The Grand Canyon University was home to the 2016 Google EdTech Summit where educators from all over Arizona met to learn about the different tools that is being introduced in classrooms. The main focus of the summit was getting students engaged by using the new EdTech tools.

“GCU President Brian Mueller opened the conference, which GCU co-presented with the Arizona K12 Center, followed by a keynote address from Jim Sill, a Google education teacher, who after a decade in the video and television industry, set out on a career in education,” according to GCU.

“He used his industry experience to create an award-winning production program at a California high school.”

The overall reception of the keynote was positive according to the report. Educators were able to explore alternative ways to get their students excited about learning through the use of EdTech tools like Chromebooks and smart boards.

“Sill walked the audience through the bells and whistles of today’s technologies, such as Google apps, and encouraged listeners to start making time for telling better classroom stories,” according to the report.

“I think we remember our teachers from the stories that they tell us,” Sill said.

“I think we all know that when we tell stories in the classroom, our kids can learn through those experiences and when kids tell stories of their successes, struggles and projects to each other, those kids learn from those experiences, too.”

Multimedia platforms like YouTube and Google Plus were also discussed. YouTube is a popular resource for educational videos.

“Paradise Valley High School freshmen Andra Villalobos and Hayden Araza, who were designing a flyer for their maker-space club, said the summit offered a new perspective on teachers, technology and classroom development,” according to the report.

“It’s awesome to see how different teachers use different tools in their classrooms because you’re so used to what your teachers do,” said Villalobos.

“I think now we can go back to our own teachers and tell them about all these unique tools.”

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Article by Navindra Persaud, Education World Contributor.