This might be redundant but as I am reflecting on my learning journey, I keep remembering about the Google Teacher Academy now called Google Innovation Academy and I am grateful for having applied in the first place (thanks to the session at the American School of Bombay by Kimberley Hall from EdTechTeam).
Everything started there.
The first awareness, very strong, was that I WASN’T ALONE. They were so many other educators out there with wild ideas about how education should change. At my school at that time, I felt a bit isolated.. I didn’t really have a voice and my somehow disruptive ideas didn’t flow with everyone… Indeed, one of the WORST regret I have is not have the guts to speak for myself and attend the 21st Century Conference in Hong Kong in 2015 when I faced obstacles to take leaves for that purpose…
I remember how one negative person’s opinion mattered to me, how I could feel stressed and question myself (perhaps he is right and I am a “pushy” person…). It made me feel soooo bad… but after meeting new friends at the GTA, everything changed, everything changed for good 🙂 I met people who valued my ideas, who made me feel safe, heard and people whom I could share and collaborate with in an informal atmosphere made of TRUST. Those friends remain in my heart.