I have been creating my schools K-8 schedule for the last few years with Katy Gartside @nykat . We actually enjoy solving the various puzzles involved in getting all the classes to fit and figuring out the best learning solution for the children. The schedule is a powerful tool in transforming education. As teachers we think a lot about time and how it is used. A schedule that is forward thinking and aligned with the mission is critical to creating the right learning environment for a school.
This year I approached our administration and proposed moving our schedule to Google Calendar. Google Calendar is a free tool that is part of the Google Apps suite. It is incredibly powerful and can make some important differences in your classroom. In this blog entry I want to share with you the argument I made for Google Calendar to our administration and also some important ways that it can help you.
There are some innovations that transform what is possible. The airplane changed our ability to travel. The cell phone and email have revolutionized communication. (If you want to read more about innovation check out Tim Brown’s Change by Design, Tom Kelley’s The Ten Faces of Innovation or Steven Johnson’s Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation).
At first look Google Calendar might seem a little boring in comparison to the airplane or cell phone. But if you look more closely it is similarly powerful because it allows groups of people to manage their time and collaborate effectively. Collaboration is what schools are all about: Teachers working with teachers, teachers working with students, and students working with students.
In all of these configurations we need to manage our time effectively without wasting a lot of time doing so. Google calendar is powerful, transparent, collaborative and full of features. With Google Calendar we can have a live schedule that represents what we are doing in real time. It can also save us time by facilitating clear communication.
All of these benefits are important to the running of a school but they are also critical at the classroom level. Create a shared calendar to collaborate with a colleague. Share a calendar with your students to communicate homework assignments or structure the stages of a project. Show your students the reminders feature so they don’t miss deadlines. I have been experimenting with this tool in the classroom and plan to do more with it this coming year. Here are some resources for you to check out so that you can start using Google calendar today.
7 reasons to use Google Calendar
Introduction to Google Calendar for the Casual User by Cory Pavicich
Using Google Calendar for Lesson Planning by John R Sowash
