Meet Daryl Detrick, a computer science (CS) teacher at Warren Hills High School in Washington, NJ. He’ll tell you that he doesn’t just teach “coding”—he helps students understand how to approach complex problems that will improve the world around them. He started teaching computer science in 2008, at a time where there were very few resources available to help support him.

Many CS teachers lack the resources to become skilled and confident in their roles. So today we're announcing new support for teachers like Mr. Detrick, starting with an additional $2 million in grants to support nonprofit organizations that provide support for teachers throughout their educational careers. Our goal to help increase access to CS skills by empowering more skilled and confident CS teachers globally.

Supporting existing CS teachers and inspiring new ones

Mr. Detrick’s first CS professional development experience was through CS4HS, a Google program that funds educators with localized computer science professional development. Through these grants in 2017-2018, 79 organizations in Australia, U.S., Canada, China, Europe, the Middle East and Africa will receive funding to create pathways and content to foster local communities of educators.

CS4HS focuses on teachers to increase the availability of quality computer science education, while many of Google’s other CS education programs, like Made with Code, focus on students. Over the past 10 years, CS4HS has contributed $10 million to professional development (PD) providers around the world to help train and empower teachers—like Western Wyoming Community College, which helped rural teachers integrate gaming into their CS classes, or Australian Catholic University, which trained 1,600 pre-service teachers in accordance with Australia’s national technology curriculum, among others.

Given the shortage of qualified teachers, it’s important not only to help the educators currently in the field, but also to inspire more teachers to join them. That’s why we’re also supporting pre-service teacher preparation programs developing new coursework that trains aspiring educators at the College of St. Scholastica, the University of California at Irvine, the University of Texas at Austin, and Huston-Tillotson University. We’re excited to work with these universities to help them share their resources with other higher education programs, equipping the next generation of educators with the knowledge and skills to teach CS and computational thinking (CT).

Although we’ve seen a small increase of computer science teachers in recent years—6 percent since 2008—the subject is still largely regarded as an extracurricular activity, and one of the key barriers is a lack of qualified teachers. But research suggests that building training and local pathways are two key ways to retain and grow excellent educators. Today’s grants will help universities and nonprofits reach educators with PD opportunities that enhance their CS and technical skills development, improve their confidence in the classroom, and provide leadership training so that they can be advocates for CS education in their communities.

Growing the community of computer science educators

With the help of his principal and faculty partners at Carnegie Mellon, Rutgers and Kean University, Mr. Detrick has grown his school’s CS program from 53 students to more than 200. He’s also a lead educator advocate for the CSTA New Jersey chapter, and works with the CSNJ advocacy group to influence State legislation that would require all high schools to offer computer science.

We’re excited to support new and future CS educators around the world. Even though computer science is a relatively new discipline for most schools, the enthusiasm is growing—and educators like Mr. Detrick are helping to pave the way for students to learn skills they’ll need for the future. To explore more information about communities of CS teachers near you, explore our computer science education resources and partners.

Editor’s note: Teachers are always brainstorming creative ways to introduce technology and project-based learning into the classroom. Designed to challenge educators to pursue their creative ideas, the Google for Education Certified Innovator Program offers support for projects that improve education in schools around the world. Over 12 months, educators conduct research, solicit feedback from peers in their cohort and prototype their ideas. Today, we’re highlighting three teachers who participated in the Certified Innovator Program and are inspiring other educators to turn their ideas into action.

We are excited to announce the dates for the rest of the 2017 Innovation Academies, the kickoff to the program for each cohort. Applications are now open for our next Academy in Washington DC.

• Washington DC, USA: August 2-4 [Apply Now]
  
• Sydney, Australia: August 16-18
  
• Stockholm, Sweden: October 4-6
  
• Sao Paulo, Brazil: December 6-8
  

We recently spoke with three inspirational educators about their experience in the Innovator Program and the ideas they brought to life: Charlie Shryock, who created eThanks, an online gratitude site for teachers; Matt Wigdahl who designed a makerspace project called SolverSpace; and Carrie Anne Philbin who created Geek Gurl Diaries to inspire girls to pursue careers in the technical field.

Q: What inspired you to pursue your project?

Charlie: A few months before I was accepted into the program, I was talking with a colleague about the ‘invisible’ works she does — for example, mentoring a younger colleague in her own time. She isn’t compensated for this work, but does it because she’s passionate about helping others. For a while, I had been trying to find a way to acknowledge teachers for the amazing things they do.

The real moment I knew I had an idea worth pursuing was during a reflection exercise with my Certified Innovator Program cohort when we identified what we’re good at — I’m good at seeing the good in others. I was inspired to put that skill to good use. I spoke to Google employees and saw their enthusiasm for a tool called gThanks, an online site where people post messages of gratitude. That’s when I decided to adapt the idea for educators and created eThanks.

Matt: In science class students often learn by reading textbooks and listening to lectures, but they don’t have much choice in their science projects. I wanted students to explore science in a meaningful, engaging way with real life applications. I came up with the idea for SolverSpace, which is part makerspace and part badging system, as a way to bring innovative tools like 3D printers, time lapse cameras, lego robotics and sensors into the classroom.

Carrie Anne: In 2012 I noticed that the majority of students in my computer science class were boys; in a class of 26, only two were girls. I wanted to change the paradigm around women and technology by sharing the stories of women doing technical jobs. Then I met James Sanders [founder of Breakout EDU] who introduced me to educational videos on YouTube. That’s when I realized I could use YouTube to inspire girls to pursue STEM. I started interviewing women in computing, science, technology and engineering roles and featuring them on Geek Gurl Diaries to challenge their perceptions about traditionally geeky subjects.

Q: What was your biggest takeaway or learning from the Innovator Program?

Charlie: The check-in points and milestones made sure we were engaging in regular reflection about designing our projects. Without the program, this would have been a fun idea that I likely wouldn’t have acted on. Having accountability partners and mentors inspired me to create something that I would be proud to share with my cohort.

Matt: A turning point for me was when I talked to a couple people in my cohort about my idea and they said, “Have you thought about design thinking?”, which I had never heard of. After talking for 10 minutes, I instantly knew this concept would be central to my project. Had my cohort peers not exposed me to design thinking, I likely would have spent tons of time reinventing the wheel.

Q: What was your biggest learning once you launched your project back at your school?

Charlie: When I returned from the on-site program, I wanted to dive in, so I ran a summer pilot at my school. Immediately teachers started posting thank yous and more people were smiling on campus. The expressions of gratitude online encouraged people to say thanks in person too. That pilot period reinforced in my mind that you need to just start. I went into the program with a big, bold idea of transforming the culture of feedback in schools, and I realized I should start with a small part of the puzzle.

Carrie Anne: One of the biggest things I learned from this project was if you build it, people will come. I was passionate about creating this series of videos, but didn’t know if young girls would watch them. You have to have faith in your ideas. Now I get emails all the time from kids around the world saying they watched a video and were inspired. Their “thank you” emails make every moment of this project worthwhile.

Q: What advice do you have for educators who have innovative ideas and need help putting them into action?

Matt: Extend your arm to those in your community and great things will happen. When I started tweeting about the project, an engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin responded and asked to partner his college students with my fifth grade students to work on projects and learn from each other. For example, our district occupational therapist asked our class to build a modified utensil for writing to help a student who doesn’t have full use of his wrist. Our students fully embraced the problem and worked together to come up with a solution.

Carrie Anne: Say yes and try new things. If you never try something, you’ll never know how it could have turned out. I could have failed hard and fast, but I was passionate about this project, so regardless of the result, I knew it was the right thing to do. Failing is a first attempt at learning. When I look back at the first videos I created, they had awful lighting and editing. But if I look at where I am today, I’m not only hosting Geek Gurl Diaries but also hosting computer science videos on CrashCourse.

Apply for the Washington DC Innovator Program cohort today or nominate an educator for a future cohort.

Editor’s note: Google for Education Premier Partners are working with schools to host the ExploreEDU event series, where schools can share their first-hand experiences with other educators. Today’s guest author is Gary Lambert, Director of 21st Century Learning at Beekmantown Central School District, which hosted an ExploreEDU event on March 9-10 with Best Buy. To see if there’s an event near you, visit the ExploreEDU site.

In 2013, the superintendent charged our district technology committee—comprised of board members, teachers, administrators, parents and students—to come up with a plan that would provide an equal education opportunity for all students. Beekmantown’s poverty rate is the highest in Clinton County at 53%, and 30% of our students don’t have access to the internet at home. Given the profile of our population, we needed an affordable and flexible technology solution that would allow us to put devices in the hands of every student inside and outside of the classroom. Chromebooks, and G Suite for Education fit our needs perfectly because they are easy to manage, simple to use, and affordable.

In our experience deploying this new technology, we had to include every group—the board, administration, faculty, and the students—in the process. Here are a few things we learned:

1. Engage tech-savvy teachers in a pilot

We spoke with five other districts about their technology rollouts and learned the importance of getting teachers who were heavy technology users to love the tools first, as their buy-in would be critical in getting other teachers on board. In our first phase, we hoped for five teachers to sign up for our digital classroom pilot, and got 43 instead. Once other teachers saw how helpful the tools were for their colleagues, they wanted to introduce technology to their classroom, too. In the next two phases, an additional 140 teachers signed up. The teachers who participated in the pilot were the ones who pulled everyone along and encouraged the more reluctant teachers to branch outside their comfort zones.

2. Build trust and support between the administration and faculty

The support of our board, superintendent and administration was critical in ensuring teachers felt comfortable taking risks when adopting the new technology. For instance, our principals learned how to use Google Classroom so they could show teachers how useful the tool was. Our leadership also encouraged teachers to take risks, and reassured them that failure was a positive learning experience. As a result, we saw many teachers working with their students to try new apps in the classroom such as Peardeck, EdPuzzle, and Quizlet to enhance their lessons.

3. Get students to teach

Technology also offers students a great platform to share their expertise. Early in our technology program, students ran our IT help desk that provides on-site support and replaces parts on Chromebooks. Our students are also instructing their teachers how to use technology. When a teacher didn’t know how to use Biteable, an online animation maker, he asked one of his sixth grade students to create a how-to resource, which has been shared with teachers across all grade levels and other schools. Involving students as teachers has allowed us to amplify the impact of technology in our district.

When everyone plays a role in introducing new technology it generates excitement and tangible results. Since adopting this new technology, our attendance rate has increased and student achievement has improved across all grade levels and subject areas—specifically algebra, U.S. history and English language arts.

Technology has shifted our district from a “can we?” to a “we can and we will” mindset.

Editor’s note: Google for Education Premier Partners are working with schools to host the ExploreEDU event series, where schools can share their first-hand experiences with other educators. Today’s guest author is Gary Lambert, Director of 21st Century Learning at Beekmantown Central School District, which hosted an ExploreEDU event on March 9-10 with Best Buy. To see if there’s an event near you, visit the ExploreEDU site.

In 2013, the superintendent charged our district technology committee—comprised of board members, teachers, administrators, parents and students—to come up with a plan that would provide an equal education opportunity for all students. Beekmantown’s poverty rate is the highest in Clinton County at 53%, and 30% of our students don’t have access to the internet at home. Given the profile of our population, we needed an affordable and flexible technology solution that would allow us to put devices in the hands of every student inside and outside of the classroom. Chromebooks, and G Suite for Education fit our needs perfectly because they are easy to manage, simple to use, and affordable.

In our experience deploying this new technology, we had to include every group—the board, administration, faculty, and the students—in the process. Here are a few things we learned:

1. Engage tech-savvy teachers in a pilot

We spoke with five other districts about their technology rollouts and learned the importance of getting teachers who were heavy technology users to love the tools first, as their buy-in would be critical in getting other teachers on board. In our first phase, we hoped for five teachers to sign up for our digital classroom pilot, and got 43 instead. Once other teachers saw how helpful the tools were for their colleagues, they wanted to introduce technology to their classroom, too. In the next two phases, an additional 140 teachers signed up. The teachers who participated in the pilot were the ones who pulled everyone along and encouraged the more reluctant teachers to branch outside their comfort zones.

2. Build trust and support between the administration and faculty

The support of our board, superintendent and administration was critical in ensuring teachers felt comfortable taking risks when adopting the new technology. For instance, our principals learned how to use Google Classroom so they could show teachers how useful the tool was. Our leadership also encouraged teachers to take risks, and reassured them that failure was a positive learning experience. As a result, we saw many teachers working with their students to try new apps in the classroom such as Peardeck, EdPuzzle, and Quizlet to enhance their lessons.

3. Get students to teach

Technology also offers students a great platform to share their expertise. Early in our technology program, students ran our IT help desk that provides on-site support and replaces parts on Chromebooks. Our students are also instructing their teachers how to use technology. When a teacher didn’t know how to use Biteable, an online animation maker, he asked one of his sixth grade students to create a how-to resource, which has been shared with teachers across all grade levels and other schools. Involving students as teachers has allowed us to amplify the impact of technology in our district.

When everyone plays a role in introducing new technology it generates excitement and tangible results. Since adopting this new technology, our attendance rate has increased and student achievement has improved across all grade levels and subject areas—specifically algebra, U.S. history and English language arts.

Technology has shifted our district from a “can we?” to a “we can and we will” mindset.