“The nature of college computing is rapidly changing. Connectivity is the new essential for students. So much of education now relies on students being able to communicate and collaborate effectively. Google Apps will take them one step closer to living and thriving in a virtual world, not just while they are students here, but after they graduate as well.”
Ron Bonig, Executive Director of Technology Operations, George Washington University
Google Docs are online spreadsheets, documents and presentations that are created online and be accessed from anywhere. Students can share with one another and edit together, in real time.
Google Hangout is a real time video chat feature, allowing up to 12 participants. Students can collaborate in real time, online. Students can share their screens, and work together on a Google Doc.
Google Communities are a place where people with similar interests can get together to discuss the topics of their choice. Students can create their own communities for research and discussion.
Other Google Apps include Gmail, Google Sites, Google Drive, Google Vault. The best part about this, it's all free and available on mobile devices.
I enjoyed your post Dan. Are schools currently using Google+ for classes? Its such a cool platform, I am surprised that Facebook hasn't copied the concept of hangouts, etc. Do you think that G+ will grow in popularity? If so, do you think it will be used more for school type settings, or more for personal use? They just can't seem to get up there with the Facebook master.
ReplyDeleteIn an online article on Fastcompany.com, Journalist David Llorens states: "If Google Plus doesn’t have a staggering number of active users by the end of 2013, you can all come over to my office and pie me in the face.". I'm interested to see what happens over the next year. Hope I don't have to waste a good pie!
http://www.fastcompany.com/3004448/plus-one-proof-google-plus-will-prevail
My hope is that Google+ will grow in popularity for personal use and for education, both K-12 and higher ed.
ReplyDeletehttp://mashable.com/2010/04/28/schools-google-apps/
Using the Google+ Hangouts for academic purposes would be a great idea. The more online programs that pop up, like the one that we are in, the more need for innovations like this will be necessary. I have done group projects in other classes in the past and if we had been smart enough to use Google+ Hangouts to coordinate everything, it would have been a whole lot smoother and easier to get on the same page.
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