This week we got to explore Google + Community within the Google + app. To download the app, click here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google+/id447119634?mt=8
Once you open Google + for the first time, it asks you to create a login or make a Google account. Once logged in, you have the opportunity to add a photo to your profile and begin searching around for different communties. Each commmunity is a group of people all sharing that same interest and posting various things involving it for everyone in the community to enjoy! This can be incredibly beneficial for educators.
One of the communities I became a member of is "Elementary Teachers", and it has over 5,000 members. First glance at this community I could tell it was organized incredibly well. There is a tab for every grade starting with Kindergarten and continuing through 5th grade. The tabs also range from different subjects, to dealing with parents and difficult or exceptional students, etc. There is so much information! I knew before I began digging around that this was an excellent community to become a member of.
As I scrolled back through the posts made by other educators, I came across a blog post titled "Angry Kids: Maybe It's Not Their Fault", which really interested me. I clicked on the link, (which you can find here: http://alwaysalesson.com/blog/angry-kids-maybe-not-fault/) and read an incredible article on hurting children, and how as teachers we may not see what's really going on every single time. It was such a good read and I would recommend it to any future or current teacher!
My favorite commmunity that I joined this week is called "Teachers Helping Teachers", and it has almost 31,000 members! That's a lot of teachers! :) The different tabs you can look through in this community are endless and so incredibly helpful. There are tabs for educators who are new to teaching, working with technology, and even a tab for links to free stuff! There are so many possibilities to work with in this community. Because I am a college student working towards becoming a teacher, the tab labeled "New to Teaching" caught my attention the most. After scrolling through and looking into it, I found a video titled "My First Year Teacher Tips For You". (Watch here! https://m.youtube.com/?reload=2&rdm=2glzk416i#/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=ER9bgpMd5g8)
The opening scene of the video made me laugh, so I could tell this guy had a good sense of humor. The video goes into detail on his day and gives awesome tips you might not think of for first year teachers. I will definitely be checking back to watch more from his channel!
Google + Communities could be a GREAT resource in the classroom! Depending on the grade level, there are so many different things that can be done with it. Specifically, I was thinking about class projects. If I assigned my class a project on a specific subject, or told them they would be giving presentations on a subject they are interested in, Google + Communities would be a super easy and interesting way for them to get information! Students could join communities based on their interests or assigned subjects, and use these communties to find the information and data needed to create a project or presentation for the class! Being able to read what others have to say and pool together resources from students and teachers around the world would be such a beneficial experience for students. Although there are many other ways you could use Google + Communties in the classroom, this was just one idea that was bursting in my head. I think this is an extremely useful app and I encourage educators everywhere to check it out!
Once you open Google + for the first time, it asks you to create a login or make a Google account. Once logged in, you have the opportunity to add a photo to your profile and begin searching around for different communties. Each commmunity is a group of people all sharing that same interest and posting various things involving it for everyone in the community to enjoy! This can be incredibly beneficial for educators.
One of the communities I became a member of is "Elementary Teachers", and it has over 5,000 members. First glance at this community I could tell it was organized incredibly well. There is a tab for every grade starting with Kindergarten and continuing through 5th grade. The tabs also range from different subjects, to dealing with parents and difficult or exceptional students, etc. There is so much information! I knew before I began digging around that this was an excellent community to become a member of.
As I scrolled back through the posts made by other educators, I came across a blog post titled "Angry Kids: Maybe It's Not Their Fault", which really interested me. I clicked on the link, (which you can find here: http://alwaysalesson.com/blog/angry-kids-maybe-not-fault/) and read an incredible article on hurting children, and how as teachers we may not see what's really going on every single time. It was such a good read and I would recommend it to any future or current teacher!
My favorite commmunity that I joined this week is called "Teachers Helping Teachers", and it has almost 31,000 members! That's a lot of teachers! :) The different tabs you can look through in this community are endless and so incredibly helpful. There are tabs for educators who are new to teaching, working with technology, and even a tab for links to free stuff! There are so many possibilities to work with in this community. Because I am a college student working towards becoming a teacher, the tab labeled "New to Teaching" caught my attention the most. After scrolling through and looking into it, I found a video titled "My First Year Teacher Tips For You". (Watch here! https://m.youtube.com/?reload=2&rdm=2glzk416i#/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=ER9bgpMd5g8)
The opening scene of the video made me laugh, so I could tell this guy had a good sense of humor. The video goes into detail on his day and gives awesome tips you might not think of for first year teachers. I will definitely be checking back to watch more from his channel!
Google + Communities could be a GREAT resource in the classroom! Depending on the grade level, there are so many different things that can be done with it. Specifically, I was thinking about class projects. If I assigned my class a project on a specific subject, or told them they would be giving presentations on a subject they are interested in, Google + Communities would be a super easy and interesting way for them to get information! Students could join communities based on their interests or assigned subjects, and use these communties to find the information and data needed to create a project or presentation for the class! Being able to read what others have to say and pool together resources from students and teachers around the world would be such a beneficial experience for students. Although there are many other ways you could use Google + Communties in the classroom, this was just one idea that was bursting in my head. I think this is an extremely useful app and I encourage educators everywhere to check it out!