Creating a Learning Environment

Two main goals of the learning environment I would want to create are
1.  A place for delivery of instruction and feedback
2.  A place for robust collaboration and communication

Therefore, two technologies that I want to integrate into my learning environment are GoFormative.com and G Suite (formerly Google Apps for Education), particularly Google Docs/Slides for collaboration and Hangouts for communication.

GoFormative is a wonderful site for delivery of instruction and assessment of understanding.  Using this site, I could embed video and documents and assign students tasks to assess their learning based on these objects.  I could also give them feedback on whatever they do on the site, and if that instruction were to occur at a specified time, that feedback could be instantaneous.  Obviously, this is not always going to be possible; however, it is also not always necessary.  Feedback is important, and it must be timely in order to truly be effective.  With GoFormative, I can give feedback as soon as students submit tasks, and students can see it right away.  I can also allow them to edit their work based on this feedback to allow for more learning opportunities.  The site is incredibly user friendly and affords many different options for delivery of content and instruction.

With Google Docs/Slides, students can collaborate on learning tasks.  They can brainstorm ideas, create documents, create presentations, etc.  This collaboration can be real-time, but it does not need to be.  Regardless, it makes collaboration more efficient and effective.  With Hangouts, students could speak face-to-face regardless of location.  Small groups could meet, and everyone could participate with nothing more than a phone and an internet connection.  Students can use the chat feature as well which might be more appealing to some.  Furthermore, students could meet with an instructor in real time without the need for transportation and without having to coordinate office hours.  All that is needed is an email address and a few minutes to explain sharing / collaborating of documents and setting up a hangout.

In conducting professional development in the spring, we are planning to use GoFormative to guide teachers through PD sessions.  This will allow us to give real-time feedback and to keep a record of not only who attended but how well they understood the material we delivered to them.  We can use these reports to differentiate future instruction and to set up small groups which might need additional assistance.  Google Hangouts would be perfect for these small group settings, particularly as it allows us to work around multiple teachers' schedules.  The instructor could share his or her screen, and students could get the benefit of working on their own computers in a split-screen mode.  Both GoFormative and Google Apps are going to be crucial to our ongoing PD for digital curriculum.