The event attracted more than 6,000 representatives from various parts of the education system. The Google for Education team had a display and teaching theatre set-up for attendees to try out products, learn more about Google Classroom and hear how other educators are using technology in their lessons.
Many schools have already found innovative ways to introduce technology into their classrooms. They’re seeing increased student engagement, improved learning outcomes and interesting new projects made possible through tools, such as Google Apps for Education and Chromebooks.
Director International of Google Education, John Vamvakitis spoke at the EduTECH conference and said technology is helping teachers and educators to do their job even better.
He pointed to Australian schools doing great things, including the Canberra public school system which has modernised using Google Apps for Education and Chromebooks.
Now, more than 45,000 students from preschool through to Year 12 in the 87 Australian Capital Territory (ACT) schools are sharing and learning on Chromebooks using Google Apps.
Daniel Bray, Program Manager for eLearning from the ACT said the Department of Education chose Chromebooks because they were affordable and intuitive. This was ideal coupled with Google Classroom, which uses Google Apps to help students work from anywhere, on any device while teachers can share assignments, track progress and give grades—all without printing a single piece of paper.
The “Learn, Anywhere” program has since been recognised as a finalist for the national eGovernment Excellence awards for Project and Program Management.
As Australia prepares for a digital future, education is top of mind. It was great to connect with teachers, administrators and partners this week at EduTECH to continue learning what schools need to prepare students for our changing world.