Batch Geo Part 1

Today I went into Google Drive and opened a shared document that the entire class is using. I opened the document and typed my information. Google Drive automatically saved the information into the document in real time. In this activity I edited into a document that is shared by everyone in our class. The nice feature with Google Drive (formerly Docs) is that we can all work on the document at any time or simultaneously. We can all view and print from the document at any time or simultaneously.

I did not expect to learn anything new on this Part 1 of our 2 part assignment because my department already uses Google Docs to share information and gather statistical data from each of our schools. You see, there is only one of us in each high school, so my department does not share the same geographical location. Love Google Docs! However… I did learn something. How exciting it was on Sunday when I logged on to Google to find that Docs was now Drive. I watched the video, loaded the drive software onto my machine, and played on it for a few hours. So, I knew about Google Docs but learned about Google Drive. I look forward to Part 2 where I will learn about Batch Geo .

I already use Google Docs to collaborate with fellow Transition Teachers in Loudoun County Public School. I am also on the Future Quest committee. This committee is responsible for the planning and implementation of Virginia Future Quest 2013, a college fair focusing on students with disabilities held every other year on the George Mason University campus. The committee will be using Google Docs to better facilitate the coordination. What a great tool for a group of teachers located all over Virginia and working on the same project. Here is the site from the last event held in 2011, Virginia Future Quest 2011

There are applications as well with students in the classroom. Google docs is a way to allow students to engage in collaborative learning through the cloud. I can see a great use for this in classes that require writing and editing or group projects.

The ISTE NETS T standard that is applicable to me for this lesson is Engaging in Professional Growth and Leadership. Google Docs has enhanced collaboration between teaching professionals to share resources and collaborative knowledge in real time. Proficient use of Google Docs is an example of a teacher engaged in professional development in the area of digital technology and the Web 2.