I have used Chromebooks before, as my school had piloted 30 Samsung Model 500C's this past year, but I wanted to get more training on utilizing them in a 1:1 environment and learn more about Google Apps for Education. My district is very willing to send us to conferences and training for professional development, and asked if I would like to attend the Midwest Chromebook Institute. This two day conference was amazing! Not only did it provide great information and training on Chromebooks, Google Apps, 1:1, transforming learning, and 21st Century skills, but a number of Google employees were also in attendance and presented and spoke about Googley things. One of the main topics was "10x Thinking" (a fundamental view held by Google). We were challenged to think in terms of what we could do to make education 10x greater rather than just settle for a 10% improvement.
There were also a number of local/regional presenters at the institute. One of my favorite presenters was Josh Stumpenhorst @stumpteacher. He presented a session titled Teaching: Through a New Lens. It was really a lesson on transforming your teaching and why we teach like we do. If you have a chance to hear Josh speak, make sure you do, or follow him on twitter. You can also read his thoughts on his blog at stumpteacher.blogspot.com
We also had some great "hands on" presentations utilizing google tools. I really latched on to using Google+ Communities to create connected learning communities and PLCs. I have already created a Google+ Community for our ed tech team to keep in contact and to post common processes and policies to keep everyone updated. I also joined a Google Educator Group for Chicagoland community. If you would like to check it out, you can find it here.