CLASSROOMS LEAD TO GOOGLE APPS

 

A Case Study on How schools are implementing Google Apps into real time classroom lessons

Assignment:  How to best deal with global health issues?

As the world faces global health problems such as epidemics or pandemics, involve your students in an authentic lesson to increase their understanding of health related issues and give them the tools to make informed decisions about their own health and the health of their schools and communities.

A Student Challenge: Contribute to your school and community's understanding of a health crisis.

Sources

• Access to computer and Internet 
• An individual Google Account or school Google Apps account with access to Google Sites and Google Docs 
• A Google Account with access to Google Maps, Google Reader, Google Trends. 
• Recorder for Podcasting 
• Video Camera 

Directions

Subject:  Type A/H1N1 (Swine Flu) 

Teacher facilitates a class discussion to assess current student information and knowledge on the topic of an outbreak. Brainstorm guiding questions with students. Create a collaborative Google Doc to add additional topics or questions that students bring up during the brainstorming session

Guiding Questions:

• What do we need to know about this outbreak? 
• How do we meet the challenge of obtaining factual and objective information about this outbreak? 
• What solutions can we put in place to help our school or community understand and deal with this health issue?

Team Up

Based on the brainstorming activity, divide students into teams. Each team will investigate a different content connection to the outbreak. Research teams can choose to find information in the following areas:

• Historic outbreaks and outcomes (history) 
• How are governments reacting (government) 
• News media reports and facts vs. rumors (language, current events) 
• Statistics tracking and mapping (mathematics, geography) 
• Cultural differences and world reaction (sociology, psychology, world language) 
• The scientific and medical knowledge (science)

Create a class Google Site where students will post their collected information and do their researches on daily or weekly basis, Students from each team follow the research of the other teams by accessing the Google Site and posting comments and questions. Their Google Site will be a repository of the information they gather and create.

Sample activities:

1. Team History

• Research historic outbreaks of flu or other diseases and create a time line of those events 
• Collect oral histories by creating podcasts of people who experienced historic outbreaks. Search for visual and oral history information at sites like Smithsonian. 
• Investigate past and present health issues 
• Create a collaborative Google map of historic outbreaks.

2. Team Government

• Research how world, national, state and local organizations are dealing with an outbreak. 
• Follow government social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to analyze government communications on the outbreak. 
• Research video sites, such as YouTube, to find and analyze national or world government official communications.

3. Team News Media 

• Set up an RSS reader, such as Google Reader, to collect news from a variety of sources on the outbreak. Include national and international news reports. 
• Analyze the "panic factor".  Which news organizations or blogs are contributing to misinformation or panic about the issue? 
• How are local and national rumors spread? Students make a check list showing how to verify information on news sites and blogs. Students discuss how and why local rumors start and spread.

4. Team Stats & Maps 

• Research and analyze charts and map statistical data on an outbreak. 
• Use collaborative spreadsheets such as Google Spreadsheets to collect and compare statistics. 
• View map sites to analyze statistics. Compare and contrast statistical information such as standard flu outbreak. Present information in graph or map form.

5. Team Cultural and World Reaction

• Analyze cultures and health related statistics in specific countries.  World language students access information in language under study. 
• Compare and contrast health related statistics and other factors between the countries under study. 
• Access sites such as Gapminder to visualize data differences between countries. Analyze and share this information in chart form.

6. Team Science 

• Research and monitor sites such as the Centers for Disease Control. 
• Interview and podcast or video local physicians, school nurses and other local authorities on disease spread and science. 
• Access video science programming specific to the disease such as the KQED multimedia series QUEST for up-to-date scientific information. 
• Outline a plan for explaining the science of the disease and produce a podcast or video informational guide.

Evaluation

Each team will present, create and post their finding after the completion of their research. Students critique, correct and refine their information and research. 

Real time innovation and respond to the ever changing E-world.

Students with their already finished research work can inform and support the school’s health official in preparing for an emergency health situation that can be applied to their locale.

The easy, yet impressive, whole-class collaboration is allowing Schools to spice up lesson activities and create a more interactive learning environment.

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