Reflections about my Summer Academy course @etfonews #etfosa14 @aimeelou34 @monahan_scott

http://goo.gl/IPRCga

I had the GREAT opportunity to instruct a Summer Academy session for ETFO last week.  I taught GAFE (Google Apps for Education) for Beginners. What fun we had in beautiful Bracebridge at the Nipissing University campus.  A big thank you goes out to Mike Mayes-Stewart who was our "go-to person" and caterer coordinator guru ;).

Although the participating teachers considered themselves beginners they brought with them a wealth of knowledge about teaching styles and strategies.  They represented eight different school boards so we all learned a little more about how ICT implementation varies across the province. They were willing to share ideas and they brought with them an excellent growth mindset each day! I think I learned as much from them as they learned from me.

The goal of the course was to become more confident with GAFE and to choose your learning goals.  I think the teachers appreciated the time to play, explore and develop something they could use with their students in September.  I got excited every time a participant mastered an app or shared how it could be applied to his/her teaching.
I love technology when it allows us to connect with others but I think the best part of the Summer Academy was the ability to meet face-to-face.  I LOVED the incidental learning that happened when 21 engaged teachers worked together.

I gained technical knowledge preparing for this course and I also feel that I sharpened my facilitator skills.  I must thank fellow Summer Academy instructors Aimee Ford and Scott Monahan for their invaluable suggestions,  examples and resources.  As a first time SA instructor Scott and Aimee allowed me to volunteer in their course which helped me prepare for some typical beginner questions and help me set the pace for my course. Their willingness to share was key to my success!
I also want to thank Emily and Ruth of ETFO provincial for answering my many questions and for accommodating my last minute requests;)
I created a Google sites for the course that collated many great resources: http://bit.ly/etfosa14jensen 
 I hope ETFO gets the go ahead to run more technology based workshops again next summer as it was a valuable learning experience for all.

GAFE for Beginners prep @etfo #etfosa14

Although I have not been going in to a school each day I have been sharpening my professional skills this summer.  I have been keeping my brain busy this summer by learning about the GAFE (Google Apps for Education) features.  This has been my professional growth focus this summer for three reasons:
Firstly, I want to learn more about the cool features of GAFE and I can't wait to become more fluent in the features as our school board adopts GAFE officially in September.
Secondly, I was hired to teach an ETFO Summer Academy this month and I want to be up on the latest features to ensure that I am a competent instructor.
Finally, my expertise in GAFE features will be an asset in my new position this fall as an instructional resource teacher.

One of the things I like most about Google is that there are always new things to learn. For example, since the end of June, Google Drive has a new look & feel and Google Classroom will be launched at any moment;)  I think the latter will be a game changer for teachers!
My three day summer course is called GAFE for Beginners and I'm really looking forward to it.  I love to get people excited and I know that with some encouragement the participants will also become enthusiastic GAFE users. The challenge I am facing is how do I inform and build confidence without overwhelming my students?
As anyone who has worked with Google products knows there are several small moments of "ah ha" when you realize how this might apply to your students and their learning.
It will be a full class so I hope that the pace will be appropriate.  I love that there is no evaluative piece to teaching this course so participants can truly create their own learning journey. The teachers attending this course are from 7 different school boards so I know I will learn as much from them as they will learn from me!
 I would like to thank ETFO for accepting my application and the Ministry of Ed for making these technology courses possible this summer.  I feel that these kind of professional learning opportunities are exactly the way to encourage teachers to be lifelong learners.