Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a technological application used in the education domain as a collaboration tool between the teachers and students. The main purpose of Google classroom is to simplify the process of sharing information, data, and ideas. I tried the Google Classroom application, and I have found that it closely works together with Google calendar to provide dates and scheduling, YouTube for visual aid, Google drives for creating assignments and distributing them, Gmail to communicate, as well as the Google Docs and Sheets for writing to ensure educational institutions upgrade to a paperless system.

The Google Calendar reminds students of assignment due dates, class presentation dates and the dates for field trips, and so on. Furthermore, learners can be invited to a virtual classroom by the use of a private code that can be added to a student’s user interface. The Google Classroom enhances teacher-student, student-student, and teacher-teacher relationships when administering, submitting, grading, and storing assignments in Google drive. It is the discretion of an instructor to enable file editing once submitted for marking so that individual students can correct their work. The Google Classroom is confidential in that it is not possible for a student to access the work of another, a feature that makes it difficult to cheat. However, the Google Classroom allows learners to see and do class assignments as well as read documents and class materials in one file.

Moreover, the Google Classroom allows instructors to create, review, and mark assignments, as well as grade students. After accomplishing an assignment, a student can save the file and submit it for grading. The Google Classroom tool provides the teacher with various marking scheme versions for marking exams and assignments (Abazi-Bexheti, 2018). During marking, teachers can attach instruction files to an assignment so that students can know the areas they need to improve on. Through the Google Classroom, teachers can create files and be able to monitor the progress of individual students on the assignment.

Furthermore, the Google Classroom tool enhances communication between teachers and students through the assistance of Gmail services. The tool allows the teacher to post announcements to the stream classes where students can give their feedback. Hence, the Google Classroom provides a two-way communication platform between the instructors and students. On the other hand, students can post to the class interface and receive responses from other students and their instructors. Videos from YouTube can be attached to classroom announcements and assignments making the user’s experience more fun and interactive.

The tool helps save time since students can simply join the class through the code given by the teacher (Abazi-Bexheti, 2018). Instructors can share information from one class to another and archive it for future reference. In addition, the ability to share information across classes makes it easy for the teachers to manage multiple classes without much struggle. This way, the Google Classroom application facilitates the teaching and learning process. School librarians can also use the Google Classroom to share information materials with the students, as well as monitor the progress of the students in terms of learning skills such as information literacy. It makes the learning process interactive, bolsters collaborative learning and when implemented appropriately can result in better learning outcomes for the students.

References

Abazi-Bexheti, L., et al. (2018). LMS Solution: Evidence of Google Classroom Usage in Higher Education. Business Systems Research Journal, 9(1), 31-43. Doi: 10.2478/bsrj-2018-0003.

Google Classroom. (2018). Google Class Room. Retrieved August 7, 2018 from https://classroom.google.com

Padlet

Padlet is an educational application which is available as a mobile app, as well as a desktop, web-based tool, designed for collaborative teaching and learning. The application is captioned by the developer as follows; “Create a page. Put anything on it. Invite your friends. Share with the world.” Truly, as I tried it, I discovered that it is a powerful tool which can be used to enhance the learning outcomes for the learners while making the teachers more productive. In this regard, a user is able to make creative boards, web pages or documents on the application, based on their preferences. The boards are interactive and easy to read. They are also easily accessible by other collaborators, which means that users can share information and ideas. Users have the option of selecting from a repository of pre-designed templates or create theirs based on a blank slate. With a template, one can create content, including text, images, video, audio, and multimedia content. Teachers can upload instructional materials, assignments, feedback, comments, and posts to discussion forums on the platform. Similarly, students can express themselves through different formats of content, including video and text. They can share their posts, comments on their peers, and engage in collaborative projects with their classmates and teachers.

A user who has created an account and a template can easily invite collaborators to comment, like, create original content, make edits in real-time and share their ideas. The collaborators can make the content and interactions more lively and fun, by including real-l-time music, videos, and documents. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that users can share the content they and their collaborators create with virtually anyone they like, including friends, classmates, teachers, family, and parents. As a result, Padlet enriches the learning process and allows the teachers a chance to engage their learners in an interesting learning environment.

The Padlet is beneficial to both teachers and students, as it augments the learning and teaching process. Accordingly, it is highly applicable in the classroom setting. Educators can use the Padlet to create a student-friendly classroom environment that augments the traditional classroom setting. For example, a teacher can use the Padlet as a tool for sharing information materials, such as video links, photos, and documents, which the learners can easily access and share with their classmates online. Also, teachers can engage the students in discussion forums, where the classmates share their views on a topic of study, expressing their feelings and enriching the content. The fact that students can comment on their classmates’ posts means that the Padlet facilitates collaborative learning. Similarly, teachers can give feedback and comments, aimed at helping the students to improve on their learning goals.

Lastly, the Padlet tool is useful in the school library setting, since a school librarian can use its collaboration features to execute library instruction plans marked by sharing and collaborative learning. Here, the school librarian can use the Padlet as a way of availing links and documents to the learners, ensuring that the students have access to relevant information materials in an engaging and interesting environment. The librarian can also collaborate with the teachers to share ideas and concepts, including in developing and implementing instructional plans to enhance the learning outcomes of the students.

Link: https://padlet.com

Quizizz

The collaborative learning application that I selected and tried this week is named Quizizz.  Quizizz is a simple, user-friendly and interesting technological learning tool, whose design was clearly made with the student in mind. It is an interactive learning application, which has increasingly gained popularity because, among other things, it is gamified.  The Quizizz is an interactive learning and teaching tool that is made specifically for assessing the students to know what they know and what they need to improve. This is a powerful and useful for teachers, as it allows them to select from millions of pre-developed quizzes and assign them to their students. The existing quizzes are created by competent teachers, and they can be modified to suit any classroom and level. Alternatively, teachers can quickly design their quizzes, as well as modify already existing ones, depending on the assessment needs of their students. One of the most outstanding benefits of this application for the teacher is that it frees up time that would otherwise be used for developing assessments, marking, and grading. The teacher can use that to teach, create learning material, or answer student questions, among other things. All the teacher needs to do (after assigning the assignment) is to give feedback to each of the students.

Quizizz is also useful in engaging the students in the learning process, as it allows the students to share their work, through the Live Game features. Teachers can make the classroom lively and engaging, by allowing the students to play a live game together, which is also possible for the students as they undertake their quizzes. The Homework Mode further allows for student collaboration, which promotes hands-on learning and can improve learning outcomes. On the same note, students and teachers can use any device and is so easy to use that any student with digital literacy can use it independently.

The fact that Quizizz offers self-paced, interactive assessment environment, and does not require the teacher to do any grading makes it a valuable teaching and learning tool. Perhaps more interesting is that the app allows parents to have an account, and can take part in their children’s learning process, by either seeing what their children are doing, what they know, and where they are going next.

Quizizz is without a doubt a useful learning and teaching application, which can fit in the school library, as well as the classroom setting as a technology to enhance learning. In the school library setting, the educators can rely on the tool as an interactive student-friendly assessment tool, which a school librarian can use to evaluate whether the students have understood the content that was taught, and where they will go next. School librarians working with teachers can also select or design quizzes, and assign them to the students through the app, and then give feedback to the students. A similar process is possible for the ordinary classroom, as the teacher is able to create an interactive and engaging classroom environment, allow the students to play educational games together to augment the learning materials, and give student-specific feedback to guide their students to improve where necessary.

Link: https://quizizz.com

Blackboard Collaborate Learning

Overview

The Backboard Collaborate is an innovative learning solution designed to enable teachers and students to collaborate in a virtual classroom. The tool has interactive collaboration and conferencing tools and features, which is meant to engage the students in a virtual learning environment, making it feel as though they were in a real classroom. The Blackboard Collaborate allows in-app and browser-based collaborations.

Features and Uses

One of the most outstanding features of the digital learning tool is that it offers features for teachers to undertake web conferencing at any time and anywhere and invite their students to follow through. The students can take part in the video conference, by putting in their contribution, asking questions and receiving responses on a real-time basis, and interacting with their fellow students. The Blackboard Collaborate has inbuilt features that make such web conferencing and virtual interactions intuitive and straightforward so that the learner and teacher can focus on collaborating an engaging in the virtual classroom, rather than the technology.

Moreover, educators can perform real-time annotations and text editing, meaning that the teaching process is simplified. The educators can add and delete content on the virtual whiteboard, enhancing the teaching process, and make the learning process engaging. Also, the users can share content, such as article links, text files, tutorials, presentations and photos and others by a simple drag and drop feature. The sharer can make real-time annotations.

As the participants engage in the learning process, they can “raise” their hand, so that the moderator can know they are following and call them out in case they have a question or comment.  The Blackboard Collaborate also allows multiple presenters to engage in a classroom, as well as the participants to engage in an in-session chat, making the virtual classroom session highly interactive. The chat feature can be disabled as may be necessary. Participants can follow the speaker by using the active speaker button and placing it on a top space in the screen during a conference. This enables the participants to know who to ask questions or comment.

Lastly, the participants can create personalized profiles, complete with personalized participant-specific controls, showing one’s in-session role, name, profile pictures, and status. This makes the online collaboration engaging and user-specific, meaning that the educators and students feel engaged and important in the learning session. On this note, the Blackboard Collaborate is built for universal accessibility, implying that any user, including users with disabilities, can easily and fully engage in the virtual learning and teaching experience.

Application in the School Library and Classroom Setting

The Blackboard Collaborate is an authoritative online teaching and learning tool that can fit properly within a classroom and school library setting as a technological aid for education. Educators in the classroom and school library setting can use Blackboard Collaborate to create collaborative and engaging learning sessions for the learners, allowing them to participate in the learning process and improve their learning outcomes. The school librarian can use the tool to download and share pertinent information sources or guidelines with the learners. They can also give a presentation on a real-time basis, allowing the learners to ask questions on the go, as well as share their insights with their classmates in a virtual classroom. The app can also be used to provide universal access for all students, including those that are living with various disabilities. Moreover, the teachers and school librarian can use Blackboard Collaborate to administer quizzes and assessments, grade the assignments and share feedback with their students. The educators can also customize the learning process, by allowing the students to personalize their profiles and controls, thereby making the learning and teaching process exciting and effective.

Link: http://www.blackboard.com/online-collaborative-learning/blackboard-collaborate.html

ClassDojo

ClassDojo is a teaching application that enables teachers to organize their classroom and communicate more effectively. The tool allows teachers to communicate with the students and even parents, thereby creating a friendly and interesting learning environment. Teachers can share the progress of students with the parents, besides giving timely feedback and motivation to the students. For example, a teacher can use the application to promote best learning practices such as teamwork, practice and creative arts.

The fact that a teacher can share photographs and videos about the classroom with the parents means that they can include the parents in the learning experience. The parents get a chance to feel how their children are learning, and in fact track their performance. Teachers can send instant, safe messages to parents to inform them about their children's’ progress and any issues related to their learning and wellbeing. Students, on the other hand, have digital portfolios, where they can easily add their classwork and assignments. This way, the students can showcase their achievements. Perhaps more notable is the fact that the teacher can use the application to organize the class, including maintaining the records of their students and tracking their performance.

The ClassDojo is applicable in the school library and classroom settings because it allows the teachers to save time as they communicate with the students and the parents. This implies that the educator has more time to concentrate on the main process of teaching their students. In addition, the tool can be used for sharing instructional material such as videos and text with the students. As such, the teacher or school librarian can use the tool to share useful links and resources with the students. On that note, the tool can enhance the learning process.

It is also noteworthy that the app makes the classroom an interesting learning environment, which can be a useful motivational tool for the learners. Motivation is one of the most important aspects of the teaching process, as the teacher needs to get the students to relate to their learning environment, hence develop an interest in what they are learning. Educators can use the tool to share motivational messages and content, and see what their students are up to. The students, on the other hand can share their coursework on the app by posting in their portfolios. This promotes reflective learning, which can enhance the learning outcomes.

Overall, the ClassDojo is an interesting, user-friendly and interactive technological tool, which enhances the teaching process. Teachers and school librarians may consider integrating the tool in the classroom setting to create an interesting classroom environment, as well as engage the parents in their children’s educational journey.

Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.classdojo.android

Educreations Interactive Whiteboard

This week, the technological teaching and learning tool that I have tried and reviewed is the Educreations Interactive Whiteboard. Educreations is a highly interactive, user-friendly and simple and unique app which is designed to enhance the teaching and learning processes. It is an interactive virtual whiteboard, as well as a screen-casting tool that is fun to use. It has a wide range of unique features designed to enable the teachers to create and share content, and the students to display that they have learned.

With the Educreations tool, a teacher can animate, annotate and narrate various types of content as they are teaching, including images and videos. For example, a teacher can give a demonstration of how the fertilization process proceeds in the fallopian tube. The teacher can make drawings, annotate them, and give visualized narrations to augment the teaching process. This has the power to capture and sustain the attention of the learners, as it makes the learning process fun while simplifying the teacher’s work. The tool also allows the instructor to create and instantly share short videos, further empowering the teacher to create content and teach effectively.

What is more, the Educreations app enables the students to create content in the form of pictures, audio, video, and multimedia, and share them with their fellow students and the teachers. This feature allows the students to share their ideas and expressions, as well as what they have learned. In the process, other students can learn from their peers. The feature can be used for assessment purposes, as it gives the teachers a chance to see whether the students understood the content they have learned. The students can easily access the teacher’s instructions, and conduct their activities such as forum discussions in-app. The teacher, on the other end, is able to give multimedia feedback and monitor what the students are doing and guide them as may be necessary.

It is noteworthy, also, that all the content that the teacher and students create is stored securely in the app, and the users can access the files from anywhere and at any time, as long as they have the required permissions. The files are all backed up in the cloud, meaning that a crashed device does not mean lost content. It is a powerful way of teaching remotely, creating a smart, virtual learning environment that can appeal to the students and promote learning. Teachers can also share the lessons and feedback via multiple channels, including email, content links, instant messages, Facebook, Twitter and by embedding the content the on blogs and websites.

Given the features described above, Educreations can be a powerful tool that can contribute to more effective teaching and learning in classroom and school library settings. The tool can be used to share information sources and library materials for the students. It can also be applied as an assessment tool, seeing as it allows the educator to create quizzes and share them online. The students can complete and submit assignments, and receive feedback via the app. The Educreations tool can also augment learning, as teachers can give additional instructions outside of the conventional classroom setting. On the same note, school librarians and teachers can use the application to free up class time and support hands-on projects and learning, which could enhance the learning outcomes for the learners.

Lastly, the fact that the Educreations tool supports remote/virtual teaching and learning implies that teachers and school librarians can use it to create and share content remotely, and track the activities and performance of their students. Ultimately, the tools can be used to enhance the teaching and learning process. As such, it is applicable in boosting the learning outcomes for the students and increasing satisfaction among the educators.

Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/educreations-interactive-whiteboard/id478617061?mt=8

The Socrative Tool

The Socrative application has various features that can not only enhance the student-teacher relationship but also improve the learning process. Socrative also makes teaching easier, fun, and enjoyable no matter where one is. Some of the key features include activities, quizzes, reporting tools, virtual study rooms, and student experience platforms among others.

Socrative enables the teachers to choose activities that suit their needs, and engage their students. For instance, the educator can ask an instant question for quick student response to see how well the students understood a certain topic that they taught in class.

Using Socrative the platform, the teacher can create their own folders of the quizzes that they have developed on their own as assessments for their students. The quizzes can then be saved in the teacher’s Socrative account and can be used at any time. Different folders can contain different topics or subjects, and this makes the work easier since the teacher does not have to struggle much when they are looking for quizzes.

The reporting feature in the Socrative application enables the teachers to generate learning-based reports. For instance, an educator can generate a report based on the review of Student (s) understanding in class. What is more, the Socrative app enables an educator to store such reports in their accounts and access them easily by downloading and emailing, among other ways.

Moreover, the Socrative app enables one to create rooms that facilitate virtual communication between the students and the teachers. Interestingly, those rooms enable the students and the teacher (s) to engage wherever they are. This means that either the student or the teacher can be located remotely yet, participate in any learning activity that the educator has chosen. Joining these rooms requires the teacher to give their students the unique code.

Given the preceding, Socrative can be a resourceful tool for teaching and learning. It can be used in a school library setting to enable the students to find what they want to read easily. For instance, a virtual room can be created and the students can ask the librarian where a certain book can be found. This will minimize the time the students take to search for a certain information resource in the library. Moreover, the Socrative app can save various books, readings, journals, and articles so that the students can access them online. As such, students will only have to go to the library’s computer and log in to Socrative and search the books they want to read.

Lastly, teachers can use the Socrative app in the classroom to promote students’ engagement and understanding. For instance, teachers can share various images with each student in the classroom through Socrative instead of showing just one on the blackboard. This will ensure that every student is engaged in the learning process. Apart from facilitating the students’ understanding, Socrative reduces boredom when each student has a chance to participate in a certain activity at the same time without moving from one place to another.

Link: https://www.socrative.com/