Join the Revolution - Google Docs

I've just revolutionized my household! The shopping list is no longer on the fridge held up by that free Australia Post magnet with complimentary pencil- it's now a shared google doc and accompanying spreadsheet that contains a list of all household items.
When the inventory reaches a certain 'low point' according to spreadsheet calculations and the helpful visual chart it's time to go shopping. Never again will I be faced with the request of purchasing toilet rolls on the way home because we are almost 'out' - heaven forbid should that occur especially living with two small children (my own) and my (greek) in-laws (and we all know the elderly and their frequent night-time rituals), however now I know that' almost out' does not refer to 'down to the last 16 rolls!' I kid you not! Aldi and pallet shopping has a lot to answer for- especially if storage containers are not this weeks special!

Back in the classroom, google docs has many benefits for students especially those working collaboratively as each student can add to a document and review the work by others. This isn't confined to the classroom either as they can work from the comfort of their couch at home and who wouldn't be a fan of that?

As a teacher the initial set-up may at first be finicky, but it is a great way to track how each member of the group adds to the overall group result. The spreadsheet option is good and would be good for juniors (stage 3) tracking data in HSIE such as weather temperatures, precipitation etc in a table over time then graphing and importing into their document. Another example of use could be Stage 4 geography tabulating demographic data and factors causing changes within communities.

It can only be a matter of time before school strategic planning documents, committee proposals, staff agenda's and faculty programmes become true working documents using google docs; where everyone can make a valuable and documented contribution, instead of one person waiting for feedback then tabulating, editing and evaluating results. This method certainly reduces the time collating data, and the 'mail trail' of attachments sent and subsequently stored. The prevailing difficulty for implementation is not so much staff commitment but time to allocate to ICT training to become savvy, confident users of collaborative, time saving (and storage saving) applications.

The fact that in using google docs, information can be shared, edited by others and uploaded without memory sticks can only be a bonus.

igoogle-yougoogle-we all google?

The world of igoogle - is it really one that shows our personality traits all on one homepage or one that offers more gadgets to help wile away our time from 'what we should be doing? by offering us distractions of roaming turtles and hampsters ? Who can decide on the importance of the weather vs the horoscope of the day - does it really matter that a southerly is going to blow into Sydney this afternoon if I know that my luck is going to change and the impacts are far greater than whether I've packed an umbrella? and just quietly how come the map that comes up only shows me the layout of San Fransisco not Pearl Beach...ooops because that would be a distraction.
Blogs....the modern day 'dear diary' except that it isn't stored under the bed or at the back of the top drawer behind the socks, away from the prying eyes of mum, brother, sister - it's out there... and your mum is a follower! A form of communication where just about everyone has something important to say on the topic of anything and everything. Social, celebrity, economic and business, education, health and fitness and the list continues. Used in the classroom it can provide a platform for discussion and a forum for new ideas, opinions and feedback on any given topic. Students love posting comments but beware of the number exclamation marks and flashing smiley faces that suddenly appear at the end of a posting!!!!!!!

Module One- Web 2.0- What's it all about?

So....what's it all about? From a teaching perspective - its about engaging students, using social networks and applications to share ideas and information and creating content based on participation. Web 2.0 tools can encourage communication and aid feedback as students can initiate ideas and comment on those of others, hence becoming users who decide on the relevance of data presented and the importance of others opinions.
This in turn fosters interactions whereby constructive feedback can mould and shape students own initial thoughts on topics to further meaning and understanding. By using web 2.0 tools effectively teachers can create a dynamic and collaborative learning environment where students are not only creating content and engaged purposefully, but one where feedback is immediate.
In fact the students are the ones who are already using many of these these tools to enhance social communication to share photos, messsages,and create videos and other presentations.
Personally, after having a weekend away from internet and mobile connection I must say I didn't miss the culture of ' immediancy.' I was more than happy to 'be in the moment', participate and enjoy family life where the priority decision that required 'immediate' attention was 'Mum.....are we going to go the beach and get hot chips?'