Thing 20

Our department began using Google Docs and it has made such an impact on our organizational skills, collaboration abilities, and has changes the way we gather data and provide information to campuses. For our bi-monthly meetings, we build a team agenda. When we need to gather inventory items, serial numbers, etc., we create forms. As a department, we track numbers of teachers and students that are trained throughout the year to be sure we keep our jobs! We are also able to break this information down by types of staff development such as how it was delivered and whether or not it is interactive, etc. We do this by simply filling in a form! It is magnificent!

This past year, MISD has set up a Mesquite account with google which allows the collaboration of an organization. All of our information has been loaded into Google to allow for easy sharing. The greatest thing about this is that we have included special accounts for all of our secondary students! This is making a huge impact on our district, teachers, and students! This past year, a middle school teacher had her students create Google sites and work an entire six week project online. The students poured their hearts into this project. They collaborated with one another, critiqued each other's sites, and provoked others to Think throughout the project. The kids were working at all hours on their projects because they could do it from home! This one step into Web 2.0 caused our department to create a position for a facilitator to work strictly with Google Apps.

This tool can be used in so many different ways. Among teachers, newsletters can be a snap! Each teacher can add any information they want to produce each week and it can be created online! Using the spreadsheets, lesson plans are a snap! Each week, our team would meet, write in pencil, send someone off to type up the plans, and we would do it again the nest week. With Google Docs, this step is eliminated. We simply type in our assigned subject and the plans are done!

For students, using presentations can be more collaborative. The students can add their own individual page to the presentation and it can be built by the entire class! MISD is so new at all of this, but so excited. I can't wait to get everyone trained on the newest capabilities.

I have to say one more thing. The Google Calendars are amazing. My family and I have a shared calendar that we put all of our baseball, soccer, and football game times on! This calendar has kept me from failing to let someone know a date or time! My friends and I are always trying to schedule time together, but we are all busy. We created a friend calendar to share with each other to send out invites for girl time!

As administrators, these tools can make our life so much easier if we learn it and let it! The classroom will follow the lead of the campus! Just think, the entire Calendar of what we will do throughout the year online, interactive, etc. There is so much to look forward to!