Google selected Fresno State instructional designer Mary Bennett as one of 35 educators to participate in the next Google Teacher Academy, July 30-31 in Mountain View, California.

The Google Teacher Academy is a two-day intensive program that recognizes educators who are doing innovative and exciting things with technology in their classrooms. The participants receive hands-on experience with Google’s products and technologies, learn new instructional strategies and receive resources to share with colleagues. Upon completion, participants become Google Certified Teachers who can share what they learn with other educators.

“Our students will be directly impacted from what I learn,” Bennett said. “The Google Teacher Academy uses a train-the-trainer model focused on educators who provide technology-related training for teachers. I will bring what I learn back to campus and share it through professional development activities. Since all of our students have access to the Google Apps for Education suite, instructors will learn how they can use these tools to create dynamic lessons, enhance communication and collaboration and save time.”

According to Google, this training program was created for exceptional educators with a passion for using innovative tools to improve teaching and learning, as well as creative leaders and ambassadors for change.

Bennett joined the Fresno State faculty in 2005. In collaboration with her colleagues in Technology Innovations for Learning and Teaching, Bennett is the lead instructional designer for Fresno State’s online courses. She has developed an online, self-paced student orientation that has been presented at national conferences.

The Google Certified Teacher program was launched in 2006 with the first Academy held at Google headquarters in Mountain View. The program has since held academies across the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom, expanding the ranks of Google Certified Teachers to over 800 educators worldwide. The Google Teacher Academy is produced by Google, in collaboration with Computer-Using Educators (CUE, Inc), an educational nonprofit organization.

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