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Fly with Me – A Google Innovator Journey

It was about this time last year I was heavily reflecting on where my life was going and what I wanted to do. My work within the school district was good, but I knew I was capable of more and could make a bigger difference in education. I applied to the Google Innovator program twice before and was working toward a third application. This application was different. I had spent that first half of 2017 developing myself both physically and mentally. My daily workout and my increased consumption of books, had me applying with a completely different mindset.

News of my acceptance into the Google Innovator Academy came while I was strapped to the decompression table at the Chiropractor’s office. This was not my goal when I decided to increase my physical activity, however, I had never felt better. With my phone out of reach and not another soul in the room, I only had the notification on my watch showing a new email from the Google Innovator Program and the word “Congratulations!” I rushed home to print the contents of the email to surprise my wife. When I shared my news, she was overcome with emotion and I knew that I was holding an important key in fulfilling my desire to make a bigger difference. That day-that moment- was the best birthday I have ever had.

Now I sit here six months after my Google Innovator experience reflecting on what has changed. When asked about my experience I usually sum it up as “life-changing.” More specifically, it instilled in me an incredible amount of confidence. As my academy coach, Carlos Galvez, put it, “You’ve been handed the keys to a brand new rocket, don’t just let it sit out there in the parking lot. Get out and fly it.”

My new-found confidence unlocked some upgrades to my rocket. I was no longer hesitating to share my ideas and before I knew it I found myself coaching 48 new EdTech coaches within the district and going into the classroom to teach one of my passions: Design Thinking. I am also excited to be facilitating the first ever Young Innovator Camp (powered by Future Design School) in our district this summer and guiding a school outside of the district in establishing a culture of innovation. I am also leading small groups within the district through the design process in an effort to find innovative solutions to challenges that range from ways to create a better learning experience within a junior high to prototyping ways to reduce chronic absenteeism. These upgrades have helped fuel the development of my Google Innovator project.

I am passionate about finding ways to address the increasingly widespread teacher shortage. My project challenge statement is, “How might we inspire today’s teachers to remain teachers and today’s students to become tomorrow’s teachers?” Taking the momentum from some of my new opportunities as well as from the constant flow of inspiration from the rest of the #SWE17 cohort, I knew it was time to stretch the possibilities and to push the limits of my rocket.

The hardest part was pressing the launch button on my project, but the thrill of the launch soon took over and I was hooked! The first phase of my project was off the ground and I was planning to test the EdTrex Explorer program at SXSWEDU. The mission of the explorers was to bring insight, resources, and powerful moments to those teachers who couldn’t be there. With over 600k impressions to over 350k users via Twitter alone, I was convinced I was heading in the right direction. I have since iterated on this phase and have begun to make the Explorer program replicable for others and I am excited to test it further at ISTE 2018. An unplanned part of my project has also launched in the form of the EdTrex Podcast. The more exciting second and third phases of my project will be launched soon. My confidence and participation in the Google Innovator program has also led to numerous presentation and speaking opportunities throughout North America.

Much has changed for me and many of the other innovators in my cohort over the past six months as a result of what I would call “Innovator Confidence.” There is no reason things can’t change for you too! We need more rocket pilots to fly all those rockets just sitting in the parking lot. We need more Google Innovators to take on the challenge of making a difference in education. We need you to step out of your comfort zone and to discover your Innovator Confidence. What are you waiting for? Put yourself out there, fill out your application, and press the launch button. I can’t wait to fly with you!

 

Quin Henderson
Design Coach
Teacher
Google Certified Innovator
Utah, USA

 

 

 

[themify_button bgcolor=”blue” size=”large” link=”https://edutrainingcenter.withgoogle.com/certification_innovator”]Learn more about the Google Certified Innovator Program[/themify_button]

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We All Just Want to Belong

I just had dinner with my friend Eric Cross tonight. We just met a few months ago and I feel like the depth of conversation that we can get to within minutes is something that has taken years for me to develop with anybody else. And why is that? It’s about connection. The MTV Innovator Energizer happened this past Saturday in Mountain View, California. I was one of about 50 Google for Education Certified Innovators to attend this amazing day at the Google offices in Sunnyvale. The one thing that I was left with by the end was a deep sense of connection. Actually, according to data, because, you know, we like that sort of thing, 35.4% of the Innovators that responded to a survey rated the most valuable part of the program to be “Community with other Innovators.”

This journey for me started almost a year ago when I decided to apply for the Google Innovator Academy. I don’t know how I got so lucky as to be one of the 37 Educators that got chosen for the cohort of #WDC 17 to meet up in Washington DC, but I did. It was at this place, that I really felt a deep sense of connection. As a matter of fact, I hugged every single person in the cohort upon first meeting them, even though I’d only met two in real life prior to the event. Then again, I am that person… Here’s the first selfie I took when I literally realized that I had a long lost family that I didn’t know about.

In terms of the actual Energizer itself, I got to connect with a member of my #WDC17 cohort, a friend that I’ve made on twitter but never met in real life, my assigned mentor for the year (and his lovely wife and the littlest of all innovators, his 1 year old son), someone who presented at a the same conference as me in Chico, members of the EdTechTeam, someone who led a workshop that forever changed the way I look at or take photos, a parent from a school that I used to work at, the greatest Innovator coach someone could ask for – ever, innovators of the #SWE17 cohort who came from faraway places, like TX and NC and of course some of the most amazing new BFFs that I could ask for.

One of the highlights for me was the Spark Sessions. I had the pleasure to attend two sessions and lead one. Seeing all the different things that people were pitching during the day, I wanted to attend every single one of them. From growth mindset football (y’all call it soccer here) to 360-degree storytelling to Chopped: The Innovator Edition to Machine Learning, there was a lot to cover, uncover, learn and unlearn. I pitched my own “playshop” in partner inversion techniques that can be used by adults and students alike in building trust, relationship and a whole lot of laughter. Especially when you fall/fail. The energy I felt in each one of these spark sessions was amazing and contagious. It’s been almost two weeks and I still feel like I’m talking about it on a daily basis.

In my view of life, there is thought and action. When the two meet and action takes place with a degree of thought is when I get all juiced up. I did a whole lot of thinking throughout the MTV energizer and asked myself, “so, what next?” Here are the most concrete things that I have taken action on:

  • Reached out to a new connection to talk about the intersection of our Innovator Projects.
  • Reached out to another new connection to talk about a leadership class they will be teaching and how they could incorporate some of the partner inversion techniques in their curriculum.
  • Wrote this blog post.
  • Encouraged three friends to apply for the Google for Education Certified Innovator program.
  • Created a timeline to reconnect with three of my #WDC17 cohort and engage them in my Innovator project and get the next round of feedback and iteration.
  • Registered for ISTE and realized that there will be an Innovator Energizer the day I arrive.
  • Started to create a culture of ritual in my daily life. I have a morning and evening ritual. One of the things I do is filling out a daily google form reflecting on my day.
  • Committed to a #365dayphotochallenge on Instagram to practice photography, inversion and have another daily practice.
  • Wrote this blog post.
  • Committed to having a “happy innovator hour” with local-ish innovators in the SF Bay Area.

In short, the energizer gave me the energy to tackle new projects, renew my commitment to other projects and gave me the opportunity to be connected to some amazing people. They say that you are the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most. If those 5 people are all Innovators, your life, well, let’s just say that this ride is just starting…

 

 

Adnan Iftekhar
Director of Technology
San Francisco, CA
@adnanedtech

 

Join this Innovative group of educators and apply for the Google Certified Innovator programs today!

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Third Time’s a Charm: Google Innovator #SYD17 Academy Reflection

Cross-posted on Heather’s Blog

G’day everyone! The Sydney Google Innovator Academy cohort wrapped in August and many of us are still adjusting to our post-academy life where a fellow Sydney Innovator, Brian Host, expressed it best: “The tyranny of the urgent is a frustrating obstacle to creative thinking and innovation.”

In the days following a whirlwind of innovating, designing, collaborating and awesomeness of what is the Google Innovator Academy, I am trying to balance the demands of my day job with thinking of all the connections I made with amazing educators from all over the world and ideas swirling around in my brain.

Jammin’ with Your People

    Getting Googley with my group, Area 52.

Getting into the Google Innovator Academy is not about the badge, the Google micro kitchens or swag. The Academy is about finding your people. People who are inspiring and passionate, people who roll up their sleeves when they see big problems.

Over the span of two and half days, we were put into small groups and matched with a coach who worked with us as we went through the design thinking process to expand our ideas and solutions. During one of the spark sessions, we learned to think outside the box even further by learning how to hold our ideas lightly by giving and receiving feedback by Chris Harte, our fearless coach at the back of the table.

Part of the process was giving a card that either had a 1x or 10x on it and we had to build on each other’s ideas without self-editing until one of us either vetoed the idea or put down the genius card. The fast pace of this exercise helped us to iterate quickly and allowed us to give and receive feedback in a fun way.

We worked together, we ate together and we even jammed out together with some guitars when we took a tour of the Google office. My group (Area 52 rocks!) and cohort became my people and we will support each other as we move forward with our projects as well as receive the support of all the Google Innovators. By becoming an Innovator, I joined a large family of passionate, quirky, fun people who work hard to make their moonshot thinking a reality.

Fail Fast and Fail Forward

Getting ready for the Gallery Walk where other Innovators left feedback on the prototype for my design thinking kit for teachers.

It may sound surprising but the next step for my project is finding ways to make it fail. One of the things we learned at the academy is to fail fast and fail forward. My project is to create a design thinking kit to make it easy for teachers to implement the design thinking framework with their students.

At the Academy, I built a prototype and received feedback from other Innovators but that is simply the first step in the feedback process. The only way to get true feedback is to put the kits into teacher’s hands and see what they think and what they want for themselves and their students.

One of my favorite design sprint activities was called “Kill your Darlings”. I worked with a partner to question everything about my project and to basically shoot holes in it. This helped me to not feel attached to my solution, but rather fall more in love with my problem.

After the Academy, we get partnered with a mentor, who has been an Innovator and who has already gone through the process. I am looking forward to reviewing all the feedback and making a plan. My design thinking kit will not be perfect the first time, but it will be a stepping stone to where it needs to go to meet the needs of teachers and students.

Learning Perseverance

              #thirdtimesacharm

The Google Innovator Academy is a coveted experience for many educators who love all things Google. Google accepts around 35 educators for each cohort and hosts several cohorts in locations around the world each year. While the competition seems steep, do not let that deter you from achieving your goal of becoming an Innovator. For many of us at the academy, it was not our first attempt at applying.

It took me three times to get accepted into the Academy. Instead of giving up, I decided to take some action by gathering feedback from Innovators about my slide deck and video, attending Google Innovator Application Workshop and Panel hangouts and had fun hanging out on Twitter with the #GoogleEI and cohort hashtags.

At the academy we talked about the 8 Pillars of Google Innovation- number, eight being: never fail to fail. If I had not persevered, reflected and reapplied to the Innovator Academy, I would not have received the opportunity to develop my project alongside an awesome group of educators from around the world. The Google Innovator Academy is an amazing, life-changing experience and one that will continue long after my project is out in the world.

 

 

Heather Breedlove
Technology Integration Coordinator
Arizona, USA
@hblove03 

Packaging Content: Moving Past the ‘What’

Cross-posted from Student Engagement Blog- Chris Young

“The packaging that educators wrap around the content will have the single greatest impact on student learning.'”

When I think about “packaging” a lesson, a story comes to mind. Last spring, I did a BreakoutEDU lesson with a 2nd-grade classroom. I had the principal deliver the locked box wrapped in some leftover birthday wrapping paper. The students’ curiosities were sparked, and they were excited to see what this mysterious gift was. The lesson was amazing! Collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity was spreading throughout the classroom and also the students.

Later that day, we used the exact same lesson with another class. However, we had run out of wrapping paper. In a jam, we wrapped the box in black butcher block paper that we had found in the hallway. The principal delivered the package just as she had done earlier. Except for this time when she left, a student voiced his concerns that mysterious package wrapped in black could be a “bomb.”

Two minutes later… multiple students were crying, and a frantic call to the principal had to be made to assure all of the class that the package was safe and fun. If the BreakoutEDU box had been wrapped in rainbows and butterflies as it was before, the nefarious thought that it could be a bomb would have never entered the student’s mind. The packaging that educators wrap around the content will have the greatest impact on student learning.

 

BreakoutEDU Box wrapped for 2nd graders

“Oh my gosh- we are a quarter of the year in, and I have so much more to cover.”

As educators, we tend to get wrapped up on ‘what’ we are teaching. After all, it is possible that our journey to education began with a love of writing, science, social studies, etc.. To further the push toward the ‘what’, PLC (data) meetings where we delve into test scores with our colleagues is becoming the norm. In such a high stakes world of education, the ‘what’ is at the forefront. If we want our students to truly learn and connect to ‘what’ we are teaching, then we must shift our focus to some other question words… Enter ‘why’ & ‘how.’

The Why

If you are lucky enough to attend an EdTechTeam Summit or other educational technology conferences, you will likely learn about the power of ‘why’. If the content you are teaching is given a purpose, then students will take ownership, and the learning then becomes a partnership between student and teacher. Powerful.

This video from Michael Jr. does an amazing job at demonstrating just how impactful the ‘why’ can be

 
I’ll say it again… Powerful. Which version of Amazing Grace are your students singing in class each day? I hope you strive to have a class full of students that are singing the second version where creativity is free-flowing. I love that we are trying to promote a shift from the focus on the ‘what’ to the ‘why’ we are teaching it, but unfortunately that’s not enough…

The How

If we take a look at the Richard DuFour’s PLC (data-driven decision making) process, they are traditionally driven by four very strong and valid questions.

  1. What do we want students to learn? (The What)
  2. How will we know if they’ve learned it? (Assessment)
  3. What will we do if they didn’t learn it? (Reteaching)
  4. What will we do if they already know it? (Differentiation)

The PLC process, by design, turns the child into a data point to determine the path of learning. Consider the PLC process as a GPS to determine the roadmap for ‘what’ needs learned. What good is GPS if you don’t know ‘how’ to use it? Furthermore, what good is a GPS that doesn’t update or respond to traffic or construction? (Bless you, Waze!) What if before we even considered ‘what’ we want students to learn, we shifted to the ‘how’ our students will best learn?

Teachers that seek to determine how to best teach their students should start with student engagement. All students walk into the school building each day with the potential to be hooked! This essentially makes the educator a salesperson of the curriculum.

As an educator, what are you doing to get students to invest? Each child has their engagement for sale, but the real challenge in teaching is that each student may have a different currency. What are your students’ engagement currencies? Without student engagement, everything we teach is nothing.

Pivoting The PLC

Would PLCs become more personal and thereby effective if these were the driving questions?

  1. What do we want students to learn? (The What)
  2. Why do students need to learn it? (The Why)
  3. How will my students best learn? (The How)
  4. How will we know if they’ve learned it? (Assessment)
  5. What will we do if they didn’t learn it? (Reteaching)
  6. What will we do if they already know it? (Differentiation)

As educators, we all know that our students are more than a score on an assessment. We must consider the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ in our lesson design to make learning both personalized and personal for students. This package of engagement will allow us to cultivate those important connections with and for our students.

Take a page from my failed BreakoutEDU lesson and wrap your learning experiences in rainbows and butterflies or whatever wrapping paper that is going to fit your students.

The Student Engagement Challenge

Are you a teacher that always wants what is best for your students? Do you believe in the power of growth mindset? If you answered yes, then you are ready to take the “Student Engagement Challenge!”

Print these custom Plickers cards (double sided) to get instant student engagement feedback. This is the data that will help you custom-package your curriculum for students, which will ultimately lead to results in the classroom!

    
Chris Young is the Innovation Coordinator for Southern Hancock Schools in New Palestine, Indiana. He is a Level 2 Google Educator, Google Certified Trainer, and a Google Innovator. Chris has a passion for educational technology and the impact it has had on his students. Chris is passionate about sharing how he loves to teach with hopes that your students love to learn! 

  [themify_button bgcolor=”blue” size=”large” link=”https://www.edtechteam.com/summits/”]Dive into the WHY at an EdTechTeam Summit near you![/themify_button]