Google, Twitter, and Wetpaint … OH MY!!!
How these three things have let me be the change I’ve been wanting to see.
The Beginning
It all started on May 6th, 2008 with a simple e-mail that started “Hello and Happy National Teacher Day.” From that e-mail came one of the most interesting, stimulating, and enriching experiences of my life (not to mention some friendships that will last a life time). The e-mail was from the Google Educator Outreach, a list serv about all things Google Education-ish. It explained that, for the first time ever, Google was opening up their application process for the Google Teacher Academy worldwide. If you could pay for it (or find someone to help you) and got accepted you were in! Heart beating wildly, I quickly shot off a note to my Director, Marc Carraway, to ask if I could apply and if my school, the Blue Ridge Virtual Governor’s School, would help with the cost. Receiving an emphatic “YES!” and the calming addition that BRVGS would cover all my costs were I to be accepted, it began.
The Application Process
Applications were due May 28, 2008. Laboring for days on the essay questions and storyboard for a 60 second video that would give Google an idea for my philosophy on “Classroom Innovation,” the application process was daunting. I scoured the Internet for videos from others to get an idea, but it was hard to tell what I should do. Wanting my video to show passion for technology in education but to be strongly focused on students, the decision was made to go simple. Using Screenflow to create a quick 10 second intro about our school and then simply leaving my fate in the hands of the phenomenal people at Animoto, the video portion was done. Animoto is a website that will take your uploaded photos and create an MTV-like video with the pictures appearing to the beat of whichever song you choose (here is my video). Everything was complete on May 18th so I hit the submit button on my application and left the rest up up to the minds at Google. Now it was simply a matter of wringing hands, biting nails, and trying to stay nonchalant until June 5th, 2008 when the confirmation e-mail instructed acceptance letters would be sent, and I would learn my fate.
The Day I Checked a Million Times to Make Sure My E-mail was Working
June 5, 2008 - 6:00am - Checked to make sure e-mail was working. It was…no message from Google
June 5, 2008 - 6:30am, 7:00am, 7:30am, 8:00am - Checked to make sure e-mail was working. It was…no message from Google
June 5, 2008 - 8:07am (EST) - Glanced at e-mail while doing some work… see a message from Google Teacher Academy Team…breath shorted…palms sweated…what if it says “No?”
Too Late! I had already clicked on the message and was jumping in the air as I read, “Congratulations Sallie! You have been selected to participate in the Google Teacher Academy at the Googleplex. After reviewing your application, we believe that you have the experience and passion necessary to positively impact K-12 education, and we are excited to have you join us on Wednesday, June 25th at the Googleplex in Mountain View, California.”
I called my husband at work (a fellow edtech’er). I could barley speak from jumping up and down exclaiming, “I’m going to Google! I’m going to Google!” He laughed and told me he’s very proud of me but completely jealous!
I quickly filled out the the required survey to “claim” my spot and I began checking on flights, hotels, car rentals and directions.
I Start Learning the Power of the Internet
On June 7th, 2008 I decided to see how many other GTA attendees could be found online. Scouring blog posts for mention of other people that were going finally led to the discovery of one or two GTA attendees, but there had to be another, better way. I decided to setup a wiki and send the link out to the masses.
Using a Wetpaint wiki, I simply added my info and sent it out on Twitter to Vicki Davis (the Cool Cat Teacher) and asked her if she would be willing to Twitter it as well knowing that she had a MUCH wider following. From her “tweet,” the Wetpaint wiki quickly began getting members and updates. By the end of the first day, the membership was up to four people. By the next day we had 11. Then 13. Then 15. By the day of the Google Teacher Academy, there were 25 members in addition to multiple blog and podcast mentions.
The Wetpaint wiki’s discussion board filled up with posts from the get-go. Where were people staying? Should we meet up for dinner the night before? Did anyone want to be the PodPirate’s guest to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium the day after?
It was so exciting to see how many amazing educators from all over the world were coming and how quickly we already felt like friends. The decision was made for about 12 of us to meet the night before, a few were from California but most were from out of town.
Google Teacher Academy Eve
Getting out to California took about 12 hours. I thought I would have been exhausted, but the adrenaline running through me pusehd me onward. I went to meet up with two fellow GTA attendees in the lobby of our hotel for dinner. We had never met in person and our familiarity was limited, mostly, to screen-names. When we walked into the restaurant, a man look expectantly at us. “PodPirate???” we asked. He laughed and responded with a simple, “Yes.”
One table quickly filled and another was moved in for our ever expanding group. We all took a turn giving our real names, where we hailed from, and what we do. I have never felt so comfortable, so quickly with a group of relative strangers. Finding our techno loving, education innovating brethren was invigorating! There was great conversation, great food, and lasting memories. If an informal dinner with near strangers was this good, what would tomorrow bring???
The Day
A whirlwind- there seems to be no other way to describe it. We spent the day talking with fellow teachers, listening to phenomenal speakers, learning loads of cool info/techniques/tools, and generally just soaking up all that it means to be part of Google. If Virginia was not so deeply rooted in my being, I wouldn’t hesitate to move to Mountain View, Ca. and take any job Google would give me. Google does not feel like a giant company, but like a community where people are happy to work, happy to learn, and mostly happy to share what they’ve learned. Doesn’t that sound EXACTLY what school should be like? Among the other goals that I have planned for this year as part of my “Google Certified Teacher Action Plan,” I will be trying to bring a little “Googleness” back to Virginia and into the BRVGS lifestyle. I want my teachers and students to feel just like Google employees: passionate, excited, appreciated, supported, and connected.
The Days, Months, and Years After
Now home and getting geared up for Staff and Curriculum Development for BRVGS next week, my mind is spinning with ideas and connections. I’ve already started thinking about my Action Plan for Google and am firmly set on a few things.
One: To start blogging.
Having always been an avid blog reader and an occasional commenter but never a writer, this will be tough. Honestly, I never felt that my voice was unique and didn’t want to repeat the same tired ideas as everyone else, but I realize that my job is unique in the education world and the more people hear about it, the more people will join in.
Two: Start participating in a podcast.
The “speciality” will be talking to GCTs from around the world about what they are doing in their schools. Hopefully, this will be the catalyst for other teachers to try new things in the classroom.
Three: Change the world. Can’t do it alone, but I can add my voice to the conversation and my strength to the cause.
I can’t thank all the people at Wetpaint, Twitter, and Google enough for helping me have an amazing adventure and opening the door to so many yet to come!
| ISTE Releases new NETS for Teachers
ISTE has released the new National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers and they are quite a bit different than the 2000 version. It is interesting that the 5 categories are: 1) Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity, 2) Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments, 3) Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, 4) Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility, & 5) Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership. If you look at these, you will notice some parallels with 21st century skills.
Changing gears a bit.
I was presenting to some teachers and administrators the other day and they loved the YouTube video I showed (A Vision of K-12 Students Today–seen below). This got us on the topic of the educational uses of YouTube, which led to schools blocking YouTube. Well…we then discussed a couple of ways around this. First, the newest version of RealPlayer allows you to download videos from the web and saves them into your RealPlayer library. However, if you can’t download RealPlayer on your school computers, this is not really a solution. Well, another solution is shown in the video below (Embedding a YouTube Video into a PowerPoint). I’ve posted one of the many videos on this process below….Problem solved.
How to Embed a YouTube Video into a PowerPoint Presentation
A Vision of K-12 Students Today
Bandwidth in K12 exploding…
Our district is getting a DS3 this year. We have 1850 kids, so we meet the standards below. But - according to this, we’ll need 2 more in 5 years.
Over the next 5-7 years, the group recommends an external internet connection of 100 Mpbs for every 1,000 students and staff members and internal wide-area network connections of at least 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) per 1,000 students and staff members.
This is coming from this recommendation. I don’t know anything about that group, but (I can’t believe I’m saying this) that sounds about right. It’s a new world.
Blame it on anything you want…
So now it’s Wikipedia’s fault. I would say this is unbelievable. But it’s not. People love to blame everything - anything - but the root cause for the problem IF the root cause it themselves. This is garbage:
“It’s dangerous when the internet is littered with opinion and inaccurate information which could be taken as fact.”
I’m not going to spend time describing why that is a monumentally stupid thing to say. I think the whole article speaks for itself. I’ll just sum up my comments by saying kids aren’t stupid. Maybe we just need to help them - dare I say teach them - how to use these tools.
You know - Alan November wrote about JUST THIS ISSUE YEARS AGO! Wake up Scotland.
EUCALYPTUS
They are going to have to start naming this stuff differently. I’m not sure me trying to spell this regularly is going to work.
EUCALYPTUS is a very geek thing. BUT - it’s got some VERY cool potential for K-12 technology. All of this “web services” stuff is going to change the way we work and interact with data. With 3D (Data Driven Decision-making) still a buzz in K12, we are going to have to figure out ways to keep data clean and clear.
This might be the next level.
Technology in K-12 helping?
I’m struggling. I have a degree in Instructional Technology and have spent the better part of 9 years lobbying to whoever will listen about integrating technology into K-12 classrooms. But, I’m having a hard time determining if all my work really has made a positive impact?
Sallie visited Woodberry Forest this past week to see how they get it done. Turns out, they don’t really. I’m going to get more info on them as soon as I can, but the short of it is this: They don’t use technology in the classroom nearly to the extent my school division does. Period. BUT - and here is the kick in the teeth - they put an unusually high percentage of students into Ivy League schools and other prestigious universities. So - should K-12 public schools put their money into keeping students longer during the day (say, study hours after athletics as at Woodberry?) instead of technology?
I don’t know. But after spending 8 years as a Technology Director and spending countless hours on helping teachers bring technology to their students, it’s making me wonder what impact this push for technology is all about. Projectors are nice, but when teacher continue to use them poorly, what good do that really do. Laptops are convenient, but awfully expensive for the return maybe.
Of course, then I see this…and this…and wonder even more.
Blame it on anything you want…
So now it’s Wikipedia’s fault. I would say this is unbelievable. But it’s not. People love to blame everything - anything - but the root cause for the problem IF the root cause it themselves. This is garbage:
“It’s dangerous when the internet is littered with opinion and inaccurate information which could be taken as fact.”
I’m not going to spend time describing why that is a monumentally stupid thing to say. I think the whole article speaks for itself. I’ll just sum up my comments by saying kids aren’t stupid. Maybe we just need to help them - dare I say teach them - how to use these tools.
You know - Alan November wrote about JUST THIS ISSUE YEARS AGO! Wake up Scotland.
We’re going through changes…
…just like everything else.
Anyway, EdThink started one place and is morphing - alittle. We started off our site use Joomla. I personally love it. But it’s not really designed to do what we wanted to do. So, yes, we made the move to Word Press. This site is nowhere near done. LOTS to add and certainly lots of content to write. BUT - if you will excuse our mess - we’re moving forward.
For now, it might just be me posting. But - over time - the others will chime in. Stay tuned.
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About
EdThink is an educational technology focused group which provides training, support and consultation on the integration and management of technology of all types in K-12 classrooms. We use this site and the accompanying podcast to offer insight and opinions into the relevant topics of the day.
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