Last week, I made the decision to move to Google Meets, from Microsoft Teams. This was a tough transition because I had grown quite fond of Teams. However, Teams required us to download a program to our computers. This app only worked well on my personal Macbook, and not my school Chromebook. As we hopefully transition to in person learning, I needed a program that worked well on my school computer for both myself and students. This week has definitely been challenging trying to learn how to use Google Meets while simultaneously trying to teach students how to use it as well. They have added so many new features just since last year. This week, I was feeling extra bold and decided to try breakouts, polls and the Q&A feature. The Q&A feature did not work well for my students. They had no way to actually answer my questions, they could only share their own. It would be nice is this feature allowed them to answer my question and maybe also see students responses. However, breakouts worked great and so did polls! We did ketchup, mustard and pickles groups! Ketchup refers to "catching up" on missing work, mustard means "you must do" and pickles allows them to "pick" enrichment activities! My students are already excited to try them again!
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ReplyDeleteKuddos switching platforms mid-year! Sounds like you are off to a great start. I personally haven't ventured to break out rooms, have not found a need just yet for them, but I find them intriguing.
DeleteI love breakout rooms! The kids have definitely gotten more comfortable in breakout rooms unmuting and collaborating. The first few times I tried it, it was rough, and hardly nobody wanted to unmute and share. Now I have a hard time getting them to leave the breakout rooms! Haha.
DeleteThank you show sharing! I currently am using Teams, and it is not my favorite program. I am intrigued that you made the switch to Google Meets. I think kids have been great this year about showing their teachers some grace, so I am sure they are enjoying learning right along with you. One thing I feel like I am missing for my students is hearing everyones voices. That is great to know about the Q&A feature. Is there any situation where you think it would come in handy?
ReplyDelete-Karissa Bachman
I definitely recommend making the switch! The kids did great and actually prefer Meets now. I will say, I was super stressed the first few classes, but now it's a breeze! Just make sure you really lock down the "host controls" so the kids can't take over! Haha. After some work playing around with Google Meets, the Q&A feature is not my favorite. They can't actually respond. The kids have been LOVING the poll feature on Meets! I throw a random poll out to check for understanding and they love it!
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