In this second part, I’ll describe how I become a Google Certified Trainer.
ACHIEVING GOOGLE CERTIFIED TRAINER
After a dramatic Level 2 exam, I took a little time off before working on achieving Certified Trainer. I passed the Level 2 exam in September and started working on my application around February. My application needed to include a completed application form including case study questions, a 3 minute video, and successfully passing the Trainer Skills Assessment exam, in addition to successfully achieving both levels of Google Certified Educator.
I also learned through Shake Up Learning’s courses that having a social media presence would be a big plus! I already had a professional Twitter account and had started a YouTube channel three years earlier with Tech Tuesday. I started this blog partly because of this and also because I missed writing. I went into college thinking I could work for an educational magazine as a career and though my life had gone a different direction, I wasn’t writing anymore. This blog has given me the opportunity to do that again.
CASE STUDY QUESTIONS
I began working on the case study questions from the application as I felt this would be the longest part of the process. I was just about finished when Google announced they had updated the application form and I remember a large part of what I had worked on no longer was part of the application, but I can’t find any of my old resources to remember what exactly changed. I just remember thinking that this was going to take me forever!
But back to the drawing board I went!
The case study questions asked about the design, implementation, and follow up of a training on a Google tool of my choice. I had previously worked on a Google Forms workshop and updated it with my new knowledge from the training center and the course I had taken from Shake Up Learning. I then re-did the workshop with teachers in my building and used that experience to answer the case study questions. You can view it here.
That workshop has turned out to be one of my favorites to present and it’s changed a lot since last spring as I have used the feedback I have received from participants to keep making it better. I last presented it at VSTE in December (2019) and I brought in even more choice for participants as I allowed them to dictate which options we would learn about from rubrics to Digital Breakouts, Choose Your Own Adventure and more. You can view the latest edition on the workshops page.
Being a trainer has taught me how to design professional development in a different way: adding more choice for participants, openly asking for feedback after every session and making adjustments, and following up with participants afterwards. For a long time, I didn’t understand how to add choice in a workshop setting and I was scared to give up that control. Now, I know what it means and to design it in a way that isn’t scary and still be prepared. This mindset has definitely made me more confident and more open as both a teacher and a trainer.
SKILLS ASSESSMENT AND VIDEO
I waited to take the Skills Assessment until I had the case study questions finished as the certificate has an expiration date. I easily passed it as it tested me on the same things I do every day. Then I started working on the script for the 3 minute video. I had one minute to introduce myself and why I wanted to be a Google Certified Trainer and 2 minutes to do a tutorial on a Google tool. I chose to do my tutorial on Google Drawings. You can view my video below:
It was so hard to narrow my introduction down to one minute and by this point I was probably over thinking it. I had also bought a new camera with an added support frame that would hold my phone over the camera and act as teleprompter. It made the video crystal clear but completely changed the lighting setup I had for the green screen. I ended up having to turn my entire setup around to use my office area in my basement as a background. The lighting is still a little off in the video above and it took me quite a while to figure it out as evidenced by this season’s Tech Tuesday videos.
SUBMISSION AND ACCEPTANCE
Once everything was done, I tripled checked it and submitted it in June. Then came the long four to six week wait to hear back. We were finishing up the year and it helped keep me from focusing on it. I got my acceptance email about a month after I submitted it, two days before I was supposed to leave on vacation in July. It was exciting and then a little anti-climatic as I didn’t really have a chance to see the materials included in my email and how I could connect with other Trainers before I left and my vacation spot didn’t have good Internet. So it was a couple of weeks before I could really dig into it all.
I get that this isn’t for everyone, but it has been such a good thing in my life. I’ve continued to develop skills and been an expert in my building on Google tools. My PLN is more connected than ever before and I get to share my knowledge of one of my favorite things and help teachers and students!
Ms Priester EDU 