Practical uses for google hangouts: the research

When I established my action plan for this year, I wanted to it complement my department goal of increasing oral fluency in my French classes. Although I initially believed the answer lay in google hangouts, the path has not been as straightforward as I thought.

First, I set out to research what other teachers and ed tech experts were saying about using google hangouts in class.

Med Karbach posted a helpful intro and this tip sheet for first time google hangout users. A great starting point for everyone, as I discovered early on, as there can be some hiccups involved in setting up and hosting a hangout!

In her Edutopia post, Mary Beth Hertz discussed how hangouts could facilitate connected learning for students and got me thinking about authentic exchanges I could set up for my students in the “real world” beyond the classroom (also a great opportunity for personalization, depending on my students’ interests)

In Connecting Beyond the Classroom, Bill Krakower wrote about the benefits of collaborating on a google doc as a group, and being able to view a youTube video of the hangout at a later time. I really liked the idea of hosting a debate between two language classes within the CIS (RSGC vs SAC! Bring it on!)

In Google hangouts as Edtech: Connecting, Sharing and Learning, Andrew Marcinek shared how his students broadcast their TEDtalk research projects and tech-related instructional videos with a wider audience using hangouts.

In a post published on The Journal, Bridget McCrea further highlights Marcinek’s work with 6 ways students can use google hangouts , including the use of hangouts to archive students work in digital portfolios, as well as replacing Skype or FaceTime with a better tool for online collaboration.

I learned a lot from these posts, and hope to learn more as more teachers begin to use google hangouts in their classes. I loved Celeste’s idea of setting up a google hangout to discuss hangouts in the classroom with people who have practical experience. I made up a dream list of people I’d like to include in such a hangout… and then 2 months flew by! I promised myself I wouldn’t publish this post without setting it up. Our hangout is scheduled for this Thursday at 4pm. Let me know if you’d like to join!