June/July 2018 Newsletter: Teacher Google Training Update

Last month, a team of Shaker Heights Schools representatives participated in a panel discussion at the May 2018 Instructional Technology Integration Partnership (ITIP) conference regarding the District’s two-year project for 100% of Instructional Staff with Educator Licenses to earn the Google Level 1 Educator Certificate. The team included Executive Director of Technology and Media Services John Rizzo, Director of Professional Development Erin Herbruck, Network Manager Casey Ailiff and High School science teacher and Google Certified Educator James Schmidt. According to Dr. Herbruck, the group’s presentation, entitled “Google Certified or Certifiably Crazy: One District’s Journey to Becoming 100% Google Level 1 Certified,” received much interest from other school districts planning to roll out similar projects. 

“We want to increase our student use of instructive technology. It’s our responsibility to make sure that our teachers have a basic understanding of the Google suite,” explains Dr. Herbruck. “Of course, this doesn’t mean that we intend for technology to take over the classroom, but it is meant to be another instructional strategy. We want to give teachers another tool for their tool belts.”

Now one year into the two-year project, Dr. Herbruck says that nearly 70 percent of the District’s 469 teachers eligible for the Google training have taken it, while another 30 percent already passed the Google assessment to become Certified Educators. Over the course of the project, the Professional Learning and Technology departments collaborated to create a schedule for teachers with 50 different training options. Teachers receive a Chromebook when they attend  the training and after they pass the assessment and receive their certificates of completion, they earn a carrying case. 

“I have found Google Classroom to be an invaluable tool for communicating with students, sharing assignments, and having students submit computer programs electronically. Personally, I think that Google tools are just as useful for teacher collaboration as for student collaboration. They have also made our internal data collection processes more efficient,” says High School science teacher James Schmidt. 

“With this training, we’re better preparing our kids to use technology in the classroom because we have teachers who can better support and enhance student experiences with technology,” Dr. Herbruck adds. “This training gives teachers the ability to support equitable use of technology.” Learn more about Google Instructional Staff Training initiatives.