Recently I rolled-out using Google Classroom for department meetings. It was an idea that was inspired by the notion that staff need more time to have dialogue and collaborate, but struggle to find face-to-face time together. Since I already have experience with Google Classroom – in the past I’ve presented how administrators could use Google Classroom as a means to make staff meetings more efficient – it made sense to employ this application for department use.
There are plenty of reasons to appreciate Google Classroom. Ease of use and flexibility of the product are two of the main, but I wanted to find a way to incorporate my colleagues in the process of collaborating. After all, there are lots of inspiring things we all do in our practice and sharing the learning process makes us all better and supports our craft. With this in mind, the biggest plus to using Google Classroom for department meetings is that the entire department can upload, share their work, share their lesson plans or ideas, and genuinely have a voice. This way, it’s not just one teacher being asked to upload documents to a static webpage, but each person in the department has access to the classroom and can embed work or web links, or add to the conversation by leaving comments or questions.
The biggest challenge to using Google Classroom is to make it a habit. That is a challenge with any application – no matter what you choose. One way to make Google Classroom sustainable and a consistent place where dialogue and sharing occur is to model the platform for your colleagues. Make it a habit for yourself and let your motivation lead the way for your colleagues to find their voice. Once a week challenge yourself to post something in the classroom. It could be something as easy as sharing a lesson from Google Drive, or reminding your colleagues of an upcoming conference by sharing the link to the site. Then when you meet face-to-face during your department time it’s important to talk about the classroom, even have the classroom open and projected so that everyone has an opportunity to see all of the wonderful things going on in our spaces.
Nate Moore 