You get a G! And you get a G! And you get a G, too!

Let's face it... Google has become such a household word that it even makes sense as a verb! My 8 year old daughter knew as a kindergartener to "google" a topic of interest on the computer if she needed more information. But Google is now so much more than a search engine especially in the world of education. The G Suite for Education Services by Google formerly known as Google Apps for Educators seeks to improve technology engagement in school districts and classrooms. The core services are Gmail (including Inbox by Gmail), Calendar, Classroom, Contacts, Drive, Docs, Forms, Groups, Sheets, Sites, Slides, Talk/Hangouts and Vault. These are some of the highest-quality resources on the web and all you need to access them is an internet connection. For the purposes of this blog, I will focus on Google Drive as a tool that enhances the effectiveness of an educational leader.

How does Google Drive work and enhance the effectiveness of educators?
Google Drive is a free way to keep all of your files backed up and easy to reach from any phone tablet or computer. It boasts unlimited storage, support for individual files up to 5TB in size and automatic encryption. Ben Schrom, the project manager for the G Suite, says "every file uploaded to Google Drive is encrypted, not only from your device to Google and in transit between Google data centers, but also at rest on Google servers." For educators, this is quite reassuring. Google drive not only lets you store your data securely but activities like sharing, editing etc has also been made easy.

As the coordinator for the district's Student Review Team, I use Google Drive to share confidential files pertaining to the student we are discussing i.e. student transcripts, legal documents, custody records, etc. These documents that used to be emailed are necessary for each member to review prior to making decisions about the student's placement in an alternative setting. With these documents now in one place called a shared drive, my colleagues are able to search much easier for them with easy access.  However, no matter the level of encryption Google promotes, our team still truncates the students' names in order to maintain confidentiality based on FERPA regulations should the records fall in the wrong hands.

One of my favorite features is the Live Edit ability. Google Drive can create documents, spreadsheets, presentations etc. and all of these can be edited online. This provides a real-time working experience for all who have access to the document. It also saves the changes made on the document at the same time.  For my colleagues, this has made life so much easier in that we don't have to worry about who emailed the latest draft of a working document.  The latest version and the history of edits are easy to see with multiple people viewing it at the same time.  At the beginning of the school year, my supervisor decided to use Google Drive to share our meeting agendas.  While we are in the meeting, her team, including me, can make additions to the agenda and add notes that everyone can see via our laptops.

Advantages of Google Drive for Leaders in Education

• Allows you to share files without the use of email. 
• May serve as a shared drive that multiple people can access at anytime. 
• Upload multiple files in subfolders creating opportunities for better organization. 
• Access to files via internet since it is in a cloud. 
• Provides device independency. There is no specific platform for use of the files uploaded on the Google Drive. Any device can be used to access files. 
• Easy solution for online back up of data.

Disadvantages of Google Drive for Leaders in Education

• Google holds the authority to index your data stored on Google drive. So in some cases, keyword matches with any title of your document, some text in your document etc. could float in the search result. 
• Internet based service means full dependency on internet to access the data. When the internet is not functioning, access to your data in such situation becomes impossible. 

Conclusion
Since its inception, the G Suite for educators has increased efficiency, facilitated collaboration, and improved engagement. Google Drive, just one of many of the suite's offerings, has not only reduced me and my colleagues use of paper, but also, our time spent searching for documents now that everything we need is at our fingertips. For those my readers who are reticent to try the G Suite, I encourage you to check out their free online training. Remember this G is for you, too!


References
Bell, K. (2016, October 4). Google Apps is Now G Suite | And Other Google Updates You Should Know. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://www.edtechupdate.com/2016/edtech/google/

What's Up? I mean WhatsApp!

Not a day goes by where I don't send at least one message using WhatsApp to a group of colleagues, book club members, family or friends. Whatsapp is a messaging app that allows you to communicate to a pre-set group of people (up to 256 people in a group) in one place rather than using regular group texting on your smart phone.

You can share messages, videos and pictures with these different groups using customized notifications; it also gives you the ability to mute the conversation when you just don't care to be bothered only to go back later and catch up to the conversation when you are able.

Whatsapp is a great tool for educators to connect with all audiences including their peers, students and the school community.  This real time app allows educators to be accessible at all times of the day for their students as many of us carry our phones with us nearly everywhere we go.  This free unlimited messaging app can be used cross-platform over WiFi - no data plan needed.  In the event you do not have access to your smartphone, the desktop version of Whatsapp may be downloaded for use on a personal computer, too.

How Whatsapp can be used by educators for three different audiences:

Use with Peers

1. Share web resources and links

2. Send pictures of exemplary student work

3. Develop a best practices forum to share ideas on any topic

Use with Students

1. Answer questions from students regarding assignments outside of school hours

2. Share highlights from that day's class with absent students

3. Send graphics, infographics and web & YouTube links students
4. Develop and send audio and video lessons to students
5. Use to assist English Language Learners with mastery
6. Set up student study groups (students can do this themselves, as well)

Use with Parents

1. Share helpful hints of success for their students

2. Send constructive feedback to parents as a whole group or individually

3. Communicate with parents one-on-one via text without giving out your personal number


Disadvantages of Whatsapp

• You must have access to internet to send and receive messages for free and the messages are also not sent to the phone inbox. 
• You need to pay $0.99 for renewal after every year. 
• You cannot call using this app to your friends for free. 
• Your profile picture is visible to every person having your contact number and using this app, whether known by you or not.

How does this tool enhance the effectiveness of educators? Whatsapp helps to promote communication in a variety of ways: teacher to teacher, teacher to student, student to student and teacher to home.  A teacher can share feedback on student work and initiate dialogue with a student while simultaneously sharing it with parent without any of the parties being present in the same room.  If texting is not an option, video and audio messages help to continue the dialogue and these messages can be saved.

Out of all the features of Whatsapp, I like the fact that it promotes dialogue while meeting the kids where they already are... on their phones! Students are given the opportunity to share ideas, thoughts, and arguments in written form while "talking" over the phone.  For example, a teacher can pose a question for a debate to a class and require students to respond at least twice during the Whatsapp discussion. Teachers are able to chime in, check & correct grammar, give praise and provide real time feedback.  

Again, I use this means of communication daily. I truly enjoy the ease of being able to respond with my fingertips on just about any topic.  Like many of my students, Whatsapp has encouraged (or forced) me to conversations that I otherwise might not have had face to face.  Quite frequently, I use Whatsapp to exchange sermons with fellow church members.  I enjoy being a part of the dialogue that ensues after all in the group have viewed the sermon.  I am able to go back and review our conversations easily in one space and directly link to scriptures that are posted. 



References
Graham, E. (n.d.). Using Smartphones in the Classroom. Retrieved September 21, 2016, from http://www.nea.org/tools/56274.htm