In the past couple of weeks, we have discussed google classroom and google expedition, which were two amazing tools.  To get an update on these two topics, feel free to visit my previous post.

This week’s topic will be Google’s G Suite for Education.  This suite encompasses several tools that can assist and empower the educator and the student.  The tools listed below are the tools that are in the G Suite for Education.

Gmail can be used as an individual, business or school.  Educators can setup school-wide email systems or just use to exchange emails within a classroom.  The basic free email service comes with 15GB of storage (Drive Storage included).  I have used Gmail for about the last 10 years and have no complaints.   

Drive allows the educator and the student the ability to store and organize files, photos and documents that will be available from any location or device.  Your free google account comes with 15GB of storage.  Google also offers more storage for additional fees.  I have 100GB of storage and pay 19.99 a year.  I save all my college work on the Drive and access it on any device.  There are also other plans available from 100GB to 30TB. 

Calendar allows the user the ability to either share a calendar or create a group/joint calendar for a classroom or institution.  I use google calendar for my household and works great with tracking and scheduling events.  It is directly linked to your Gmail and will update reservations or events that you receive through email as well. 

Docs, Sheets, and Slides allows students to work together at the same time on future required collaborative projects.  I have not had an opportunity to use these specific documents as of yet but I am sure they work great for a classroom environment. 

Forms allows users to create documents such as quizzes and surveys.  This is a great tool to use as an educator to not only create but to share the forms through any device throughout the classroom.

Jamboard is a collaborative, digital whiteboard.  The digital whiteboard can be accessed on your computer, tablet or phone.  I have downloaded the app and played with it slightly, seems to be a great collaborative tool to work on group projects.   

Sites allows users to create sites for projects or events.  Did not know this actually existed.  This could have come in handy in one of our other courses as we will be required to share a knowledge base online.  It is a little more user friendly as well then, some other sites.  I will probably consider changing from WordPress to google sites for my knowledge base.   

Hangouts Meet allows users to collaborate with each other using either messaging or video calls. Great application to use to communicate with students, parents or teams outside of schedule school hours.   

Groups allows the educator to create group discussions/forums to communicate and collaborate about specific topics.   

Vault allows the users to manage who has access to the content that is being shared and distributed throughout the classroom or group.  Helps keep the information safe and secure. 

Classroom – Read my post from 04 September for the full details of this tool. 

The G Suite for Education is free for schools and can assist in managing a classroom, sharing information, and collaborating.  These tools can enhance the classroom outside of school hours and can be accessed from any location or device.  To read more about these tools or get these tools, visit the below website:

https://edu.google.com/products/gsuite-for-education/?modal_active=none

Billy

Expeditions is a free application available for download on your mobile device, it offers the ability for educators to use both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) within their classrooms.  Expeditions allow students to explore the world while remaining in their seats or bringing the world into the classroom.  This application gives the ability for educators to incorporate creative, innovated, and exciting content or curriculum within their classrooms.  There are over 900 VR tours and over 100 AR tours available within the application.  Additionally, educators and students can create their own experience with “Tour Creator”.  Expeditions offers visual learners an advantage to learn while interacting with there classmates.  

Currently there are several higher education organizations that have implemented Expeditions within their curriculum.  One is the United States Military Academy “West Point”.  An assistant history professor used Expedition to teach students about European History and Western Civilization during the 2017 to 2018 academic year.  The Cadets were able to view on their personal devices and appreciated the ability to see the terrain and human factor instead of seeing it on a textbook.  Article link list below.  

https://edu.google.com/why-google/case-studies/west-point/?modal_active=none

I was unaware of this free application available for both teaching and learning.  I recently downloaded the application and was able to bring the seven continents into my office space.  I was also able to take a VR tour of the Great Wall, allowing me to get a 360-degree view.  I believe this application is a great tool to incorporate in the learning environment to assist students in gaining a better visual understanding of their content.