I’m excited to share a potentially powerful activity designed for the Virtual Classroom. The activity will engage participants in creating an interactive map with Google Forms, Sheets, and an amazing Add-on called Mapping Sheets.
The interactive map you see below was introduced as an icebreaker during a recent live Infinitec webinar designed to help educators adapt to teaching in the Virtual Classroom. The icebreaker did a great job of engaging the educators in this large group of online learners. Participants went from passive to active learning from the moment they got a chance to contribute and collaborate via the map. The momentum carried through the entire session, prompting abundant questions and audience suggestions. If you’re looking for this type of student engagement, you might want to try to create an interactive map with Mapping Sheets!
Explore Our Live, Interactive Map
Signs of Spring
For the live webinar, I kept the topic simple and relevant to encourage audience participation. My goal was to empower these educators with a great tool to add to their toolkits and inspire them to take it to the next level and power up their own virtual classrooms.
- Click on the map below to view it live.
- Click on any pin to view the participant submission.
- Click on the dots at the bottom of the box to view the photo.
Notes: If you land on a page that requires you to request permission, it means the photo has not been Shared correctly as Public on the Web. There is a learning curve here and fortunately everyone can try again by quickly submitting the form again.
Add Your Image to Our Live, Interactive Map
Steps at a Glance
- Use your phone to take a photo that illustrates “Signs of Spring“.
- Upload the photo to your Google Drive.
- Find your photo in your Drive and click Share. The sharing icon will appear.
- Click on Advanced at the bottom of the box that appears.
- Select Pubic on the Web.
- Click on the photo to Copy the link.
Learn to Create an Interactive Map
Watch this tutorial created with Screencast-o-matic.
Ways to Use an Interactive Map
Once you’ve mastered the trick of collecting information and creating a live map, you’ll discover many uses for this type of tool. I’ve used these types of maps to liven up a small student tech club and also used them to facilitate professional development on a global level. My advice to everyone is to start simple.
Learn More Ways to Use Interactive Maps in the Virtual Classroom
- Create Interactive Posters
- Launch a powerful project for the Virtual Classroom
- Inspire writing in the Virtual Writing Workshop, sign up for our next webinar
Join Our Next Webinar
Facilitate a Writing Workshop in the Virtual Classroom – Participate in Our Webinar
March 25, @ 3:30-4:30 CDT
Learn how to utilize the many features available in Google Docs to facilitate a virtual writing workshop and maximize writing instruction. Join us as we extend the walls of the classroom and demonstrate how to engage students in the writing process through peer editing, progress monitoring, and classroom management strategies, all outside of the boundaries of the physical classroom. Join me and Infinitec for an in-depth look at launching a virtual writing workshop that will provide students with opportunities to become active participants in their own learning.
Register to attend live or view the archive
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