Google Fiber Blog: August 2017

Back to School in the Tar Heel State

Thursday, August 31, 2017

This week, North Carolina students headed back to class, and their teachers were ready for them. Beyond arranging their rooms, hosting open houses and preparing lesson plans, teachers are seeking out the tech resources that will make their classroom an environment that is better able to equip students with 21st century skills.
Thanks to a partnership with the Kenan Fellows Program at North Carolina State University, two elementary school STEM educators spent this summer as interns at the Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham Google Fiber offices, experiencing what it’s like to work at a tech company and taking new ideas and experiences back to the classroom.
Michelle McElhiney, a 5th grade teacher at Oakhurst STEAM Academy in Charlotte, and Amelia Robinson, 3rd-grade math teacher at Envision Science Academy serving students in Raleigh and Wake Forest, both dedicated their summer to this project.
Their efforts resulted in two extensive STEM-focused projects, featuring new career-connected curricula and "STEAM To-Go" mobile learning labs or kits. The STEAM To-Go labs pair technology resources like Chromebooks, Makey Makeys, and stop-motion animation tools with lesson ideas and online resources for use in public school classrooms. There are two different mobile lab options. Teachers can choose between "Circuitry and Music" and "Animation and Coding." Each kit comes with a teacher’s guide that helps the teacher get up to speed on the technology, offers links to online tools and apps, makes recommendations for how teachers can connect the projects to state-mandated outcomes and "literacy links" so that they can enhance the grade-level goals in their classroom.
These Google Fiber funded kits are available at no cost to elementary and middle school teachers at the STEM and STEAM academies in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools starting in the fall of 2017. STEAM To-Go mobile labs, which include hardware and educator guides, can be borrowed by teachers for one week, allowing educators to integrate them into classroom activities, link them to literacy extensions and align them with grade level standards. The experiences are designed for kids who have little or no coding experience; educators can easily modify the program for students ranging from lower elementary to middle school.

To launch this project, Google Fiber hosted a back to school reception earlier this month at our Charlotte Google Fiber Space for teachers at STEM elementary and middle schools. More than 60 educators and administrators attended to learn about the STEAM To-Go mobile labs, have fun with hands-on STEM activities and celebrate the start of another school year together.

Stay tuned for more news about upcoming teacher leadership trainings in Raleigh and Durham. Let’s start the school year full STEAM ahead! By Tia Bethea in Raleigh-Durham and Jess George in Charlotte, Google Fiber Community Impact Managers

Marking the moon's march across the sun

Monday, August 21, 2017

Like most of America, Google Fiber was totally fascinated by today’s total solar eclipse.
From coast to coast, we saw our offices and Fiber Spaces do something special to mark the moon’s path across the sun, whether heading outdoors to take it all in or sharing NASA’s live feed with our customers over Fiber’s superfast network in our Fiber spaces.
Two our Fiber Cities were in the “Path of Totality” -- in Nashville (100%), we marked the moment on the roof of our office -- with approved glasses and moon pies and, of course, Music City’s own eclipse playlist. Kansas City (100%) stayed on the ground floor, heading en masse to the City Market Total Eclipse Party together to check out the show.

We didn’t let a smaller percentage of eclipse keep us from enjoying the unusual site, either. In Charlotte (98%), we hosted a party with all the appropriate accoutrement.
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And in Durham (92.6%), we also took to the roof with their glasses to see what we could see.

No matter where we watched, it was a pretty great show. Thanks, moon! Thanks, sun!

Until next time. . . in 2024!

1,000,000 is a good place to start

Friday, August 11, 2017

We take customer service quite seriously around here. In fact, to ensure that we hear your feedback and deliver the service you deserve, we collect survey responses for every interaction with our customers across all Fiber markets — whether you’ve had a visit from one of our installers or needed a repair in your home, or you hit us up on the phone, online, or even through Twitter or Facebook.
So we’re really excited today to celebrate our one millionth satisfied customer survey response!

Over the past five years, we’ve been so lucky to be able to provide superfast Internet to incredible people across each of our markets. What you think really matters to us (in fact, it’s one of our central values), whether we’re doing well or have some things we need to improve.
We appreciate and use that feedback to get better. Thank you to the many of you who told us about your experience. Here are a few of our favorite customer responses that have their own take on a million:
I had about 23 million questions, and [my agent] helped answer all of them. I actually had FUN talking to a customer service representative for once in my life! (Kansas City, KS)
I was a little bit freaking out because a technician was at my apartment installing the unit while I was at work and everything was just a mess. But the agent was very patient with me and even though we ran into a million other technical issues, helped so much. Gold star for customer service, today! (Provo, UT)
It was quick and easy. I was very very impressed and I have loved the quality of my product. I would definitely recommend google fiber a million times over again! (Kansas City, KS) This is just the beginning — we’ll keep working to improve because the most important number in 1,000,000 is 1. We focus on the individual, and we know that we’re only as good as our next interaction with you. And while we hope you won’t need us, know that if you do, we’re here for you. We want to make sure that you are satisfied customer 1,000,001.Posted by Leanna Moskowitz, Customer Service Experience Program Manager

Official Blog

Back to School in the Tar Heel State

Marking the moon's march across the sun

1,000,000 is a good place to start

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