Today was an amazing day. After many months of preparation the ECOO sponsored, Waterloo Region District School Board hosted Google Apps For Educators (gafe) event launched at 8:30 this morning. Mark Wagner from the Google Ed Tech team provided a warm welcome and overview from the day. Linda Fabi, Director of Education for the Waterloo Region District School Board delivered greetings to the 525  attendees.

Jim Sill delivered an outstanding keynote address challenging attendees to define the type of world we live in. Jim used effective examples to portray a world of will and reckless creativity, cleverly referencing twitter, sub tweets, selfies, personal branding and digital footprints. I am glad I livescribed this session so I can enjoy listening to it again!

Most of the balance of the day provided a wide variety of  workshop  strands addressing a variety of skill levels. A closing session provided an opportunity to  showcase some awesome tips and clever uses of Google Apps in a 3 minute window. Each presenter concluded with a resounding expression of “SLAM” !

On a personal note, I enjoyed connecting and sharing this experience with so many dedicated educators I know across the province, and of course, meeting new people too.  I learned more about using google maps more effectively, leveraging extensions to Google Drive and tucked away a variety of nifty tips and tricks.

I am looking forward to GAFE day 2 tomorrow!!!

~Mark