Using Google as a Collaborative Tool

By Lpcnew (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

What is G Suite for Education?  Have you used Google Classroom? Well, I have included a Google collaborative web assignment to illustrate both. It is a lesson for 6th grade students in Google Classroom using Slides and Docs. It is an extension to their classroom science lesson on natural disasters. I chose this artifact so others could see how to incorporate G Suite for Education into a lesson using multiple tools. Also, many people are not familiar with Google Classroom so I wanted to highlight that tool and illustrate how it makes classroom collaboration seamless. Finally, I wanted to demonstrate how easily these tools allow students and teachers to create and share docs, presentations, spreadsheets and so much more.

The advantages of integrating Google as a collaborative web tool in the classroom are plentiful. As a specials teacher with over four hundred students, the two greatest advantages Google has afforded me is time and organization. Manual tasks have now been automated such as grading, duplicating, collecting, and issuing assignments, and having a class repository to name a few. Other advantages include having information at your fingertips, providing real-time statics, feedback, discussions (can comment directly in paper, IM, show scores instantly), more interactive lessons (online quizzes, videos, quick questions/polls, etc.), peer-to-peer and teacher-student collaboration, ability to work with others around the globe (web chats, webinars, etc), and preparing students for college and career readiness. Deeper student analysis is also possible by having electronic results which data can be manipulated, sorted, and create visuals.

Additionally, I believe Google empowers students to take ownership of their work and allows them to work at their own pace. For instance, I provide choices for students how to complete some of the assignments – presentation, paper, video, etc. By doing so, this allows students to have a choice in their work and be a part of the decision making. I create several assignments in Google Classroom and students can work on them at their own pace. They are due on a certain date, but students have the flexibility to start one assignment over the other and prioritize their work. Lastly, today’s society is technology driven. Learning web technologies in schools is providing students with tools and skills for life outside the classroom.

Although Google is wonderful, there are some challenges I face using it in the classroom. Some of these challenges include students staying on task, students going to websites other than what they should be working on, system availability, and rushing through assignments. For the latter, I feel students sometimes are just copying and pasting things and really not giving too much thought into some of the assignments. To overcome this challenge, I should be doing more follow-up discussions with the assignments as a whole group or individually to assess higher order thinking. As for staying on task students often are looking at what other students are doing on their computers or surfing around their files. As a result, students are often late and/or missing assignments. The same goes for visiting other websites, this is so easy to do for students because of the instant access to other sites. For both of these challenges I use GoGuardian to monitor their progress and computer use. I also give ‘computer time outs’ and writing reflections for continued misuse of computer time. I feel I need to address staying on task and visiting other websites in the beginning of the year, and periodically remind students of the consequences for not doing so. Lastly, Google is only as great as your service provider. If you are experiencing internet issues, this could be a great challenge to your teaching. Unfortunately, I have experienced this and it makes things a bit difficult if websites are down or internet is slow or sporadic. Patience and having a back-up plan are keys to overcoming internet issues.

Here is a link to my Google Collaborative Assignment: Natural Disaster