Matthew's Google Workspace, Apple & AI EdTech Blog

In this blog we will look at the benefits of remembering that: a) extensions exist b) we can find them easily on the Chrome Web Store _____________________________________________ Q: Why should we remember that the Chrome Web Store exists?  A: Let's use a simple teacher concept/tool to help us highlight why: Word Clouds Word clouds have been around for a while now. Common educational uses of word clouds include: 1. Ice Breakers 2. Introduce new topic 3. Collect new ideas 4. Conduct a brainstorm session 5. Set up a discussion 6. Sum up a topic 7. Check for understanding 8. Reflect on experience (learning) 9. Ease into vulnerable topics with student anonymity 10. Check in on students Social Emotional Learning (The above list was taken from ClassPoint. For more information about each activity check out their in-depth summaries for each activity here .) Now, let's imagine that making a word cloud is something that you or your students want to do as part of a lesson activity.  Of co

Note: This blog may be of interest for educators who  a) wish to develop less formal, more organic extracurricular activities for students and  b) are already familiar with using most core Google Workspace apps. _____________________________________________ In this blog let's take a look at how educators can use Google Workspace and the concept of Affinity Groups to develop rewarding and open learning  opportunities for school students from elementary level upwards. To do this, let's answer four questions: What is an Affinity Group?  What is an Ed-tech-based Affinity Group? How can you create an Affinity Group with Google Workspace apps? What is a clear example of an Affinity Group in action?   1. What is an Affinity group? In a broad context, an affinity group is a group that allows students who share an identity — usually a marginalized identity — to gather and talk in a safe space about issues related to that identity. This may be, for example, High School or University stu