Update on Google Docs Implementation



Update on Google Docs

Back on Oct. 7, 2014, guest speaker, @MichaelWacker inspired us and educated us on the wonderful and amazing tool that Google has created.  The possibilities were limitless!  After reflecting and trying to find a suitable application in the work I do in my role as coordinator, I came up with an Action Plan and if you read farther down, I had outlined that I would begin to implement it in: (1) share it with the 3-4 people I work with; (2) share general info with the principals I work with; and (3) share out docs with the teachers I work with. 

Here's an update on how this is going:

(1) We now utilize google docs (iGo as we call it) with our small department on a weekly basis to support our Weekly Agenda.  Have a central location to list and update information has been excellent!
(2)  I have not shared this out with principals I work with - not sure if I will use this tool at this point in time.
(3) I work with 4 different special education programs and I have rolled it out to only 1 group (10 teachers).  We have applied our agenda and meeting notes during our meetings.  Having one person take the notes during the meeting allows us to capture important, on-going notes. 
I was able to roll this out to one other group that I work with that I didn't originally anticipate because I didn't think of this group at the time but it is a great venue for us to work within and begin to share.

In Conclusion:

I would have to say that using Google Docs has been accepted by the people I work with.  It has proven to be a very effective time management saving tool for us.  For example, in the past we would send out a request to meeting agenda items and ask people to send them in.  Now, everyone adds agenda items on their own.  One person (or many people) can add meeting notes during the meeting.  Once the meeting is done, the meeting notes have been updated and new action items added - it is all done in real time!  Also, there is no need to email them out to people or waste time printing them unless attendees wish to print them on their own.  Google Docs has been easy to use, more effective in collaboration and ultimately saves us time and money!  There was 1 main concern that people had.  People have to open up their shared drive to see if changes were made to existing documents.  The first thing most teachers goto is their email and don't necessarily think about Google Doc's. 

Do you have any suggestions how we can overcome this concern expressed by teachers or is it just a matter of time before people build their routines around this tool?

Thank you!
Kelly


Blog Post:  October 7, 2014
This session was a great ‘eye opener’ and introduction for me.  I kept trying to make connections with the power of Google Docs (iGo) and with my current job and this was a challenge because in our department, we don’t currently make any use of Google Docs or iGo.  Much of our work is stored and shared on a secured drive for confidentiality.  After giving this more thought, it occurred to me that I was probably limiting my view on how this tool could help me.  So, I came up with three ideas/areas that I could use this tool:

1)      Share out general information with the 4 people I work with. 

2)      Share out general information to principals I work with.

3)      Share out documents/calendars/etc. with teachers/programs that I work with.

It’s going to take getting in the habit of utilizing this new tool and asking other teachers to do the same.  I’m actually quite excited about the potential of this tool.  I see it opening the doors to greater collaboration amongst colleagues!

 Action Plan:  I’m going to set up 1 document I can share with 4 of my colleagues and it will be related to our “Weekly” Meeting Agenda.  I know it sounds pretty simplistic but it’s a start and a good intro to our team!  I’m hoping this will start a wave of new thinking in our office!