GOOGLE COMMUNITIES IN THE CLASSROOM
Google+ communities are great platforms for teachers to find inspiration, share lesson ideas, ask questions, and get connected with educators from around the globe.
I recently joined the Elementary Educators community and am absolutely in love with all of the resources and articles it has to offer! There are all kinds of topics to search through and some of my favorites are the tabs with suggestions on classroom management strategies, successful lesson plans, and ways to foster a positive, welcoming learning environment! On the classroom management tab I found a wonderful resource suggesting "5 Ways to Calmly Quiet" your crazy kiddos if you need to refocus the classroom or begin transitioning into a new assignment. On this tab I also discovered a link to a YouTube video called "Every Opportunity," which explains the importance of talking with students instead of at students. This video also highlights how dramatically the attitude and word choice of teachers can impact the learning, engagement, and level of motivation their students experience. One of my favorite quotes from the video is some advice for teachers from the perspective of an elementary student: "Give us courage, give us compassion, help us find our own voices, so we can become who we are meant to be. Why would you want to silence us?"
Next I joined the EdTech community, which includes tabs where teachers can share articles and graphics related to leadership, distance learning, new technology, and useful apps and software for the classroom. The first article that caught my attention was "8 Ways to Boost Your Creativity With Technology." I love how this article suggests that tech can help children blur the line between work and play, allowing students to use technology creatively to explore their ideas and research more information on the topics covered in class. I also really loved an article I found called "What We Can Learn From 5 of the Most Innovative Schools in the World" that talks about schools who have raised the bar in regards to innovation and who have truly adapted to the modern needs of students. One school in Sweden has developed a system to promote complete equality and "aims to avoid any type of discrimination, including age, skill, class, race, disability, and gender. Carpe Diem schools found in Ohio, Indiana, and Arizona are designed to resemble office cubicles more than traditional classrooms and students are able to learn at the own pace so they can "accelerate or slow their learning without being held back or falling behind." I really love to travel, so hearing about how school systems operate all over the world really interests me.
I could definitely see myself utilizing Google+ as an educator, but I would also love to help my students take advantage of the resource. I especially see it being useful if I was to create a private community including only my current students and their parents, a site where students could post pictures and descriptions of their own projects, share educational websites and links to videos, and keep their parents updated on what they're learning. I feel like students would appreciate this opportunity to feel more connected and to display their work in a digital setting!
I recently joined the Elementary Educators community and am absolutely in love with all of the resources and articles it has to offer! There are all kinds of topics to search through and some of my favorites are the tabs with suggestions on classroom management strategies, successful lesson plans, and ways to foster a positive, welcoming learning environment! On the classroom management tab I found a wonderful resource suggesting "5 Ways to Calmly Quiet" your crazy kiddos if you need to refocus the classroom or begin transitioning into a new assignment. On this tab I also discovered a link to a YouTube video called "Every Opportunity," which explains the importance of talking with students instead of at students. This video also highlights how dramatically the attitude and word choice of teachers can impact the learning, engagement, and level of motivation their students experience. One of my favorite quotes from the video is some advice for teachers from the perspective of an elementary student: "Give us courage, give us compassion, help us find our own voices, so we can become who we are meant to be. Why would you want to silence us?"
Next I joined the EdTech community, which includes tabs where teachers can share articles and graphics related to leadership, distance learning, new technology, and useful apps and software for the classroom. The first article that caught my attention was "8 Ways to Boost Your Creativity With Technology." I love how this article suggests that tech can help children blur the line between work and play, allowing students to use technology creatively to explore their ideas and research more information on the topics covered in class. I also really loved an article I found called "What We Can Learn From 5 of the Most Innovative Schools in the World" that talks about schools who have raised the bar in regards to innovation and who have truly adapted to the modern needs of students. One school in Sweden has developed a system to promote complete equality and "aims to avoid any type of discrimination, including age, skill, class, race, disability, and gender. Carpe Diem schools found in Ohio, Indiana, and Arizona are designed to resemble office cubicles more than traditional classrooms and students are able to learn at the own pace so they can "accelerate or slow their learning without being held back or falling behind." I really love to travel, so hearing about how school systems operate all over the world really interests me.
I could definitely see myself utilizing Google+ as an educator, but I would also love to help my students take advantage of the resource. I especially see it being useful if I was to create a private community including only my current students and their parents, a site where students could post pictures and descriptions of their own projects, share educational websites and links to videos, and keep their parents updated on what they're learning. I feel like students would appreciate this opportunity to feel more connected and to display their work in a digital setting!