Thing 16

This is a wonderful tool that I have used in my professional life. I am currently working with the Michigan Department of Education and a handful of people from across the state. Our goal is to formally organize a group of district arts coordinators from the state of Michigan. To date we've worked on this with absolutely no face to face meetings - we've had conference calls, exchanged e-mails, and worked collaboratively on Google Docs. At one point there were four of us on a conference call talking about the organization while one person edited the document. In real time we were able to see the edits, clarify anything entered into the document, and add ideas that were triggered by what was heard, or read, or viewed. If ideas came to us at a later time, we could go back and add to the document. Even now, as I am tasked with the next step, I will revisit the document, remind myself of the next steps, and edit as necessary.

Our district presents a K-12 art show annually. Next year, I plan to minimize the face to face meetings of the steering committee and create a Google Doc which lists work that needs to be completed, assign responsibilities, deadlines, and update progress.

When incorporating this tool with students, one would obviously need to get the necessary permissions from the technology department to access Google products. The instructor would also need to be diligent about protecting the identity of student names and e-mail addresses.