While on maternity leave, I’ve been blessed with quite a bit of time on the couch: feeding a hungry baby, snuggling a crying baby, and cuddling a sleeping baby. So what a perfect time to hone my skills in google, and take the Google Certified Educator certification exams!
The Training Wow! This training is valuable (and FREE!). Before both certification exams, there are review modules. These modules allow you to work through the google applications to learn the power and complexity of all the google applications. At the end of each section there are self-checking review questions, and a unit review at the end of each unit. These questions are multiple choice or multiple select. Again, what I want to emphasize is that these are free. If you aren’t all that comfortable with the google apps, what a great place to get valuable information and free training. Even if you aren’t interested in the certification, you could definitely learn something! For those that are pretty comfortable in google, you may not need to work through every section. But the section review and unit review questions are a must. You may even find a little bit of wisdom in there! Test Time The Level 1 exam costs $10, so there isn’t much pressure to pass the first time. After you sign up, it can take up to 48 hours for your test to be ready. Mine took 20 minutes. However, I’d purchase a day or two ahead of when you plan on taking it, just incase. You receive, by email, a google apps for education gmail account to use for your exam. This account, only valid for the test, allows for you to use any of the google suite. Hint: in the email, it tells you to be sure you know how to copy/paste in an incognito window - be sure to do this using shortcuts. You copy/paste quite a bit! There are multiple select questions and scenario questions. Something weird I noticed, is that the multiple select questions didn’t populate at the top of the page, but if I scrolled up, it told me how many answers to choose! SO helpful. Not sure I would have passed without that help. Other than that, some of the multiple select answers were silly. A few you had to think about. And maybe two i had to explore of google to make sure I was correct. They were much easier than the unit review questions, in my opinion. The scenario questions weren’t all that difficult. If you are pretty competent in google, you can figure out the things you don’t know how to do. Or, google it. And that’s about all I can tell you about content. (You sign a NDA before taking the test, and while I didn’t read it that closely - living life on the edge - I’m not risking it) Something to remember: a computer is grading your exam. Make sure you are precise in what you type. Getting Your Results I received my results within minutes of submitting. I passed on my first attempt. However, if you don’t, you can take it again! There is a 14 day waiting period to try again for your second try. If you again do not pass, there is a 60 day waiting period for your third attempt. If you don’t pass on your third try, you have to wait a year. Your certification is good for 36 months, and then you'll need to take the test again. So Why Do It? Well guys, here is where I struggle. Those of you that know me, know I’m an Apple lady - through and through. However, I know that google isn’t going anywhere, and honing my craft in tech integration matters A LOT to me. I like to learn new things, and help others learn new things, so for me? That’s the benefit. Getting better at what I love, to help others better understand as well. What's Next? If you're ready to learn more and start on your own path to being a google Certified Educator, visit the Training Center to get started. Next up for me? Google Certified Educator Level 2! Learn more here. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to me via email, social media, or comment below.
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The backstory on my Twitter history:
I remember coming into Crane three years ago, as a first-year teacher, energized. I was ready to bring my new ideas here and change the teaching world, one transformative lesson at a time. Then the real world hit, and I realized, I had maybe 2 good, unique ideas. And the rest? Everyone else was already doing that. Not that it necessarily means those ideas that everyone else was doing were bad. But I had first-year teacher syndrome, and I wanted to be different. So I was always eager to attend district PD with the dreams of learning something new and walking away with some life-changing ideas that I could transform into life changing lessons. Then, the real world hit again. And come to find out, Fred Jones Training and Mastery Teaching, while beneficial, didn’t quite offer me what I was looking for. So off I went to the most trusted place I knew of at the time, google search, and I hunted down conference after conference. I was getting tired but still energized for new ideas. So I traveled to different places, learned from new people, and I still felt like I was grasping at straws. I could never find that one thing that I was looking for. It had to be out there somewhere, and I wasn’t going to fund teachers pay teachers for it either. I believe that ideas should be shared and not sold. So in comes the second year of teaching and My principal, Jamie, asks me a question that I could never repay her for: “Holly, are you on twitter?” So I, of course, laughed. Because what could twitter possibly teach me about education? Well, it turns out, that some of the brightest minds in education love twitter, use twitter, and share on twitter. Teachers use twitter to share, collaborate, and inspire others and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Since joining Twitter, I've become an educator that I never imagined I could be and it isn’t because I’ve come up with brilliant ideas. It is because I have a network of educators in my corner, every step of the way. When I have a crazy idea (and I do have crazy ideas), my PLN is there to help justify my fears, push my ideas to better places, and validate my efforts and failures. I’ve met some of the most amazing educators, people, and friends through twitter. They are my educational advisors, and I wouldn’t be the educator I am today without them. So why aren’t we all doing the same? Personalized PD is there for teachers every day, every hour, and every minute. Why waste more time? 2017 Crane PD Each year I am a bit hesitant to provide PD for my district. I am a young teacher, and I feel that young teachers have to earn their place at the table. But with the constant mental reminder that "Yes, I do belong here", I continue to push for my district to be more connected with the world outside of Yuma, AZ. See my resources below. Feel free to use, modify, share. After all, #teachershelpteachers. Resources Twitter Away Keynote Twitter Resources Staff Twitter Bingo A few days back I began my preliminary research on my summer PD that I will be presenting. Now, everyone who has planned and taught their own PD knows it can take a lot longer to plan than the originally thought. (Not that I am the PD master; last summer I presented my first PD, to a group of 10 teachers. Max.) However, it does take significant work to prepare for these things.
Last summer, my focus was on Coding in the Classroom. However, this summer, the focus is on Twitter as personalized PD: "Twitter Away!" Now, don't get me wrong, I think twitter is the single best resource out there for teachers. But to fill 2 hours with information trying to convince (please read as: beg, plead, urge, implore) people to use twitter on a weekly (if not daily) basis to grow their PLC and learn more about education and best practice, isn't an easy task. I'm trying to be prepared for the pushback: I've heard about twitter on CNN from the President. It just isn't going to work for me. I can only write 140 characters? I can't. Do I have to share everything I had for dinner? That's what twitter is for. But I'm prepared (well, more like hopefully, by July 24th, I will be prepared) to rebuttal concerns with full force enthusiasm. Do you have anything that you think I should share that is crucial?! Please share with me as I prepare. :) I appreciate you! Holly |
AuthorHolly Mecher. ADE. Runner. Life-long lover of books. Google Certified Educator. Archives
February 2019
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