Guest post by Brad Currie 

Over the past year, Google Classroom has taken the educational world by storm. Teachers and students are now able to thrive in a paperless world. School leaders must support this new way of life while respecting the transition from traditional methods. So how can a school leader leverage the power of Google Classroom to promote student and staff success? Let’s take a look …

1. Flip the faculty meeting and create a Google Classroom for staff members. Instead of wasting teachers’ time with boring agenda items, post this information on a Google Doc or Google Slide in Classroom. Then, actually utilize this additional time for meaningful professional growth opportunities.

2. Promote sharing of best practices with a Blog of the Week PLC. Send out a Google Form that provides staff members with an opportunity to nominate their favorite blog post pertaining to a best practice in education. Once the blog posts are submitted, send out another Google Form for nomination purposes. Once the blog post with the most votes is selected, begin a conversation utilizing the question feature in Classroom.

3. Move your school forward with a student roundtable. Once a month, a select group of students meets with the administration to be informed of school happenings and, more important, share insights on how to make the learning environment better. The Google Doc agenda leading up to the meeting can be shared out to students and crowdsourced in Classroom. Additional conversations and resources can be posted within the Student Roundtable Google Classroom throughout the school year.

4. Create a Google Classroom for best practices in technology integation. Each week, have staff members share different ways they are utilizing various apps and extensions to promote student success. Often, teachers who are in the same hallway—let alone the same building—have no idea what great things are going on in their colleagues’ classrooms. This sort of sharing will be a game-changer.

There are countless ways that administrators can utilize Google Classroom. It’s a great way to enhance communication, disseminate information, and drive change for students and staff. Make it a goal this upcoming school year, if you are working in a G Suite school, to find one consistent way to utilize Google Classroom. Several of these tips and a host of others can be found in my new book titled, Hacking Google for Education. It will make a world of difference!

How can you use Google Classroom or another virtual tool to drive change in your school? 

Brad Currie is the 2017 NASSP Assistant Principal of the Year. He currently serves as the Vice Principal and Supervisor of Instruction for the Chester School District in Chester, NJ. Learn more about Brad by following him on Twitter @bradmcurrie or visiting his website, www.evolvingeducators.com.  

 

About the Author

Brad Currie is the 2017 NASSP Assistant Principal of the Year. He currently serves as the Vice Principal and Supervisor of Instruction for the Chester School District in Chester, NJ. Learn more about Brad by following him on Twitter @bradmcurrie or visiting his website, www.evolvingeducators.com 

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