Holy Smokes… What a Day! I really want to go to sleep, but I don’t want to forget anything!
Today was an out of body experience. It was definitely me doing all the things, but it was such a whirlwind of excitement, nervousness and crossing things off my bucket list that I really can’t believe it happened to me! Last night I arrived in Mountain View, California for the Google Certified Innovator Academy. A few of us (Left: Lindsey, Angie & David; Right: me, Jolie, Marlena & Andrew) who were in town had dinner together to kick off the week. That’s when it hit me that I was actually doing this… sitting around the dinner table in a city I had never been, with people from three different countries (US, UK and South Korea) and four different states (California, Missouri, Minnesota and Ohio).
The Innovator Academy didn’t start until 5:30 today, so many of us took the train up to San Francisco to explore a few hours before we got started. I was so glad Justin said he was doing the Alcatraz tour because that has been on my bucket list! Not only did we (myself, Justin, Angie, Maggie and Erica) see Alcatraz on a day that couldn’t be any more beautiful, we met a former inmate who has since been released from prison and written a book about his time at Alcatraz; he was signing books. So cool! (if the pictures show up upside down, just flip your device around 😉 I’ll fix it when I’m not so sleepy…zZz)
San Francisco was absolutely beautiful! But the real excitement came when we were all gathering in front of the lobby of our hotel and waiting on the bus from Google to pick us up! It was so great to finally put a face to a name with the 33 other Innovators!
At the Academy, we played the BreakoutEDU games we had to create with our partners. Then we got to play an actual BreakoutEDU game; we broke out with over five minutes to spare! If you’re not familiar with BreakoutEDU, you have GOT to check it out here! I ate dinner with the founders (holy amazing food at Google… can I get the guac to go?!), James Sanders and Mark Hammons– awesome guys. I was SO glad I finally had a chance to participate in a BreakoutEDU game. I will definitely be bringing this back to the schools & districts I work with.
Thanks so much to Google and the EdTechTeam for putting these few days on for us! Saying it’s going to be an awesome experience just doesn’t do it justice. Now… I better get to sleep for the 13 hour day that’s planned tomorrow! Follow along with us on social media using #MTV16 and #GoogleEI
P.S. If you haven’t had a chance to meet the Innovator class of #MTV16, head over to Justin’s podcast: EduRoadTrip!
Tech To You Later!
-Katie