COVID Tool #2: Shared Google Docs

So, I think students learn best when they interact with each other.  When they do, they use terms and make connections that I wouldn't be able to.  For instance, I had a few students last year who kept relating things back to anime characters that I had never heard of.  It worked for them, so I am okay with it.

Small group interactions is much more difficult in a socially distanced "COVID Classroom".  Google Docs provided me a way to allow students to work in small groups while staying socially distant.

1. My first attempt was to make an assignment that was a blank Google Doc in Google Classroom for the number of groups I wanted to utilize (4).  Then, I counted off the students by 4.  All the 1's opened up the assignment called "Group 1", the 2's opened up "Group 2", etc.  Then, the groups were able to collaborate through the doc without disturbing other groups with talking by typing their thoughts to each other and completing the task given.
2. Another option is pre-made resources that are "Google-friendly" like my Historical Perspectives ones.  When you assign it, you need to make sure you do not select the option that makes a separate copy for each student.  You do, however, need to follow the same procedure I described above for having multiple copies of the blank document.
3. If you have an existing PDF that is not editable, and want to use it as I have described, you can do that too!  You just have to have students open it with an app like Kami that allows students to type on existing PDF's.
4. If you are feeling really ambitious, and want to make your own resource, one way is to create a PowerPoint, then save it as a PNG.  Once that is finished, open up a Google Slide and change to background to your saved PNG.  Once you have changed the background, it cannot be "messed up" by users.  Now, you just need to insert textboxes where you want your students to type.  Again, you can share your finished product in the way described above to allow multiple students to work on the same document.

If you give any of these a try, please let me know how it went in the comments below and don't forget to visit my store for more great Social Studies resources.

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