I attended the PD session "Finding Gold in Google Chrome," led by Anne Beck, at 10:00 on 18 November. Ms. Beck showed us various ways to use Google Chrome to increase productivity and collaboration in the classroom. She explained that you can move your history and bookmarks from device to device by logging into the Chrome browser. She showed us how to add Google Cloud printers, which I found very helpful. We then learned the difference between apps and extensions. While apps are basically just fancy bookmarks, extensions actually change what Chrome can do. Most are free and save a lot of time with everyday tasks, like sending links by email. One of my favorites Ms. Beck showed us is "draft back," which allows you to replay the entire editing history of a Google Doc. There are even extensions, or "add-ons" that exist within Google Drive to help you edit your documents. In the future, my colleagues and students are likely to use Google products, especially when it comes to collaboration. Competency with these products and their robust capabilities will help me collaborate, teach my students new skills, and teach my students good digital citizenship.
