We had a big decision to make at the staff meeting, whether or not to change the cell phone policy. The seed was planted via twitter one Sunday morning at 7am. One of my #eduawesome teachers tweeted me about cell phone policies and the remainder the day was a twitter conversation about how to make change in this area.
Making decisions as a large staff is a challenge. I am always struggling to find a way to make sure all voices are heard. My staff meeting last week was an example of a ¨principal win¨.
The first step was discussing it at the Principal advisory committee meeting. I made sure that teacher who started this was there as well as a good representation of the staff. This committee decide to move forward and take the issue to the staff.
A week before the staff meeting, I had done some research about cell phone use in class for educational purposes. I sent out the staff meeting agenda with the links and information about different cell phone policies. I asked my staff to inform themselves.
The cell phone conversation went well. All 50 on my teachers logged onto google moderator (conversation that occurred is here) and wrote questions. Then, I gave them time to vote on questions they wanted to discuss as a group. The conversation was rich and deep, just what I was looking for. However, the online conversation is what surprised me. The "quiet" staff members felt open to replying online. The "quiet" staff members asked great questions. I finally figured out a way to hear from them!!! SO EXCITED.
I will definitely use google moderator again for staff discussions. It was a great way for all 50+ teachers to work together and make an informed decision. Thanks +Sergio Villegas (@coach_sv) for the google moderator tip!
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