See you in Bali in March?
Well it would seem that the third time’s a charm. After applying over several years to join the Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) program, I’ve been officially accepted into the class of 2013. I’ve documented my previous attempts to enter the program here on my blog, and continue to get numerous hits every day on that post from people seeking information about the program. Thanks to your feedback on my previous attempts, I was able to fine-tune my application this year, and better express what it means to me to use technology effectively in education.
I’ve had a chance to poke around in the ADE community site a bit already, and am really encouraged by what I’ve seen so far. The ADE network is a community of forward-thinking educators that are genuinely engaging with technology in their classroom in ways that make a real difference to student understanding. I’m proud to be joining this group, and am already looking forward to our institute together in March.
Maybe I’ll see you there?
brian farrell 
Did you complete iBooks, iTunes U courses, etc? I am having trouble getting Apple to approve my iBooks in time to submit my application and am wondering if I will be considered without every element in place.
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Hi ‘fogarty22’,
As far as I’m aware, there isn’t a formal requirement to have these things in place in order to apply. The application asks you to list any that you may have created, but my understanding is that this is to help support your application and demonstrate some of the work that you’ve been doing. There are other areas in the application where you could make mention of works in progress if they haven’t been formally approved yet, and you could also include some screen shots in your application video.
There could very well be regional differences in the application process though (I’m in Asia), so I would try to find an Apple contact in your region to double-check and/or re-read through the application requirements if need be.
Best of luck with your application!
Brian
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Hey Brian,
Thanks for sharing your journey. I’m getting ready to apply for the first time (in the US), and am unsure about the character limit on the essay section. Did you have this limitation on your application? I’m unsure if the 3,500 character limit is per section or total, and have no idea who to ask for clarification.
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Hi Lindsey,
I think my application form looked different than yours. Mine had several sections rather than one large essay-type field, and I don’t recall seeing a character limit.
I’m not sure who to contact at Apple in the US unfortunately (maybe there’s a help link somewhere on the form?), but one idea if you’re running out of space might be to link to artifacts that you have elsewhere online that might help support your application.
I think they’re really looking for quality over quantity though, so I would try to stick to limit and be as specific as possible.
Best of luck with your application!
Brian
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Mine also has several sections, but a character limit is mentioned – it just isn’t very clear. Thanks for the input & ideas, though. Congrats!!
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Pingback: Apple Distinguished Educator Reject « brian farrell
how have you been accepted to the ’13 class if application deadline was the 15th, did they accept people early?
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Glad to hear that the third time was the charm. I just put in for the class of 2013 here in the US. This was my first time applying. Perhaps our paths will cross in the future. Does anyone know when they notify us by if we just applied here in the states? The deadline was this past week.
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Congratulations! As yours was one of the blog posts I looked at when looking for inspiration when making my video, it’s seems only right that you got accepted (at last!).
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Thanks for the replies.
The deadline is different for each region, and here in Asia it was early December. People in each country in the Asia region then found out whether they were accepted or not at a different time, but all within probably 3-4 weeks after the deadline. The first couple of times that I applied and was turned down, I still received a notification email. Be patient, keep checking your inbox, and keep an eye on your spam folder just in case it winds up there by mistake!
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Brian,
First of all, congrats!!!!! I am waiting to hear back from my US application and I am anxious! I know it will be an amazing experience for you.
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Thanks, I’m very much looking forward to it. Best of luck to you!
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Congratulations! I applied this year and am eagerly checking my inbox – although I suspect I won’t hear for quite a while longer… The fact that you are so qualified and had to apply three times is so intimidating!
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Thanks Jennifer. I still think that the qualification criteria is a bit of an unknown factor and likely varies from region to region. But perseverance does pay off it seems!
Keep your fingers crossed!
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hi Brian, how’s things with the ADE Program at the moment? I have also invited to apply as ADE class of 2013 but unfortunately I failed. Is there any tips that you can share in order to get a bigger chance to be accepted as an ADE next year?
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Hi Wahyu.
Sharing my application video with others and listening to their feedback helped me to paint a better picture of myself. And I kept at it – don’t get discouraged, as many people apply several times before they get in, and I know many great educators that have been turned down.
Brian
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Did you end up sharing your successful video application?
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Hi Sonya,
No, I don’t think I ended up posting it anywhere. Are you applying for the 2015 program? If so, best of luck with it!
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I have applied. My video was not at all fancy although not terrible either. Just not as creative as some people. I am thankful that I didn’t search for #ADE2015 on Twitter BEFORE I submitted my video or I may not have gone through with it!
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I’m sure you’ll do well Sonya. Best of luck with it anyway, and hopefully I’ll see you this summer!
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