students took screen shots of their school in Google Earth and aſter uploading them into a Google Drawing, pairs began to design their dream playground make-over. Tis is just one example of how students can work as a group whether they do it all at the same time in class or whenever they might get an opportunity at home by themselves.
Tere were concerns from a few staff members that somehow the sharing of documents might promote cheating or that students may abuse these privileges, but so far in my classes there haven’t been any signs of inappropriate use. Cheaters will cheat whether they have the technology tools or not and that it is hugely unfair to non-cheaters if we block the technology just to stop the cheaters.
I stress to my students what a privilege having a Google account is and ask them to follow three rules.
1. Protect your passwords.
2. Keep use school related.
3. Respect. Respect. Respect.
Tere aren’t many scenarios not covered by this list. As early as 2nd
grade, students
learn about digital citizenship and how important protecting personal information is. We also talk about how people oſten have a number of email accounts for different purposes. Our Google accounts are for schoolwork and my elementary kids are asked to only communicate with other Hamilton students and staff. Other personal communication should be done with a separate family account and under family supervision. Finally, learning a set of online manners means respecting others’ privacy, their time by not sending out meaningless emails, and their feelings by helping to prevent any types of cyberbullying that may occur. Respect also means preserving academic integrity and the trust the district has shown students by allowing them to have these accounts.
Rushton Hurley from
NextVista.org is a nationally renown speaker on Google Apps in the classroom and was one of
MACULJOURNAL |
the 2010 MACUL conference’s most popular speakers. He returns to Detroit for the 2011 conference and will host a half-day pre-conference session entitled “Google’s Tools for Search, Research, and Collaboration”. Te Wednesday, March 16, SIGEE sponsored session will be no doubt a high energy trek straight into the Google cloud.
Google Apps isn’t the only cloud-based service to use with elementary students. Last year my first grade daughter came home so excited that her media-technology teacher at Douglas Elementary had created student accounts for classes at Kerpoof. com. She was eager to get home to work on a picture she had started at school. Kerpoof offers many online creativity tools including storybook and animated movie creators. With student accounts, users can save their work online and access it again when they get home. Te site allows teachers to set up collaborative groups for students to share their work with others, but within the parameters set by the teacher.
Berrien Springs teacher and technology coach Emma Haygood will be in Detroit for another Wednesday Sig-EE pre- conference session as she shows all that Glogster can do. Glogster allows users to create glogs, or graphical blogs based on interactive images. Like Kerpoof, Glogster EDU offers teacher-managed student accounts where students can not only save their own work, access it from any Internet connected computer, but also share their work with classmates.
Tese are a few of the clouds through which one can take his or her students. Many web 2.0 sites are now offering student accounts that are sensitive to privacy issues, yet offering a robust set of tools for creativity and collaboration. Te 2011 MACUL Conference is sure to provide ideas for many more cloud-computing opportunities.
As an elementary Infotech teacher, Andy Losik teaches a combination of library, media, and technology skills at Bentheim and Blue Star Elementary schools in Hamilton, Michigan. He was named 2009 MACUL teacher of the year can be reached at
alosik@hamiltonschools.us. Follow @mrlosik on Twitter.
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