About the Academy

The Google Teacher Academy is a FREE professional development experience designed to help K-12 educators get the most from innovative technologies. Each Academy is an intensive, one-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google's free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, receive resources to share with colleagues, and immerse themselves in an innovatve corporate environment. Upon completion, Academy participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other K-12 educators in their local region.

50 innovative educators are selected to attend each Academy based on the merits of their online application. Potential applicants include classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, technology specialists, librarians, administrators, professional trainers, and other education professionals who actively serve K-12 teachers and students.

Participants are selected based on their professional experience, their passion for teaching and learning, and their successful use of technology in K-12 settings. Since the program relies on a "train-the-trainers" model, we are particularly interested in educators who actively provide technology-related mentoring or training for classroom teachers.

Participants must provide their own travel, and only K-12 educators within a 90-minute local commute of an Academy event may apply. While we realize that this excludes interested applicants from other regions, please remember that each Academy is designed to create a strong professional learning community of local educators who support each other over the course of a year.

If there is no Google Teacher Academy offered in your region, be sure to check the Google Educators website for other professional development opportunities that Google plans to launch in 2007.

Google Certified Teachers

Educators who attend a Google Teacher Academy become Google Certified Teachers.

Google Certified Teachers are:

• Exceptional K-12 educators with a passion for using innovative tools to improve teaching and learning.
• Creative leaders who understand their local needs and can spread innovation as a recognized expert.
• Ambassadors for change who model high expectations, life-long learning, collaboration, equity & inclusion, and innovation.

Google Certified Teachers are expected to:

• Develop a "Personal Action Plan."
• Lead at least three local professional development activities over the course of 12 months.
• Actively participate in the Google Certified Teacher Online Community.
• Share the impact of their work with other Google Certified Teachers through an end-of-year reflection.

In addition to a free day of training, Google Certified Teachers get:

• Access to the GTC Online Community
• Access to additional free ed tech resources
• Opportunities to give Google feedback on educational uses of tools
• Invitations to join Google at special events

Application Requirements

All applications to the Google Teacher Academy must be submitted using our online form. Only completed applications submitted before the deadline will be considered, and you may only apply to an Academy in your local region.

Before submitting an application, please download a sample application (PDF) to familiarize yourself with the requirements of the full application.

NOTE: Each applicant to the Google Teacher Academy is REQUIRED to produce and submit an original one-minute video. You do not need to be in the video, but it MUST address one of the following topics: "Motivation and learning" OR "Innovation in K-12 schools."

There are no other restrictions on the video, so be as creative as you like. Once you create the video, you must find a way to post it on the Web for us to view or download. Once posted, copy and paste the specific website URL where we can see your video into the appropriate field in the online application. Please double check that your URL is valid and that it's easy for us to find before submitting your application. We will not accept videos by email, and we will not watch more than one minute of your video. So, make it count!

Questions? Comments? Ideas?

Email the GTA Team: gteachers@gmail.com

 

The Google Teacher Academy is coordinated by