In my last post I wrote about why we decided to push ahead with a 1:1 Chromebook rollout to achieve a range of teaching and learning objectives.
Not soon after the devices arrived we had to start training staff on how to use Chromebooks, FrogLearn (our VLE) and Google Apps for Education (GAFE). Therefore, over the last weeks of term we held workshops with all Post-16 teachers. The first two sessions focused on Google Apps for Education.
Coming into the first session, we knew that different teachers have different levels of experience with GAFE. Teachers have used GAFE as a system, when it has supported learning, over the past year. However, with the deployment of Chromebooks, GAFE has now made the transition from an opt-in system to a core system to engage with post-16 work, feedback and progress tracking. Therefore we decided to begin GAFE training from scratch so that all teachers understood the basics. However, during the training we guided staff who were further ahead with GAFE towards the advanced tutorials that Google provide (see the last slide in the presentation).
The first session took teachers through the process of creating documents, creating presentations and collaborating on documents. While this was quite basic, it was essential to get the basics right before the Chromebooks started appearing in all of their lessons. The session then explored how Google Folders are embedded into Frog sites to create a system where students can access files whenever, and wherever, they need to.
I’ve placed the resources used in the session below:
A handout went along with the session which you can download by clicking here.
The slides used with the training are below:
Please feel free to adapt them for your needs, just click the cogwheel to allow you to create editable copies of the slides.
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