Elisa Balbuena - Internet Tools

  

Google Classroom

            Google Classroom is Google's version of a Learning Management System provided through Google's Education Suite of apps. Simply put, it is a virtual classroom in which teachers can give announcements, materials, or assignments to students for them to access or complete. Through Google Classroom, teachers can provide grades to students on their assignments, as well as monitor student work, provided they are using Google Docs or Slides, or another compatible website or application. Teachers can also use the platform to communicate with parents who are linked to a student’s class. When this happens, the parents have access to announcements that are posted in the Classroom stream, along with a list of assignments that were given and whether the student completed them or not. For students that have multiple classes that utilize the Google Classroom platform, their parents will automatically have access to the same type of information for each class. Google Classroom integrates with many other LMS or Student Information Systems, making it easy to transfer grades for assignments and assessments given to the platform that your school might already use.

Using Google Classroom is very easy and straightforward. If you already use other Google applications, like Gmail, Drive, Docs, and others, creating assignments and activities to set up your classroom is a breeze. Additionally, it is very easy to upload files from a computer or laptop for students to view as materials. Depending on the type of account you have, you have access to originality reports that can be generated to help encourage students to remain honest while completing their work. Overall, Google Classroom is a very effective educational tool to use in the classroom setting. 

 

Google Sites

Google Sites is Google's free website building tool. It is very easy to use and does not require any background knowledge of coding or website development. The functions on the site are intuitive and as easy to use as dragging and dropping blocks for content to where you want them to be. While not as involved as other website building tools, it remains completely free and seamlessly integrates with other applications on the Google platform, such as Google Docs, Slides, or Sheets, among others.

Through Google Sites, a nearly unlimited number of sites can be created if the storage limit on your Google Account has not yet been reached. Each site, when published, can have its own unique URL attached to the Google Sites domain. Once published, the site can be accessed by anyone with the proper link or anyone with an email belonging to your organization, depending on the security settings of your Google Account. If a site is no longer needed, it can easily be removed to make room for any additional sites that need to be created.

While Google Sites has been primarily used to host regular or class websites, it can also be used to create digital portfolios or binders of student work. Just like other applications in the Google Suite, it is easy to upload work that is stored on a laptop or computer. However, the easiest way to upload documents or other files would be to bring them over from an existing Google Drive linked to a Google Account. Using Google Sites as a digital portfolio is a great way to keep student work organized and to accumulate evidence of learning. Regardless of the way that it is used, Google Sites is a great educational tool to use in the classroom.

 

Prezi

            Prezi is an online presentation builder that allows you to create engaging and interactive presentations. It has a one-of-a-kind canvas that essentially gives you free rein as to how you want your presentation to flow and interact with elements that you include in the design or the information itself. In this way, it allows you to grab your audience's attention and keep it. It also has recently included a video presentation option, where you can create a presentation that will interact with your camera feed during virtual meetings.

            Prezi has multiple templates that are available to use on the website so that you do not have to create a presentation from scratch. You can also upload existing PowerPoint Presentations and make the content interactive. When creating a presentation, you can drag and drop story blocks that dictate how content moves. Charts are easy to customize, and images can be added to presentations to make them more engaging. With the desktop application, presentations can be taken offline for times that Internet access may not be available.

            Prezi makes creating interactive and immersive presentations easy. Especially in the current educational climate, presentations like this are a must to keep students attentive and engaged with the material. With Prezi Video, in which you can create a presentation that overlays with your camera feed during a virtual meeting, students will undoubtedly be motivated and engaged during online classes. Because of the many, easy-to-use features of the website, Prezi is a great educational tool to use in the classroom.