Information and communications technology (ICT) found its way into the classroom, and it is impossible to imagine the modern educational process without it. The teaching models also adopted technologies to serve a specific purpose relevant to the aspect they emphasize. However, due to their shared characteristics that facilitate learning, ICT manages to be universally instrumental. This paper will discuss the way technologies enhance the teaching models using a Google site.
Every teaching model aims to make learning multifaceted and relevant for the current time, which a mere website can also support. One of the main characteristics of the models is helping a student discover new ways to learn, and a Google site offers various instruments to make it possible (Joyce et al., 2015). A teacher can combine more traditional ways of conveying information, either by typing directly or attaching a text file, with multimedia, which also has multiple options. The share function allows the creator to make their website editable by others. It supports the constructivist orientation of the models, which gives students an opportunity to participate in constructing the environment for gaining knowledge (Joyce et al., 2015). A Google site can have many pages, so it would be meaningful to put a student in charge of one. A personal teaching website’s value should not be underestimated as a means of scaffolding the educational process (Joyce et al., 2015). A Google site cannot be used as a sole distance learning instrument, but it can be an information hub for other tools necessary for students to achieve new heights.
The Internet’s global reach provides many opportunities to learn and cooperate. Although a Google site does not have a chat function, it is still possible to create a page for delayed or real-time communication by sharing the link with students from other countries. Cooperation with classmates following the same logic is also valid, although it would be more useful for generating new content than communicating. Students, individually or in groups, are also free to create their websites and integrate it within the ecosystem with the teacher’s website as the basis. Regardless of the level, a Google site is an appropriate platform for collaboration, which is an essential part of any teaching model (Joyce et al., 2015). If students find such a website limiting compared to other means of online communication, it can be used, as mentioned before, as a hub that will contain their contacts.
If a teacher and students are successful at establishing a link with international students using a Google site, they may further facilitate it to the best advantage. The local and foreign sides can use YouTube, which is a part of the Google ecosystem, and make introductory videos, or, later, those that are devoted to a particular topic. It will enhance global awareness, but the execution will depend on the chosen family (Joyce et al., 2015). The information-process one may prioritize presenting and collecting data, while the social family models will probably focus on making videos in groups or role-playing typical social situations in a country (Joyce et al., 2015). It would also be instrumental in drawing attention to various inappropriate and taboo topics, which will help avoid disruptions during global cooperation. As a result, students’ cultural literacy will improve, and they might be more willing to come in contact with people belonging to other cultures (Joyce et al., 2015). In a global world, such skills are invaluable, and the sooner a teacher provides an opportunity to develop them, the more prepared student might become.
As evident from the advantages of a Google site, it can enhance the characteristics shared by all teaching models, but the process does not happen in isolation. The platform also manages to integrate them, as a single function, for instance, adding a YouTube video, can serve different purposes simultaneously, such as helping to learn and cooperating with other students. Moreover, a Google site automatically implies creativity and 21st-century skills, as it acts as a perfect whiteboard with appropriate tools for enhancing cognitive ICT abilities (Joyce et al., 2015). A teacher may choose to emphasize a particular characteristic while using the platform, but all of them will be present and continue to facilitate learning.
Reference
Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Calhoun, E. (2015). Models of teaching (9th ed.). Pearson.