21st Century skills focus on all those C words: collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and metacognition, etc. and students using Google Docs hits on the biggest ones! Google apps (docs, sheets, slides, drawings, etc.) allows students to share their work for comment, view, or collaborative editing privileges leading to an enhanced learning experience. I remember the first time I was introduced to Google Docs. I had started a G-Mail account maybe a year or three before the introduction, but was completely unaware of the awesomeness that is G-Apps! It was in grad school and someone was like "just start a Google Doc and we can do it there".... now, there was a learning curve for me. Not just moving away from saving everything on a thumb/USB drive, but also allowing someone else to have EDITING RIGHTS TO MY DOCUMENT? What is that?! What WAS that?! My mind was blown.
Fast forward 3 years and it's basically all I work in. Of course Microsoft and Apple products are more robust, but I export the document if I need to do more.... typically for Excel... I am the EXCEL LADY. Love it; pivot tables, merging tables, formulas, ugh... all of it <3
Anyway, yes. Google Apps, I've seen this amazing jump in the ability and accountability with students who share their work and take advantage of tracking the input, participation, changes, etc. and it seems as though it really works. Do you remember when when you were in grade school and had to do group projects and it was thee WORST? I feel as though Google Docs takes some of that hatred away. Students can work collaboratively remotely, so they don't need to be with one another (do you remember how hard it was to get to a friend's house? Or am I the only latchkey kid here?); students are also kept accountable with the ability to track changes to a document. Not sure about you, but I was always the kid with the initiative (though my mom would disagree when it comes to chores) when it came to group work. I tended to the timeline, even now. However, there was no worse feeling than being a teenager and having to tattle on a friend who didn't contribute ANYTHING to the group project. With Google Docs, that's all tracked.
Anyway, yes. Google Apps, I've seen this amazing jump in the ability and accountability with students who share their work and take advantage of tracking the input, participation, changes, etc. and it seems as though it really works. Do you remember when when you were in grade school and had to do group projects and it was thee WORST? I feel as though Google Docs takes some of that hatred away. Students can work collaboratively remotely, so they don't need to be with one another (do you remember how hard it was to get to a friend's house? Or am I the only latchkey kid here?); students are also kept accountable with the ability to track changes to a document. Not sure about you, but I was always the kid with the initiative (though my mom would disagree when it comes to chores) when it came to group work. I tended to the timeline, even now. However, there was no worse feeling than being a teenager and having to tattle on a friend who didn't contribute ANYTHING to the group project. With Google Docs, that's all tracked.
At the conference's kick off, we had a graphic shared with us and I wish I had it now, but I recall that something like 50% of the attendees were barely transitioning to Google Mail & Apps, which led me to think about those who still haven't. WHO IS NOT USING GOOGLE? What school entities are not using Google as their mail provider, document and organizational being? I know of so many smaller districts and charters that are there, but are the big ones there? Has LAUSD adopted this yet? How much farther do those schools need to fall behind before those making decisions and then delivering content to students realize that their own fear is what is holding crazy talented students back thus increasing the skills gaps? So many questions, not enough answers.
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