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Office 365 Applications for Collaboration among Gifted Teachers

Sylvia Jud

Department of Instructional Technology, Kennesaw State University

ITEC 7500: Capstone Experience & Portfolio

Dr. Judy Wright

August 27, 2020

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Office 365 Applications for Collaboration among Gifted Teachers

To address the lack of meaningful collaboration and communication among the

gifted teachers in the Cobb County School District, the purpose of my Capstone was to

create a Microsoft Teams group and provide professional development training. With the

purpose in mind, the overarching goal was to promote technology facilitated collaboration

and communication between teachers at different schools. The previous system in place

was antiquated and convoluted, with no simple way or place to gather information or

communicate quickly or efficiently.

With the school district being a Microsoft District, the teachers already had access to

a variety of online tools through Office 365; they just needed a unified space and

professional development to learn how to access and use these tools. For collaboration on

the achievement of common goals, many organizations have adopted the use of virtual

teams when employees are spread across a wide number of locations primarily through the

use of information and communication technology (Bhat, Pande, & Ahuja, 2017). Many of

the gifted teachers had been gathering and using a variety of new resources in their

classrooms; while other teachers have rewritten the grade-level Units of Study so that they

are more current and relevant. Best practices dictate that collaboration among teachers

enhances student achievement, so naturally there should have been a more efficient means

of connecting with each other. The problems of coordinating face-to-face collaboration and

providing common planning time can be easily rectified and should be considered a high

priority (Friend, 2000). Studies have suggested that teachers who engage in experiential
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modelling through online training develop stronger confidence to understand virtual

collaboration tools and use the resources in their classrooms (Vinagre, 2016).

To address the lack of a centralized location I provided teachers in Advanced

Learning with a functional online tool that each can access for virtual collaboration, as well

as the coached them through professional development on the use of Office 365

Applications for collaboration and communication. The resources and need to collaborate

and share existed for these teachers, as did the Office 365 platform for a digital

collaboration and communication space. According to the U. S. Department of Education

(2019), through the use of technology, teachers now have the opportunity to connect with

other educators beyond the walls of their school to broaden their perspectives and create

greater potential for student learning.

This Capstone took the need and created a virtual environment for collaboration

and communication via Microsoft Teams. Teachers have been able to instantly

communicate with the entire Advance Learning department by posting a chat in Teams

asking for help in obtaining resources or for suggestions. Responses to chats are

instantaneous thus cutting down on the time spent waiting for teachers to read their email

and draft a response. In their study, Lin, Hu, Hu, & Liu (2016) found that in collaboration

and communication facilitated by online means, teachers can expand and complement the

weaker, limited real-world collaboration, therefore expanding the scope of available

information. In addition, many professionals are already motivated to participate in virtual

teams because it offers 24/7 availability and therefore can reach co-workers at any time

(DeLuca, Gasson & Kock, 2006). Other benefits of using a OneNote Notebook and Microsoft

Teams were the ease of keeping the system up to date with only current contacts, the
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continued availability of shared files after a member is removed from the system, and a

centralized location for all department files and documents.

A critical factor in broadening instructional design as well as developing teachers

who are competent in the modern learning environments, is the need to collaborate via

technological means and educational research sectors (Basham, Smith, Greer, & Marino,

2017). Being a Microsoft School District, the expectation exists that district staff will use the

tools offered by Office 365 with each other as well as with students. As noted by Friend

(2000), teachers need to engage in meaningful exercises and experiences, therefore,

teachers have been required to attend professional development on how to access and use

Microsoft Teams for collaboration and communication.

Description of Capstone Experience

My Capstone was launched in August of 2019 during the beginning of year

Advanced Learning department’s training. Prior to this, I had been designing the Teams

with input from the Department Supervisor. We agreed that this was the best opportunity

to launch our Elementary Gifted Collaborative Teams as teachers needed to access a

number of documents used during the year that had been scattered across the various

platforms but were now all housed in specific channels. Many Teachers were a bit

apprehensive at first because of the change and the fact that they were not familiar with

Teams yet. During my professional development sessions, I introduced the Teams and

channels, showed the members where and how to access the coveted forms and

documents, and started a chat which engaged the teachers through a scavenger hunt of

sorts by which they were navigating our Teams to locate different items and post
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something of their own. This allowed the teachers to play around and get acquainted with

the Teams in a less stressful environment. I chose to present my Capstone in this manner

of professional development because of personal experiences where attendees had been

introduced to the instrument but not given time to engage with it while what was shared

remained fresh in our minds. Further professional development was planned for the

November of 2019, during our Window 2 testing training whereby teachers were polled on

their acceptance and usage of Teams and suggestions for improvement were shared. The

final professional development session was scheduled for April 2020 during our Window 3

testing training.

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, my Capstone quickly became the

centralized location for all teachers in the Advanced Learning department. We went fully

virtual on March 16th, prior to next scheduled PD session. Yet, the Department’s 142 staff

members have embraced our Teams and continue to use it for all intended purposes and

more. While I had worked with the Department Supervisor to determine which channels

needed to be created at the onset, even more channels have been added to make navigation

for all things easier. I have experienced video chat meetings, shared resources, and team

building with Teams members. I had only hoped that my Capstone would be so well

received, and it has surpassed my expectations as Teams members are posting everything

from questions and requests for assistance to successes and fails they’ve encountered with

their students. Teachers have been collaborating at every grade level sharing documents,

audio files, videos, screencasts, just about anything to help each other out.

Implementation
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Upon approval of my Capstone Proposal in May 2019, I immediately began working

on the design and layout of our Microsoft Teams and OneNote Notebook. I spent a total of

73 total hours between May and August 2019 collaborating with my Department

Supervisor on what the ultimate collaboration space should look like and items that need to

be incorporated. Throughout the design process, it was determined that everything

needed could be incorporated into a Microsoft Teams group thus eliminating the necessity

for a OneNote Notebook. With this decision came the need to change my focus from using

the Teams group for communication and the Notebook for collaboration to building the

Teams site as a “one-stop shop” of sorts where teachers would communicate, collaborate,

and share.

Through the design process, I created the different channels which would be used

for teachers to have access to the variety of forms, information and lessons. These

channels had to be named in ways that were user friendly and straightforward to avoid

confusion and allow easy navigation. While evaluating the important areas that had to

incorporated, I chose to begin with some basic channels including Curriculum, Cluster and

Collaboration models, Talent Development, Testing, and Forms. These titles were specific

enough to give members the direction of where to go to find what they were looking for.

Then within each of these channels, folders were created in each files tab where documents

would be uploaded.

Once the shell of the Teams group was created, I methodically began adding the

necessary files to each folder. These included the 18 forms specific to the Advanced

Learning Department, the approved Units of Study framework for each grade level, FTE
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(full time equivalency) data sheets, and all testing spreadsheets. When rolled out, the

teachers would no longer have to visit the different locations to access these items.

In addition to the design and creation, I created a Sway introducing the Teams group

and planned for the professional development class that I would be presenting at. The

Sway provided teachers with a complete overview of how to access Teams, the layout of

the group, and where to locate important files and documents already uploaded and ready

to access. My initial professional development session occurred in August of 2019 where

the Teams group was shared with staff and launched. Teachers were given the opportunity

to navigate the different channels via scavenger hunt. Following this initial session, a

survey was provided to teachers via Microsoft Forms (and offered through Teams) on the

usefulness of the group, the ease of navigation, suggestions for additional channels or

improvements.

After reviewing the survey results, additional channels were added for the Advisory

Council and Professional Learning. The majority of the respondents provided positive

feedback stating that the creation of Teams had been very useful, although it had taken

time to get used to and therefore, hadn’t been utilized to the extent intended. Old habits

are hard to break, and I needed to figure out a way to convince members to initially visit

Teams rather than as an afterthought. My supervisor and I discussed this, and she

mandated that all teachers begin using Teams immediately. She enforced this by making

Teams her mode of communication. Group emails became almost non-existent as all

announcements and important notifications were posted on Teams.

Project Outcomes
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To successfully implement this Capstone, there were a number of deliverables

which were necessary to be completed. Initially, the Microsoft Teams group Elementary

Gifted Collaborative had to be designed with channels created, files uploaded, and 142

members added. To prepare for the first professional development session, I created an

agenda for the training as well as a Sway presentation outlining how to access, navigate,

and use Teams for collaboration and communication. Additional resources were also

prepared for teachers to use and access between training sessions, including hand-outs

with screenshots for reference, training videos for refresher and a Forms survey to

evaluate the effectiveness of the PD session and Teams. These deliverables were

important requirements to ensure that the Teams group was well received and utilized.

Barriers Encountered

Due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, I was unable to offer the final PD session

planned; however, this proved to be unnecessary since everyone was forced to work

virtually, the Elementary Gifted Collaborative Teams became the location to go to. The

pandemic definitely changed how some of the changes and adjustments to Teams were

facilitated as well. I utilized and relied upon my supervisor and a co-worker to assist in

keeping the site updated as needed.

Follow-Up 

At this time, there does not seem to be a need for any follow-up. Teachers are using

Teams and collaborating like never before. In addition to the original channels, several

new ones have been added to focus on remote learning. I have been monitoring usage
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while participating in collaboration Teams meetings. Since launching my Capstone, even

the most hesitant teachers have been using the site and providing positive feedback.

Discussion and Reflection

As I reflected on the completion of my Capstone, I realized how much knowledge I

gained from this experience. From being able to plan, design, and implement a user-

friendly platform for collaboration and then train my Advanced Learning co-workers, I

utilized so much of what I learned in the Instructional Technology Master’s Program at

KSU. There is so much more involved in designing a usable platform that serves as a one-

stop shop. The thought process in determining which channels were necessary to include

and the folders to create in each channel had to be methodical so that it would be effective.

I didn’t want to have to change things once I began creating them since that would have

wasted time. In addition, while I am a natural at teaching kids, I was a bit anxious to teach

adults. This took me out of my comfort zone which turned out to be wonderful. I took the

opportunity to think of how I am during PD, especially those that I’m not necessarily

interested in, and what I needed to do to keep the attendees focused and participating.

These experiences definitely helped me grow as an educator and opened up new avenues

to pursue in the future. It was helpful to me to have the ISTE standards as a guide

throughout the proposal and implementation.

The ISTE standards associated with my Capstone’s main objective are:

Standard 3. Digital learning environments. Element g. Candidates utilize digital

communication and collaboration tools to communicate locally and globally with students,

parents, peers, and the larger community. (PSC 3.7/ISTE 3g, 2010)
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Standard 5. Professional development and program evaluation. Element b.

Candidates design, develop, and implement technology rich professional learning programs

that aligns to state and national professional standards, integrates technology to support

face-to-face and online components, models principles of adult learning and promotes best

practices in teaching, learning, and assessment. (PSC 5.3/ISTE 4b, 2010)

The goal of the Capstone was to increase collaboration and communication among

gifted teachers in Cobb County. Element g of ISTE Standard 3 (2010) supports the use of

digital tools for communication and collaboration which directly correlates to this

Capstone. In addition, Element b of ISTE Standard 4 (2010) focuses on the design,

development, and implementation of professional development which according to my

Capstone’s main objective, targets elementary gifted teachers and their use of Microsoft

Teams for the purpose of collaboration.

Recommendations

To be successful in an endeavor such as this, I would recommend that one be sure to

have the complete support of administration or supervisors, without it the chance of

success is negligible. Once the support is in place, the next and possibly most important

thing for candidates to do is keep the lines of communication open. Ask questions, share

the vision, make comments. It is imperative to hear and be heard for a successful outcome.

Lastly, a bit of advice is to not take criticism personally, nothing shared or suggested is

done in spite to hurt the candidate’s opportunity for success but rather to assist in

bettering the product and training.

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References

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Online Education: Emerging Realities and Implications for the Future of Education. Journal

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Friend, M. (2000). Myths and misunderstandings about professional collaboration.

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Georgia Professional Standards Commission Instructional Technology Standards. (n.d.).

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Technology and Teacher Education, 9(2), 285–308.

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