Technology Plan

Google Apps for Education (GAFE) in order to Personalize Learning

at Forest Ridge Elementary School

Whitney Plunkett

ET680 The Role of the Technology Leader

 I. Introduction

Forest Ridge Elementary School (FRES) is located in Laurel, MD and is a part of the

Howard County Public School System (HCPSS). FRES is celebrating its’ 25th anniversary this

year. There are over 700 students are Forest Ridge and almost 100 staff members. The FRES

community is extremely diverse with over 21 languages spoken at our school. The slogan at

FRES is “First Steps on the Path to College & Career” (fres.hcpss.org). Teachers at FRES

believe in moving students forward to be prepared for whatever their future holds. We try to use

the resources provided by the school district and the community to create more opportunities for

our students. HCPSS bought Google Apps for Education (GAFE) for every student in Howard

County. They have an account with a username and password. Students can access Google Apps

including Google Docs, Maps, Forms, Sheets, and Drive. Learners can share and comment on

information with their teacher and with others in their class. Currently, there are very few

teachers who use the technology provided in our school other than for the required school

testing. Some teachers use the technology available for research or rely on the technology

instructors to teach those skills to students. GAFE has the potential to create opportunities in our

school for teachers to personalize instruction for students and to provide meaningful and easily

accessible resources using technology. GAFE can also create more opportunities for our students

to collaborate with peers inside and outside of the classrooms. Forest Ridge is already a fantastic

school in a remarkable diverse and thriving community. GAFE would fit in well with the

community and school goals to make Forest Ridge excel more than ever before.
 II. Analysis of Forest Ridge Elementary School (FRES)

Perceived Attributes

Google Apps for Education (GAFE) is a hub of applications provided by Google that

enhances education in 21st century classrooms. Google Apps for Education can be tried and

explored by teachers who have an account. Teachers can explore all of the applications and the

features that it provides without much effort because they all have Google accounts. They do not

have to set up a classroom in order to explore all of the apps. However, in order to understand

and explore the features in Google Classroom, teachers must set up a class in that Google app.

Google Classroom is one of the many features that GAFE includes which allows teachers to send

assignments, grade, assign tests, and more. For teachers that are new to the idea of using

technology with students, it might be in their best interest to only explore ways they can have

students use other Google apps during instruction.

GAFE is very compatible with the technology that Forest Ridge has through Howard

County. In order to use GAFE, Forest Ridge students and teachers need technology devices

(iPads, desktop computers or laptops), Internet access, and a Google account. All of those are

provided by the school system. This works in our favor and the compatibility with current

resources is not a foreseeable issue in this project.

Using Google Apps to personalize instruction is compatible with the school’s vision.

Personalizing instruction in reading and math is part of the FRES’ progress plan. GAFE is not

compatible with the current perceptions that many teachers have about using technology in the

classroom. Hopefully once teachers begin to see the advantages of using GAFE, the perceptions

teachers have about GAFE or technology in general will begin to shift in the right direction and

will ultimately change the culture of learning at our school.

 At Forest Ridge, GAFE would be replacing verbal directions and unending paper copies.

This innovation has the advantage of using less paper. Forest Ridge is a certified Green School

with a large team of students that push for our school to remain Green. Also, having directions

and assignments on Google will put more initiative on students and will create less chaos in the

classroom. Students will ask less questions pertaining to directions because they will be posted

for students to read and/or listen to as many times as they need.

It will be clearly observed that teachers are using GAFE based off feedback they give

throughout the process. The hope is that once teachers begin using GAFE and hear about how it

can transform their classrooms, other teachers will see how easy it is to implement. Then, they

will want to adopt GAFE into their own classrooms. I will send monthly updates to an

administrator to put in our Staff newsletter that goes out weekly. This update will feature a

picture and a testimonial from a teacher that has used GAFE in their classroom. Teachers love to

be recognized by the school and this is a great way for results to be observed by other teachers

and recognized by administrators.

Naturally, many teachers at FRES will hesitate using a new technology, especially

because it has some complexities. There will definitely be some push back. Some teachers may

see this as another idea that they are being asked to do. Other teachers may view this as daunting

because of their lack of technology knowledge. Lastly, some teachers do not believe using

technology in the classrooms is beneficial and believe that technology is harmful to our students.

Those teachers may view GAFE as unnecessary. Because of this, it will be important to show

teachers the advantages of GAFE and the features of GAFE based on their level of experience

and comfort level with the technology. This is described in more detail in the Plan of Action
section below. GAFE is easy to explore once teachers create their classrooms. Handing out step

by step instructions for teachers to create their Google Classroom and making myself available to

assist will also be imperative.

Ely’s Conditions

Teachers at FRES are currently dissatisfied with the call to personalize instruction but not

able to find the time that it requires. Teachers are also dissatisfied with the lack of help in

exploring new technologies. One teacher that I interviewed stated that she found our school a

difficult environment to take risks. My hope is to begin the conversation and culture of taking

risks in school with the administration and continue the conversation with other teachers.

There are various educators in the building that have a wide range of knowledge using

GAFE. I interviewed a fourth-grade teacher that rated her knowledge of GAFE a 1 out of 5

because she has never used with students. She does know how to open Google Docs and share a

Google Doc. The technology teacher rated herself a 3 out of 5. She has used with students before

but there are features that she still wants to explore. We have the technology resources available

in our school, however we could always use more. Every grade has one device cart and there are

several iPad carts. Teachers use the iPads very little. Many teachers at FRES only use the devices

for testing that requires computers.

Time is always one of the biggest hurdles in these types of endeavors. I can imagine that

this could slow down the shift in personalizing instruction using Google Apps. In the case studies

that we have viewed so far in class, time seemed to be one of the biggest common factors.

Currently, every adult in the building as many meetings throughout each week. We have monthly

faculty meetings, Language Arts data meetings, Math data meetings, subject trainings,

committee meetings and class climate meetings. Every week teachers have meetings with their
team. Most adults are tired of the many meetings that are required of the staff during the work

day because it does not allow for teachers to get other required tasks completed during work

hours. There are optional trainings every Friday morning provided by the reading or math

specialists. I have attended a few and depending on the topic, there is a fairly good turnout. This

surprised me based off of how much I hear teachers complain about the number of meetings we

must attend.

Just as in any school today, if a new technology or idea is shared and it is not easily

implemented or is complex, teachers are not going to buy in. Most teachers will tune out, not

listen and not try to implement in their classroom. Also, many teachers at FRES are very vocal

about if they disagree with a new initiative.

Our administrators are on board with continuing to change and improve the culture of our

school. They believe that teachers should facilitate learning and technology helps teacher do this

fluidly and easily with proper training. They also believe that we need to find a way to

personalize instruction for our students because every learner comes with different backgrounds

and prior knowledge. Every learner is at a different place and should be met with where they are

on the learning spectrum.

In order for FRES to move forward in personalizing instruction through the use of

technology and GAFE, there must be clear leadership in our school that is willing to take this on.

After interviews and a few conversations, there are at least 2 teachers that are willing to help

move our school towards these goals. Other teachers supporting this vision will be very

important.

ACOT Model
 Teachers are at various stages of the ACOT model. Looking at the entire school, many

teachers are at the entry or the adoption stage. If teachers are using technology in their

classrooms, most of them are using them for educational games or memorization activities. One

teacher that I interviewed stated that she was afraid to use some of the technology because

technology fails and can ruin her lesson. She says she does not feel comfortable troubleshooting

computer problems. Although there are some teachers that are afraid to use technology, there are

a few teachers on all five stages of the ACOT Model.

There are teachers at FRES are in the entry stage. They use mostly textbooks and

worksheets, and a lot of instruction is whole group teaching. Teachers at this stage are also very

resistant to trying new technologies with their students and there are many teachers that believe

using technology with students is only the responsibility of the technology teacher. They believe

their job is only to teach the core subjects. Also, one of the technology teachers frequently uses a

program called “Type to Learn” during the technology related arts where students practice typing

during class. This reminds me of the Entry stage because students are working individually and

engaged in one independent activity. In order to move these teachers to the adoption stage, their

mindset will need to be changed. They will need to view technology as a supportive tool and not

a threat, inconvenience, or problem. This can happen by co-teaching lessons with those teachers

using GAFE and having honest conversations with those teachers to address concerns and

beliefs.

As stated above, there are many teachers in the adoption stage as well. Similarly, to the

teachers in the entry stage, they struggle to implement new technology in their classrooms and

they teach mostly whole group lessons. Teachers at this stage at FRES see the benefit to using

tech in their classrooms but they do not know where to begin or what programs would be best to
use when. One teacher used Word processor for students to type a paper that they wrote by hand

so the paper could be printed and look neater. This activity reminds me of a teacher in the

adoption stage. They are adopting the idea of using technology in this activity. However, the

activity does not require a lot of skill or any innovation. In order to move these teachers to the

adaptation stage, I will introduce them to the SAMR model and have conversations about the

different phases. We will discuss which category most of our lessons fall under. Then, we will

brainstorm and create ways to personalize, modify and redefine future lessons from the

curriculum using Google Apps.

In the adaptation stage, there are teachers that use technology for students to access

curriculum through digital media, research for projects, and to type assignments. Some teachers

augment their lessons by increasing the performance of an activity. For example, for many

students in intermediate grades, typing is faster and more productive than writing by hand.

Teachers are also substituting online textbooks rather than the paper version of a textbook. In

order to move teachers from the adaptation stage to the appropriation stage, I will introduce the

SAMR model to this group too. We will brainstorm different ways we can incorporate project

based learning and learning that is cross curricular.

There are fewer and fewer teachers in each group as we move up the ACOT model.

There are very few teachers at FRES in the appropriation stage. I have seen small glimpses of

teachers moving between the adaptation stage and the appropriation stage. It depends on their

comfort level of an activity and the level of risk it may be in attempting the new technology.

There are a few teachers who have used technology for project based instruction during a lesson

every once in a while. However, using project based learning is not the norm in any classrooms

at FRES. Another technology teacher, the one I interviewed, has used HCPSS’ learning
management system (Canvas) to create a learning module for students to move through at their

own pace. In order to move these educators to the Invention stage, we can discuss new uses for

GAFE. We can brainstorm strategies for using GAFE in our curriculum that will redefine lessons

and create opportunities for our students that they would not otherwise have.

Lastly, I have not seen any teachers in the Invention stage. These teachers would be

creating classroom environments for students to take risks and building classrooms for students

to engage in meaningful conversation and making opportunities for students to regularly

collaborate over projects. Teachers also do not create many opportunities for subjects to cross

over each other. If there were educators in this stage, I would encourage them to share their

wealth of knowledge, resources, lesson ideas, technology tips and more with other teachers in

their reach.

III. Stakeholders

In order for my plan of implementing Google Apps for Education (GAFE) at Forest

Ridge (FRES), I will need a group of people surrounding this plan. I will need others to assist in

helping to move others through the ACOT stages. Also, people will need to be there for support,

ideas, and motivation. Some key people at FRES that I believe will be imperative to move this

vision forward are: Geneé Varlack (principal), Danielle Shanks (assistant principal), Clair Wise

(technology teacher), Sarah Ports (5th grade teacher), Natalie Pretzello (band instructor), Heather

Tordella (school librarian) and the 2018-2019 PTA President that is not yet announced. Each

member will have their own voice in the project and will give voice to their peers by asking

questions. The stakeholders will also provide support and encouragement in their own arenas in

our school.
 The Principal and Assistant Principal will be key people to help move this vision

forward. First, they will approve of this entire plan and allow for it to take place with the staff.

Also, they will address to the staff how this plan is aligned to the School Improvement Plan and

will hopefully provide time for me to share my vision and ideas with teachers at FRES. This will

hopefully address the issue of time that is in our school that is mentioned above.

Clair Wise, the technology teacher, will provide insight into the best ways to share

information with staff. She and Sarah Ports (5th grade teacher) will facilitate trainings and

conversations with other teachers in teaching them how to use GAFE and how to personalize

instruction for our learners. Both teachers will help with implementing the vision. Clair can share

knowledge to other teachers in how using GAFE can personalize instruction. Both Sarah and

Clair can facilitate discussions with different teachers in that are in different places in the ACOT

model. They can brainstorm ways for teachers to use GAFE in realistic and attainable ways.

Heather Tordella is our school librarian and our school “Technology Help Desk”. She

troubleshoots problems with computers and she is called when a device needs repairs. Heather

incorporates technology regularly in her lessons with students of all ranges. She is very vocal and

will be an important part of our committee. She will also be critical to the maintenance piece of

our plan. Computers and iPads will need to be working and she can continue be a voice to make

sure teachers report when devices need to be repaired. This could also be a platform for her to

share the importance of maintaining organized and clear device carts.

Natalie Pretzello, the band instructor, will be representing the fine arts department by

being the bridge between our technology team and the related arts teachers. She can share ideas

with those teachers. Teaching related arts is a different type of challenge because you are

instructing students for a shorter period of time. Natalie can share with teachers how they can
successfully incorporate GAFE while teaching several hundred students. I realize that it is

unrealistic to expect teachers to have online classrooms setup for each class. This is where

Natalie can facilitate discussions with the related arts and fine arts teachers.

Lastly, our PTA president will develop ways to involve, communicate and educate the

community on this technology plan. The PTA president can create an opportunity for me or

someone from the committee to share our ideas and our passion for personalize instruction for

students. We can share GAFE and how students can access learning and homework at home

using GAFE. The PTA president can create a forum for parents to ask questions and for us to

assure the safety of its’ use. The PTA president can update the PTA webpage with important

technology tips and ways they can stay involved in their child’s assignments on Google.

Each of these stakeholders are critical to developing a technology plan. I recognize that

this plan cannot move forward without the support of those around me. This is a unique group of

people that bring many different skill sets to the table. They are respected members of our school

community. We will all plan, share and cast visions together. To keep them involved, I hope to

meet monthly with an agenda, and create action steps between each meeting for members to

complete within their individual roles. I will also check in regularly with stakeholders to see how

our plan is moving forward in order to make adjustments when necessary.

IV. Plan of Action

Vision and Mission

The vision and mission that I have thought of for FRES are still being developed and I

would first ask for insight from stakeholders before sharing with other teachers at our school and

in the school community. My technology vision for Forest Ridge is for all teachers to become
equipped, and empowered in personalizing learning for students. This vision is in line with the

FRES School Improvement Plan in reading and math which states “staff will personalize

learning through student goal setting” (fres.hcpss.org). My vision is also in line with the FRES

mission which states “We will teach, nurture, and encourage all students to contribute positively

to our diverse community and world”. GAFE allows students to communicate and contribute to

our learning community. This will be discussed more later in the plan of action. However, it is

important to note that my technology vision for FRES is in line with the overarching vision of

our school. The vision does not include GAFE because while I do not think Google is going

anywhere anytime soon, I hope that this vision could continue to move the school forward, with

or without Google. Therefore, I have also developed a mission for FRES that encompasses what

I would like to see happen now. Also, I do recognize that this could take years and will require a

major shift in thinking for most teachers at FRES.

My idea for a mission for FRES is that all teachers understand GAFE and how it can be

used with students to begin personalizing instruction for our students. The mission should take

several years to be complete. In order for this change to occur, deep rooted perceptions and

beliefs about technology will need to be changed.

Potential Problems

As stated previously, Google Apps for Education has the potential to be very complicated

or very simple. Google updates their programs very regularly and there are always new features

to learn in Google. However, I acknowledge that many teachers have never used GAFE with

students and/or are on a basic level of using GAFE. The plan is to address problems with

complexity by scaffolding trainings for different teachers. Some teachers will simply be
introduced to setting up their class and assigning an assignment. Others may be introduced to

apps that allow for collaboration and personalization in unique ways.

Del Mar School District located in San Diego, California uses GAFE in their district’s

technology plan. They for teachers to “skillfully use Google Apps for Education (Drive, Docs,

Sheets, Forms, Maps) to enhance learning opportunities” (www.dmusd.org). I also hope for

teachers in my school to achieve this one day. Using these apps for students to collaborate with

each other and others outside of FRES will enhance opportunities that a textbook or an online

game cannot offer. In their technology plan, they only wrote about how they would like teachers

to enhance learning opportunities. This is important but I did not see how it would enhance

learning opportunities. I see GAFE as a perfect way to personalize instruction for our students,

therefore, I plan to focus on this task in my school.

Richfield School District (RSD) located in Minnesota has stated that they are using

SAMR to differentiate how they are implementing training to teachers in their district. This is

another part of their plan that I hope to emulate in conjunction with the ACOT model. Teachers

are on every level of the ACOT model and SAMR spectrum. They will need specialized training

and support just like our students. To address this plan, teachers’ level of expertise will be

identified through a survey. After the survey, teachers will be split into groups based off where

they are on the spectrum.

Richfield School District is also using Google as a platform for teachers and students.

They state that “Google continues to improve and develop new Google apps for Education

products” (www.richfieldcsd.org). This is an important part to note because it is constantly

improving and focuses on what is best for learners today. This solves the problem of using a

program that could become outdated quickly.

 While I would like for teachers to use GAFE for assignments, this may create an equity

issue. Some students can access GAFE at home using iPads, laptops or desktop computers. Other

students cannot access these at home. It will be important to note that teachers should be careful

assigning homework assignments or projects to students that may not have home access. While it

is simple to say that those students can go to the library for free, they shouldn’t have to and other

options should be given to them.

Timeline and Action Steps

In June 2018, I will inform administrators of my plan, ask for approval and feedback of

the vision, goals and action steps. After meeting with the school administrators, I will meet

individually with the educators and community member listed above in the Stakeholders section.

While meeting with each person, I will share my vision and how they could play a role in

making positive changes to educational technology in our school. Then, I will ask them to be a

part of the plan. With the teachers that have stated interest, I will meet with the group as a whole

at the very end of the school year.

At the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, the new team of stakeholders will view a

survey that is being prepared to send to teachers in the school. Teachers will complete the survey

in order to reflect and give feedback as to where teachers are on the ACOT spectrum. After

receiving feedback from the survey, I will place teachers into groups based off of where they are

according to the ACOT model, their comfort level using technology to personalize instruction

and their comfort level using GAFE with students. A small portion of the Stakeholders will meet

to identify what steps we should take to introduce GAFE to teachers in the five stages. Not all

stakeholders will need to be take part in this portion of the project. For example, it will not be

necessary for the PTA president to join in these discussions.

 At this point, teachers in the entry stage know very little or nothing at all about using

technology to personalize instruction. They will be explained the “Why” and hopefully this will

at the very least spark conversations. As stated above in the potential problems and analysis of

our current situation, there will be some push back. I suspect a majority of the push back will

come from teachers in this stage. It will be important for an administrator to express to this group

in particular why they also believe in personalize instruction. When it comes from an

administrator, ears are more likely to be open to receive new information.

Then, the team will meet with teachers in the adoption and adaptation stage. They will be

shown how students can log into GAFE, how to set up their online classroom and how to create

an assignment. This is a good step towards personalizing instruction. Teachers in the

appropriation stage will learn different ways to create groups, assign assignments to certain

students, and ways to incorporate project based learning. Teachers in all three of these stages will

also look at their curriculum to find easy and accessible opportunities to use GAFE in the

upcoming weeks. Providing the opportunity for teachers to not only understand how to use

GAFE but to plan for using it will be important.

Lastly, if there are teachers in the invention stage, we will have a small forum where we

can share ideas with each other. We can share lesson plans and different ways we have used

technology in general to personalize instruction. This will be more of a time where we can learn

from each other.

All of the workshops for these stages will be ongoing. There will be opportunities for

teachers to co-teach with me or other stakeholders throughout the year. As teachers begin using

GAFE, they will be encouraged to send pictures to me. I will send the pictures and a quote to

administrators for them to feature this staff member in our Staff Newsletter.
 At the end of the year, teachers will take the same survey in March 2019 that they did at

the beginning of the school year. These surveys are one of the assessments that will help quantify

and qualify the successfulness of our efforts. The support from administrators and feedback from

teachers and testimonies from students are other assessments that will help us assess if the vision

is moving forward. Lastly, at the end of the school year, the stakeholders will meet to decide how

we can move this initiative forward at FRES in the upcoming years. Because we came into this

knowing that not all teachers will jump on board and move through the ACOT model fluidly, we

will talk about issues that we came across and come up with solutions. Hopefully, at the end of

the 2018-2019 school year, there are others that are willing to join our small group of

stakeholders because they are interested in moving FRES forward after experiencing

personalizing instruction for their own students.

V. Conclusion

Google Apps for Education has the potential to change the culture of Forest Ridge. It is

both complex and simple, aligned with our school improvement plan, easily accessible, and

encourages 21st century skills from our students. No matter where teachers are on the SAMR

model or the ACOT model, they can use Google Apps to move in the right direction. There will

be challenges and push backs. Not everyone will jump on the Google Apps train but I do hope

that the conversations surrounding this technology project will spark more conversations and

thoughts about the current teaching practices at Forest Ridge.

 References

 All About Forest Ridge (2018). Retrieved from hcpss.fres.org/about

 Richfield Central School District Technology Plan (2015). Retrieved from

https://www.richfieldcsd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=467&da

taid=90&FileName=RSCS%202015-18%20Technology%20Plan.pdf

 Del Mar Union School District Technology Plan (2016). Retrieved from

https://www.dmusd.org/cms/lib/CA01001898/Centricity/Domain/64/DMUSD%20Educat

ional%20Technology%20Plan%202016-2019.pdf