The Wired Educator Podcast

Kelly interviews Ryan McLane about his new book, "Your School Rocks... So Tell People!" Ryan co-authored this book with Eric Lowe. Ryan is the principal of Big Walnut Intermediate School, located in Sunbury, Ohio. He is passionate about making sure students are learning and having fun at the same time. Ryan began his career as a high school social studies and business teacher, where he taught for twelve years. He is a graduate of Muskingum College and Xavier University. Ryan lives just outside of Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and two daughters. This is a great interview for everyone to listen, whether you consider yourself the social media king or queen, a newbie, or someone who adamantly refuses to ever use social media. Ryan's book and intervew is a real eye opener, and makes you rethink your role in education. There are takeaways for everyone. Ryan and I talk about how schools can promote what they are doing in the best possible manner and what not to be concerned about when doing it. I really enjoyed my c

Kelly interviews George Couros, author of the book The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity. George Couros is a leading educator in the area of innovative leadership, teaching, and learning. He has worked with all levels of school–from K-12 as a teacher and technology facilitator, school and district administrator, and is the author of the book The Innovator’s Mindset; Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity. He is one of education’s most sought after speakers, and speaks on the topic of innovative student learning and engagement and has worked with schools and organizations around the globe. George is also the creator of connectedprincipals.com, an initiative that brings educators and leaders together from around the world to create powerful learning opportunities for students. In the pre-roll Kelly talks about his students building books using MacBooks and iBooks Author, iPads and Book Creator, and Comic Life software by Plasq. Al

Kelly Croy interviews Ross Cooper about how teachers and administrators can work better together to achieve common goals, promote their schools, provide better professional development, why educators and administrators should blog and so much more. One of the best takeaways from this interview is listening to two friends passionate about education talking honestly about their observations in education and how they can better communicate and work together. Ross is brilliant. Also, as a foodie, Ross will share the secret location of the best pizza on the planet!  Ross is the Supervisor of Instructional Practice K-12 in the Salisbury Township School District (1:1 MacBook/iPad) in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator and a Google Certified Teacher. His passions are: curriculum and unit design, inquiry-based learning, assessment and grading, and quality professional development. He blogs about these topics at rosscoops31.com. Also, he regularly engages in speaking, consulting, and present

Kelly interviews Starr Sackstein, the author of Hacking Assessment: 10 Ways to Go Gradeless in a Traditional Grade School. Starr is a veteran teacher, has earned her National Board Certification, is the author of numerous books on education, and has been recognized for her work in education by The Dow Jones New Fund, Education Updated, among others. She is an amazing educator, writer, blogger, and speaker. You will be thinking differently about assessment after this interview, and you will find ways to modify and level-up your assessment. Starr shares some fantastic take-aways for you to apply. (25:59) Mentioned in this podcast: Starr's new book: Hacking Assessment: 10 Ways to Go Gradeless in a Traditional Grade School Starr's other books: Click here to view the list. Sigma 5 Edu Con Conference: http://www.5sigmaeducon.com Starr Sackstein's blog: http://starrsackstein.com Most Influential Book: Ken O'Connor's Fifteen Fixes for Broken Grades Project Based Learning Periscope app: https://www.periscope.tv Voxer

Kelly interviews educator Dan Tricarico, author of the new book The Zen Teacher. The Zen Teacher is a great book that has the potential to positively change your lifestyle inside and outside the classroom by providing specific techniques for becoming more focused, relaxed, and mindful. This is a fun interview about an important topic that can help teachers at any point in their career, whether they are just getting started, rocking it, struggling, or about to retire. Many great take-aways for everyone in this episode.  Mentioned in the podcast: Dan Tricarico's book, The Zen Teacher. www.TheZenTeacher.com This is Dan's website. Check it out.  iBookHack: Learn to make engaging, media-rich ibooks. Muse: a meditation headband for practicing mindfulness. Very cool. Breathe: An app that teaches meditation. Headspace: an app and a service that teaches mindfulness. Illusions by Richard Bach: A book Dan I both read and love. Dragon Dictation: Powerful software for quickly getting your voice to text. Essentialism by Gr

In Episode 21 of The Wired Educator Podcast Kelly interviews Michael Matera, the author of the new book, Explore Like a Pirate. Michael Matera has taught for more than a decade using interactive play, passion and purpose-driven learning to transform the classroom in international, public and private schools. He is a pioneer in the field of education, using gamification and technology to increase authentic student engagement and content acquisition.  Along with being a full time teacher at University School of Milwaukee, Michael is also a nationally-known presenter and international consultant of game-based learning. Additionally, he is the author of Explore Like a Pirate: Gamification and Game-Inspired Course Design to Engage, Enrich and Elevate Your Learners. He was named one of ASCD Emerging Leaders in 2015 for infusing best practices in the field with accessible gamified teaching methods.   Michael is driven to transform education through theoretical and technological applications that identify and inspire

In this episode of the Wired Educator Podcast, Kelly interviews Don Goble about media literacy. Making movies and getting creative with sound, images, and movies can impact anyclassroom and every classroom. This is a wonderful interview with an amazing educator. Don Goble is an award-winning Multimedia Instructor at Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis, Missouri. The National Journalism Education Association named Don as their Broadcast Adviser of the Year 2015. Don speaks internationally at conferences, conventions, and professional development workshops offering educators innovative ways to incorporate video and media literacy into the classroom. Don was a part of the 2011 Apple Distinguished Educator class. Connect with Don on Twitter @dgoble2001. Celebrate your students work. Publish your students work. Mentioned in this interview: Don Goble's publications in the iTunes store can be viewed here.  Visit Don Goble's classroom website by clicking here. Click here to visit Don Goble's professional we

Season 2 of The Wired Educator Podcast begins with an amazing interview with Apple Distinguished Educator, Anthony Johnson. Anthony is a passionate educator and an inspiration to students and teachers alike. I'm so excited for you to hear Anthony's story and learn what he is doing differently in and outside his classroom. This is an amazing interview! Anthony lives in Salisbury, NC with his wife of twenty years and their three daughters. In his school years, Anthony was a terrible student and a teacher’s nightmare who stayed in trouble. During that time, he failed 4th, 7th, 8th and 9th grades before dropping out of high school at the age of 16. Anthony received his G.E.D. and moved from job to job for nearly a decade. He later enrolled at Livingstone College and graduated in 4 years with a degree in Elementary Education. His goal is to teach with enthusiasm and give his students a different experience from his own in grade school. Teaching is his passion and his desire to help young people succeed has afforde

The Wired Educator Podcast kicks off its second season by taking a look back at what worked inside and outside the classroom and a look ahead at the plan for 2016. Listeners will get some insight on setting goals and finishing strong. Kelly outlines numerous programs that he and his colleagues have implemented this year that are beneficial for you and your students. Please leave a 5 Star Review and a comment on iTunes for The Wired Educator Podcast. In this session: How to turn your dreams into accomplishments. Genius HourMentoring ProgramNew MicrophoneThe most important letter you can request.Co-TeachingTeamingThe importance of attending students' extracurricular events.Teaching with an iPad.LMSEngaging parentsiBooks and iTunes U CoursesKelly's new app for iOS devices: an update.Kelly mentions several upcoming products he is producing for 2016. A Big Thank-You! Mentioned in this podcast: Pure Genius by Don WettrickAlong Came a Leader by Kelly CroyA high quality and affordable microphonewww.AlongCameALeader.c

On this episode, Kelly interviews Kristin Ziemke, the author of the new book Amplify. Kristen and Kelly talk about literacy, technology in education, and a whole range of topics on how to make a greater impact as a teacher. This is a great interview, and one that was requested by many listeners. Kristin's mantra came to her literally from a fortune cookie that read: "The best teacher is also a student." She has taught in both urban and suburban school districts including primary grades in Chicago. She engages students in authentic learning experience where reading, thinking and collaboration and inquiry are the very heart of the curriculum. Kristin pairs her best practice instruction with digital tools to transform learning in the classroom and beyond. Kristin is an Apple Distinguished Educator, National Board Certified Teacher, and Chicago's 2013 Tech Innovator of the Year. Mentioned in this podcast: Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom by Kristin Ziemke Connecting Comprehension and Te

This podcast is way more than just how to start a Lego Mindstorm Robotics Club with your Middle School Science students, although that alone is amazing. This post also inspires teachers to start engagin clubs for students and shows them how to do it. Leah LaCrosse is an amazing Science teacher at McCormick Junior High School in Huron, Ohio. She is an Apple Distinguished Educator. She has been recognized for work in education on many levels by many organizations. I absolutely love the robotics club she started with her students and wanted to share her passion and knowledge with all of the wired educators out there that read the blog and tune in to the podcast. Leah is amazing. Leah loves using technology in the classroom. Her room is outfitted with MacBooks, iPads, a 3D printer, Lego Robots, Little Bits, and more. She focuses on technology, problem solving and team work. Her latest accomplishment is her #flexibleseating program, which she describes as: "The room is a blend of traditional desks, lab tables, par

Wired Educator host, Kelly Croy, interviews the "Millionaire Educator" Ed Mills from www.millionaireeducator .com. Ed is a high school Spanish teacher in Georgia where he lives with his wife and fourth grade son. Ed blogs about financial independence and wealth building from a teacher's perspective. He has amassed an incredible personal wealth by applying his five pillars of financial independence. Ed's message and website is to help educators live a better lifestyle by applying some basic but important rules of finances. His fortune has been built not by speaking engagements and endorsements, but by applying some basic rules that you will learn in this podcast. (Sometimes Ed doesn't even work full time.) Mentioned in this podcast: www.millionaireeducator.comwww.Vanguard.comwww.403bWise.com The book The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. StanleyThe Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. StanleyYou Need a Budget: Software to Help You Budget Easily and Wisely  Discussed in this Podcast: Financial Advice for the First Y

The Maker Movement is for everyone. Roger Wagner's awesome software HyperStudio has allowed my students and me to create amazing interactive projects from earliest days of teaching to creating interactive iBooks Author widgets today. In this podcast I interview Roger Wagner. Roger Wagner is a former Physics, Chemistry and Math teacher, patent-holding inventor, and was named by Technology & Learning Magazine as one of the top 5 "Most Important Educational Technology Gurus of the Past Two Decades", along with Seymour Papert, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. Roger is best-known for his creation of the program HyperStudio, and more recently, the HyperDuino. As an educator, software designer, and educational technology visionary with 30 years of experience, Roger Wagner has worked with numerous K-12 schools, as well as college and university teacher preparation programs, in their models for the creation of highly interactive student projects. Mentioned in this Podcast: HyperStudio: Software every teac

This episode is an interview with Erin Olson. Erin's work as an educator has been recognized by CNN, The New York Times, and more.  Erin is a former middle school teacher and a former high school English teacher and now serves as an Instructional technology consultant. Erin has been nominated twice for a Bammy. Erin advocates for the power of student contribution, explaining, "I do not want my students to be the best in the world, I want them to be the best FOR the world."   Mentioned in this podcast: It's Complicated by Danah Boyd   Dr. Seuss Collection   The Maker Space Manifesto by Mark Hatch

Graduation is the most special moment in a student's schooling and it should be a special time each year for educators. Find out how you as educator can help make commencement special for your students and school regardless if you are a primary educator, middle school teacher, or high school faculty. Included in this episode are many ideas on whether you should attend commencement, graduation celebrations, gift ideas, and more. This podcast will inspire educators to be life-long educators to their students. In honor or Memorial Day, this episode is dedicated to Sgt. Keith Kline, a former student, who was killed in Iraq. The Wired Educator Podcast is dedicated to help educators become their best and live an extraordinary lifestyle. 

Wired Educator interviews Kaci Heins about her accomplishments and recognition by NASA as a 6th grade educator and how she and her students sent a balloon and a GoPro Camera to the edge of space, and more!  Kaci Heins is a 6th grade science teacher at Northland Preparatory Academy in Flagstaff, Arizona.  She has a passion for integrating STEM into the classroom through hands-on projects and engineering design challenges.  Her hope for her students is that they will develop a love of learning and to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.  Kaci is the 2014 Air Force Association National Aerospace Teacher of the Year, the Flagstaff STEM Teacher of the Year, an Arizona Ambassador for Excellence, and an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Educator Achievement Award winner. Mentioned on this podcast: Seabiscuit Socrative Nearpod Stratostar See Kaci's webpage and balloon video here!  

An interview with Dave Burgess, author of the widely popular Teach Like a Pirate. Dave tells his story of becoming a pirate and how he is helping educators increase student engagement, boost creativity, and transform lives! Mentioned in this Podcast: Teach Like a Pirate P is for Pirate Learn Like a Pirate Pure Genius Ditch That Textbook Dave Burgess Website Jamstick Drones Create Conference iBook Hack Event Play-Doh

In this episode I discuss why I believe every educator should host a blog and how to get started. Please check out this free tutorial that promises you will be able to start your blog in less than 20 minutes.  In this episode: • Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk • Why educators should blog? • What are the benefits? • How do I get started? • What do I write about? • I can't blog! Yes, you can! • What tools do I need? Mars Edit Scrivener • Does blogging cost money? • Can blogging make money? • I don't have time to blog! Yes, you do! And more. 

Episode 8 is an interview with Christine DiPaulo and we are talking about her amazing work as an Apple Distinguished Educator, and we will get a glimpse inside her amazingly innovative school, The String Theory High School for the Arts and Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If you are interested in creating a culture of innovation in your classroom, school, district, or organization, you will not want to miss this episode.  Intro:  • Keynote Speaker for two organizations this week. • Rotary • Teen Challenge • Expanding your classroom and influence. • Speaking Fees • Helping Others • Educational Technology & Cancellations • 8 Weeks on iTunes & Your Reviews Interview: • Christine DiPaulo Christine DiPaulo is an Apple Distinguished Educator and an Innovation Specialist at String Theory Schools in Philadelphia, PA. "The String Theory High School for the Arts & Sciences offers students who have an interest in the arts, language, science and technology the opportunity to engage in a curriculum that

In this episode I interview Reshan Richards, an Apple Distinguished Educator and co-creator of the wonderful iOS app, Explain Everything.  Interested in writing a book, creating a hit app in the App Store? Dr. Reshan Richards is an educator, researcher, and entrepreneur. Currently an instructor at Teachers College, Columbia University and the Chief Learning Officer for Explain Everything which he co-founded, Reshan is also the co-author of Leading Online: Leading the Learning, Leading by Learning. Reshan has led conversations and workshops around the world based on his 15+ experiences in K-20 education at gatherings including TEDxNYED, SXSWedu, ISTE, and AERA. An Apple Distinguished Educator and member of Mensa, Reshan has an Ed.D. in Instructional Technology & Media from Teachers College, Columbia University, an Ed.M in Learning and Teaching from Harvard University and a B.A. in Music from Columbia University. Mentioned in this podcast:  PBS Learning Media Digital Learning Innovator 2015 Morris Cooke Exp