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Google Workspace tools can enhance teaching and learning in many ways. It allows for collaboration among teachers in the school and it gives students opportunities to collaborate on projects, stories or other tasks using digital technologies. It can also be used as a tool to enhance access to curriculum content for students and can be used as a link between home and school. As others have mentioned, it is a great tool to be used alongside other methodologies rather than replace them. My own practice has changed significantly over the last couple of years. I’ve definitely increased my use of digital technologies in the classroom since the pandemic with teaching from home. Since then, I’ve looked at ways to incorporate it more into the classroom to enhance teaching and learning. This course has really helped me to learn more ways to enhance teaching and learning with Google Workspace in a meaningful way. I’ll be using it more this year to support differentiation and assessment. This is my digital story based on Italy: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ydHUDO2x4qmsQ13MGacj38IhNUoYYlsTelEtp0RVYyM/edit?usp=sharing
That’s a really good point about how slides can be more than just a presentation tool. This course has shown me that and showed me how to make slides more interactive for students. It’s something I’ll definitely include in my teaching this year.
There were a few key points that stood out to me from reading his article. The first one was that what students are taught isn’t necessarily learned and how it’s important to check for understanding during the process of learning not just at the end. By doing this, we can see where we need to adapt our teaching in order to enhance the learning. The characteristics of assessment that promote learning stood out to me. Involving the children in the process was highlighted as a key to success. That is something I want to focus on more this year. I think children enjoy being involved in the process and taking ownership of their own learning. It’s a great way to provide opportunities for them to feel success.
https://forms.gle/hEFZjAzsxn3a9Pr98
I made a Google forms for 5th class on the topic of place value that I could use with my class for assessment in September. It’s a short exit ticket with 6 simple questions. I included an open ended question asking the children to explain their understanding of the topic of place value. This will help me to see the knowledge they have that hasn’t been asked in the rest of the Google form. I also included a question at the end asking the children how confident they feel on their understanding of the topic of place value. I think this will give me a really good insight into the children’s views on their own understanding of the topic.
I really like the idea of using Google forms as part of my assessment. I think the children will enjoy it and engage well with it. I look forward to using it this year.
Hi Helen,
You make a great point about the importance of reflective practice being a feature of everyday learning. It’s so important as teachers to reflect on the day and see what want well and what could we do to enhance the teaching and learning in our classrooms. Recognising what worked well is as important as what we could do differently as sometimes I feel we are quick to remember what didn’t go as well as we would like.
I chose a written response task to a novel for 5th class for this task. The children could use a template on Google Docs to respond to the novel using a structured template with clear headings, guided questions and sentence starters. This would support inclusion by providing scaffolding as well as providing opportunity for children to extend their thinking. Children could use the voice typing tool to help them write their response. The children could add images or drawings to show their understanding as well. I could use the comment feature to provide specific, individualised feedback to the children. This feature could also be used for peer feedback using a simple success criteria checklist. I’d use a quick Google form as an exit ticket to ask the children what part of their response are they most proud of, what was the most important thing they included in their response, how well they understood the chapter we read that day. Based on the children’s responses, I could reread the chapter aloud to further understanding, do a vocabulary focus task or adapt the next novel lesson to enhance learning based on the children’s feedback.
That is such a good point about the skill of conversation Niamh. I totally agree with you that it is something that needs to be facilitated and nurtured for children in school. You’ve made a very valid point that incorrect use of digital technology can have detrimental affects on conversation and oral language but that there are ways to use digital technology to actually improve this skill for children. The voice typing is a great way to do this as well as making the learning more accessible and engaging for all learners. It’s definitely something I’m going to use this year.
I designed a Google Slides learning sequence for 5th class on the topic of the Normans. I introduced the topic with a hook question to encourage peer discussion on what they already know about the Normans. I then included slides with key facts about the Normans. I finished it with a short reflection activity where the children work in pairs to create a timeline based on the Normans.
I used a consistent layout for the slides with information presented in bullet point format rather than big chunks of long text. I used clear images that linked with the information to make it easier for the children to read and process the information.
One adjustment I would make is to give the children an opportunity at the end to show their learning through an infographic or brainstorm. This would give them more choice and an opportunity to share their learning in a broader sense.
This links to SSE by using digital technology in a purposeful way to enhance teaching and learning. Evidence from the children’s learning could be used to inform future learning and to monitor engagement with digital technology.
Hi Aine,
Adding an audio link for this kind of activity is a great idea! It would be really useful in a class setting where a child would benefit from hearing instructions on Google task slides to allow them to work more independently. This is definitely something I’m going to try out.
Hi Michael,
I totally agree with you that the differentiated learning tool with Google Gemini looks excellent. Like you said, a great time saver for teachers. I really like how it allows the teacher to ensure everyone is reading the same content but at their own level. It’s a very inclusive way to make the learning accessible for all. This is definitely something I’ll be using next year.
I’ll be teaching 5th class this year and I chose this course so I can be more up to date with how I can use digital technology in the classroom to benefit my students. As mentioned in this module, there are many benefits to using digital technology in the classroom. We’re lucky in my school to have timetabled access to laptops. I want to use this time in the most beneficial way for my students.
I could use the SSE six step process to help me use digital technology effectively with my class. Step 1: Identify my focus of using digital technology effectively with my class. Step 2: Gather evidence from the students through surveys and discussions as well as my own observations. Step 3: Analyse the information and identify the strengths and areas for improvement. Step 4: Set a clear SMART target. Step 5: Implement strategies to help achieve my target. Step 6: Monitor and evaluate progress throughout the year.
Developing my own use of digital technology can contribute to the school SSE targets, collaborate with my colleagues and share resources and ideas to enhance teaching, learning and assessment across the school.
I’ve chosen Google Docs Google Docs for Beginners : Google for Education as a resource to use with my class next year. I’d use it for genre writing where children could do their writing on Google Docs and I could read it and add comments during their writing so they can edit as they go. The children would get their feedback in real time and I think this would be really helpful for them instead of only getting their feedback at the end.