From the Google colored chairs to the gourmet chef, Googleplex provided the perfect environment for 50 creative educators at the June 25th Google Teacher Academy to be inspired by Googlers (staff at Google) and innovative educators using Google tools in their classroom.
The folks from CUE, West Ed, and Google designed a fast paced series of events that had us buzzing with ideas. I agreed with the educators from New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the U.S. that it was like drinking from a firehouse. There wasn't a session that didn't leave me blown away by the power of Google tools to transform teaching and learning. (Photo Credit. Molly Schroeder)
The folks from CUE, West Ed, and Google designed a fast paced series of events that had us buzzing with ideas. I agreed with the educators from New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the U.S. that it was like drinking from a firehouse. There wasn't a session that didn't leave me blown away by the power of Google tools to transform teaching and learning. (Photo Credit. Molly Schroeder)
Award winning examples from Vicki Davis' keynote address and the inspiring example of Esther Wojcicki's journalism classes reminded me of the quality work today's students can produce when we set high standards and expect that they will succeed. During the fast-paced tech rotations, I learned about product features that I never knew existed; I saw classroom application of these features that I can't wait to use to help students think deeper as they collaborate, communicate, connect, and create.
- Chris Walsh, who many of you know as the host from ITM videos, gave us a tour of advanced search features, many of which can be found under the “more” tab or 'even more” tab. Check out this interactive demo to learn how to search Google from your mobile phone. http://sms.google.com/.
- Jerome Burg, introduced his project, Google Lit Trip, amongst other GEO applications of Google Maps and Google Earth in the classroom. Check out the gadgets (browse the directory of My Maps) that can turn your Google Maps into tools for measuring distance of a path or digging a hole through the earth.
- Mark Wagner demonstrated Google Doc's newest features including how to add data collecting forms that automatically add the data to your Google Spreadsheet along with the new “gadget” library (found under 'create a map, chart, or table link within a spreadsheet). I can't wait to visualize data using the gauges gadget or watching data change over time using the motion chart gadget.
- Cheryl Davis helped us discover how to use Blogger, iGoogle & Google Reader to collaborate with colleagues, students, and parents. Did you know that items shared through Google Reader can be annotated with notes?
- Kathleen Ferenz helped us discover the power behind Google Notebook and other Google tools to scaffold the research process for students. Did you know you can highlight important facts in a web page and right click to add it to your Google research notebook? Shared notebooks provides teachers with a digital formative assessment tool.
- Kyle Brumbaugh's inspiring message of how his district adopted Google Apps for your Domain to teach students how to become Global Citzens, including making sure that all students have both a computer and Internet access from home made him a hero in my book. Kyle updated us with ways to use Google Apps and Google Sites in the classroom.
These fabulous GTA alumni modeled the spirit of collaborating and sharing their experience and knowledge by organizing Google Almanac --a wealth of resources related to the tools they presented at the Google Teachers Academy 2008. Add these to the lessons and tips from Google Educators Page or sign up for the Google Teacher Newsletter and you'll find yourself with plenty of ways to try googlizing one of your own lessons, or better yet, add a a Google Certified Educator to your personal learning network.
P.S. You can also learn more about some of the Google Teacher Academy participants and view their videos in this unofficial pre-academy wiki or by reading some of their post-academy blog post.
