Keeler Alice - 50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom

By Alice Keelerand Libbi Miller, Ed.D.

50 Things You Can Do With GoogleClassroom by Alice Keeler and Libbi Miller is the definitive guide tobringing the social learning platform to life in your educational setting. Notonly do you get a breakdown of all the great functionality of the tool, butthey offer sound educational advice on why, with deep ties to pedagogy, to makethe technology even more powerful.

ADAM BELLOW, Founder of eduTecher/eduClipper

In 50 Things You Can Do WithGoogle Classroom, Keeler and Miller have produced a powerful resource for apowerful tool. The straightforward directions for use, alongside conciselydelivered philosophical frames for why one would try each idea, make for astrong overall picture of this tool. Many teachers need the comfort that comesfrom having a guide for newer tools. With so many schools adopting Google Apps forEducation, this book on Classroom comes at the right time.

RUSHTON HURLEY, ExecutiveDirector, Next Vista for Learning

Alice Keeler and Dr. Libbi Millercombine clear, easy-to-follow explanations with practical application ideas forusing Google Classroom with students. This resource is a treasure for anyteacher using Google Classroom!

CATLIN TUCKER, Teacher,Trainer, Speaker, and Author

This is the definitive resource onGoogle Classroom! Alice and Libbi have packed this book with practical,relevant ideas for using Google Classroom in your classroom starting tomorrow!

KYLE PACE, InstructionalTechnology Specialist/GCT

Keelers and Millers tips forGoogle Classroom can help the most reluctant ed-tech user feel secure.Comprehensive and easy to follow, the text is a must have manual.

STARR SACKSTEIN, Authorand Education Innovator

50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom

2015 by By Alice Keelerand Libbi Miller, Ed.D.

All rights are reserved. Nopart of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic ormechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, withoutpermission in writing by the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quotebrief passages in a review. For information regarding permission, contact thepublisher at shelley@daveburgessconsulting.com.

This book is available atspecial discounts when purchased in quantity for use as premiums, promotions,fundraising, and educational use. For inquiries and details, contact thepublisher at shelley@daveburgessconsulting.com.

All Google screenshot imagescontained herein are used with permission of Google Inc.

Google and the Google logoare registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission.

Published by Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.

San Diego, CA

http://daveburgessconsulting.com

Cover Design by Genesis Kohler

Interior Design by My Writers Connection

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015938340

Paperback: ISBN: 978-0-9861554-2-0

Ebook: ISBN: 978-0-9861554-3-7

First Printing: May 2015

Anysuccessful product requires focus on the user: an understanding of who will usethe product and how they will use it. When we built Google Classroom, this meantunderstanding teachers and students and how technology could be applied totheir problems and opportunities. We were lucky to have some former teachersworking on the product design and engineering within Google, and, moreimportantly, we teamed up with active teachers to understand their pains andtheir hopes for teaching more effectively and efficiently. We focused on howtechnology could save them time, so they could focus on their teaching andtheir students. We tested early versions of the product (long before it wasready) in real classrooms and got feedback from teachers and students on how toimprove the product. We iterated over ten months, expanding the early testgroups and improving the product with each cycle. We launched Google Classroomin August of 2014, and, while it has been tremendously useful for so manyteachers and students, that was still just the start of our feedback andimprovement cycle. Google Classroom continues to improve as we listen tofeedback and find the most impactful changes we can make to help teachers andstudents.

But the mostimpactful positive force for teachers in applying Google Classroom and othered-tech products has been their peers. The practicing teachers, who have becomeexperts in applying technology and have become mentors for others, providesomething valuable well beyond the tools that is, practical advice, solutionsto problems, and confidence. These teachers these mentors find solutions toreal teaching problems and innovate new ways to do things using technology.More importantly, they share these solutions openly and always look for ways toimprove. These teachers have become the backbone for the educator supportnetworks on Twitter, Google Plus, and other online and in-person networks. Theyare what make Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) worthwhile for so manyteachers.

Alice Keelerand Libbi Miller are two such expert mentors. Theyve applied technology toclassroom instruction for a combined, thirty-plus years at the high schoollevel and both now educate teachers in the use of technology at the universitylevel. Thats their day job. But even when theyre not teaching, theyre stillteaching. Alices blog, TeacherTech, is well known as a source of solutionsacross many teaching topics and many technologies. Alice often gains herinspiration from questions that come from her Professional Learning Network(PLN). Since August of 2014, I have watched her blog become a go-to resourcefor expert advice about Google Classroom. For no matter how much we try toimprove the product, there is no substitute for the advice of a practitioner.Its not only about simply learning the mechanics of a software product butalso about the practical application of that product to a real need. Alice andLibbi do an excellent job in this book outlining exactly that: how to applyGoogle Classroom to real teaching problems.

Teachers aretruly special people. Teachers like Alice and Libbi, who take the time to sharetheir experiences, ideas, and solutions with other teachers, are truly a gift.

JonathanRochelle

Directorof Product Management at Google

A few shortdecades ago, the idea of every student having access to a computer in theclassroom seemed like a science-fiction fantasy. How times and technology havechanged! Thousands of schools today provide every student with a digital device(computer, laptop, tablet, etc.). As more schools move toward this one-to-oneenvironment, teachers must respond to and lead the cultural and technologicalshift thats occurring in the classroom. Unlike the students of this digitalgeneration, however, relatively few of todays teachers grew up with computersin their schooling. Its no wonder that one of the questions we hear mostfrequently from teachers is: How can I effectively implement digital tools inmy classroom when I dont fully understand them myself?

Handingstudents a device can seem scary. But, as educators, we have to continuallyreexamine, reflect on, and adapt our teaching practices to suit our studentsneeds. Adding technology to our classrooms isnt optional; its a must if wereto equip our students for their futures. We know this. And yet, we also knowits challenging because moving to a digital platform is more involved thansimply shifting what you are currently doing into a digital form.

One resourceweve found to be extremely useful for teachers and their students is GoogleApps for Education (GAfE). In fact, millions of students have been introducedto digital tools through GAfE. Designed for true collaboration, GAfE allows forauthentic and shared group work. For example, with Google Docs, an app in GAfE,students and teachers are able to work together on the same document at thesame time. The cloud-based nature of Google Docs makes it easy for students toshare and publish their work with an authentic audience, which brings moremeaning than working solely for their teacher. In short, Google Docs creates abetter, more engaging learning environment by empowering students to easilyproduce content and receive peer, teacher, and community feedback faster thanever.