How Google for Education Certified Innovators Impact Student Outcomes

The first step in teaching students to innovate is making sure that educators have opportunities to be innovators themselves. ~ Suzie Boss

Innovation plays an important role in the classroom and beyond. Because each student is unique, teachers must draw on their creativity and innovation to connect with students who might need help grasping the material being taught.

At Alludo, we’re big believers in the power of innovation. One thing that we believe can help bring innovation to schools is encouraging teachers to become Google for Education Certified Innovators. What does that mean and how can it help your school district? Keep reading to find out.

Table of Contents

1. What is a Google for Education Certified Innovator?
2. What is the Process of Earning Google Educator Certification?
3. What is an Innovation Project?
4. Examples of Innovation Projects
5. What Are the Benefits of Google Certification?
   1. Encourages Creative Problem Solving
   2. Improves Teacher Performance in the Classroom
   3. Encourages Teacher Collaboration
   4. Improves Student Outcomes
6. Alludo’s Take

What is a Google for Education Certified Innovator?

Let’s start by explaining what a Google certified innovator is. The Google Certified Innovator Program is a Google-sponsored program designed to encourage teachers to use innovation in the classroom. Here’s what Google says about it:

The Google for Education Certified Innovator Program recognizes and supports top educators who are excited to grow professionally, advocate for impactful technology, and innovate to improve classrooms, schools and local communities.

In other words, Google’s program allows top educators to grow through innovation. By pursuing certification, educators can do the following things:

1. Accelerate their growth. Teachers who apply for the Certified Innovator Program will receive tailored mentorship from other talented Innovators who will provide feedback on their projects and make suggestions to help teachers grow.
2. Improve leadership skills. Identifying and pursuing innovation requires leadership. As educators advocate for their ideas, they’ll be building leadership skills to guide them through the process and amplify their effectiveness in the classroom.
3. Drive transformation in education. Each teacher who participates in the program must choose an Innovation Project – more on that in the next section – that’s designed to address a problem faced by teachers and students and use innovation to fix it.

Educators at every level of experience, as well as every grade level, can benefit from participating in the Google for Education Certified Innovators program. Every student, teacher, classroom, school, and school district has challenges. In the normal course of a day, it can be difficult for teachers to find the time to innovate–or for administrators to make time to hear their ideas. By participating in the program, teachers get the support they need to innovate and put their ideas into action.

What is the Process of Earning Google Educator Certification?

There are four steps to earning Google Educator Certification. Before any teacher begins the process, they must find a three-day Google Innovator academy in their region. After enrolling, they will follow these steps:

1. Take the advanced course. This course has 11 modules that include instruction about the effective use of digital tools, analysis and interpretation of student data, organization of class and school materials, and encouraging students to build agency, among other things.
2. Pass the Google Certified Educator Level 2 exam. Educators must register to take the exam, which is conducted online. Teachers will need the latest version of Chrome plus a working webcam to take the examination.
3. Identify an educational challenge to solve. After a teacher passes the exam, they will need to identify an educational challenge that can be solved through innovation. Google has created a helpful slideshow to explain the process and help educators identify the challenge they wish to solve. The presentation explains what educators need to do to identify a challenge, a process that includes interviewing someone to identify a need. Educators must submit a 90-second video that explains the challenge chosen and why the applicant wants to solve it. There is a sample video here.
4. Complete and submit the Innovator application. There is an online application to complete that includes submission of the video described above. The complete rubric is here and the application must be submitted before the next deadline.

The Innovator program lasts for one year but Google certified educators who complete the program may remain active Innovators in three ways:

1. Continuing to work on a high-impact Innovation Project.
2. Advocating for the use of Google technologies to innovate in education.
3. Leading Google programs to encourage innovation and transformation in classrooms and schools.

Ultimately, any teacher who is accepted to the program and completes it can continue to be part of the drive to bring innovative solutions to schools across the country and around the world.

What is an Innovation Project?

Any educator who wishes to apply to become Google for Education Certified must design an Innovation Project. But what does that mean?

According to Google, any submitted Innovation Project must meet the following criteria:

1. The project must be designed to address a problem or challenge in education, specifically one that the creator believes can be solved with the use of technology.
2. An Innovation Project may be a solo project but that is not a requirement. Any educator may choose to create and submit a project in collaboration with other Innovators.
3. If their project is accepted, Innovators will collaborate with Google to identify and implement creative solutions to address the problem or challenge identified in their Innovation Project.

In addition to these criteria, Google states that it is looking for projects that “inspire and impact other educators and students.” The desire to inspire is one of the reasons that Google encourages collaboration and requires applicants to conduct an interview as part of their application process.

Examples of Innovation Projects

Before we dig into the benefits of Google for Education Certification, let’s look at a few examples of the types of things educators are doing to bring innovation to the classroom:

• Created a unique program that encouraged student-inventors to use technology in real-world applications.
• Created a new tool called eThanks to encourage educators and students to leave messages of gratitude for one another.
• Created a YouTube channel to encourage more girls to take STEM classes and pursue STEM careers.

An Innovation Project can address any issue that has the potential to be solved by (or with the help of) technology provided by Google. Given the wide variety of tools that Google has created, there’s no shortage of ideas that can harness their power in the classroom.

What Are the Benefits of Google Certification?

Google for Education Certification has many benefits that accrue to teachers, students, parents, administrators, and society at large. Thanks to its focus on problem-solving, any teacher who becomes a certified Innovator can make a significant difference in the lives of their students.

Here are some of the key benefits of certification.

Encourages Creative Problem Solving

The first benefit of the Google for Education Certified Innovator program is that it encourages teachers to engage in creative problem solving. Every teacher has a front-row seat to the challenges faced by their students, as well as by the teachers themselves, school administrators, parents, and school districts.

By encouraging a creative approach to solving these problems, the Google for Education program puts teachers in the driver’s seat, allowing them to pioneer solutions that can transform their time in the classroom.

Improves Teacher Performance in the Classroom

Any teacher can experience exhaustion or burnout if they feel their efforts in the classroom are not making a difference to their students or communities. Encouraging innovation is one of the best ways to revitalize teachers, giving them the boost they need to re-engage with students and love their jobs.

The process of designing and executing an Innovation Project gives teachers the support and tools they need to be part of the solution. It encourages them to identify issues faced by students and use technology to improve their performance in the classroom.

Encourages Teacher Collaboration

Teacher collaboration is essential to the success of any school or school district. Even the best teachers sometimes need input from someone with a fresh perspective or more experience, and collaborating allows teachers to gather the information they need.

Because Innovators have the option to work together on projects, the Google Educator Certification program encourages teachers to collaborate with one another to arrive at creative solutions that benefit students.

Improves Student Outcomes

Finally – and most importantly to teachers – participation in the Google for Education Certified Innovators Program has the potential to improve student engagement and outcomes, both in the classroom and in the long term.

Innovation has the power to increase student engagement, spark excitement about learning, improve classroom performance, and even get parents more engaged with their kids’ education.

Alludo’s Take

At Alludo, we support several Google Districts across the United States. Since they encourage their teachers and other staff members to pursue Google certification, our Alludo Content Catalog hosts hundreds of Google training activities.

The activities in our catalog include everything from technology basics to implementation in the classroom. Educators can use these activities to learn the Google Workspace applications they want to use based on their current knowledge and the areas where they may need help.

The Alludo platform uses microlearning activities and gamification to make it easy and fun for teachers and administrators to learn about technology and put it to work in their classrooms. We’ve given Google courses a special place in our catalog, making it easy for teachers to find what they need.

School districts that encourage Google Certification partner with us to provide courses to supplement the three-day academy required for certification. While we don’t provide the three-day academy on our platform, we do offer courses and activities that teachers can use to innovate in the classroom.

Help Teachers in Your District to Become Google for Education Certified Innovators

Google for Education Certified Innovators can bring their experiences and creativity to classrooms at every level, from kindergarten to high school. With Alludo, your school district can provide teachers with the support and encouragement they need to get certified and get students excited about learning.

Experience personalized learning for all levels of educators with a free trial of Alludo’s professional development platform. You’ll enjoy:

• Hundreds of core topics
• Asynchronous microlearning activities
• Timely and specific feedback
• Analytics that show learning impact
• Access anytime, anywhere