Googling for Communicating

Way back in April of 2009, I shared how I had started using Google Docs to increase collaboration between myself, my related service providers, outside therapists & parents.  A year and a half later it's going gangbusters!  It's been a huge success for me, and my parents.  It is a great way to track student progress, it's a wonderful record of student behavior.

Since I started this project I have added some parts.  For instance, I created a second page just for parents & outside therapists to share information about a student.  One parent even keeps all their child's information about medication changes and seizure activity, which makes it extremely easy for the school nurse to be kept updated!

I've created a Prezi that details the steps I've taken to create the documents, modify them so they are shared correctly, protected them, & added notifications.  You can see it here - Googling for Communicating.

Recently, I've had to make a new portion to the communication logs - translation.  I've had a new student start in my room, whose parents do not speak English, but I wanted to continue to have the opportunity to share information.  Google has thought of this and has created a formula to automatically translate cells.  IT uses the Google Translate engine and I can't verify how accurate the translation is (since I don't speak any other languages), but I figure it's better than not communicating.  I've posted some directions for using the formula at my wiki - Googling for Communicating - Translation.  You can see a sample here - Patrick's Communication Log - Sample.

Patrick


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Googling for Communicating with Parents

So last year I started sharing daily communication with the parents in my room via a Google Docs spreadsheet. It was a huge success! The reason I bring this us is I've been asked by my district to teach a workshop on some of the ways I communicate with parents, i.e. - Googling for Communicating with Parents! So while I'm spending some time with colleagues, please enjoy a repost (slightly edited) of the thought that started this all off!

Patrick

Collaboration (slightly edited) - Originally posted 4/16/2009

One area that is something that I find myself struggling with from time to time is collaboration. Between IEP meetings, lesson planning, actual teaching, and whatever else teachers are required to do, collaboration can take a backseat. Since the team approach is the best way to help students with disabilities how do we make sure that we share as much information as possible? One possible solution is Google Docs.

Google Docs is a online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation creator. Using this tool I've created a spreadsheet that allows me to share with parents specific information about what activities their child does during the day, as well as the ability to share what related service providers are doing at the same time. You can actually check out the template here. Since access is global (as long as you can get to Google), and it is private (you choose who you want to share with), it is a great forum for sharing information. Not only does it allow you to share with parents, related services can see what the classroom teacher or other service providers are working on in the classroom. Collaboration on a massive scale.

Is anyone else using Google Docs in a unique way to connect with parents or professionals? Share your stories here!

You can find the original post here - Collaboration

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Tips to involve parents!

Have a classroom blog? Looking for a way to increase parent involvement? This post by Sue Waters of TheEdublogger is a great way to help with that!

Ways to increase Parent Involvement

It's really a great way to help get your parents involved!

Patrick


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Collarboartion

One area that is something that I find myself struggling with from time to time is collaboration. Between IEP meetings, lesson planning, actual teaching, and whatever else teachers are required to do, collaboration can take a backseat. Since the team approach is the best way to help students with disabilities how do we make sure that we share as much information as possible? One possible solution is Google Docs.

Google Docs is a online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation creator. Using this tool I've created a spreadsheet that allows me to share with parents specific information about what activities their child does during the day, as well as the ability to share what related service providers are doing at the same time. You can actually check out the template here. Since access is global (as long as you can get to Google), and it is private (you choose who you want to share with), it is a great forum for sharing information. Not only does it allow you to share with parents, related services can see what the classroom teacher or other service providers are working on in the classroom. Collaboration on a massive scale.

Is anyone else using Google Docs in a unique way to connect with parents or professionals? Share your stories here!

Patrick

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Do you know somebody else who would find this post interesting or useful? Please forward it to them. Did somebody forward this post to you? Visit Teaching All Students and subscribe to receive posts for free. If you need a tutorial please visit this post: RSS Readers