Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Colorado Summit featuring Google Apps for Education: The Ripple Effect

This past weekend the Boulder Valley School District hosted the Colorado Summit featuring Google Apps for Education. The Summit is put on by the Ed Tech Team Inc. and features workshop presentations from educational leaders and innovators from within the district and state in addition to Google Certified Trainers from across the United States. This is the fifth year that the Boulder area has hosted the event and the fourth year in BVSD.

Over 400 educators attended the event with high energy and optimism as they spent both days of their weekend learning and collaborating. Through Twitter and other social media, participants shared their learning and experiences with their Professional Learning Networks.

The biggest social media buzz came from these top four areas:

MakerSpaces

Not only did teachers and educational leaders go to the summit to learn, students also came to think, make, and improve. There were kids from 2 years old to teenagers using their hands to create, code, and explain their thinking to the curious adults also learning in the room.

Student Agency

Many sessions and speakers focused on the importance of student-centered learning and student choice with many themes also found in our BVSD Innovative Guiding Principles.

Expeditions

Google Expeditions and Cardboard bring virtual reality into a student’s hand. Imagine looking at the Eiffel Tower from your classroom in Superior or scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef from the library in Lafayette. Not only can students visit those places virtually, but they can also create trips that others can experience as well.

Keynote Inspiration

The three keynote speakers

Jaime Casap, Chief Education Evangelist of Google
Molly Schroeder, Director of Summits - Ed Tech Team, Inc.
Sandra Chow, Google Certified Innovator

left attendees asking questions like “What is your ripple effect?” and “What problem do you want to solve?”. These thought-provoking keynotes will continue to have lasting effects as educators are challenged in their day-to-day classroom experiences.