Collaboration

For me this year has been very much about electronic collaboration. Although I have been using Google Apps for several years, it is only this year that I have been able to use these tools for collaborative planning with teachers. Part of this shift is due to some training I provided to staff in the fall, and part is due to an Administration that has begun to use (and expect the use of) shared Google Docs for gathering input and feedback from teachers. We were also able to expand our wireless networks this year, which has given me the ability to bring my laptop to planning meetings throughout the building and to work "live" on Google Docs. It has become my habit now to begin all planning documents in Google, sharing them with the teacher I am working with so that both of us can expand and revise as needed whenever we each have time. Combine that with a move from my old Palm Pilot to an iPod Touch that syncs with my Google Calendar and I have been experiencing some pretty flexible and powerful planning tools!
Online collaboration makes SO much sense for busy educators. It is not always practical to meet face-to-face, and when we do it is often rushed and we are distracted by the multiple demands of the day. Creating units, lessons and activities together using Google Docs gives us the ability to work when and where we want, either together or asynchronously. The "maturing" or Web 2.0 has brought a variety of other collaborative tools to the table as well, including Prezi, Webspiration, Voicethread and others. This year I have begun to take the collaborative experience from the planning table to the classroom, helping two of our 5th/6th grade teams "launch" our student Google Apps domain and begin using the tools to share feedback and collaborate on writing assignments. The positive experience of those teams will help us launch Google Apps across our entire Middle School next year, which in turn will drive additional teacher use.