GOOGLE GLASS for Educators
A great feature of Google Glass is its ability to capture photos and record videos in an incredibly user-friendly fashion. Google Glass is equipped with a five-megapixel (MP) camera, as well as other software such as high definition range (HDR) imaging to improve the quality of pictures taken. There is also a microphone for voice, sound and music recording. Because Google Glass is hands-free, users have the opportunity to photograph and record things they may not have been able to before. In this way, the user is able to capture unique, firsthand experiences and adventures, particularly through videos, that they can subsequently share with ease.
Check out this video that demonstrates what users of Google Glass can see, experience and record through photos and videos.
Given the user-friendly nature of Google Glass for taking photos and recording videos, there are lots of ways in which teachers and students can utilize these capabilities to enrich learning. Here are some options:
Photos and Videos in the Classroom
Flipped learning is an approach to teaching wherein what is traditionally done at school (i.e., lecture, lesson) versus at home (i.e., application, practice) is reversed. Educators who implement this approach typically create or utilize interactive videos in which they are instructing students on a particular concept. The videos may involve them doing examples, sharing important ideas or demonstrating something. Students are expected to watch these short videos at home and when they come to school, class time is spent applying the concepts and ideas from the video/lesson in the form of hands-on activities, problems, labs and experiments. Further, entire lessons and demonstrations can be recorded and then posted online and viewed.
Google Glass can undoubtedly help in the creation of videos for flipped learning. Because Google Glass is wearable, there are many more possibilities for creating videos and demonstrating the concepts in the lesson. The user-friendly nature of Google Glass makes it easy to record videos and even easier to share them. This can be done for any area of the curriculum.
Student Assessment: Teachers are always looking for ways to truly and authentically capture student learning. Google Glass can help! Simply have students put on Google Glass and record videos or capture photos.
Teacher Reflection: Google Glass can also help teachers reflect on their own practice. Teachers can record themselves and replay it to determine strengths and areas for improvement. Teachers can also have a student record a lesson from their point of view. Recording and sharing lessons increases transparency in the classroom.
Flipped Learning
Assessment &
Reflection
Check out what one teacher has to say about flipping your classroom
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Record a student doing a hands-on activity and explaining their thinking, such as using math manipulatives to solve a problem
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If a student is struggling with something, have them record what they are doing, so you can replay it and provide feedback
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Record discussions and group work
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Have a student record their learning from start to finish on a project (i.e., art piece, science experiment, writing piece)
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Have students use Google Glass to create videos or photo montages for culminating tasks
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Student recordings can be replayed to the whole class to allow for self and peer reflection and feedback
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Photos can document learning across the year
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Videos and photos can become part of student portfolios
Here are some ways to use Google Glass to assess student learning
As easy as it is to take photos and make videos with Google Glass, it is also incredibly easy to share them. Sharing Google Glass photos and videos can connect home and school and engage parents and the larger school/global community in the learning process. Photos and videos can be posted to a class blog, emailed home or shared via social media (Twitter, Edmodo, Instagram, Google +).
Sharing Learning
Flipped learning provides a lots of potential benefits, including:
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Freeing up class time for individualized attention, group work and guided learning
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Using class time for problem-based learning and more hands-on activities/application
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Increasing student engagement and student-directed learning
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Improved retention and comprehension of concepts
References
How to:
Taking a picture or recording a video could not be easier with Google Glass. With the latest version of this device, all you have to do is:
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Use voice commands: “Ok glass, take a picture” or “Ok glass, record a video” OR
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Touch the camera button
For pictures, you can also just “wink”, as shown
Meeting all Needs
Google Glass’s photo and video capabilities can help improve the learning of all students, including those who may struggle or those who have special needs. Here’s just a few ways how:
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Voice commands make its use easy
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Lessons and instructions can be recorded and replayed if repetition is needed
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Videos and photos are beneficial for auditory and visual learners
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For students who struggle to write, videos can record their thinking and solutions to problems
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The camera is hands-free, which is beneficial for students with physical limitations
Photos and Videos & Google Glass
Check out this blog, which documents one teacher's sharing of her students' use of Google Glass
Dunn, J. (10 May 2013). The teacher’s guide to google glass. Edudemic. Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/the-teachers-guide-to-google-glass/
Gatens, B. P. (2014). Google glass offers promise and peril for teachers. Concordia University Online. Retrieved from http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/principals-office/google-glass-offers-promise-and-peril-for-teachers/
Google. (2014). Pictures and video. Retrieved from https://support.google.com/glass/answer/3079688?hl=en&ref_topic=3079640
Grinberg, E. (11 February 2014). Would you want google glass in class? CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/10/living/google-glass-in-schools/
Powers, M. A. (2014). 365 days of glass- Inspired by #ifkidshadglass. Retrieved from http://365daysofglass.com/
Powers, M. A. (26 November 2013). Seeing the classroom through google glass. EdSurge. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/n/2013-11-26-seeing-the-classroom-through-google-glass
Schrock, K. (5 December 2013). Google glass in class. Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything. Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/google-glass-in-class.html
Yarbro, J., Arfstrom, K. M., McKnight, K., & McKnight, P. (2014). Extension of a review of flipped learning. Flipped Learning Network, 1-17. Retrieved from http://flippedlearning.org/cms/lib07/VA01923112/Centricity/Domain/41/Extension%20of%20FLipped%20Learning%20LIt%20Review%20June%202014.pdf
Picture References
http://www.bloggerwits.com/2013/11/googles-smart-glasses-with-amazing-features/
https://support.google.com/glass/answer/3079305?hl=en
https://support.google.com/glass/answer/4347178?hl=en&ref_topic=3079640
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2013-11-26-seeing-the-classroom-through-google-glass
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/10/living/google-glass-in-schools/