GCE Level 2 Cohort - Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about the GCE Level 2 cohort. If you can’t find the answer here, please fill out our Tech Support Form and someone will get back to you.
Basic Information • Registration • Account Information & Chrome Profile • Cohort Work
CEU Information • Ashland Credit • Taking the Exam • End of Cohort
Basic Information
The cohort opens three times per year – fall, spring and summer. The Spring cohort will run January 18 through April 16, 2021. The Summer cohort will run May 17 through August 6, 2021.
There is no additional cost for the cohort for teachers and staff from the Northern Buckeye full member districts and five full service non-member districts. Click here to see if your district is eligible for this training at no additional cost. The cost of the cohort is $150 for teachers and staff of other non-member schools or non-public schools. If a group of teachers from non-member or non-public schools wishes to participate, and the school handles payment for the teachers, there is a 50% discount.
Educators have two options for credit – CEUs and college credit from Ashland University. Please see the CEU Information and Ashland Credit sections for more details.
There are eight modules that make up the GCE Level 2 cohort. In each module, participants will complete the following:
- Videos – watch these to learn about the various Google tools. Slides from the videos are included for reference.
- Work Packet – practice the skills taught in the video. Follow the instructions step-by-step and provide screenshots and/or links as requested.
- Reflection – a brief reflection on the topic done in Blogger.
- Exit Ticket – complete this after you have completed everything and turned it in. This prompts us to grade.
Participants can complete the modules at their own pace. We recommend that participants plan to complete at least one module every week and a half.
Registration
Cohort information, including prerequisites and NWOCA.info account setup will be sent the week before the cohort opens. If you have registered after the cohort start date, it takes 24-48 hours to get this info.
Registration generally opens the month before the cohort start date. Registration will close one month prior to the cohort closing date. For Summer 2021, registration opens on April 1, 2021 and will close on July 5, 2021.
Fill out the Google Form linked from the main GCE level 2 page.
There is a limit of 98 participants in the cohort each time it is offered.
Account Information & Chrome Profile
Yes, the account will be the same.
Yes, you can use the same Chrome profile.
It takes 24-48 hours to create your account and give you access to the cohort. If you don’t receive it after two days, please reach out again. Thanks for your patience.
If you have forgotten your password, please email Chris (malanga@nwoca.org) AND Kristie (hughes@nwoca.org) and one of us will reset your password.
Here are some videos showing how to create a profile on Windows, Mac and Chromebook. Or, if you prefer, here is a tutorial.
This is happening because you did not properly set up a Chrome profile for your nwoca.info account. You will need to be signed into this profile for all NWOCA work otherwise you will continue to have issues throughout the cohort.
To set up a Chrome profile, see this FAQ: How do I set up a Chrome profile?
Cohort Work
Here’s a quick tutorial to show you how to share via a link: http://ior.ad/71uN
To access the modules, from your nwoca.info Chrome profile, go to Google Classroom and accept the invitation to the Cohort classroom (click the Join button). Then you will be able to find all the module work in Google Classroom, under the Classwork tab.
Each module will have a work packet that includes both the directions and places to submit your work. To find this, look under the Classwork tab in Google Classroom. Open the work packet (Google Slides) and follow the instructions.
To take a screenshot, follow the directions in this image. Directions are included in each work packet.
Make a link clickable by highlighting the entire link, then press Ctrl-K (Cmd-K on a Mac).
Make sure that you have accepted the Blogger invitation that you received in your NWOCA email. If you didn’t get the invitation, check your Spam folder. If you still can’t find the invitation or it has expired, fill out our Tech Support form and we will re-invite you.
Fill out our Tech Support form and someone will assist you.
To turn in your assignment, you have to close the work packet Slides deck and go back to Google Classroom. You should find the assignment on the Classwork page, click once to preview, then click View assignment. Then in the assignment details, it will be on the right side and may not be blue. Here is a screenshot to help.
If you don’t finish the course, you can retake it again. We will transfer your completed work into the next session. Please contact us if you need to do this.
CEU Information
If a teacher participates in the entire cohort, they can earn up to 24 seat hours of time (1.2 CEU) to be used toward licensure renewal. Following completion of each module and verification of the tasks by the instructors, a certificate for 1.5 contact hours will be provided.
You will get a separate certificate for each module once it’s graded. After the cohort closes and all work has been graded, a statement of all hours will be sent, hopefully within the following week. Some LPDC prefer the individual certificates and some accept the statement. You’ll need to use one or the other.
The certificates are sent automatically after things are graded. Kristie and Chris split the grading – Chris does the odd and Kristie does the even modules – and we don’t always go in order. If there is something incorrect or missing in a module, we will let you know. Otherwise, your certificate will come eventually.
Yes, as long as the registration deadline hasn’t passed, it will be no problem. Just email Chris and/or Kristie and indicate that you want to switch and we will make the change on our end. Please delete all CEU certificates that you have received.
Ashland Credit
You can choose to receive two graduate credits through Ashland University for an additional cost of $360. There is no additional work required to receive the Ashland credit. Registration details will be provided in Google Classroom at the start of the cohort.
If you are taking the course for college credit, you will not get any certificates; your Ashland transcript will serve as proof you took the course. Once you have completed all the work and it has been graded, the grade will be posted at Ashland. An email will be sent to you letting you know this. You will be able to print a transcript from the Ashland portal.
During the cohort, Kristie posts grades every Friday. So, once all your cohort work has been completed, graded, and returned back to you, Kristie will send you a message that your grade has been posted. It usually takes Ashland a couple days to process your grade, so we recommend checking their portal on Wednesday of the following week.
Once you get the message from Kristie that your grade is posted, you can follow the directions in this document.
Yes, no problem. Just email Chris and/or Kristie and indicate that you want to switch and we will make the change on our end. You will begin getting certificates within a few days.
Taking the Exam
The cohort was initially started a few years ago to help teachers become Google Certified Educators Level 2. All of the assignments and assessments were created with this in mind. While we encourage you to take the GCE Level 2 exam, it is not a requirement. Again, totally up to you whether or not you take it. If you do, we appreciate knowing how you did as Google asks us to track our training opportunities.
The exam costs $25 and that is paid directly to Google’s testing provider.
The exam can take up to 3 hours.
Due to the COVID-19 situation and changes to the Google exams, we will no longer be able to do review sessions and in-person exams. If you wish to take the exam (which we encourage you to do), you will have to register and take it on your own.
There is information on registering for the exam and review information in Google Classroom.
You do not want to use your nwoca.info account to register for the Google exam because you won’t always have access to that account. We recommend using a personal account or a school account. The benefit to the personal account is that your certification is yours and stays with you even if you change schools.
You can take the test with your NWOCA account. It is not preferred but it will work. Once you pass the exam, you will receive a certificate. It will come to your nwoca.info account. Just keep that certificate and if/when you ever go to renew it, just make sure you use your other account. As far as we know, there is not a way to transfer your email address in the testing portal. The certificate will have your name on it and that should be good for now.
First, you’ll need to fill out the form here: https://support.google.com/a/contact/certification. If you have filled out that form and did not get a response within a few days, please try filling out this form.
You will get results within 14 days at the email address you registered with. Also, check your Spam at that account. The results are notorious for going to Spam.
End of Course
Access to the Google Classroom and your nwoca.info account will end 90 days after the cohort closes. You will be provided access to the videos and slides presentations indefinitely. Please check your school email for details.
To save documents, first share them with your school or personal account with edit privileges. Then, from the other account, make a copy of each document so that you are the owner.