Cactus Ranch Elementary School took a step forward in becoming a School of Communication after every teacher and administrator became Level 1 Google Educator Certified.

“I am proud to say 100 percent of our teachers are Level 1 Google Educator Certified,” Cactus Ranch Principal Vicki Crain said. “I’m even more excited for what this means for our students.”

There are two levels for Google Educators. Level 1 focuses on teaching best strategies for integrating Google into the classroom, which includes helping teachers go mostly paperless, bringing students’ work online and helping measure students’ growth. Level 2 focuses on more advanced, cutting-edge strategies for integrating Google.

“It is important for Cactus Ranch staff to become Level 1 certified because this exam proves their proficiency with all Google for Education tools,” said Natalie Hubert, Cactus Ranch instructional technology specialist. “As the world becomes more and more digital, it is vital that teachers integrate these technologies into their lessons to create well-rounded students who are proficient with these technologies as well. It is a crucial part of preparing them for the world in which we live.”

Some of the Google applications teachers and students utilize are Google Classroom, Google Sites, Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive, which includes Sheets, Docs, Forms, Drawing and YouTube.

“The traditional classroom presented several technology limitations,” Hubert said. “For example, in a traditional classroom, teachers are limited to textbooks and other limited resources. When using Apps like Google Classroom, teachers can present dynamic content with unlimited resources that will enhance student engagement and interactivity.”

To become Level 1 certified, teachers participated in a day-long training taught by teachers who had previously taken the exam, followed by a 180 minutes test.

Cactus Ranch will continue to focus on becoming a School of Communications by helping students with their communication skills, including speaking and writing, along with reading and listening. The goal is for every student to become an effective communicator, which will help them throughout their life.

Several other schools across the District are working on becoming Level 1 certified and some teachers are already becoming Level 2 certified.