids.

In social sciences, students can take screenshots of ancient relics or stacks of scrolls and books in the Library of Alexandria. Students also encounter ancient philosophers, such as Socrates. There are science lessons on topics ranging from oxidation to irrigation to the properties of bronze. Ubisoft has created a helpful video with more details about how educators can use the curriculum guides.

The Assassin's Creed series recently celebrated its 15th anniversary with the slogan, "Leap into History." This resonated with me. In my teacher education courses at the University of Northern Colorado, my undergraduate students grew up playing the games. Several shared how they piqued their interest in history, which led them to major in history education. The potential long-term impact of these games' ability to spark curiosity is indeed powerful.

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Boosting Student Interest in History Through Video Games

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Teachers can use educationally retrofitted commercial video games to supplement history lessons for secondary students.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Using the Internet Archive in a History Classroom

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Using the Internet Archive in a History Classroom

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Using Technology to Teach a History Lesson

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It's possible to liven up a history lesson through technology.

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15 Way to Incorporate Tech in a History Classroom

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15 Way to Incorporate Tech in a History Classroom

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15+ Awesome Ways to Use Technology to Teach History - The Homeschool Breakroom

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Bring history alive with technology. The pairing is less obvious, but if you're willing to poke around, your students will thank you! Science & technology are an obvious pairing. But history & technology? The pairing less obvious, and the resources aren't as numerous.