Delivering Work Remotely With Chat Collaboration.
Could This Be The Easiest & Best Option Available?
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Recently, in an effort to support teachers in the task of delivering work to their students remotely, I wrote the article '6 Reasons Why You'll Need Online Units To Deliver Work To Students Remotely And Why Google Docs Might Be The Key'. If you have not read that one, it would be a good place to start.
In that article there was a video demonstration of a super simple way to use Google Docs to create online units. The video was intended for teachers who struggle with tech because it demonstrated a method literally anyone could use to create online units, which would then prevent teachers from getting bogged down by using the school's designated LMS. I received quite a few replies to that article. However, Andrew Gray, an IT and mathematics teacher, replied and gave me access to a Google Doc he uses. Mind Blown! We agreed to hook up on Zoom so that I could create a video as he walked me through his process. (Stay tuned for this video at the end of the article!) Until I saw how Andrew was using Google Docs I had assumed OneNote to be the obvious non-LMS to use when creating online work for students. However, seeing the way Andrew uses Google Docs for this purpose has changed my perspective. You be the judge! Andrew's Google Docs system for delivering work remotely - My key takeaways
There are some key points to making this Google Docs system work:
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- This system does not require students to have access to their devices in lessons.
- There is only one doc per class.
- The doc is both the teacher's working document (integral for accreditation purposes) AND the students' lesson-by lesson guide AND a system for communication between students and between the teacher and the students, mainly with respect to issues with homework questions.
- Each doc is shared to 'Anyone with the link can view' but also to the students in the class (via email addresses).
- This means that parents and other classes - indeed anyone with the link (!!) can access the doc.
- The students are given editing rights (because Andrew trusts them) - you could give students comment rights only if you thought someone might butcher the doc. However, you are always able to restore a Google Doc to a previous date.
More on sharing within Google Docs settings ...
Another benefit of sharing the doc with 'Anyone with the link can view' means students don't need to be signed in to view it. They all have it bookmarked, and if they want to quickly check homework or the lesson plan, they can always view it.
This is advantageous because they may not be signed into their school google account - it is more likely they will be signed in to their personal google account - it doesn't matter because they will always be able to see it.
This is advantageous because they may not be signed into their school google account - it is more likely they will be signed in to their personal google account - it doesn't matter because they will always be able to see it.
If you are looking for detailed guidance in creating videos, creating online units and delivering work remotely to students, then know that this course was created for you.
A self-paced, comprehensive, fully-facilitated online course.
The Video
Here's the conversation between Andrew and myself, explaining this Google-Docs-Online-Unit-&-Teacher-Record-With-Collaborative-Chat system.
Call to Action
It was amazing to see another perspective that launched more ideas of working through this challenging time (thanks Andrew). There's a message here - by working remotely and working online we have an opportunity to connect with our fellow teachers, other teachers and people working in the field. So reach out, reply to articles, jump on courses, discover how others are doing things differently?'
And on that note, what did you think?
Is using Google Docs in this way superior to what you use?
Was this article helpful?
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And on that note, what did you think?
Is using Google Docs in this way superior to what you use?
Was this article helpful?
We'd love your feedback.
