What is Google Docs and how can it be used within a Judaic Studies blended learning classroom?

When mentoring our pre-service and in-service teachers we need to describe and model both research-based and clinically tested best practices, and demonstrate how these best practices can be applied in the real (i.e. physical) and virtual (online) classroom for both teaching and teacher training, The combination of face to face instruction in a physical setting and online learning is called blended learning. In this section of the blog we will describe how the internet can serve as a supplemental resource for instruction and the mentoring of pre-service and in-service Jewish educators. In this post we will begin our discussion on how students in a Judaic Studies blended learning classroom can use Google docs for both individual, group and classroom collaborating writing and for creating of new knowledge products such as documents, templates, spreadsheets, powerpoint presentations and drawing.

Assumption: The teacher or mentor teacher has a interactive white board (i.e. SMART Board, Promethean, etc.), a Tablet PC (also called a Slate or Blade), a computer presenter or computer with internet access attached to an LCD projector in the classroom. It would be ideal if students or mentees had access to their own laptop computers as well.

Note: Although the Google Docs collaborative writing and project creation web tool can be applied in the Judaic Studies blended learning classroom, it can be also be used for training pre-service and in-service Jewish educators for professional or staff development. It is our hope that Jewish educators around the globe will form an online community of practice, a CoP, a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession, to enhance the delivery of instruction and training of Jewish educators.

Note: Google Docs can also be used as a face to face classroom learning activity without adding the online component.

Below you will find a YouTube tutorial for teachers on how to use Google docs in the classroom for individual and collaborative writing and product creating (i.e.  documents, templates, spreadsheets, powerpoint presentations and drawings).

On the next post we will share how to download files from Google Docs on to your computer.