Blog post 8: Using Google Drive for teaching and learning

I was introduced to Google Drive a couple of years ago by classmates in my Education courses. I was an undergraduate student and I was assigned to create a reading lesson plan and class presentation in less than one week. My teammates knew about Google Drive and they shared with me a Google Doc. I was impressed to know that it was a free app for everyone to use and we could be working and editing our work without meeting face-to-face.

During this Fall semester, one of my college professors uploaded all the class material through this app.  it was the first time for me to use Google Drive to have access to the notes, syllabus and class PowerPoints.

Google Docs: My favorite thing about using Google Docs is having the option to collaborate with colleagues on lesson plans, PLCs or committee’s projects. These are free features that any teacher can edit the documents even at the same time and have access to all documents. For example, teachers can videotape themselves teaching a lesson and teachers can share the videos with colleagues. Once teachers watched the lesson then they can provide feedback and learning strategies to improve the quality of the instruction. Doing this benefits all teachers, especially the first year teachers working at the school.
     

Google Formats:  There are three ways that I can use google formats in my classroom. First, I can create a student survey to get to know more my students at the beginning of the school year. I think that it is a great way to collect students’ data and it can be electronically saved for me. I will probably do an English-Spanish parent survey and posted on the class website or blog. However, hard copies of both surveys can distribute to students in case they do not have access to the internet at home.  Another activity is using this app for the daily exit tickets. Often times students use sticky notes to write their reflections, but using Google Forms to do an exit ticket with multiple choice, paragraph questions. It represents an opportunity to monitor what are students are getting out from the lessons and reflect on their learning.

Google Drive

Grade level: Middle School

Subject area: English-Reading / Social studies

What students will be doing: Group projects and have access to school materials

Students are working in groups of four people and they are assigned a topic from the Revolution and Early America. Some of the topics include the Great Awakening, Stamp Act, Declaration of Independence, etc. Students are responsible for read chapters, provide arguments about these topics to the class and analyze the set of photographs from this time period.

 I can create google groups based on topics for students to discuss their project ideas. Students will create a Google Drive Folder for their group where they can organize their research information into subfolders with the class notes, lessons, PowerPoints presentations, the class rubric, etc.  The main objective for students is to share their work with their classmates and discuss what does the photograph tell you about the time period and the context.