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My Google Slides story is about the life cycle of the frog and it is designed with First Class in mind. I am very new to Google slides so this attempt is very basic. I look forward to becoming more familiar with Google slides and can already see how beneficial this tool could be across all class levels.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ucvkBHh8QuVoKLY-OWzu0kMrzXNTUC1QcOwtNEs7eTg/edit?usp=sharing
Over the past umber of years I have used digital technology more and more in my teaching. I have progressed from mainly a teacher-led, one-sided approach to one where pupils are more actively engaged in using and creating digital content. This is as a result of my own personal development and interest in this area and also as a direct result of devices being more readily available and accessible for my class.
Google Workspace tools will support me as I continue to improve my own use of digital technology with my class. Google classroom provides a great central location for lessons, tasks and provides excellent opportunities for teacher feedback. Google Meet would be really beneficial when students are working outside the classroom and paired with Google Classroom would really work well for a blended learning approach.
I plan to use these tools as much as I can this year to hopefully develop my skills and confidence further. I really want to focus on collaboration, independent digital work and content created by pupils. The aim is to ensure digital technology is a meaningful part of my teaching rather that simply a teaching resource.
Hi Nicola,
I really like your digital story about the famine. I thought the addition of having to make the decision for the family was really interesting and a great addition to your story. I agree that it really would help the children to empathise with what people went through during the famine. There was a nice mix of text, images and videos to keep the class interested and engaged. I’m only getting started with digital stories and look forward to seeing how I can use them with my class this year.
William’s paper reminds us that assessment should not just be used at the end of a lesson to see what pupils have learned, but should be an ongoing element of our teaching. This is something I am always aware of but the realities of a busy classroom mean that it is not always something I manage to do consistently. Using my knowledge from this course I plan to incorporate more assessment for and of learning into my classroom this year.
I can improve my assessment for learning by paying closer attention to pupils’ responses and using this information to adapt my teaching. William’s idea of responding to “moments of contingency” in teaching is a great way to think about assessment for learning and an approach I hope to get better at using once I begin using more assessment with my class. It highlights the importance of noticing when pupils are struggling or misunderstanding something and responding to this rather than simply moving on. I feel teachers are generally very good at noticing and adapting on the spot for the pupils they teach, but it is not always evident when an individual child is finding something difficult or misunderstanding. Using short, effective assessments would give me a clearer picture of how each child is doing and would mean that what I am teaching and how I am teaching it would be more meaningful for my class.
Google Form Assessment
For my Google Form I created a short assessment for First Class to complete once they have completed work on 2D shapes. To make the assessment suitable and engaging for First Class I included simple images and tried to keep the questions short and simple. I used a variety of question types, including multiple choice, tick box and short answer to keep pupils engaged and to give them different ways of demonstrating their learning.
I look forward to using the information gathered from Google Forms to adapt my teaching based on the needs of my pupils and ensuring
that teaching and assessment if more meaningful in my class.Hi Elaine,
I really like your Google Form. It’s a really lovely way to check in with pupils. The images are a great addition and the variety of response types are perfect. I would love to use something like this with my class.
Hi Michael,
I also enjoyed learning about more productive ways to use Google Forms in the classroom and look forward to using them with my class in the coming school year. The possibilities seem endless!
For this module, I stuck with the theme of ‘My Family’ for First Class. I created a single Google Slide based on the excellent example provided in the module. I felt more confident creating this slide and feel that it is far more student friendly than my first attempt in the last module. Focusing on being inclusive and thinking of the varying abilities and needs within my class ensured the task would support access, encourage engagement and ensure that the voice of all pupils could be heard. Providing sentence starters and key vocabulary on the slide is essential for many pupils at this level. I love the idea of having flexible responses on Google Slides – this is something I need to familiarise myself more with and definitely intend to use to support engagement of all pupils. Voice typing and recording stand out as options I would really like to try with my class.
I have used Google Forms with my staff for SSE data gathering but have never actually used them with my class. I see now how they would provide excellent opportunities to assess pupil understanding, to give the children a chance to share their views and have their voice heard. The information gathered would help inform future learning and next steps.
As I become more familiar with Google Workspace I see the many ways it could support SSE. There are tools to support data gathering and analysis from the whole school community. The accessibility features would ensure that all voices and opinions could be represented and heard.
Hi Helen,
This sounds like my kind of lesson! I’m just starting out with Google Classroom and teaching in the Junior end of the school also. This topic would be a really lovely one to use with younger pupils, it’s interesting, engaging and an ideal topic to teach while also supporting children with their digital learning skills.
I attempted a learning sequence for first class based on the theme of ‘My Family’. I kept it very basic as I’m just getting my head around the many tools and features available. I used Google Slides and made a presentation with pictures and simple sentences about families. For the next part of the sequence, I added a new slide with prompts for talking to a partner about their families e.g. ‘How many people are in your family?’ ‘Do you have any brothers or sisters?’ etc. Finally, I included an individual slide for the children to create their own simple slide with a picture and one or two sentences.
A design choice I made was to keep the instructions very short and clear as first class are still developing their reading and writing skills, as well as their digital skills.
One adjustment I would make is to perhaps use some of the other tools available once I become more familiar with them.
This learning sequence could link to SSE by simply asking the children what they enjoyed, what they found difficult and what they would like more help with. Their answers would support me in creating future lessons for the class.
Hi Grainne,
We’re just about to invest in Chromebooks and your ideas sounds exactly like what we’re hoping to achieve this year. I’m also really eager to learn about and start using Google Classroom to assign and collect student assignments. The possibilities seem endless…. once I get the hang of it all and we start to implement everything!
Best of luck with it all.
Like most other schools, our Digital Learning Plan has focused on increasing and improving the use of digital technology to support teaching and learning. This year, we are investing in Chromebooks and we feel that they will provide many exciting opportunities to enhance learning experiences across the school. In particular, we feel they will support greater collaboration between teachers and pupils while also providing opportunities to foster creativity and develop essential digital skills.
I am interested in developing my knowledge and confidence in using Google Workspace so that we can make the best possible use of our new Chromebooks. I hope to further explore Google Classroom, Google Drive, Docs, Slides and forms and learn how they can be used effectively to support both teaching and learning, as well as collaboration among staff and pupils.
I can apply the SSE guidelines by identifying our current strengths and areas for development, setting clear targets and evaluating the impact of digital technologies on learning outcomes. I look forward to working collaboratively with colleagues, pupils and parents to develop a realistic and manageable approach to digital learning that reflects the needs of our school.
Developing my own skills and confidence with digital technologies will allow me to support colleagues, share good practice and contribute to the ongoing development of our Digital Learning Plan.
One resource I would use with my pupils is a Google Forms activity from the Google for Education Teacher Centre. I would adapt this resource by creating a simple class survey or quiz linked to a topic we are covering. Pupils could work collaboratively to create questions, collect responses and analyse the results. This activity would support the development of digital skills and encourage communication and collaboration.
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>Like most other schools, our Digital Learning Plan has focused on increasing and improving our use of digital technology to support teaching and learning.</span></p>
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>This year, we are investing in Chromebooks and we feel that they will provide many exciting opportunities to enhance learning experiences across the school. In particular, we believe they will support greater collaboration between teachers and pupils, while also providing opportunities to foster creativity and develop essential digital skills.</span></p>
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>I am interested in developing my knowledge and confidence in using Google Workspace so that we can make the best possible use of our new Chromebooks. I hope to further explore tools such as Google Classroom, Google Drive, Docs, Slides and Forms, and how these can be used effectively to support both teaching and learning, as well as collaboration among staff and pupils.</span></p>
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>I can apply the SSE guidelines by identifying our current strengths and areas for development, setting clear targets and evaluating the impact of digital technologies on learning outcomes. I look forward to working collaboratively with colleagues, pupils and parents to develop a realistic and manageable approach to digital learning that reflects the needs of our school.</span></p>
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>Developing my own skills and confidence with digital technologies will allow me to support colleagues, share good practice and contribute to the ongoing development and implementation of our Digital Learning Plan.</span></p>
<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>One resource I would use with my pupils is a Google Forms activity from the Google for Education Teacher Centre. I would adapt this resource by creating a simple class survey or quiz linked to a topic we are covering. Pupils could work also collaboratively in groups to create questions, collect responses and analyse the results. This activity would support the development of digital skills and encourage communication and collaboration. </span></p>