Let G Suite Turn Your Students in Digital Karate Kids

by Paul Lawrence

Remember that 1984 movie The Karate Kid? I love that movie. (Wait, there’s a point to this!) When young Daniel LaRusso moves from New Jersey to California, he has no idea that he will soon become a martial arts master.  Like Daniel-San, our students enter our G Suite dojos not knowing that they will soon be capable of digital crane kicks...and more.

“Wax On, Wax Off”

The maintenance man from Daniel’s building, Mr. Miyagi, starts to train Daniel in an effort to help him thwart the bullies from Cobra Kai.  At first it isn’t clear what sanding the deck, waxing the car, or painting the fence have to do with learning to fight.  Many of our students feel the same way when we ask them create a Google Doc and share it with another student or submit their work to a folder on the Drive.  It just seems like extra work with no special purpose.

But the payoff comes when Daniel really needs it and he realizes that these repetitive motion activities actually trained his muscles to perform the exact movements he will need to excel at Crane style karate and win the Under-18 All Valley Karate Tournament (go, Daniel-San!).

Getting Ready for the Real World

Using the the G Suite in your classroom everyday is the digital equivalent of “wax on, wax off.”  Students are immersed in routines of behavior that begin to build a mental muscle memory that will pay dividends when the time comes for them to organize the team project or create a portfolio. Even if G Suite goes the way of the first Karate Kid and is replaced by some new, Jaden Smith-style platform, the simple act of learning to collaborate and communicate in an online environment will teach our students the skills they need to be successful beyond PreK-12 education.

Jump Into G Suite

So, even though it may be easier to give your students that same old worksheet or to have that same old class discussion, make the effort and do it G Suite style.  Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Share a Doc using Classroom and have students comment through a Form.
• Have students work collaboratively on that classroom presentation using Slides.
• Have students track their progress or reading in class through a Google sheet.
• Let students create a Google site to showcase their ideas to the world.

In the end, your students may not get to go to prom with Elizabeth Shue, but before you know it, they’ll be able to fend off the even the trickiest challenges with their ingrained G Suite skills.

Are you a Hampton City Schools employee?  If so, earn PD points just for trying out G Suite in your classroom.  Visit the HCS Cyber Tech Cafe for more information.

Paul Lawrence is the Director of the Information Literacy Department for Hampton City Schools, Virginia. You can reach him at plawrence@hampton.k12.va.us