3 Google Updates Announced at Education On Air 2016

Christmas came a little early for attendees of Google’s 2016 Education On Air virtual conference.

As part of the opening keynote presentations, Google added in a short section to reveal several new updates for G Suite for Education (formerly Google Apps for Education). These updates included:

1. New ways for students to log into Chromebooks
2. Parents no longer need Google accounts for Classroom email summaries
3. Graduating students can move email and Drive files to personal accounts

Education On Air is a (somewhat) annual event where educators from around the world offer free professional development sessions as live video presentations through Google Hangouts. I have been fortunate to present at each EduOnAir since the first one. This year my session was on “Fantastic Feedback Tools for Google Doc” which you can find here: EduOnAir link

You can view all of the recorded sessions from this year at:
https://educationonair.withgoogle.com/live/2016-dec/

As for the three new G Suite for Education features, see below for all the details…

66 Question Checklist for Rolling Out Google Apps

Every day more and more schools move to Google Apps for Education. It is a powerful solution to meet many needs for students and staff. Some benefits include:

• Programs - A wide variety of online tools including Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Gmail, Calendar, Sites, Classroom, Hangouts, and much more.
• Third Party Tools - Thousands of useful Add-ons, Web Apps, and Extensions to provide more features.
• Modularity - Choose just the tools you want to use, and who has access to them.
• Updates - Frequent automatic updates to all the tools so you always have the latest versions with the newest features.
• Central Management - Simple online management of all users, programs, and devices,
• 21st Century Skills - Support for the skills our students needs for their future including collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.
• Price - It’s free!

So it is easy to see why so many schools are adopting Google Apps for Education. However, what may not be as easy is the process of deploying Google Apps for your district. There are a lot of questions to consider, options to choose, and steps to take to get from start to finish in a complete roll out.

I get the privilege of working with loads of schools on all aspects of Google Apps including initial setup, Active Directory Sync, email migration, Chromebook deployment, admin console settings and best practices, and all related professional development for teachers, techies, and administrators. One of the first steps in the roll out process is a checklist of questions I have the schools work through to determine their unique wants, needs, steps and plan for Google Apps.

See the rest of the blog post below for my list of deployment questions, as well as a Google Doc version you can copy and use for your own district. Hopefully these questions will help you think through all the options, catch some issues you may not have considered, and work out a plan for your next steps.

Google Apps 101 for Preservice Teachers (and 5 practical steps for them to take)

Recently I had the opportunity to speak to a group of students at Youngstown State University here in Ohio. These were students preparing to become teachers, and they asked me to share about Google Apps for Education.

It is very important for teacher candidates to become aware of and proficient with Google Apps and how it can be used to transform teaching and learning. When looking for a teaching job, it is highly likely that the schools they encounter will use Google Apps to some level.

• Of the 30 school districts I directly support in my job, all 30 of them are Google Apps districts
• Google Apps for Education is widely used throughout the state of Ohio, across the country, and around the world
• Chromebooks account for more than half of all classroom devices, surpassing Apple and Microsoft options

Below is a slideshow presentation I went through with the students to give them a big picture overview of what Google Apps is, the benefits for schools, and details of the most common Google Apps tools and how they are often used in schools.

Below that you will also find my suggestions for what preservice teachers can do between now and getting a teaching job to improve their knowledge and skills with Google App tools.

Creating Video PD with Free Google Tools

Whether you are a technology trainer, teacher, administrator, or anyone involved in education, one question we are always asking is how can we improve the quality and impact of our professional development. We face many challenges including:

• Schedules - finding time when people can meet
• Travel - getting everyone together in one place
• Levels - moving at a pace that is not too fast for some or too slow for others
• Resources - there is only one of you and hundreds (thousands?) of them

As a technology integration specialist, and a Google Certified Trainer and Innovator, I have struggled with the same concerns. Back in December of 2014 I tried something new to help address this need. I used free Google tools to create, deliver, assess, and track video professional development.

Below you will find loads of information about how I did this, as well as free resources you can use to do this yourself. You can watch the one-hour training video below, view the slideshow, read the rest of the post, and check out all the linked templates and resources.

The Big Blank Wall - My 2015 IDEA Talk

A while back I had the privilege of sharing a short "IDEA Talk" at the 2015 WVIZ/PBS Ideastream Education Conference.

My talk was tilted "The Big Blank Wall" which refers to a particularly challenging feature from my first classroom. I spoke on how easy it is for us as educators to confuse process with purpose, and our need to embrace edtech change.

You can watch the short (7 minute) video below, read the full post, and then ask yourself what is your "Big Blank Wall"?



In addition to the recorded video, below is a copy of the original post I wrote on this topic several years ago on one of my other sites: