How so? “Google Tools for Your Classroom”
Google Education Initiatives announces Google Teacher Academy “goes Hollywood”:
Google's FREE training program for K-12 educators is an intensive, one-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google's free products and other technologies.
Fifty lucky teachers will be chosen for the next Google education “intensive” to be held in May in trendy Google Santa Monica headquarters.
Google is serious about educating educators in “Google Tools for Your Classroom.” In order to be selected to attend the Google Teacher Academy, teachers must convince Google that not only do they successfully use technology in K-12 settings, but that they evangelize technology throughout their institutions as well.
Google underscores because it relies on a "train-the-trainers" model, teachers who “actively provide technology-related mentoring” are the teachers Google wants to educate in “classroom activities using Google products.”
At the end of the Google Academy day, the chosen few are bestowed “Google Certified Teachers” honors so that they may return to their schools and “share what they learn with other K-12 educators in their local region.”
Google notes that its Google Teacher Academy is a “free day of training,” but requires year-long work from the non-paid “Google Certified Teachers” it produces.
Google Certified Teachers are expected to:- Develop a "Personal Action Plan."
- Lead at least three local professional development activities over the course of 12 months.
- Actively participate in the Google Certified Teacher Online Community.
- Share the impact of their work with other Google Certified Teachers through an end-of-year reflection.
Google may soon be adding a YouTube track to its Academy curriculum. The admissions process includes a mandatory video submission, a snack-sized, clip-culture style one!
Each applicant to the Google Teacher Academy is REQUIRED to produce and submit an original one minute video. Once you create the video, you must find a way to post it on the Web for us to view or download, then paste the specific website URL for your video into the appropriate field on the application. We will not accept videos by email, and we will not watch more than one minute. So, make it count!
Google apparently subscribes to a tough love teaching philosophy.
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