Google Documents and Groups

Yesterday (9th Oct), we listened and participated in a presentation on Google Documents and Groups by Rachel and Jessica. I really enjoyed this presentation as it allowed me to understand more about Google docs and groups and how I can use them in a classroom setting. The presentation was done in a way that was easy to understand and had me engaged.

From what I have heard so far about Google groups, I think they can be very beneficial. Google Groups is an innovation where people come together and communicate with one another on different topics.

I am studying Early Childhood Education, and I most definitely wouldn’t use Google groups with the younger students, however it may be an option with year three’s.  I believe it would be a good idea also to use Google Groups with the parents of the children I am teaching. I believe using this innovation with parents will encourage open communication and give parents an insight into their child’s learning progress and learning experiences they are encountering in the classroom. It allows parents to feel included and a part of their child’s developmental process. One downfall however would be if some of the parents don’t have access to the internet. Also a Google group takes away the face-to-face contact and communication between parents and teachers…although this may not always be a bad thing!

I also think that Google groups is good to use with teachers, as it will encourage a supportive network in which teachers can ask questions and receive answers from different perspectives.

I also found Google Documents very interesting to learn about, as I did not know much about them at all. Google Docs is a free program offered by Google and allows its users to collaborate and create online documents, including the ability to create and design presentations, word processing docs and spreadsheets. I believe Google docs can be used by teachers, parents, and students as they can work together on projects and edit documents at any time. This innovation, I consider can be put to great use in the classroom, as it can encourage children to collaborate on projects, share ideas and create and edit a document whenever they like.