Executive Function Series – Part 8, inspired by The X Factor: Executive Function Tools in Google (2023)

Last week’s post on Google Keep for Teachers (click here for access) provides a basic overview of the functionality and the highlights of program use for educators. Let’s pivot this week to methods for introducing student users to the value of Google Keep.

There is no gross generalization in saying that students lose track of things. No one is perfect. It could be their planner, their books, or their pencil case left behind in class. It could be the due date for an assignment. It could be the physical assignment itself. It could be the components for completing the assignment, such as the paper worksheet, the list of vocabulary words, the text sources which could be used. Truthfully, at some point in time, every student has “lost” something for school. For students with particular challenges with executive function, it is likely to be a regular occurrence. Google Keep can help….well, only with digital items. Alas, “My dog ate my homework” will still be a possibility if teachers are distributing physical homework artifacts.

A Starting Point

The best way to get students to use Google Keep is just to start. When you assign vocabulary for the week or the unit, encourage students to click the Keep icon on the sidebar (if you are distributing in Google Sheets or Google Docs) or the Chrome browser icon which will add any browser window for safekeeping. Remind them to title the entry specifically, such as “Unit 2 Vocab,” and add a label, such as “World History Notes.” The next time they go to Google Keep and click the World History Notes label from the left sidebar, their Unit 2 vocab will be among the “floating” notes.

The first time students are exposed to this activity, there won’t be a lot of other notes to add confusion. However, if you are on Unit 9, there will be several other vocab lists in the pile of notes on that page. As a next step, when students add the Unit 3 Vocab note, suggest to them that they do all the same things they did for Unit 2, but click the pin icon in the upper right corner of the note. This will pin it to the top or current notes to see any time they open Keep. Additionally, since Unit 2 is completed, they can click the Archive icon which is a square with a downward arrow in it. Archiving their Unit 2 vocab list doesn’t eliminate it, but it will go to the bottom of the page. It can easily be pinned to the top again for studying for the cumulative final exam.

Staying Organized

In much the same way that every Google Task should be dated, every Google Keep note should be categorized. It doesn’t take long for a pile of random notes to become an unwieldy mass. On the main screen of Google Keep, everything is visible. That can be a lot of notes. Labels add a focus factor. A label for classes will create a relatively clean desktop of space for key items students may need for that class. Activities, such as Student Council, should also have their own space. NOTE: More than one label can be added to a note, which means that it will be visible from both workspaces.

What to “Keep”

Anything that students will need to remember and might forget can be added to Teams.

• Locker combinations*
• Class schedules
• Links to special websites for class*
• Dates for school or activity functions
• Routines, like the Writing Cycle or components of a DBQ essay or the steps in the Scientific Method
• Math formulas
• Library books and return dates
• Format for a polite email to the teacher, in case they forget, or a Lab format

(*) Please be sure to remind students that Google Keep is an online and accessible program. The accessibility factor for students is tremendous, but the counterbalance of it is the risk that it is not totally within their control. Students should NEVER post anything which includes sensitive personally identifiable information (SPII) in an online resource. While a case can be made for secure, encrypted sources, those are not ones to which students have ready access (except for Google Password Manager), so it’s OK to tell them NEVER. Birthdays, social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, logins, passwords, and their address should not be part of Google Keep notes or other Google, digitally-shared resources.

So why are locker combinations and class website links listed? The main concern about SPII is that outside threat agents will gain access. If someone does happen to gain access to a locker combination, they are not likely to gain access to the school. If they have both, a locker combination can be changed. The class website link is not sensitive personally-identifiable information (SPII), however the username and password are. If they use the link in Keep, they will still be required to add their username and password separately. If these are secured in Google Password Manager, they will have to be logged into their secure account to access the information. Further, if a security breach occurs, the account information can be changed. Birthdates and social security numbers cannot.

Google Keep vs. Google Drive

When considering saving your work, the logical choice is Google Drive. However, this applies primarily to file storage. Like Google Keep, organization is a key. Dumping every file in the root directory of Google Drive significantly reduces the likelihood of finding it again. Success in that area relies entirely upon remembering the contents and details of the file in order to search for it. If it has a unique feature, the search is short and, perhaps, successful. Teachers know that searching for everything with the words “world history” or “Shakespeare” in a Google Drive would be terrible after a year or two of teaching because there would be so many items. Creating directories in Google Drive and subdirectories improves the opportunity to have access to your key information.

Google Keep, however, isn’t all about files. It’s for saving ‘the little things,’ like a good image, a vocab list, or a format. These are the things one might be tempted to put on a Post-It Note for easy access at the homework table. Key dates in the American Revolution would help when writing an essay to avoid both the mistakes in identifying them and the time to pop over to a Google search, add a prompt, get the information, verify its accuracy, and then pop back to the essay.

Students don’t keep entire document content in their brains. However, they might need to keep the formulas, the equivalencies, the names, the dates, or the images which help them to connect to the appropriate information when completing work or studying. Google Keep is what could be considered a “cheat sheet” if the brain forgets.

Google Keep vs. Google Tasks

Similarly, there are areas of overlap between Keep and Tasks. For Google Tasks, students should be in the habit of creating a homework playlist or list of project elements so that they can assure that they are completed sequentially and finally. Google Keep, on the other hand, is a reference guide.

A student might set a Tasks reminder that they have to study for a test. Wise students should also separate those studies into subtasks, such as vocabulary, people, places, or lessons. For example, a Tasks list might include:

• Unit 4 Test (dated next Thursday)
  • Study Unit 4 vocab in Keep (dated Monday)
  • Study Revolution Timeline in Keep (dated Tuesday)
  • Study Guiding Questions List in Keep with Sara (dated Wednesday at 3:30 PM)

Even better, among the drawbacks of Google Tasks is the fact that items are not shareable. Not so with Google Keep. Sara (above) and the learner can be working from the same Google Keep note. They could even share vocab lists and other resources. Although resources created by a student for themselves to use are always better for studying, having something as a study aid is still helpful.

Thus, Keep is the repository for several item lists, documents, or images which are study guide components, but Tasks is the method for making sure that each is available and completed successfully.

Keeping It Tidy

Like any repository, a little “spring cleaning” is a wise choice. As mentioned, when switching from one unit to another, encourage students to archive and unpin the last unit and pin entries for new units. Invariably, there will be times when students forget and their workspace is confused with many notes. It is in these spaces that students who are challenged by executive function will struggle. When seeing two sets of vocabulary, there is “noise” and indecision about which one is important. There may even be anxiety about unpinning or about archiving, so learners will need reminders and encouragement that they won’t lose anything. All they need to do is scroll to the bottom of the page to see that everything is still there; it’s just not in their way, causing confusion. Take any opportunity with a class that finishes early or a spare moment to remind students not just to stay organized, but how to do it. It will surely benefit students who struggle with executive function, but everyone benefits with better organization.

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Teacher Takeaways

Google Keep allows students to create reference resources for access and for studying with just a quick click. Organized resources make study time more efficient and homework more accurate.

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• Ed Tech Tools
• executive function
• Google Keep