Sunday, October 2, 2011

Tool#4 Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a new way of sharing in which one doesn't clog up another person's email. I have created multiple documents to share with my colleagues. One was a copy of the teachers' planning times to share with district personnel who are visiting our schools. Having a document that I could edit easily and have the changes easily accessible was convenient. I didn't have to remember to send the revised version to anyone. My colleagues view the document through their mobile devices when necessary and can see the changes the next time they open up the document.

The second document I created was a spreadsheet of student data that I shared with math lab teachers. Again, being able to access the information easily from different locations was great. When I was working with the teacher, I didn't have to log on to her computer to access the data file. I simply asked her to retrieve the file from her Google Docs. It was a very convenient way to retrieve information.

Ways in which the teacher could use Google Docs in the classroom include any projects in which students have to collaborate in groups. Students who engage in group work often have the problem of having to email one another or share information view jump drives. Now, students can begin creating their research on Google Docs and work on them from home.  The forms that students can generate could also facilitate any kind of survey that wanted to conduct in an effort to collect data for creating graphs and charts.

1 comment:

  1. Yes, Google Docs makes collaboration really easy! Everyone can have the most recent data at all times.

    The biggest "hurdle" I think for teachers and students will be setting up their contacts in Google Apps to facilitate ease of sharing!

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