5. MANAGING AND OPERATING ICT

SELECT AND USE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

URL     https://applieddigitalskills.withgoogle.com/c/college-and-continuing-education/en/effective-communications-at-work/overview.html

Description    An online lesson sequence

Platform    A website accessible by all internet-connected devices

Cost + licensing    Free

Target cohort    Adult learners; lessons also available for students 11+ years 

Explanation    This Google-developed lesson addresses defining and planning information searches, selecting and using ICT independently and collaboratively. This is a long format lesson of six to nine hours, using a range of Google apps to complete the tasks. The focus of this lesson is communication, a ubiquitous theme in VET. 

Assessment    Following a series of video lessons, learners use Google apps such as Docs, Forms, Sheets, Calendar, Slides and Hangouts to prepare for and run an online meeting in Lesson 1. As students work through the lessons, they are guided through the use of each app, learning which tool is most appropriate for each task. To track progress, students must create a Google profile and login. Understanding the main types of (Google) software, used can then be applied to other formats as required in the (eventual) workplace (Digital Education Advisory Group, 2013).  

UNDERSTAND ICT SYSTEMS

URL     https://www.polleverywhere.com/

Description    A synchronous polling tool

Platform    All internet-connected devices including Mac & PC, and mobile devices

Cost + licensing    Free for education use of up to 40 responses per poll

Target cohort    5+ years, tertiary and business 

Explanation    Users can integrate Poll Everywhere with their presentation or use stand-alone to create a contest or ask a question of the audience. The audience can respond via their phones, tablets or computers to multi-choice questions, click on images, rank choices and contribute to word clouds for a more engaging in-class experience. 

Assessment    Students install the app on their phones, and integrate to their own presentations, demonstrating an understanding of what is required to fit their needs.  Real-time polling activities supports students lending their voice to a debate, anonymously asking questions, or even competing in knowledge quizzes. Formative assessment is supported with a quiz at the end of the class to determine the overall understanding of the concepts covered by the group when used by the teacher. Unfortunately the free version of Poll Everywhere does not provide individual student data (Gillispie, 2013).  

MANAGE DIGITAL DATA

URL     https://www.google.com/drive/

Description    An online content repository

Platform    All internet-connected devices including Mac & PC, mobile devices

Cost + licensing    Free for up to 15GB of storage capacity

Target cohort    8+ years 

Explanation    Google Drive is a cloud-based content management system linked to a Google profile. Users can back up and sync the contents of desired folders on their computer, accessing files from any device by logging in. Users can share specific files or folders with others and search their drive. 

Assessment    Use of a cloud content repository enables collaboration in a secure environment, with students able to securely share files and folders without making them public. If collaborators all have editing capabilities, each individual can contribute to the maintenance and growth of the repository, adding to the growing knowledge bank, as guided by their teacher (Álvarez Ferrón & Sánchez Cañizares, 2014; Rowe, Bozalek, & Frantz, 2013). An additional benefit is the transfer of control into the hands of students, promoting ownership and responsibility.