So, have been thinking a lot about the stuff we have been learning in class and how I can incorporate it all. To be honest I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I have been using Google Docs a lot and that is sort of hard to maintain and I have very few students in my classes-I teach special ed so I never have more than twelve students in one class. But the kids are into using Docs so I am happy. And honestly, it really is no different than grading and editing their hard copies. But I am excited about the other stuff that we have learned in class and I am trying to come up with some new lessons to incorporate the technology into my curriculum. I got to be completely honest-I am soooo happy that it is almost summer because I can work on some stuff then and use it next year!
It is so great to see my students working on Google Docs; I almost feel like I am tricking them! They are still just writing essays but when they don't finish and I assign it for homework, so many of them come into my room at lunch to get on a computer and work on the essay. The assignment is no different than it ever was-the only difference is Google Docs but they come in and work on their assignments way more than they did when they were just using paper and pencil! Is it really that easy? They seem way more engaged with writing using this modality! I love it!
I have shared the information with some of my colleagues at work and they are getting the same sort of response-it's fantastic!!! i don't even mind feeling slightly overwhelmed with the comments that need to be made on a daily basis! I still feel that I am learning as I go. For instance, today a student came in at lunch to work on his essay and when I checked my docs I saw what he worked on but it didn't seem finished. When I checked in with him he said he wasn't done and that he hadn't sent me anything new but I still received the changes he had made to his work. Does that mean that when we edit and comment once we've shared that we don't have to continue to share with each other and that it automatically shares the changes? Have to keep experimenting, but I am lovin' the process! And more importantly, so are my students! :)