This week was a very informational post. I have already learned
how to integrate technology into my lessons, but I have not yet mastered to
integrate it to a point where students are able to use technology in their
activities. I have been with the school district for 10 years now, so Google
Drive is nothing new to me because before I became a teacher, I used the
Drive to take notes on my computer on the different meetings we had. So instead
of taking different notes every month, I simply opened the Google Sheet, write
the current date, and start writing on what was discussed. It served very well
because I was able to reference back things we had discussed in previous
meetings. Now that I am a teacher, the Drive still helps because I am able to
make my lesson plans there and share them with my administrators. It becomes
very easy to store important documents, excel sheets that I might need to
reference back and can’t afford to lose, and other kinds of important documents.
Here are some ways that I have used with students, and other ideas on how I plan
to use them with my class.
GOOGLE DOCS
Last semester, as I took a long term position at a 6th
grade bilingual classroom for ELAR and Social Studies, I was able to design
some creative lesson plans that entitled them to use computers. As the year was
ending, graduation was getting closer for the 6th graders to move on
to their Middle School years, so one of the projects I had the students do was
to create an “I Am Poem.” The students turned up to be very engaged and the
poem served them as a review of what they had covered during the school year
because they added a line of figurative language, a line of imagery, and so on.
After they had all finished, the students were able to practice sending me the document
through the Drive so that I can revise it and print it once it was on its final
draft. Once all the students had finished, I printed their poems and hung their
poems outside with a graduation bulletin board along with their picture.
GOOGLE SLIDES
Since
I don’t have enough time in the day to teach social studies, I feel that Google
Slides can be very helpful in touching the content that I want them to be able
to know. What I would do in my 5th grade social studies classroom is
that I would assign different time eras or important people that they are
supposed to know. That way, the students can add pictures that have to do with
the topic, and also information that relates to their topic. Once the slide
finishes, have them share it with me and present to the classroom.
GOOGLE
FORMS
I had not heard about Google Forms until this week. It looks like
a very awesome tool to have and use in the classroom because it makes grading a
whole lot easier if the answers they choose go straight to a spreadsheet. Also,
having this helps to not have to be making a copy of a test or survey every time
that we want to tally something up. It becomes more easier and practical to
simply attach the link of the Google Forms into Google Classroom and have the
students sign in from their Chromebook and take it from there electronically.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfVuxNoFpxIoDfWvsb5zuyedoKD8NS8DUZ9Gi0tMdxx1SjBfg/viewform
Hi Lorena, I love your idea of having students create an "I Am" poem using Google Docs. I think that hanging their poems along with their sixth grade picture will be a memory they will cherish. I think that revising and editing was so much easier for you on Google Docs. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI like how you separated all the google docs, I did that as well. Like you, I teach 5th grade as well, except I teach Science. Similar to you I feel that google docs and slides will be useful in my classroom, I also had never used google forms. I do feel that google forms will be useful in my classroom and plan to use it as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are many ways teachers can use Google for work. I would like to use Google Sheets is a tool that allows you to make interactive pictures and documents that others can go into and view. I would like to use this with my third grade class by creating interactive maps on certain things we are learning in social studies so that the students can go into the map and help them with their assignment and to better understand how we use maps. The possibilities are endless!
ReplyDeleteHola Lorena: I chose the same as you chose. The Google Docs, Slides and Forms, I like them very much because help me in maintain my time accurate and also during presentations and surveys. For my 5th graders are very important for finding pictures about the environment and share it in the classroom. However, same of my students don't have a computer and need to go every saturday to a place to look for evidence. Well at school everybody share their pictures and find articles as a resource to continue their education. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteLorena,
ReplyDeleteI love the project that you did with your 6th grade students and Google Docs. I am sure they are going to remember their poetry project for a long time to come.I am excited to use google forms to create chapter quizzes for the novel we are reading with my Sophomore Reading, Writing, and study skills class.
Hi Lorena,
ReplyDeleteIt seems that you have a good hold of using Google Docs! I like the ideas that you shared for Language Arts and for Social Studies. Those are very engaging activities that also allow students the opportunities to acquire and practice using 21st Century skills such as creating using technology, collaborating, and communicating. I especially love your idea with Social Studies that solves a problem that you have with time and give an opportunity for students to research, create and present!
Lorena,
ReplyDeleteI also liked your idea of the "I Am Poem". I would like to start making students a scrap book with many of their classroom experiences and this would be a great addition to the book. You have given me a great idea about having students researching about Social Studies. You are right there is not enough time to cover it in depth but giving it as a research project will allow students to look at it in another light. Creating a timeline would allow them to look at the important/date information needed to create one. These activities would allow students to work together and collaborate with other group students . There is so many activities they can do that the possibilities are endless.