Building Momentum for the Day

I am always on the lookout for productivity and task managers to keep me organized and focused. The more I experiment with different tools, the more I understand my own preferences and the need for others to select tools for themselves as well. I tend to lean toward using multiple tools with simple interfaces and functions in lieu of more robust apps and extensions that have more functionality and "distractions" than I need. 

Momentum is one of my favorite extensions due to its simplistic nature and straightforward functionality. It works in multiple browsers to give you a customized New Tab page to help start and organize your day. 

Here is a screenshot of my Momentum Tab for the day:

Momentum automatically greets you each day with a new background image, motivational quote, and prompt to set a main focus for the day. The current time is also prominent in the center of the page.

Almost everything is optionally displayed based on your selected settings (gear in the lower right corner). Simply toggle each feature On and Off.

On the bottom right, you have the option to display a simple Todo list. It's nothing fancy--no advanced features, due dates, or other options--but you can drag items around to reorder them. I list what I plan to work on throughout a single day; however, the list does carry over each day. Since I prefer to keep it simple, the daily focus and Todo list are the only features I tend to use.

Other optional features available in settings include the ability to display the current temperature and location (in the upper right corner) and the choice to search within your tab and add quick links or bookmarks (in the upper left corner).  I tend not to use these features as I have other extensions to manage temporary bookmarks and have elected to use this extension as a purposeful tool to focus on daily outcomes.

Take Momentum for a test drive to see if it works for you.

Here are a few alternatives if Momentum is not the tool for you:

• Dayboard
• Dream Afar
• Leoh New Tab
• One Feed
• TabTab
• Wunderlist New Tab

Which new tab extension works best for you?

Map Learning with Tour Builder and My Maps

As Hyperdocs become increasingly popular, consider using maps as a rich alternative.  Maps can be a great way to tell a story, make history and culture interactive, and travel without leaving the classroom.

I've been a long-time fan of Google Earth and it's capabilities. While it is a powerful demonstration tool for students, it can be very time-consuming to learn the nuances of Google Earth in order to record and share tours. Enter Google's Tour Builder and My Maps.

Google's Tour Builder is a great way to share where you've been and what you've seen and learned on your journey. It enables you to pin locations, add text, images, and video, and easily share your tour. These capabilities lend themselves to a lot of educational uses--create and take tours of historical events, geographic features, world cultures, the election trail, biographies, literary settings, and more. 

To use Tour Builder in 3D, you do need to download the Google Earth browser plug-in and be logged into your Google Account. If the plug-in is not available on your device, Tour Builder automatically defaults to 2D mode. Tour Builder is intuitive and has great built-in directions and prompts, so it is easy for students and teachers to build their own. Each location you add is given a place marker that can hold text and up to 25 images and videos that are displayed as a gallery. The tours remain private until you choose to share them with others.  

One advantage of using Tour Builder is the ability to upload your own photos and videos without having to host elsewhere on the web. 

Tour Builder Resources:

• My Example: February 2016 Election Tour
• Google Tour Builder Tutorial
• Create your own

Google's My Maps provides another option for students to create interactive maps. My Maps appears in your list of Google Drive Apps and has the same sharing features and options as other Google Apps. Similar to Tour Builder, My Maps will allow users to attach images and videos to locations. Unfortunately, My Maps does not currently allow you to upload your own photos and videos unless you make them available on the web and/or YouTube.

Add layers to allow users to easily filter information on your map. For instance, if students were researching a country, one layer could be geographic features, another could be cultural sites, etc. My example district map allows viewers to filter district elementary, secondary, and office locations.  My Maps also has a measuring tool (distance and area) and the ability to develop routes based on transportation modes (walking, bicycling, or driving).

My Maps Resources:

• My Example: School District of the Menomonie Area
• Google My Maps Help Menu
• Create your own

Take these interactive maps to the next level by having kids create and embed their own videos using WeVideo or Screencastify.

Want even more ideas about how to use Google Maps in the classroom? Check out Kurt Wismer's Geo 4 Edu site for ideas, examples, and tutorials.

Clear Your Browser History

When you visit websites, your browser stores information about the sites that you visit and the files that are used to run online applications. Browsers do this to speed up the load time of sites you visit. The browser can display files shared in its cache much faster than it can pull files the first time your visit a site.

So why do we need to occasionally clear these files - cache and cookies - stored in our browsers?

When websites and applications are updated, your browser may still be loading the old files stored in its cache. This can mean that you are not seeing the most recent changes and can cause errors or prevent you from performing actions on a website or application.

Check out the video tutorial on Clearing your Chrome Browser Cache below: