WPP PART A - Description of Need or Opportunity

My next MAET assignment is the Wicked Problem Project or WPP. It consists on implementing a use of technology to address a problem of practice and/or an educational goal. For part A, I have to describe a need or opportunity where technology can make a real impact on the issue I will propose.

Part of my job as Technology Coordinator is to make sure that all the technological resources available in the school are being used effectively. Since I’ve started working at Entrevalles, I wanted to design a system that would not only give me better control of all our devices and software, but also keep a history of the creative things that my teachers are doing with them. I feel that there isn’t enough communication between different subject areas or grade levels. I also wish that my teachers would use Google Apps a lot more; collaboration would be so much easier if they would take advantage of these great tools.

By incorporating most of the tools that Google Apps has to offer (Sites, Calendar, Docs and Scripts) in creating a site where teachers could request assistance and resources, but at the same time they could share how their activity went with other members of the staff, I would not only make part of my job a lot easier but also build a functional demonstration of how using Google Apps could be very helpful for other educational tasks and promote their use in the classroom.

This site would be accessible to all the teachers and coordinators. It would be available to them during the entire school year. Inside they would find a page for each of the different technology resources, with a form that would add events to a Google calendar and a spreadsheet for statistical purposes. They could also get an email with the day’s agenda. There would be a page for sharing comments and photos about the different activities. I would make some useful Google docs templates for sharing reports with other coordinators and myself. These are only some of the basic features that I would like my site to have; new ideas still keep coming every time that I learn new things about Google Apps.

Why is it important for my teachers to use our school’s Google Apps? Google has plenty of documentation on how to use Google Apps in a K-12 setting. You can find the top 10 reasons for choosing them by clicking this link. How will this help me do a better job? There is a Google Sites page for Teachers where I found a similar project or a simple example of a school’s Technology Site. I’ve recently participated in a Google Apps Script for Educators Webinar and was amazed with all the possibilities! Don’t hate, automate! You can really take Google Apps to another level with this scripting feature. I'm excited to try this scripting language out and make many of my day-to-day tasks a lot easier.

So, where to start? During the course I would implement the basic elements of the site, like the forms and calendars for requesting different technology resources, a template repository, a photo gallery, an announcements section and a comments page for different technology integration activities.

I would know the sites success depending on the use or acceptance it has with all the teachers at my school. It would also be successful if it helps me have better control of all the different technological resources and motivates teachers to use them more frequently. I have a pretty good feeling that this site will have a very positive impact on the school’s academic community.