Collaboration

The YouTube video that featured the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School discussed the use of Google Apps in their collaboration of curriculum, teacher-teacher communication and student-student interactions. Using an online format that allows the participants to work in real time situations can eliminate the problem of teachers not having the materials they need in order to work on the same project, at the same time. Another benefit was teachers planning curriculum for the school year and integrating subject areas and scope so that students are able to apply what they are learning in all the content areas. The middle school teachers were impressed with the use of Google Apps to ease their transition into planning a whole school year. Gmail, chat, and Google docs made communication easier and they were able to keep each other update on new develops with students and their curriculum. In the MAT program, I am beginning to use the Google calendar, email, and docs for managing a busy and demanding workload. Using them as a collaboration tool seems to be an excellent idea for a PLC and as a school wide program.

Last Thursday when our technology class met on Illuminate, I was impressed with the user-friendly design of the software. Being able to communicate over long distances is critical for the success of team collaboration and having the ability to discuss ideas with a large group of people. A teacher can reach out to educators throughout the state or beyond with this technology. Even within a school, software like Illuminate can allow grade level teachers to meet from the comfort of their classrooms and have brief meetings to discuss ideas and concepts for classroom curriculum. I have heard the 2nd grade teachers at HBV mention how finding the time and place to meet on a regular basis is difficult. With Illuminate the staff can meet without having to struggle with being at a certain location. Instead they can log on from their classroom or home to work in their PLC. It would be interesting to see if this kind of software could give them more time to work together. On a side note, having a discussion on Illuminate makes me more aware of time and the importance of communicating concisely and effectively. The main feature that needs to be agreed upon is how to share the mic for talking. It worked well to use the hands up symbol during our discussion.

Google docs has developed aspects of their formatting that is conducive to educators. However there are programs like http://www.planbookedu.com/ that give a teacher the option of making their lessons portable. Teachers can write lesson plans that are easy to share with their co-workers, including substitutes and principals. When coming together in a PLC, teachers can open up their lesson planbooks to their fellow team members. This gives a teacher an opportunity for professional growth as their peers evaluate and assess their lessons. Classrooms are no longer closed off from the outside world. With technology like online planbooks, teachers can easily collaborate with one another and learn from each other how to make their curriculum better. There are amazing teachers working every day who can contribute to their profession by sharing the different strategies and curriculum that are successful in their classrooms.