Thing 20
16 11 2008
I don’t remember how I was introduced to Google docs, but we use it in our school every day to record attendance. Before Google docs, we met every Thursday to discuss students who had excessive absences. Once we started using Google docs, however, all we have to do is enter our attendance each period, and we have a formula to total up absences. We have a separate sheet for each class period and an additional sheet for excessive absences and action taken. It has been a real time-saver for us, and it has relieved some pressure as well. Prior to Google docs, we each had to count up absences for each student in each period and email excessive absences to one staff member. Invariably Thursday afternoon slipped up on me (and probably others), and she would come looking for my absences when it was least convenient to stop and produce them. It’s sooooooooooooooooooooooo much better not to have to count those silly things every single week.
I use another spreadsheet to communicate with our field operations specialist, who comes around every few weeks and asks, “How many students are doing senior projects? What are their topics? Where do they stand as far as progress?” I got so tired of answering the same questions every single time. So I uploaded my spreadsheet to Google docs, and the last time she came in with her list of questions, I said, “Give me your email address.” Now she can access the spreadsheet anytime she wants to, and she doesn’t have to ask me. Yay! Now all I have to do is justify why I won’t do the projects THEIR way, but that’s fodder for another post.
We are also in the process of developing a parent/teacher/student agreement that parents will have to sign before students are interviewed for our program. Having it online allows each of us to make changes without sending countless emails to a single person.
I can also see the value of Google docs for students to collaborate on presentations. I haven’t used it this way myself, but I think on group projects it would be very useful. The problem is getting students signed up for a Google account, because they can’t access email at school. Grrrrr……
I have become addicted to Google Docs and the variety of ways it can be used it endless. My favorite feature is the Forms Function! By the way, if your students already have email accounts with another service, they can create a Google account (not gmail) and have access to Google Docs that way. Your students who use Blogger already have a Google account and can access all of Google’s other features that way. Those who don’t have a google account, but have an email address can set up their Google account at school, but they won’t be able to use it until they get home to check their email and verify their account. Then again, if they have a web-enabled phone, they could verify their account at school that way.