Google Apps

As a teacher and a students, Google Apps has completely changed the way I do my work.  I'm currently typing this response on my iPad.  Two years ago, I was contemplating how to best do my school and class work on my iPad.  I looked at all of the different word processors in the app store.  I first looked at Apple's Pages.  I used it on my mac, but there were always hurdles to jump over while submitting papers and trying to send work from home to school and having it work on Microsoft Word.  I wanted something easy to work with no matter where I was.  I then checked out the Microsoft apps, which at the time could be purchased for $15 each.  I really didn't want to spend the money and ended up talking to my wife about it.  She turned me towards Google Drive.  She told me it was free and that I could access it from any computer or mobile device I was on.  It was the perfect solution.  I now use Drive for every paper, lesson plan, blog post, class discussion response, work that I'm collaborating with colleagues on, and any little note I want to make.  It's all organized and ready to go where ever I am.

I'm currently part of a lesson study and developing curriculum for science in my district.  We do all of our work in Drive because we have the ability to work on the same document without having to send it back and forth to everyone with additions and changes.  It's completely changed the way we work together.  We even get together and do work on the same document at the same time.

Google apps also change the way I have my students complete and submit classwork.  They're able to use different apps to complete work together and individually.  My district invested money over the last year on Chromebooks mostly because they cost less than traditional laptops.  Because of the availability of free Google Apps, we're able to do most of the same things as laptops for a fraction of the cost.  Like myself, my students are also able to complete work at any computer or mobile device they're at, even at home.

I was able to use a survey using google apps to ask my classmates questions and analyze the data by making graphs.  This could be a very useful tool in class to have students gather information, or to gather information myself.  The following is the results from the survey I made:

When is the last time you spent at least an hour outside?

Social Networking in School

While looking at incorporating social networking in schools, there is lots to consider.  As an elementary educator, the first thing that comes to my mind is when it is appropriate to introduce social networking in schools.  Many parents struggle with making the decision of when to let their kids make profiles on social networking sites.  Social networking has become a normal part of everyday life.  Most people log on to social networking sites daily to find out what’s going on in the world, as well as the personal lives of people they know, but at what age should kids be doing this?  Fears of parents include cyber-bullying and online predators.  The part that schools can play to make parents feel better about these fears are teaching kids to be digital citizens.  Being digital citizens includes keeping themselves safe while they’re online, as well as being respectful and responsible online.  With the presence of technology and the internet in children’s everyday lives, the sooner they learn digital citizenship, the better.  I begin teaching my students about digital citizenship in second grade.  My reasoning for this, is the sooner they learn digital citizenship, the more natural it will become to them: it’s just something they've always known and done.

By middle school, most students are already on social networking sites in their personal lives, so introducing it at school at this age just makes sense.  Some people fear that by relying more on social networking, kids are losing valuable skills learned through face to face interactions.  It’s important that students still work on these skills at school so they are not lost.  “A paper released earlier this week by the Brookings Institution addresses how social media, blogs and video games are improving education by increasing access to people and information in various forms, including Twitter feeds, blog posts, videos and books. These tools are also increasing people's ability to share information with networks and contribute their own thoughts.” (Zhao, 2012)  By introducing social networking in schools, students are able to access more information, and in result can learn more.

Another thing to factor in is when students move on to higher education, or begin their professional careers after high school, more and more schools and companies have social networking profiles, and network through social networking.  “Professional networking, outreach to current and potential students, and school pride were among the reasons listed for engaging in social media.” (Glenn, 2012)  If we as educators are making it our goal to have our students be ready for college or careers, we need to make sure that they are able to social network responsibly and effectively.  When our students move on from school, it will greatly help them to be able to know how to be on social networks, and that learning should start in our schools.

Resources:

Glenn, D. (2012, February 7). How Well Are Schools Using Social Media? [Infographic]. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/how-well-are-schools-using-social-media-infographic/90209?red=st

Zhao, E. (2012, April 30). Social Media And Video Games In Classrooms Can Yield ValuableData For Teachers. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/30/social-media-and-video-ga_n_1465082.html