Google as a Bridge?

I have been in ed tech longer than I care to admit. One of the constants I have experienced is the factor of change. I have always worked with visionary and dedicated individuals who have the best interest of students and staff as their mission. Over the years as new technologies or systems have come about and been the charge for me or my workgroup to roll out, it has always been walking on the fine line of not falling into the trap of "us against them" or "telling someone, who is an expert in their own field, to "work differently". Those of us in tech and change have had to try and figure out how not to be the bad guys and live through many a transition without feeling attacked or unappreciated.  Trying to get everyone to a new comfort level in use and application, while still enabling their areas of strength to come to the top and not the technology. Those successes take time and tenacity and are what keeps us going to the next implementation.

Recently though I have seen a positive change. Something I did not clearly see as an outcome of a systems change. An unanticipated outcome that has given new strength to continued innovation and acceptance of technology and the changes it makes in our world.

It was Google Apps for Education.

No - not the apps themselves or the potential for digital sharing and collaboration, the efficiency and productivity increases, the connection to others globally, the cost savings in difficult times - those were always there. Not the discussions of one source over another being better. It was the coming together of work teams and the self discovery of skill and confidence in individuals to now take on more acceptance of new systems more quickly.

The implementation of Google Apps for Education has brought the different areas of a public education entity together. The change was driven by the need for cost savings, building capacity by outsourcing instead of in-sourcing. It became an idea that everyone brought to the table instead of "tech" making us change. It gave "tech" the opportunity to be on the same team as the rest of the organization. When the look or features change, and they do quite frequently without notice - it is not the tech departments doing it to the rest of the organization and not including others in the discussions. We now are able to be on the same team as our co-workers playing quarterback instead of on the other team and seen as the offense to their defense. We are all able to work together on the same team and play the opponent.

It has been great! We had our Google Guides from each department who were the tier one support in changing over - not the tech department. We now have others who understand and have increased their independence and skill levels more quickly than any training or roll out previously. I am seeing more questioning or what other technology tools or systems could benefit and grow our work. Individuals seek others and share their discoveries instead of waiting for a tech support ticket to be answered.

So - not a planned intentional outcome at first, but definitely worth the change. It doesn't need to be Google Apps for others, but it is enlightening to realize there is an outcome that can come from change that was unexpected, but worth more than the change itself.