Submitted by Fiona Beal

At the Google in Education Summit held at Dainfern College in Johannesburg in July an exciting new venture was launched by Google in South Africa – Google Education Groups. You can find out more about Google Educator Groups (GEGs) in general at this URL: http://www.google.com/landing/geg/ This is a world-wide launch with each country having its own GEGs We invite you to join GEG South Africa.  This announcement was received with great excitement at the Summit.

What are Google Educator Groups (GEGs)?

Google believes that the best inspiration to educators are other educators. It is for this reason that Google helped start a community of passionate educators, who bring the benefits of technology to schools, classrooms, and communities across the world. Google Educator Groups (GEGs) are communities of educators who learn, share, and inspire each other to meet the needs of their students through technology solutions, both in the classroom and beyond.

Why should I join?

Google ‘Learn. Inspire.Share. Empowe.’These four words represent the essence of GEGs. Educators will buil;d relationships with other educators and gain the necessary skills to open technology to deliver the best possible education to their students. 

How do I start?

1. Read about the free, global GEG program at g.co/geg and see if this is something that interests you. 

2. Then get a Google account if you don’t already have one. This entitles you to many benefits such as a Gmail address and a Google+ profile.  This is important because the Google Educator Groups community for South Africa is a Google+ community and you need to have a Google account to join. (Go to Create your Google Account if you don’t already have a Google account). If you would like to know more about getting started with your Google+ profile which comes with the account please read this blogpost on the SchoolNet blog’, Why you should you start using Google+…. ‘

3. After joining Google+ join our GEG South Africa Google+ community at GEG South Africa Google+ Community.  When you get there you’ll notice that it is set up in provinces – Gauteng, North West, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Free State, Limpopo and Mpumulanga. Click on the one for your region and introduce yourself . This is a place to share ideas.

4. Fill in the GEG South Africa Interest Form, where you can express your interest in being either a GEG Leader or a participant of GEG. If you have any questions please e-mail gegssa@google.com. Learn more about Google for Education and Education Go Digital

This is such an exciting venture, and we encourage you to get involved and be part of the move to ‘Learn Share Inspire Empower’ and form GEGs with teachers around you. 

See you online in the GEG South Africa community!

Looking forward to meeting you in the Google South Africa community!