CPD during the times of Covid-19 - Google for Education

What unprecedented times we are living in. To think what is happening now, only two weeks ago, seems unbelievable. Life has been turned on its head. We can only hope that, through the combined efforts of our whole society, we can support those frontline workers to save as many lives as possible and get us through this crisis.

Nevertheless, with this lockdown we may find that, as teachers, we have more time on our hands. We may even be a little bored (who knew that I would find myself missing my year 10 B-band class). On the other hand, we may find ourselves consumed by new duties (as I type this I have a rugrat trying to climb my leg!) Even so, with every crisis comes opportunity. That opportunity is to improve ourselves as teachers and come back better than we were before we left. Already I am sure many of us have improved our competencies with Google Classroom!

Who knew that staying home with the children would be busier than work!

Over the coming weeks of lockdown I aim to publish a number of posts to support you with your continuing professional development. Hopefully you will find them thought provoking and useful. Many will contain links to further reading and specific courses or activities you can complete if you wish to, including this first one...

Google for Education

Firstly, it may be no surprise that I point you in the direction of Google for Education. Google provides a whole range of resources that can support your development with the use of their applications. One of the best places to start is the training site that has many introductory videos to the main google applications including docs, slides, sheets, classroom and drive.

Here you can also go through an accredited Google Educator course; fundamentals or advanced. It is free to take both courses online at your own pace. These courses are great for teachers at all stages of development in the use of Google applications and will provide many insights into how to get the most out of these powerful applications. If you wish, you can also be certified as a Google Educator by registering to take an online assessment. The future of education is heading full steam ahead in this direction, why not use some of this time to get a certification that will distinguish you on your CV?

GCSE Pod

In these times of distance learning GCSE pod is also going to be a vital resource. There is some online training available here if you feel you need a refresher. Right now there are additional resources available in response to the government lockdown.

I hope these few links may be a starting point for your CPD. There will be more coming soon. Anyway, most importantly make sure you stay safe and support those who are the most vulnerable. All the best.

Ian @DenbighCPD