Google Classroom: Is It Useful?

Google Classroom is a tool that many schools are utilizing today, especially because it is a great tool that happens to be FREE! Many schools, such as Carmel Catholic High School began implementing google classroom throughout their classrooms, including giving all students chrome books and their own google email account. This is very helpful because it gives all the students what they need in one place with easy access while also giving them an easy and quick way to communicate with their teacher whenever it is necessary. Giving the students their own chrome books throughout their time at the school is also outstanding because not all students have access to a computer whenever outside of school, but now they have their own that they can take wherever in order to complete their assignments and get help from their teacher or peers. Another example that was found interesting was Amherst Central Schools. They searched for a way to gain the needed collaborative style of learning that was efficient for all students and faculty. Most devices are meant for individual work. However google devices, such as chrome books allow easy access for sharing and group work or student-teacher connection. Personally, I did not utilize google classroom throughout my own experience as a student until about my senior year of high school. My school utilized all Microsoft programs beforehand. Therefore, I did not get the full experience and benefits that students today are receiving through this tool. However, as I began exploring google and learning its tools, I loved how easy it was to collaborate with others in group work! You could now all work simultaneously one a slide show for a group presentation or all together on a google doc for a lab report. It is also nifty in the way that it automatically saves as you work, especially since young students often forget to hit save and because we have all had experience with technical difficulties where the computer randomly shut off and all of our work is lost. Not anymore! Also, it is very handy how your work can be accessed by any device once logged into your account; allowing you to work from it literally anywhere! I love it and fully understand and support why schools are utilizing this tool (not only because it is free!). 

Online Security

Copyright is a subject that has to be noted by those in the educational field, more specifically the copyright law Title 17. Basically, libraries are able to release copies or other reproductions under certain conditions for educational use. However, if these copies are used for other purposes and not classified as "fair use" then the person can be accused of copyright and lack of permission from the owner of publisher. To further this discussion, the University of Illinois Springfield had a speaker on this topic who is a lawyer that helps students whenever their online actions get them in trouble. The man made a great point that unfortunately most teenagers or young adults do not notice about how quickly a single picture (usually of something illegal) can quickly spread and get that person in trouble. Another comparison of this is the often use of downloading music and movies for free, especially now that it is easily accessible. Furthermore, college students are constantly notified about plagiarism. These students however do not always realize that plagiarism is a form of theft and copyrighting someone else's work. It is quite surprising how unaware people are of their actions and how they are classified as copyrighting. It also blew my mind how accessible and easy it has become to plagiarize someone's work or copyright. Growing technology makes this easy. Another scary topic of the discussion was online sexual predators and how internet makes victims more easily accessible and targeted. Its reality of the world today with the technology but is still terrifying. Internet has become a part of our daily lives and we must be aware of internet safety and be responsible for our actions whenever it comes to use of internet and media.