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The Most Anticipated Tech Tools of Back-to-School 2011

August 15, 2011 | 10:18 AM | By

Bruno Girin

Over the course of the last few weeks, I have been asking educators to tell me which new technology tool they were most looking forward to bringing with them back-to-school this fall.

These didn’t have to be new tools per se; just new to the survey respondent for this school year. And these didn’t have to be tools that they were teaching with or that they were using with students. They could be tools for administrative purposes or for professional development, for example.

A couple of notes here about my methodology before I dive into the results: I created a survey as a Google Form and tweeted the link a couple of times. I also posted the link to Google Plus. So that makes this a highly un-scientific survey as you had to be connected to my social networks — either through retweets or shares — to have the chance to participate. I didn’t restrict this to a particular grade level, and I invited all educators, regardless of job title, to participate.

“New gadgetry doesn’t always outshine useful, functional software.”

Also of interest, each time I tweeted the link to the survey, I had 2 or 3 retweets. When I posted the survey to Google Plus as opposed to Twitter, the link was more than twice as likely to be re-shared. No one on Twitter @-replied with their tech tool of choice. But my post on Google Plus did elicit 14 some-odd comments with people discussing various technologies they’d be bringing back-to-school with them (including, of course, a couple of wry comments from those educators who worked all summer.)

Most Anticipated Tech Tools for the 2011 School Year:

  1. Google Plus
  2. Edmodo
  3. iPad

 

With that high level of engagement on Google Plus, it’s no surprise then that Google’s nascent social network absolutely dominated the results, with more than double the replies of the next, most popular tool. Many respondents described the promise of Google Plus not so much in terms of their own personal learning networks, but as a way to engage a Facebook-oriented student population. Several noted that they wished that full integration with Google Apps for Education was in place as it would round out the “social” piece of the various collaboration tools (Sites, for example). Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Teaching With Tech, Edmodo, Google Plus, iPad

How are Educators Using Google Plus Hangouts?

July 26, 2011 | 11:51 AM | By

Phillip Torrone

As more people join Google’s new social network, Google+, they’re figuring out how to take advantage of some of the innovative uses for the site.

One obvious use for educators is to boost their personal and professional network, particularly as the service offers more granular controls for privacy and sharing. Within these Circles, as each designated group is called, educators and students can create discussion groups without having to worry about the awkward or troubling “friend” or “follower” relationships that come with Facebook and Twitter.

But beyond that, Google Hangouts opens up another realm of possibilities for educators.

Google Hangouts allows up to 10 people to video chat with one another. Hangouts are free and easy to use (once you download and install a browser plug-in, you’re all set). You can invite specific people to join a Hangout with you, although it’s worth noting that anyone who joins can in turn share the Hangout’s URL and invite others. As being in a Hangout appears in all the participants’ Streams, it does mean that these are public gatherings.

Google’s Hangout technology recognizes who is speaking during a session and that person’s image takes the “big screen” while other participants appear in small tiles below. In other words, there’s no squinting or tracking to try to figure out where the voice in the video conference is coming from.

Video conferencing is nothing new, of course, but the simplicity and the inherent social nature of Hangouts are pretty interesting. Many classrooms have already started experimenting with video chat by using a tool like Skype to bring online guest speakers into the classroom. But with a browser-based solution and with the ability to connect more than just two sites by using Google Hangouts, real-time video-conferencing might become more ubiquitous. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Teaching With Tech, Google, Google Plus

Will Google+ Replace Twitter or Facebook for Teachers?

July 11, 2011 | 10:29 AM | By

It’s been almost two weeks since the launch of the “field trial” of Google’s new social network, Google Plus. As the hype grows, more and more people are receiving their invitations to the service, and in turn, there are an increasing number of discussions about how Google Plus might work for teaching and learning. (Take a look at this collaborative Google Doc that lists all the ways the social network site could work with students and teachers.)

The early consensus seems to be that Google Plus has a lot of potential, with services that could aid collaboration and communication in the classroom. Hangouts, for example, allow video chatting with up to 10 people, including the ability to jointly watch YouTube videos. Sparks provides a collection of posts on a particular topic, a way perhaps for students to gather research. And most notably, Circles allow users to sort their various contacts into social circles, giving them a more granular level of control with what they share.

“We always encourage extending the conversation beyond Twitter. That is crucial to seeing actual change happen in our schools.”

Google has been blasted by technology observers for its recent “social” failures – Google Wave and Google Buzz, namely. But the reception to Google Plus has been quite positive. However as a new social network emerges here — a successful Google network — new questions emerge, particularly for those active on other sites: do we relocate our efforts to Google Plus? Do we replicate our efforts there? Do we have time for multiple social networks? Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Teaching With Tech, Facebook, Google, Google Plus, Twitter