I use Google several times a day in order to search for resources, tools, information, and lesson ideas. I had no idea there was a web application called Google for Educators. This application complies all of Google’s useful tools for teachers all in one place. This site includes tools such as a book search, news, a blogger, a calendar, Google Docs, Groups, and Google Notebook, just to name a few.

An example of a situation in which I could recommend this application to a student to support his or her individual learning style would be if you had a student who had a verbal/linguistic learning style. They could use the Blogger tool to expresses their thoughts and ideas on what they have learned in class. Instead of choosing answers from a multiple choice test on the lesson, they could instead summarize and explain what they have learned in their blog. Because this tool can be set to private so that only approved members can view it, the student can share in their blog without worry about who else will view it. Access to the blog can be given to parents so they can view their child’s entries and keep abreast of what their child is learning. Teachers can access the blog and use it as an alternative for of assessment.

Because there are so many tools and resources on this web application, there are so many possibilities for its use in the classroom. A literature class could blog about their thoughts on a story they are reading and share comments and opinions with each other. A history class could use Google Maps to locate the places they are learning about. Google docs is an excellent application to use when teaching students how to write papers because the teacher and students can work together to edit their work while it is in progress. Google Book Search could be very useful for seniors doing research for their senior graduation project. These are just a few of the tools available on this site and suggestions for how they could be used.

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