Toronto Teacher Mom

#SupportHER High Tea Event at The King Edward Hotel

King Edward Hotel

Sunday, April 19, 2015
13 Comments

Warrior Dash Ontario 2015

Active Living

Saturday, April 18, 2015
9 Comments

Glama Gal Tween Boutique in the Village #GGBlueMtn

Blue Mountain

Tuesday, April 14, 2015
8 Comments

Big Brother Canada Viewing Party at the Brick #UnlockBBCANTOExp

Big Brother Canada

Tuesday, April 14, 2015
22 Comments

"She Who Hunts Finds" Blogger Challenge #DixieDeals

Challenge

Monday, April 13, 2015
2 Comments

Online Shopping at Healthy Planet

Bath and Beauty

A while back, I was invited to shop from among Healthy Planet's online selection of products that include vitamins, supplements, groceries, health foods, bath & beauty and eco-friendly products. Healthy Planet first began as a small kiosk in a strip mall on the Danforth and has expanded to include eleven store locations across the GTA, the newest location having opened in Whitby just recently. And now, via healthyplanetcanada.com, you can shop from the comfort of your own home.

Healthy Planet - Santevia Alkaline Energy Flask

One of the first items I added to my shopping list was a Santevia Alkaline Flask. This energy flask allows you to enjoy the benefits of alkaline, re-mineralized water on the go. It is reusable and made of stainless steel. It includes two mineral baskets that contain all natural compounds such as tourmaline stones to raise the pH, maifan stone to re-mineralize the water with iron, zinc, calcium, etc., chlorine reduction balls and more. Given that the upper mineral basket need only be replaced after approximately 1000 uses or up to 1 year, I wasn't surprised to see that the cost of the flask was listed at a regular price of $44.58. Luckily, Healthy Planet offers a 21% savings with a price point of $34.99.

Healthy Planet - Green Beaver Mint Body Wash

Next on my list were some bath products. I never seem to have enough body soap so I knew I had to stock up. One of my favourites is the Fresh Mint Body Wash by Green Beaver. A 250mL bottle is listed at $8.29, a 28% savings but I'm starting to think I should have bought the 4L bottle instead. I also added a bar of The Soap Works Soap Tea Tree Oil for a mere $1.79, which saved me 55% off the regular price.

Healthy Planet - Nature's Path Love Crunch Dark Chocolate Red Berries Granola

The final item I added to my shopping list was a bag of Love Crunch Dark Chocolate and Red Berries by Nature's Path. Ever since we headed up to Forks in the Trail Bed and Breakfast for a mini family getaway earlier this year, I have been craving yoga and granola in the mornings. While it has been a challenge to find granola comparable to their homemade version, Love Crunch comes pretty close. And I saved 28% by purchasing it through Healthy Planet for $5.99 for a 325g bag.

Sunday, April 12, 2015
9 Comments

It's a #HowToSpring Twitter Party with Walmart Canada!

#HowToSpring

Friday, April 10, 2015
2 Comments

I'm a Google Educator!

Certificate

It's official! Today I received my certificate as a Google Educator. Having finally met Sylvia Duckworth at the World Congress of Modern Languages Conference last month, I was inspired to pursue this venture. You see, not only is she an incredibly talented FSL teacher and a winner of the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence, she is also a Google Certified Teacher whom I admire greatly. While I'm not quite ready to obtain the special certification of GCT, I felt the Google Educator certificate was the next best thing. This qualification is for educators who understand how to use Google for Education tools and have successfully completed five Google Educator exams. As a long-time Google user, I was very familiar with most of these tools in general and felt confident that my experience could be easily applied to Google Apps for Education. I began my first exam exactly a week ago and am happy to report I passed all five on my first try. Don't believe me? Check out my Google test records. Read on to learn more how you can become a Google Educator, too.

What is a Google Educator Certificate?

A Google Educator certificate is given to those who successfully complete five online exams. Four of these exams are mandatory: Gmail, Calendar, Sites, and Google Docs/Drive. The fifth exam is an elective which you can choose from the following: Chrome Browser, Chromebooks, Google Play for Education and Android Tablets for Education.

How Long Does it Take?

The length of time required to complete all five exams really depends on the user. The Google for Educator site offers free tutorials for basic training which will require some reading. For example, Google Calendar Basics contains ten lessons that will generally require 10 to 25 minutes each to complete. These ten lessons would thus total approximately 170 minutes. If you already know the basics, then you can skip to the advanced training. Once you feel confident with a particular tool, you can head to the Google Testing Centre and either purchase each exam individually or you can buy the four mandatory exams as a bundle and the elective individually. As soon as you begin the first exam, you will have 90 minutes to complete 60 multiple choice questions. All five exams must be taken within 90 days of completion of the first exam and can be taken in any order. Please note:

The Google Educator exams will be unavailable for purchase from April 8 through June 28 while the Google for Education certification programs are undergoing a small update to better serve our users. Please note that this does NOT affect exams that have already been purchased.

How Much Does it Cost?

Each exam costs $15 USD and so, providing you pass each exam, the Google Educator certification will amount to $75 USD in total. Of course, if you do not pass an exam, you will have to wait seven days and purchase that exam again. Online purchases will require a credit card, such as VISA, Mastercard or American Express.

Why Should I Become a Google Educator?

If you plan on using Google Apps for Education in the classroom, the free online training tools are very useful and will help you to maximize the benefits of GAFE. You're going to invest the time practicing these tools anyway, so why not take the next step in getting certified? Plus, completion of these proof-of-proficiency exams will help to showcase your Google knowledge and experience should you wish to apply for Google Certified Teacher or Google Education Trainer later on.