The Big Wide World of Google

                                                                Knowledge of Google Before 

    I would consider myself a novice regarding the workings of Google. I already knew about and mostly how to use Google Forms, Google Scholar, and Google Translate, and a little about Google Sites.  With this knowledge, I could access more academic sources for essays and assignments through Google Scholar and create mini-quizzes and surveys on Google Forms. With the help of Google Translate, I have been able to translate quotes from articles as well as at work when faced with a language barrier, it allows me and the customer to communicate. Utilizing these aspects of Google in the classroom can create a stronger learning environment. Google Scholar can open a window of scholarly sources for students to study and expand their research. Google Forms can be used as a faster way to send surveys and questionnaires out to students and colleagues and quick quizzes and tests to do in the classroom or at home. Google Translate in the classroom can be useful for non-English speaking students helping them learn and communicate with peers and teachers. 

                                                                What I Have Learned About Google

      After exploring more of Google and learning more about the other tools it has to offer, I was able to try and learn new ways of using Google for myself as well as in the classroom. One that I learned about was Google Drawing, being able to be creative online and learning new skills was fun and could be an interesting activity in the classroom. Although I already knew how to use Google Sites, I was able to expand my skills with this tool. Learning that it can be used to make much more than just a personal site or e-portfolio; creating activities for students such as an escape room opens an opportunity for a fun way of learning in the classroom. Another app within Google is Google Earth/ Google Maps which I had already known little about but soon learned that it can be a great tool in the classroom. Google Earth allows you to view anywhere in the world and click around towns, Cities, neighbourhoods, etc. Google Maps/ Earth in the classroom can open the opportunity for students to learn more about geography as well as participate in virtual field trips!

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