Do

Identify the part(s) of your plan you were able to implement (given the nature of leadership work, your project may actually continue beyond submission of your Capstone Portfolio).

My initial plan was to create a Google Group and recruit building rep volunteers who would help me give the idea a trial run. However, after tinkering some with Google Groups and recognizing the numerous idiosyncrasies that I needed to learn, I instead created an even small test group that included only the BEA Board of Directors. There are some clear benefits to utilizing Google Groups. Most importantly, it is free. Next, any member would be able to submit a question, either by emailing the group’s unique email address or by posting a new “conversation” on the group’s webpage. All posts can be moderated, which aids in my goal of ensuring that communication is accurate. Depending on how the group is set up, other members of the group can receive copies of messages emailed individually to them or in a daily digest form, so members may become aware of questions that they didn’t even realize they had. The group website also has a message board-style archive of all past communications, which is an organized and convenient way to find information without having to sort through previous emails, as show in Artifact #4 below.

Artifact 4:

How successful was your action plan at addressing the challenge?

Because this was a test group, it is hypothetical, but the experiment did show that a Google Group can indeed boost communication for building reps. During this experiment, a board member posed a question just as a building rep would, and the union president was about to answer the question and provide additional information (see Artifact 5). If this was done through email, only those two would have seen the communication. However, because it was conducted through Google Group, all but one board member saw the communication instead (the one who did not had a full email inbox and her emails from the group were bouncing back).  

Artifact 5:

Which stakeholders and association practice or program were impacted?  How do you know?

In this case, the Board of Directors were the stakeholders and board communication was impacted, as shown in Artifact 5. If this idea is put into practice, it will be building reps who will pose a question and board members who will answer.

How were your four chosen competencies used in the implementation of your project?

I used Interpersonal Effectiveness by introducing the board to this opportunity to utilize this option to promote our shared vision of improved communication. I used Technological Facility by increasing my knowledge of an available technological tool and using it to engage in professional collaboration and communication. I used Organizational Effectiveness: Leading with Skill in that I led "association members [...] to introduce and implement new processes, protocols, and/or solutions to further and broaden [BEA's] vision" in strengthening communication. When Exploring and Challenging Inequity, this project has demonstrated the potential to open a new avenue of communication for newer building reps and reps of all grade levels.

What obstacles, if any, did you encounter?  How did you address them?

There are only two main drawbacks that I encountered. First, setting up the group and determining what settings were necessary was confusing, and more trial and error is still necessary. The biggest drawback is that the discussion board functionality is considerably limited on mobile. Because of this, I believe that a Google Group would work better through email, similar to a listserv, but this might also limit its usability by building reps.

Given the outcomes, describe any changes you might make to the Capstone Project’s action plan.

Any changes that I make will be determined by feedback that I receive from the board. I presented the board with a rundown of my experience and observation, but as of this writing I have not yet received feedback. When we convene as a board again during the upcoming school year, we as a board may discuss the implementation of a Google Group and whether it will bolster communication enough to justify giving this another test run on a larger scale.