Here is a couple of ideas relating to the use of Google Notebook in
the classroom. Taken from my blog at
http://tbarrett.edublogs.org I
hope to use Notebook more and more this year. I hope you find them
useful and please contribute more.
1. Collect info and images related to various curriculum topics
that the class is working on. Organise these with different notebooks,
so an Egyptians notebook for work in history etc.
2. Using the ability to share any notebook with invited
collaborators is a great way to build community based research within
a class. So imagine asking pairs of children or individuals to
research different topics within a subject. Online work can be then
saved to a shared notebook which everyone can be involved with and
benefit from as a class.
3. All of the notes taken from the web are immediately fully
referenced, that is the site reference is included. A simple thing but
avoids the, "Wow that's great where did you get it from?" type
question.
4. Notebook would be a great way to use web based text for
comprehension tasks. I have thought that if a Diigo account was used
alongside the work in Google Notebook it could be very powerful.
Signpost and ask questions using the Diigo interface (perhaps a single
class login) and then children respond using notebook. So for example
in a poem you might ask some questions for each stanza. (If you have a
Diigo account take a look at Charles Causley's "My Mother Saw a
Dancing Bear" where I have added some examples.) The children then
respond in a Poetry notebook or something equivalent.
5. Independent reading tasks or guided reading of online texts can
be supported using Diigo sticky notes and the children's responses
formed in notebook.
6. Teachers can respond to notebooks by adding to the "Comment" box
beneath each note. This I suppose is assuming that you have access to
those individual accounts, or notebooks either by logging in or being
added as a collaborator. Mmm need to think that one through...perhaps
adding collaborators is a must learn skill.
7. Notebooks can easily be exported to Google Docs so kids can have
this as the bear bones of a piece of text they can really get stuck
into, again further collaboration is possible there too.
8. I like the fact that the children are not working in too many
places at once, just a little pop up window in the browser, never
leave your browser mentality - their notes are very quickly formed and
this necessitates a need for higher order note taking skills.
Notebooks can be viewed and managed in a full screen site via a Google
account and I have added a iGoogle gadget to my home page so I can
access them directly from there. I think that this will a useful tool
in the suite of Google apps as it is simple and not overcomplicated
but still powerful when deployed in the correct instance.
I look forward to getting started with this in my class and perhaps
hearing more about it being used elsewhere, please share your
experiences of Google Notebook in your classroom. Talking of the
possibilities is one thing but actual successful practice is something
different, I will no doubt have a better perspective on managing and
utilising this when my class get stuck in.
