When I started this assignment, I was excited because I knew I would be able to use a lot of the applications with little trouble. I am very familiar with Google Apps because I run a small business solely using the "business" apps provided by Google. I was surprised at some of the functionality I learned about as I did more research and look forward to putting my new found knowledge to use in the near future with this course and my business!
I utilize gmail personalized for my domain name (www.lonestarwebgroup.com), the calendar, and contacts on a daily basis to maintain my client communication, meetings, and work tracking.
In order to save money and not purchase Microsoft Office, I also use Google Docs & Sheets to write client proposals, create invoices, and track web statistics and timelines. I store all of my documents, images, proposals, and records in Google Drive.
I utilize gmail personalized for my domain name (www.lonestarwebgroup.com), the calendar, and contacts on a daily basis to maintain my client communication, meetings, and work tracking.
In order to save money and not purchase Microsoft Office, I also use Google Docs & Sheets to write client proposals, create invoices, and track web statistics and timelines. I store all of my documents, images, proposals, and records in Google Drive.
In the rest of this post, I will describe some of the ways in which Google classroom could be utilized from an educational standpoint and how I would implement a career training course using the full suite of Google Apps. It should be noted, however, that I was unable to fully access Google Classroom and was only able to review the demo literature, videos, and research available about this system.
Google Classroom
The Google Classroom app was very new to me and I found it fascinating. I wish I would have been able to dive more into class development, tool usage, etc. From my reading and research on Google Classroom, it seems that courses are very simple and user-friendly from a student and teacher side. It looks as though papers and assignments would be easy to submit, grade, and manage through the use of Google Drive.
My research showed that with courses you can also utilize Google Groups to create a discussion forum, much like the one we use in ecollege, but it seems even more simple than ecollege from a teacher and user perspective.
Google is a very forward-thinking company and is constantly adding new functionality to Google classroom. Some of the newest functionality includes the ability for teachers to poll students using multiple choice questions, updated functionality on Android & iOS applications, integration of third party applications to create assignments.
Putting Google Apps to Work in the Classroom
My research showed that with courses you can also utilize Google Groups to create a discussion forum, much like the one we use in ecollege, but it seems even more simple than ecollege from a teacher and user perspective.
Google is a very forward-thinking company and is constantly adding new functionality to Google classroom. Some of the newest functionality includes the ability for teachers to poll students using multiple choice questions, updated functionality on Android & iOS applications, integration of third party applications to create assignments.
Putting Google Apps to Work in the Classroom
For this post, I will discuss how I can use Google Apps to create a four module class I would like to develop and implement as part of the services provided by my office, Career Development, at Texas A&M University - Commerce.
To start, let's list the four modules which would be a part of our course and the Google app that would be used to implement them. This would be a 12 week class with each module lasting three weeks.
**It should be noted that at the beginning of this course, all of the students will go through a Career Counseling session and take the "MyPlan" career assessment to help them start contemplating their long-term career goals.**
To start, let's list the four modules which would be a part of our course and the Google app that would be used to implement them. This would be a 12 week class with each module lasting three weeks.
**It should be noted that at the beginning of this course, all of the students will go through a Career Counseling session and take the "MyPlan" career assessment to help them start contemplating their long-term career goals.**
- Module 1: What is professionalism? (Google Sites)
- Module 2: Building your best resume (Google Forms w/Flubaroo)
- Module 3: What not to wear (YouTube Live)
- Module 4: Mock Interviews (Google Hangouts)
Module 1: In this module, I would use Google Sites to develop an interactive website about what it means to be a professional and WHY you need to have professionalism in everything you do. This module would touch on workplace professionalism, maintaining your social media posts for your career (what not to post, how to set up limited profiles, etc.), and other professionalism topics. These sites will contain embedded videos, quizzes, downloadable handouts, and more. This information will be presented to the students using the sites and lecture style discussions. I will present the information and students will take notes and ask question as we work our way through the material.
At the end of the module, students will post discussion posts using Google Groups on how they define professionalism and reply to one another with feedback. This will help them learn and also verbalize what they know about the subject. Verbalization of knowledge and skills is another key component to career success. If you can't tell someone what your career goals are, how can they know you are a fit for their job? This also leads into the next step, which is resume development.
Module 2: In Module 2, students will learn the components necessary to create a top-notch resume through reading from the text, sample resume reviews, and quizzes. Students will use the handbook from the Career Development "Make the Connection" guide to create a resume appropriate for their career goals. They will learn about different types of resumes (chronological, combination, & functional) and take quizzes, developed in Google Forms, one right after the other in an assigned time frame. It will treat them as if they are the resume editors.
The questions will be pieces of resumes with errors that need to be corrected. The quizzes will be multiple choice and they must select the error in the resume. I will use the Google Form add-on Flubaroo to be online during the quiz time and give them nearly automatic corrected answers. They will be required to take the quizzes until all of the errors on the resume have been correctly selected for full assignment credit.
This piece will require careful timeline planning and ensuring all students know from the beginning of the course that they will required to be available to take the end of module quiz.
Module 3: Module 3 is one I am very excited about, but haven't quite worked out all of the details on at this point. Billy Eichner is the host of a show entitled "Billy on the Street". He runs up to people on the streets of New York and asks them random trivia questions and basically does a lot of yelling. [See examples here: www.youtube.com/user/billyonthestreettv. Please note that he is a little more PG-13 than we would be in our videos :-) ]
I want to use YouTube and do it in a Billy on the Street style video about what not to wear as a professional. I, or more likely a very helpful outgoing student leader, will on camera run up to people dressed nice and say "THIS! This is a great suit to wear to an interview. Great job!" and then to those in less appropriate attire say "This! This is good for the pool. NOT for work. Have fun!" We will view several pre-created videos throughout the module and discuss why each outfit was professional and not professional.
A group project will be assigned where students will create their own "Lucky on the Street" video using each other as the what not to wear and what to wear. It will put their knowledge of professional attire to practical use and teach them about teamwork, communication, and project management at the same time.
Student who do not have access to professional clothes can acquire appropriate professional attire from the Career Closet provided by Career Development at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Module 4: The final module in this course will be mock interviews. In the first week, we will learn about different types of interview questions, the STAR method of answering them, and how to prepare for an interview. In the second week students will work one on one with each other practicing interview questions in preparation for their final project.
The final project will be to do a real mock interview with a professional in their industry using Google Hangout. The professional will be chosen by the professor based on the results of their career counseling assessments. The chosen professionals will all ask the questions and be given a grading rubric to ensure all students are graded the same.
At the end of the four modules, students will be required to submit a 2-3 page blog, using Blogger, about their chosen career path, what they learned about professionalism, and the next steps they will take after the class to ensure they stay on track in their career.
At the end of the module, students will post discussion posts using Google Groups on how they define professionalism and reply to one another with feedback. This will help them learn and also verbalize what they know about the subject. Verbalization of knowledge and skills is another key component to career success. If you can't tell someone what your career goals are, how can they know you are a fit for their job? This also leads into the next step, which is resume development.
Module 2: In Module 2, students will learn the components necessary to create a top-notch resume through reading from the text, sample resume reviews, and quizzes. Students will use the handbook from the Career Development "Make the Connection" guide to create a resume appropriate for their career goals. They will learn about different types of resumes (chronological, combination, & functional) and take quizzes, developed in Google Forms, one right after the other in an assigned time frame. It will treat them as if they are the resume editors.
The questions will be pieces of resumes with errors that need to be corrected. The quizzes will be multiple choice and they must select the error in the resume. I will use the Google Form add-on Flubaroo to be online during the quiz time and give them nearly automatic corrected answers. They will be required to take the quizzes until all of the errors on the resume have been correctly selected for full assignment credit.
This piece will require careful timeline planning and ensuring all students know from the beginning of the course that they will required to be available to take the end of module quiz.
Module 3: Module 3 is one I am very excited about, but haven't quite worked out all of the details on at this point. Billy Eichner is the host of a show entitled "Billy on the Street". He runs up to people on the streets of New York and asks them random trivia questions and basically does a lot of yelling. [See examples here: www.youtube.com/user/billyonthestreettv. Please note that he is a little more PG-13 than we would be in our videos :-) ]
I want to use YouTube and do it in a Billy on the Street style video about what not to wear as a professional. I, or more likely a very helpful outgoing student leader, will on camera run up to people dressed nice and say "THIS! This is a great suit to wear to an interview. Great job!" and then to those in less appropriate attire say "This! This is good for the pool. NOT for work. Have fun!" We will view several pre-created videos throughout the module and discuss why each outfit was professional and not professional.
A group project will be assigned where students will create their own "Lucky on the Street" video using each other as the what not to wear and what to wear. It will put their knowledge of professional attire to practical use and teach them about teamwork, communication, and project management at the same time.
Student who do not have access to professional clothes can acquire appropriate professional attire from the Career Closet provided by Career Development at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Module 4: The final module in this course will be mock interviews. In the first week, we will learn about different types of interview questions, the STAR method of answering them, and how to prepare for an interview. In the second week students will work one on one with each other practicing interview questions in preparation for their final project.
The final project will be to do a real mock interview with a professional in their industry using Google Hangout. The professional will be chosen by the professor based on the results of their career counseling assessments. The chosen professionals will all ask the questions and be given a grading rubric to ensure all students are graded the same.
At the end of the four modules, students will be required to submit a 2-3 page blog, using Blogger, about their chosen career path, what they learned about professionalism, and the next steps they will take after the class to ensure they stay on track in their career.
I believe that the Google Apps suite is an excellent tool that integrates multiple applications that are applicable and useful for the classroom. Using these apps in an online, or face-to-face course, will make your course more engaging and ultimately help your student learn, and retain, your subject.
Wow! You are very familiar with Google apps. I really enjoyed reading your post. The "Billy on the Street" video was hilarious and you are right that he is PG-13, if not R. I can see how that will be very engaging to tweak and incorporate into the career training course you are planning. I like that it allows the students to stay relevant and enjoy learning simultaneously. Flubaroo was new to me, but I am definitely going to explore it more. All of the apps you selected to use provide a varied experience for any learner as well as opportunities for them to meet your learning objectives.
ReplyDelete