If at First You Don’t Succeed…Try Again!

I'm not sure when or how I first heard about something called the Google Teacher Academy. That was several years ago. I glanced through the program and didn’t consider it because I thought, “if only a few are selected, I’m not even going to come close, so I think I’ll just pass”.

Last year, I was encouraged by a colleague, who was already an Apple Distinguished Educator, to apply for such recognition. I did just that, and to my surprise I was honored and selected ADE 2012. “There’s no stopping me now!”, I thought.

Shortly after, the opportunity came around again but now with Google. I was looking for PD opportunities, related to my new position as tech trainer. My school was about to deploy Google Apps for Education. It seemed to me that Google was the way to go. I learned from another colleague that there were Google Certified Trainers and Google Certified Teachers. That’s what I wanted!

I looked at the requirements for each of them: I had to take 6 tests regarding Google Apps, attend a Google Teacher Academy, complete a comprehensive application, and commit to delivering courses at school.

The opportunity came around. Applications for the Google Teacher Academy, taking place in New York, opened up. I created my video, filled out the application, and sent it all. A few weeks later, the decision day arrived. I received the notification. It said I had not been selected. Bummer! Well, better luck next time. I was determined to try again, and again, as long as it would take.

Meanwhile, I completed the 6 tests and earned Google Qualified Individual status. I became more active on Twitter, I started my blog, updated my web site, and became more and more involved with using Google Apps.

Then, another opportunity arrived, now to the GTA in Mountain View, taking place in December. I reviewed the previous application and video I had submitted. I made some changes to the application and created a brand new video. This time I had more to add to the application. A few weeks later, decision day arrived again. I received the notification. This time it said something different. The first thing I read was, “Congratulations!”. Yes! I had been accepted! Yay! I was so excited!

I’m counting the days and looking forward to attending this much desired academy. I feel honored to be part of this select group of fine teachers and hope to make lifelong friends and partners and work together to support education and technology.

Stay posted, once I attend the academy, I’ll write about my experience and even publish some pictures.

Cheers!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Discovering Add-ons & Scripts

Image
Hi! It's back-to-school time. I hope your school year is off to a good start. As for me, it's been a very busy season. I can tell you that, amongst many other events, two major situations take place each year at my school: Open House and New Google Apps accounts. What's so special about these two? They both require a great deal of prepping and tech assistance. For instance, during Open House, the Tech Integration Team takes advantage that all the parents are present to have them register for tech orientation sessions. A couple of years ago, we'd lay out long sheets of lined paper, one for each different session, with a limited amount of lines. In the next years, we decided to take it a step further and created a Google Form. We had laptops available during each of the Open House nights and asked parents to register electronically to a tech session. While parents were submitting forms, I'd be in the background, checking numbers against the capacity we had fo
Read more

Voice Feedback in Google Docs

Image
Hi! I was recently asked by a teacher how she could provide voice feedback in Google Docs. Sometimes, it's better to record your feedback, rather than writing a long note, and I'm pretty sure students would appreciate listening to their teacher's voice too! Here are some options I found. They all work for Google Docs. Some will mention if they work on Google Slides or Google Classroom too. Mote This is a Chrome extension. The basic plan has some limitations , but it's ok. Mote creates a link to the voice note in a comment box. For a better experience, the kids would also need to install that extension, that way they wouldn't be taken out of the Google doc to listen to the message and could play directly in the comments box. Works the same also in Google Slides and in Google Classroom. Read&Write This is another Chrome extension, which also has other cool features you might like. Again, to better experience this feedback option, it is recommended that the student
Read more

Hello World!

Hello World! This is how I started my first tweet some years ago and this is how I start my first public blog. I am trying to reach anyone out there that shares the same interests I have. The purpose of this blog is to share my experience as a technology trainer at an elementary school. I will be posting what has worked for me, any resources I recommend, and in general, the day to day experiences I go through in my daily life. Check back frequently and feel free to comment and share your experiences too. Let the learning begin!
Read more