I really like Picasa! I take TONS of photos, and currently I use an editing software online that I like, but it doesn't allow me to save my creations. Picasa is online, easy, FREE, and I can save my photos to it so that I don't lose my work or have to search for them later! I enjoyed playing around with Picasa and uploading to my albums. Here is one of the creations I made.
Google Sketch Up is also really fun and definitely has uses for my classroom! Seventh grade is the second year that students will be introduced to and use solids in math. I especially love how Sketch Up allows the user to "push and pull" the shape to make it smaller or bigger. I would love for students to use this tool and then the measuring tape to find measurements of their solids and then go on to find the area of the base and the volume of the solid. I also think with the push and pull tool, it is easy for students to see the difference in volume of a shape with the change of only a few inches on one side. I think this tool is most useful in middle school because it is visual and hands on. Many of my students have trouble with the measurement concept because it is hard for them to visualize the shapes and the changing of the shapes. Using Google Sketch Up, students don't have to visualize it, they can create it on their own!
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