Old Dogs, New Tricks; Not Broken, Don’t Fix It; and All That Jazz: My experience with implementing my equity lesson with Google Meet
by Andrea Floyd
I love all things Google! Well, almost all things. My district has used Schoology Conference and Zoom for our virtual classroom platforms. While the two were different, the transition from Schoology to Zoom was basically problem free. I cannot remember any major issues with the flow of my virtual lessons once I determined the classroom management differences (letting members in, muting, creating small groups, etc.). I chose Google Meet and Edpuzzle as my new resources. Implementing Edpuzzle as a way to include an instructional video and create my own assessment related to the information from the video was a great way to engage students with multiple learning styles. I chose a Crash Course video; while they are exceptional resources, they can be rather information “heavy.” Edpuzzle afforded me the option of offering assessments after short, meaningful segments of the video. I will be using Edpuzzle quite often.
Google Meet will not make my “repeat user” list. Zoom is the platform that I must use for my district, and my district has blocked me from logging in to Google Meet on my district-issued computer. Once I logged in using my older, slower, personal laptop, the sound quality was lacking and the image was extremely grainy. I know that these are 1st world problems, but they would inhibit my ability to teach and engage my students. The last thing a classroom needs as we make our way through a pandemic is another problem. For me, Google Meet was I problem that I will not be dealing with in my classroom.
