RunningHead:LITERATUREREVIEW

LiteratureReview,CIPGroup1

AnneHarbottle,SeanMcFarlane,GretaSmelko,DanielChow

ETEC532

Mar/20/2016

UniversityofBritishColumbia

LITERATUREREVIEW

AnnotatedBibliography

Brown,M.,HocuttD.(2015).Learningtouse,usefulforlearning:Ausabilitystudyofgoogle
appsforeducation.
JournalofUsabilityStudies,
Volume10,Issue4.Retrievedfrom
http://uxpajournal.org/usabilitystudygoogleappseducation/

Summary:
Thekeypointsinthisscholarlystudyincluderesearchintotheintegrated
effectivenessoftheGoogleAppsforEducation(GAFE)platforminasecondaryschool.The
mixedmodequalitativeandquantitativestudyfoundanacceptanceofthetheGAFEplatform
withlittledeviationbetweenitsvariousproductswithinthesoftwaresuite.

Analysis,synthesis:
Thestudyisflawedwithrespecttotheconveniencesamplingmethodof
obtainingvolunteerparticipantswithinintactclasses.Itisunclearwhenreadingthroughthe
detailsofthestudywhethertheyareusingtheGAFEplatformavailabletoeducationaland
businessclientsorthefreeofferingofGoogleAppsavailabletoanyone,whichbecomes
importantinthatthereisasubstantialdifferencebetweenthetwoplatforms.Inaddition,the
wordingswitchesbetweenthetermsGoogleDocs"and"GoogleDrive",althoughtheyarenot
interchangeable.Thisaddstotheconfusionbecause"GoogleDrive"superseded"GoogleDocs"
inlate2013accompaniedbyasignificantupgrade.

LITERATUREREVIEW

Chow,D.(2015).Chromebooksintheclassroom.[videofile].Retrievedfrom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpa7LzHLTXE
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQQKDsfws8s

Summary:
Chromebooksarenotebookcomputers,whichrunaChromeOperatingSystemnot
aWindowsorMacoperatingsystem.Consequently,Chromebookcannotrunprograms,suchas
MicrosoftOfficeorPhotoshop,becauseitlackstheabilitytoinstallprograms.Theonlyprogram
thatitrunsisaChromebrowser.However,anythingthatyoucandoinawebbrowseryoucan
doonaChromebook.Inadditiontoonlineofficeproductivitysuites,suchasGoogleApps/
Drive,Office365andZohooffice,aChromebookmaybeusedtomakemovies,recordandmix
audio,watchmoviesand,connecttocameras,videorecordersandotherUSBdevices.Google
alsoprovidesamethodofmanagingthesettingsforallthedevicesthroughitsChrome
ManagementConsole.

Analysis,synthesis:
A11.5"Chromebookcostsapproximately$280forahigherenddevice,
whichcomparespositivelyonthepricepointforalowerendmodelofaWindowsNotebookor
aniPad.Asaresult,aschoolmaypurchaseaclasssetof32ofthesedevices,witharollercharge
cart,forapproximately$12,000,whichisaboutonethirdofthepriceforalowmodelPClab
andaboutonefifthofthepriceforaMaclab.Howeverthereareseveraldrawbacks.A
ChromebookdoesnothaveaccesstoeithertheAppleiOSAppstoreortheAndroidAppstore.
MoreoveritcannotrunanyWindowsprograms.Italsoreliesonwirelessinternet,withoutita

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Chromebookisnearlyuseless.Regardless,whenconsideringthesubstantialamountofworkone
mayaccomplishwithawebbrowser,thehumble,lowcostChromebookisacontender.

Curts,E.(2016,February18)The4Csofeducation[Weblogmessage].Retrievedfrom
http://www.controlaltachieve.com/2016/02/4csofeducation.html

Summary:
Inhisblog/videopost,EricCurtspointsoutthateducatorsoughttolookattheskills
studentsneedtobeproductivecitizensintodayssociety.Hestatesthattheseskillscanbe
groupedintothe4Cs:communication,collaboration,creativityandcriticalthinking.Ateacher
shouldappraisetheirteachingandtoolswiththe4Csaswellasappraisingtheirstudents4Cs
sothattheymayapplythe4Csinaprofessionalmanner.CurtssuggeststhatGoogleAppsisan
excellenttooltodevelopsuchskills.

AnalysisandSynthesis:
Accordingtotheblog/video,The4CsofEducationare21century
skills,whichisabroadtermusedinseveraleducationtechnologyarticles.However,the4Cs
(Communication,Collaboration,CreativityandCriticalthinking)maybegroupedandlabelled
intoamoreuserfriendlyfashionsothateducatorswillbebetterabletoensuretheirplans
includealltheseskills.Mymajorconcernisthatteachers,whoarenottechnologicallysavvy,
maybeoverwhelmedandalienated.

LITERATUREREVIEW

Curts,E.(2016,February18)The4Csofeducation[Weblogmessage].Retrievedfrom
http://www.controlaltachieve.com/2016/02/4csofeducation.html

Summary:
Thistextoutlineshowtocreateauthenticlearningenvironmentswhichfocuson
inquirybasedlearning.Thebookisformattedintosections,whichmaybecompleted
individuallyorbuiltupon,tohelpguideteachersandschoolsincreatingtheselearning
environments.Theadvantages,disadvantagesandchallengesofthesesectionsarediscussed
alongwithexemplarsonhowtocreatethisenvironmentwithinaclassroom.
AnalysisandSynthesis:
Pahomovprovidesthebackgroundrationaleonthedevelopmentofthe
bookaswellasanecdotalaccountsofitsimplementation.Shepointsoutnotonlyshiftsthat
haveoccurredineducationalmindsetsbutalsohowpedagogyhasnotinitselfchangedbutthe
developmentofthewayweaddressit.AlthoughshedoesnotspecificallyadvocateGAFE,itis
evidentthatprogramslikeGAFEmayassistthedevelopmentofinquirybasedlearning.The
authordiscussestheintegrationofcollaborationandtheneedforstudentstoworkbothatschool
andoutsideschooltoaccomplishtasksand,thatshareddocumentsandworkingspacesoutside
theclassroomarebeneficial.Inaddition,shementionsreflectingononesworkandtheneedto
discussandevaluateprocessallwhicharepossiblewiththeuseofGoogleApps.

LITERATUREREVIEW

Davis,VickiA.(2014).
ReinventingWriting:The9toolsthatarechangingwritingteaching,and
learningforever.
NewYork:Routledge.
Summary:
Thebookisaguidetochangingtheapproachtowritingintheclassroom.Itprovides
avarietyofwaystochangehowaclassroomteachermaylookatwritingtofacilitatemoving
fromtraditionalessayswithpenandpapertoadigitalformatswithepapers,enotebooks,blogs
andwebsites.
AnalysisandSynthesis:
ThetextdoesnotdirectlyconnectwithGoogleApps,however,itdoes
providewaysteachersmaychangetheirapproachtowritingintheclassroominwhichthe
suggestedmethodsallowforGoogleAppstoexcel.Thereisdiscussionofcollaborationandpeer
editingaswellascloudbasedstorageallitemsavailableintheGoogleAppportfolio.Davis
providesguidelinestoteachdigitalcitizenshipandbuildawritingcommunityforstudents,as
well.Thebooksisahowtoforredefiningwritingintheclassroom.
Ferreira,J.M.M.(2014).Flippedclassrooms:Fromconcepttorealityusinggoogleapps.Paper
presentedatthe204208.doi:10.1109/REV.2014.6784256
Summary:
ThisarticleprovidesabriefoverviewofaflippedclassroomandtheGoogle
portfolioandoutlineshowaGoogleAppsportfoliomaybeusedtodevelopaflippedclassroom.
AnalysisandSynthesis:
ThearticlestronglyfavoursGoogleAppsandprovidesclearexamples
ofhowitcanbeusedtodevelopaflippedclassroom.Itshouldbenotedthatthearticledoesnot
dismissotherelearningplatformsbutsuggeststhatGoogleAppsisoneofthebestalternatives
becauseitoffersanintegratedplatformandisfree.Inaddition,thearticlediscussesthe

LITERATUREREVIEW

pedagogicalbenefitsofusingGoogleAppstheauthorstronglyfavoursaconstructivistapproach
tolearning.

McFarlane,S.(2016).Googleappsforeducationanalysis[Videofile].Retrievedfrom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ongnLaCo4kA
Summary:
ThevideodescribesanoverviewofGoogleAppsforEducationanddiscusses
variousreasonsforusingthemintheclassroom,whichare:
freetouse,
accessiblefromanydeviceand,
aresecure.
Thebenefitstoeducation,suchascollaboration,aredescribedinthevideoand,thedrawbacks
toGoogleAppsforEducation,forexampletherequirementforInternetaccess,areconsidered.
ThevideoconcludesbyoutliningsomeofthefeaturesofGoogleClassroomausefulappin
GoogleAppsforEducation.
AnalysisandSynthesis:
Aswithothernonacademicresources,thisvideoprovidesageneral
overviewofGoogleAppsforEducation,whichallowsviewerstoseethehighlightstheApps
havetoofferbut,moreimportantly,itshowsthedrawbacksaswellasrealworldapplications.

LITERATUREREVIEW

Mollica,A.(2014).Transformingclassroomtechnologywithgoogleappsforeducation.
Teach,

12&27,27.Retrievedfrom
http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://search

.proquest.com/docview/1613163760?accountid=14656

Summary:
Theauthor,aTechnologyIntegrationSpecialistinajuniorhighschool,explains
howusingtechnologybeforegooglewasdifficultandpainfulbecauseofthenumberof
challenges.MollicafindsthatGAFEhelpsovercomethesechallengesbyputtingallthetoolsin
oneareaandseesGAFEashelpingteachersprovidebetterfeedback,assessmentaswellasan
increaseinstudentandteacherenjoymentofprojects.

AnalysisandSynthesis:
Mollicaexplanationofbeforegoogletechnologycorrespondstothe
experiencesofmanyteacherswhenincorporatingtechnologyintotheirclassroomprojects.The
discussionofanincreaseinfeedbackandassessmentisvaluablebecausetheseneedtohappen
ensurelearningisoccurring.Oneconcernisthatshefailstomentionabouttheteachers
learningcurveinusingGAFE.HerbiasasTechnologyIntegrationSpecialistshowsanditmay
havebeenhelpfultosharetheviewoftheregularclassroomteacher.

LITERATUREREVIEW

Nevin,R.(2009).Supporting21stcenturylearningthroughgoogleapps.
TeacherLibrarian,
37
(2),35.
Summary:
ThearticleoutlinesthebenefitsandusesofGoogleApps.Initially,thearticle
sketchesmanyoftheconcernsfacedineducationtodaywithtechnologyfromitsavailabilityto
itscompatibilitybetweentheschoolandthehome.Thearticlediscussestheimplementationof
GoogleAppsinhisschoolaswellastheusesandimprovementsthatwerenotedbecauseofits
use.
AnalysisandSynthesis:
NevinadvocatestheuseofcloudcomputingandGoogleAppsbecause
oftheiravailabilityandeasetouse.Thisarticleillustratestheeaseatwhichstudentbegantouse
theGoogleAppsoutsidetheirdesignatedclasses.Itshowstheversatilityandneedthatitfillsin
aschoolsetting.Italsoaddressesmanycommonissuespresentinschoolsofavailabilityand
compatibilitywithworkfromhometoschool.Nevinsoutlinedthebenefitsofusingthecloudto
storeandsharedocumentswithstudentsandteachers.

Oakes,C.(2011,Nov.21).Specialneedsstudentsusingcollaborativegoogleappsby

CherylOakes[WebLogMessage].Retrievedfrom
http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=100&entryid=471
Summary:
Thisblogpostbyahighschoolteacherwhoworkswithspecialneedsstudents
describestheneededorganizationalskillswhenworkingwithstrugglingorspecialneeds
students.Oakesstatesthat,havingassignmentsinonelocationhelpsincreaseassignmentsbeing

LITERATUREREVIEW

handedinaswellasprovidingsimpleexamplesofhowtousegoogledocstohelpthese
students.
AnalysisandSynthesis
:Oakesideasfostercollaborationanddifferentiationinadditionto
increasingfeedbacktostrugglingstudents.Oakespointsoutthatorganizationalskillsare
overlookedbymanyteachers.Theabilityforsuchstudentstohavetheirassignmentsandwork
inonelocationthatcanbeaccessedatschoolandathomeisidealandrelievesthestudents
anxietyoverlosinghomeworkandangerinhavingtostartagain.Oakesthoughtsonwriting
withGoogledocsnotonlysupportsspecialneedsstudentsbutalsocollaborativelearningamong
allstudents.Inmyexperience,rememberingapasswordmaybeanissueinteachingspecial
needsstudentslearninghowtouseGAFE.However,ifGAFEisintegratedintoaschooldistrict,
strugglingstudentsmayreceivemultipleyearsofpractisemakingitmorefamiliarineach
passingyear.

Stiglitz,J.(2011,May16).32waystousegoogleappsintheclassroom[Videofile].Retrieved
from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI1CNpa0rU
Summary:
ThisisarecordedwebinardevelopedbyGooglewithaquickintroductionto
GoogleAppsforEducation(GAFE)leadinginto32practicalexamplesofhowtousethe
differentappsinaKto12school.Thepresenteroutlinesmultiplewaystouseeachapp,suchas
Googledocs,Googleforms,calendar,Gmail,Googletalkandsites,togetherwithadetailed
explanationwithstepbystepinstructionscreatedforteachers.Thevideoendswithactual
examplesofGAFEbeingusedinclassrooms.

LITERATUREREVIEW

AnalysisandSynthesis:
Thisvideoisusefulbecauseitiscreatedfortheteachersothata
teachertobetterabletointegrateGAFEintotheirclassroom.Moreover,alinktotheGoogle
slidesusedinthevideoisgivensothatteachersmayreviewitlater.Sincetheamountof
informationmayoverwhelmateachernewtoGAFE,itmayhavebeenbettertoallowquestions
tobeaskeddirectlyinthewebinar.Inaddition,thesoundqualityandlengthofthevideomay
haveputoffviewers.

TechnologyforTeacherandStudents.(2015,August10).Googleclassroomtutorial2015.
[videofile].Retrievedfrom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTWYf4PTLPw
Summary:
GoogleClassroomisaSoftwareasaService(SaaSorallonlinesoftwareproduct)
offeredbyGooglethatisonlyavailablewithintheGAFEplatform.Originally,thisproductwas
billedasafullfeaturedlearningmanagementtool(LMS).Itisonlyinitsfirstfullyearoffull
implementationoutsideofbetatesting.
Analysisandsynthesis:
WhileGoogleClassroomofferspowerfulfeatures,fullintegrationinto
theGAFEplatformandprovidesteacherswithmanytools,itlackscertainfeatures.Havingused
thisproductinitsinvitationtrialandbetaphase,Ifoundtheprocessofaddingusersandcreating
classesquitecumbersomeeventhoughitsharesthesamestudentdatabaseastheGAFE
platform.Itismyunderstandingthatitisstilllacksabuiltinmessageforumwhichwouldbea
requirementforanydistributedlearningoronlinecourse.Atbest,thisproductwouldworkwell
withahybridcourseratherthanafullydistributedcourse.

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WiLuCo
InDec(2013,March12).Whygoogleapps?.[videofile].Retrievedfrom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWDI_249CFY
Summary
:Thevideoprovidesa5minuteoverviewofGoogleAppsforEducationdescribing
thebenefitsitoffers,suchasrealtimecollaboration,accessfromanybrowser,provisionof
domainnamesforschoolsand,storingallinformationinsecurecloudbasedservers.In
addition,someofthefeaturesofApps,suchasDocs,SheetsandFormsaredescribed.
AnalysisandSynthesis:
ThevideodescribesconciselysomeofthegreatfeaturesGoogleApps
forEducationhastooffer.ItprovidesanumberofkeyreasonstouseGAFEintheclassroom.
Oneofthemainreasonsthatstandsoutistheabilitytocollaborateondocumentswithpeers.The
teachermayobservetheentireprocess,whichmayaidintheirevaluation.

Zhou,W.,Simpson,E.,Domizi,D.P.(2012).GoogleDocsinanoutofclasscollaborative
writingactivity.
InternationalJournalofTeachingandLearninginHigherEducation,
24(3),359375.
Summary:
AstudytoassesstheeffectivenessofusingGoogleDocstoteachstudentsto
collaborateintheirworkwasconductedinanintroductorypsychologycourseattheUniversity
ofGeorgiaforanoutofclasswritingactivity.Thestudentsweretocommunicatetheir
understandingandapplicationofconceptsthroughwriting.Participantswereseparatedintotwo
groupsoneusingGoogleDocsandoneusingadifferentmethod.Theresearchersfoundthatthe
majorityofstudentsconsideredGoogleDocsausefultoolforgroupworkandconcludedthatit
isausefultoolforstudentlearning.

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AnalysisandSynthesis
:ThearticleprovidesinsightintothecollaborativecapabilitiesGoogle
Docshastooffer.ThemajorityofparticipantshadnotpreviouslyusedGoogleDocs.However,
theyweresuccessfulinutilizingitintheircollaborativeprocesstocreateaneffectivelearning
environment.Unlesspeopleareexposedtonewtechnology,theywillnotunderstanditsbenefits.
Consequently,itbecomesaprerequisitethatpeoplebecomefamiliarwithanduseGoogleDocs,
aswithotherappsintheGAFEsuite,tounderstandtheirpotential.

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LiteratureReview:GoogleAppsforEducation
Introduction
Inusingeducationtechnology,thefourRsaresupersededbythefourCs
communication,collaboration,creativityandcriticalthinking.Thesepedagogicalideas,as
outlinedbyCurts(2016)fortwentyfirstcenturylearners,arenotnewideas.CurtsfourCsare
rootedinVygotskiantheorypioneeredinthe1960sand1970s.ItwasVygotskythatbased
muchofhisresearchontheeffectsofsituatedlearningthroughimmersioninacreativeand
collaborativeenvironment.Howdoesaninfantpickupthemotherlanguageandcultural
practiceswithoutanyformallessonplansorteachers?Sinceaninfantdoesnothaveaprior
language,itbecomestheimmersivenatureofasituatedenvironmentwheretheinfantresides
thatcausesthishyperlearning(Culatta,2015).Ubiquitousandcollaborativetechnologytools,
suchasGoogleAppsforEducation(GAFE),helptorecreatethisimmersivecultureby
providingameansforstudentstocommunicateandcollaborateinrealtime.GAFEisa
multifacetedtoolthatmayprovideanimmersivevirtualexperienceforeachstudent.Brownand
Hocutts(2015)researchfoundthatGAFEwastroublefreeandeasytoimplement.Thus,
GAFEprovidesatroublefree,costeffectiveandeasytousemethodofconnectingstudents
withotherstudentsandexpertsindependentoftheirgeographiclocation.
Fortodaysteacherstocreateproperlya4Cslearningenvironment,theymustknownot
onlythenewtechnologybutalsohowtointegrateitintotheirteaching.TheTechnological
PedagogicalContentKnowledge(TPACK)frameworkhelpsteachersensurethattheyareusing
technologyintheirclassestofostergoodpedagogy.However,KoehlerandMishrastatethat,
teachersalsohavebeenprovidedwithinadequatetrainingforthistask(2009,p.62)Theaimof

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thisLiteratureReviewistoassistteachersinunderstandallaspectsofusingGAFEtoenableits
integrationanduseGAFEintheirclassrooms.Thereviewisdividedintofourareasof
1. ExaminationofthepedagogicalbasisforincludingGAFEintoateachingenvironment
2. AcademicresearchavailableaboutGAFE
3. InformationavailabletoassistteacherstointegrateGAFEintotheirclassroomand,
4. UsingChromebookstoextendandsupportGAFEinschools.
PedagogicalBasis
Educationtodaymustbetransliterate.Studentsmayrelynotonlyonknowledge
impartedbytheteacherortextbookbutalsoonbeingabletoread,writeandinteractacrossa
rangeofplatforms,toolsandmediafromsigningandoralitythroughhandwriting,print,TV,
radioandfilmtodigitalsocialnetworks(Davis,2014,p.3).Therefore,howweapproach
learningmustchange,aswell.Manystudiessupportaconstructivistapproachtolearning.
Studentsretaininformationthroughaccomplishingauthentictasks,whichhavemeaning
(Ferreira,2014,p.205).Therehasbeenashiftinhowinformationispresentedandretainedthe
movehasbeenfromimpartinginformationthatcanbeusedatalaterdatetodevelopingskills
thatapplythroughoutalifetime.TheseskillstobedevelopedaresummarizedbyCurts4Cs
communication,collaboration,creativityandcriticalthinking(2016).Technologyenablesthe
creationofalearningenvironmentthatmayshowcaseanddevelopsuchskills.GAFEoffersa
platformforteachersandstudentsalike,todevelopandpractisetheseskills.LarissaPahomovs
(2014)book,
AuthenticLearninginaDigitalAge,
providesaframeworktodevelopingan
inquirybasedlearningenvironment.Shetouchesonmanyoftheshiftsineducation.Although
pedagogyhasstayedthesame,thewayweapproachithaschanged.Addressingtheneedfor

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educationtobeindividualandstudentdrivenisdifficultbecauseoflimitsonaccesstoresources,
individualassistanceandtime.Thedevelopmentandaccessibilityoftechnologycreatesagreater
easeindevelopingthisformofindividualprogramming.AccordingtothePewResearchCenter,
in2012,93percent[ofteens]hadacomputerathomeand37percenthadtheirownsmart
phone(Pahomov,2014,p.4).Today,studentshaveevengreateraccesstotechnologybut,
technologycomeswithitsownchallenges.Werequirestudentstocompleteworkoutsideclass,
whichcausescompatibilityissueswithoperatingsystems,forgottenworkandequitysothat
teachersareapprehensiveinusingtechnology.ProgramssuchasGAFEallowteachersand
studentsoptions.Itactslikeonestopshoppinginwhichstudentsareusingexactlythesame
computerenvironmentathomeandatschool(Nevin,2009,p.36).

AcademicResearch
Thereisascarcityofacademicresearchstudies,eithersupportingorchallengingGAFE
anditsuseintheclassroom,becauseofitsrelativelynewtechnologytools.Twostudiesstating
positiveresultsfortheuseofGAFEare:
1. In2012,Zhou,Simpson,andDomiziassessedtheeffectivenessofGoogleDocs
anappintheGAFEsuiteinacollaborativeactivityattheUniversityofGeorgia.
TheresearchersconcludedthatmoststudentswereunfamiliarwithGoogleDocs
priortothestudy,yettheyfoundGoogleDocstobeaneffectivetoolfor
collaborativeactivities.
2. In2011,Oakesbacksupthisassertionbysuggestingthatorganizationalskillsare
veryimportantforstrugglingstudents.GAFEhelpsstudentstostayorganized

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becausealltheinformationisreadilyaccessiblefromanywhere.Theycansubmit
theirworkfromanywhere,whichalleviatesthestressofforgettinghomeworkat
school.
Itisimportanttonotetheroleinstructorshaveinthesuccessfulimplementationoftechnology,
suchasGAFE.Thesestudentshadnopriorknowledgeoftheseappsbeforethisactivity.The
researcherssuggestthat,instructorsmayneedtopromptstudentstousethistechnology,as
studentsmaynotyetseeitspotentialforimprovingtheircollaborativeexperiences(Zhou,
Simpson,&Domizi,2012,p.365).Incorporatingmoretrainingandprofessionaldevelopment
willhelpteachersgainabetterunderstandingofnewtechnologies,suchasGAFE.Itis,
however,importanttofindacademictestingnotsponsoredbyGoogletoalleviateanybiasand
backuporchallengethesepositivepreliminaryresearch.However,mostacademicarticlesare
casestudybased.OneexplainedthechallengesoftechnologybeforeGoogle(
Mollica,2014)
versusthepositiveresultswithGooglewhileanotherexpressedthepositiveaspectsofGAFE.
Thesecasestudiesaresignificantbecauseteachersareinclinedtoincorporateideasthathave
workedinotherclassrooms.Ontheotherhand,teachersmustunderstandthattheirpersonal
levelofGAFEortechnologyexperiencewillaffecttheirclassroomoutcome.Forexample,in
MollicaarticleshestatesthatsheisaTechnologyIntegrationSpecialist(2014,p.12)which
mayinferthatagoodunderstandoftechnologyisnecessaryforitsintegrationintoaclassroom.
IntegratingAvailableInformation
WhileGAFEanditstoolsandapplicationsprovideflexibility,itmaylimitnewteachers
inseeinghowtheycoulduseitintheirclassroom.IntegratingGAFEintoaclassroomrequiresa
teachertovisualizehowtouseandapplyitindifferentcontentareas.Oneofthebestmethodsto

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educateteachersaboutGAFEisavideo.Willmotetal(2012)reinforcesthisclaimby
suggestingthereisstrongevidencethatdigitalvideocaninspireandengagestudentswhen
incorporatedintostudentcentredlearningactivitiesbyenhancingthelearningexperienceand
developingadeeperunderstandingofthesubject.Severaltypesandstylesofvideosexistwhich
maymeettheneedsofteachers,forexampleanoverviewofGAFEinWhyGoogleApps?
(WiLuCoInDec,2013)and
GoogleAppsforEducationAnalysis(McFarlane,2016)
.These
videosareexcellentstartingpointswhenconsideringGAFEintheclassroom.Theyareshort
enoughtoengagethevieweryettheystillcontainpertinentinformationrelatingtoGAFE.There
arealsoindepthandlongervideossuchasthehourvideoofaGooglewebinar32Waystouse
GoogleAppsinaClassroom?(Stiglitz,2011).Startingwithashortervideotounderstandthe
differentappsinGAFEleadsintothemoreapplicationstylevideossuchastheflipped
classroomsothatateacherwouldnotbeoverwhelmedbyallthedifferentpossibilitiesthat
Stiglitz'svideopresents.
Flippedclassroomsarearealityinthiseducationalclimate.Theflippedclassallows
studentsclasstimetoworkonlearningmaterialthatwaspreviouslyexaminedathome(through
prerecordedpresentations,videos,readings).JoseManuelMartinFerreira(2014)inhisarticle
Flippedclassrooms:FromconcepttorealityusingGoogleAppsoutlineshowGAFEcan
accommodatetheconceptofaflippedclassroom.Thewebbasedprogramallowsstudentsto
collaborateandinteractbothinandoutsideschool.FerreirasuggestsGAFEoffersanintegrated
platformwherealltoolsfitintoeachother(p.205).Thisalleviatessomepressureonteachersto
findcompatibleprogrammingthatisaccessibleandsafeforstudentstouse.GAFEprovidesthe
necessarycomponentstodevelopanengagingprogram.

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FerreiradoesnotedrawbacksinGAFEaswell.GAFEdoesnotsupportanyformof

automaticgradingsavequizzesandthereisnodropboxthatcanbeclosedtopreventlate
submissions(p.207).Theseaspectsofavirtualclassroomareevidentinotherprograms,for
exampleMoodle,BlackboardandD2L.However,theyhavenotyetbeencreatedintheGAFE
platform.Teachersmustrelyontheirowntrackingandmarkrecordingusingthisplatform.
StudentshaveopportunitiestocommunicateandcollaboratethroughGoogleDocs,Gmailand
GoogleHangoutYouTubeandGoogleGroupsallowstudentstocriticallyanalyzeandcreate
workthatillustratestheirunderstanding.

Chromebooks
ChromebooksarenotebookcomputersthatrunanewoperatingsystemcalledChromeOS
developedbyGoogle.Unlikeotheroperatingsystems,ChromeOSisnotabletoinstallthe
typicaldesktopapplications.Therefore,aChromebookisnotabletorunMicrosoftOffice,
AdobePhotoshoporanyotherprogramthatneedstobeinstalledontoyourcomputer.However,
anythingthatyoucandothroughawebbrowsermaybedoneonaChromebook.Initially,this
mayseemaninsurmountabledrawback,butitbecomesthefocalfeatureofusingaChromebook.
Awebonlydeviceismorereliablebecauseitcannotbeaffectedbymalicioussoftware.Itis
fasterbecauseitfocusesitsattentiontoonlineapplications.Finally,itrequireslessmaintenance
forthesamereasons.(Chow,2015)
Presently,softwarecompaniesaremovingtoSoftwareasaService(SaaS)business
modelinwhichtheirsoftwareisofferedonline.Somecompanieshavegonefartherandstopped
offeringadesktopversionoftheirsoftwarealtogether.Thistypeofsoftwareinevitablyrequires

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thecompanytogivetheirsoftwaretothosewhopurchasedit.Consequently,thesoftwareis
moreliabletobepiratedandthecompanyhasnocontroloveranorganizationusingthesame
versionofthesoftwarefortenyearsandexpectingcompatibilityandsupportonlegacysoftware.
Finally,thecompanyhasnocontroloverversionsandupdatesandmaybeaskedtosupport
multipleupdatesofthesoftwareovermanydifferentversions.SaaSsolvesalloftheseproblems.
Onlinesoftwareapplicationsarenevergiventothosewhouseittherefore,makingit
virtuallyimpossibletopirate.Bydesign,everyoneusesthesameversionoftheonlinesoftware.
Finally,thesoftwaredevelopershavefullcontroloverupdatesandversionswithadditional
benefitsbeingasteadierincomestreamforthedeveloperandaexpenditurestreamforthe
educatorinsteadofhavingtomakeamasssoftwarepurchaseeveryfewyears.
Ontheotherhand,thetimingoftheintroductionofChromebooksisodd.Chromebooks
arrivedatthetailendofthenetbookrevolution.AnetbookisalowcostMicrosoftWindows
devicethatisintendedtobeusedforbrowsingtheInternet.Netbookspossesslessercost
processorsandRAMbecauseoftheirlowerpricehowever,runningafullversionofWindows
provedtobeslowandcumbersomesothatnetbooksranalighterWindowsoperatingsystem
withlessfeatures.Thistrendeventuallywanedbecausepeoplewerefrustratedwiththelower
performanceandlackoffeaturesinNetbooks.ItwouldappeartheChromebookdidnothavea
chancebut,thedifferencebetweenChromebooksandNetbooksisthataChromebooklimitedits
focusandtherebyvastlyimproveditsperformance.AChromebookrunsfasterbecauseitshasa
lighteroperatingsystemthatpreventsyoufrominstallingdesktopapplications,whichmeans
muchlowermaintenanceandhigherreliability.Forthesereasons,Chromebookshavecaught
theattentionofeducators.

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ThelowcostandhighperformancecapabilityofaChromebookmakeitanidealchoice
foreducators.Itallowsteacherstobringtechnologyintotheirclassroomwherestudentsmay
accesstheirrichclassroomresourcesconsistingofbooks,magazines,newspapersandposters.
Studentsnolongerneedtoleavetheirclassroomforagenericcomputerlab.Inaddition,the
Chromebookishighlyreliable.Bydesign,itisvirtuallyimpossibletoobtainmalware.It
supportsmultipleusers.Dataisstoredentirelyonline.Chromebooksaredesignedtoaccess
GAFEbutmayuseother

onlineplatformincludingZohoOfficeandMicrosoft365Office.
(Chow,2015)However,therearelimitations.AChromebookreliesentirelyonwireless
Internet.Withoutit,aChromebookisnearlyuseless.Adequatewirelessaccessmaybe
challengingbecauseofitspremiumpricetag,orthewayaschoolisconstructedoritsnumberof
accesspoints.Ideally,awirelessaccesspointshouldbeaddedtoeachclassroom.Ifaneducator
hasaccesstoareliablewifinetworkthenChromebooksareexcellenttoolstousetosupport
GAFEintheirclassrooms.

Conclusion
Teacherspracticetheircraftinhighlycomplex,dynamicclassroomcontexts(Leinhardt
&Greeno,1986)thatrequirethemconstantlytoshiftandevolvetheirunderstanding.(Koehler
&Mishra,2009,p.61)Thereissufficientinformationtoenableteacherstodeepentheir
technologicalpedagogicalknowledgetocreatearichlearningexperiencefortheirstudentsusing
GAFE.TherearemanylayerstotheinformationaboutGAFE,whichallowteacherstotailor
GAFEtotheirstudentsneedsandcontentareas.GoogleAppsforEducationrequiresfurther
academicresearchonthebenefitsand/orchallengesofusingGAFEtoenablestudentstodevelop

20

LITERATUREREVIEW

theskillsforthe21stcentury.However,thepreliminaryresearchonGAFEdoesshowthatit
fosterscollaborationandcommunicationintoday'sclassrooms.Inaddition,ithasthepotential,
whenusedingoodpedicoligacalpractice,topromotecreativityandcriticalthinking.Finally,
thispaperisitselfthefinalexampleofhowfourteachersmaycollaborate,communicateand
applycriticalthinkingskillstocreateaunifiedproductusingGoogleDocs,oneoftheGoogle
AppsforEducation.

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