Google Apps Meets Common Core

by Michael J. Graham

Maximize learning and exceed Common Core requirements using Google s suite of easy-to-use tools. Includes step-by-step guidance, screen shots, links, and sample K-12 lesson plans.

Genres: Professional Development, Technology, Education

248 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 23, 2013

Reviews

[Jacqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Graham's "Google Apps Meets Common Core" (Corwin 2013) is exactly what I hoped it would be. As a teacher, there couldn't be two bigger topics than 'Google Apps for Education' and 'Common Core'. Juxtaposing the two instantly caught my attention. My only question was whether Graham would be up to the task.

He is.

Graham does a great job of going through all the parts of Google Apps, showing steps with lots of pictures, so I can almost walk through them in the book without trundling over to my computer. He starts with a pithy summary of Common Core and then goes through each tool--Docs, Spreadsheet, Presentations, and more.. He also provides quick, educational uses of each piece--sometimes a full lesson plan. Then there are the nuggets that make it worth reading even if nothing else catches your attention. Like learning how to embed Google Docs into a website, blog, wiki (page 34). I used that the first day I got the book.

Graham has a good writing voice. It's clear, able to simplify what could be technical geekie points that I want and need to know as a teacher. By the time I finished the book, I felt a lot better about aligning to Common Core and using Google Apps.The only part I was a bit disappointed in was the 'companion website'--not at all up to what the book delivered. Hopefully, he'll work on that over the coming months.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this text by my administrator after I recommended it as a possible resource of interest on my Google+ account. After seeing my recommendation, he purchased the text and gave it to me to review. As an educator who is somewhat Google savvy, I still found this text to be extremely helpful. The 'tie-ins' for Google Apps with the Common Core were on target and insightful. The recommended lessons are practical. The step-by-step guides were user-friendly (but some views in the text are slightly different in format than what I see on the current live version, but that is to be expected). There is a whole Google-world to explore with this resource. I will definitely recommend this text to my colleagues.

[Liz Shine]

I pulled a few good teaching ideas from this book, but mostly the book was below my reading level, as I have lots of experience using Google Apps already. On top of the book being less useful than I thought it would be, the writer wasted a lot of space scratching Google's back, justifying technology education, and extolling the new Common Core.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Google Apps for Education is a really interesting enterprise that Google has ventured upon, but I didn't gain much from this book as I had used all of these tools before on my own through just playing around. I would have been interested in seeing what Google Classroom was all about since my personal account does not have this feature.

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for teachers of all grade levels. Easy to follow and comprehensive info. Takes lots of organization and planning for the teacher, but once you understand the basics Gooogle is a very usual tool.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas and resources. Liked that it was in digital form - was able to save some of the links.