Gafe Summit: Napa 1:1

One to one...that is the move of many districts as technology grows and Common Core becomes the norm. And following the trend is Oakdale Joint Unified and I couldn't be more excited.

But where do I start? I haven't even received my class set of Chromebooks and I am already plotting and scheming on how my students will utilize them in class.

So, I BEGGED my site to send me to the Google in Education 1:1 Institute. 

Wow! I should have known that I was in for an intense and amazing learning experience. Not to mention mind blowing and exhausting!

So here are some highlights:

Day one was jammed packed with all things EduAwesome! I am a Google Certified Teacher, but as all educators know, there is always room to grow.

I spent the day with educators who have the same passion for learning and technology as I do. I was surrounded by tech geeks! It was GREAT! You could feel the excitement in the room as Jamie Casap spoke.

My first session was with Sergio Villegas on reaching students with Google lesson presentations. What was great about Sergio was his attitude. He was so gung-ho and excited about Google, lessons, and what he was doing. The one thing he wanted us to take away (other than he is a lazy teacher, HA!) is that anything we would learn in these two days was that the "how to's" are on YouTube! Someone has made a video tutorial for YOU. Once in YouTube search, go to filters AFTER the search, find videos from this month or year. And after a conference, most of us go back to the "real" world. Back to teaching, classrooms, grading etc. and don't get to use those tips and tricks learned. Or in my case, I can't always decipher my own notes on what I learned! Great that we can all go back and search for those videos! 

I have to say, I caught the excitement. Thanks to Karl and his session on Doctopus and Goobric...I finally have Doctopus working. It made my brain hurt, but the ease of sending out work to students, turning off the ability for students to edit that work, and then attaching a rubric, AND sending it back! Amazing! Not to mention that now in Google Drive, you can add voice comments and even video. COOL! His amazing, step-by-step instructions can be found here.

Then I discovered ways to make my life easier....by making it faster! Thanks to Mark Wagner for some great productivity tools in Google! In addition to the text extensions and clipboard buffers, I think my favorite tool was simply the site to find alternatives to other software. Since I have gotten my Chromebook and my preparation for 1:1 in my district, I am constantly struggling to find alternatives to software I and my students use. Through the alternatives site, I can find options for the software I use. OPTIONS. Not just one, but many! Save time and frustration and search there first!

And that was just a snippet of #eduawesome that was GAFE Summit Napa! I was inspired by may Google professionals and teachers, some I haven't seen or talked to since Google Certified Teacher's summit in Sydney or on Twitter! Simply amazing individuals! 

The best thing about Google summits (this and all summits) is the connection with other teachers who share the same passion I do. Although this was a summit leaning towards 1:1, the passion for technology, students, pedagogy, and growth is what brought us together. We, as life learners, came to grow in our profession. To teach our students for the world as it now and what it could be, the world our students will create.    

I am just so moved by my professional learning network and thrilled to have an opportunity to learn and connect even more!

I can't wait for the next! 

Thanks EdTechTeam and Google!