Hey friends!
I’m Tasia and this video will highlight the best apps for distance learning, with
a focus on Google edu tools.
A new school year is almost upon us, and many teachers will find themselves teaching remotely,
and students will be learning remotely as well.
So, outlining some of the best apps for online education could be helpful, and doing so now
gives you time to get comfortable using them before the school year starts.
Before we get started, if you are a teacher, you want to keep a couple things in mind.
First, make sure you’re using apps or websites that have been approved by your school for
remote learning, and second is something I call technology equality.
You want to take into account your students.
Do they all have access to the same remote learning options?
With those things in mind, let’s jump into some of the best apps for remote learning,
Google edition.
Number 1 on my list is Google Classroom.
Think of Google Classroom like your central learning hub.
With Google Classroom, you’ll be able to create, distribute, and grade student assignments.
You can also add announcements and respond to student inquiries here too.
Plus, Google Classroom completely integrates with your already-existing Google ecosystem.
So, think your Gmail, Google Calendar, your Drive - so that includes, docs, sheets, slides
- it’s all encompassing.
I won’t get into all the features or how to use Google Classroom, or else we’d be
here all day.
It’s definitely one of the most robust services for teachers and students, and chances are,
your school is already using it!
So, moving on to my next Google EDU pick and that’s Google Jamboard.
And guess what?
You can find that as part of your Google Drive too.
There are actually 2 ways to access Jamboard.
You can head to jamboard.google.com or you can access it from your apps directly in Drive.
Jamboard is your online whiteboard.
You can change the background, so if you need graph paper for example, you could do that.
You can draw, just as you would expect from a whiteboard, and adjust your writing tool
as preferred.
Look, oh boy, okay this is my freehand mouse attempt at the Stanley Cup.
I guess I shouldn’t quit my day job.
So, no worries, you can thankfully erase anything as well.
You can add sticky notes to important info and move that around, and resize it.
Now, if you’re as talented a drawer as I am, upload an image, you can do that too.
If you run out of space, you can just add another frame.
Because this is all part of the Google ecosystem, you can add your Jamboard to your Google Classroom
as well, as material, or you can pull it up for use in a live video chat.
And speaking of video chat apps, you all know what’s coming next.
Rounding out my list of best apps for distance learning is, drumroll please, Google Meet.
What?
I told you, you knew what was coming.
I’ve done a few videos on Google Meet that I will link to below and again at the end
of this video, but here’s why I think it’s a must for remote learning.
There are four reasons Google Meet is a winner for distance learning and teaching:
Number 1: Security.
Google Meet is a web-based application, not an app that needs to be downloaded to your
desktop.
Not having to worry about a physical app that can be hacked or compromised is a plus.
Number 2: Accessibility.
Yes, you need a Google account to start a Google Meet, but you don’t need one to join
a meet.
So, if not all of your students have a google account, it doesn’t matter, you can send
them a custom meeting link so they can join the meeting.
Plus, since Meet is a web app, it works across multiple browsers too, so think Chrome, Mozilla,
Safari and more, so it doesn’t matter what your participants preferred browser is.
Number 3: Integration.
Since Meet is already a part of the Google Ecosystem, it’s just another added feature
of Google’s edu offerings.
Number 4: GOOGLE MEET IS FREE, unlike its competitors.
So with all of that said you can head to meet.google.com to start or join a meeting, or you can start
one right from your gmail, gcal, or drive.
And Meet has great features built right in, like customized screen sharing options, and
the ability to add captioning to your meetings.
You can also customize Google Meet with some great Chrome Extensions like being able to
take class attendance for example and I’ve made a video on that, which I’ll link to
in the description.
But, if you guys want to learn how to use Google Meet and explore all of the great features,
you can click up here, and I’ll link to a video below and again at the end of this
video.
So those are my top 3 picks for the best apps for distance learning, Google education edition.
Now I want to hear from you!
What do you think of Google’s EDU options for teachers and students?
Let everyone know in the comments below.
As always, if you liked this video, I want to know so give it a like, a share, or leave
a comment below.
You can click right about here to subscribe to my channel and right about here and here
for even more Google Meet content.
Thanks for watching and see ya next time.