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Being in classrooms is one of the most important things that a school administrator can do. On this page you will learn how to use Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Forms, a Google Sheets add-on called autoCrat, and Google Photos to have better classroom walkthroughs.
Being in classrooms is one of the most important things that a school administrator can do. On this page you will learn how to use Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Forms, a Google Sheets add-on called autoCrat, and Google Photos to have better classroom walkthroughs.
Before the walkthrough
Before the walkthrough
"If You Don’t Put It On The Calendar, It Won’t Happen!"
"If You Don’t Put It On The Calendar, It Won’t Happen!"
When the chaos of the school day hits one of the first things we tend to do is become reactionary. While sometimes it is necessary to be reactionary, it is not the best way to operate day to day. Teachers want feedback. Feedback means that you need to get into classrooms and do walkthroughs. One way I have found effective for ensuring that I leave time for my walkthroughs is to create a block of time in my Google Calendar. Creating this block ensures that I don't forget about the walkthroughs and also communicates to other staff members that I am unavailable during the block.
When the chaos of the school day hits one of the first things we tend to do is become reactionary. While sometimes it is necessary to be reactionary, it is not the best way to operate day to day. Teachers want feedback. Feedback means that you need to get into classrooms and do walkthroughs. One way I have found effective for ensuring that I leave time for my walkthroughs is to create a block of time in my Google Calendar. Creating this block ensures that I don't forget about the walkthroughs and also communicates to other staff members that I am unavailable during the block.
Communicating with your staff about walkthroughs
Communicating with your staff about walkthroughs
If you know in advance what classrooms you will be walking through you can include them on the calendar invite. Letting people know in advance that you are stopping by prevents the deer in the headlight look you get sometimes when you walk in. You can also include in your calendar invite a list of things that you are looking for during your walkthroughs.
If you know in advance what classrooms you will be walking through you can include them on the calendar invite. Letting people know in advance that you are stopping by prevents the deer in the headlight look you get sometimes when you walk in. You can also include in your calendar invite a list of things that you are looking for during your walkthroughs.
Allowing staff to schedule a walkthrough
Allowing staff to schedule a walkthrough
Calendly.com is a freemium web tool that allows others to schedule time on your calendar. When a someone schedules a time block using Calendly a Google Calendar event is automatically created with you and the attendee. This is a huge time saver for you since you do not have to schedule everything and it gives the teacher autonomy about when I will be visiting.
Calendly.com is a freemium web tool that allows others to schedule time on your calendar. When a someone schedules a time block using Calendly a Google Calendar event is automatically created with you and the attendee. This is a huge time saver for you since you do not have to schedule everything and it gives the teacher autonomy about when I will be visiting.
Set your email auto responder
Set your email auto responder
If you are worried about the pressure of checking your email during a walkthrough you should consider turning on your auto responder. This way anyone who sends you an email during your walkthroughs knows that you will be delayed in answering. This will take the stress off of you to immediately respond and set the expectation for when the sender should expect a response. You can also include a quick sentence about how to get a hold of you if this is an emergency.
If you are worried about the pressure of checking your email during a walkthrough you should consider turning on your auto responder. This way anyone who sends you an email during your walkthroughs knows that you will be delayed in answering. This will take the stress off of you to immediately respond and set the expectation for when the sender should expect a response. You can also include a quick sentence about how to get a hold of you if this is an emergency.
Below is a sample auto responder that you can use when you are walking classrooms. If you are not sure how to set up an auto responder in Gmail click here.
Below is a sample auto responder that you can use when you are walking classrooms. If you are not sure how to set up an auto responder in Gmail click here.
"Thank you for your email. I will be out of my office today INSERT DATE from INSERT TIME FRAME FOR WALKTHROUGH walking classrooms at my school. I will not be responding to any emails during this time. I will be back at my desk on INSERT TIME WHEN YOU WILL BE BACK AT DESK and will respond to your email as soon as possible. I will likely have a backlog, so I appreciate your patience.
If this is an emergency you can contact me/my school office at PHONE NUMBER. "
During the walkthrough
During the walkthrough
Collect your notes via a Google Form and use autocrat to automatically create feedback notes
Collect your notes via a Google Form and use autocrat to automatically create feedback notes
One of the most nerve wracking parts of a walkthrough for a teacher is when the administrator leaves. During the time between when the administrator leaves and when the administrator sends feedback to the teacher the poor teacher is left in limbo wondering how the walkthrough went. You can alleviate that unnecessary stress by using a Google Form to collect your walkthrough information. Once the information is submitted to the form you can use autocrat to automatically send the teacher your notes and feedback. Instead of waiting hours or days to get feedback the teacher gets instant feedback.
One of the most nerve wracking parts of a walkthrough for a teacher is when the administrator leaves. During the time between when the administrator leaves and when the administrator sends feedback to the teacher the poor teacher is left in limbo wondering how the walkthrough went. You can alleviate that unnecessary stress by using a Google Form to collect your walkthrough information. Once the information is submitted to the form you can use autocrat to automatically send the teacher your notes and feedback. Instead of waiting hours or days to get feedback the teacher gets instant feedback.
Google Form Template - You will need to update the questions with your school specific data. If you goal for the school goal feedback section is quantitative consider making this a dropdown question. This will allow you to create graphs on your sheet to track overall how your school is performing.
Google Form Template - You will need to update the questions with your school specific data. If you goal for the school goal feedback section is quantitative consider making this a dropdown question. This will allow you to create graphs on your sheet to track overall how your school is performing.
Google Doc Template - If you add or delete questions on the form make sure that the changes are reflected on the template.
Google Doc Template - If you add or delete questions on the form make sure that the changes are reflected on the template.
For more ideas on how to use autoCrat as a school administrator click here.
For more ideas on how to use autoCrat as a school administrator click here.
A picture is worth 1000 words!
A picture is worth 1000 words!
A picture is a great way to brag about your teachers and share great ideas with other teachers. The problem is most of the pictures we take live on our phone and it becomes hard to find them when you want to share them with someone. To solve this problem you can create photo albums in Google Photos based on different themes or topics. Below is an example of a photo album I have that shows the different ways that my teachers share data in their classroom. Having these photo albums is extremely helpful when you are trying to explain something during a coaching session.
A picture is a great way to brag about your teachers and share great ideas with other teachers. The problem is most of the pictures we take live on our phone and it becomes hard to find them when you want to share them with someone. To solve this problem you can create photo albums in Google Photos based on different themes or topics. Below is an example of a photo album I have that shows the different ways that my teachers share data in their classroom. Having these photo albums is extremely helpful when you are trying to explain something during a coaching session.
Do you want to share the awesome things happening at your school with anyone who walks into the main office? Click here to learn how you can easily stream your Google Photo albums to a Chromecast.
Do you want to share the awesome things happening at your school with anyone who walks into the main office? Click here to learn how you can easily stream your Google Photo albums to a Chromecast.
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