Journal #3-The benefits of Google Classroom

Introducing Classroom, a new tool in Google Apps for Education. (2014). District Administration, 50(8), 52-53.


The days of lugging paper home, handing back assignments and wasted paper may now be obsolete. The Learning Management system, Google Classroom, has been around for about 3 years now and has enabled teachers to engage their students in new ways.  

According to Maggie McCloud, a Google Education team member, one of the main reasons for creating google classroom was to ensure that educators could use the functionality of all the google apps and collect them in one space. McCloud states, "Assignments shouldn't be difficult to assign.  People had these large flow-charts on construction paper explaining how to create a google doc and turn it into the teacher, or they would create a google form and students would share the links (Introducing classroom).  She goes on to state that Google Classroom allows teachers to easily create assignments and communicate effectively with the class. Another awesome tool in classroom is the digital discussions where a teacher can post a question and the class can interact online.  This is helpful for students that may feel uncomfortable sharing their voice in front of the class.

Google Classroom allows for seamless connectivity with all google apps which allows students to easily edit any google application and turn this in as an assessment on Google Classroom. Nicole Marrinelo, an English Teacher from Fontbonne Hall Academy in New York explains that Google Classroom also fosters collaboration. Beyond the classroom discussion feature she goes on to explain that students can have Google+ Hangouts with schools from different areas in the country that will "start to make the world a little smaller" (Introducing classroom).

Google Classroom has an array of wonderful features that can be helpful in several areas:organization, reduction in waste, usability and collaboration.  Google Classroom allows teachers to stay organized and keep students informed on announcements and deadlines. Any deadlines posted on classroom will also automatically be added to Google Calendar to remind students of impending due dates as well.  Overall, Google Classroom is a highly efficient leaning management system for educators and students alike.

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Time saving tech!

"It often happens that when giving a talk, the audience is  looking at the slide instead of you!" (Pogue 2013).  As we often find out as teachers, the students are distracted by words, pictures or even the color on the screen!  As Pogue explains in his TED talk, using the "B" key blacks out the screen as a way to focus the attention on the speaker and off of the slide. Research has shown that the audience often retains more information when they are focused on the speaker.  As always, I will be using this in my classes to see if this is one time saving tech worth using!

What do you think?  What time saving technique would you use?  Share in the comment section below.

Future ready schools-Collaborative Leadership

As we look toward the future and what our schools will look like 5-10 years down the road-I often reflect on the successes and failures of technology in education.  In order to move forward, we must often look back to what worked and what didn't.  For me, the most important gear is the "collaborative leadership" in which the district must consider HOW to implement the technology.

 According to the framework, "Leaders have ensured that the district's policies are coherent with the philosophy underpinning the vision (e.g., personalizing professional learning for education professions, just as they personalize learning for students".  As stated in my last blog, districts need to avoid buying technology just for the sake of doing so.  Teachers need to be training, there must be purposefully planning for what technology is most effective so that students can learn to be innovators and create new products, not simply just research google or do remedial work.

Collaboration is essential when trying to achieve any successful new district initiative.  As educators, we can be effective at implementing technology by being students ourselves and continuing to learn and innovate our curriculum.

Journal #2-Using tech to achieve equity

ZIELEZINSKI M. What Research Tells Us About... Using Technology to Support Underserved Students. Education Digest [serial online]. November 2016;82(3):30-34. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 9, 2017.

Use of technology in classrooms has exploded over the past few decades, and with schools trying to determine what tech and how much tech to bring in their schools' many students are being left behind.  “Unacceptably low levels of minority, low income English Language Learners, and special education students are graduating from high school (Zielezenski, 2016).

In her article, “Using Technology to support underserved students”, Zielezinski illustrates that although technology is available to many students it is being used incorrectly.  

Zielezinski argues that the main issue with technology in schools is that it is being used for remediation.  She goes on to explain that, “students who are black, Hispanic, or low-income are more likely to use technology for drill and practice, whereas students who are white or high income are more likely to use computers for simulations or authentic applications” (Zielezenski, 2016).  This is one issue I have seen in many educational settings throughout my career as a teacher.  In some scenarios, the teachers are not comfortable with technology especially when it comes to teaching students how to use certain programs to create original content.  

In order to truly use technology effectively in our school's teachers must be trained on how to use and teach various forms of tech.  For technology to reach its potential and achieve equity for underserved students then we as educators must be able to pick digital tools that promote discovery and the ability to create.  “Content creation when done well allows students to communicate their own ideas creatively” (Zielezenski). This allows teachers to teach valuable skills to their students, engage them in their classes, and give students the opportunity to be creators rather than consumers of tech.  

Teachers, like students, need to be taught how to use these programs in order to make a lasting impression on underserved students.  Ultimately this needs to be a top-down approach with school districts offering courses to teach their teachers what programs they can use.  

As stated before, there is no going back with technology it is here to stay in our schools.  Although there is an increasing importance put on technology in the classes the teachers are just as vital.  As we navigate the landscape of the “blended format” and teachers introduce more technology in their classrooms it is essential that teachers use technology for authentic tasks that develop and engage students.