Collaborative Tools for the Classroom

Over the last few weeks, I have been taking a technology class on Collaborative Web Tools in Education. Wow! There are so many new ones to choose from. I was a bit skeptical at first because sometimes the more options one has the more overwhelming a task can become. One thing, I have taken away from this class is that the tool you choose should serve the purpose of your objective for your lesson!

When we were asked to evaluate a few tools, I would say the majority of the people in the class selected tools from the Google G Suite for educators. As teachers, I would say we find two things most appealing: 1) items, tools, PD, etc that are free and 2) user friendly tools.  Surely there are other things to consider but on our salary, free is always good and there aren't enough hours in day for us to take on another task, so user friendly web tools really make a difference. 

Since so many of us were (or still are) Microsoft users, the shift to Google tools and apps wasn't as difficult. Personally speaking, I may have freaked out at the thought of a new tool. However, I did get over it! Of course, there are some differences but they are minor adjustments or habits to readjust. For example, not having to safe your files to a memory stick because all your documents can be saved on your Google Drive! 

From a collaborative document we shared, I decided to checkout Padlet. As I browsed the site, I can envision many ways to use it as a collaborative tool with students and teachers. Most importantly, I've been wanting to create a classroom newsletter but wasn't finding the time to type it, translate it, and copy it to send out to parents. I like that I can post short blurbs, translate it, and post it. I can share the link with my students via Google Classroom and they can share it with their parents. I actually just wrote my first one and will share it next week.

If anyone is interested in taking a sneak peek, click below: