The Wired Educator Podcast

In this episode the Wired Educator Podcast I talk 3D printing in education with the founder of MakerGear, Rick Pollack. You're going to love it regardless of what grade or content you teach. 3D printing is fun, engaging, and brings creation to ANY classroom.    Rick Pollack is the founder and owner of MakerGear LLC. MakerGear designs, engineers and manufactures desktop and benchtop 3d printers. Rick started MakerGear in his Cleveland, Ohio garage in 2009. MakerGear was one of the first companies in desktop 3d printing and helped to bring 3d printers to the masses. Prior to MakerGear, Rick worked as a software developer for many years and for a variety of companies, large and small. He was a principal in a very early online CRM startup for the automobile industry and that company was acquired in 2000. Rick has a BS in Computer Science from the University of Cincinnati. You can often find Rick hiking in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Mentioned in this Episode: Visit the MakerGear website at: www.makerge

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Chey and Pav, two energetic and fun educators who host one of my favorite podcasts, The Staff Room Podcast. You're going to love listening to this interview. I encourage you to subscribe to their podcast and follow them on Twitter and Instagram. They are amazing.  Chey and Pav, two experienced middle school teachers from the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada, take listeners through the in’s and out’s of the field of Teaching, Learning, and Leadership. Through their anecdotal, yet often comedic banter, laced with caring insightfulness, they take their audience into a conversation that is surely eye-opening and entertaining, while tackling some of the real, and ever-changing issues that exist in Education. Come join Chey and Pav; partake in the Staff Room chatter that all teachers and educators can connect with. Mentioned in this episode:  Follow The Staff Room Podcast on Instagram. Click here.  Follow The Staff Room Podcast on Twitter. Click her

This episode of The Wired Educator Podcast is an awesome interview with Erik Youngman on homework, assessment and growth mindset. Erik is brilliant. I am so proud to share his story and work with you! Erik Youngman is an education leader who is passionate about topics such as homework, grading, leadership, and growth mindset.  He recently began his twentieth year in educational leadership.  Erik is the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for Libertyville District 70 in Libertyville, Illinois.  Previous education experiences include being a principal in Libertyville as well as an assistant principal and teacher in Gurnee, Illinois. Erik earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Education Specialist Degree, and Master of Science in Education from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Arts from Augustana College.  Erik is the author of Deliberate Homework. Learn how to assign homework that truly enhances learning and isn't just busywork. This important book defines what deliberate h

In this 183rd episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Rachelle Dene Poth.    Rachelle Dene Poth is an edtech consultant, presenter, attorney, author, and teacher. Rachelle teaches Spanish and STEAM: What’s nExT in Emerging Technology at Riverview Junior Senior High School in Oakmont, PA. Rachelle has a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Master’s in Instructional Technology. She is a Consultant and Speaker, owner of ThriveinEDU LLC Consulting. She serves as the past-president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network and serves on the Leadership team of the Mobile Learning Network. At ISTE19, she received the Making IT Happen Award and a Presidential Gold Award for volunteer service to education. She is also a Buncee Ambassador, Nearpod PioNear and Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert. Rachelle is the author of four books, ‘In Other Words: Quotes That Push Our Thinking,” “Unconventional Ways to Thrive in EDU” (EduMatch) and “The Future is Now: Looking Back to Move Ahead,”

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Hans Appel.  Hans Appel is an educator, speaker, and writer deeply committed to inspiring the whole child.  He’s the author of, Award Winning Culture: Building School-Wide Intentionality and Action Through Character, Excellence, and Community.  Additionally, he’s the Director of Culture for the Teach Better Team, Co-host of the Award Winning Culture podcast, and the Co-Creator of Award Winning Culture.  He’s worked as a counselor in the Richland School District for the past 19 years and at Enterprise Middle School since it opened.  He’s passionate about school culture, servant leadership, and kindness.  In 2018, EMS was awarded the ASCD Whole Child Award for the State of Washington and the Global “Class Act Award” for creating a culture of excellence through kindness, service, and empathy.  Additionally, they were selected as a finalist in the 2019 PBIS Film Festival and took top prize in the Community, Parents, and Staff category.   In 2018, Hans la

In this interview with Josh Stamper, Josh and I talk about trained trauma-informed practices as well as restorative practices. We also talked a great deal about student choice. I explore Josh's work with The Teach Better Team, his Aspire Podcast, and leadership. You are going to love this episode. Joshua Stamper is a middle school Assistant Principal for a North Texas School District, where he's had the amazing opportunity to work at four campuses in two districts as an art teacher, athletic coach, Dean of Students, and Assistant Principal. He is the host of The Aspire Leadership Podcast, a podcast designed to help others become better leaders.  Joshua is married with five kids. Joshua and his wife, Leslie, became foster parents in 2011, and had the privilege of adopting three of their children from foster care. Joshua is trained in trauma-informed practices for meeting the emotional, social, and behavioral needs of children who have been through adverse childhood experiences, which Joshua also applies to his

In this episode Knikole Taylor and I talk about personalized professional learning, giving teachers a voice, meeting with every teacher, becoming a barrier remover for teachers, and getting excited about the lessons that you’re planning and how you will teach it! Nichole Taylor encourages the use of badging for professional learning and we have some powerful conversations about the state of education in these challenging times. As a director of innovation and instruction for my school, I am always looking for ways to help educators but I don’t want to interfere with all the work they’re trying to do. Sometimes it’s like walking a tight rope between professional learning and the work they have to do each and every day. I want to support them and help them, but sometimes it is difficult to find a way into a teacher's busy day, and the last thing I want to do is create more work for them. Well, Knikole gave me some great ideas on how to personalize professional learning for teachers in my district. I think it’s

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Educator, International Trainer, Keynote Speaker & Bestselling Author, Ca In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Educator, International Trainer, Keynote Speaker & Bestselling Author, Catlin Tucker. Catlin Tucker is amazing. We have a wonderful conversation about how to help teachers right now in education's greatest challenge as educators face the multitude of remote, hybrid, and in-person instruction. Catlin offers genuine examples and help. This an extremely helpful interview for all educators right now feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.  Click here to listen to this interview. Dr. Catlin Tucker is a bestselling author, international trainer, and keynote speaker. She was named Teacher of the Year in 2010 in Sonoma County, where she taught for 16 years. Catlin earned her doctorate in learning technologies at Pepperdine University. Currently, Catlin is working as a blended learning coach and education consultant. Catlin h

In this episode of the Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Tim Cavey. Tim is the host of an amazing podcast titled, Teachers on Fire. If you are a listener of my podcast, you will love Tim's. It is awesome. Tim is an educator and educational leader from Vancouver Canada. The two of us have an amazing conversation about content creation, podcasting, the future of education, leadership, and instruction during this pandemic. This episode is so much fun and has so many takeaways, you’re going to need an extra suitcase. Click here to listen to this episode.  Tim Cavey is a husband, stepfather of two, 8th grade teacher, and assistant principal in Vancouver, Canada. In 2019, he completed a Master’s in Educational Leadership degree that re-ignited his fire for teaching and put him on a new path of growth, professional reflection, and content creation. Tim’s a firm believer in the growth mindset and advocates often for the kinds of informal professional learning that can be found on social media and in blogs, vlogs, o

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Traci Browder. Traci is an amazing educator that can help all of us make the greatest impact on students' lives through the challenges of teaching in a pandemic. She is an expert in remote instruction, creating and curating incredibly helpful content for teachers in this time of need. She was named teacher of the year her first year teaching, and once again in another district. She hosts the amazing Intelligogy Podcast. She leads important chats and discussions ranging from leadership, instruction, curriculum, and race. She produces content for educators six days a week. In short, Traci is amazing, and I am so proud to share her with you in this episode. She has helped me so much personally and professionally. This is a powerful episode. You will leave feeling awesome about yourself, your impact, and you will have a guide of where you need to go. I love this episode and you will too.   Traci Browder is a trailblazer in education inspiring and me

In this 176th episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Dan Kreiness, host of the Leader of Learning podcast, an extraordinary educational leader and instructional coach in Connecticut. Dan just finished his doctorate in Educational Leadership with a focus on the topic of growth mindset. I enjoy Dan‘s podcast, and I’m excited to have him on the show. We talk about the return to school in all of the different models, growth mindset, remote learning, and instructional coaching.  Dan is a brilliant educational leader. This podcast will help you level-up to make a difference in the lives of students. Let’s go! Thank you for choosing this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast! You are awesome!  Dan and I talk about: Dan's SCOPE acronym for what makes coaching growth mindset a medical doctor's opinion on which learning model is best for students (an interesting discussion) transformational leadership to inspire growth mindsets in teachers maintaining a growth mindset around school reopening instructional

WEP 175 Anything is Possible in a Remote Classrooms, an Interview with Jon Jarc In this episode of the Wired Educator Podcast I have an amazing conversation with Apple Distinguished Educator and STEM/Art teacher, Jon Jarc about teaching in a remote environment. How can you teach an essential class with so many hands-on tools and supplies like STEM and Art while completely remote? Well, Jon did, amazingly well. He excelled at it. He is one amazing educator. We go in many directions in this interview. You are going to love this episode.  Jon is an Apple Distinguished Educator. He is a teacher and technologist at St. Ignatius High School, the Jesuit preparatory school in Cleveland, Ohio. Jon works with teachers integrating technology to their classrooms.  I interviewed Jon way back on episode 59 of this podcast. He inspires me. He is an amazingly caring human and a talented educator. In one of my darkest hours, Jon looked out for me in my family. During quarantine Jon 3D printed projects his students made and sh

In this 174th episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview an amazing educational leader, author of four best selling educational books, and difference-maker, Allyson Apsey. Allyson Apsey is passionate about students and staff and leads others through their strengths. In her role as an elementary principal, she tries to be transparent, vulnerable, and supportive. She is an author, national speaker, and mom to two boys. Despite the fact that she never wanted to set foot in a school again after high school graduation, there is nowhere else she’d rather spend her days than in classrooms. In fact, she doesn’t even have a chair at her desk because she is moving around the school all day long. The challenges and delights of being a principal fill her days with joy. She enjoys nothing more than helping others be the very best they can be. She is so proud of her school district and the Zeeland, MI community, and she loves being the principal of Quincy Elementary. She cannot imagine a more dedicated, passionate,

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Trevor MacKenzie. Trevor is brilliant and has much to offer us as we prepare for this new school year. His knowledge and creative ideas on how to bring inquiry into any learning environment, whether it be remote, hybrid, or traditional is just the instructional practice we need.  Trevor MacKenzie is an award-winning English teacher at Oak Bay High School in Victoria, BC, Canada, who believes that it is a magical time to be an educator.  By increasing student agency over learning, weaving in strong pedagogy, transformative tech use, and sharing learning to a public audience, Trevor’s learners are ready to take on important roles in the 21st century. Trevor is the author of Dive into Inquiry: Amplify Learning and Empower Student Voice as well as Inquiry Mindset: Nurturing the Dreams, Wonders and Curiosities of our Youngest Learners . Follow Trevor on Twitter at: @trev_mackenzie Visti Trevor's website at: www.trevormackenzie.com and on Facebook. Read T

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I have the pleasure to interview with Mike Washburn. Mike is the official Minecraft: Education Edition podcast, host of the insanely popular educational podcast OnEducation, and the Director of Engagement for Participate. I love this conversation with Mike; we go everywhere every educator needs to be right now! I learned a ton about Minecraft, podcasting, education, engagement, and being a good human. This is a must-listen for all educators, but hey! You make the call. Regardless, this podcast is fun, moving, and will help you level-up to continue to make the difference you want to make.  Mike Washburn is the host of the official Minecraft: Education Edition podcast, popular education podcast On-Education, and the Director of Engagement for Participate. He is a professional learning specialist and a Global Minecraft Mentor.  Previously, Mike was a Computer Science teacher in the Toronto area focusing on Robotics and Coding, Game-based Learning, and Game Design. M

I just wanted to take a minute (4 minutes and 22 seconds actually) to explain why I feel the need to press pause on my Wired Educator Podcast. I hope you will take a few minutes to listen, reflect, and offer me some advice.  In short, I have been feeling the need to step back from publishing episodes of The Wired Educator Podcast in order to reflect on all that is going on in the world around me and to adjust and become more intentional in providing solutions.  I am pausing my podcast to: honor and mourn the life of George Floyd and others who have died in the black community, highlight the racism in our world, to reflect on how I can use this platform to help end racism and better elevate the voices of educators in all communities, become more intentional in the content I create and share, to stand with peaceful protestors wanting change, and to learn and grow personally.  I realize it is my responsibility, but I do ask for your help if you are willing to recommend guests and topics that would bring greater

This episode of The Wired Educator Podcast is an awesome interview with Jeff Gargas. Jeff Gargas is the COO and Co-founder of the Teach Better Team and co-author of Teach Better. He works with educators to increase student engagement and improve student success. He also offers 1-on-1 coaching for teachers who have a product or idea they want to share with others to better education. Jeff Gargas is the COO and Co-founder of the Teach Better Team (Creators of www.teachbetter.com, The Grid Method, and Teach Further) and co-author of the book, Teach Better. He works with educators to increase student engagement and improve student success. He also offers 1-on-1 coaching for teachers who have a product or idea they want to share with others to better education. Prior to co-founding Teach Better, Jeff was the owner of ENI Multimedia, an online marketing firm, where he worked with entrepreneurs and small businesses, assisting them with web design, social media, content marketing, and brand awareness.  Prior to all o

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Bill Rankin. He is an amazing educator, and someone I deeply respect and admire. Dr. Rankin was the worldwide Director of Learning at Apple from 2013 through 2016. He is an academic with more than 25 years of classroom experience, and interviews with Rankin have appeared in Wired, The Guardian, The Times of London, Businessweek. He has recently written a fascinating article titled Education is Over. You are going to love it! Dr. William Rankin is a learning-experience and learning-frameworks designer and educational theorist who served as worldwide Director of Learning at Apple from 2013 through 2016. An academic with more than 25 years of classroom experience, Rankin helped design the world’s first smartphone-based one-to-one learning program for higher education, for which he was named Campus Technology magazine’s Innovator of the Year for mobile learning in 2008. In 2009, he was named an Apple Distinguished Educator, and in 2010, he began a three-y

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Kris Felicello, co-author of The Teacher and The Admin: Making Schools Better for Kids. Kris has such rich and diverse experiences in educational leadership experiences. He is brilliant and a lot of fun. You will love our conversation.  Dr. Kris Felicello has been in the field of education for over 25 years as a Teacher, Coach, Athletic Director, Assistant Principal, Principal, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, and he is currently the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services in the North Rockland Central School District in Rockland County, New York.  Kris obtained his Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from St. John’s University in 2011. Dr. Felicello is a leader who wants to make schools a better place for students.  He firmly believes that it is essential to build relationships and foster students’ social-emotional development to ensure a positive and productive educational experience for all students.  Throughou

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Chad Ostrowski. Chad is the co-author of an awesome new book titled Teach Better, he is the creator of an amazing system to help you become a better educator, called The Grid Method, and he is a member of the Teach Better Team, they create awesome resources for educators.  Chad and I really connect in this interview. It’s a lot of fun and it’s full of value. Buckle-up. Chad was Former MS Science teacher in a high needs economically disadvantaged school district. He Developed and created The Grid Method to reach ALL of his students regardless of need. In 2015 Chad founded the Teach Better Team with Jeff Gargas and now works with school districts, schools, and teachers across the country to help them reach more students. As a published author, trainer, and keynote speaker he has helped schools improve student outcomes across the country. Chad and I talk about:  Instruction, Assessment, Mastery Learning, Self-paced learning, student-centered learning, C