Applying google tools to facilitate online teaching

Abstract

This paper presents our experience in applying Google tools to deliver online instructions. In the summer of 2014, we organized an online Computer Science for High School Workshop for high school teachers, with the sponsorship from Google. Our four-week online workshop was completely based on Google tools including Course Builder and Hangouts On Air, which are all free software. Specifically, the course materials (i.e., PowerPoint slides, assignments, and videos) were delivered using Course Builder, and the live sessions and tutoring sessions were offered through Hangouts On Air. During our four-week workshop, 24-hour online support was provided to the participants. According to the feedback from our workshop attendees, online instructions based on Google tools proved to be highly accommodating and effective. In the surveys conducted after the workshop, 63% of the participants specified they would recommend the workshop to others, and 60% of the participants planned to incorporate at least 25% of the workshop activities/resources into their teaching. We believe that numerous instructors (at college level, high school level, and middle school level) would find Google tools an excellent platform to provide online supplements to their face-to-face instructions from multiple perspectives, including but not limited to accessibility, flexibility, and ease of employing multimedia. After our workshop, we continue working with K-12 teachers to help them apply Google tools to improve their teaching.