Becoming a Google Certified Educator Level 2

Google Certification is a lot of work, but well worth it! Both levels of training gave me knowledge which has transformed the way I see G Suite and how I can use it to help my students and myself.

You can read about my Level 1 Google Certification experience here.

It can be a bit overwhelming to look at all there is to learn and apply in the Level 2 training. However, the work is worth it, so don't get caught up in thinking you can't do it.  You can! You just need to work hard.

Helpful tips before deciding to pursue Level 2 Certification:

1.  Use this checklist created by Eric Curts (controlaltachieve.com) to get an idea of all the skills you will need to master.

2.  Spend time learning about the G Suite more in depth than level 1 takes you.  For me, I really needed several exposures to Sheets before I would have been able to comprehend everything I needed to learn.  I have attended several PD sessions on Sheets and watched some online training.  I have also attended a Google Training Summit the last 3 years which exposed me to many of the elements I needed to master.  You can do it without this extra training, but it will take more time.  I spent about 10 hours preparing for the Level 2 Exam outside of what I mentioned about earlier training.

3.  Take all the review quizzes within the Google Training itself. Review as many times as needed.  Make sure you are ready to devote 3 hours to complete the test (mostly applications based tasks).

My Big Takeaways:

Sites:  Gadgets are amazing!

YouTube:  You can make videos interactive by using YouTube Editor - Free!

Labs:  Some amazing extras for Google Calendar and Gmail.  For instance, you can add one to your calendar that allows you to "jump to a date".  I had never heard of Labs before this training.

Add-Ons:  DocAppender will forever change how I deal with data and get it to my students.  So many more to explore!

Groups: What a wonderful way to have an ongoing conversation about a topic.

Sheets: I am excited to know how to analyze data more efficiently.

Obviously, there is SO MUCH more you will learn. If you want to transform the way you use tech integration, Google Certified Educator Level 2 is for you!

Please leave a comment if you found this helpful!  Thanks!

2 FREE resources (for Indiana Teachers)

Hello All!

I went to the lake with my husband (he planned to fish, I planned to blog and learn).  He got to fish, but we didn't have internet access - relaxing was good, but back to business now.

Last week I attended two Indiana DOE Summer of Elearning conferences.  The Suite Life in Washington Indiana, and Elead in Anderson Indiana.  I left both with some good takeaways I thought I'd share.

1.  I got to meet one of the founders of BreakoutEDU (Adam Bellows) and participate in the 80's game he helped create before it was launched at ISTE.  It was really fun and challenging.

2.  I learned about NBC Learn K-12.  It's free for all Indiana public school teachers, as the Indiana DOE has purchased it.  Excited to use all it has to offer!  It is basically a wonderful collection of videos designed to help educators.  There are current events, original collections, and archives that date back to the 1920's.  Students never need to log in so don't need passwords.  You can print/view a transcript.  I saw tons of history and science examples, but many for general purposes as well.  Check it out! NBC Learn

3.  I learned that Indiana DOE has also purchased Sketchup for all Indiana Public School Teachers.  It is a way of designing and drawing in 3D.

I am always surprised about the amount the Indiana DOE offers for teachers, and that it isn't better communicated to us.  Hopefully, communication lines get better!  Maybe your state has things to offer as well??

YET - It Makes ALL the Difference

I began last school year with a goal to create a growth mindset culture in my classroom. YET was the most powerful word we used. At the end of the year, 60% of my students said that being exposed to YET has changed their lives and they will continue to think of yet as they move on. This means they believe they can learn what is being taught; they just haven't learned it yet. And I teach struggling 8th-grade students! How did this happen?

1.  I, the teacher, changed much of the language I use in my teaching. No longer do I say, "I don't know." Instead, I say, "I don't know yet." I tell my students I expect they will fail while trying to learn - that's how they learn.  It's how I learn. When a student is upset with failing at something, I tell them, "That's an awful lot of room for learning - let's grow together!".

2.  I spent 5 minutes of class time a week showing a motivational video that involves someone who succeeded after many attempts at failing. These could be movie clips, cartoons, inspirational stories, etc. After a while, my students starting showing me things I should share during this time.

3. I began giving points for effort (students must explain thinking to me about why they have the answer they do). I began giving opportunities for re-doing work after these conversations. Funny thing happened. Students actually wanted to re-do work. Because they were learning, not for a grade!

4. I stopped allowing, "I don't know" as an answer when a student is called on.  Students must say, "I don't know YET, but I want to." It's very powerful.  I make sure to get back to them during discussion so they can show they learned the missing information. Most of the time they do. Because they actually paid attention after they didn't know an answer. Amazing!  I even heard that students were saying "yet" in other classes when someone would answer, "I don't know," because it became automatic.

Changing the culture in my classroom to one that values learning, failing, trying again, and acknowledging that we don't know everything - YET had such a positive effect for students. They believe they can learn. They want to learn. They learn. And they know they can learn when they leave me. All because of "YET".  WOW!

And it took very little time and effort on my part.

Yet - It Makes All the Difference!  Try it!

Google Tasks - A productivity Tool few seem to know about!

I don't know anybody personally who is using Google Tasks. Or at least I don't know they are. Except me. Now. After learning about it a little over a week ago.

If you are a Google user, you NEED to be using Google Tasks. I didn't even know it was hiding there.

The amazing thing about Google Tasks, is it works seamlessly with Gmail and Google Calendar to update your task list. If you add something to your task list, it automatically shows up in Google Calendar (you just need to know how to see it). If you have an email requiring you to create a task, it can automatically show up in Google Calendar. A little explanation:

When you are in Gmail, if you click the down arrow on the left of your page next to "inbox", you will get an option for tasks. Click it, and a to-do list will pop up on your screen. Enter whatever tasks you need to do. I use this for tasks that don't need to be done at a specific time - entering them on my Calendar doesn't work very well.

To see your task list in Google Calendar, you need to have your "Tasks" calendar turned on. To do that, scroll through your list of calendars until you see "Tasks". Make sure the little square to the left of that calendar is darkened in by a color. If you can't find "Task List", look for the calendar "Reminders". Click the down arrow to the right of the calendar and choose "switch to Tasks". You will then see the task list to the right of your calendar, as well as the items at the top of the date they are to be completed by if you created a due date for the task.

There is more!

When reading an email from Gmail that requires you to generate a task, you simply click the little arrow next to the "more" button about the email and choose "add to tasks".  That's it, the item is now visible on your calendar. You can also edit the task to add a due date or a comment as well.

Using Google Tasks has saved me time already - and helped me prioritize my mental/handwritten to-do list better. I did find that the Task calendar doesn't show up on the calendar app on my phone. So after a little research, I found another app that was created to solve this problem. The app is called Gtasks by Appest Inc. and is available FREEin the Google Play Store. After downloading, it automatically synced with my Calendars and I can toggle between several Gmail accounts to see work and personal task lists. I can also add new tasks with the app and they appear on my calendars. You have the option to be able to view calendar appointments as well as tasks in the Gtasks app, however, I prefer just to see my "check off list". The list shows what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, and in the future. I love it!

I hope more of you discover the amazingness of Google Tasks and GTasks!

Google Certified Educator Level 1 - What I learned

I'm so excited that I recently passed my exam to become a Google Certified Educator Level 1!

Many people have wondered about the journey to Google Certification, so I will give some insight here.

1.  John Sowash gave me some great advice through an email series (after clicking scroll down to find the link to sign up for the email series) he has set up for those interested in Google Educator Certification.  One of his emails listed reasons TO get the certifications and reasons you shouldn't use for justifying getting the certification. He focussed on the good reason(s) being those that improve you as an educator.  I got my Google Educator Certification because going through the training and exam gave me more knowledge about how to use G-Suite tools to help me reach students better.  I also learned some things about productivity and how the G-Suite tools work best together that will make me a more efficient person and teacher.  I also attended a session on certifications at a GAFE Summit in Franklin Indiana.  (Side note:  If you EVER get a chance to go to a Google Summit for training - GO!)

2.  I had been using G-Suite for 3 years on a regular basis before attempting certification.  Because of that, I had little I needed to actually "train" for.  The Google training at the Google Training Center is amazing and helpful. You can pick and choose to complete sections you know you need help with. I only completed 2 actual trainings but took review tests at the end of each training module.  (Hint:  The actual test was not as difficult as the review tests that are part of the training).

3.  I spent around 8 hours total studying/preparing for the exam, and almost 3 hours to take the exam. You are given 3 hours and, because most of the exam is applications based, it really does take a good chunk of time. You are actually creating documents, sheets, forms, etc. and proving you know how to share and manipulate them.

4.  My biggest takeaways from the training/exam:

      A.  I learned I could tag a someone in a comment in a shared document.  I can also assign a comment to a certain person.  Can't wait to use this skill more next school year.

      B.  I learned a whole lot about Sheets because I had very little prior knowledge in this area.  I now see the value of using Sheets more in the classroom.

      C.  I learned how to filter email, create and use stars, and organize my inbox to help me be more efficient.  Students need know how to do these things as well!

     D.  I learned how to share my screen during a Hangout, and how to set bandwidth in Hangouts to improve quality.

    E.  I learned how to get a better experience when using YouTube, and that you can share videos from right within YouTube - no need to copy the link!

     F.  I learned about Google Groups - didn't even know they existed.  My mind is still thinking of ways to use this amazing collaboration tool.

    G.  I learned about Google Tasks - HOW did I not know about this before!  This one tool has already impacted my life to improve my productivity.

     H.  I learned how to use Google Keep as a task list with media features.  I also discovered Keep is a great way to save comments that I use over and over on student documents and IEPs.

5.  I HIGHLY recommend using the checklist by Eric Curts or the checklist by @shakeuplearning to help you determine if you have the needed skills to take the Google Exam for Level 1 Educator Certification.  I used Eric Curts list, googled some things, and completed the Google trianing for others.  You Can Do It!

I look forward to sharing about my journey to receive Google Certified Educator Level 2 status soon!