Collaborating with group members was a good experience. Collaborating was a very easy process in which a group member left a comment with a suggestion on how to make the document better or just saying how they liked it. This was a good time saving method for making suggested changes. It also gave me the opportunity to look at other works created and give an insight.
I have used Google Docs before in other classes to share documents, but this is the first time I used Google to create a survey. It was a different experience. I am so use to creating surveys using Qualtrics, but Google Forms was an easy experience. There are not many differences in using Google Forms than from using other application programs to create surveys. Creating the survey was not hard, but I had a time creating questions because the questions are suppose to relate to 6th grade students. Since I am not a teach this was a task.
I used Google Slides to create a PowerPoint titled “How to create a video using Powtoon.” This lesson is to help students learn to create a Powtoon presentation on a specific world concern topic selected. The students’ video should be about 2 minutes or less on the topic they select. This activity will help students’ technology skills and enhance their knowledge on world concerns. I got some really good feedback from group members that reminded me of something I totally forgot to do. It is really a great experience to have someone look at documents and give insight. The word document created is titled “How to use Edutopia and Wikipedia for research.” This document was designed to give those students that have never used either of these websites information on how to research a topic and get an article or just information about the topic.
Google Docs are free productivity applications. They are great free source for teachers and students to use and share documents. There are so many features Google Docs offer that can be used in the classroom. Google Docs can be used to create documents, used as grammar and spell checker, thesaurus, to enhance documents by the use of graphics, photos, or even tables. Teacher can use Google Docs to create calendars, newsletters, flyers, or materials. Teachers can use Excel to create spreadsheets of numeric date to organize input, edit, and chart data to create reports.
Google slides can be used to create presentations that can be shared with students. The slides can be used as source of providing information about a particular topic for the student. Teacher can add hyperlinks that includes videos, and other data sources to aid in teaching the class. Google Docs promote active learning and collaboration among students because in flipped classrooms students are able to use Google Group to meet their group online for assignments and to complete projects. Google Groups can be used so that the teacher can meet online with his/her class for discussion board. Teaching materials can be stored on the Google Drive. Teachers that use the Google Drive to store their materials are at an advantage because they only have to login online to access their materials that can be accessed anywhere Internet is available.
The following resources below include: (a) lesson plan, (b) Google document titled "how to use Edutopia and Wikipedia for research," (c) Google Docs PowerPoint titled "how to create a video using Powtoon," and (d) 6th Grade Technology Survey. Just click the buttons below to access the information.
Reference:
Lever-duffy, J. & Mcdonald, J. (2015). Teaching and Learning with Technology, (5th ed.). Allyn and Bacon