Michael J. Graham - Google Apps Meets Common Core

Copyright 2013 by Corwin

All rights reserved. When forms and sample documents are included, their use is authorized only by educators, local school sites, and/or noncommercial or nonprofit entities that have purchased the book. Except for that usage, no part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

All Google screenshot images contained herein are used with permission of Google Inc.

Common Core State Standards are included with the permission of NGA Center/CCSSO.

Student work depicted in , How to Open Your Locker is used with permission.

Lesson Plan 6 Contrasting Peter Pan and Lesson Plan 7 Introduction to the Salem Witch Trials are used with the permission of the contributors.

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN 9781452257334

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

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Contents

Instructions

Preface

F orty-five states, three territories, and the District of Columbia have embraced the Common Core State Standards in hopes to reform education and make positive change. The United States has been left behind when compared with other countries in mathematics, science, and technology. Most educators are aware that our students entering college must take remedial courses that are not credit bearing, and business leaders complain that students graduating from high school do not have the skills to perform basic job duties. The Common Core State Standards intend to be a solution to these problems. The standards bring into focus the most important student learning expectations to make students ready for the challenges of college and career in the 21st century.

The architects of the Common Core State Standards realize the world is becoming increasingly technology dependent. The standards force educators to incorporate 21st century skills into the classroom so that students will be ready to face problems in our technologically based society. Teachers, administrators, and curriculum specialist must realize the expectations that the Common Core State Standards place on them. It is not a choice, but a mandate that students be ready to enter college or the workplace with the proper skills to perform in the world. Given this problem, some questions for educators today are:

How will educators incorporate technology into their lesson plans to meet the expectations of the Common Core State Standards?

What level of skill using technology is needed for teachers and students to be successful?

What will the Next Generation Assessments look like?

What technology or software used in classrooms could bring together Common Core and technology and give students the experience needed so that they can perform well on the Next Generation Assessments?

One of the best ways to tackle these questions is to use the free service from Google built exclusively for schools called Google Apps for Education. Google provides a robust and vigorous suite of educational tools for schools that include everything necessary to meet and exceed the technology integration components of the Common Core State Standards.

Because Google offers this package for free to educational institutions, many K12 and universities are using it to their advantage, saving money and labor. According to Google, more than 16 million students and teachers are currently using Google Apps for Education in the world, with more added every day. If your school uses Gmail as its e-mail, then your school is a Google Apps for Education school. If your school is not a Google Apps institution, it is easy to get started. Direct your technology department to http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/edu/k12.html to get signed up. Even if your district does not sign up for Google Apps for Education, educators may still use most of these tools to organize, collaborate, and share content with students and faculty when they sign up for a free Google Account.

PURPOSE

This book was written to inform educators of ways to incorporate technology into their lessons using Google Apps for Education to maximize learning while adhering to the rigors of the Common Core State Standards. It has step-by-step tutorials that can help even technologically challenged teachers master Google Apps, while challenging the techno-savvy teachers to think of new ways of learning with tech. This book will give lesson plan ideas directly in the commentary about the apps giving educators ideas how to implement technology with a focus on the Common Core State Standards. Ultimately, this book is written as a resource and a guide for educators to use Google Apps to meet Common Core. It is as if Google read the Common Core State Standards, then created free software to meet and exceed them.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Educators from prekindergarten to postsecondary will find this book a valuable source of how to implement technology into the teaching and learning environment. The Common Core State Standards and technology integration is the books main focus, but the step-by-step tutorials are helpful for educators from any nation, state, or educational institution. College and career readiness is a worldwide goal. It is not restricted to the United States or for PK12 schooling. Many teachers, curriculum specialists, administrators, and college instructors will find the information in this book worthwhile and meaningful. Professors of education at universities are encouraged to read and recommend this work to their students. Teachers who come directly out of college with the skills and understanding of this book will be ready to lead in the fight to get students college and career ready.

HOW THIS BOOK IS UNIQUE

This book was written because there is nothing like it available to educators. Most books about Google only tell educators about the wide swath of tools that Google provides. This book narrows the focus on the tools in Google Apps for Education and shows how they can be used to exceed the Common Core State Standards. It also provides teachers with a direct relation to which Google App is most appropriate to specific Common Core State Standards, with step-by-step tutorials on how to implement it directly in the classroom to maximize learning. This book seeks to provide educators with the path of least resistance when implementing technology into the curriculum. Education technology tools are quickly entering the market, each with their own quirky and sometimes complicated uses. Learning how to use hundreds of tools would be overwhelming for a busy educator. With Google Apps for Education, the apps are all easily accessed in one place and all follow the same basic principles of use.