Google Teacher Academy is Accepting Applications

In Chicago on July 24-25, Google will be hosting their next Google Teacher Academy.  This is a free opportunity for professional development for educators and it happens all over the globe, therefore providing an opportunity for more professional networking.  If your school or district is planning on utilizing Google Apps in Education then attending this conference would be a major plus.  Applications to attend must be submitted by June 10th.  Visit their application page to apply and visit Google Teacher Academy homepage to learn more.  

Educators who attend a Google Teacher Academy become Google Certified Teachers (GCTs). GCTs are:

• Outstanding educators with a passion for using innovative technologies and approaches to improve teaching and learning.
• Creative leaders who understand opportunities and challenges, and have a desire to help empower others in their local community and beyond.
• Ambassadors for change who model high expectations, life-long learning, collaboration, equity, and innovation.

After the GTA, GCTs are expected to:

• Develop a "Personal Action Plan" outlining a project they will complete
• Lead at least three local professional development activities over the course of 12 months.
• Successfully deploy one school on to Google Apps for Education.
• Actively participate in the GCT online community.
• Share the impact of their work with other Google Certified Teachers through mid-year and end-of-year reflection.

In addition to two free days of training, GCTs get:

• Access to the GCT Online Community.
• Opportunities to give feedback to Google on educational uses of tools.
• Invitations to join Google at special events.
• The right to post the GCT web badge on their website or blog.

State of Educational Use of Blogs 2013 Survey

Over at The Edublogger, which I have shared in my Found From my Feed.ly posts, is conducting a survey to learn how educators are using blogs and obtain a comprehensive resource on the the State of Educational Blogging.  Please visit her post and complete the survey if you are an educational blogger or use blogs for your teaching or within your school.  If you have students that are blogging, then please complete the survey. The survey does not take that long to complete and can be a very beneficial piece of understanding how blogs are being used now and in the future as this survey is made available each year.

To go directly to the survey, you can CLICK HERE.

Five From my Feedly

Today is closing day meaning yesterday was the last day school.  Summer time is here and I am looking forward to the break to play some golf, visit the beach, and attend some conferences.  In the meantime, here are 5 posts from this week so far.

1.) From the Simple K12 blog, 17 Free eBooks for Your Summer Reading.  If unsure what to do this summer to grow professionally, these eBooks would be a good starting point; and you can't beat free.

2.) Our school currently is not 1:1 but many schools are.  Several schools are also investigating a BYOT/BYOD program and it can provide the same incentives and opportunities.  From Free Technology for Teachers, a guest post with the Top 10+ Sites for a Successful 1:1 Laptop Program: Experiences from the Trenches.  I am familiar with many of these sites and agree with their use for a 1:1 program.

3.) Google is on the verge of taking over education and they provide great services at a cheaper price than Microsoft and Apple at this point.  If you are not a Google User, then Google Tools to Check Out from the Blogging About the Web 2.0 Connected Classroom is worth checking out to discover or re-discover tools from Google you might be interested in.

4.) Speaking of Google, at the recent Google I/O event there was an announcement about Google Play for Education.  On the Hack Education blog they provide some valuable information about Google Play for Education Versus....  A valuable look at how Google Play compares to some other options.

5.) The Tornado in Oklahoma is on a lot of educators minds because of the toll that the event took on children and teachers due to the direct impact to two elementary schools.  Larry Ferlazzo continues to track news stories and videos of the event.  Teachers Putting Children First in Oklahoma and More on Oklahoma Tornado are good starting points.  There are more links within those two posts to original information.

As a bonus I shared an article on Twitter about The Courage of Teachers which is an Opinion Piece on CNN regarding the bravery of teachers in Oklahoma and more.  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it for an end of year reading piece.  

Iraq - 10 Years, 100 Viewpoints

Iraq - 10 Years, 100 Viewpoints is a web-documentary that showcases life in Iraq that went live on May 1st, the date that President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished."  It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since I watch bombs fall on Baghdad while doing my student teaching.  For social studies teachers this documentary can provide a lot of useful information about this time period in U.S. and World History.  I can also help teachers share the geography and culture of the region as well.

Learn about what it is like for Iraqis following the war and how religion, government, and economics plays a role in their daily lives from 100 different perspectives.  Users can add different videos to their library for later viewing.  Videos are also organized by 9 different categories and various tags as well.  

Dictionary of Numbers - Putting Numbers in Human Terms

Numbers.  We see them everywhere and we share them in our classrooms, but often times when we are sharing numbers with students they struggle with comprehending how those numbers equate to real life or relating them to something they might be more familiar with.  Dictionary of Numbers is a Google Chrome extension that helps to try and make sense of the numbers we encounter on the web.  The extension will take a number and put it into human terms.  For example, "4 million people" means little, but "population of Kentucky" will help to mean more and make numbers more relevant.

The extension works in several ways.  Dictionary of Numbers searches through the page for numbers it can understand and when it finds one, it will add in an inline explanation for that number in human terms.  The extension also contains a search as well, so if a you are teaching a lesson and it involves numerical data that you want in human terms, Dictionary of Numbers will help.

For more information, see the video below.

h/t to Lifehacker for the find.