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As more Oregon schools roll out Google's free suite of productivity software this fall, they're also trying to educate parents and ease concerns about privacy. Oregon was the first state to sign up for Google Apps for Education in 2010 and make it available to K-12 school districts. The free software allows students to access their class work from home, the library, or anywhere they have internet access. But the very thing that makes Google Apps so accessible and appealing worries some parents: They don't want Google or anyone outside the district to have access to their children's private information.

(Remember, students 13+ can use their own Google account but for younger students, you might consider creating a class Google account to share documents):

"With regard to education, our goal is to leverage Google's strengths and infrastructure to increase access to high-quality open educational content and technology and build communities of support that encourage grassroots proliferation of innovation in education. We now face a new and deep Digital Divide, where students know how to consume technology while others are creating the technologies that will shape our future. It is time to bridge this divide by supporting access to curriculum and educational technology for all students..."

Google Docs is a user friendly suite of online collaborative tools that come with tremendous potential for use in the classroom. Last year all of the students in our school  received Google Docs accounts and I was kept quite busy getting students and teachers up and running with the new tools, then discovering innovative ways to use them as effective tools for learning. Here are some of the favorites.

"Google Classroom has so much to offer teachers and students, and every day I learn something new that makes it an even better tool! Inside Google Classroom, teachers and students will see three main tabs, one of which is the About tab. The About tab is where you add the details of your class including course description, syllabus, materials, invite co-teachers and more. The About tab also makes a great hub for year-round classroom resources, like schedules, important links and more."

There is a wealth of research to suggest that vocabulary knowledge is the single best predictor of student academic achievement across all curriculum areas. Experts agree that vocabulary development is an attainable goal. If given the opportunity to receive effective vocabulary instruction, most students can acquire vocabulary at rates that will improve their comprehension and also their chances for success in school. Technology is an effective and engaging tool that can be used to improe vocabulary acquisition for all learners and engage them in the learning process. Google Presentation offers some features that make it an attractive tool for a lesson in which students work collaboratively to construct knowledge about vocabulary by creating vocabulary cards.

Web search can be a remarkable tool for students, and a bit of instruction in how to search for academic sources will help your students become critical thinkers and independent learners. With the materials on this site, you can help your students become skilled searchers- whether they're just starting out with search, or ready for more advanced training.

Google has developed an interactive curriculum on YouTube to support teachers in educating students on how to be safe, engaged and confident model netizens.

"It's easy to see how a free tool that connects you to your students can be helpful. But Google+ is not something you simply pick up and assume everyone knows how to use. In fact, I'd recommend making sure everyone you want to speak with actually has an account first!"

"A post about the new (to some users) Gmail setting called "Undo Send" prompted a few questions to appear in Richard Byrne's email. To address those questions he recorded the following video containing an overview of three helpful Gmail settings for students and teachers. The video covers using Gmail offline, setting the "undo send" grace period, and setting the "reply v. reply all" default function."

Pew Internet Research

An interesting perspective on using Google Apps in a school setting. Makes you think, and perhaps should make Google add some apps to the suite...

If downloading and keeping student work is an issue then let's connect Mahara so that our students have an electronic portfolio of all their work. Google Apps for Education is fairly new and has recently added Google Groups to the mix. Maybe with a little push Google would add even more to the list. To say that its disadvantages outweigh its advantages is simply overstated.

The Ultimate Google Wave Guide for Students: 100 Tips, Tools, and Tricks

learning, students, interactive, technology, resources, art, google, kids

I've been researching and writing about Information Fluency since the turn of the century. My work is published on the 21st Century Information Fluency Portal: http://21cif.imsa.edu You'll find modular online learning content including games, micromodules and assessments on the portal. (Free for all educators.) I include information fluency training in all of my online classes. I introduce power searching and website investigation to the graduate students studying in the E-Learning and Online Teaching Certificate Program at UW-Stout ( http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/elearningcertificate.html ) because I believe that Information Fluency is a foundation skill for all online teachers and learners.