I’ve used Google Docs a few times this year with my level team. It has worked very well for us. I am not sure how I would use the presentation tools just yet, although I did explore what is available and it looks like it could be useful some how. I would love to hear how others use these tools (especially elementary teachers!) Here are my three ideas for using Google Docs: 1. Important Dates and Tasks - This is a document that my colleague created for this week’s assignment. It allows us to streamline all of the important dates and tasks that we have to remember all year long, year after year. This is the first year we’ve done this, but from here on out, we will be able to collaboratively refine and make edits as necessary.2. weekly check-in with tutor. We have a few students each year who see a tutor during school time. Unfortunately, we do not always have time to check-in about a kid. A Google Doc would provide an opportunity to keep up-to date progress by both teacher and tutor.3. At the end of every year we write very detailed narrative evaluations for each student. If my teaching partner and I have a Google Spreadsheet, we can continuously (and collaboratively) take notes on a kid all year long. These notes would then assist us in writing thoughtful evaluations and preparing for parent conferences.
Youtube was a lot of fun. I have played around with it before, but this time, because of the Web course, I didn’t have to feel guilty about using it because it was this week’s assignment. It is amazing that you can type in virtually anything, and get a video about it. For the “how to” clip, I looked up “how to change a flat tire”, (my way to change a flat tire is to call AAA) and I found a really easy to follow video about how to do it! Coolness. My fun, nostalgic videos kind of meshed with my classroom teaching videos. First, I wanted to see if there were any vintage Sesame Street videos out there. of course there were hundreds of them and I spent most of my evening last night oohing and aahing and saying. “Omigosh, I remember that!” Then I remembered how much I loved Electric Company and I did a search for that. Wow! What a blast from the past! Last week, Jose sent me a clip from a current PBS show entitled,”Between the Lions”, and showed me how he used that to teach a reading skill. As I perused the Electric Company’s clips, I realized how well done that show was (especially for its time) and I found some really good clips that I can and will use to reinforce reading skills in my classroom. Here is one of my favorites: I am not sure about how I would use a You Tube video that I had produced for classroom use. I feel funny about the idea of including kids on the internet in a way that displays their identity. I am really curious to hear what ideas other people have.
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