Final Thoughts on 5th Grade Google Pilot

After the students completed document and presentation using Google Docs., their classroom teacher asked them to take a quiz that he had set up using Google forms.  As a last step, I asked the students to complete a survey about the entire project.  All of the results can be found here, but these are some of the highlights:

• One a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest), the students gave the pilot project an average score of 8.09.

 

• Overall, how did you feel about sharing your work with a partner? Did it go well or not? Please explain
  “I felt safe because i knew if he made a BIG mistake and erased all my work i could just go back to history and get it back. But, he didn’t do that and he was very helpful with my story and i think it went well.”
  “Well when i shared my writing piece with my partner i enjoyed it. i enjoyed writing comments on her writing piece and receiving comments on my writing piece”
  “I think it was great working with a partner, but I didn’t like the fact that this program doesn’t allow you to communicate quickly back and forth with your partner.”

 

• Do you think Google Docs. is a valuable tool for students to use? Why or why not?
  
  “I think Google Docs is a valuable tool. I think so because it is alot of fun. It is alot of fun because we can work on the same project at the same time on different computers.”
  “In previous years I have been ripping my hair out because I can’t work on my typing projects at home so I its pretty cool that we found a way around it. ”
  “I think Google Docs. is a valuable tool for kids to use because the can collaborate and share information with other students. I think it’s fun to see what the other kids think of your work. And, they tell you on a COMPUTER OR LAPTOP!”
  “I think this tool is valuable for both students and teachers because it is assecable on your home computer, too. Also, it’s interactive and easy to use.”

 

• If you were the teacher, what would you change about the project? Or, if you were the teacher, what aspects of the project would you definitely keep the same?
  “I would change how when you choose a stylish background it sets all the backgrounds like that. I would keep everything else the same.”
  “I thought that google docs was very fun and exciting. Although I would take out the online revising and put on AIM. The online revising was annoying at some parts and confusing.”

 

• Do you have other questions about online collaboration?
  “Can you talk to people online without any typing?”

I find their thoughts incredibly interesting.  I love the fact that they think it’s completely possible to change the capabilities of Google Docs.   I’ve grown up with computers and software being very static.  Oh, I guess the computer/software just can’t do that.  As you can see from the “If you were the teacher..” question, one student assumed that it was completely in the teacher’s power to adjust the background capabilities. 

Also, it was great to see their problem-solving skills when it came to collaboration.  Google Docs. alone does not offer an easy way to communicate with other collaborators.  I was not able to use Google Chat with these students, but I think a chat platform would be very helpful for projects such as this in the future.   And obviously, using Skype while collaborating would be perfect, based on the last question listed. 

I am very happy with the results of the pilot.  I believe our district needs to improve bandwidth capabilities because our students were slowed down by screens freezing and having to refresh their documents repeatedly.  Also, the students were frustrated when they worked on a document simultaneously, their updates did not appear instantly on their partner’s screen.   I haven’t looked into Google Wave  extensively, but I wonder….

I would like to recommend Google Docs. to all of the fifth grade teachers in my building next year.  I believe that having documents available at home and at school will be extremely helpful to students and teachers alike.

Fifth Grade Collaborators

Over the last two weeks,  I presented the first few lessons of our Google Docs. Pilot to a class of fifth graders.  When they heard about the “awesome” capabilities of inviting collaborators to work on their writing, the students were anxious to get started.  I followed the lessons plans I had written which included discussions about cyberbullying.  I also spoke to them techie-to-techie.  I explained that if their class could use the tools appropriately and successfully, then other students in the district might be able to use Google Docs. in the future.  They were trailblazers!!

The first assignment was to write a letter to a future 5th grader, explaining the fun and exciting events they should expect when they became 5thgraders in September.   The classroom teacher and I purposely chose a “light” topic that would be easy to write about because we are rapidly approaching the end of the year.  Also, it gave us more time to allow the students to experiment with Google Docs. to really figure out how it all worked. The students then invited a partner, the classroom teacher, and me to be collaborators on their document.  The partner left comments and footnotes within the document to help with revision.   Here is a  list of some of our successes and concerns so far:

• I posted some examples of students’ revisions on my Reflection page.  As you can see from the examples, the students used comments (within the body of the text) for one/two word revisions and footnotes for longer revision messages.  It worked very well except for the fact that some students viewed hash-tag-code after a footnote was inserted into their work.   I’m still searching for a cause/solution.  For now, we deleted it and reformatted the spacing.
• Given more time,  the classroom teacher and I could have done more coaching for students who were unsure what to suggest to their partner during revisions.  Overall, the comments and footnotes were helpful and appropriate.
• The first time the students invited collaborators to view their document, we had a handful of error messages. The kids needed to type the entire username (studentname@ kirbysmill.org) for each person they were inviting.  The text box is a bit small, and one typo caused the errors.
• We did have one student create a new document and invite his friends as collaborators to “chat” from home.  The students who were invited thought it was suspicious and told the classroom teacher.  The student erased the documents from his Google Docs., but they were still in the collaborators’ documents.  No harm was done, but it’s something to keep our eye on.  Unfortunately, not all parents monitor what their children are doing online, and although we monitor closely in school, students may choose to use these tools in an inappropriate manner from home.

This week, we will be asking the students to create a slideshowusing the presentation tool.  They are very familiar with PowerPoint, so I will do very little instruction on how to use the tool.  My plan is to give them 15 mins. to “play” and then share withthe group how to complete common tasks such as adding a new slide or inserting a picture.  Then the partners will work collaboratively  to create one “Best of Fifth Grade” slideshow.  More on this next week…

Google Docs. Pilot: Set to Launch

After months of research and problem-solving with my IT team, we finally signed-up for a free Google Apps. Education Edition account for my school.  A few late nights later and I had completed the pilot site, which holds lesson plans, parent information and pilot documentation.  

My goal is to start lesson one this week.   Stay tuned for updates!

Google Teacher Academy Action Plan: Part 2

Google Docs.

Within the past two weeks, I’ve held two workshops for the teachers in my school introducing Google Docs.  I broke Google Docs. into two one-hour workshops.  The first hour concentrated on creating, editing and sharing a document (similar to a word processing document).  The second workshop focused on using the presentation, spreadsheet and form tools. 

Abracadabra!

I began the first workshop by explaining the capabilities of Google Docs.  I was thrilled to see the look on the teachers’ faces when idea of web-based files registered.  “You mean I don’t have to worry about a flash drive or emailing documents to myself?”  The stage was set for a great workshop… I felt like a magician at a child’s birthday party, only I was sharing all of the secrets. 

After we created our own documents, I shared a document I had prepared earlier with the group.  As each person edited it, I heard pleased exclamations when they saw other teachers’ work appear on their own screen.  I asked them to add their thoughts to a table concerning how students could benefit from a tool like this.  We were all in the same room and it just seemed easier to talk about it.  ( F2F is still my favorite small group discussion vehicle.)  Thoughts were exchanged, especially the idea of peer editing and collaborating for in-school and at-home assignments.

 

One issue that did arise is the fact that without Google Apps. for Education Edition, our students would need to register for a Google Account with an email address.  Our district has not issued email addresses to our students yet, and the administration has reservations about endorsing sites that could lead students inadvertently to tools that allow them to create an online identity.   I assured the teachers that we discuss the issue at every district technology meeting and we are actively pursuing a solution that satisfies all parties.

Coincidentally, our February district technology meeting was held this afternoon.  We discussed many topics, including Google Docs.  I asked to have it added to the agenda, primarily to brainstorm the ideas I’ve picked up from my Twitter friends concerning dummy email solutions to Web2.0 tools. 

And then the REAL magic happened…

Our curriculum director felt that adequate safety features would be in place with dummy email accounts and it deserved to be a pilot program!  I tried not to jump out of my seat to volunteer, but I think my graciously supportive colleagues knew I had been thinking about this for months.  So tomorrow, pending my principal’s approval, I’ll meet with a fifth grade teacher to discuss the possibilities.  I’ve decided to create a Google Site to track our progress and post the lesson plans.

Stay tuned!