The use of Google Apps in a school setting can be used between students and teachers to collaborate, communicate, synthesize, analyze, create projects and so much more! Anyone can sign-up for a Google account and once that is done the possibilities endless . Google has a website, Google for Education, that allows educators, students and parents to explore all the benefits of incorporating Google Apps into their school setting. The great aspect about Google Apps is that they can be used between teacher and student, student to student, or teacher to all students. Not only will the students be engaged because they are collaboratively working together but they are also doing something they enjoy: Communicating with one another on their device’s. There is no worry about printing or saving documents because everything is easily stored in a user’s Google Drive, which is pretty much like a USB that you can access from any device. Perhaps the best feature of Google Apps for education is the fact that they are all free!
In my own school, all students starting in fourth grade are set up with a Gmail account through the school’s technology teacher. This way they are prepared to start sharing and collaborating on documents once they get to middle school. The teachers have also been using Google Apps for sometime now. Often the Principal will share a document or notice that she may need editing on what us to review. This is a fast and efficient way to get the message out without copying and wasting paper. I personally love Google Apps and have been using it for about two years now. I just love the ease of access to all my files and the user-friendliness the applications.
Survey Results (Using Google Forms)
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Brittany,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that one of the best things with Google Apps is the collaborative abilities. We can connect with colleagues, students, students can connect with each other, and so on. It's a wonderful way to integrate technology into a lesson in which you want students to collaborate, and have all students be using tech, not just sharing!
Brittany,
ReplyDeleteI think that you offer the greatest feature of Google and that is the collaborative element that essential to promoting higher order thinking in schools today among students. Yet, you also mention how it can be used by educators as well, and I agree that it is transformative. For instance, my department uses Google as a way to upload content for all classes, curriculum objectives, common assessments, departmental paperwork, links to resources, video clips that can be used in instruction, and more. This has helped individuals who may have to teach a class for the first time as well as offer a more transparent view into what each classroom is doing which can help in facilitating deeper departmental discussions. Overall, Google is a great tool both for students and teachers. Great post -- Anna
I LOVE all of the different Google Apps for Education. I've personally been using Google Apps since my MS World subscriptions ran out in college, and I've never looked back. My students are creating and collaborating with ease, and I can check in on their progress at any time since they have shared their Doc with me. With the addition of Google Classroom to the Google Apps for Education suite, I can easily send out assignments to my students and have them collected neatly in folders in my Google Drive. Great post! Couldn't agree more!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that your fourth graders are already getting exposed to the collaborative power of Google apps. And also that your principal buys in to its effectiveness. And, now I want to watch Dr. Who.
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