Not long ago I had my first encounter with sharing/editing a Google Doc. I won't lie, my comfort/knowledge with google docs is still a work in progress, however I have become much more comfortable and knowledgable with it than I was in the beginning. I think this is such a great application to have on google. For the purposes of education this tool allows for groups to work on projects seamlessly from anywhere! I love google docs mostly for this reason. I live outside of Lethbridge, so it made meeting up for group projects much more difficult, however when my groups starting using google doc I was able to go home and work on the project from the comfort of my house and have all the group members able to work on the same document at the same time! It was awesome. I think that as a teacher I would love to show my students this tool (depending on the grade level and course however). I think that google docs provides such a great opportunity to collaborate more efficiently.
I think, especially now, in education there is such an emphasis on creating 21st century learners who are entrepreneurial, creative, innovative and risk takers and I think that google docs is a great tool to give these 21st century learners to use in order to achieve those goals.
I have never used back channels so I'm not sure what my preference for them would be. However I think I would prefer just having a video conference without the chat on the side (I think I would become a bit too distracted and miss parts of the conversation while I was reading the Chat). I do think it would be helpful in some certain situations, for example if you had to read over a certain passage/topic/idea. It might be helpful to display the text, have all participants read it and then talk over the web conference about it.
I have some experience using Wikipedia, however it dates back to when I was in junior/high school. When I used wikipedia in school it was often looked at/seen as an "unreliable" source. That however I believe has changed more today. I think people are seeing wikipedia as a more reliable source and are more comfortable using it as a collaborative learning tool. I think the cool thing about Wikipedia is that students feel a sense of contribution and sense of worth for inputing information on to Wikipedia pages. I think this makes them feel proud and motivated to add to the tech information world. I think using Wikipedia as a way for students to add/publish their findings/research on topics would be a great way to motivate them in learning.
Just like it said in our topic this week, there are a million different ways teachers can use technology in their classroom and the options are endless for what we can do with them, I think teachers just need to be cautious that those tools and options are chosen to give the students the best learning opportunity.
Sir Ken Robinson: Collaboration in the 21st Century
Google Docs In the Classroom Video
Alberta Education Link: Collaboration
Collaboration & Cooperative Learning In the Classroom
#1: Significant Comment
#2: Comment
I think, especially now, in education there is such an emphasis on creating 21st century learners who are entrepreneurial, creative, innovative and risk takers and I think that google docs is a great tool to give these 21st century learners to use in order to achieve those goals.
I have never used back channels so I'm not sure what my preference for them would be. However I think I would prefer just having a video conference without the chat on the side (I think I would become a bit too distracted and miss parts of the conversation while I was reading the Chat). I do think it would be helpful in some certain situations, for example if you had to read over a certain passage/topic/idea. It might be helpful to display the text, have all participants read it and then talk over the web conference about it.
I have some experience using Wikipedia, however it dates back to when I was in junior/high school. When I used wikipedia in school it was often looked at/seen as an "unreliable" source. That however I believe has changed more today. I think people are seeing wikipedia as a more reliable source and are more comfortable using it as a collaborative learning tool. I think the cool thing about Wikipedia is that students feel a sense of contribution and sense of worth for inputing information on to Wikipedia pages. I think this makes them feel proud and motivated to add to the tech information world. I think using Wikipedia as a way for students to add/publish their findings/research on topics would be a great way to motivate them in learning.
Just like it said in our topic this week, there are a million different ways teachers can use technology in their classroom and the options are endless for what we can do with them, I think teachers just need to be cautious that those tools and options are chosen to give the students the best learning opportunity.
Sir Ken Robinson: Collaboration in the 21st Century
Google Docs In the Classroom Video
Alberta Education Link: Collaboration
Collaboration & Cooperative Learning In the Classroom
#1: Significant Comment
#2: Comment