Google Part 1

I live in constant amazement over how much is available to students nowadays. I'm not that old (or at least I don't like to think that I am) but even in the last 10 years things have changed so dramatically since I was even in high school. My dad is a principal at an elementary school and he tells me about all of the new things that the teachers are doing and all of the tools that they have available in the classrooms! I remember going to computer lab in the 4th grade and all of the computer screens were that same green color and all we got to play was Oregon Trail and number munchers (which were the BOMB at the time!). Even as the internet and nicer computers came out they were so expensive that classes only had one to share among everyone and there was next to no internet use at home.

So to have resources like Google with email, documents, maps, photos, books, etc...just astounds me! There are so many different ways to connect to your students, other teachers, principals, parents, etc that learning is now not just something that can only happen in the 6 hour period INSIDE the school. This assignment allowed me to use something that I had never used before. I am fairly computer savvy but google docs was never anything I used before. IT"S COOL!! Being able to share a document with other people was awesome. I literally watched as other people were typing adding their comments as I did my own. This would be such a great resource for students doing group projects. Especially since not every student will have the same software and without spending any money every student can be afforded the same opportunities. Exploring the different websites was fun because it opened my eyes to how interactive learning can be! It doesn't have to be lecturing and the teacher being in charge all the time. In fact, the more time you give students in (guided) practice the more they are going to have fun and are going to learn. This was just awesome! I loved learning more about the resources that are out there! Let's do more!