1.3: Policies, Procedures, Programs & Funding:
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Artifact
Prezi: “Energizing Schools by Going Google” Reflection “Energizing Schools by Going Google” is a Prezi presentation I created for ITEC 7445: Multimedia and Web Design. The presentation details the Google for Education’s usefulness in the classroom, aligns Google for Education to Cobb County’s Vision for Technology Use and to the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards, and discusses Google for Learning’s equitable access solutions. At the end of the presentation, I recommend county-wide adoption of Google Chromebooks for every student and provide a cost-benefit analysis with discussion of potential funding sources, possible hidden costs and limitations. Implementation steps are outlined as well. The research that went in to the development of this artifact includes exploration of Google for Education’s offerings and implementation results. A Google for Education overview video prepares the audience to understand the remainder of the presentation, and subsequent videos of students working with Google for Education tools demonstrate the emerging technology in action. Further research into the Cobb County Vision for Technology Use and the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards is presented with lesson ideas for alignment. After preparing my audience for appreciation of what all Google for Education has to offer, I recommend the purchase of Google Chromebooks for all Cobb County students. The recommendation is presented as a means to promote equitable access to technology during school and beyond school hours. I present a value and usability comparison to laptops often purchased by the county, provide detailed analysis of the inherent costs, and offer suggestions for funding sources. The recommended funding sources include grant options from the Coca Cola Company and Lockheed Martin, fundraising, and offsetting costs with student usage fees, reduction in paper and ink supply, and the elimination of software update and upgrade fees. To facilitate implementation of Google for Education in the classroom, I include a list of Google applications and their primary purposes, then demonstrate how to align Google for Education possibilities to Common Core Georgia Performance Standards. For example, to meet the requirements of the 9th and 10th grade English Language Arts standards, I recommend using Google Hangouts as a virtual meeting room to discuss works of literature, Gmail to interview other groups of students, Slides to create a collaborative presentations based on their documented findings, and Sites to publish thematic relevance syntheses. I also provide Google application ideas to help teachers with differentiation: Translator aids English Language Learners; Balabolka supports students who struggle with reading; and Evernote Clearly reduces distractions on webpages, a solution helpful for students with ADD/ADHD. During creation of this artifact, I learned about all the incredible tools Google has to offer and began to utilize them in my academic and personal life. With the knowledge I’ve gained from exploring the applicability of each tool to different contexts, I realize that my recommendation of Google Hangouts and Gmail for collaboration made digital collaboration more difficult than it could be through Google. Replacing that content with Google Docs collaboration would improve the quality of this artifact. Using Google for Education applications in my personal time and exploring their academic potentialities informed the development of my Capstone research, technology coaching, technology professional learning workshop, and several field experiences. The dedicated support of Google for Education in my virtual and face-to-face interactions with other educators has impacted faculty development. Teachers are beginning to use Google Drive and its many functions to support their students’ learning. The impact on faculty development can be assessed through analysis of lesson plans, interviews, and surveys, and the impact on student learning can be assessed through comparative test data, interviews, and surveys as well. |