There are several benefits for teachers and students being able to collaborate through the Google Suite applications that include storage and sharing, universal accessibility, and collaborative interaction. As a district, we switched over to Google about 3-4 years ago, and it was much needed! After going 1:1 last school year, I began using the Google Suite on a daily basis within my classroom.
Google Drive
Google Drive is where all documents are saved whether they were created by the user or shared by another user. Documents not created in Google can be uploaded to Google Drive as well. Teachers and students can take advantage of this aspect by uploading any documents, assignments, or presentations that may be saved on a flash drive or computer, so that they can access them from anywhere. Folders can be created to organize files just as users would on their computers. This is also where students and teachers can go to allow each other to access and collaborate on certain assignments. Google Drive makes a very convenient platform to turn in assignments by sharing them (Halla, 2015). According to Halla (2015), another great aspect of Google Drive is that other apps can be added to it other than what is already made available to you.
Google Docs
Google Docs is a real-time word processor. Students can create, edit, comment on or view documents. Google Docs saves the users progress as they go, therefore there is no need to keep saving the document. Google Docs allows students to turn their assignment in by sharing it, easily collaborate with their teacher or classmates, and add graphics and images if needed (Clark & Avrith, 2017). A Google Doc is saved in the cloud, so it is easily accessible from any device, which allows for students to collaborate on the go. In a study, college students and e-tutors admitted that Google Docs was able to provide meaningful interactions, unlike traditional writing, and that students’ personal development was enhanced (Petrovski et. al 2013).
Google Sheets
Google Sheets is a spreadsheet software similar to Excel. It allows students to create, edit, and collaborate within a spreadsheet. Students may use Google Sheets for research organization and teachers may use it for rosters and rubrics. Any activity, assignment, or document that requires the use of a table or chart can easily be created with Google Sheets. There are many math functions incorporated into Google Sheets, which is another way it can be used in the classroom. Just like Google Docs and other applications, the spreadsheet saves as the user goes and can be shared within the document or within Google Drive.
Google Forms
Google Forms is an application that allows teachers to gather information from students and display the responses in the form of a graph or spreadsheet (Clark & Avrith, 2017). Teachers can create surveys, quizzes, sign-out sheets, and so much more, and Google Forms will allow the data to be displayed in a variety of ways. These forms can be sent directly to all students in a specific classroom using their gmail account or through Google Classroom, which will be discussed in more detail. If a teacher chooses to use this application for a quiz, bellringer, or exit ticket, the data received can be used to differentiate upcoming instruction based on the results. This form and the immediate digital results make differentiation much easier than trying to differentiate based on hand-written responses.
Google Slides
Google Slides is a presentation software similar to PowerPoint. It is an online, collaborative, and visual space (Clark & Avrith, 2017). Groups of students can work on a presentation simultaneously using different devices, which is not something that can be done within PowerPoint or other presentation software. Students must share the presentation with their classmates and/or teacher in order to be able to collaborate together. Google Slides allows users to add pictures, drawings, equations, images, videos, and even animations (Clark & Avrith, 2017). Just like Google Docs, students can turn their presentation in by sharing it through the presentation or Google Drive or by sending it through Google Classroom.
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a type of networking site in the form of an online classroom for students and teachers. As explained by Bhat et. al (2018), Google Classroom can be used to create an online classroom for any particular subject comprising of all students in that class and can even include more than one teacher if necessary. Saeed and Al-Emran (2018) discuss the fact that Google Classroom simplifies the student-teacher communication and the ease of submitting, distributing, and grading assignments. Teachers can create and send assignments from Google Classroom and even assign grades to the assignments. Grange (2017) argued that students are able to converse one-on-one about their assignments and classes, while teachers can track student progress. Google Classroom aims for a paperless study environment, which teachers will more than likely appreciate.
There are many advantages of using Google Classroom that include accessibility, ease of use, sharing ability, fewer excuses, prompt feedback, and user friendliness (Grange, 2017). Being able to access Google Classroom from any device with internet allows students to complete assignments wherever they choose. It also cuts down on teachers having to keep up with absent work, since it can be sent digitally to the students who are absent. Students cannot use the excuse of lost assignments either if everything is digital.
From a teacher standpoint, it allows feedback to quickly be given to students by digitally grading the assignment and adding the grade into the Google Classroom gradebook. Another great aspect of Google Classroom is that teachers can pass out leveled assignments to different students if accommodations are needed for any student(s) by simply choosing the student who it needs to be sent to while sending all others another version (Clark & Avrith, 2017). Google Classroom is a great application that incorporates many aspects of the cloud.
Overall, the Google Suite applications allow for everything to be synced into one location to allow for ease of access for students and teachers. It would be hard to run my classroom as smoothly as I do without Google Suites.
Clark, H. & Avrity, T. (2017). The Google infused classroom: A guidebook to making thinking visible and amplifying student voice. Irvine, California: EdTechTeam Press
Grange, J. (2017). Google Classroom: A simple, concise, & complete guide to take your classroom digital [Kindle version].
Halla, K. (2015). Deeper learning through technology: Using the cloud to individualize instruction. Thousand Oaks, California: Cowin.
Petrovski, J., Naka, N., Savoska, S. (2013). Using cloud computing in higher education. Conference: ISGT 2013 Sofija, At Sofija. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285232860_using_cloud_computing_in_higher_education
Saeed, R. A. & Al-Emran, M. (n.d.). Students acceptance of Google Classroom: An exploratory study using PLS-SEM approach. Doi: 10.3991/ijet.v13i06.8275
Haley Oyervidez EDTECH 541 Blog 