The Google Experience

I almost hate to admit it but this was really my first experience with Google Drive.  I have had a Google account for years but rarely use it.  To be honest with you, as I went to write this blog post, it took me a minute or so to remember that the blog I am is using for this class is Google Blogger.   I welcomed the opportunity to actually create a Google Document, learn that Google Forms aren't scary, work on Google Slides and utilize Google Draw.   I found the tutorials to be helpful - I viewed the Google Docs and Forms tutorial and was hoping for a Google Draw tutorial but was able to figure it out without too much difficulty.  Since I had seen Google Slides before, I was confident in my ability to create and edit slides.  I am thrilled at how easy these google applications are to use.  I particularly thought the form would be difficult to create but it was quite simple.  After posting the Google Form, I have eight responses to date to my World History Student Information Sheet.   I like the ability to look at the responses in chart form as well as the graphic summary -apparently Spanish is the language of choice (50%) and five of my "students" enjoyed the unit on the Renaissance and the Reformation in World History I.  Right now, I don't think I would change the form.  However, I did realize when I was writing the form that I had to streamline and reduce the number of responses/ questions.  Originally I had twice as many questions.  My guess is that the longer the forms are, the less likely one would respond to all the questions.  Google Draw was fun - I am curious to see how people have utilized it in the classroom.

The use of Google Drive at Westford Academy and in my classes is something that is being done and can be done.  Many Westford Academy students have Google accounts and are collaboratively working on projects and presentations using Google Docs and Google Slides.  For example, my freshman would share information with each other for their projects (iMovie, prezis) via Google Docs and my seniors in European History  have made several presentations using Google Slides.  Since I don't teach it (although I now suggest its use),  is the Google Experience is something students are being taught...somewhere?  or are they just picking this up over the years?   Being able to keep the information in the "cloud" and access it from any computer as well as the ease of communication with a partner/ group is a huge benefit.  I definitely see this as immensely helpful for collaborative work as students don't always need "face" time outside of class and excuses such as "I left my notes at home" can't be used.   I see it as a way for students to be more responsible and held accountable for their work.  As for pitfalls, I suppose sharing a non collaborative assignment is also a possibility.  I now require my students to handwrite their homework responses so they can't just copy someone else's assignment or share it via Google Docs. I suppose that the technology is only as good as the system in place, I would want to have a back up plan if the technology was down during class or a period of time.  I found the collaborative experience to work well.  My partner got the ball rolling by posting slides and his ideas of SAMR model. I was able to add to what he did and continue to personalize it with more examples and images. It worked out quite well.

As for the SAMR model, I like the concept and it is certainly a good way to think about how teachers can integrate technology.  I particularly liked the visual showing the hierarchical structure of SAMR with the different apps (facebook, blogger, Skype etc.) - that helped make it easier to understand.  I did watch a few other videos on the SAMR model in addition to the link provided.  It was certainly helpful to have other examples to draw upon.  I was thinking about the progression from Substitution up through Redefinition.  I do integrate technology at all the levels but certainly more Substitution and Augmentation more on a daily basis.  With projects I generally address the Redefinition component - particularly with the imovies, podcasts that my students have done in the past.  It would be interesting to plan a unit / project all the way through the model's progression- is this coming down the pike in T&L? Although I believe it would take quite a bit of time (especially as I think about the time my projects take eg. imovies) and it is difficult  to devote so much time for one concept/ unit at the expense of other concepts/ units with all the required content/skills we are required to teach and evaluate students on with CBAs and now DDMs. So while I am intrigued by the SAMR model, I am curious to see if it is a model that would fit in with Westford's curriculum with all the other demands placed on classroom teachers/ teams throughout the K-12 system.