Serendipity35

I got word through a listserv yesterday that the next Google Teacher Academy will be on November 18, 2008 in New York City. Unfortunately, not only is the deadline for applying tomorrow (October 10), but this is for K-12 educators only. I haven't been in the K-12 world as a teacher or in teacher training for a few years and I don't really miss it - but I'd love to attend one of these GTAs. 

The Google Teacher Academy is a free professional development experience designed to help K-12 educators get the most from innovative technologies. They are intensive, one-day events with hands-on experiences with Google's free products and other technologies. More importantly, it seems to be more about innovative instructional strategies and all in that Google corporate environment that is foreign to most teacher worlds.

I also want to be a "Google Certified Teacher" - not as a resume builder but because they encourage you to share what you learn with other K-12 educators in your region. I do love teacher training.

How do you get into the Academy? They select 50 educators for each GTA. Potential applicants include classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, technology specialists, librarians, administrators, professional trainers, and other education professionals who actively serve K-12 teachers and students.

What are they looking for? Professional experience, passion for teaching and learning, successful use of technology in K-12 settings, educators who actively provide technology-related mentoring or training for classroom teachers.

You submit an online application, but what I find most interesting is that each applicant is required to produce and submit an original one minute video and upload to YouTube or Google Video for review. Of course, when I saw that I had to do a YouTube search and found lots of applicant videos.

Hey Google, how about an Academy for those of us in community colleges and supporters of K-20 training?