Back to Blogging...taking a closer look at Google Apps

Apparently unless I am forced to blog to obtain a grade for a graduate class, I don't really find the time to post!  I've decided that with some upcoming changes to my professional life, it was time to get back to the blogging side of educational technology coaching.  

I've been using the Google Apps (and also the Google Apps for Education) for a few years now and quite frankly, I think I've taken much of what it can "do" for me for granted.  While the obvious uses for Google Apps include the Gmail App and the Google Docs (or Drive) App, there are many other uses that I feel like we've just scratched the surface of.  

The real time collaboration available in the Drive App means that teachers can share and comment on student work whenever they want.  The ability for students to share work with teachers, students, or even their parents, means that whatever is being worked on can be seen by a greater audience with the click of the keyboard.  

Google Forms is a nicely designed tool that can be used in many different ways in the classroom.  Teachers can create forms that they send to groups of students.  Forms can also be created to be shared with colleagues.  Tracking student behavior or creating a form that can help intervention specialists work with students are just some of the ideas that can be used with Google Forms.

Finally, Google Classroom is a newer feature of the Google family.  Teachers can set up online groups for any variety of classes.  Homework can be assigned through the Classroom (coming in as an attachment or linked to the Drive), student work can be assessed and evaluated (again through the Drive), and students can post comments and/or questions to teachers or classmates.  Teachers can grade work and then return assignments to students.  

There are many other uses of the Google Apps...we're just getting started.  Stay tuned, I'll be looking at the three things I've talked about in this post in more detail and I'll include examples of how these apps can be used at different grade levels.  

As always, if you are interested in learning more about educational technology and have some specific topics that you'd like to explore, please contact me at stansley18@hotmail.com.

Happy Technology!!