5 Google Tools for Staff Professional Development

In schools we are always looking for creative ways to offer meaningful professional development to staff. This might mean:

• Flexible PD where staff can participate at a time of day or day of the week that works best for them
• Interactive PD where staff can communicate with others, share ideas, ask questions, and more
• Engaging PD with the use of multimedia to go beyond typical text or slideshows

There are certainly dozens of excellent technology tools to use for delivering professional development, and we should try out a wide variety to discover which ones work best for our staff, content, and goals. Many of the free Google tools can lend themselves to providing flexible, interactive, and engaging PD. In this blog post we will take a brief look at five possible Google tools to use:

• Google Hangout
• Google Hangouts on Air
• Google Classroom
• Google Communities
• Google Sites

See below for details on each of these tools, ideas for use in delivering professional development, and additional resources to help you learn more.

Why every educator should be using Google Communities

How would you like a way to connect with hundreds of thousands of educators online? To find others who teach the same subject? To locate classes around the world to collaborate with? To share your ideas and learn from others?

One great way to accomplish all of these ideas is with Google Communities.

Communities is one of Google’s many, but often lesser known, services. However, if you are in education, it is a tool you should definitely be using for yourself, your students, and your school.

See the rest of the blog post below for:

• An overview of Google Communities
• Ideas for how you can use Communities in your school
• A list of some great educational Communities to join
• A one-hour training video all about Communities
• And a detailed help guide

2016 Google Predictions

Over the course of 2015 we saw hundreds of updates roll out for users of Google products and services, giving us new tools and features to improve teaching and learning in our schools.

With 2016 just a few days away it is now time to predict what changes we hope to see in the new year. Below are my eight predictions for Google in 2016.

(Note: You can also see the video of these predictions in the recorded session of our December Google User Meeting here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku8-RnWIJ9E You can skip ahead to the 1 hour 22 minute mark to jump straight to the predictions section.)