The Google Ecosystem is loaded with applications that can enhance teaching and learning in the classroom, and just about anyone can utilize and master them quickly and effortlessly. Does this include out primary students? Can our small Pre-K through 2nd grade students actually log into Google, navigate to an application and use it appropriately? ABSOLUTELY!
The best way to get these small students started, is to introduce them to the Google basics of Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides. Each of these applications will help to teach students digital skills that will help them in the future.
Google Drive
Google Drive is really the heart of all of the apps within the Google Ecosystem, and it should be the very first destination when entering the world of Google. Drive is the storage and organizational component, that when used within the Google Apps for Education environment, students and teachers have unlimited storage space…..yes, that’s right, unlimited. As a teacher and a parent, I see that this space is very valuable, for it can be used as a digital portfolio to demonstrate and house all of the knowledge and projects that students have worked on from year to year. This unlimited space can be advantageous for backing up any and all files that are stored locally on a computer or laptop. We are all aware that at some point, every hard drive will fail, and keeping track of flash drives is not efficient or productive; instead, students and teachers can just upload their files to Google Drive, where these files will be completely safe and accessible from anywhere, on just about any type of device, without the worry about running out of storage.
Google Docs
Google Docs is so much more than “just” an online word processor, and even our primary students can use it proficiently. Wait. How can our little ones, who still are learning letters and sounds, use a tool that requires spelling and writing skills? Google has an answer for everything! Most of our students can verbally share information with us, and Google Docs has the ability to listen and write down everything they say. Simply open up a new document, click on the tools, and you will find Voice typing. You will need to enable the microphone on your device, but once it is set up, students can start talking away and Google Docs will type down every word. Yes, there will be an occasional mistake, but you will be surprised at how accurate this program really is!
You will need to enable the microphone on your device, but once it is set up, students can start talking away and Google Docs will type down every word. Yes, there will be an occasional mistake, but you will be surprised at how accurate this program really is!
Google Sheets
Most of the time teachers don’t think to use spreadsheets with primary students, but using the charts and graphs tool can help students to learn to analyze data. Teachers can model how to enter the data into the spreadsheet, highlight it, and then click on the the graphs and charts tool.
Now, you will get options as to what type of graph or chart you would like to work with. What is really great about these charts, is that as you change the data within the spreadsheet, the charts will change as well, allowing your students to begin to understand how the data and charts go together, which is a difficult concept for so many.
Google Slides
Google Slides is a great tool for primary students to use, as it is so easy to add videos, images and text boxes to a presentation. One of the best features that Google has is the Search tool when inserting images.
Notice that the image search is copyright friendly, which means you do not need to worry about where the images came from, or if you need permission to use them. Once students learn how to look for images, there will be no stopping them!
These are only three of the many applications students will have access to in GAFE ecosystem. Once students get their feet wet within Google, the sky really is the limit!
No comments:
Post a Comment