Action Plan for implementation of Google tools at DJHS

     Implementation of several Google tools in my classroom is the first part of my plan.  After I have implemented Blogger, and Docs, I plan on sharing my success with other teachers at DJHS.  I will also meet with the Principal and inform him of how easy these are to implement and how cost effective the Google tools are.  The principal will be the key individual for successful implementation of my vision.  Hopefully he will schedule an inservice on one of our teacher work days.  During this inservice our teachers can all be introduced to Google's web-based tools by our technology specialists.
     I plan on creating a blog for my Physical Science class and updating it on a weekly basis to help students and parents stay informed on what we will be learning that week.  The blog will be easy...I just have to create it and keep it updated.  After I have mastered the use of blogger I will share my URL with fellow teachers and tell them of my success with students and parents.  I would also like to use google docs to help plan interdisciplinary lessons with other teachers in my school. 
     Getting other teachers to use Google docs to help create interdisciplinary units may require some coercing.  I will have to get all teachers to jump on board.  Teachers will require some training time and must be allowed to just experiment or “play around” with google apps in order to feel more comfortable with using them.  Once the teachers see how easy these apps are to implement I am sure that they will all jump on board.  When the principal sees the need for Google apps and the ease of implementation I am sure that he will really encourage all staff members to utilize these tools to increase collaboration and communication.
     I would like to learn more about “Google SketchUp for Educators.”   It would be very cool to create 3D models for use in my Science classroom.  From what I have read the students can all have input on the model and can even make a movie our of it.  This would be an excellent technology-based project for my Physical Science classes.

Personal Vision for the Implementation of Google’s web-based tools at DJHS

Google web-based tools can help improve collaboration and communication within my school in many ways.  I envision all teachers at DJHS in the near future using Google Docs to plan lessons together.   I also see them using Google forms to gather almost immediate feedback on student performance.  All teachers will also use g-mail to collaborate with parents and fellow teachers in real time. Administrators, teachers, students, and parents will rely on Google Calendar to keep track of deadlines.  I envision a school that has everyone “in the loop”.  I believe that Google web-based tools can make this vision become a reality.

Google Calendar, Docs, and Blogs are the three tools that I am most likely to implement.  The Calendar is so easy to implement and everyone involved can revise it as needed.  The coolest part is that multiple calendars can be viewed on one page.  Google Docs can easily organize all of my documents even if they are made with another program.  I can use it to allow students to create documents and spreadsheets and their work can even be posted to a blog or published as a web page.  Google Blogs will allow me to have communication with parents and students on a weekly basis.  They will all know what is going on in my class at all times.

I have learned that every school that has implemented Google apps, such as the Calendar, Docs, and Blogger, have all experienced an increase in communication, collaboration, and student success.  The web-based tools are so easy to implement there is no good reason not to get everyone on board and using these tools.  I was most fascinated with the blogger tool.  It was incredibly easy to create a blog, add pictures, and publish it as a web page.  I enjoyed the success stories from the administrators dealing with the blogging tool.   With Google Blogger parents can really get to know their child’s administrator and what his educational philosophy is.

Part a. of the “Visionary Leadership” standard states that …Educational Administrators will inspire and facilitate among all stakeholders a shared vision of purposeful change that maximizes use of digital-age resources to meet and exceed learning goals, support effective instructional practice, and maximize performance of district and school leaders.  My vision involves using Google web-based tools such as Calendar, Docs, Forms, and Blogger to improve collaboration and communication between administrators, teachers, students, and parents.  The use of these tools will definitely be a purposeful change that will maximize our digital age resources.  It will also maximize the performance of our school and its leaders.

Coaching my son at Dauphin Jr. High

This year I was fortunate enough to Coach my oldest son Blake in the 8th Grade at Dauphin Jr. High.  The Highlight of the season was when I coached Blake against my younger 7th Grade son Brock who played for Coppinville Jr. High.  We won but my youngest son scorched us for 16 points in the 1st half.  It was awesome.  Not too many fathers get to coach one son against the other...pretty cool stuff.  I look forward to coaching Brock again next year when he gets to Dauphin.  Feel free to visit the Dauphin Jr. High Web site at http://dauphin.al.ecj.schoolinsites.com/ .

3-peat for the Blue Devils

Four years ago I gave up coaching Basketball as the Junior Varsity Coach and Varsity Assistant at Enterprise High School to spend more time with my family and coach my own sons in Basketball at the Rec. Center in Enterprise.   That was the best decision that I ever made for both me and my children.  My children really benefited from my time with them.  We were able to spend alot of father-son quality time together while doing what we all loved...play basketball.  We are all big Duke Blue Devil fans so we named our team the Blue Devils.I was fortunate enough the first year to get to coach my boys on the same team.  It was awesome.  Just like Duke we played tough man to man defense and were very disciplined on offense.  We practiced at least three days each week and rolled through that season beating everyone on our way to an undefeated season.  The next year I had to coach two different teams because of the age difference in my boys.  Brock, my youngest son, never found out what it was to lose a game while playing rec. ball.  His Blue Devil team never lost a game and were the league champs 3 years in a row! 
Since those three years both of my boys have gone on to successful Jr High Basketball seasons and are working hard on there skills for the High School and even college levels.  This time spent together doing what we love to do will never be forgotten by my boys or myself.  I truly believe that you can never go wrong when you put the Lord first, Family second, and job, etc. last.