GTA UK ideas needed: CONTENT? STRUCTURE? WHEN?

[Tom Barrett]

I have been in touch with Google UK and they have already heard about
this group :-) They are positive about the possibilities of a GTA in
the UK but cannot guarantee anything at this stage. However they would
like to know more details about what form we think a UK event might
take.

Google have have said that they are "keen to make its tools as useful
as possible to teachers and getting feedback directly from teachers is
one of the things we really value."

So please leave a response in this thread about these three things:

CONTENT: What Google Tools for the classroom are you most interested
in? Advanced or beginner sessions?
STRUCTURE: Open? Teachmeet/unconference style? What preferences for an
event do you have?
WHEN: During term time? Holidays? When would you consider it to be
most appropriate for you and other teachers?

The current US GTA events involve certification. Please also include a
remark about your thoughts on this. Is it important to celebrate your
GTA involvement? Or is it meaningless and the teacher stories and
useful take away ideas will be much more valuable?

In my opinion the most positive move from Google so far to engage
directly with this group, let's hope they are keen to continue to
listen.

I look forward to your thoughts

Tom

[kvnmcl]

This is fantastic news Tom and well done to you and everyone that has
made this possible. As I have mentioned before I am relatively new to
the use of Google Tools for classroom use so I will offer my
considerations from this standpoint.

Content
I have used some of the tools for my own requirements but not within a
school/classroom context, so I would like to see a beginner or perhaps
an intermediary session provided demonstrating how these tools could
be used for teaching and learning, collaborative work, planning and
organising, assessment and anything in between :-)

Structure
TeachMeets are a great way to learn about new technologies being used
by teachers in their own classrooms and this type of approach would be
useful to demonstrate these tools and could form a part of the
content. But I would also like to see Open sessions where those who
are more knowledgeable have the opportunity to go directly to
demonstrations they would find more useful.

When
An event of this scale will involve more than the 114 members of this
Google group as it will certainly attract many other educators who are
not yet aware of the GTAUK proposal. Could it be part of a larger,
already organised event such as BECTA? Term time would probably be the
best time to hold such an event as the attendees can return to school
to encourage other staff in the use of these tools.

I think the Google Teacher Certification will only be useful in the UK
if it is a recogniseable certification - is it recognised by the dscf
or even by LA's? However, it does appear to have its benifits with
regards to what it offers the teacher who attends and complete the one
day course. http://www.google.com/educators/gta.html

Kevin

[Ian U]

Hey Tom...

Apps - well, I think it's less about which particular apps (since this
will be too diverse, and everyone will want to do something slightly
different), rather than principles about how to make them work
together / with other external applications - more of a creative way
of thinking than "click here, do this" sort of thing. Whichever
session ends up occuring (if it's an unconference style thing), they
should all include "how [this tool] can be used creatively with [other
tool]" thoughts.
Er, should people be active users of at least... 2? 3? 10? Google
tools, so we don't need to start from scratch?

Structure - Sessions should be co-led by a Google bod and a
practitioner who is v competent - but who doesn't necessarily have to
be the acknowledged "thought leader" on any particular app, otherwise
we might just hear stuff we could read on blogs elsewhere... possibly
"traditional" unconference (breaking into separate sessions rather
than TeachMeet style).

When - over a weekend or at the start / end of a big holiday?
MoodleMoots have been run in holidays or it's too difficult to get
people out of school. I think if it was during school time then each
person would need to be guaranteed to add value to their institution
rather than just their own Prof Dev - or schools might be reticent
about allowing people out.

Certification is useful but not essential - as part of the Adobe
Education Leaders programme certification is available, and the
"exams" are this year being offered as an option - first thing in the
morning of the annual AEL Institute, rather than as part of the core
programme. I'm not sure if Certification is more of an American
thing... I suppose it depends on if you want a "badge" or the
knowledge - or both!

That's just my €0.02's worth...

On Jun 19, 9:57 am, Tom Barrett <thomasgeorgebarr...@googlemail.com>
wrote:

[Mike]

Hi Tom
its brilliant that Google are at least replying and seemingly engaging
in dialogue. I agree the tools should be easily accessible to all
teachers in that way Google have a live test bed for development so it
is a win win situation.

CONTENT:
Geo Education: learning about Geo mashups to provide specific content
for students to research
Google Apps Ed Edition: Show how to incorporate into school setting
Custom Search Engine for schools/teachers
I think these should all be at the beginner level with those who have
expertise sharing across the GTA
STRUCTURE: Open sharing style
WHEN: 24/7 there is no need to limit occasions to term time or
twilight, the sessions can be open and added to over time and should
be available to revisit.
I would welcome formal accreditation as this would fit in with CPD
objectives for teachers.

Teacher stories and take away ideas are all part of the sharing
process they are not separate or an add on.

If the GTAUK can be advertised by members at different events or
through LA's or BECTa that would be great. I think the "meeting"
should not necessarily be physical but should be virtual using the
tools available to the group to share what is being done or to give
tutorials (online) in the use of applications seeing that the
potential numbers involved could be staggering

Well done again Tom I hope we can look forward to a good relationship
with Google.
Mike

[Chris Thomson]

Great news, Tom.

Some sort of cultural change aspect would be useful; a way of seeing
examples of how Google apps have been introduced in schools. What apps
get adopted successfully early on and which are better to introduce
further down the line? Or does a more informal approach work best?

Chris

On Jun 19, 9:57 am, Tom Barrett <thomasgeorgebarr...@googlemail.com>
wrote:

[Gus]

First of all, great initiative Tom it's great to see and hear about
teachers seeking out new ways to engage students through new
technology. In my experience this happens to little and often not in
the interest of the students.

Regarding your comment; Content, Structure and When

Content: I think it would be great to offer a series of sessions
starting at the most basic and ending at the more advanced level. I
don't know if google would be interested in training some superusers
who with google to create some content in the form of videos
(youtube), presentations (google docs), articles (google reader),
images (picasa) etc. Some of this could be set up through google sites
in a structured and organized way which would allow for interaction
and engagement with teachers out there.

Structure: As I don't currently live in the UK some sort of online
conference, webinars would be great and a way for not only the
teachers in the immediate vicinity but all interested teachers the
ability to participate. Additionally, a twitter or orkut account could
be created to send out notifications of content updates, organized
meetups, etc etc.

When: Sometime before the start of the next semester so that as
teachers are getting ready to do their lesson plans etc.

I would also love to see some sort of certification process that would
allow those teaches that have participated in the course a way to be
recognized and help in the professional career. Certification could be
provided on many levels i.e. testing, sharing, helping others,
developing content, community involvement, etc.

Just some thoughts :)

Gus

On Jun 19, 10:57 am, Tom Barrett <thomasgeorgebarr...@googlemail.com>
wrote:

[Doug Belshaw]

Thanks for getting things moving Tom! Here's my thoughts:

CONTENT: Personally, I'd be interested in the 'Advanced' sessions, but
there's a definite need for 'Beginner' sessions too. Actually, is this
a false dichotomy? Wouldn't it just be better for people to showcase
what they've done to all and then break off into smaller groups so
people could ask questions, have a go themselves, etc.?

STRUCTURE: I think almost everyone would welcome an unconferency-
TeachMeet style of event. You'd have to limit numbers, though
otherwise it's likely to be ineffective. What about a series of them
on the same day - for example 3 happening simultaneously at CLCs
around England (North, Midlands, South?) Each could be live streamed,
bringing in people from around the world. :-)

WHEN: I don't really mind, but I think a Friday evening during term-
time is probably the best in terms of impact.

CERTIFICATION: Not interested. If others are, then fine, but it just
adds complexity to the situation. Perhaps eventually it might be
worthwhile, but I'd just like to get the ball rolling. I don't think
that offering a certificate would really affect the numbers wanting to
attend!

Doug

[daibarnes]

Excellent news Tom.

It would be great to have a GTAUK event because the Google suite of
apps brings a cohesive set of connected tools to everybody in the
classroom.

One of the advantages of Google Apps is being able to distribute
Calendars and Sites and Docs to a specific audience within your school
community. Further to this they offer us more tools (Google Earth,
Wheel, Squared) that can bring variety to the classroom and integrate
with other tools and the range of VLEs. The advantage Google has over
other products is that usually separate items are brought together
under one roof: email, sites, calendars, reader, docs and all with a
similar user interface that becomes intuitive relatively quickly.

CONTENT:
I think one-for-all and all-for-one. I don't think the focus should be
an instructional event. It should be a showcase of classroom use.

STRUCTURE:
Maybe something like this for a whole day event...
1. Arrival and coffee.
2. Series of 5 minutes presentations showcasing classroom practice
(pre-selected relating to point3).
3. Workshops (rota, opportunity to visit two or three) discussing
elements on show during 2.
4. Teachmeet showcasing other ideas from volunteers with a significant
break in the middle to facilitate networking.
5. Somewhere to venture and mingle afterwards.

WHEN:
Term time but during a typically quiet time of the academic year, e.g.
one week into the Spring term? I think it is an event that most
schools would release teachers to go to.

[Theo Kuechel]

Firstly; thanks Tom for getting this going and looks like a positive
response from Google

Already a lot of excellent ideas being put forward already; so some
quick comments:

CONTENT
Overview of underlying principles of Google apps and how they
relate. (amongst themselves and other apps and technology). Also to
highlight the cognitive affordances of Google apps. I would also
suggest we see Google in terms of "LEARNING" rather than just the
"CLASSROOM" space. Make reference to mobile and time shifting
learning.

STRUCTURE
Some brief show and tell with Q's / Online exs
Knowledge Cafe / Unconference
Workshops / try it out sessions
Plenary

WHERE / WHEN
Flexible so happy to fit in with majority

CERTIFICATION
Possibly?; but establishing this community of practice more
important; eg the online group, meetings, conferences and fun.
Not my priority, but then may well be for others.