Google+Applications+in+the+Classroom



There seems to be an endless number of ways to use Google Applications in the classroom. This page will focus on the following uses:
 * 1) //Professional// – how teachers can collaborate with other instructors and administration
 * 2) //Teaching Tools// – applications that can help a teacher deliver a lesson through instruction, guided practice, or independent practice
 * 3) //Communication with Students and Families// – methods that can help teachers communicate more quickly and efficiently
 * 4) //Assessment// – techniques and forms that offer instant and ongoing informal and formal assessment.

You can link directly to several Youtube videos that offer easy step by step instruction to the various applications described here.

//Professional//
Using Google apps, teachers can collaborate and share information in a multitude of ways. Two or more teachers can [|simultaneously work on a document] like a lesson plan from different locations, making note of each other's comments through google docs, speaking directly to each other through google talk, or simultaneously chatting through gmail. A school or district can store lesson plans according to grade level and content area, virtually creating their own internet site to share lessons and thus work towards offering all students a more consistent education.

//Teaching Tools//
There are too many teaching tools to mention, and even more ways for creative teachers to use each of these tools to deliver a lesson. Through Google Earth, teachers can take a virtual tour of anywhere in the world. Ancient history lessons can include a tour of the Parthenon, Biology Classes can take you to an African Savannah, Geography teachers can escort their students on a virtual tour of the Syria-African Rift, foreign language teachers can have you wandering through Quebec City reading signs, or choosing a restaurant in Florence based on the menu.

[|Google Sketch Up] can enhance a social studies class by getting students to build a 3D model of historic buildings, or an English teacher can have students create a model of a scene from literature. Students can then share their work through a class wiki to compare and contrast their models. The ensuing discussion could be an insightful dialogue on how well the author described the scene, and students could alternatively examine how changing the setting might alter the plot structure or even characters of the novel.

[|Blogger's] most straightforward application could be demonstrated in a journalism class, although students could also use blogger to record their progress on a science experiment, a class trip, or any long term project. Teachers could monitor progress regularly, and students could have access to peer input as well.

Using Google Docs, students can [|collaborate on writing assignments], and teachers can track all revisions of documents, including specific contributions of individual students. Teachers can follow student and peer editing, and oversee how students' incorporate feedback to improve their writing.

Tracking results from science experiments can become instant and interactive using Google forms. Teachers can have individual students input their own results on, for example, an experiment on the effects of different kinds of light on plant growth, or teachers can instantaneously use data from the entire class, and watch Google convert information into graphs and charts, thus making the project more accessible for students with diverse learning styles (visual, mathematical, spatial) can absorb the results more readily.

//Communication with Students and Families//
There are a variety of tools that can foster better communication with not only colleagues and administrators, but also students and families. Of course, the key element is access. These features are only relevant in districts where everyone has access to a computer and internet connection.

Using [|spreadsheets] from Google forms, teachers can track homework assignments. Forms can be shared with students and parents, although some kind of encoding process would have to be configured due to confidentiality – students can be assigned numbers or a private security code. Coordinating parent-teacher interviews can also be done on a spreadsheet or through [|Google calendar], whereby parents could merely sign up according to available slots, and change their own appointments if necessary.

Teachers can gauge interest on topic choices using a spreadsheet, having instant and transparent responses from the entire class. This can be used for simple matters (who needs more time to work on a project), or assigning/choosing group projects, or for charting economic criteria of different countries. The possibilities are endless.

Google calendar can also be used to communicate with students about assignments, projects, or tests. Students can set up email reminders regarding specific timely items. Teachers can create multiple calendars, and choose with whom they want to share the different calendars.

//Assessment//
Using google forms, teachers can compile and manage a variety of formal and informal assessments. Teachers can create a pre/post assessment document using google forms, in order to answer the simple but important question, “did the students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary from this unit?” Both administrators and teachers can maintain a record of anecdotal observations, and this information can be shared as needed. Disciplinary issues can thus be quickly shared with all relevant personnel, creating a school environment whereby individual students and similar behavioral issues are dealt with consistently and fairly across all classrooms.

Teachers can have students maintain response journals in google docs. Then, at regular intervals, teachers can review these response journals and provide feedback to students. If this is done via google docs, the response journals are ALWAYS available to students, even when teachers are reviewing them. This alleviates problems associated with hard copy response journals that, for all intents and purposes, are “out of commission” while being reviewed by the teachers.

There is an infinite amount of information available regarding how to use google applications effectively in the classroom. For a good introduction, try this informative video entitled, [|“32 Ways to Use Google Apps in the Classroom.”]

Resources:
Abraham, Chris, 2006, //Blogger Tutorial - How to Start Blogging with Blogger//, http://youtu.be/ryb4VPSmKuo. Retrieved August 4, 2011.

Anson, Alex, 2011, Youtube, //Google Docs Sharing and Collaboration Tutorial,// http://youtu.be/i0P-i9gD--c. Retrieved August 4, 2011.

Google, About Sharing in Google Docs, http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=180199. Retrieved August 4, 2011.

Google Calendar, Welcome to Goggle Calendar,http://www.google.com/googlecalendar/about.html. Retrieved August 4, 2011.

Google, //Creating Forms: Google Docs Help//. http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=87809. Retrieved August 4, 2011.

Schooltube – //Google Sketchup: New Users 1: Concepts//., 2011, http://youtu.be/xqcL-xPC-Ys. Retrieved August 4, 2011.

Stiglitz, Julia, 2011, Google Webinar, //32 Ways to Use Google Apps in the Classroom//, http://youtu.be/-AI1CNpa0rU. Retrieved August 4, 2011.