- Have Levels 1 and 2 certification
- Complete the online Trainers course
- Pass the online Trainer Skills Assessment
- Film a Trainer Video
- Submit your application (on a rolling basis)
If that sounds daunting, I'll be honest -- it kind of is. Being a Trainer is kind of weighty. People see that certification associated with your name and they know that means you are a go-to person for learning about G Suite tools. But as daunting as the process is, the rewards are equally as heavy. The thing I enjoy the most about being a Trainer is getting the chance to help teachers learn new ways to make Google tools work for themselves and for their students. It is incredibly rewarding to know I have some knowledge that can be of value to other people. I love when I get to sit down with a teacher and show them new things they can do and then get to see it happen in their classroom.
Maintaining certification is not super difficult -- here's what it entails:
- Conduct 12 trainings per year
- Share one resource with the rest of the Trainer community
- Pass an annual product recertification
- Maintain your Levels 1 and 2 certifications
None of these requirements are back breaking! Most people are scared at the thought of 12 trainings as they think this means they have to go to big conferences and present to large groups of strangers! The good news is you CAN do that if you want! But the better news is that you don't have to do that! A training can be something as simple as being in a department or grade level team meeting and sharing with them how to have students do peer editing using comments in Google Docs or sharing at a faculty meeting how to create appointment slots using Google Calendar for an upcoming school event or presenting at an institute day all the new features that Google Classroom has to offer.
So, if you love Google and love sharing the efficient and creative ways you and your students can use Google tools, maybe being Trainer is for YOU!
