Midwest Google Summit - Guest Blog
Robb Syverson
I recently had the opportunity to join four colleagues at the Midwest Google Summit in Wisconsin Dells. Always viewing myself as an edtech vision forward person, I jumped at this chance to stoke my fire of curiosity and see some of the latest and greatest from Google EDU. Moreover, being the new guy on the block, getting a chance to share this experience with veteran Northstar teachers was also something I was excited to do.
Following the common #mwgs prompt, Twitter became my journal for the next 32 hours and as such I will use some of my tweets to guide my guest blog.
1.
4 C's vs SAMR for lesson planning #mwgs http://t.co/vmtVnvYZjD
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Communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking were posed to us by our keynote speaker, Mark Garrison, as even more important than the SAMR model when lesson planning. He had stated that focusing on these 4 C’s promoted higher levels of DOK and student engagement than worrying about SAMR, although we still need to acknowledge SAMR’s importance.
2.
g(Math) & @Desmos = awesome meets free #mwgs
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There wasn’t much math specific content at the conference but one of my favorite take aways was the add-on/script g(Math). For those needing a great way to add equations and graphs to Docs and Forms, this addon is as good as it gets right now.
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3.
Create, copy, and share Google Sites in bulk with Ss for portfolio creation using add-on siteMaestro http://t.co/VPGnNIiSDA #mwgs
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As Dale stated “(we) needed this like 2 months ago.” Moving forward, the spreadsheet script siteMaestro can make templated Google Sites much easier to push out and implement.
4.
Turning Ss into Makers = Awesome concept! #mwgs #googlegadgets
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Perhaps the most fun I had at any of the presentations was the one working with Google Gadgets. The room was full of energy and curiosity as the many “tech toys” that Google is pushing out were demonstrated in a hands on fashion. Everything from drones to Google Glass to Google Cardboard and more were available to bring out the playful and creative aspects of learning. The emphasis on students making, creating, and playing with knowledge was at the forefront. I didn’t want the session to ever end. (My Christmas wishlist blew up during that one.)
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5.
Lunch -> coffee -> Above and Beyond: Nerdy Drive Tips = #winning #mwgs w/ @dalevankeuren
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Andy Crozier, Superintendent at Andrew CSD, led a session covering the power of Drive’s advanced search options, add-ons, and many tools that can make our lives more efficient professionally and personally. I came away reminded that technology is a tool to be implemented to optimize our goals. Technology needs to offer functional improvement or open new doors to really be of use. If we are using new tech to do what we’ve always done, there isn’t much point to pursuing it. However, we also need to be fully aware of the many ways in which a tool can be leveraged before we write it off. Drive’s advanced search functionality is direct evidence of the aforementioned. I had no idea of the added improvements the little drop down arrow the search bar would provide.
While I’m still trying to process everything I heard, saw, learned, and interacted with, my biggest takeaway from Google Summit was the importance of excitement and curiosity. Learning something new and challenging is so much more enjoyable when excitement and curiosity are prevalent. I fully acknowledge that not every lesson is going to make our hearts pound from adrenaline spikes nor do they need to. However, a few drones sure could help.
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