Abid Patel

Category: #GlobalGEG

  • 2020 – What a year!

    2020, who’d have thought it hey? Looking back, it’s been a pretty rough year for everyone. We lost loved ones, we’ve practically been forced to lock ourselves up at home and our mental health and wellbeing collectively have definitely taken a knock. 

    It was especially hard for me. I lost a lot of friends and loved ones. I wasn’t able to meet with friends and family for the best part of the year. I’ve always thrived off in-person conferences and making real life connections that have gone on to blossom into some of my closest friendships. We lost all those opportunities in 2020. I also missed out on the opportunity to go to Anaheim and present at ISTE, which was a huge disappointment, especially after winning the People’s Choice ballot! And to top it all off, I spent the last quarter of the year battling a long term illness.

    But COVID-19 aside, I look back at the year that’s been and I can’t help but celebrate some truly wonderful things that have happened that might not have if 2020 had just been another year we were used to. 

    There’s a meme that I saw a few months ago that said, “Who’s been responsible for your organisation’s digital transformation?”

    a) CTO
    b) CEO
    c) COVID-19

    I think most organisations (especially schools) will agree that COVID-19 was the primary factor in forcing organisations to embrace digital (and sometimes much more productive and efficient) ways of working. For someone who has championed digital transformation for many years, it’s been great to see the leaps we have taken in embracing these digital tools. I think we’ll all agree that we just wish that it could have been under better circumstances. 

    In my last post after I was awarded the title of EduFuturists Network Manager of the Year, I thanked just some of the connections that I made both in person and online, that helped me to achieve such accolades. That theme definitely continued through 2020 and I don’t know how I would have got through some of the rough moments without those connections and wonderful friendships. I have to thank every leader in Global GEG! What we have achieved this year since its inception in May has been nothing short of phenomenal! We reached and helped to inspire tens of thousands of educators worldwide. None of this would have been possible without the unbelievably hard work and support of the Global GEG Team. Every one of them has put in so much time and effort, for which I and the other founding members are truly grateful.

    To the founding members, you guys are some of the most awesome human beings I know. Thanks to your amazing kindness, I now sit here writing this in my brand new “#ITjustworks Headquarters!”.

    On the subject of #ITjustworks, my Google Certified Innovator project. I launched my project in July and was able to reach more than 2,000 people worldwide. Far more than I could have in person. So, that’s one example where the move to virtual events certainly benefited me! Once again, it was thanks to the team at Global GEG, as well as the kind sponsors, who made this amazing event possible! 

    I also want to thank the amazing team at Google for Education and Canopy, especially Dan Stratford and Andy Caffrey for the opportunity to be a coach at the first ever virtual innovator academy, #VIA20. It was an honour to be the coach of my lovely team, #TeamCarnivals! You are all superstars and I am so excited to see your projects grow in 2021!

    A special thank you to May Jue from the Google for Education team, for being a huge support with everything GEG related, for being a support behind the scenes and also taking the Google Certified Trainer program to the next level with some great benefits for trainers!

    To Daren, Ben, Wendy and Toby, for supporting everything GEG UK related! You guys have done a great job with “Nice & Slow” and “Short and SUITE”.

    And finally, of course, to my wonderful family, without whom, none of this would be possible!

    I know there are tons more people to thank and I could go on forever, but know that I am immensely grateful to everyone who has supported me this year!

    2020 certainly didn’t go the way we imagined this time last year. But, without 2020, some of the things and the connections and friendships that we now cherish the most might not have been made either!

    Here’s hoping for a return to some of our fond normalities in 2021, but also to reaching new heights to make it the best year ever! Fingers crossed I’ll finally make it to the USA for #ISTE21 in San Antonio! 

  • Edufuturists Network Manager of the Year

    2020, what a year! Now as soon as you say that, everyone thinks covid-19 and all the doom and gloom 2020 has turned out to be. And you’d be right. It has been a horrible year. Most of us have been locked away at home. So of us have fallen ill, some of us have lost friends and family. 2020 has been the same for me. I’ve lost friends and family, my plans got shelved, work has been challenging, my trip to the USA and meeting my friends got cancelled. It’s been a tough year indeed!

    However, I can’t deny that 2020 has been somewhat good to me in different ways. It started for me as epically as 2019 ended. January saw me go to my 15th Bett Show. I met more of my PLN than ever before. I presented for Google and for Bett. I also got to attend my first ever #GoogleEI Energiser #LON20, giving me the chance to meet so many of my awesome global PLN.

    February saw me being named in the #EdTech50 “Ones to Note” which was a true honour being recognised alongside some amazing educators doing such awesome and inspirational things in the world of EdTech.

    Then in March, COVID-19 hit most of the world and things started to go just a little bit pear shaped. But, after beginning to settle into what became the new normal, together with my wonderful global friends, we went on to spark some truly wonderful things that might not have flourished had covid-19 not happened. It’s hard to find positives from a global pandemic, but Global GEG really has become a shining light in these dark times. It’s enabled me to meet more and more amazing educators and allowed me to grow my PLN even wider as well as help me to continue my professional growth in a time where I initially thought my growth would be heavily stifled.

    And so, we come to July and the present day. I have to start by thanking everyone who voted for me, and to the Edufuturists team and judges for recognising me as the Edufuturists Network Manager of the Year for 2020. 

    It is a huge honour to have been recognised, especially on what was the anniversary of the #LON19 Google Certified Innovator academy, which helped to begin this whole journey! I have to thank Andy Caffrey and the rest of the Canopy and Google for Education team for giving me that opportunity which has really changed my trajectory over the last year and given me some truly amazing opportunities, connections and friendships worldwide!

    It was those friendships that helped to lay the foundations of, and blossom Global GEG into something really special. I have to thank the one who has become my partner in crime, Stephanie Howell as well as the rest of the Global GEG founding team of Stephanie Rothstein, Luis Pertuz, Bonnie Chelette, and our favourite Vegemite loving Aussie, Lesleigh Altmann.

    Another Aussie who I have to shout out is Rachel Coathup who has quite literally been one of my biggest supporters over the last year! I also have to shout out the rest of my truly wonderful #AWE20, #LON19 and #GlobalGEG family, who continue to support and inspire me every single day! 

    A huge thank you has to go out to my line manager and CEO of Leading Learning Trust, Emma Nicholls for taking a huge risk and letting me run free with an idea to transform the way we deliver digital learning experiences to our children. I’d like to think it worked out quite well! 

    I want to recognise the other nominees, George, Dave and Dan. Dan has become a good friend and fellow leader of Global GEG. I’m certain this very award will be his in the future. Most importantly, I need to give a mention to Dave Leonard. I couldn’t have been happier for the award to go to a better person last year. I am honoured that we got the chance to meet and spend an amazing 3 days together at #LON19 and made a superb friend for life. 

    Of course, the final and most important thank you goes to my beautiful family and my amazing wife, who put up with a lot of my crazy ramblings. None of this would be possible without their love and support and I know they too are looking forward to the fun and exciting journey ahead!

    There are so many more people who I need to thank, but I could be here forever if I start to mention everyone! All I will say, is that my PLN is truly awesome. You all inspire me to keep on doing what I do every single day!

    So yeah, 2020. It’s been unprecedented, challenging and interesting. But there’s been some really special moments that I’ve been able to share with some very special people. The future is most definitely bright and we will all come out even better and stronger from this!