As regards my last post I consider that in that moment, I had a very negative perspective about my teaching practise and the use of ICT. It is not that difficult to incorporate the use of technology in the classroom. However, we have to be well-informed and up-dated in order to use it properly and in a useful way.
What I could see in my second lesson is that they really enjoyed working with their netbooks. I asked them to work in small groups to look for some pictures related to extreme sports, famous people or exotic places (we were working with unusual experiences) and they came up with amazing photos and even videos. The outcome was much more interesting that the one I expected and it was great because they enjoyed it a lot and they worked until the last minute of the lesson.
I think that we have to concentrate in the positive things and in the ways in which we can work with technology and students can profit and not just complaining because many of them do not have their netbooks as I did last week.
Here is an interesting article that I found about working with Google Docs…
USING GOOGLE DOCS AS TEACHING TOOL
With the coming of Web 2.0 there have been remarkable changes in the way we use the computer. A webpage used to be static and contain data which surfers could just browse or download. Now web 2.0 has enabled users to interact with a website and therefore give their opinions, play online games or even store data on virtual hard disks.
In this article we will explore the possibilities offered by Google Docs, a Web 2.0 application which has experienced significant development in recent years. Google Docs is an office suite of free software that allows users to create and edit documents online and store them in what is known as the cloud.
We will concentrate on the advantages of using Google Docs for teaching purposes, such as:
· It is no longer necessary to carry your laptop with your favourite programs installed. As this application is available online, you can use any computer with Internet connection and may only have to carry a portable USB storage device like a pen drive.
· Google Docs works with the most common digital formats like .ppt (MS PowerPoint), .pdf o .doc (MS Word).
· It is deal for storing data or multimedia presentations that can be shown using an interactive whiteboard.
· It facilitates collaborative work among teachers or between teachers and students as documents can be accessed online from any browser with a user name and password.
· It runs with Windows or Linux.
· It is a free application that only requires having an email account in any of the Google services.
HOW GOOGLE DOCS WORKS
To get started you need an email account provided by Google such as Gmail or any other service like Reader, Blogger, etc.
From right to left, you can see the following items:
· A small screen showing the document that you have selected or highlighted in the list appearing in the middle screen. You can add a brief description and establish certain settings. The most important setting is related to sharing your document or not with other people, which offers a great deal of flexibility to work collaborately with the teaching staff at your school or institute or with other users.
· In the middle there is a list of the documents that have been created and saved on your account. You can store up to 1GB of online created spreadsheets or text documents as well as upload any file from your computer.
TO SUM UP
As you have seen, integrating Google Docs into the classroom can provide plenty of benefits for teachers and students alike. By using this online tool, documents can be shared and edited by multiple users at the same time, which enhances collaborative work.
Teacher can make the most of its free storage capacity of 1GB to save and open files without having to carry them in a portable memory stick. They can store spreadsheets to manage attendance, record students’ marks or help them to create graphics. And students can answer short questionnaires online or print them.
This article has been meant as an introduction to online office suites. In the next issues we will offer more examples of useful tools for English teachers, for example, how to use a word processor together with the orthographic corrector, how to combine sound and image in interactive presentations, how to make the most of drawing tools to teach vocabulary and so on.
Francisco García Jiménez
CEIP “Las Mimbres”
Maracena, Granada
Translated by Mariela Stara
The teacher’s magazine
Año XIII Nº 142 Diciembre 2011
