Google Apps Education Suite

Google announced on Tuesday that they have put together a suite of Web 2 tools specifically for education. These are all existing Web 2.0 tools that many Web 2 savvy teachers have been using for some time, however Google are now marketing then as a package of educational tools to meet the needs of your school - all based in the cloud. This is what they are saying;

Google Apps just got smarter: Google Announcement - January 25, 2011 at 9:00 AM

The education technology space has seen an explosion of new offerings in the past few years. What has been missing is a centralized platform for schools and universities to easily evaluate and utilize web apps. Today we are excited to launch an education category in the Google Apps Marketplace designed specifically to help schools and universities easily discover and deploy new web applications that integrate with their existing Google Apps accounts.

The new education category includes over 20 applications from 19 vendors ranging from learning management systems (LMS) to student tools and teaching aids – all of which integrate with Google Apps for Education. Each app can be accessed through single sign-on and the Google universal navigation bar and many offer deeper integrations that synchronize with Google Calendar and Documents.

This new education category will make it easier for schools to have more web apps at their fingertips, including popular existing apps such as Aviary, Grockit, and LearnBoost as well as the new apps launching today.

Google suggests that as more tools are identified they will be added to the suite of Education based tools on the marketplace. These include web applications by Blackboard, Knewton and the Khan Academy. To read the full announcement check out the link below.

http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/01/google-apps-just-got-smarter.html

Interactive Youtube Videos

Knewton GMAT have developed a series of interactive learning videos on Youtube. The nature of the videos allows for the students to choose the ending of the video. This feature also allows the video to be used as a multiple choice quiz. These are great for setting up procedures or explaining concepts that your students may need to re-visit in order to understand them correctly. It is also another way for students to have access to their own learning resources 24/7.

Knewton has even been generous enough to give instruction on how to make these yourself on their blog. They do suggest there is a learning curve but one that would be well worth it.

http://www.knewton.com/blog/edtech/education-edtech/2010/12/15/how-to-make-an-interactive-lesson-using-youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLPq4AcH-bc&feature=player_embedded