The+problem+or+question

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 * The problem or question**

What is the problem (or opportunity) you wish to address with your project? ​
 * Teacher collabration that is transparent to the Gilmour community.
 * Organize information into a more central location

Describe what you wish to change, for example, aspects of content (e.g. test scores), process (e.g. ability to collaborate), climate (e.g. morale), or tech use (e.g. embedded use of technology in instruction). Be as specific as possible in describing what you want to change.
 * We hope to provide an arena for faculty collaboration that transcends the physical and temporal restraints of face-to-face meetings.
 * Allows ideas to be shared easily
 * Maintains readily accessible records
 * Allows collaboration when schedules don't permit f2f meetings
 * Gives life to ideas and projects within the community
 * Includes built-in professional development and support

We would like to develop a portal to provide:
 * 1) Focus Groups
 * Minutes
 * Resources
 * Action Plans
 * Timelines
 * 1) Access to technology tool tutorials
 * 2) Suggested solutions for technology challenges
 * 3) Calendars (shared; can be queried)
 * 4) Flexible to interface with what is already there (moodle, faculty web pages, sites on the X-drive)
 * 5) An archive of how web2.0 resources are being used in the classroom (like in Cat's Tech Bytes newsletter)
 * 6) Interaction with colleagues (asynchronous)
 * 7) Mechanism to ask and answer technology questions
 * 8) Mechanism to provide feedback to colleagues about posted work
 * 9) A place to showcase student work
 * 10) Archive for useful information/data
 * 11) A central location for strategic planning (a living list of "challenges facing Gilmour" or ideas for innovative programs)
 * 12) Rubrics to share

Accessibility:
 * 1) Faculty
 * 2) Students (some parts)
 * 3) Parents?

Characteristics:
 * 1) Intuitive (easy to navigate)
 * 2) Readily accessible (web-based)
 * 3) Clean (uncluttered)
 * 4) Searchable
 * 5) Seamless
 * 6) Living (can be modified by contributors without assistance from a site manager)
 * 7) Convenient (no sifting through extraneous information)
 * 8) Unobtrusive (does not produce mounds of e-mail notifications)
 * 9) Useful
 * 10) Readily visible - not something that exists somewhere but is never accessed

Here is a draft summary description of our perceived needs based on this page:
 * Additional problems:**
 * X Drive
 * Isolation
 * Opaqueness
 * Common logons at the Lower School (could be solved by using Google docs with student folders shared to teachers)