Using Google to Learn About Students

Going into our second year of 1:1 iPads, I thought it would be a good time to find ways to teach my students new technologies.  Google Drive is a great way for teachers and students to collaborate and integrate new technology into the teaching and learning process.  What I like most about Google Drive is the ability for students to have free access to programs similar to Microsoft Office.  In a low-income district, this is a great benefit.

In my attempts to teach students new technologies, I have decided to allow them to utilize Google Drive in some of their beginning of the year activities.

One of the most important parts of the new school year is getting to know your students.  Building a relationship with them is what makes long days and weeks possible.  One of the ways that I get to know my students is through a quick survey at the beginning of the year.  I give students the survey on the first full day of school as a bellringer.  Not only does this allow me to greet the students at the door, but it give me an opportunity to walk around the room and take attendance - checking for pronunciation and nicknames.  The survey has been put into Google Forms and is still a work in process, but here it is if you would like to check it out!  In addition to the practical reasons I like the survey, it really does let me get to know some important personal information about my students.  Getting them to open up helps segue into our first real assignment.  I also take time to answer the questions my students want to ask me during the first few days of class. 

Google Drive, specifically Google Slides, can be incorporated into their first real assignment - the About Me Presentation.  This assignment gives students a long list of things to pick from that will give their classmates (and me!) more information about them.  Allowing them to use Google Drive to complete the assignment can make the process of including photos from home in the presentation.  I like this assignment because you get to see students working on something they are already experts on - themselves!  I believe the students like it because I share an About Me Presentation with them about my life.  They are always shocked when they find out I was born in Japan. 

On a somewhat unrelated note, I stumbled upon an article that was refreshing.  As a secondary teacher (especially business), I often feel underwhelmed when it comes to resources and articles.  I'll admit that it could be my own fault, but it was nice to read an article from Love, Teach about secondary classroom management.  She mentions several tips (5, to be exact) that I could see implementing in my classroom.  Plus, she incorporates humor into her posts - I love humor!  One of the tips I'm going to work very, very hard to implement is the one about using a quiet voice.  I'm a naturally loud person - my husband swears I'm the loudest person he knows - so this is a challenge, but I really believe it could be effective.