Module 3

In this module, I learnt about Google Docs. I found out that it is an online document that you can share and make changes to. It is a very good way to work on one document that all others have access to. My school has set up a link to Google Docs on the school intranet. You can see that the Google Apps has Docs on it. Also my last blog was about E Portfolio. It is also on the school intranet.

Google Docs has been used by the TAS department to work on programming. Each teacher in our department has shared information in a table. This information has enabled colleagues to know what we are all doing. I have taken a snapshot of what we have been doing. We have been working on the Explicit Teaching of Areas of Teaching and Learning in Technology with the International Bacculaurate program we teach at our school. Each area of TAS has a heading. There is Food, Digital Media, Textiles, Jewellery. We all then wrote what we were doing in each section. You can see the headings on the sheet.
I watched the videos on Google Docs and there are spreadsheets and presentations that can be shared as well. The presentations are good for group work in my class, where students can work in a group of four and present their work.
I also explored the use of templates with Google Docs. It was interesting to see that there is a template on a recipe card. I can use this in my Year 10 class by giving them a recipe and having students work in paris to alter the recipe so that it suits a vegetarian, celiac or lactose intolerant person. We do this unit in Year 10 on Special needs diets.
Since I have encountered what can be done with Google Docs educationally, I asked my students in Year 8 and Year 11 today about whether they have been using Google Docs in other subjects. The Year 8 class told me that they have been using it in English and the Year 11 class told me that they have been using it in Science. When I asked the Year 11 student what she had been using it in Science for, she told me that they were preparing for a practical exam and other students had shared with them their practical work notes. These notes were identified by the teacher as being exemplar works by students. So the students learnt from reading the notes of other students and sharing their comments on their forthcoming practical exam.
I can use Google Docs in my class by getting students to work on group tasks where they have to present to the class. I have already asked students to present a role play on the topic of working with colleagues and customers, however, I did not use Google Docs. When the Year 11 Hospitality students have another group work task, I will definitely ask them to use Google Docs to share their information.
Watching the video on how educators use Google Docs was good. It has given me ideas on how students can work on a document or presentation as a group anywhere, anytime. This is the 21st Century and information can be accessed twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. We are facilitators of students who both collaborate and learn independently. It is an exciting time to be teaching. Sharing of knowledge allows students to prosper in their learning from each other and sharing it with the world allows students to be part of a world wide community of learning.