GOOGLE+APPS

Google helps to bring communication and collaboration tools to the entire academic community for free. Google makes it easy for all users and is also FREE! Google offers so many applications to students, teachers, and staff. Users can share ideas quickly and gets things done more effectively. It enables us to have access to the same communication and sharing tools. Some applications include Gmail, docs, maps/earth, and sites. It is almost unreal how much Google has to offer to the classroom and should really be taken advantage by all teachers. 

Google Docs - Students and teachers can create documents, spreadsheets and presentations and then collaborate with each other in real-time right inside a web browser window. This application opens up like a word processer, something very familiar to work with, and can be utilized through a Google account. Two users must first log in to their account, and can then share documents and presentations with each other without having to be next to each other. This application also offers a small "chat room" where one can socialize with his/her partner while writing their paper together. This application also comes in handy during a lecture. Students can all open up Google Docs and sign into their account and collaboratively work together. They can then all take notes together, using one document. Each students can fill in any﻿ notes that another has missed while still listening to the same lecture.

iGoogle - iGoogle offers you a personalized Google page. One who uses iGoogle can add news, photos, weather, and stuff from across the web to his/her page. Most users make iGoogle their homepage because it will be the first to open up when opening a web browser, and allows one to skim through favorites without having to search for anything. For example, my iGoogle homepage bookmarks my favorite things, and offers a brief description of each when first opened up. Some of these things include random fun facts of the day, the weather from my hometown and current town, the date and time, new music, and the top news from the NY Times. When I open my web browser, I can easily browse through my homepage and know what is going on in the world around me without having to go through a search engine. This is great for students to utilize, especially having current news articles available to them when first opening up a web browser. Teachers should make sure to tell students about iGoogle because most students are unaware of what it could offer.

Google Maps/Earth - Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, galaxies in outer space, and even canyons of the ocean. It allows students to see 3D images of places they would never even imagine being. This application can be utilized in almost any content lesson. For example, it can be used during a science lesson when describing different terrain found in various places around the world. Google Maps provides step-by-step driving directions. It makes it fun and easy to plan a trip with multiple stops. It also offers live traffic conditions and users can drag and drop different points to customize their route. Teacher can use Google Maps in the classroom in many different ways. For example, when learning about sequence of events and using words such as "first, then, and finally," teachers can introduce Google Maps. The teacher can have his/her students give directions to a partner using Google Maps and have them use sequence of events vocabulary in order to describe the route to take. An example is listed below on what it would be like to use Google Maps when finding directions from the University of Scranton to Nay Aug Park. media type="custom" key="7681693"

Here is an example of a lesson plan that was used to teach students how to use Google Maps: 