Google Educator Certificate

I'm so excited to have finally finished my first Google Educator certificate!

What an interesting journey it has been! I have been working with apps for a long time but only in the last 2 years have I been dabbling in Google Drive and the last one year in Google Apps for Education. I have been helping other teachers learn how to navigate and use GAFE so I thought it was time to have a look at the Google Educator certificate.

In order to complete the Google Educator certificate you are required to sit five open book exams. There are four required exams that relate to Sites, Calendar, Gmail, Docs and Drive. To complete the five exams for the certificate you need to choose one elective exam. There are another three elective exams to chose from relating to Chrome Browser, Chrome books and Google Play for Education. Google provides information, lessons and resources and for a fee you can sit the exams to gain the certificate.

Google provide you with introductions, basics and advanced lessons that are packed full of information. Most of the lessons will give you an estimated time as well. Most of them range from 1-2.5 hours worth of reading to complete. I know that sounds like a lot but you can do it over several nights or just sit down and do it in a chunk. You are switching between videos, reading and interacting by doing things yourself so it isn't too yawn inducing. If you are active in GAFE and fairly confident then you can skim some of the lessons/activities like I did.  When you are ready you can register with the Google Testing Centre and purchase/sit your exams. Once purchased you must complete them all within a certain time frame though so be aware of that and make sure you have the time to complete them.

The exams, like the basics exam, are all multiple choice. You are given 60 questions and the time limit of 90 minutes. In the top left hand corner a countdown timer is displayed so you can glance how much time you have remaining at any point during the exam. You can mark questions for review if you want to come back to them or if you are unsure and want to go back later. When you reach question 60 you are given the option to review all your answers, including those skipped or marked, and are prompted twice more to check your work before you exit/finish the test. The screen then shows you your score in a percentage and displays either Pass/Fail. I completed all the exams in 25-45 minutes, I was worried I was a little quick but after looking at how Auckland Uni grade according to percentages I was pleased with my results: A+ for Sites, A for Calendar, A for Drive, A- for Chrome, and A- for Gmail.

If you have been active in GAFE and you have done the readings/lessons there is no reason you shouldn't pass the exam. Google considers anything over 70% (B) a pass. The downside is you don’t get a marked copy of your exam so you have no clue which questions you got correct and which you answered wrong. Some of the questions are a little nerve racking and make you question yourself but if you just mark them and go back to them later they often sort themselves out in your head. Be aware that there is the odd question that is a bit off topic (but still related) that might trip some not so savvy computer people up. E.g. ‘To close non-responsive processes or tabs in Google Chrome...’.

I learned so much from the Google Basics/Advanced lessons that I would recommend them to people who are just wanting to know more about Google Apps. There is so much good information in them. I found them so useful I created a document with all the links I thought might help people so I could recommend them to people if they were after more help on a specific Google App.

If I've in any way inspired you to have a go at your own Google Educator certificate pop on over to the Google training section and check out the basics exam.