0
GCT Reflection: Preachin to My Little Choir
Posted by Unknown
on
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
It has been some time since I've even written in this blog. Hopefully my reasons will be clear near the end. Most of my entries are about ways to integrate technology in teaching. However, this entry is my final reflection, 6 months after attending the Google Teacher Academy in Seattle Washington.
I was overwhelmed when I received the acceptance email to attend the academy. (I jumped out of my seat at ISTE) I spent little time contemplating what I would learn, who I would meet, who I'd become or who I might influence. Now that I have watched my fellow graduates, I see the impact that Google Certified Teachers have on the world. They are inspirational, motivational, and some of the best presenters in education (you were fantastic Adam Bellow at VSTE). Other GCT's such as Kyle Pace, Alice Keeler, Jen Roberts, Karen McMillan and Troy Cochrum are the pioneers that teachers look to for advice and direction. I am awed at the content they produce and the "think out of the box" attitude that pervades everything a GCT does.
I really did start with great intentions for my small part of the world as well. I blogged, tweeted, G plussed and bookmarked hundreds of cool tools, sites and ideas for teaching. My idea for a cross platform app database was big (probably too big for one person) but I designed it anyway.
I began the school year very hyped about using these delivery methods for the best new ideas direct from the Google Academy to my teachers. Yet, what I found was that teachers in my district are not nearly as connected as this fast moving train of EdTech. Some had never heard of blogs, many were afraid of Twitter, and video's posted on YouTube just did not hold a candle to a Word document with instructions. Much of my job (I am a Tech Specialist in my school) turned into data entry and pushing information in the closed environment of Blackboard or through individual emails. The tools felt archaic, clumsy, and not connected to what I knew was the real world. So I became disappointed. If I tweeted, the only people receiving the message where the experts in the field. If I blog, my thoughts about 21st Century Learning or my dislike of the standardized testing model was like preachin to the choir. How could I affect the model of teaching right there in front of me?
As much as I love technology, I also love talking. So I started to talk. I spoke to teachers about Google, how kids learn, why 2011 is different than 2001. How to look at a standard, shrug your shoulders (thanks Patrick Green), and give the kids the opportunity to design the learning. I talked with the principal about cost of hardware, what is doable now vs what we can plan for in the future. I reexamined my idea of training and created short, to the point sessions (demo slams perhaps?) And yes, we all encouraged experimentation.
My first real victory was with the district itself. Fairfax County Schools was planning on rolling out Google Apps for Education in November. I pushed to have our school start in October and was granted my wish. I trained the students how to log on and find the apps that our district was allowing this year. Not as many as I had wished for, but enough to really get started. I began training teachers at the same time Google was changing their look, their labs and some of the functionality. Seemed I would show them a feature one day and it would be gone the next. Connectivity was an issue too, but I held firm that Google was the best venue for kids.
It is 6 months later, so what has changed at my school? More than I realized before I started this reflection. My principal agreed to 128 new netbooks that are cranking out Google Docs creations every day in 7th grade. We have all administrators and counselors working on iPads and examining how to integrate them with students and our infrastructure. We have a Twitter presence, a training channel on YouTube for technology, a new more modern website that uses RSS feeds and the whole school is promoting Bring Your Own Devices for the students. There are 2 Math teachers creating videos to flip their classes and I even have an English department using Today's Meet as a backchannel in class.
I may not have thousands of followers yet and really haven't even updated the template on this blog, but I have had an impact in my little world, where 60 teachers are changing what they do everyday with students. I could not have done that without the Google Teacher Academy support. They are the heroes. If you are looking for anyone to follow, check out some of the names I've mentioned or just look for the hash tag #GCT. I also wish the best of luck to the next group that gets that acceptance email. The inspiration will stick with you throughout your career. Thanks to all.
|
I was overwhelmed when I received the acceptance email to attend the academy. (I jumped out of my seat at ISTE) I spent little time contemplating what I would learn, who I would meet, who I'd become or who I might influence. Now that I have watched my fellow graduates, I see the impact that Google Certified Teachers have on the world. They are inspirational, motivational, and some of the best presenters in education (you were fantastic Adam Bellow at VSTE). Other GCT's such as Kyle Pace, Alice Keeler, Jen Roberts, Karen McMillan and Troy Cochrum are the pioneers that teachers look to for advice and direction. I am awed at the content they produce and the "think out of the box" attitude that pervades everything a GCT does.
I really did start with great intentions for my small part of the world as well. I blogged, tweeted, G plussed and bookmarked hundreds of cool tools, sites and ideas for teaching. My idea for a cross platform app database was big (probably too big for one person) but I designed it anyway.
I began the school year very hyped about using these delivery methods for the best new ideas direct from the Google Academy to my teachers. Yet, what I found was that teachers in my district are not nearly as connected as this fast moving train of EdTech. Some had never heard of blogs, many were afraid of Twitter, and video's posted on YouTube just did not hold a candle to a Word document with instructions. Much of my job (I am a Tech Specialist in my school) turned into data entry and pushing information in the closed environment of Blackboard or through individual emails. The tools felt archaic, clumsy, and not connected to what I knew was the real world. So I became disappointed. If I tweeted, the only people receiving the message where the experts in the field. If I blog, my thoughts about 21st Century Learning or my dislike of the standardized testing model was like preachin to the choir. How could I affect the model of teaching right there in front of me?
As much as I love technology, I also love talking. So I started to talk. I spoke to teachers about Google, how kids learn, why 2011 is different than 2001. How to look at a standard, shrug your shoulders (thanks Patrick Green), and give the kids the opportunity to design the learning. I talked with the principal about cost of hardware, what is doable now vs what we can plan for in the future. I reexamined my idea of training and created short, to the point sessions (demo slams perhaps?) And yes, we all encouraged experimentation.
My first real victory was with the district itself. Fairfax County Schools was planning on rolling out Google Apps for Education in November. I pushed to have our school start in October and was granted my wish. I trained the students how to log on and find the apps that our district was allowing this year. Not as many as I had wished for, but enough to really get started. I began training teachers at the same time Google was changing their look, their labs and some of the functionality. Seemed I would show them a feature one day and it would be gone the next. Connectivity was an issue too, but I held firm that Google was the best venue for kids.
It is 6 months later, so what has changed at my school? More than I realized before I started this reflection. My principal agreed to 128 new netbooks that are cranking out Google Docs creations every day in 7th grade. We have all administrators and counselors working on iPads and examining how to integrate them with students and our infrastructure. We have a Twitter presence, a training channel on YouTube for technology, a new more modern website that uses RSS feeds and the whole school is promoting Bring Your Own Devices for the students. There are 2 Math teachers creating videos to flip their classes and I even have an English department using Today's Meet as a backchannel in class.
I may not have thousands of followers yet and really haven't even updated the template on this blog, but I have had an impact in my little world, where 60 teachers are changing what they do everyday with students. I could not have done that without the Google Teacher Academy support. They are the heroes. If you are looking for anyone to follow, check out some of the names I've mentioned or just look for the hash tag #GCT. I also wish the best of luck to the next group that gets that acceptance email. The inspiration will stick with you throughout your career. Thanks to all.
|
Posts
