Google
Drive
Google
Drive, an online “cloud” storage service, was launched on April 24, 2012. With a free Google Drive download you can collaborate
with anyone, anywhere. Files of all types and sizes such as “videos, photos,
Google Docs, PDFs and beyond” can be uploaded and shared. Drive is built “on
top” of Google Docs so all of the features of Google Docs are incorporated in
addition to enhancements. Drive offers:
- 5
GB of free storage
- Supports
over 30 file types even if they aren’t installed on your computer
- File
sharing without using email attachments
- Tracks
changes to files for 30 days
- Searches
of key words and file types even in scanned documents and photos
- Drive
app for Smart Phones and tablets
- Apps
for home, school, and office
- Screen
Reader for users who are blind
- Synchronization
of all of your Google accounts on all of your devices
The
enhanced features of Google Drive provide even more opportunities for real-time
collaboration in the work place, at home, and in schools. Additional storage capacity and a “drag and
drop” feature for all file types allows users to create, edit, add, review, and
collaborate any time, any place! Collaboration can occur within and outside of
the physical space of the classroom, home, or office.
Collaborize
Classroom
Collaborize
Classroom is a dynamic and free collaborative extension of the physical
classroom for students and teachers. It
is private, secure, and web-based with no software to install.
Discussion
questions and answers can be set up to be completed at a specified time. There are three question choices: yes or no,
multiple choice, and vote or suggest.
When discussions are completed the results are tabulated and can be
posted, along with a narrative summarization, on a page which includes graphs
and charts of the results. Multi-media,
PDFs, articles, and videos can be embedded.
The
teacher acts as the facilitator promoting classroom discussions that foster
student engagement and collaboration for all
students who can question and provide feedback to each other within and outside
of the school day. There are built-in resources organized by topic, user tags,
and grade level. Starter-topics such as
expectations for online behavior and communication are included. Using the
platform saves time and resources since it is online and tabulates responses to
questions. There is even an automatic printout of simple directions for
students on how to access the classroom site from home or school. Help for
educators is provided with online support, getting-started resources including
a start-up wizard, and webinars.
Screenr
Screenr
is a quick and easy way to “screencast” and share information. With Screenr you can capture whatever is on
your screen and record your voice using your computer microphone. The tool is
free and can be accessed anytime from any computer with no downloads
required. By going to http://www.screenr.com/
you can instantly create a screencast! Screenr
can be used for brief tutorials in education and business. Collaboration and idea-sharing can occur
almost instantly by publishing on Twitter, You-Tube, your own site, and Facebook.
Screencasts
are limited to 5 minutes in length and cannot be edited but the potential for
sharing lessons and information is far-reaching. Through the creation of tutorials educators could
create their own classroom “Khan Academy” ("Khan academy," 2012) for
teaching! Screencasts could be made available to assist students who have been
absent or need extra support. Students and teachers could create screencasts to
explain and answer questions and solve problems in authentic and meaningful
ways that promote collaboration and sharing.
References
Google
docs review. (2009, October 8). Retrieved from http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5281&review=google
docs review
Horn, L. (2012, April 24). What is google drive.
Retrieved from http://gizmodo.com/5904653/what-is-google-drive
Malamed,
C. (2012). The elearning coach . Retrieved from http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning2-0/screenr-for-elearning/
Orphanides, K. (2012, June 18). Expert reviews.
Retrieved from http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/software/1292647/google-drive
Pichai, S. (2012, April 24). Introducing google
drive. Retrieved from http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/introducing-google-drive-yes-really.html
Top ten reviews. (2012). Retrieved from http://office-software-review.toptenreviews.com/word-processing-software/google-docs-review.html
