First and foremost, I must admit three things.
1. I have not yet spoken to anyone at Google Admin Academy to find out the agenda so my post is in response to only what I have read on the page.
2. Others have written much more eloquently about this and I prefer to share my comments here rather than on their original posts. (which I shall link to)
3. I am a google certified teacher, I very much enjoy the tools that google has given to me “freely” which has extended my productivity time.
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When the google acadamy for administrators application page was launched, I rushed over to see what was there. And, to me, it looked like a simple cut/paste job of the Teacher Academy page. I even scrolled down the page to see whether admin has to make a video (which they do) but other than that, it looked the same.
This fact also was noticed by others which then produced the following blog posts:
http://www.ncs-tech.org/?p=4628 — By Kevin Jarrett
http://strengthofweakties.org/?p=308 — By David Jakes
http://chadlehman.com/?p=332 — by Chad Lehman
plus a variety of other posts as well.
All which are well written and the comment conversation that is growing is a good read.
I must admit that when I read DJ’s post I agreed yet shuddered when I realized that my admin right now are so NOT where they should be and at first I rationalized in my mind of the necessity of babysteps….but as I think of it more…..I am realizing the excuses of why we are not moving has to stop……but that is another post.
But to get back on track — these are my reactions based on what I know so far.
1. You cannot copy/paste educational advancement
What is being offered to teachers should not be exactly what is offered to admin. I believe there needs to be overlapping on both sides, an awareness if you will of “walking in the others shoes”, but most classroom teachers visions are primarily (and should be) for their own students first….admin’s classroom extends to the entire campus.
2. The admin who can make a video is probably not the person who needs this academy
When I saw the video requirement, I just had to laugh. Because first of all, my admin would come to me to either say “help me” or “please make it”. To my knowledge, thus far, I have yet to see any of them make a video.
And the admin who does know how to make a video, upload it, blog about it…..etc…..do they really need this kind of google day? I am unsure….but my gut reaction is “no”.
3. The packaging is wrong to assure the sale
Again, just thinking of the admin which I know, the info on the page is just vague enough to have it go immediately to the “comebacktolater” pile and will be forgotten.
Both KJ and DJ make excellent points about what might be the selling points to get my admin to sit up and notice. And I believe that Google will put up a new agenda soon. Hopefully, before the application due date.
For the “teacher”, the techie teacher, we love learning regardless and the thought of a trip to google to learn was enough to make us sit up and notice and hope “me, me”. Admin, needs a bit more to rock them into action.
4. Is Google the salvation for our school
I have to say “no”. And if the primary focus of the GAA is to promote google, then I can’t even pass this onto my admin. For 10 years many of us have made the error of promoting the tool rather than the learning and the outcome. If the GAA primary focus is on making our school environment more educationally sound, more educationally accurate, more educationally founded, more productive, more positive, more visionary, more current, more creative, and more 21st literate, then I will say to my admin “you need to go and I will help you make the video”.
However, if the final prestige is to boast that our admin is a GAA and to become a sign board to advertise google, then I can’t. There has to be much more substance than that.
I don’t think we have heard or read the last of this yet.
Perhaps it is a wake-up call to all of us that once you get a mold that works, it might be time to break that mold and build again.
There is still a lot to think of.
A lot of comments I wish I had time to respond to.
As always I appreciate your comments here too.
Jen
You bring up perfectly legitimate concerns and questions that I also had(have) about the end product from a Google Academy for Administrators. As a teacher, I would like to attend because I am at a school using Google Apps on a daily basis and I want to be a better user of the tools I have. But what does an administrator get out of it? Does a Google-smart administrator translate to a better learning environment for the teachers and students? It makes more sense to have Google invite knowledgeable educators to speak about worries and concerns that we all face and possible actions that can be taken to correct these problems. Then the administrators could have a “play day” where they get hands-on training and they get to see the possibilities of having technology literate teachers in their schools.
Hi Jenn,
Thanks for the intriguing post. I agree with much of what you say and I was actually looking forward to putting in an application Google Academy for Administrators.
I guess I was excited that it was going to be similar to the academy for teachers because I think that administrators need to look at things more from a teacher’s point of view. I would have been disappointed if I was attending a watered-down Google Academy for administrators.
If we are really going to model what is best practice, I think we need to model what teachers would do and not what administrators would do. Unfortunately, I learn a lot more from my conversations with teachers than I do with most administrators.
I have my flip video camera ready and a concept for my one-minute video. I guess now am I am wondering if I should still do it? My hope would be that I could help share as many useful tools as possible with students, staff, and parents.
Is it worth the time?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kevin Jarrett, Jen Wagner. Jen Wagner said: LOL, I am sure you have all been waiting breathlessly for this: http://jenuinetech.com/blog/?p=1284
back to work, Jen [...]
@Patrick
I think you should fire up that flipvideo –
but I think you should know a bit more –
perhaps as an admin, you should add more to the conversation.
As I said — I don’t know enough yet, unless the website has changed to tell you complete content.
But when you do go — you do need to share with us after about what you learned.
@Chris
I don’t know……
I wish we all could have a play day…..and I wish we could have them together occasionally. Not always separate academies.
My wonderment is exactly what am I suggesting that my admin is applying for……since they probably will not find this opportunity on their own.
I still have a lot of questions.
Thank you both for your comments.
Jen
Hi Jen,
Thanks for chiming in here. I have confidence that the GTA team will design a day specifically of interest to admins and will involve world-class presenters. I think this discussion has raised many good points. I especially like your comment that “The admin who can make a video is probably not the person who needs this academy” – the ideal attendee in my view is someone who is visionary, with great leadership skills, who gets things done through people, and who isn’t afraid to make mistakes. Technical skill is not as important; they DO need to lead by example but they need to model LEARNING not EXPERTISE!
Looking forward to continuing the conversation!
-kj-
The caveat about getting the Admins who “need” or “should” go to Google and have that experience, is that those are the very Admins who are complacent and won’t get off their butts. How many of us have forwarded PD emails or talked to oor Admins about certain conferences only to get an “eye roll.”
It would be great if Google could engage those Admin types, but those are horses of a different color. I agree about the video though. This isn’t Survivor or The Amazing Race.
DR
I don’t see any administrators in my district, which the exception of one, being ready for this. I think too many are focused on meeting AYP and covering all of their bases related to requirements from District, State, and Federal agendas. It’s exciting, however, to see that a tech academy is being offered to Administrators. I wonder if the excitement/anticipation for the GAS will be as great as it is for the GTA’s. I doubt it.
@Kevin
I agree — however, I think with the blog post promptings the agenda might be posted sooner than they had anticipated. (grins)
@Daniel
Sadly, I have to agree. I have suggested many times opportunities for my admin with no such luck. However, since one was working on her masters and I shared Google Docs, she is now a user….but that has not transferred over yet to her thoughts of student/teacher user. And our school does use Google Forms — very much so. But using the tool — and understanding beyond just the tool is still escaping us……
I would love to have my admin see opportunities available through my eyes…..and I am sure they would like me to see the “full admin” picture through theirs.
I don’t know how we engage them……wish I did.
@Chad
I agree. I am pleased when ANYONE offers the opportunity to learn. If not GAA, or DJ, or Will Richardson’s (http://plpnetwork.com/bootcamp/) ideas…..it will be someone. And I don’t think it would be a ONE SIZE fits all.
However, I still question the WHY for GAA and look forward to seeing the agenda.
Thanks all for sharing.
J
[...] to here. It might’ve been obvious here already, but Jen Wagner’s (again, no relation) point about the packaging being all wrong to get administrators to take notice brings up an important distinction about this event: [...]