Google has recently opened up applications for their newly rebranded Google Innovator Academy (https://edutrainingcenter.withgoogle.com/certification_innovator) and as part of my personal goal to look for new learning opportunities, I am working on my application.  What I love about the application is the unusual question that is at the top of the application.  The first question you have to answer is “If a friend designed for you a t-shirt that described you perfectly, what would it say?”

At first I was a little unsure about what to put, mostly because I had never thought about an answer for this question.  But as I was doing some work for school at 11am on a Sunday night, the answer became very clear.  As a teacher I would make sure my students knew that they could always send questions to me and I would answer them as quickly as I could.  I never wanted them to feel they were alone in this learning process and technology has made it easier for students to get help outside of the 42 minutes for class (email and Twitter were my top 2 ways to communicate but there are a lot of tools to help you with that).  As a technology coach in my building, I hope teachers will feel the same way when they need help from me.  I have made it a point to respond to their questions or requests for help as quickly as I can, which is where a smartwatch like a Pebble can come in very handy.

The reasons I do this has nothing to do with job requirements but it is who I am.  If you need help, I will be there to help you.  I feel this helped me greatly as a teacher and continues to help me greatly as an instructional coach.  So my answer to this question for the application is now answered.

“If you need help, Patrick will be there.”

One question down, probably should finish the rest.

What would your answer to this question be and does this apply to you in the classroom as well as outside the classroom?