10 tips for taking a Google Certified Educator exam

Test

Test

Google offers numerous certifications for educators who want to prove their proficiency and classroom practice with G Suite for Education tools. The starting point is the Google Certified Educator Level 1, which includes a 3 hour practical exam. For the teachers we work with, this exam is always the most daunting part of becoming certified! In this blog post, I’ll share some tips and advice for tackling a Google Certified Educator exam (either level 1 or 2) and becoming certified.

[bctt tweet=”Here are 10 tips for taking the #Google Certified Educator exam” username=”samvardanega”]

 

1. Have confidence and experience across a range of G Suite tools

The biggest mistake teachers make when attempting the Google Certified Educator Level 1 exam is to assume that ‘Level 1’ means it is for beginners who are new to G Suite. It’s not. The certification is designed for teachers to demonstrate their existing competency in several core G Suite tools. As a general rule, you are ready to attempt the Google Certified Educator Level 1 exam if:

  • You regularly use G Suite tools for a variety of purposes in your classroom/school.
  • You have experience with most of the core G Suite tools, including Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Classroom & Sites. It’s OK if you have less experience in a couple of these, but you should be very familiar and comfortable with most of them.
  • Your general confidence with G Suite is high. You know and can use many features and can move reasonably quickly between different apps.

If you don’t think you have the confidence and experience needed, consider undertaking other G Suite training first. Our G Suite Training Readiness Tool for educators can help you determine the level of training that is right for you.

2. Work through the Google for Education Training Centre

The Google for Education Training Centre includes both fundamental and advanced courses. They feature a range of ideas and strategies for using G Suite tools in your classroom, including stories and tips from other teachers. Each section has links to Google help topics, which you can use to learn more about specific tools or features.

3. Consider attending a preparatory course

Several Google for Education partners (including us!) offer Google Certified Educator Boot Camps. These courses are designed to prepare you for taking the exam. Our two day courses cover all the G Suite tools and features that you are likely to encounter in the exam. We also provide you with both multiple-choice and practical scenario practice questions that give you a feel for what the exam will be like. At the end of the course, you sit the exam in a supportive environment. However, as their name suggests, these boot camps are intensive, fast-paced workshop that are only suitable for teachers who already have a good level of confidence and experience. A beginner would be overwhelmed! If you are interested in attending a boot camp, check out our events page to see what is coming up, or get in touch with us about hosting one in your school/region.

We also have our training sessions recorded in our online PLN You can watch the training videos in your own time, ask our team any questions and then sit the exam when you are ready.

4. Don’t register for the exam until you are prepared to take it

Once you register for a Google Certified Educator exam, you must take it within 7 days. If you fail the exam, you need to wait 14 days before taking it again. If you fail a second time, the wait period is 2 months. Failing a third time will require you to wait 12 months before sitting the exam again.

5. Be prepared to use G Suite tools during the exam – and do so efficiently

The exam is conducted using a dedicated exam G Suite account that is created for you when you register. The Level 1 exam includes 11 scenario questions where you will be required to complete tasks using G Suite tools. For example, sending emails, creating and sharing Google Docs, setting a Google Classroom and more. Every scenario questions has multiple components, so it is essential that you are able to move between and within G Suite tools efficiently and confidently in order to complete all the tasks within the allocated time limit.

6. Pay attention to the details – remember what is grading your exam!

The Google Certified Educator exams are graded by a computer – not a person. That means that it is crucial that you pay attention to the details of the question. You must name files correctly, share them with the right people and complete every task exactly as the question asks. If the machine marking the exam is searching for a specific file name, and you’ve made a typing error, your effort will not be recognised.

7. Use the knockout method for multiple-choice questions

The level 1 exam includes 20 multiple choice questions. The best way to approach these is to eliminate the answers that are clearly wrong. Then you can pick the best answer from those that are left. It’s wise to always have your ‘teacher common sense’ hat on during the multiple choice questions. If an answer would not be appropriate in your own classroom, chances are it’s wrong.

[bctt tweet=”Want to become a #Google Certified Educator? Check out these 10 exam tips” username=”samvardanega”]

 

8. Use shortcut keys

Time is a precious resource during Google Certified Educator exams. Keyboard shortcuts are a good way to work efficiently, particularly when copying and pasting (which you will do a lot of in the exam!). If you don’t currently use keyboard shortcuts for copying and pasting, start doing so before you take the exam.

9. Keep things tidy during the exam

During the exam you will use a range of G Suite apps and open many files. This can cause your browser to become very messy with lots of open tabs, meaning you waste valuable time trying to find the right tab. Close files and apps after you have finished with them!

10. Choose a quiet location with a stable internet connection

Taking a Google Certified Educator exam requires lots of concentration. So be sure to choose a quiet, distraction-free location for sitting your exam. You don’t want to waste time asking people to be quiet or leave you alone! A stable and reliable internet connection is also a must. If you lose your connection for 5 minutes, the exam will end in failure.

We hope these 10 tips will help you prepare for and ace the Google Certified Educator exams! If you have other questions, check out the Google Certification Policies and FAQ page or leave your question for us in the comments below.

Remember, you can also gain access to our online training program where you will save time, and gain support from our Google Certified trainers.


Related Post

The right ways to enable AI at work – Tips for IT Lead

In today’s fast-paced workplace, maximizing efficiency while minimizing time spent on repetitive tasks is crucial. However, many staff members may feel unsure about integrating AI effectively, leading to missed productivity opportunities. As the IT lead, you can guide your team in harnessing AI’s power to streamline operations and save time. By providing clear guidance and

VIEW POST

How well do you use the
Apple Apps Google Workspace Microsoft 365
tools in your workplace?

Find out if you’re working with the tools OR if you’ve got the
tools working for you.

What Industry Are You In?

Using Apple Apps, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?

What Type of user are you?

🫣 Entry User | 🤹 Skilled User | 👑 Elite User

Take the quiz to find out. 

Privacy Policy

Using Technology Better Privacy Commitment

Introduction

We hold the privacy of your personal information in the highest regard.

Using Technology Better regards customer privacy as an important part of our relationship with our customers. The following privacy policy applies to all Using Technology Better users, and conforms to Internet privacy standards.

This policy will be continuously assessed against new technologies, business practices and our customers’ needs.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact the support team on our Contact Us Page.

Collection of Information

In order to use the Using Technology Better website, we may require information from you in order to provide the best service possible.

All correspondence may also be collected and stored, particularly in regard to sales, support and accounts, including Email.

Any information collected by Using Technology Better is collected via correspondence from you or your company. This may be via the telephone, Email, mail, fax or directly through our website.

Visitors and customers of japan.usingtechnologybetter.com will have their information shared back to DAIWABO INFORMATION SYSTEM CO., LTD. and DIS Service & Solution Co., Ltd.

Use of Collection Information

Any details collected from Using Technology Better customers is required in order to provide you with our

products and/or services, and a high level of customer service.

Correspondence is recorded in order to provide service references, and to assist in our staff development.

Web Site Use Information

Similar to other commercial Web sites, our Web sites utilize a standard technology called “cookies” (see explanation below, “What Are Cookies?”) and web server log files to collect information about how our Web site is used.

Information gathered through cookies and Web server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our Web site, and the Web sites visited just before and just after our Web site.

Storage of Collected Information

The security of your personal information is important to us. When you enter sensitive information (such as credit card numbers) on our website, we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL).

When Credit Card details are collected, we simply pass them on in order to be processed as required. We never permanently store complete Credit Card details.

We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it.

If you have any questions about security on our Website, you can email us at <ContactEmail>.

Access to Collected Information

If your personally identifiable information changes, or if you no longer desire our service, you may correct, update, delete or deactivate it by emailing us at <ContactEmail>.

Orders

If you purchase a product or service from us, we may request certain personally identifiable information from you.

You may be required to provide contact information such as:

Name

Email

Postal address

Your school or organisation

Financial information (such as credit card number, expiration date, name on card, card billing address).

We use this information for billing purposes and to fill your orders. If we have trouble processing an order, we will use this information to contact you.

Communications

Using Technology Better uses personally identifiable information for essential communications, such as

Emails

Accounts information

Critical service details.

We may also use this information for other purposes, including some promotional Emails.

If at any time a customer wishes not to receive such correspondence, they can request to be removed from any mailing lists by contacting support.

You will be notified when your personal information is collected by any third party that is not our agent/service provider, so you can make an informed choice as to whether or not to share your information with that party.

Third Parties

Using Technology Better may at its discretion use other third parties to provide essential services on our site or for our business processes.

We may share your details as necessary for the third party to provide that service.

These third parties are prohibited from using your personally identifiable information for any other purpose.

Using Technology Better does not share any information with third parties for any unknown or unrelated uses.

What Are Cookies?

A cookie is a very small text document, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier. When you visit a Web site, that site’s computer asks your computer for permission to store this file in a part of your hard drive specifically designated for cookies.

Each Web site can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser’s preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a Web site to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites.

Browsers are usually set to accept cookies. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you may alter the configuration of your browser to refuse cookies.

If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies, it is possible that some areas of our site will not function as effectively when viewed by the users.

A cookie cannot retrieve any other data from your hard drive or pass on computer viruses.

How Do We Use Information We Collect from Cookies?

As you visit and browse our Web site, the site uses cookies to differentiate you from other users. In some cases, we also use cookies to prevent you from having to log in more than is necessary for security.

Cookies, in conjunction with our Web server’s log files, allow us to calculate the aggregate number of people visiting our Web site and which parts of the site are most popular. This helps us gather feedback to constantly improve our Web site and better serve our clients.

Cookies do not allow us to gather any personal information about you and we do not intentionally store any personal information that your browser provided to us in your cookies.

Legal

We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on our Website.

Links

Links on the Using Technology Better site to external entities are not covered within this policy. The terms and conditions set out in this privacy statement only cover the domain name of usingtechnologybetter.com

Changes to Privacy Policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, and other places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

We reserve the right to modify this privacy statement at any time, so please review it periodically. If we make material changes to this policy, we will not use the personal information you have submitted to us under this Privacy Policy in a manner that is materially inconsistent with this Privacy Policy, without your prior consent

Delivery Policy

Most goods are digitally delivered instantly via email.  Our services may be delivered either via an online medium or live in person.

For our online delivery see below.  For services delivered live onsite, please refer to our speaker agreement form which is emailed to you on confirmation of booking.

Refund Policy

We do not offer refunds or returns unless we cannot supply goods or services or the goods or services are not delivered as promised.

Australian law is the governing body for all work, goods and services supplied by Using Technology Better.

Marketing Release

Using Technology Better (UTB) may film, record, and photograph me (the results of which are the “Recordings”). UTB may also incorporate into any production(s) any separate content (e.g., quotes, testimonials, biographical information, profiles, photos, videos, sound recordings, artwork, etc.) I provide to UTB or approve in writing (“Materials”).

1.License

I grant to UTB an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to, in its sole discretion, (i) edit, translate, and modify the Recordings and the Materials, (ii) attribute the Recordings and Materials to me by my name, age, and city and state of residence, (iii) incorporate the Recordings and the Materials into content to promote UTB, its programs, or products (“Content”), and (iv) publicly use, distribute, reproduce, create derivative works from, and perform/display the Content, and any excerpts thereof, in any language.

2. No Compensation.

I grant this permission without any financial or other obligation of any nature.

 

For any issues or concerns please contact us