Terrific Teacher: Katie Grassel
By: Millaine Wells
Updated: November 15, 2012
SEYMOUR, Wis. (WFRV) - A local teacher has been selected by Google to earn a special certification at its annual teachers academy.
It is quite an honor, only 50 people worldwide are picked to attend.
Since Katie Grassel started teaching at Seymour High School in 1995 technology has changed quite a bit.
She helps keep her co-workers up to date saying "I think it is important they can talk the language that the kids are used to with all of their hand held devices".
Grassel specializes in Google and loves the free tools offered in its Apps for education program.
"2 Students can have the document open, it is saved on the cloud, and they can physically type at the exact same time" she explains.
Students have flexibility to work in the classroom and at home.
"You do not have to worry about saving it to a flash drive, or is it saved on a network, or even printing. They can actually share it with their teachers, they can view it online and you do not have to worry about physically touching any papers".
Grassel says the platform builds teamwork among students "that is one thing we hear from all the employers out there, they have to be able to troubleshoot and work together" she says.
Grassel is excited to work with other educators at the Google Academy coming up in December.
"One of the people in my group is from Mexico, one from Ukraine as well as people from throughout the United States. It really gives me a better view of what is happening in education throughout the world".
