BP4_Google Wave

Google is probably the most useful and convenient web tool.  Everyone knows google, uses google, but I don't think that many are fully embracing google.  I am guilty of this.  I have used many of the features that google has to offer and have always been very satisfied, however there are so many features that google has created that I have failed to use, which brings me to GOOGLE WAVE.

A Wave is a hosted conversation that anyone can contribute to.  It is an online communication and collaboration tool where you can use photos, videos, gadgets, etc.

A few ways that I had in mind on how to use Google Wave is to improve homework completion and to help with brainstorming.

Homework:  

In Google Wave I can have a prompt or a link to a brief article that I want the students to respond to.  Often students have a hard time responding to things or saying, "I didn't know what to say." So one thing that can help with this is making homework more collaborative.  Homework can be more of a discussion and they can build off each other's ideas.  This can also get me involved in the discussion and help them elaborate more on things that they have said.

Brainstorming:

In English class when it comes to writing a lot of my kids struggle with the Brainstorming part.  It takes them forever to think of what to write.  Some ways that Google Wave can be used is to help the students generate ideas from one another.  They can post their thoughts help each other come up with ideas, etc.  Also any student that is struggling with what to write about can express it here and people can assist them.  This is just another way for students to collaborate and communicate with each other online.


The thing that I like with google wave is that anyone can access it you don't have to have an special flash player or plug-ins, you can easily access it even through your phone. I plan on having the kids sign up with gmail accounts so this makes it more convenient for them as well.