Unit 9: Teach Students Online Skills

In today’s classrooms, online skills are essential and important to the education of our students. When students have the ability to search for answers, they are using crucial critical thinking skills. Many times though, finding reliable sources is a challenging task. This unit maps out how to evaluate sources and how to filter search results through the use of Google Search in Google Chrome.

Search Smart

The Internet is full of available information and the way we use the information is much different than how it was 10 years again. “Searching smarter” saves valuable times and is a valuable skill in the modern workplace. There are three “search smart” basics:

1. Choosing the right search terms
2. Understanding search results
3. Narrowing a search to get the best results

We want to empower our students to help their search and make sure it is from a reliable source. Four teacher interviews were presented and each teacher had a key takeaway bullet. These bullets included:

• Every word counts in a search and we should work with students to identify keywords in questions or prompts to use the in search.  
• When searching smarter, students are much more likely to find the right sites.
• One search may lead to another and broaden the understanding of the topic.
• Search results can be filtered by reading level.

When we first search for something, multiple sources of information appears and can be a bit daunting for a student to sort through. There are a few components we should teach our students to avoid any uneasiness of a search. Some topics to review are the search bar, ads, natural results, filters, and a knowledge graph. The concept that stood out to me the most was the knowledge graph. When searching in Google for a person, a place, or a thing, this graph may be presented in the right-hand side of the screen in an information box. In order to narrow a search to get the best results, three major aspects are outlined. These include modifiers, filters, and search tools. A great modifier tip is using a hyphen before a word in a search will exclude this word from results.

Boost Student Research Skills

When a search is complete, we must assess the validity and reliability of the information. We can pose questions to our students to help them determine the validity of what they are reading online. Example questions can be:

• Who is the author(s) of the content? Do they have any special skills that qualify them to write on this topic?
• Is the content trying to make you believe a particular point of view? Are there ideas or opinions that are missing?

An easy rule that can be applied to online searches is, “Encourage all students to compare three sources of information before coming to a conclusion or any given topic.” This avoids the common misconception that the first search result that appears is the best one to use. When evaluating the validity of a search, some essential points to consider are:

• Ask yourself what opinions or ideas are missing.
• Consider who published the information.
• Look at the domain extension for the site (.com, .org, .gov, ect).

Use Chrome to Explore the Web with your Class

A new vocabulary word was introduced to me; “omnibox.” This is the address bar of Google Chrome. This “omnibox” replaces many apps and tools that are already used in the classroom such as a calculator, measurement conversions, give definitions of words, act as a timer for students, ect. Google Chrome’s capabilities can be extended even further by using a vast number of educational websites, apps, activities, and educational play.  

Unit 8: Measure, Understand, and Share Student Growth

Data analysis has always been a way for me to reflect upon my teaching. Unit 8 is all about collecting and analyzing data. The following objectives have been set forth for this unit:

• Determine the correct type of data to collect as an educator
• Develop effective methods of collecting the data required
• Organize and configure information to accurately represent the results
• Determine what lessons are needed to help students keep their information secure
• Pick the right tool for the learning objective you are trying to reach
• Determine what process to use to discover various methods of data analysis

Measure Student Progress

Google tools can collect additional types of student data and not just the typical assignment grades. These additional types of student data include attendance, contact information, behavior reports, parent communication, and examples of student work. Gradebooks can be created using Google Sheets, classroom checks can be created in Google Forms, and grading presentations with rubrics can also be created in Google Forms. Google Sheets is flexible enough to import data from existing spreadsheets and I can tailor the sheets to meet my needs. Google Forms is also a quick and easy way to collect data about the student.

Three questions were posed and I had to identify at least one example of how I could apply the topic to my own lesson:

• How might you use Google Sheets or Forms for students to self report on their own progress?

I can have students measure their daily progress on a scale of 1-10. The form can ask them which topics they still need to review, and a bi-weekly form can ask them to discuss how they are doing after reviewing additional topics.

• How can you collect anonymous peer feedback on students’ projects?

During an AP Statistics project in which students had to present, students can give anonymous feedback about the problems that were chosen and whether they were helpful to the overall lesson.

• How could Google Sheets be used to make your record keeping more efficient?

Following the same Statistics project, I can use Sheets to keep track of who turned in the handouts, who emailed the presentations, and the final grades for each student.

Analyze Student Growth Data

Measuring student progress is only as good as the data collected and the appropriate analysis of that data. A variety of assessments can be used to examine student growth over time and can thus create an accurate evaluation of each student’s performance. Numerous tools are built into Google Sheets to allow teachers to organize, sort, and filter the data for an accurate reflection of student learning. Many formulas and functions are given that are beneficial to teachers on a daily practice. Many of the formulas and functions are similar to those in Excel, enabling a smooth transition.

Tell Your Student Growth Story

When all the data on student performance has been collected, the next step is to share and communicate this information with parents and other teachers. The easiest ways to visually represent the data is with graphs and charts. Being so interested in math and trends, one video stuck out to me the most about a teacher’s comment on graphs: “Looking for trends in student data is important to early intervention. I’ve added extra tabs to my Google Sheet that I use for my gradebook. These have bar charts of each student with a trend line. I’m hoping for a general upward trend, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. “

Data can be represented as a bar or a pie chart. A variety of bar charts are offered including a bar, column, and stacked bar. A stacked bar chart displays a large amount of information in a compact space. Pie charts provide a clear analysis of an entire class. Analysis of the numbers and charts will only take a teacher so far. It is the teacher's responsibility to speak with the class and ask them why they thought the wrong answers were correct and clarify any misconceptions. Here are some thought-provoking questions when trying to analyze data:

• What are you trying to communicate?
• Which chart would be best to communicate that?
• Could you create more than one chart to communicate more information?
• After you’ve created your chart, what is the best way of sharing that with parents?

Summary

This unit was extremely applicable to the math content. Bar graphs and pie charts are a quick and easy way for me to check student progress and for me to see what my students are mastering and where remediation might be necessary. As long as I use the data for meaningful analysis, then the time spent creating the documents, sheets, and graphs is worth it.