My Innovator Experience has been 2 years in the making. You cant rush these things.
5 years ago I attended an EdtechTeam summit at albany senior High School to begin spending some time on my Professional Development.
It was a time where I saw the possibilities of education. I met a large group of very passionate and very committed educators who were doing the very best they possibly could for their students and I thought to myself these are the people I want to align myself with.
I remember after that Summit I returned home and reflected on the experience and thought if I could be a small part of what I saw at that summit then I would be a success as an educator.
I have not told anybody at that Summit quite how much it affected me but I met some amazing people that I now feel humbled to call colleagues.
I’m not sure that I even have told these people quite the effect they had on me and the impact they made on my educational journey but thinking about it, that’s something I need to do this year.
So after that experience I thought to myself how can I be a small part of what I saw at that amazing couple of days in Sydney
A year ago I spent some time watching Hangouts, reading blog posts and getting involved in online discussions as well as interacting with people on Twitter and a number of different online communities, this gave me the push I needed to actually take that stuff I had been thinking about for about the last four years and ma ke it a reality.
So I put my mind to making my way through the level 1 and level 2 certifications for the Google educator Certifications and then the next logical step of course was becoming a certified trainer as this is what I was doing anyway so why would I not go forth and take the test, make the video and become certified.
The path towards becoming a certified trainer was a difficult one as I had to document all the things I was doing and this is not a strong point of mine, I’m sort of person that just does things as they occur to me. I do things because they’re a good idea and then I put in place the paperwork that I need to usually at the last minute, this is something I’ve worked on since then and I’m pleased to say I’m much better at this aspect of myself management.
I have been lucky to have met some amazing mentors along the way.
As I mentioned earlier I had the immense pleasure of meeting some amazing people on my journey over the last five years. People that have such passion and commitment to the education of teachers as well as the education of many, many students.
These people helped me to reach the place that I am at today through their belief in me and the positive force they have been in my educational career.
I thank them for the belief in me and the support they have given me.
Find your support team and stick with them !
I did my homework and got it all done, The innovator application was not a huge effort as I was invested in what I was talking and writing about so the application was not difficult or challenging but the video was hard as making a video about yourself and your project is a different story.
But sometimes you just have to eat the frog. Just get it done !
I asked my Principal prior to submitting my Application to make sure that my school was ok with me attending the academy on the off chance that I was accepted.
At this point I never really thought that I’ll be accepted as I have read so many things saying that people had applied multiple times and who was I to apply anyway to this amazing pool of educators.
I got the blessing of my school and went ahead with my application I still didn’t think anything would come of it but it was a great experience just applying putting my ideas on paper and actually making a project for myself to follow really walking the talk that I had said when I talk to him about making a goal and sticking to it.
Then I got the email.
The email arrived on that Friday night saying that I’ve been accepted for the Sydney 2019 innovator Academy !
That was something I did not think would ever happen but it did and actually has been life changing since then
I arrived at the academy.
On the first day at the academy I met holiday people that I’ve only met online
I had taken part in many discussions with these people and virtually met them via Twitter and Google Plus so it was pretty surreal meeting with these people in real life this really made it seem like it was actually happening because up to this point I really did not think this was happening.
On the first day as we head inside the Sydney Google office take our seats and as I looked around the room I thought this is going to be a lot of fun but I really don’t deserve to be here.
The academy progressed and we came closer as a group, we were from all over the world but we had the same passion, the same drive, to make a difference for our students but also to go back to our schools and make a difference for teachers and for our group of kiwi educators and to ultimately make a difference for the schools of New Zealand
I met my tribe at the Sydney 19 Google innovator Academy and by the end of the three days I felt like I belonged. The Imposter syndrome was gone and I felt like i was meant to be there and now it’s my time to make a difference. I had planned, I had been through the design thinking process and I knew what I had to do.
Now it’s time to put it into action.
I reflected on my time At the innovator academy and have tried many times to write this blog post.
To try to explain what the three days at the innovator academy was like for someone who was not there as incredibly difficult, just picture yourself in a room of people think the same way you do, have the same drive you do and want to make a real difference to students around the world and that’s what it’s like to be in a room at the Google Innovator Academy.
My innovative project goes over next year and it’s about making a pathway for our innovative students at school, those students who are going into the new world of work that traditional subjects and schooling does not necessarily do the best for.
How might we transform the learning for innovative students to best assist them for their future?
Watch the space more updates to come.