District’s Professional Development Committee Supercharges Initiatives

Powerful collaboration and productivity tools from Google are changing the way we teach. They are also changing the way we lead in education.

At Felicity-Franklin Local Schools, the recent success of a focused initiative in blended learning and using G Suite for Education has spurred others across the district to consider, “How might we use the tech tools we have available to make systemic changes beyond the classroom?”  Felicity-Franklin partners with Forward Edge’s Curriculum & Technology Integration (C&I) department for on-site support, so the LPDC reached out to Technology Integration Specialist, Michael Roush, for some ideas.

“Being here at Felicity day-in and day-out has greatly helped me develop relationships with teachers,” said Michael. “They know they can come to me with a question, and I’ll sit down with them and develop some ideas for how technology can support them, and that I’ll be here for every step of the implementation.” This arrangement is a good example of why Felicity-Franklin’s partnership with Forward Edge’s C&I department is showing such positive results.

One set of changes centers on supercharging the way the district’s Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) does its work.  

Scheduling staff members for time with the LPDC committee can be a paperwork nightmare, but the Appointment Slots feature of Google Calendar made it a breeze to set up a year’s worth of available slots for the next school year. “With the calendar sharing and appointment slots, we will be able to keep track of our LPDC business much more efficiently,” said Rene Henson, Middle School Teacher and LPDC chairperson. 

Additionally, Google Team Drive makes document and information sharing a snap for school organizations to make sure that committee members have anytime-anywhere access to the important information that they need. By creating a Team Drive for the LPDC, no longer does the district have to be concerned with which individual staff member “owns” the folder with LPDC materials in it. The Team Drive is owned by the members of the team. Whenever the members of the committee change, access permissions for the Team Drive are changed automatically.

“I’m so pleased with the way our staff has taken the initiative to come up with new ways to use the technology,” said Dr. Kathy Frye, the district’s Curriculum Director. “We expect them to use the technology in their classrooms, so it becomes a natural thing for them to use the technology to enhance other aspects of our work.”

 

Further the Impact of Your District’s Staff

Google Calendar Sharing, Appointment Slots, and Team Drives are just a few of the many tools that can enhance district workflows while modernizing what happens in the classroom. The Technology and Curriculum Integration team at Forward Edge is growing rapidly to deliver the best solutions for technology integration into the classroom. Every engagement with our schools looks different; but by utilizing the ISTE Standards for Coaches, multiple certifications in Google For Education and experience with the latest technology, we provide a wide range of services like Professional Development, 1-on-1 Coaching, On-Site Coaching, Bootcamps, Webinars and more! Contact Forward Edge today about the variety of curriculum and technology integration services we offer! Learn more about their services here.