VA Summit, here I come!

In just a few days, I get to share at the Virginia’s Google Summit in Charlottesville. When my district first mentioned adopting Google Apps for Education (now the Gsuite), I was definitely a skeptic. I wondered if we were hindering our students by making them function in Google while living in a Microsoft world. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I decided to fully immerse myself in Google over the past two years and I love the power it brings to the classroom. I'm ecstatic to share some tools that I've found powerful with other teachers.

When I submitted a proposal for the Virginia Summit, I’m not certain that I expected to be chosen. I can’t explain how I felt when I received the email stating that my proposal was accepted. Since then, I’ve been working to prepare 3 fun and interesting workshops. Although every educator won’t be interested in presenting on such a large scale, here are some tips for preparing a professional development workshop:

Slow it Down

Often times we expect participants to know something about the topic being discussed. Even at the intermediate level, your participants may not be familiar with what’s being shared. Go slower than planned and allow time for participants to explore.

Solid Progress, Better than Completion

As a teacher, I always “over” planned. I tend to do the same thing with workshops because I don’t want to finish early with an eager audience. It’s okay if you don’t get through your entire presentation. Make sure to include resources that participants could reference even after they leave the workshop.If you notice that participants are interested in one particular area, it's fine to stay on those points a little longer. This isn't a race to the finish line.

Make it Plain

Give examples, pictures, and videos that relate to your topic. Images and videos are great take aways that serve as references long after participants have returned to their classrooms. Be specific when referencing websites, extensions, and other resources so participants can get the most out the presentation.