In my last few posts, I have explained some of the benefits to using various Google apps in the classroom: Google Docs, Google Calendar, Blogger, and Google Reader. I’m hoping it has become a little more clear why more and more schools are embracing these apps.
In August, Maryland joined Oregon, Iowa, and Colorado to adopt Google Apps for Education on the state level. Every public and private school district, as well as public and private colleges/universities in those states will now be using Google apps in their schools! Many other school districts around the globe have also “Gone Google” on their own. I do predict that my own district will go to cloud computing in the next five years if not sooner.
As great as all of these apps are, it can be tough to keep everything organized. This is where iGoogle comes in! This personalized Google homepage allows you to add many different “gadgets” and rearrange them so you can access all of your important information quickly and easily. You can also add a theme to the page, letting your personality come through. The video below gives a quick tutorial on how this would look.
Ideas for Using iGoogle
Ditch the desk calendar
- There is no need to have a paper calendar taking up space on your teacher desk when you have a laptop. Whenever you go online, you can see upcoming events on your Google Calendar gadget.
Encourage students to use iGoogle to keep themselves organized with school
- Even if you have a team Google Calendar online, students must still go to the website to look at the calendar. This takes effort. With an iGoogle homepage, the calendar is there staring them in the face each time they go online (which as we know, is quite often).
- Students can change gadgets as needed throughout the year for different units or projects.
Increase communication and collaboration among students
- iGoogle (and Gmail) has a built-in chat feature. Students can chat with each other and collaborate over homework assignments.
- If teachers are online and make themselves visible to their students, students could chat with them as well with questions they may have.
iGoogle in the Classroom (pdf)