Using Google Drive for teaching and learning

THE readings and activities this week using Google Drive have really opened up my mind to how I can incorporate Google Drive into my teaching repertoire as well as how my students can become more proficient 21^st century learners. 

  Google Drive offers a wide variety of options in creating content for both teaching and learning. I particularly liked creating a Form. I was able to create a basic Student Survey to acquire baseline information about my students and their study habits. This will be very helpful as my teaching year begins tomorrow. Students can use Forms to create surveys for research projects. This can help them efficiently and effectively gather data. 

I like the spreadsheet option that Google Drive offers. In particular I like that users are able to import data from several sources. I use class dojo in my class to take attendance and track student participation in class. Google sheets will allow me to have a simple forum for storing all of this information in one place. In the past I would have to email myself my excel spreadsheet each time I made an update.

 With Google drive I can log in on any device or computer and my information is at my fingertips. 

Google sheets is an awesome tool for my High School Sophomores to collaborate on group research projects. Students can check off activities that have been completed and these entries are color coated so everyone in the group knows who did what.  This feature is also available in google docs which allows for collaborators to work on a writing assignment together.

I think Google docs would be a great way for my students to write their journal entries. These entries can then be reviewed by a peer for improvement. Once the review is completed the original author can make changes to their writing for clarity and readability. Peer review is a great way for high school students to learn to give and receive feedback.

Google Slides is similar to power point but much more user friendly. Using Google slides provides a collaborative environment for students to work on presentations. This could be very useful in my classroom because my students come from high schools all over the city including three different school districts.  This awesome tool will allow for all students to actively participate in the creation of their final product.

After all collaborations are complete I can receive feedback on a Google Form that asks survey questions about group participation and quality of peer members work.