Personal Vision
My personal vision that will help improve collaboration and communication involves making faculty members aware of the Google Docs tool that can revolutionize their common lesson planning. I believe that starting with something simple will help them see how easy it will be to make use of this tool. Lesson plans are due on a weekly basis at my school, so this will not be something that they use once and then forget. I believe the repeated use will increase the likelihood of making Google Docs their tool of choice for many future collaborations.
2. Which Google applications are you most likely to implement, and why?
Google Docs will be the first tool that I share with our faculty. I've chosen this app because I think the learning curve for my teachers will be quite manageable for a group of people who are overwhelmed with the daily demands of the job. I believe they will quickly see that this tool will make their lives, planning and communicating easier than they ever realized was possible. The time that they will save from presently copying, pasting, editing, and emailing portions of lesson plans each week will be incredible.
3. What lessons have you learned from reviewing how other administrators and schools are using Google Calendar, Docs, and Blogger?
I enjoyed seeing how others have made use of all the Google tools. I learned that there are a wide variety of uses that are presently being utilized across the country. Communication is the key to successful school community relationships, and the Google tools make this possible in a variety of ways. Blogging is incredibly simple and can be a powerful communication tool. Forms gives us an easy way to survey our
stakeholders about various issues. I would imagine that the Calendar is the most commonly utilized tool overall due to its ease of use and the ability to share numerous calendars in one. These three things alone could easily raise the communication ability of a school to a very high level.
4. How does your vision align with the “Visionary Leadership” standard as put forth in ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators?
It aligns quite nicely with the standard which calls for educational leaders to lead, inspire, engage, facilitate, and advocate technological integration. My hope is that my teachers will be inspired to make use of even more Google apps when they realize that in the end this change will be a major improvement over what is presently being done. I will then be in a better position to facilitate more change and increase technological integration across the curriculum.
Action Plan
1. What are your goals for integrating Google applications into your school or personal practice? (List at least 2.)
My goal is to train a volunteer grade level on the use of Google Docs in order to create weekly lesson plans. This training will most likely take place during the month of January and plans will then be created using Google Docs for the remainder of the school year. I would also like to begin blogging to share instructional practices that will lead to higher levels of student engagement. This is an area that I feel we should give more consideration when creating plans and developing units of study.
2. What steps will you need to take to implement your vision?
Train volunteer grade level on the use of Google Docs.
Assist in the creation of a lesson plan template.
Monitor and assist with the collaborative weekly creation of plans.
3. What key unanswered questions do you have about using Google applications?
I'm curious about how long these applications will be free of charge.
4. Among school staff, who will be able to help you implement your vision?
As always, the teachers will be the key players in making this vision a success. Their buy-in will be the key to creating a change in practice that will be sustained over time.
My goal is to train a volunteer grade level on the use of Google Docs in order to create weekly lesson plans. This training will most likely take place during the month of January and plans will then be created using Google Docs for the remainder of the school year. I would also like to begin blogging to share instructional practices that will lead to higher levels of student engagement. This is an area that I feel we should give more consideration when creating plans and developing units of study.
2. What steps will you need to take to implement your vision?
Train volunteer grade level on the use of Google Docs.
Assist in the creation of a lesson plan template.
Monitor and assist with the collaborative weekly creation of plans.
3. What key unanswered questions do you have about using Google applications?
I'm curious about how long these applications will be free of charge.
4. Among school staff, who will be able to help you implement your vision?
As always, the teachers will be the key players in making this vision a success. Their buy-in will be the key to creating a change in practice that will be sustained over time.
