In my educational career I have become competent at many things while mastering very few! :)
For example:
Maintaining and organized desk - competent
Google Docs - competent
Arriving to work on time for 7:15 meetings - competent
Drinking coffee while teaching - master
Google Classroom definitely belongs in the "competent" category.
I think that the basic portions of Google Classroom are pretty straightforward and easy. This means that while I learn the intricacies of this program I will still be able to do some of the basics right from the start. I really appreciate this feature! I don't have to master it all in order to use it! This is key for me because I am all gung-ho in the summer about new technology and as the year begins, I am overwhelmed with the time commitment it takes to implement a new technology. Plus, who wants to try and fail with new technology in front of kids who have many more technological skills and understanding than I ever will?!?! Part of the genius of Google is that most of their tools have layers (like onions and ogres); basically, I can start with the most basic and user-friendly layer and put it to use in my classroom right away. From there, I can start peeling back the layers of the technology and learn more. Google allows me to be a technology jack of all trades without having to master any of them!
I played around, minimally, with Google Classroom last year and found it to be a great tool when I had access to computers. This year, I anticipate using it on a much more regular basis because I will have computers in my classroom.
I created a class and invited a few people to join, if you have FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and would like to see what all I included in my classroom, feel free to join using the code: OFKCAX. Otherwise, just know that my current Google Classroom is basically the Beanie Babies of Google Classrooms: a lot of hype, very little payout! (Check out this book!)
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| Do we all remember the mania? |
Okay, now I want to watch Shrek and order that Beanie Baby book. I didn't know someone was killed over them!
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, back to the technology 2.0, you know that it takes time, but some of the benefits can be amazing! And using some of these tools could get some of your kiddos into learning and school who have maybe thought it wasn't for them.
And truly, you don't have to be an expert at them all! Just do what you can and act confident (after planning and thinking ahead), sometimes we even surprise ourselves! If we never tried anything in our classrooms till we perfected it, we probably wouldn't try much...
Ha! I 100% agree that you are a master at drinking coffee while teaching! :) I love the google doc adding famous people throughout the year (I added two to the list). Your ideas are so creative and engaging for students! I am so lucky to be able to teach with you and benefit from your creativity!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely NOT competent with Google Classroom, but I am looking forward to using it this upcoming year. I agree that you pretty much need to have a class set of Chromebooks or it's difficult to be consistent with it. I'll have more layers to peel back than you!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for putting your class code in your blog!!! No one invited me to join their class, and it was super helpful to have someone's to look at. :)
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