Oct
22
Written by:
Instructional Technology
10/22/2007 12:53 PM
Google tools offer real advantages to educators: They’re free, fairly simple, and promote collaboration. Another key trait of Google products is that they are web-based. In other words, as long as you can get online and remember your password, you can access your work. Another feature is the ease of version control. It’s easy to determine who contributed what to your documents or spreadsheets. This can greatly reduce the “email trail”!
Some ideas about use of Google tools in an educational setting? Here are some starters:
1. Writing to a shared spreadsheet to get data on common assessments
2. School wide-authorship of school improvement plans
3. Curriculum writing across grade levels, or even buildings.
What are your ideas? Please share your “take-aways” and possible plans for Google Products.
5 comment(s) so far...
Re: Google Tools for Educators
Hi Mike, I enjoyed learning about iGoogle and look forward to playing around with it a little bit. However, as a tool for the elementary level it seems a bit labor intensive for student use. It felt like it would take a great deal of set up with e-mail addresses for the students before they could begin using them. Teachers might find the one-stop shopping of information that they can set up with their own personalized home page interesting and helpful. The only other comment that I would make would be that with this kind of information, if you know in advance that what is being introduced may not be instructional appropriate at certain levels, I would prefer to know that. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't necessarily elementary level appropriate.
By Dana Wilhelm on
10/24/2007 3:18 PM
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Re: Google Tools for Educators
Hey Mike. I love the iGoogle and Google Docs and will be finding ways to use it. As you had said during class, I don't think it will be very useful as a classroom tool for Kindergartners but it can definitely be used for communication between my teammates and even other K teachers in the district. Now I need to find a way to get may teammates moved involved with using technology. There is a lack of comfort for 2 of my teammates when it comes to computers overall. See you next time!
By Nancy Doskins on
10/24/2007 3:37 PM
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Re: Google Tools for Educators
Today, instead of our normal faculty meeting, we had a PLC meeting. I introduced the document, spreadsheet, and presentation portions of google docs in that meeting. We found an immediate application because we decided to create a list of key vocabulary words for the next unit as a google doc. We are also going to collaborate on a document with the Integrated Science 1-2 PLC. Needless to say, but your mentioning of how this might be useful for PLCs in the meeting had a pretty quick turn around. I mentioned it to my classes today to see if anyone had experience with it and they had not. I am going to use it for a background information that my students are currently writing. Very timely help, Mike. I'll let you know how it goes.
By Kevin Brooks on
10/25/2007 6:50 AM
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Re: Google Tools for Educators
Mike, Dana & Mark - I used google docs the next day with a co-worker who already knew how to use it. Now to introduce other folks to the benefits of google docs. Also used the RSS feed to have information delivered to me. Thanks for the class. Useful in many arenas. I plan to try google groups as well.
By Renee Howell on
10/25/2007 6:27 AM
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Re: Google Tools for Educators
I am going to need to let this tool perculate for a while until I can find time to play with it a bit. I think it may be useful in my PLC work as the department would have one place to find common documents.
By VMB on
11/6/2007 7:44 AM
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