As a teacher, I get tickled trying various teaching tools. I started overthinking my course offerings trying to keep up with the Jones’ and their cool high tech gizmos. I would spend a lot of my time learning the new tools and scrolling through tutorials and training on how to use the tools. Once I became a mom of six I had to find a way to streamline my work to still produce courses quickly. In the past few months, I’ve been using Google and I love it!
Why Use Google
Here’s why I use Google for everything:
- I can access my files from anywhere. Whether I’m at the park with my kids and have a great idea or I’m sitting at my desk logged in I can pick right up where I left off!
- It’s simple to use. No long time to learn how to use each program, it’s very easy to use.
- It’s easily convertible. I can easily turn my Document into a PDF and email to whomever I need. I can add it my collaboration folder for my team or send it to Google drive and share with my subscribers.
- I can work offline. If for any reason I’m in an area with terrible reception or don’t have access to the internet I can still work on my documents.
- I can use voice to type. This really increases my productivity because I like talking better than typing!
How to Use Google to Teach
In this post, I want to show you how to get started with Google. I’m convinced that once you start, you won’t look back. This post will literally be all you need.
Google Docs
Google Docs is a word processor that allows me to type anything I need from book proposals to workbooks, worksheets, and eBooks.
Links
I can create clickable links inside documents to sent people directly to websites and resources that I know will be useful to them. It’s a wonderful way to continue
Images
I can add images as needed to create headers on my eBooks or drawings and charts for workbooks.
Shapes
I can add shapes to Google Docs to create workbooks or worksheets. Blank squares create a space on where to fill out your probing questions.
Google Forms
Google Forms creates a place where you can assess your students. You can even use a form to have students evaluate how they liked your course.
Google Drive
Google Drive provides a place for you to share your completed documents with your clients. I can share the link to my online course document or the link to a workbook by simply cutting and pasting!
Google Slides
If I want to do something more interactive I can create a presentation here and I can record the slides and me teaching with a screen sharing program. Then I can share my video recording with clients.
And that’s it! I could go much deeper into each of these tools but this is just the beginner’s guide. By the way, I typed this post out in Google Docs then transferred it over here.