Google Tools in the Classroom

My personal experience with Google Tools outweighs the experience I have with the tools in the classroom. However, through personal use I have really started to get a feel for how they can be useful in my classroom, once needed technology is available. I have used Google Drive to share lessons with friends in different schools and also to collaborate with co-workers in one universally editable document. I have set up a Google Classroom, but have not yet had the opportunity to use it with students because of the lack of equipment/wifi/mobile service.

Despite not having much experience with these tools in my classroom, it is easy to see how they can have a huge impact on a classroom. Google Tools allow students to be more productive and go deeper into their work (Dixon, 2016). Additionally, Google Tools are wonderful for collaboration, allowing students to work together on assignments, peer editing, and timely teacher feedback. Google Tools also allow students to have personalized learning, which is essential seeing no two students are exactly alike.

One Google Tool I have had a bit of experience with, and recently started using in my classroom is Google Forms. It allows me to easily create quick surveys that I can give as a homework assignment, a do now/exit ticket, or most recently polling my students on what they thought about completing a performance assessment. Google Forms assists in the timeliness of analyzing the survey because it does it for you. It creates a nice compact analysis immediately, which allows the teacher to quickly change lessons if needed. Below is the results of a sample survey I created on Technology.


https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Tg3ZvUm3T3PSK0zjPiRIvHJHwgq_rflja6bMY7NqrFc/edit#responses



References

 Dixon, N. (2016, April 17). Google changing education in and out of the classroom. Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://www.tbnewswatch.com/Artsentertainment/385862/Google_changing_education_in_and_out_of_the_classroom_ 

Social Media in Schools... Good OR Bad?

Many have differing opinions on allowing the use of social media in schools. Typically, students are asked to power down when entering schools and most schools block social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter from their internet. On the other hand, many schools are starting to see the benefits of social media use in school and encourage the use of it daily.

Some popular opinions of non-supporters are that there is an increase possibility for online bullying (cyber bullying), sexting, and enabling the internet "addiction". It is thought that students are losing their ability to have a face-to-face conversation (Pandolfo, 2012) and this is often seen if you have ever walked by a table full of teenagers at a restaurant. However, although social media may be risky for youngsters, it is an important part of adolescence (Klass, 2012). The important part about the dangers of social media is that students must be warned about it. If they are just told to "stay off of it", they will not listen, and then they will not be informed. This is when the real dangers can occur. Lisa Highfill, a 5th grade teacher stated, "When we go on a field trip, when we go anywhere, we warn the students of the dangers where we are going" (Toppo, 2011).

Social media can be a very useful tool in schools and they are important because it is relevant to students. In the twenty first century, students should be able to creative and collaborative, and social media helps students to be those things. Social media allows students to access information easily, share that same information, and also contribute their own thoughts (Pandolfo, 2012). Social media pushes students to do better work because their peers will be reading their work not just their teacher. Additionally, it encourages students to pay attention to important issues such as, audience, quality research, and research laws (Toppo, 2011). Finally, when schools encourage the use of social media it allows teachers to teach students how to use it responsibly, ethically, and safely not only in school, but out of school (Toppo, 2011).

My personal thoughts on using social media in school is that yes, it could be distracting to students, but that could be reduced by truly engaging students in the lesson and the reason why they are being encouraged to use social media in the first place. Additionally, if students were never taught the dangers of driving, drugs, or sex in school, how would they be able to navigate and avoid these dangers in the real world? This relates directly to social media.


References

Pandolfo, N. (2012, April 30). Social Media And Video Games In Classrooms Can Yield Valuable Data For Teachers. Retrieved April 09, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/30/social-media-and-video-ga_n_1465082.html 

Klass, P. (2012). Seeing Social Media More as Portal Than as Pitfall. Retrieved April 09, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/health/views/seeing-social-media-as-adolescent-portal-more-than-pitfall.html 

Toppo, G. (2011, July 25). Social media find place in classroom. Retrieved April 09, 2016, from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-07-24-schools-social-media_n.htm