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Although somewhat dated by this point, Educause's article introducing Google Apps is a great springboard for anyone that hasn't yet taken advantage of the opportunities offered by this software. As a teacher who teaches three subjects (and collaborates with others for each), Google Docs has proved indispensable for unit planning and resource gathering. We don't have to be in the same place to collaborate, and all we need to do to submit our plans is share them with our supervising Dean. It truly makes the planning process much more efficient.
Google also hosts several other apps, although the one I would next like to recommend is Google Forms. Google Forms does wonders to collect data and organize it in a meaningful way. For example, my building currently uses it to track accommodations and modifications provided to students with IEPS or underachieving students. It has gone a long way to reducing the amount of paperwork with each of these tasks- we only need type a few words and check a few boxes to have a detailed spreadsheet compiled. When used correctly, it is certainly a great tool in reducing the educator's workload. I would recommend that any educator that isn't already using Google Apps to start with these two.
References: Educause (2008, March 19) 7 things you should know about Google Apps. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-know-about-google-apps
Hi Randy
ReplyDeleteI agree that Google Apps is a great tool and this article could be a great source for someone who hasn’t used Google Apps. My school system has purchased their own “Wake County Public School System” WCPSS Google Drive license and is requiring all employees to utilize it for at least PLT documentation. We have found it very useful in our department for sharing documents such as department chair updates or even the budget spreadsheet. I have actually enjoyed having it up during PLT meetings because we are all able to view the live document as the dedicated person is taking minutes. We can also add are own comments. Since it is a school county system list each person by email id (first initial, last name), this makes it very user friendly for sharing documents with only our school employees or we can specifically limit based on each employees id.
Unfortunately, we do not have the license or resources to be able to share documents with students, unless we share with “anyone”. As a business education teacher it would be nice to be able to share documents with just my class or have students be able to edit or add content to a document and have their student ID’s listed next to what they’ve edited. Overall, I think Google Docs is a great resource and I am excited about what it will be able to do in the future for education. Thanks for sharing! - Chris