Matthew's Google Workspace, Apple & AI EdTech Blog

  This blogpost may be of interest to any educators who are considering how to set up effective and measurable project-based learning activities using ed-tech tools, platforms and apps. I recently completed my Masters thesis project in Educational Technology & Instructional Design. The aim of the project was to  a) describe a case study project for EFL elementary school-aged learners based on an ed-tech affinity group which utilized Google Workspace apps including Classroom, Forms and YouTube. b) show how such ed-tech projects, which lack formal and traditional methods of evaluation such as exams or coursework, can be evaluated to assess the real learning achievements of participating students.  The full thesis can be found here. Here follows a very brief summary of the project, the techniques used to assess learning, and why it’s important to have such assessment. _______________________ In this blogpost  from last year there is a full description of the the ed-...

Nowadays AI can generate some quite amazing pictures from any text inputted.  Recently, using the YouImagine AI image generator at you.com I realized it is a tool that, through image generation, can generate an almost endless stream of EFL speaking and writing activities for my young learners. If the previous sentence sounds complicated, or if you think that, as an educator, using AI image generation may be daunting, it's not. In fact, it seems to be a tool any educator can use to quickly create super-fun lesson activities for any kind of students.  In the slide deck demonstration here I run through 5 example speaking and writing activities, from mini warmers and coolers to full on lessons.  In the slide deck I was specifically thinking about my own EFL lesson activities which I would create and use for myself. However, it seems clear that image generation activities could easily be applied to ELA more generally, writing activities in particular. So... _______________...

  As I am currently in the process of weaning myself off using a computer and making my primary device an iPad, it has led me to consider the pros and cons of the various Ed-tech apps, tools, platforms and sites I use all the time in my work right now, whether that be on a PC, tablet or phone. As a Certified Google Trainer I obviously use Google apps a lot. However, there are also many good iPad apps to help any teacher, along with so many other apps developed by other companies and organizations. In fact, these days it can be a bit overwhelming to see the amount of Ed-tech products available for educators to use. For many educators, it can be much more than a bit overwhelming.  So, I asked myself, now at the end of 2022, if I had to choose just 5 Ed-tech products to use, what would they be? Which ones are indispensable to me right now?  CRITERIA Which ones are indispensable to me right now? In answering that question I made a bad decision as I first decided to just make ...

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 c...

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, Hig...

  Using Google Workspace apps in conjunction with other third party apps, you can create a nice VR project for either an entire class or smaller group of students. It's based on the idea of getting students to convert amazing 3D VR videos into their own 2D interpretations. This kind of project pushes all kinds of skills acquisition, from techy to literacy. In this blog we just give a simplified overview of how to do it.   Background: Last year we worked with a small group of 8 gifted P5 and P6 EFL students (aged 10-11). All students were already familiar with using core Google Workspace tools after 2 years of pandemic-style teaching and learning strategies. After a long absence from experimenting with VR Headsets due to the pandemic, we were able to reconnect to VR - within careful hygiene restrictions. So, we wanted to create a fun, enjoyable learning experience for our students and we based this project on previous VR-based lesson and activity ideas we had implemented b...

  Using Google Workspace apps you can create nice VR and AR projects for either an entire class or smaller group of students. Let's start with an AR project which involved using two AR Google Apps: Earth and Google Arts & Culture. Background: Last year we worked with a group of 15 gifted P5 and P6 EFL students (aged 10-11). All students were already familiar with using core Google Workspace tools after 2 years of pandemic-style teaching and learning strategies. Based in Hong Kong we were still, after 2 and half years, effectively unable to travel outside of Hong Kong. We decided it would be a good idea to get students to create virtual tours of places they would like to visit in the future, after the pandemic restrictions were lifted.  Project Aim:  Students create a Google Site to showcase the places they would like to visit in the future - Virtual Tours. This site can then be published and sent out to all school mates for feedback and comment in their Google Classro...