Googling it the Google way - Part 1

Googling it the Google way - Part 1

Date: 7th December 2017/Thursday

This blog is inspired from my recent dive into Google. This dive is because one of the recent google training course that I completed. Google for me for years has been just a search engine which has completed erased the term unanswered questions. The term doesn't exist any longer, Google has emerged as an online teacher, facilitator, instructor, collaborator and  much more for students, teachers, and all educators world wide. It has completely re defined the way education technology is used both in schools, universities, colleges, education sector , business sector as a whole, with deep impact on real life. 

Google offers numerous tools that have made organizing information, storing information, retrieving information, presenting information, sharing information ,analyzing data, interpreting data, creating new content much easier and effective , as never before. I am sure this will encourage a shift towards more content developers than content consumers. Years back Seymour Pappert had imagined classrooms without pens and pencils, he had absolutely no idea Google would make his vision come true by introducing Google Classrooms. 

Google Classroom has opened doors to meaningful communication and  collaboration between teachers and students world wide. Teachers can easily create a classroom , add students, give assignments, give feedback, share resources video, documents etc for students. Trainers and teachers can use Google #Classroom for staying in touch and connected with teachers after training sessions. Trainers can share material to be reviewed , course or training objectives before the session with teachers , so that they are more relaxed and confident when they come for training sessions. The strategy would definitely help and encourage teachers who are resistant and show constraint while using technology in their classrooms.

Google Keep has made making notes, saving quotations, articles,  sharing notes, setting reminders so easy and effective. One can save anything from twitter tweets to blog posts, share later to students, teachers etc using whatsapp, Facebook, Mail, Messaging etc. You can make as many labels you want and keep notes organized. Could be useful in training sessions,you could keep schedules here, links to important resources and share immediately when needed. You could draw something, record or write and save it as a note. Google Keep is like your small wallet that you can carry where ever you go. No need to burden your memory let Google Keep share the load :) 

Google Forms lets you gather data from the participants , audience etc in real time. This data then gets save into spreadsheets for later analysis. You can insert different types of questions from short questions/answers, paragraph, MCQs, linear scale etc. You can add images, video etc and insert questions related to these in the form. The best thing is this form can be shared through mail, #google+, #Twitter etc. You could include different collaborators. You can make quizzes and share with your students, could be useful for assessing new taught concepts or previously taught concepts etc.  Could be useful in #Training, you could gather data from participants to get an insight into their past experience with technology, look into their understanding,knowledge and skills, availability of #technology resources at school etc. This would help you plan better keeping in view the current situation. Feedback at the end of the session could give you insight into whether training objectives have been met or no, what needs to be reviewed and what should be the next step forward. This results in more authentic. engaging and meaningful sessions, based on participants feedback, past experiences, and skill level. So real data drives transformation in classrooms, without #Google Forms this was not possible!

Google Sites has added a completely new dimension to creating and sharing websites, no programming or coding needed, any one with basic skills can create and share a website. Its more dynamic and interactive. Provides opportunities for  a number of people to collaborate and share files in real time. It lets you create different pages, sub pages, add video, images, text, links etc Most importantly it connects you to other Google Apps, for example you could insert a form in your website, any document, sheets, slides, calendar and maps straight from google maps. You can add collaborators, share link with different settings (edit/non edit mode). This can prove to be a very powerful tool for training sessions for teachers. Such websites could be created specifically for training sessions, instead of opening several different documents, all those could be embedded in one google site, the form option could be used to get feedback from participants, trainers can share resources on this website, update resources regularly etc, thus taking professional development to a whole new level, making synchronous, asynchronous , face to face, blended learning all possible. Participants can access resources anytime, skim through own pace, share and discuss with peers etc.

Google Drawings has given life to dull, static, boring drawings. Now you can collaborate with colleagues in real time and make flow charts, mind maps, organizational charts,  concept maps etc. These can be edited anytime. You can easily insert tables, images, notes from Google Keep, draw images using various drawing tools like line tool, shape tools etc You can add links to images. You can think of making a treasure hunt game for your students using the drawing tool, every image links to a new clue in the games, this strategy could be used for checking understanding, building concepts etc. You could also draw a Venn diagram, ask students to find similarities and differences between two concepts etc

Google Search is not just a search engine, its also a dictionary. Once you type in a word, you not only get the meaning of the word, you can listen to audio, check the noun,verbs, translate into different languages, see the origin of the word, along with a map which shows the usage of the word overtime. This google dictionary goes with you where ever you go and its quiet handy :)

More on my dive in Google in my next blog. Explore the tools above and I am sure it will have positive impact both on teaching and learning taking place in your classrooms. Hope you find may ideas worth trying in your classrooms.

Enjoy Reading :)

Sheeba Ajmal

References

1. Google Drawings
https://docs.google.com/drawings

2. Google Sites
https://sites.google.com

3. Google Forms
https://docs.google.com/forms

4. Google Keep
https://keep.google.com/

5. Google Classroom
https://classroom.google.com/