Almost level 2

So my unexpected adventure continues - in between other meetings, time with kids, and my own personal rediscovery of reading for enjoyment - I am one unit away from being ready for my level two google educator certification test. Yay, me!

I have to say, in the course of my reading and listening, and viewing during the level two training, I found something that set my heart to beating a little faster. I began making "ooooooh" noises that attracted the attention of my high school age daughter. Her response? "Mom, you're weird." Well, I may be weird, but sometimes I just get so excited that it leaks out in odd noises. I also sometimes mumble and talk to myself. But, I digress.

Something I had heard about, but lacked the resources to actually accomplish, was mentioned in my level two training. 20-Time. Oh, yeah. A way to integrate inquiry-based, student-directed learning into my classroom. Boom, baby! If you are not familiar with it, here is a link. You really should check it out. I also rediscovered the Google A Day website and plan to use that to help teach my students important research skills.

All in all, the google educator certification has been a great experience. I've learned about some new tools, reacquainted myself with some things I had forgotten about, and am now constantly  in the planning mode.

I have yet to receive a Chromebook, but I am working on it. I keep hoping that somehow Google will find my little blog and take pity on a poor teacher, but no luck yet. ;) After I complete the level two training certification, I will focus on the Chromebook devices training.

Here's what I am facing in my planning now:
1. I keep finding cool things to use, but I know I must pick and choose. I cannot do it all.
2. Non-negotiable for me: I must do the 20-Time. I feel it is vitally important to foster my students' ability to think critically and to be able to ask their own questions and find those answers. I simply must find a way to make it work in my classroom.
3. District and state requirements - sometimes these get in in the way of my personal style of teaching. However, I am determined to do what I think is best. We will read and we will write - my students will think, and question, and create. That can only help them on the state mandated tests, not to mention life itself.
4. Star Wars, the Hobbit, and Harry Potter - As I enter this new adventure with Chromebooks, I feel like a cross between a Padawan and new student at Hogwarts. Sadly, my magic wand is not yet working, but my light saber is pretty good. I just have to choose my battles. As for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (aka high stakes tests), I do not fear it - and hopefully neither will my students. I must encourage them to join me on this adventure as we go forth to slay the test dragon using all our wits and our skill.
5. Mixed analogy - sorry - I know I go overboard...but sometimes I simply cannot help myself.

So, I encourage you all to go forth on your own technological adventure, stay strong in the force, and remember to chase away the things that suck the life out of your teaching with a nice Patronus charm.

Google Certified Educator, Level 1

Yes - it is true. I completed, and passed, the Google Certified Educator Level 1 exam.

The exam itself was not difficult, but it did take me about 2 hours to complete. I cannot tell you the contents of the test, having signed the NDA, but I can give you some tips to help you prepare for the test.

• Go through the training - trust me. Although I considered myself pretty knowledgeable about Google Apps for Education, it was really a good refresher and there were some new things I did not know about. It takes a little time to go through the entire thing, but it was definitely worth it.
• Check your system. You need to be able to use incognito mode and should have the latest version of Chrome. I had issues with incognito mode. I sent an email on their form requesting help. Unfortunately, I did not ever hear back from them. I ended up using a completely different computer. So check that before you even register. You will HAVE to use incognito mode to take the test. FYI.
• Webcam required. Ok - don't be like me and assume the pictures are only for the test proctoring. Apparently the first picture is also for your certificate. Sigh. Bad hair day. Of course. For my next one, I think I'll make a sign that says, "Google ROCKS" and wear a tiara. Just because I think that would be an awesome picture on my certificate.
• Be prepared to spend some time on this. Like I said - it took me a couple of hours to complete the exam. Get comfy, brush your hair, have some water handy.
• Finally, what are you waiting for? The training was really good and there were some ideas for implementing GAFE in the classroom that I had not thought of. All in all, it was a great experience. I am ready to finish level 2 now. 

So...what's next? Well - I am still waiting to get my hands on a Chromebook. I will start the devices training once I get my little hands on an actual device. I don't suppose Google would give me one, would they? It sure would be helpful. They could consider themselves the creators of my own Google Lightsaber...I am their Padawan...

What do you say, Google? Got a Chromebook I can have? Anyone else out there? 

In the meantime, I am back to level 2 training...and planning my courses...and getting materials together...it's going to be good. What a cool adventure!

Level One Training

I have reached the first milestone on my journey to becoming a Google Jedi Master. I finished the Level One training last week, and will take the test this week. But don't ask me about the test - that is a Google Jedi secret. If you want to find out - do the training and take the test! 

About the training: it was really good. There were audio files, help sheets, scenarios, tips and tricks. All good stuff. A few ideas that I would like to try. Now, to be honest, most of that training was review for me. But it is a good idea to refresh your knowledge every so often. A good jedi does practice, after all. Otherwise those skills could become rusty from lack of use. 

Although I have not taken the test for level one certification yet, I have gone ahead and begun the training for level two. Imagine my delight to realize the first module is all about sharing! I love it. Technology can be such an amazing tool for educators, and I loved all the ideas for sharing those tools and training. I left the classroom to become a technology coach for two year and loved it. However, I went back into the classroom thinking I would be most effective there. Now, though, I am looking around me and thinking of how I can share my knowledge and still be in the classroom. 

One thing I can say for sure about the Google training. I have been inspired. I love this stuff. 

So, as I continue to prepare for the Chromebooks in my classroom, I am getting lots of ideas and using the Keep app to list them. (SUCH a cool app) For example:

• Create YouTube video playlists for my students
• Google Sheets for tracking reading
• Google Forms for rubrics - I can fill them out as they present and it will
• ePals will be going again

Well, you get the idea.

Getting back into the one-on-one classroom is so exciting for me. I am also excited about using the Google Chromebooks. I have heard so much about them and am eager to see for myself. As soon as I get one in my hands, I will let you know!

In the meantime, this padawan has more work to do - learning never ends. After all, Yoda said, "A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind."

Where to begin?

Ok. So once the initial swishing of the light saber is over, it is time to holster that weapon and work on the training needed so I can be a Jedi of Chromebooks. (yes, I plan to see how far I can take this Star Wars analogy)

The first thing I did was visit the Google Training Center for education. Now, I've been using Google Apps for Education for some time now, but decided it would be a good idea to revisit/refresh by going through the fundamentals training. I also plan to pay the 10.00 for the certification when I have completed and pass the test. Here's how far I have gotten so far:

There are 13 units in this training session. Then there is an advanced training (which I am saving for when I get the Chromebook in my hot little hands). 

There is also - wait for it - a devices training. Now, not only does this offer training in using the Google apps with Android devices, but also - more relevant for this blog - training in using Chromebooks. Oh, yes!! So, after I complete this set of training, I will be going on to the devices training.

So how has the training been, you may ask? Well, so far so good. The trainings include helpful links (I have been bookmarking many of them), instruction, video, and audio files. Much is review, but there have been some cool things I have not seen yet. For example, I am in LOVE with the Google Keep app. Oh, my goodness. For someone like me who loves sticky notes, who is horribly unorganized, and who spends a lot of time online this is awesome. I can also see some potential classroom applications for my students. If you have not seen it, you really should check it out: 

Go to the Google Products link to see all the cool apps - like this one!

I have also been getting some great ideas for keeping reading logs in the classroom using Google Sheets or Forms, having students track their own progress, etc. Something else that is pretty awesome is how many other programs and apps work with Google and Google Classroom. The more I dig in there, the more excited I become. 

I remember when I was able to integrate technology with laptops for every student in my previous district. I found myself stepping down and acting more like a facilitator than the oracle on high. It was amazing. I am so excited to see so many different tools that will allow me to do so once again. 

Is the training worth it? Absolutely. Whether you are getting Chromebooks or not, in a one-to-one situation or not, if you plan to use Google tools AT ALL in your classroom - it is worthwhile. You don't HAVE to get the certification. The training is free. Will I get the certification? You bet. I like having those little badges to add to my website and my email signature. Yes, I like the cool gadgets and toys. It is also a way to let people know that I care enough to take that extra step so I can do more with and for my students and their parents.

Signing off for today. I will try finishing the training tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, may the force be with you!

Allow me to introduce myself. I am a 7th grade reading and writing teacher, an adjunct instructor of potential teachers, wife, mother of four, and am slave to a miniature boston terrier named Rambo. I love the Hobbit series, Star Wars, the beach, and technology. I'm a bit of a geek.

Right now, I am an excited geek. If I had a light saber I would be swishing it around and making the appropriate noises to accompany said swishing. Why am I so excited, you might ask? Well. I finally get to have one-on-one laptops for my classes. It's been a very long time coming. I used to work in a district that was one-on-one, and loved it! But what KIND of laptop? That is the next question, right? As if the title didn't give it away...

So it's a process. If you will stay with me as I go all Star Wars on you, the evolution of computers in the classroom (in my personal experience) has been something like this:

• A New Hope - very basic word processors. Didn't do much. Better than learning BASIC.
• The Empire Strikes Back - Hello Apple MacIntosh giant behemoth that we used for games and typing.
• Return of the Jedi - Apple sort of just faded and Windows came along, bringing the laptop with it

Over the years, we saw more change.

• The Phantom Menace - CD-ROM came in, replacing the floppy and the 3 inch disk.
• Attack of the Clones - Everyone had a knock-off, a rebuild, something better. Seemed like every day there was something better. Using the Internet was easier and it was more accessible.
• Revenge of the Sith - Apple returned - with a vengeance! Suddenly, everything is Apple! Macbooks, iPads, iPhones. If it didn't have i in front of it, it was the underdog.

Then there was another shift. People started looking for ways to integrate, collaborate, create. It needed to be simple and every device promised to make that integration seamless. However, with millions of educational dollars recently invested in that rosy red fruit product and the product with the lovely view outside, there really could not be much change. Educators were stuck. Apple and Windows were pretty well entrenched. 

Then there was:

• The Force Awakens - enter Google and Chromebooks.

Again, the battle for the classroom began. Google made small inroads with the Apps for Education and all the other tools that seem to be so intuitive. The struggle continues.

Now, enter a school district in south Texas. This district had been pretty well wiped out in a hurricane, and technology was at a minimum for a while. Then they got some laptops, then some iPads. Then more of each of those. Windows and Apple became the reigning powers. 

Apple started losing ground, however, and other ideas began to emerge. Finally, it was decided by all the powers that be in our district, we will get Chromebooks. AND it will be one-to-one for 7th and 8th grade! Guess what I teach? 7th grade.

Well. Now it is time for swishing the light saber and making humming/buzzing noises! 

So this blog will be my chronicle of this unexpected journey into the world of Chromebooks and implementing them in my classroom. You will also find some articles later on in TechEdge magazine from TCEA. I will share what I am doing to prepare for the coming year and the changes it will bring, what kind of training I am doing, things I am learning, and whatever else comes up. I will share what I like, what I don't like, what is new and exciting, and what is disappointing. You can count on me, dear reader, to speak truth and speak it from an educator's point of view.

I would also enjoy seeing your comments about using Chromebooks if you use them/have used them and any cool tricks with Google apps for education, as well. In the meantime, it is also summer, and all work and no play makes me a grouchy mom. 

For now, I am signing off, but look for more soon because