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Rice + Academics
January 10, 2012
Introduction:
Veronica Rae Saron
is a Google Student Ambassador at
Rice University
. In this four-part blog series, Rice+, Veronica will share about the various creative ways that the Rice community is using Google+ to enhance their world. Stay tuned for the second post in this series, which will be published in January.
We have only just begun to scrape the surface in terms of the impact Google+ can have on education. At the bottom of this post I’ve included links to a bunch of resources that talk about Google+'s new role in education, but first I would like to share with you the ways in which some of us have used Google+ at Rice.
+HANGOUT OFFICE HOURS
Right away, Hangouts emerged as a great tool for professors for virtual office hours. Rice is a small university of only about 4,000 undergraduates, which means that most of our classes have less than 40 students. Most of the time, it would make sense for students to talk to professors in person either before, after, or during class. However, for many professors and students finding time face-to-face is difficult, like in the introductory engineering and pre-med classes.
Professor Hafner uses Hangouts to talk about physics with one student.
By the time the Hangout has finished, many students have dropped in and out.
Professors like Jason Hafner of the Physics department are using Hangout technology in order to orchestrate more efficient office hours. Even though he’s an extremely popular professor among the students and enjoys teaching, he’s also very busy with research. By setting a certain window of time during which he is on a Google Hangout, his students can drop in and ask a question. With the “Hangouts with Extras” feature, which includes an online blackboard and Google Docs, students can even have the answer explained in more detail. While Professor Hafner waits for students, he can catch up on work and maximize his productivity.
Professor Hafner is looking forward to using the Hangout office hours feature next semester, in particular for his Physics 102 class, which has over 300 students enrolled. He’s already put together a
Physics 102 Google+ Page
that he plans to use!
+CIRCLING-UP EDUCATION
Since I’m a Mathematical Economic Analysis and Film Studies double major, my classes tend to be small. Therefore, it isn’t usually necessary to attend office hours since emails to my professors serve that purpose. But this doesn’t mean that I don’t use Google+ for my academic needs.
Not going to lie, I’m a bit of a nerd, and I genuinely love the coursework for my two majors. So, what better way to engage with my majors than to have Circles dedicated to them? My
“Your Marginal Benefit Circle”
is a Circle devoted entirely to economics – I follow economists and economic enthusiasts of all opinions on that feed, and I frequently read the articles that they post as I procrastinate doing my problem sets (one of the parts about being a math econ major that I don’t like).
Also the photo and film communities on Google+ are thriving. I keep fantastic photographers like
Thomas Hawk
and filmmakers like
Brad Kremer
in my
“Film/Photo Gods Circle”
, which feeds my creativity and inspiration when I need a boost. Even when I just want to procrastinate, it’s fun to flip through
Trey Ratcliff
’s photos and gawk in awe.
My "Film/Photo Gods" stream (above) tells me the latest in photography and films,
and my "Your Marginal Benefit" stream (below) takes care of my economic knowledge.
+MORE
Of course, it’s no surprise that across the Internet, educators are taking advantage of Google+’s sleek and sophisticated interface to enhance learning worldwide. Here are a few examples and links that talk about the newest innovations in Google+ education technology that you can engage with and learn about:
Google+ for Universities
Stanford’s
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence class
is entirely online and uses Google Hangouts for worldwide office hours
This
UNL professor
uses Hangouts for office hours
Boise State student Taylor Bell wrote a
blog post
about how he uses Google+ at college
18 ways
teachers can use Google+ Hangouts in education
Learning Solutions
guide to Google+ Hangouts with Education
Do you have any other ideas about how to integrate Google+ with education? Or, do you have links that feature Google+ and education? Share them in the comments below!
Posted by Veronica Rae Saron, Google Student Ambassador
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