Make Virtual Learning Matter by Paul Axtell

Author:Paul Axtell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2020-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6: Know the Tools

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

—Arthur C. Clarke

The technological tools that we have at our disposal are constantly changing, evolving, and being upgraded. Whether you’re dealing with hardware or software, it is hard to keep track of it all. Just when we felt we understood what Facebook was and how to monitor our children’s usage of it, Instagram came along. Once we figured that out, Snapchat quickly became the new social media site of choice among teens. And just like that, the only social media site that seems to matter is TikTok.

Just as social media is ever changing, so are the tools we use to work and learn remotely. It’s hard to believe that in 2009—just eleven years ago—the iPad didn’t even exist, yet nowadays, tablets are a ubiquitous part of our virtual work and learning environments. As more and more workplaces make a shift to remote work and virtual learning continues into the 2020–2021 school year, the tools we utilize to make these endeavors not just possible but productive will inevitably change. That said, a few tools have become relatively standard, and it would serve you well to familiarize yourself with those. Doing so will allow you to better support your child with any tech-related issues that may arise, periodically monitor their usage, and make sure they are using the tools appropriately.

The tools

Google Classroom

Google has quickly moved beyond being a simple search engine to take over many parts of our digital lives. It has the most widely used email service, which links to its popular calendar, all of which lives within the G Suite of online services. Those services include online-accessible software like Google Docs and Google Sheets, which compete with Microsoft’s Word and Excel and allow people to collaborate relatively easily both virtually and in real time.

Google Classroom is essentially a school-focused platform that incorporates Google’s G Suite of products, including Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides, in a way that allows teachers to manage the flow of information for their classroom virtually. If your child’s school utilizes Google Classroom, they’ll receive an invitation to “join” a classroom. Once in that classroom, their teacher will be able to post announcements, assignments, quizzes, and more. Students can submit homework assignments via Google Classroom through various means, and teachers, in turn, have various ways of providing feedback on those assignments, including through a rubric feature. In addition, Google Classroom offers the opportunity for video conferencing through Google Meet. Students can work together outside of class using the shared screen function.

As more and more of our lives are lived online these days, privacy is a concern and should be particularly examined as it relates to your children and their virtual learning. Google as a company has a mixed reputation when it comes to online privacy, so privacy concerns related to Google Classroom are to be expected. You can adjust the privacy settings from their Google Account page, assuming they use their personal Gmail account to log in to Google Classroom.

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