Chris Humphreys

EDET 650-Internship in Educational Technology

November 3, 2014
Reflection 1

Title: Google Apps for Education

Location: Galer Elementary School
Mentor: Carol Lee Kipp-Caldwell, Principal

The internship thus far has been a very fast paced and full of changes. I began this
endeavor by happenstance because when I first approached my principal with several options
for my internship she in turn gave me what she felt would best fit our school for the time. The
use of Google Apps for Education was something that was purchased for our school districts to
use around the world. And since our school is going through our accreditation with AdvancED in
late April; my principal thought it would be a great place to begin moving the staff with 21st
century best practices.
We discussed our ideas about what should be included in the course over a meeting
together then I began working on my proposal. The proposal outlines what will be accomplished
during the course of the internship and what the desired outcomes are. Once completed and
signed off by everyone the contract was the next step in the process. After completing my
contract I brought it to my principal for her approval. One of the things that make us more
difficult to work with is memorandums of understanding or MOUs. My principal made a phone
call to cover all bases about having me participate in an internship. In turn that person who
happened to be the district ET called legal at Headquarter in Washington, D.C. They initially
responded that I was to take a leave of absence from my position. Then my principal called
legal directly to explain the situation and sent my proposal and contract to them to be reviewed.
The legal department eventually called my principal back and agreed with her that it wouldnt be
out of place for me to do this concurrently with my job. My principal did a great job of not telling
any of this to me until she had a definitive answer from everyone as to whether or not Id either
be allowed to do the internship while working or have to take a leave of absence.
Once we had the contract issue behind us, I conducted a needs assessment with each
grade level beginning with kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers. I was able to meet
with them in a small group setting, as a grade level, which allowed them to discuss ideas
amongst themselves and get motivated about the project. During this time I gathered what the
most important needs were and worked to see how each of the apps could be applied. I
developed a questionnaire using Google Forms that the teachers used to identify areas that

they thought they could use for themselves and in their classroom. One of the major drawbacks
I will have with this is that our students will not have access to their own accounts.
After completing the needs assessment with the majority of the school staff I created a
training schedule to publish to the staff using Google Calendar. This calendar will allow the
teachers to know when we will be conducting training and I can set reminders for them. Since I
will be working with a limited amount of time with the staff having a posted schedule is very
important. This also allows my supervisor access to the training schedule as well.
I also created a Google Site as a place to post all relevant information regarding Google
Apps for Education training for our school. The site has teacher resources and information for
the teachers to access from anywhere while working on the program. Given the time restrictions
of this course and our limited amount of time to conduct training in school because of union laws
teachers will take comfort in the fact that they have a resource to be able to go back to not only
during my internship but in the future should they need it. It also a great example for my
teachers to see that creating a simple website does not have to be an overwhelming task. So
Im using the site not only as a tool but a teachable moment for the staff.