{"id":15885,"date":"2017-04-21T08:39:33","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T08:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/additioapp.com\/bootcamp-g-suite-en-colombia\/"},"modified":"2022-08-01T06:24:36","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T06:24:36","slug":"bootcamp-g-suite-en-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/additioapp.com\/en\/bootcamp-g-suite-en-colombia\/","title":{"rendered":"Federico Centeno nos explica c\u00f3mo organiz\u00f3 el 1r BootCamp G Suite en Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"

We want to share with you the first bootcamp<\/a> in Colombia. Federico Centeno, GEG Colombia leader, Google Certified Trainer<\/a> and Marymount International School Barranquilla teacher share with us his chronicle:<\/p>\n

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Last January I had the honor of being accepted as a Google For Education Certified Trainer, this was the result of a long journey, one that had started more than 4 years ago when I discovered the benefits of Google Apps for Education (as they were called then). What motivated me back then was how easy it was to apply a great variety of teaching strategies with these tools. During those years I tinkered and discovered many great things which I shared with many of my coworkers, and on various social networks. I had considered applying for the trainer program on multiple occasions, but always felt I still didn’t have a good enough portfolio to make the cut. Last december i finally bit the bullet and submitted my application. I had just come back from the #Mex16 Google Innovator Academy and felt ready to take on any challenge.<\/em><\/p>\n

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I was extremely happy when I got the news, for some reason I thought that I would now start training a lot of people. Well it turns out that not many people were interested in my services, I got some calls and email through the Google for Education Directory, but nothing more than that. I offered my services for free at different places, but there really was no interest. To maintain my trainer status I have to conduct 12 training sessions per year and with this little demand it was not going to be easy.<\/p>\n

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So by mid February I guess i must have heard a voice overnight saying \u201cIf you build it, they will come.\u201d I woke up and decided I would just set up my very own G Suite Bootcamp, The 1st G Suite Bootcamp in Colombia. I felt like this was crazy, but I knew that if I kept waiting I would end up doing nothing at all so I decided to go for it.<\/em><\/span><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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There was one thing I knew, and it was that I wanted the people that attended to feel that this was not their usual PD, this was special. That day I started thinking on the logistics, I needed a good place to hold the event, I wanted to offer some sort of snack, and it had to be fun. That day as I designed a flyer on Photoshop I was also making calls to find a place to rent. I ended up renting a conference room that could hold up to 14 people, it included a huge TV, and they also provided the snacks and unlimited water, coffee and tea. I started sharing the idea with others, and my wife also a teacher, started telling her friends that the G Suite Bootcamp was coming. The next day I posted my flyer on Google+, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and put pressure on me on getting this done.<\/p>\n

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I got a lot of great feedback from people on these social networks, but in reality very few people submitted the form expressing interest in the 1st G Suite Bootcamp in Colombia. I must admit that I was a bit worried, but I decided that I was going to follow through with it even if only one person enrolled. I worked on the course materials and was lucky enough to get some Google Goodies to hand out as gifts. A week before starting I had 12 people out of 14 confirmed, just with a verbal agreement (I\u2019m still worried about the money this will cost me). The day before starting five people called and cancelled. Later 2 more called telling me they couldn\u2019t make it on the first Saturday but that they could come on the other days. I told them that the course materials would be available online so they could catch up and it wouldn’t be a problem if they missed a day.<\/p>\n

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So day 1 came and I ended up meeting with Ana, Kathy, Catalina, and Ilva 4 elementary teachers, David a digital content creator for a book publisher, and Alex who works in technical support at my school. I must admit that the fact the group was small actually helped, we could move fast through the material but we also had a lot of time to share and discuss ideas. It felt kind of like a round table, everyone had a great time that day and David won a nice Android sports bottle. Session 2 went very well too, and this day we were joined by three more teachers, Aldo, Tania, and Klaudia. Everything kept going great, but on the third session we had a huge hiccup. There was no internet access at the conference room on that day. That Saturday I had planned a Google Hangout with some of my fellow innovators from the #Mex16 cohort, so 20 minutes before starting the Hangout we had to rush to my house and conduct the hangout in my living room.<\/p>\n

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On session four they took their GCE1 certification test and we celebrated with some delicious Google Cake that I decorated with my daughter\u2019s help. I am very thankful with the group of people who followed me on this crazy ride, they certainly are \u201cone with the Force. The Force is with them.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Throughout this experience I noticed that this is really all about passion. If you are passionate about something it doesn’t really matter what you have to do or face, you will get through it. I am wondering how many people will be enrolling in the second Bootcamp, but something tells me it will be more than this one. I learned a lot from this experience and I am sure that the second time around it will be much better.<\/p>\n