Google Apps for Edu Great Plains Summit #gpsummit

I had been looking forward to this all summer long and the #Google #AppsforEduSummit in Lincoln, NE lived up to the hype. In 100+ degree heat, five teachers and I travelled six hours by minivan to Lincoln and, somehow, everybody had fun and learned something! 

I had personal goals of exciting everybody else on the trip, but not overwhelming them at the same time. I will be the first to admit, Google Apps for Edu and going Chromebooks can be overwhelming. But, like almost everything else, I liken it to running. As a marathoner, I'm often asked, "How in the world do you run 26.2 miles?" My reply is easy... one step at a time. When I started running, I never set out to run marathons, half marathons or even a 10k. I was going to run one local 5k that was raising money for a young family with a son in the NICU, but as I crossed that first finish line my mind was immediately changed. I didn't win and I wasn't last, but I knew I could do better. It wasn't a race against anybody else, it was to be the best I could be each day. 

So after that first race, the educator in me set out to learn everything I could about running. I read every issue of Runner's World (old and new), asked questions to every runner I could find, and found blogs of runners that were just like me. To make a three-year story short, about fifty 5ks, twelve half marathons, a fifteen mile road race and thousands of training runs later, I became a marathoner two months shy of my 30th birthday. 

Google Apps for Edu can be a lot like running a marathon for teachers new to cloud computing or online collaboration. If you try to run 26.2 miles just after getting off the couch, you WILL NOT make it. You will not be hydrated or fueled properly for your run and half way through will cramp and give up. So, don't let your Google Apps for Edu colleagues give up, find a training plan. Run a 5k, a 10k and a couple half marathons before you hit your stride for a full marathon. 

If you are ready to start with Google Apps for Edu, head over to the Great Plains Summit page and check out some of the resource materials. There were awesome presenters that can bring you from Couch to 5k or send you out on your first full marathon. 

Finally, here are the intro slidedecks from our Deuel trainings on Drive last spring. Check them out to refresh your memory. If you need help with your username/password for our Apps for Edu account, just email me.