Ladies and gentlemen, The EdTech Bites Podcast has officially gone international! Yeah I said it, international baby! In episode 12, I chat with David Kofoed Wind to discuss Peergrade. David lives in Copenhagen, Denmark and is the CEO and creator of Peergrade. For those of you who do not know what Peergrade is all about, let me explain it to you. What do you do when students turn in a rough draft of an essay? You usually randomly hand them back so they may do a bit of peer editing. Students usually mark them up with corrections, ideas, and feedback. Imagine being able to do this with digital submissions via Google Classroom! That’s exactly what Peergrade gives you the power to do. Boom! Bang! Pow! David discusses the ins and outs of Peergrade, the importance of student feedback, as well as Danish cuisine which includes a dessert named Rødgrød Med Fløde. It’s a strawberry pudding that is topped with fresh cream. It sounds delicious but do not ask me to pronounce it, I’ll leave that to him. Check out this episode and check out Peergrade as well. It integrates with Google Classroom and other LMS platforms for ease of use for teachers as well as students. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and please leave a review. Thank you and as always, Buen Provecho! In this case, Velbekomme!
Author: edtechbites
Ep. 11: Leadership, Dan, and Desserts
In this episode, I sit down and chat with Dan Kreiness to discuss leadership and his podcast, Leader of Learning. He’s carving his own niche in the educational podcast world with a fresh perspective on leadership. This is a must-subscribe podcast for anyone who wants to hear from innovative leaders in the educational field. In addition, we discuss donuts from his favorite spot in Connecticut, Donut Crazy. Ironically, there’s a great BBQ restaurant that he recommends to anyone that wants great BBQ in the Connecticut area, Hoodoo Brown BBQ. If you’d like to subscribe to his podcast, look for it on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and other podcast platforms. Don’t forget to leave a review and as always, enjoy and Buen Provecho!
Ep. 10: Microcredentialing, Chad, and Chicago Eats
In this episode, I sit down with a good friend and colleague of mine, Chad Belford. We met up at an authentic Chicago eatery called Wise Guys in San Antonio and discussed microcredentialing, digital badging, and of course…Chicago eats. This is definitely a “squirrel!” episode with lots of side conversation but hey, that’s dinner table talk right? We manage to discuss what we’ve come across in our own research of “how to” digital badge and the pros of it. We’re ready to start rolling this out in our district and would love to hear your journey in Microcredentialing and Digital Badging. Also, if you’d like to tell us about your favorite Italian eatery, please chime in on Twitter with #EdTechBites. As always, enjoy and Buen Provecho! Or in this case, Buon appetito!
Ep. 9 Microcredentialing and Badging Part 1
In this first part of a 2 part series, I sit down by my lonesome to discuss Microcredentialing and Digital Badging. What are they and what do they mean to teachers, admin, and parents? Are they here to stay? Is there a such thing as overbadging? Voice your opinions and thoughts on Twitter using #EdTechBites. Part 2 will be out later this week and will feature my good friend Chad Belford and a great friend of ours, Italian food.
Hoonuit Live will be back August 26th and is all about Student Voice. Register Here for this event. For every 50 people who register, Hoonuit will be donating a $50.00 Amazon gift card to a classroom effected by Hurricane Harvey. Please register to help these classrooms and hear from great presenters and panelists discuss Student Voice. The presenters and panelists are Dan Kreiness, STEAM Nerds, Curran Central, Austin Tong, Cindy Hopkins, John Bimmerle, Joy Schwartz, Michelle Smith, Alan Natachu, Amy Storer, Maria Del Valle, Michael Drezek, Rachelle Dene Poth, and Myself.
Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. As always, enjoy and Buen Provecho!
Death By…
If your refrigerator was empty, your next step would probably be to make a list of groceries for your next shopping trip. Which items would make it on your list? Eggs, bread, butter, milk, cold cuts, etc. Most of us usually buy the same 100 or so items when shopping, that’s it. We don’t stray away from our comfort items and necessities. However, when we go out to a restaurant and order an item that has ingredients other than that in your shopping list, it tastes great and we suddenly say,
“We need to make this at home!”
“This is different, but delicious!”
“I could get used to this!”
The same goes for using digital tools in the classroom. Why are we “Kahooting” our students to death? In no way am I saying that Kahoot is not a great formative assessment tool in the classroom. What I’m saying is that it’s not the only one out there. We’ve all heard of “Death By PowerPoint” and I’m comfortable in saying that “Death By Kahoot” is not too far off. Think for a second to your classroom or classrooms that you’ve visited in your educational role. I’m pretty sure that you’ve probably seen some sort of “Death By …”. As educators, we get comfortable with what works for us and that comfortable recliner is one that is difficult to get out of. When we do learn of a new tool or resource, we usually like it and see its value but then get turned off by the fact that we now have to create content with that new tool from scratch. Let’s think of this from a student perspective.
Diego walks into his 1st period at EdTech Bites Middle School and sits through a 28 minute PowerPoint and then takes a quiz through Google Forms after. Once he completes the quiz, he begins gathering his items and waits for the bell to ring. His 2nd period teacher does the same thing, and so does his 3rd period teacher. By the end of the day, his only deviations from this were lunch and gym class. Would you like to have the same coffee and bagel everyday for breakfast? There’s nothing wrong with coffee and a bagel but wouldn’t it be nice to have a blueberry scone or a veggie omelette on occasion? Sure, that scone would take some work to prepare and bake. On the other hand, your family would be grateful that you took the time and effort to change things up.
Variety is the spice of life. Sure there are things that we always like to count on but there are instances where variety has value and can give you a bit more insight. Our digital toolboxes are growing yet some of those tools needs to be dusted off and used more. By doing so, you’re changing things up for your students and exposing them to other means of presenting, taking a quiz, and giving input. Don’t they deserve it? I know my children do. Do yours?
Who Has The Time To Do That?
“Who has time to do that?”
Often times, this is the response I get from my audience while delivering some sort of professional development that deals with digital tools, infusing technology, or instructional strategies. It is true, many of these tools and strategies do require some work up front. That can be a daunting task to anyone who is unfamiliar with a new tool or way of doing something. Instead of thinking of it as a time consuming task, think of it as time invested in trying something that might just work better, faster, and more effectively. With this in mind, what can we do as leaders, coaches, mentors, and colleagues?
Instead of teaching and moving on, let’s present options. Make time during these training for attendees to explore the pre-made units, lessons, and examples that many of these tools have curated. Show them how to download these and tweak them to fit their specific classroom needs. In addition to this, we can also show them how these tools offer something that all teachers want more of, differentiation. By downloading and modifying a pre-made lesson, formative assessment, or unit, we have now showed them how simple it is to meet their students’ unique needs whether they be cognitive or linguistic. Why stop there? Having them get together with their teammates also gives them the ability to collaborate and truly begin to build a library of resources and lessons ready for them to use at a moment’s notice. If the 5th grade team gets together and builds one specific lesson or assessment each, they now have multiple lessons that they can build upon or modify. Instead of saying “Who has time to do that?” teachers will begin saying “How come we didn’t do this before?”
We all know that time is of the essence, especially in education. Keeping that in mind, working smart while working hard will ultimately give us more time to do a little bit more for ourselves. For you, it might be going to the gym, going home a bit earlier, or reading that book you’ve heard so much about. Try it. You and your students deserve it.
Ep. 8: Mason and DFW Eats
I had the privilege of sitting down with Mason (@edtechmason) on this episode of The EdTech Bites Podcast. If you know anything about the EdTech movers and shakers in Texas, then you probably know or know of Mason. This is the first episode with no food is involved but it is still good conversation, which included food talk. Specifically, Dallas, Forth Worth eats. He gives us some insight into his journey to where he is now. He’s served as a people person with Apple, a teacher, and more than anything, an advocate for Educational Technology. He’s now an Education Technology National Instructor for EdTech Teacher and travels while sharing his dominoes (listen to this episode to know what I’m talking about). I promise you, you’ll be engaged and more than anything, inspired. As always, Enjoy and Buen Provecho!
Ep. 7: Wes, Todd, Tacos, and Tips
In this episode, I’m joined by Wes Ryan (@weswryan) and Todd Bloomer (@yankee_todd) at Viva Tacoland to discuss back to school tips for teachers, admin, parents, and students. Wes got down with the chipotle chicken tacos while Todd went in on a trio of pulled pork. I tend to judge a taco establishment on its fish tacos so that’s what I went with. In addition to these, we all ordered a steaming bowl of corn with cheese, spices, and a touch of love. We were all very impressed with the tacos but I for one was blown away by their corn. Following the food came great conversation. We touched upon tips and strategies for teachers as well as what parents need to observe in order to have piece of mind when dropping our kids off for school. We didn’t stop there, we also discussed what students can do to fit in and be a part of the school culture. Enjoy this episode and please do not forget to leave a review. Talk to you soon!
Ep. 6: Jaime, Carne Asada Fries, and Forehead Juice
In episode 6 of the EdTech Bites podcast, I sit down and have a chat (via Google Hangouts) with Jaime Donally (@JaimeDonally) to discuss AR, VR, and MR. For those of you who don’t know, Jaime is known worldwide for her expertise in these three tools and shares her knowledge using #ARVRinEDU. I munch on some Carne Asada Fries, and Jaime…well let’s just say she forgot to bring food to her table. Maybe next time. To read more about Jaime and all of her resources check out her website (tiny.cc/jd). As always, enjoy, subscribe, and don’t forget to leave a review!
Ep. 5: Student Perspective and Dessert
In this episode, I sit down with 3 students to discuss their perspective on the technology they are exposed to in the classroom. We discuss devices and usage while having various desserts including donuts, cupcakes, and fresh fruit. Teachers, take note as to what the students mention and even more importantly, what they don’t mention. Enjoy!