Google Certification
I completed the FREE Google Certification Training offered by Google. It is designed specifically for educators and works to introduce various Google tools and tips that can help you create engaging lessons that also teach your students how to be good digital citizens!
​Unit One of the Google Certification for Educators focused mainly on how to get students ready to incorporate technology in the classroom. One aspect of this unit that I really liked was the focus on creating good digital citizens. This is a hard thing to accomplish in the classroom, but it is our job as teachers to make sure that our students know how to be responsible citizens with the increasing wave of technology entering our world. Unit one focused on how to prepare both students and teachers to use technology, and this is so important to include if we want to be successful in bringing this tech into the classroom.
Unit Two of the Google Certification for Educators focused on how to build our understanding as well as how to get access to help from experts and other sources. This section focuses on how to build your own personal learning network as an educator and also how to contact experts in the field of Google for Education. This unit was extremely helpful in building my understanding of what resources I have at my disposal to help me learn about new technologies and how to get in contact with individuals who know more than me.
Unit Three of the Google Certification ofr Educators focused on how to use resources like Google Forms and Google Drive to create a mostly paperless classroom. Being fluent in these different devices is extremely useful for teachers. I have found that Google is a much more organized platform than most other online sources. I really like the aspect of being able to color code and label folders so that you can more easily find what you are looking for. Google Forms is an excellent way to do a quick assesssment of how well your students are understanding the material that they are learing. Forms also allows you to extract data into a spreadsheet so that you are able to se the growth and change patterns in your students understanding.
Unit Four of the Google Certification for Educators focused on how to develop better commiunication within your classroom. It focused on resources like Google Chat and Google Groups. These resources allow students to communicate and collaborate with each other even when they are outside of the classroom. Being able to work with peers is a huge asset for students as they begin to take ownership of their learning. It also allows them to work with each other to find answers for themselves rather than relying on the teacher to provide them with answers.
Unit Five of the Google Certification for Educators breaks down Google Calendar as a resource to keep teachers organized. Google Calendar allows you to share your calendar with others so coworkers know where you are and what you’re doing. There is also a function where you can set up a search to find a meeting time that works for whoever you want to include in a meeting or event. Google Calendar is particularly helpful because teachers are so busy, it is helpful to have an organized way to keep track of what you have going on, and it is able to be accessed on any device.
Unit Six of the Google Certification for Educators discusses the resource called Google Meet. This is an virtual meeting place that is perfect for both meetings and virtual classes. Google Meet has tons of options including the ability to share your screen, record your meeting, and invite multiple people. You can link Google Meet to Google Calendar, and invite people to a Google Meeting through an event on Google Calendar. Overall, Google Meet is a super awesome tool for teachers looking to move some meetings online.
Unit Seven of the Google Certification for Educators talks about using Google Classroom as a way to organize classwork, post announcements, and collect homework or other assignments. One of my favorite aspects of Google Classroom is the ability to provide feedback on student work. Giving quick and accurate feedback is so important for students who are taking charge of their learning. Google Classroom allows the teacher to see who has turned in assignments and provide feedback on assignments that are turned in. Teachers are also able to post announcements, videos, documents, and more to their Google Classroom in order to go almost completely paperless.
Unit Eight of the Google Certification for Educators goes through how to use Google Sheets to collect and analyze student data so that it can easily be displayed and shared. Google Sheets works really well with Google Forms. Teachers can collect data through a Google Form, and then link that Form to a new spreadsheet so that the data can be collected and analyzed. Google Sheets also has the ability to create graphs based on the data in the spreadsheet.
Unit Nine of the Google Certification for Educators discusses various resources that teachers can provide to their students in order to help them develop their research skills. With the increasing technology incorporation in the classroom, it is part of our job as teachers to teach students how to properly research information. There are lots of resources available like Google Scholar or Advanced Google Search that can both be used by students to find useful and valid sources to answer their questions. I really like the aspect of the advanced google search because you are able to limit search by keyword, language, or source.
Unit Ten of the Google Certification for Educators discusses the use of Google Slides and Google Earth to create more exciting and engaging lessons for students. Google Slides has lots of options for fonts, images, and more that can make your PowerPoints a more interesting for students. Google Earth is also an excellent tool for teachers looking to take their students on a journey to somewhere crazy. Google Earth allows students to see places that they typically wouldn’t get to go like the White House, Egypt, or the Alamo. These virtual trips can help students connect more with various assignments.
Unit Eleven of the Google Certification for Educators discusses how we can use YouTube to switch up the way that we teach. YouTube has a plethora of useful lessons, extensions, and songs to help our students extend their learning past what we are able to do as teachers. Being able to create playlists that students can watch either in class or when they are reviewing material can help students to better understand the material past what we explain to them.
Unit Twelve of the Google Certification for Educators discusses how various online tools can help us as teachers create, monitor, and motivate group instruction within our classes. My favorite tool for group work is Google Docs. Google Docs allows for real time collaborative editing, so multiple students can be working on the document together at the same time. Google Docs also has the “verison history” addition. This allows the editors of the document to view the history of the document and see which student made various edits. This tool is incredibly useful in holding students accountable for their group work so that there is not one single student completing the majority of the work.
​Unit Thirteen of the Google Certification for Educators dives deeper into how we can help our students become good digital citizens. This section covers what it takes to create a good password, and what it looks like to be a good digital citizen. This is so important for us as teachers to teach our students. There is so much technology around us all the time, so ensuring that our students know how to properly use various resources while also knowing how to protect their information is vital. Creating good digital citizens is one of the most important things we can do for our students.