This afternoon, I held my first workshop for teachers addressing Google Apps. as part of my post-Google Teacher Academy Action Plan. I was absolutely thrilled to see about 11 teachers show up after a long day of teaching (and remember, the first week back after winter break is a doozie!). The goals of this first workshop were to create a Google account and set up Google Reader. As I was planning this workshop, I realized that I would probably need to lay some ground work for some of the teachers who were not familiar with this wonderful blogosphere and why it’s so powerful. I did my best to explain…but I realize that when I speak on a topic I’m passionate about, I speak more quickly and I wonder if I’m making any sense at all. Luckily, I didn’t see many expressions like this:
What?
It was difficult to explain how exciting and valuable online connections made by Web 2.0 tools (specifically blogs) can be. I compared it to a huge auditorium with millions of people in it, all sharing things…and their thoughts/ideas/conversations are visible via speech bubbles above their heads. You can easily search the speech bubbles to find a conversation that interests you. Once you’re involved in one conversation, it’s almost impossible not to notice how it’s related to many other conversations in the auditorium. Practially everything can be linked on one level or another. Now, imagine that auditorium is the globe. (Yes, as I typed that I realize how that comparison doesn’t do the blogosphere justice. ) What can I say…I tried.
Anyway, the teachers I work with know I”m goofy and stuck with me as we got into the meat of the workshop. I showed them the commoncraft videos Blogs and RSS in Plain English. (Man, they are amazingly clear!) I saw heads nodding with understanding, and I knew we were ready to jump in. I showed them this blog and briefly discussed how links within a post and comments worked. Then, I showed them this short blogroll which I created specifically for the teachers in attendance. We created Google accounts and added a blog to Google Reader. Lastly, I pointed them towards this Google Site I created, which contains video tutorials for the things we did during the workshop if they need to review at a later time.
My hope is each of the attendees finds a blog they really like and begin following it on a regular basis. In retrospect, the workshop should have been longer than an hour. Also, I think I should have added a survey-type game at the beginning to gauge the prior knowledge of my audience.
Overall, I’m very pleased. Most of the teachers left happily and even made comments like, “Thanks for the workshop, Christy…so when I need help with this again in a few days, you can give me a hand, right?” Remarks like that are always a good sign!
10 responses so far ↓
Kyle A // January 8, 2009 at 11:55 pm |
Congrats! We launched Google Apps in our school at the start of the year it has went really well, but I know my presentations on the topic have improved over that time.
I like the auditorium example.
lthumann // January 9, 2009 at 4:07 pm |
Christy – Your enthusiasm is contagious – Just keep doing what you’re doing and things will fall in place – I’m smiling!!
Lisa
Christy Tvarok Green // January 9, 2009 at 4:35 pm |
Thanks Lisa…I emailed Kyle A. (first comment) and he was gracious enough to explain his district’s implementation. Sharing rocks.
Dorothy Caufield // January 10, 2009 at 9:26 am |
Hey Christy,
Now that I can see your picture, I’ll know who I’m speaking to as we collaborate on our projects. Congratulations on the success of your first workshop. I loved your writing style. I’m a language arts teacher at heart having spent 21 of my 25 years doing that. You inspire me to set up my first workshop.
To Kyle A. – I’d love to chat with you about the launch of Google Apps. That’s one of my goals–to launch it for next year.
Melanie Holtsman // January 10, 2009 at 9:41 am |
I think it’s great that you took the time to show the Common Craft videos first to set the framework for why they would want a reader. Just like a classroom teacher, it’s important that we remember all levels of learners in our trainings. I think that district level people sometimes forget to differentiate, not all just some. Anyway, so exciting to get follow up requests too.
Christy Tvarok Green // January 10, 2009 at 10:47 am |
Thanks for the words of encouragement, Dorothy and Melanie. Honestly, creating and presenting workshops is much more fulfilling now that I can bounce my ideas/reflections off of great people like you!
Mark Dishong // January 10, 2009 at 11:39 pm |
Hi Christy,
As a participant in your first Google Apps workshop, I wanted to congratulate you on a job well done! I have always wanted to know more about blogs and, thanks to you, I am now blogging! Google Reader really does shave time off of the process. I have subscribed to a few blogs I think I can keep up with. I can’t wait for your future workshops! Many thanks for your efforts!
Ann Oro // January 13, 2009 at 10:34 am |
Great attendance for right after winter break. Those Commoncraft videos have made it into my student and teacher training. They are great jumping off points. Great comment from Mark, too. You’re on your way!
Garrett // May 3, 2009 at 1:39 am |
This is a fantastic site. I am super encouraged to start a teacher group myself. I am currently doing my master’s on student technology skills, and what I am finding is that teachers aren’t teaching the skills because they aren’t secure in their own skills. I appreciate you setting forth a good model. How do I subscribe to your site?
Christy Tvarok Green // May 3, 2009 at 10:24 am |
Thanks Garrett. I don’t currently use other contributers on my blog, but you can subscribe by setting up a Reader (like Google Reader) and subscribe to the RSS feed.