Thing 11: Google Hangouts

Strike two for Google.  Another good idea that was done better by someone else.  Google Hangouts, in my experience, seems to be Skype using your google account.  Skype is something that I'm already familiar with, so trying to relearn how to use a video conferencing program seemed to be a little pointless to me.  It took me awhile to get a hangout going, which probably didn't help this review.

I don't really see me using this program in my teaching.  I guess if I knew another KW/PE teacher, I could maybe use hangouts to watch his/her class "live" and see how they teach.  I guess you could have a student who is not able to participate act as a cameraman, and host this "live feed" of another class.  However, if we were going to do this, I would use a more simple method, such as just recording it, and sharing the video.

If I had to stretch an idea out, I could possibly have my students partake in a hangout with kids from another school.  They could talk about different aspects of health and wellness, such as the principals of wellness or safety to keep in mind while exercising.  However, I would only use this with students who are unable to physically participate.  I would also be very weary of allowing students to be communicating with other students over technology with little to low supervision.

For my hangout I hosted (for no one) I talked technology with the biggest hit of the summer- Pokemon Go!  I talked about what it is, and how I really like it, in the fact that it gets kids (and adults!) outside and moving.  I can't tell you how many more people I've seen out and about because of this craze.