The very successful first ever in Africa Google in Education Summit, presented by the International Ed Tech Team from the US and hosted by SchoolNet and Parklands College at Parklands in Cape Town, has been and gone…leaving behind a trail of excitement about the possibilities of using Google Apps effectively in the classroom. At the Summit there was an information session on opportunities for teachers with Google apart from using the free Google Apps in the classroom. The two opportunities stressed were:
- the exciting possibility of applying for one of the prestigious Google Teacher Academies that are held every year and if accepted earning the recognition as a Google Certified Teacher.
- the possibility of participating in an online course that will certify one as a Google Certified Trainer.
At the Summit many educators attended this information session to hear more about these opportunities. Later on it was announced that the next two Google Teacher Academies which would be held in December, in Stockholm and London, would include teachers from Africa.
What is a Google Teacher Academy?
This is how Google describes it. “The GTA is a free professional development experience designed to help primary and secondary educators from around the globe get the most from innovative technologies. Produced by CUE, each Academy is an intensive, two-day event during which participants get hands-on experience with Google tools, learn about innovative instructional strategies, receive resources to share with colleagues, and immerse themselves in a supportive community of educators making impact.” Usually these Academies are well subscribed to and Google selects 50 of the applicants.
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| Google Teacher Academy New York 2013 |
Currently there are two educators in South Africa who have been recognised as Google Certified Teachers. The first one in South Africa to receive this recognition was Ariellah Rosenberg from Ort. who attended the Academy in London in 2010. The second is Fiona Beal from SchoolNet who attended the Academy in New York in October 2013.
Application videos of the four SA educators that have been selected
Soon there will be FOUR more Google certified Teachers! ! As far as we know four educators have been accepted for the two Academies. Part of the application involves making a one minute video uploaded to YouTube to support their application. I sourced these on the Internet and thought I would add them in this post (in alphabetical order):
1) Dina Segal: Positive Change in My Community
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEQbCeHhgFk
2) Kevin Sherman: Ubuntu-Positive change in my community
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43_4fIy_Be0
3) Percy Human: ‘Percy Human – Google Teacher Academy application’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6fNGOe1DIw
4) Tiaan Lotter: (All teachers are superheroes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qgj1NqlNr4
Think about applying in 2014
We at SchoolNet offer sincere congratulations to these four educators. Please consider writing guest posts for the SchoolNet blog when you return! To all the other teachers in South Africa – consider applying for the Google Teacher Academy in 2014!
