Gmail is a free email service from Google with lots of great features such as ability to easily search mail messages, good spam filters, threaded messages, built in chat and Google Meet. Facilitators can use it to communicate with students and send/receive assignments and notifications. 

Google Calendar allows students and facilitators to organize their day, set up meetings, receive reminders, even share agendas and files. They can be great to plan learning.  We will learn how it can be used to make learning and collaboration easier. 

Learning objectives:

• Participants will be able to use Gmail and Calendar to create systems to ensure effective communication between instructors and their students. 

• Participants will be able to leverage using Gmail and Google Calendar  to support effective student collaboration. 

Google Drive allows learners and facilitators to store and manage their documents, images, videos, PDFs, audio recordings in various folders. We will explore how these can be easily created, stored and shared digitally.

Google Docs offers great opportunities to augment the writing process. We will explore sharing and collaboration, feedback and revision strategies for teachers and students to utilize as they create in Google Docs.

Learning objectives:

• Participants will be able to prompt collaboration with and between students using Google Docs.

• Participants will be able to implement strategies for effective feedback using Google Docs.

• Participants will be able to employ a variety of strategies to promote differentiation and creative expression with Google Docs.

Google Slides can facilitate the creation of engaging learning experiences for learners. We will explore the basics of Google Slides as we learn to navigate the environment, insert images, videos, audio, and more. We will also learn to create activities to offer voice and choice to students.

Learning objectives:

• Participants will be able to prompt collaboration with and between students using Google Slides.

• Participants will be able to implement strategies for effective feedback using Google Slides.

• Participants will be able to employ a variety of strategies to promote differentiation and creative expression with Google Slides.

Google Forms can be used to create formative or summative assessment activities as well as creating differentiated learning activities. We will explore options such as informal surveys and graded quizzes and how to use Google Sheets for data analysis of results.

Learning objectives:

• Participants will be able to leverage Google Forms to collect, organize, and share data.  

• Participants will be able to use Google Forms as a tool for classroom assessment and grading.

• Participants will be able to use Google Forms as a tool for differentiated instruction and creative expression. 

Jamboard is a virtual board tool that can be used to support student learning in a variety of ways. Learners can write, draw, and collaborate to share ideas and construct meaning. Facilitators can also design individual interactive activities for learners to engage with and demonstrate their understanding of ideas and concepts. 

Learning objectives:

• Participants will be able to participate in an activity using Jamboard and successfully navigate its toolbars and menus.

• Participants will be able to identify activity models that align with their classroom goals and activities.

• Participants will be able to create a pilot activity to use with their students. 

Google Applied Digital Skills is a free online curriculum created by Google that combines real life skills with Google tools in self-paced, video-based lessons that are perfect for independent, hybrid or remote learning. 

From creating stories and recipes to researching and developing a topic or managing a budget, the curriculum engages learners in problem solving, critical thinking, and hands-on opportunities to develop skills and knowledge.

Applied Digital Skills lessons are similar to real world projects and tasks that learners may encounter at work, in their daily lives and in educational settings . 

As a workshop participant, you will have an opportunity to explore a lesson set of your choice as a learner and, through a process of collective reflective practice, consider the use of these lessons in your own practice. 

Learning objectives:

• Participants will be able to create an Applied Digital Skills account, create classes and assign content within the platform. 

• Participants will be able to explore and evaluate available courses with the Applied Digital Skills platform.

• Participants will be able to navigate and complete an entire  “Applied Digital Skills” course. 

There are many lessons to choose from. Some we thought might be especially relevant to literacy and basic skills are listed below but you can also choose lessons in Google tools and apps if you want to expand on what you learned in Part 1. The workshop facilitator will help you choose from the 210 possibilities.

Here are some lessons we thought might be relevant to learners in literacy programs:

Tasks 

• Google Workspace: Gmail

• Create a Schedule to Meet Your Goals

• Organize Your Day with Google Calendar

Looking for work 

• Create a Resume in Google Docs

• Prepare for a Successful Job Interview

Learning to learn 

• Learn New Vocabulary with Flash Cards

• Create a Guessing Game

• Create a Crossword Puzzle

• Interview a Book Character

• Create Quizzes in Google Forms

• Evaluate Credibility of Online Sources

Further education

• Write Using Online Research

• Revise and Edit a Piece of Writing
  (collaboration with group of learners or between a facilitator and a learner)

• Research and Develop a Topic

• Create a Presentation "All About a Topic"

• Explore a Topic: Technology, Ethics, and Security (advanced)

Program life

• Plan and Promote an Event

Daily life and independence

• Avoid Online Scams

• Create a Photo Journal in Google Docs

• Create a Digital Postcard

• Show Appreciation with Google Slides

• Create a Cookbook in Google Slides + Work with Fractions in Google Sheets (adjust the size of a recipe using Google Sheets)