Googlios: Why to

I watched G. Alex Ambrose's "Googlios: A 21st Century Approach to Teaching, Learning, and Assessment." I found two things fitting as I watched...(1.) The disruptions and finally the spinning wheel of technology death hit as I watched compounding my frustration as I tried to maximize my watching and note taking. Instead of it all taking 20 minutes, it took my entire prep period. It is these moments that constantly frustrate teachers and lead some teachers to avoid technology completely. (2.) Alex mentioned the 3 c's--communication, collaboration, and creation, which we had so often talked about during this class. Thus, it became fitting that this would be my last choice of the many videos that I watched.

I was drawn to this video because of Google. It seems like Google dominates my life these days. Between my husband's school switching to Gmail, my friend's constant comments about Google Wave, and my own investigating into all of Google's free perks...I am completely intrigued by Alex's concept of one stop shopping. Teachers can create a website easily and in the process not just communicate information with students and parents but also collaborate and create with them. I find myself frustrated with the many tools that we have learned that we cannot simply just sign up our students...we must have them provide us their e-mails. It makes sense for schools to join Google and have Gmail accounts for staff and students for this purpose. It would be so simple for communication and for these many interesting and interactive online tools.

Alex mentioned the University of Notre Dame often in his piece, since they have partnered with Google to offer their students access to these many online free tools. This makes a lot of sense. Students can connect with one another and with their teachers in one place and as Alex kept saying WYSIWYG...what you see is what you get. It all seems incredibly user friendly.

Although the presentation itself was not all that innovative or exciting, Alex's information in the presentation was exciting to consider. Like many of these videos, he is just talking to us with a few demonstrations in looking at a website. In the end, though, I do think that he made a case for why schools should be partnering with Google or whoever the next company may be that offers similar free tools to educators. The creative, collaboration, and communication could be enhanced if used properly. I just hope that those teachers who are not technologically adept will receive time and training to get involved with the 21st Century.