Often, teacher planning happens in isolation--teachers gather, modify, and test out resources in their own classrooms.  When approached in this manner, this work may not be part of a system that promotes sharing with other teachers and ensures that the strongest practices are shared and memorialized.

Many teams at New Visions have been integrating the use of Google Apps, as a way to support teacher collaboration around the creation and use of curricular resources. Google Apps -- which is free to all educators and schools who sign up for Google Apps for Education -- allows for collaboration on curricular resources like labs, slide decks, handouts, and assessments. In addition, teachers and instructional specialists can use Google Apps to share findings about student learning and the efficacy of different instructional approaches. The possibility for asynchronous collaboration across a large city is key to this pilot: teachers from schools around NYC are able to share resources and learn from one another.

In addition to using Google Apps, teachers are encouraged to join the pilot’s G+ community. This community is designed to be a forum where teachers from pilot and non-pilot schools can share resources and discuss their practice.