Certified Teachers and Trainers.  I remember being awed by this group of educators who seemed to have all the answers and cool schwag. I hoped that one day I would be able to include myself in that group. ​

Other educators, like me, put off the the certifications saying things like "I know that I know it, so why take the tests?" or "I don't have time do mess with that".  For a while I was in the latter group. However, after seeing so many of my colleagues and friends from other districts take the assessments and earn Google certifications, I dedicated a few days to working through Google's training modules and taking the Level 1 and Level 2 assessments.  Now I'm glad that I invested time into the Google certification exams. Here are 5 reasons why YOU should work towards Google Educator certifications, too. 

I've been blogging on and off since the beginning of 2011.  Blogging is a practice that I've always found to be a useful tool in reflection and in planning learning activities for students and PD for educators. Throughout the past 6 years I've gone through periods of writing often and long writing droughts.  Earlier this year, though, I recommitted myself to blogging regularly reconnecting with some of the educators I met years ago when I began this journey.  Needless to say, I was thrilled when I saw that ISTE's Edtech Coaches PLN was beginning a blogging accountability program called Blogging Buddies. 

Recently I was talking to a group of teachers in my school district about the difference between Google Classroom and  a class website as a communication tool.  We know that Google Classroom is an excellent tool for creating a paperless workflow for the classroom, but that doesn't help parent communication (I know that we can send guardian summaries, but that's not the same as a website).  ​