ETDC 625 Hardware and Software in Instructional Development Spring 2012 Raymond Nekrasz

Some of the topics covered in this class may have been a review for some of us and totally new territory for many of us. Web 2.0 tools Wikis Blogs The Cloud Collaboration

The National Education Technology Plan 2010 calls for students to learn…using the tools professionals use. “How we need to learn includes using the technology that professionals in various disciplines use. Professionals routinely use the Web and tools, such as wikis, blogs, and digital content for the research, collaboration, and communication demanded in their jobs”.

“The 21 st Century learning means that students master content while producing, synthesizing, and evaluating information for a wide variety of subjects and sources with an understanding of and respect for diverse cultures. Students demonstrate the three r’s, but also the three c’s:” Barnett Berry Founder and CIO, Center for Teaching Quality Creativity Communication Collaboration

As educators, where does this lead us to?

We have to assess where we are and where we want to go. For me and my district, I want to respond to the fact that students are “always on.” When I was a young student, I always had a book to read or a magazine to flip through. My parents always made sure that I had that reading material. Fast forward… now my children are like all children, the “digital natives” we read about who are always “plugged in” at home. How do we accommodate these kids and better fit their educational needs into their lives? The Cloud!

They are already there at home, let’s getting them hooked up at school too. Policies must be written, parent/guardian permission must be obtained and a tool must be chosen that will fill the need. So many tools, so little time. I have become a huge fan of Google Apps for Education

What is Google Apps for Education? Innovative tools for the connected classroom Google Apps is free (and advertising-free) for students, faculty, and staff at qualifying educational institutions. SSAE 16 Type II audited. Your data is private and secure, with 99.9% uptime and best in class disaster recovery at no charge. Since it's all browser-based, it's easy for teachers and students to work from any computer, without purchasing expensive software Define filters to limit messages within your school domain and configure your sites and documents for school-only sharing. Increase classroom engagement and assessment with real-time collaboration tools.

Ten Reasons to Choose Apps 1. Students will love you for it 2. Free up your IT 3. Easy to deploy 4. Save money 5. You're not alone 6. Google protects your privacy 7. Security as powerful as... well, Google 8. Innovation in real-time 9. Collaborate globally 10. We've got your back

There are a few types of “Clouds.” There are private clouds. The school would have to purchase servers and devices to provide the service to the teachers and the students. Software and storage are the two main components that the I.T. Staff would have to manage. A service such as Google Apps for Education is managed for you by Google itself. They are secure to the point that they use the service themselves. That was a great selling point. There are Public Clouds, such as what Google provides

There are many apps that Google provides: Reader Get all your blogs and news feeds quickly Blogger Publish your class blog on the web Picasa Web Albums Find, edit and share your photos YouTube Watch, upload and share videos These are just a few apps that are available for teacher and students use.

Google can accept your current url ( or you may have a separate one. All the applications that are available can be made available or certain ones may be blocked. The service is very flexible and will help the students master the 21 st Century skills to become life long learners and succeed in the global market place upon leaving school.