Google Tools Reflection 3- Use of Google Forms and Sites

In this blog entry, I would like to comment more specifically on the use of Google Forms, Google Spreadsheets, Google Drawing, and Google Sites.

I am at the tail end of my work for this class. I am not even at the nose of my work for the year but the school year has not even started. I was having a conversation about these tools. I was asked..."What is the hardest thing about this class you are taking?" The answer....The hardest thing is not understanding what these tools can do. The hardest thing to do is to understand that you can go somewhere else to do functions that you know exist in another way on your computer. Microsoft offers basically the same functions Google offers with its tools. The biggest difference I see is where and how the information is saved. This mindset is difficult to erase. I do this in Microsoft....I save it like this....I access these programs using these icons. I feel like a robot. Explain to someone how to create a simple Microsoft Word document with a picture and the steps to save it. Include in your instructions all baby steps. You will find that there are so many little steps you  do because of repetition over time and never realize them. When working with a system that mirrors them, the differences stand out much quicker. Against the grain!

Unlike my last Blog and how I do not care for the file sharing of Google...I do love the little refined functions offered in Documents, Forms, Spreadsheets, Drawings, and Sites. They have made interfacing more user friendly than Microsoft Office Docs. They understand the fundamental functions needed by users  that choose the Google approach verse the offline version of Microsoft.

The things I look forward to bringing into the classroom are the following as an art teacher...

• The ability to assess student understanding in a simple interactive way using Google Forms before and after units 
• Creating spreadsheets that tracks student progress over time
• The ability to have students create documents using Ipads (Not PCs) and save work created  for research
• The ability to have students create a Presentation that reflects background knowledge learned during an unit of study
• The ability to create a Drawing with pictures that demonstrates the connections from one concept to another (example: Flow chart with hyper links and pictures!!!)
• The ability to showcase all work created in a unit of study on their own individual websites that can be shown during class driven critique ...this includes photos of art projects created with all background knowledge learned at their finger tips. 

These are some of the structures that I look forward to putting into place. These tools have great potential if used as a whole. Please look to my final project to see how i use some of these tools when creating a website for my 2012-13 school year. How exciting!