What does going Google mean?

"Going Google" means switching all of your internal services (Email, file storage, calendaring, etc) to Google alternatives. Google offers a wide variety of services, apps, and other helpful tools to help run a business, school or even personal affairs. Although many schools and organizations are using Google in one way or another, only handfuls have made a complete switch. It is undoubtedly true that Google, more specifically apps, have had a huge benefit toward teaching and learning that any school would be foolish to ignore.


 

So what does this mean for COAST?

School is where we go to learn, but when we need to find a quick answer so many of us use the word Google and the word research interchangeably. Through Google's many tools and apps, teachers and students can quickly hone in on the information they need to find or are trying to convey. What this can ultimately mean for a school, such as our, is with the aid of Google and their extensive network of technology we can aid students in preparing for the future in the means that suits them. The world and technology evolves on a daily basis, shouldn't the way we present information be passed on in a way that is current, engaging and meaningful?


 

COAST Students Receiving Tablets!

For the 2015-2016 school year COAST Charter is giving every student in the Middle School the chance to use technology to the fullest through the use of Android tablets. Administration, students and teachers are all eager to see what this boost to technology can do for our students in the classroom. The initial move to the tablets has been well received by all parties involved.  Students will be able to take home their own tablets to study, eliminating the need for carrying notes and books home. The limits of learning seem almost endless with these new devices.


 

Tablets in the Media

In a mere four years, tablets have gone from gee-whiz gadgets to household items. And in the field of education, they have become a must-have for students and teachers.

Between 41 percent and 66 percent of students in K-12 schools had access to mobile devices at home and in the classroom in 2013, according to Speak Up, an initiative of the education nonprofit Project Tomorrow. And that number continues to grow as educators and policymakers tap into the movement.

"When tablets are used effectively in the classroom, I've had teachers tell me they can never go back to the way they taught before," says Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, which tracks technology in K-12 classrooms.

Teachers use the technology in a variety of ways. Learning apps, online educational videos, e-textbooks and Internet access can enhance the classroom experience. And one of the biggest benefits is the real-time feedback on how students learn and retain new material; with polling apps, teachers can know right away if a struggling student needs extra help.

While tablets have been in some classrooms since 2010, it's taken a few years for teachers to learn how to use them effectively. That effort is still continuing, but the overwhelming majority of educators think it's worth the time and effort. In fact, 81 percent of teachers think mobile devices enrich classroom education, according to a 2012 survey by PBS LearningMedia.

With tablets, teachers need to think differently about how they guide the classroom experience, Evans says. "Often it means a migration to more project-based learning," as opposed to the teacher mainly lecturing during class time, she says.

With the popularity of online lessons such as those offered for free by the Khan Academy, students can reverse the routine, listening to the lecture during homework time at night and using their teacher's guidance to do homework in the classroom during the day.

-USAToday.com