Google for Education Certification
The MSD of Boone Township is committed to providing teachers with professional development opportunities that will benefit student learning. As part of the district's commitment to teacher professional development, teachers have the opportunity to earn a $250.00 stipend (as well as PGPs for license renewal) by becoming a Google for Education (GfE) Level 2 certified educator. The process for becoming a GfE Level 2 educator requires teachers to pass two exams; the GfE Level 1 exam and the GfE Level 2 exam. According to the Google for Education website, the Level 1 skills provide teachers with "lessons and a progressive set of tips designed to help educators make the most of Google’s classroom technology," while the Level 2 skills allow teachers to "move beyond fundamentals with advanced lessons and cutting-edge strategies for integrating Google in [their] classroom."In an effort to assist teachers in this process, the Instructional Technology Coach has provided online course work on Google Classroom for both the Level 1 and Level 2 courses and the district has purchased vouchers to cover the costs of the exams. The first iterations of these courses were offered as synchronous online courses, meaning that content was uploaded according to a schedule and participating teachers were typically completing work according to that schedule. Now that both courses are complete, these two courses are now available on Google Classroom as asynchronous online courses. Teachers are now free to complete the courses as quickly (or slowly) as they please. If you are a teacher in the MSD of Boone Township and would like to participate in GfE certification course, please contact the Instructional Technology Coach for more information.
Lastly, but certainly not least, I am happy to report that in 2022, nine MSD of Boone Township teachers successfully passed the GfE Level 1 exam and are on their way to becoming GfE Level 2 educators...and receiving additional PGPs...and receiving the $250.00 stipend.
Low Key PD
In other news, the Instructional Technology Coach will be working on a new initiative this spring called "Low Key PD." The purpose of Low Key PD is to provide teachers with short, (nearly) on-demand tutorials on the skills that they want to learn. There is already an extensive collection of tutorial videos on the Hebron Instructional Technology YouTube channel. Or you can go to YouTube and search "low key pd." The videos are in the neighborhood of five minutes; some are longer, many are shorter. Teacher time is valuable and often the skills they want to learn are very specific. Teachers can also make requests at the Low Key PD website.
