School and Technology begins at Caraway for 2012-2013

Kathy Caraway Elementary is off to a new school year.  We had a smooth beginning. Lots of happy faces came through our doors.
Before school ever started, Bunny Barnard, our instructional technology specialist, provided professional development for all the teachers and staff to introduce our new Google Email, Calendar, and Drive. Many people were surprised with all they could do with their gmail!
Then on Tuesday, we began our first ever "Tech Get-Together," hosted by our 4th grade teacher, Gareth Cook. We had a full computer lab of teachers and staff.  Gareth wants it to be informal, strictly voluntary, a come and go time to introduce new sites, troubleshoot problems, and share ideas.  Our first Tuesday focused on Google Mail, Calendars, and Contacts.  We revisited our recent training and cleared out any fog that might still be lingering.
We also addressed our newly created lunch schedule, created by Casey Henegar, for teachers to be able to send their lunch count to the cafeteria via a Google Spreadsheet.  Then our cafeteria manager, Steve Ho, can have the entire school count on one form already calculated for him to take to the next step in his daily procedure.  We made an instant icon on the teachers' desktop for easy access.
Next week, we plan to focus on Google Drive.