Submitted by Fiona Beal

In a few days time (on the 3rd and 4th October) 50+ excited educators from the United States, Mexico, Canada, Colombia, the Czech Republic and South Africa (that’s me) will be descending on New York to attend the Google Teacher Academy New York 2012. These educators have been selected from the hundreds of applications from around the world, so undoubtedly many interested folk will be following the #GTANY Twitter hashtag to get a glimpse of the proceedings.

I love the way Linda Yollis one of the successful applicants from Los Angeles,  has involved her Grades 2&3 class in getting ready for the Google Teacher Academy. Take a look at her blogpost:
https://www.schoolnet.org.za/2012/09/the-google-teacher-academy-in-nyc.html

We have been told by Google, “We are working hard to prepare everything to create an inspiring couple of days for you next week in New York, and we can’t wait to meet all of you. Your heads are gonna spin with all the great experiences we have in store for you. Get ready!”

We have also been told, ‘We are finalizing a bunch of great activities with a completely revamped agenda from previous academies, and we are so excited to share it all with you next week!’

Can you wonder that we are excited!

What does Google New York look like?

On hearing of my selection for the Academy, my first question was (after I had got over all the excitement at being selected) – ‘Whereabouts is Google in New York, and what does it look like?’ In my Internet search to answer these questions  I came across two videos, one posted in February 2012 and one posted in 2009 when Google first opened its new New York offices. 

Here is the 2009 video entitled ‘Inside Google’s New York Office’.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F-zUPTxMEw

Here is the latest video published by The Wall Street Journal, entitled ‘An Inside look at Google’s New York Offices’. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpm_LIyMtMY

Keep watching this space and we will bring you more news of the Academy.