WEP 169: Education is Over, an Interview with Bill Rankin

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-year tenure on the US Board of Apple’s Distinguished Educators program.

Interviews with Rankin have appeared in Wired, The Guardian, The Times of London, Businessweek, The New York Times and The Chronicle for Higher Education and at online sites including InsideHigherEd, Ars Technica, and Open Culture. Rankin has spoken at TEDxDubai and was a featured presenter at London’s Bett Show in 2018 and 2019. He has worked with schools, governments, and learning organizations in more than 30 countries to design, develop, and implement innovative learning and is an expert in mobile- and technology-enhanced learning and constructionism.

Mentioned in this episode: 

Bill’s article, “Education is Over.

Willaim Rankin on TEDxDubai 2011

One of Bill’s choices for most influential book: End of Average by Todd Rose

Here is a link to this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast: http://traffic.libsyn.com/wirededucator/WEP_169_Education_is_Over_An_Interview_with_Bill_Rankin.mp3

Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here. Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcast and subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 169 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

 

WEP 164: What I Learned About Remote Learning After Ten Weeks, an Interview with Stephanie Castle

In this episode of the Wired Educator podcast, I interview Stephanie Castle and share her amazing experience as an educator in Shanghai during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, her ability to adapt and innovate with remote learning, and her adventurous travel from location to location amidst this pandemic. We also discuss her successful return to China, where she was just released from a 14-day quarantine. She is healthy, happy and teaching! She has much to teach us about remote instruction and learning as well as the living of life. Stephanie and her colleagues have been instructing remotely longer than any other teachers. Buckle-up, this is the episode you are looking for! 

Stephanie Castle is a good friend of mine and a fellow Apple Distinguished Educator. I’ve had the good pleasure to travel with her to different parts of the world through the Apple Distinguished Educator Program. She’s a wonderful human and an incredible teacher. She is the first person from whom I ever heard of the term, coronavirus, back in January when she was unable to return to her school in China due to the virus. Stephanie shares her amazing story in this episode and she provides a great perspective and insight on remote instruction and remote learning as well. As I mentioned she is a brilliant educator, and she has a lot to offer. 

Stephanie Castle is an IB Biology teacher at Shanghai American School and an Apple Distinguished Educator. Originally from London, she has taught both High School Biology and Chemistry, previously working at the United Nations International School in New York. Stephanie has a passion for technology integration into the teaching and learning of Science, particularly in giving students opportunities to visualize their learning, explain complex scientific processes and engage in problem-solving. She is the creator of a YouTube channel for IB Biology and author of the published iBook “Creative Clips in Science – Stimulating Inquiry and Visualizing Learning”.  You can follow her work on Twitter @castlestephanie.

Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here. Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcast and subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 150 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

WEP 161: The Most Important Ingredient of Remote Learning

This is the First Episode Since the COVID-19 Pandemic: How are You?

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I do want to discuss the single most important ingredient in remote learning, but first and foremost, I want to check in with you! How are you doing? I hope this episode can bring you some comfort and hope.

I am so proud of educators around the world helping their students, community, and colleagues. Like you, I have been working extra hours with teachers in and outside my district with remote learning and instruction. Like you, I have been helping my family and community in this time of uncertainty and hardship. Like you, I am concerned about our students and what is coming next. This episode is more than just a check-in. It’s more than just an episode on remote learning. This episode attempts to connect all of us together and make some sense of what is going on and offer a little insight on how to prepare.

I am going to offer my six ingredients on what I think is important to consider when providing remote instruction and support remote learning. I hope you will leave your ideas in the comment section.

I always say educators are my favorite species. Well, now more than ever, you can see evidence of that in all of the great things educators are doing in this time of crisis.

I hope you will check-in with me and let me know how you are doing.

Be safe. Stay healthy. Thanks for all you do!

Kelly

Some important information: 

Here is a link to my video “Leading in a Time of Crisis” on my Facebook Page. It will also be posted on my Future Focused Podcast in audio soon.

Follow the hashtag #AppleEDUchat on Twitter.

Here is the archive of last Tuesday’s #AppleEDUchat on Supporting Teachers and Students During School Closure: https://wakelet.com/wake/7d7d768d-9d41-4281-a89e-a59aaeb9c92e

Follow the hashtag #RemoteLearning on Twitter.

Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here. Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcast and subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 150 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

WEP 158: Creating Collaborative Schools, an Interview with Dr. Matthew Joseph

An Interview with Dr. Matthew Joseph

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Matthew Joseph, author of Power of Us: Creating Collaborative Schools and co-author of Modern Mentoring, Reimagining Teacher Mentorship. This is a powerful conversation about Innovative Leadership, Mentoring, Collaboration and so much more! I love this interview! Matthew and I talk about so many important areas of education!  You will leave this episode with an incredible list of takeaways that you can immediately apply in your classroom, your building, and your district. This is a must-listen episode of The Wired Educator Podcast.

Dr. Matthew X. Joseph has collected incredible insights on how best to support teaching and learning, and his work has led to nationally published articles and opportunities to speak at multiple state and national events. He has been a school and district leader in many capacities in public education over his twenty-five years in the field, with experiences such as being the director of digital learning and innovation, an elementary school principal, a classroom teacher, and a district professional development specialist. Matt currently serves as the director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment in Leicester Public Schools. He earned a master’s degree in special education and administration and has his Ed.D. in educational leadership from Boston College. Matt holds licenses in teaching, school administration, and MA superintendent.

Matt is the author of Power of Us: Creating Collaborative Schools and co-author of Modern Mentoring, Reimagining Teacher Mentorship. He has been featured in national publications for his work and stays active on social media encouraging others to believe in themselves, stay authentic, and turn potential into Power. Follow Matthew on Twitter and read his blog.

Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here. Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcastand subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 150 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

WEP 155: EdTech Stories, an Interview with Richard Colosi

An Interview with Richard Colosi

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Richard Colosi about his awesome new podcast titled EdTech Stories. It is an educational, narrative podcast that he is launching on February 10th. I talk with Rich about his work in education as an instructional technology specialist, being a consultant with the United States Department of Education, Office of Innovation in Improvement, and more! This is an incredible episode. Rich is brilliant and one of the kindest humans I know. You are going to love this episode.

Richard Colosi is an Instructional Technology Specialist from Rochester, NY. Since beginning his education career 15 years ago, he has established himself as an effective leader within instructional technology through creating and sharing effective integration practices to maximize student learning.  He’s been a featured presenter at numerous school districts and conferences and has worked as a consultant with the United States Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement.

Richard is also an Apple Distinguished Educator and has been profiled on local television and in print media including The Wall Street Journal and The American Teacher.  His latest project is a brand new, narrative storytelling podcast called EdTech Stories which will profile the origins behind the products used in your classroom every day.  Season 1 of EdTech Stories will launch on Monday, February 10th.

Mentioned in this episode:

Mark your calendar! Richard’s podcast EdTEch Stories will premiere on February 10th! Listen and subscribe!

Find and follow Richard’s journey and work on:

Richard’s favorite books to read: 

I am excited to be a featured speaker at the OETC conference on February 12 in Columbus Ohio. It’s a dream come true.  I am proud to represent Port Clinton City Schools and all of the great things we are doing there. We are on a journey!

My presentations at the OETC Conference are: The Future of Digital Learning: From Distracted Student to Content Creator (ballroom), Wired to Teach: Vanquishing the Myth of the Digital  Native Learner and Beyond, Start a Podcast, Teach the World, and co-presenting on a general session with our Director of Learning Technologies, Chelsea Moyer on Rock’em Sock’em Educators: Apple vs. Google, Battlemania of Educational Apps. I am honored to speak at OETC. It is a dream come true because it’s my home state! I’ve traveled around the world to speak at Educational Conferences, but this is the one I’ve been dreaming of since I started teaching. I’m excited to speak at other conferences too this year, and maybe one day being an opening day speaker at your school!

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.

I am giving a free copy of my book Along Came a Leader away this week between now and February 5th  if you encourage other people to listen to the Wired Educator Podcast using the #WiredToTeach or #wired2teach on social media, I will choose a winner based on your enthusiasm, creativity, and multiple attempts. I’ll be giving away one book. I hope you encourage others to listen to the Wired Educator podcast. Feel free to use any social media you like. I most closely watch Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Feel free to tag me.

Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here. Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcastand subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 150 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram  

 

 

WEP 153: The Future of Education, An Interview Jakob Ebsen Hanson

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Jakob Hansen. Jakob has more than ten years in education as an innovative educator and leader. He has now turned his attention to the future of education. He is an educational consultant helping schools now prepare students for the future. This is an amazing interview and conversation that will really get you thinking.

Jakob was one of the leading forces behind FlowFactory, Denmarks’ first High School that was 100% based on Challenge Based Learning and cross-curricula, Real World projects, together with both local and international corporations and organizations (like LEGO Education, SamLabs and Danfoss). His mission is to inspire us to reinvent education … to dare to think differently about learning and to aim higher and to see new creative possibilities for learning that are based on future trends instead of historical traditions. 

Jakob Hansen has a background in industrial and interaction design and has been teaching Design, Entrepreneurship and Coding and App Dev. (Swift coding in X code.)

Last year Jakob left the classroom and works now with schools all around the world (South Africa, England, Ukraine, UAE, Germany, Denmark) as an independent consultant. The focus is on Challenge Based Learning, Leading Change and the Design of new Learning Spaces.

Jakob is one of three co-founders of the new nonprofit organization toward2030.org. The mission is to give schools and decision-makers the opportunity to dream big and set big goals for where they want to be in 2030, a decade from now, by providing creative tools and facilitate workshops and bring ambitious schools across the world closer together.

Mentioned in this episode:

Follow Jakob on Twitter and Instagram at: @jakobesben and Instagram

Jakob’s company is called, The Friendly Disruptor – www.FriendlyDisruptor.com (website temporarily offline – working on a huge redesign.)

Toward2030.org: www.toward2030.org (Will be online from the end of next week. (the 18 of Jan 2020))

Last chance to receive my eBook, The Greatest Year of Your Life, updated for 2020. This opportunity closes on January 15, 2020, and then the book goes on sale. To help you kick off the new year and to help you reach your goals and resolutions this year, I am giving away a free copy of my 64-page eBook, The Greatest Year of Your Life (2020 Edition) to everyone who signs up for my newsletter. Become more productive. Get things done. Level-up your leadership. Design a more dynamic life. All you have to do to receive the free copy is to sign-up for my free newsletter. Just click this link and enter your email. That’s it. It’s that simple. This eBook is available only until January 15, 2020.

2) Last chance to apply for coaching with me. This opportunity also closes on January 15, 2020. I am even giving away one seat away fro FREE. Would you like to work with me to help you achieve your goal of publishing a book, building a website, hosting a podcast, starting a business, becoming a speaker, or achieving another awesome life goal? Complete the following application before January 15, 2020. One lucky applicant will win free coaching. Here is the application: https://forms.gle/762GxbJ8b5oD8xEK9

3) I want to speak to your school or organization this year! I know January and February are two big months for organizations to start planning their professional learning and speakers for the year. I would love to work with your organization to level-up your leadership. To learn more about my speaking visit www.KellyCroy.com and www.WiredEducator.com. Last year I traveled as close as a neighboring town to work with a financial firm and as far as the Philippines to speak at an international education conference. I would love to speak at your event. No matter what the challenge, leadership is the solution!

Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here. Kelly Croy is an author, speaker, and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcast and subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 150 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram  

 

WEP 152: Class Tech Tips, An Interview with Monica Burns

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Monica Burns, the founder of Class Tech Tips! Monica was guest back on episode 72. It was great catching up with Monica and seeing the wonderful resources she creates for educators. You are going to love this episode.

Dr. Monica Burns is a Curriculum and EdTech Consultant, Apple Distinguished Educator and Founder of ClassTechTips.com. Monica was part of her school’s leadership team and was a vocal advocate for bringing one-to-one technology into her classroom. As a classroom teacher, Monica used iPads to create an engaging, differentiated learning experience to meet the unique needs of her students. Realizing the power of digital tools in the classroom, Monica started ClassTechTips.com to provide a resource for educators.

Since starting ClassTechTips.com, Monica has presented to teachers, administrators and tech-enthusiasts at numerous national and international conferences including SXSWedu, ISTE, FETC and EduTECH. She is a webinar host for SimpleK12 and a regular contributor to Edutopia. Monica is the author of Tasks Before Apps: Designing Rigorous Learning in a Tech-Rich Classroom (ASCD), #FormativeTech: Meaningful, Sustainable, and Scannable Formative Assessment with Technology (Corwin), Deeper Learning with QR Codes and Augmented Reality (Corwin), and co-author of 40 Ways to Inject Creativity into Your Classroom with Adobe Spark.

Monica visits schools across the country to work with PreK-20 teachers to make technology integration exciting and accessible. In addition to being named an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2013, Monica is a graduate of the University of Delaware and Hunter College, and completed a Doctorate in Global Education Leadership at Lamar University in 2016.

 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Moncia’s website: www.classtechtips.com

Monica’s podcast: https://classtechtips.com/category/podcast/

Follow Monica on these social media platforms: 

Twitter: Twitter.com/classtechtips

Facebook: Facebook.com/classtechtips

Pinterest: Pinterest.com/classtechtips

Instagram: Instagram.com/classtechtips

Monica’s Books: 

From Kelly: 

Sign-up for my free newsletter: To help you kick off the new year and to help you reach your goals and resolutions this year, I am giving away a free copy of my 64-page eBook, The Greatest Year of Your Life (2020 Edition) to everyone who signs up for my newsletter. Become more productive. Get things done. Level-up your leadership. Design a more dynamic life. All you have to do to receive the free copy is to sign-up for my free newsletter. Just click this link and enter your email. That’s it. It’s that simple. This eBook is available only until January 15, 2020.

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Coaching Application: Would you like to work with me to help you achieve your goal of publishing a book, building a website, hosting a podcast, starting a business, becoming a speaker, or achieving another awesome life goal? Complete the following application before January 15, 2020. One lucky applicant will win free coaching. Here is the application: https://forms.gle/762GxbJ8b5oD8xEK9 
Wishing you much success!
May your 2020 be filled with good health and happiness, peace and prosperity, much love and laughter.
Kelly

Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here. Kelly Croy is an author, speaker and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly, or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcastand subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 150 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leaderfor a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram  

WEP 151: Resolutions Every Educator Should Make for 2020

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I share 20 resolutions for 2020 that I believe will help every educator, administrator, and school district to level-up and impact lives. This episode is based on a blog post I share every year on www.WiredEducator.com on New Year’s Day. I hope you enjoy it. I would love to read your EDU Resolutions for 2020.

Educators are my favorite species. They not only work incredibly hard all hours of the day to make an impact in the lives of those they teach, they are also constantly working to improve themselves as well.

Each year I taught, I wanted to make my classroom, lessons, and engagement better. I was always trying to level-up. I still am. I made resolutions each school year and again at the start of the new year. I love those imaginary reset buttons! I shared my resolutions each year with my students and hung them on the classroom wall. Why? Because I knew my students would hold me accountable. And boy did they! I didn’t hit them all, but I hit more than I would have if I didn’t share them.

This podcast episode contains 20 Resolutions I believe will help you and your school level-up and make an even greater impact.

Which resolutions challenge you? Which ones are you crushing?

Leave your EDU resolutions in the comments.

Sign-up for my newsletter by January 15 and you will receive a free copy of my 64-page eBook, The Greatest Year of Your Life, 2020 Edition. You can sign-up for the newsletter here.

Hey! Are you doing something great in education? Fill out this form! Are you #Wired2Teach? Are you doing something amazing in education? I want to know. I want to recognize listeners of the podcast and share it out to the world on www.WiredEducator.com, and I may even choose to interview you on the show. Check the show notes for a link to a form so you can submit your EDUawesomeness. Here is a link to the form: https://forms.gle/ovd1cZjd7YCx1Vyg7

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Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here. Kelly Croy is an author, speaker and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly, or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcastand subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 150 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

WEP 150: Top 20 Things I Have Learned Publishing 150 Podcast Episodes and Interviewing Amazing Educators From Around the Globe!

In this 150th Episode of The Wired Educator Podcast I share the Top Twenty Things I Have Learned Publishing 150 Podcast Episodes and Interviewing Amazing Educators!

I am so happy I started the Wired Educator Podcast, and it is amazing to me to see it now at 150 episodes. I have no intention of stopping now. In fact, I am looking to growing the podcast in new ways.

I am thankful that you listen to the show, level-up each week, and make a positive impact in the lives of students. You are awesome, and I am not embarrassed to tell you that every week.

I have learned a lot from publishing 150 episodes and interviewing educators from all over the world. I wanted to share a condensed list of what I feel my guests have in common, and what they do that makes them stand out.

As I share what I have learned, I’ll bet many will resonate with you. I’ll bet you see yourself in a lot of these amazing qualities. I believe this because you are taking time to level-up. There are many commonalities in success. Still, I hope there are many that challenge you to grow and improve as they did me.

It is my pleasure and honor to bring you the Wired Educator Podcast each week.

I wish you an amazing 2020 filled with love and laughter, peace and prosperity, & good health and happiness.

Happy New Year!

Kelly

Are you doing something great in education? Fill out this form! Are you #Wired2Teach? Are you doing something amazing in education? I want to know. I want to recognize listeners of the podcast and share it out to the world on www.WiredEducator.com, and I may even choose to interview you on the show. Check the show notes for a link to a form so you can submit your EDUawesomeness. Here is a link to the form: https://forms.gle/ovd1cZjd7YCx1Vyg7

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Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here. Kelly Croy is an author, speaker and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly, or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcast and subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 150 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

20 Resolutions I Want Every Educator & Administrator to Make in 2020

Educators are my favorite species. They not only work incredibly hard all hours of the day to make an impact in the lives of those they teach, they are also constantly working to improve themselves as well.

Each year I taught, I wanted to make my classroom, lessons, and engagement better. I was always trying to level-up. I still am. I made resolutions each school year and again at the start of the new year. I love those imaginary reset buttons! I shared my resolutions each year with my students and hung them on the classroom wall. Why? Because I knew my students would hold me accountable. And boy did they! I didn’t hit them all, but I hit more than I would have if I didn’t share them.

Below are 20 Resolutions I believe will help you and your school level-up and make an even greater impact.

Which of the following resolutions are you nailing? Scared of? Challenged by?

Here are 20 resolutions I believe every educator & administrator should make:

  1. Subscribe to an Educational Podcast: Podcasts are booming and for good reason! They are a fantastic way to learn and level-up. They are fun to listen to, too! Podcasts are the ONLY form of social media that are safe to consume while driving. You can make your commute fun and learn ways to make a difference in students’ lives. There are lots of great educational podcasts out there. I recommend my podcast, The Wired Educator Podcast where I interview amazing educators from around the world. You will love it.
  2. Give Better Feedback to Students: As educators and leaders, we need to closely re-evaluate every opportunity we have to connect with students. One that is surprisingly overlooked is the feedback we give on projects, presentations and assignments. We need to give more meaningful and valuable feedback. The best feedback is face-to-face communication so there are no misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and where questions can be asked. Our primary purpose with the feedback should be, “How do I want the student to feel after receiving this feedback?” Some teachers struggle with this approach. They see themselves as grade-givers rather than student-growers. Re-evaluate the feedback you give. Perhaps you are knocking it out of the park. Perhaps you need to hit reset and redesign what you hope to gain. The same is true of administrators and evaluations of teachers. Great feedback seeks: growth, understanding, and an opportunity to connect.
  3. Help to Build a Positive School Culture: Your words and actions contribute to the culture of your building and school district. You are a leader and influencer even if you don’t think you are. You are. Are your words and actions improving the culture of your school district? Are you waiting for someone else to fix the problems? Are you better at pointing out the problems or leading solutions? It starts with you. Don’t wait for someone else. Start.
  4. Make Your Class Open 24 Hours a Day from Anywhere in the World: Turn your class in to a 7-Eleven. Use Google Classroom or other Learning Management Systems to help students who are absent, traveling, or need to see things for a second or third time. Kids can learn anytime from anywhere. They can even do work on snow days.
  5. Build a New Community in Your School: Look at the students in your school. Which groups of students don’t have a place to share their talents and feel like a contributor? Find them and build that community. You don’t need to be the expert. Just identify what is missing, talk to your administrator, throw a poster on the wall, make an announcement and get going. Maybe it is a group of video gamers, lego builders, robot drivers, or a book or food club. Ask your students and help them feel a contributor to their school.
  6. Add a Portion of Challenge Based Learning to Your Year: Call it what you want, Project Based Learning, SOLE, Problem Based Learning or CBL, but add a little to your school year. Students need to be making and thinking and collaborating and solving. Check out startSOLE or Apple’s Challenge Based Learning: A Classroom Guide. You don’t need to change everything, just add a little. It goes a long way. You will love it, and it is the future.
  7. Collaborate with Your Colleagues to Build Dynamic Lessons and Units: Work with the other teachers in your building to collaborate on lesson plans to increase engagement and design interdisciplinary thematic units. It’s fun for you and the students. The most memorable lessons I ever experienced were working with my colleagues. You can even plan remotely using PlanBook.com, Apple Numbers or Google Sheets.
  8. Take Less Home: Living in constant overwhelm and frustration is not normal nor admirable. Everyone is busy. Teaching is fun and noble. It’s time to get efficient, take less home, and have more pride and joy being a teacher. Design a curriculum plan for your class and change just a small percentage each year rather than constantly trying to redo everything. Take less work home. Really. What are you taking home anyway? What are you trying to assess and measure?Try to do more in class with the students in the form of labs, workshops, presentations and SOLE projects and less 19th century grading of tests and quizzes.
  9. Rethink Homework: “But students need the practice!” Really? I’m not telling you not to give homework, but I am asking you to rethink what you are sending home. Check out the book Ditch That Homework by Alice Keeler and Matt Miller for ideas. Talk with fellow teachers and admins. Rethink homework. Please.
  10. Use Technology to Create!  Technology does not need to be used the majority of the time. What a misconception, but when it is used, it should be used to create content, and only briefly to consume. Examine how you are using tech in your classroom. Don’t use devices as electronic babysitters having students research for the majority of a period on their own. Have multiple students work on one device.  Offer your students amazing ways to create and publish what they know. Create digital textbooks, videos, presentations, animations, and more! Get going. If your students are mostly on websites clicking answers, well… you’re using it poorly.
  11. Start a Blog, Podcast or YouTube Channel: Take all of the great things you and your students are doing and share them with the world on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, a blog, YouTube or write a book. Everyone benefits. Start this, this year! I highly encourage you to start a blog, podcast, or YouTube Channel.
  12. Attend a Conference: It is always awesome to get out of your classroom and learn something new, get inspired, and apply it. I recommend returning and giving a presentation to your building and maybe even your board. If you don’t return and apply it, then maybe you should let someone else go in your place. Apply. Heck, don’t just attend one! You should Apply to Speak at a Conference: Share what you know! Don’t have anything special enough to share? Then it’s time to level-up and get after it. I’m serious.
  13. Nominate a Colleague: Yes, find someone in your district you admire and nominate them for some recognition. Why? Because they deserve it, and when one educator is looked upon positively, all educators are looked upon positively.
  14. Collaborate with a Colleague: Open the door to your classroom both figuratively and literally and find ways to collaborate with other teachers. I suggest creating an interdisciplinary thematic unit with a culminating activity with other teachers at your grade level. It’s fun, memorable, and good for students.
  15. Lead: Rather than complain about something you don’t like, create a solution and begin implementing it. That’s called leading. We are all educational leaders. Need help? Read my book Along Came a Leader, or one of my favorites, Start. Right. Now.
  16. Start a YouTube Channel for Your Classroom: Hey, it’s all about video. I found myself watching someone cook a fish dinner the other day on Facebook. I watched the whole thing. I don’t like to cook, and I hate fish. My point is… video done well can be engaging, and your class could be open to students 24/7. Do this now.
  17. Get Connected with Other Educators: Build Your Personal Learning Network (PLN) either online by using Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or reach out to educators in your building, district, or state. Share what you know. Learn from them. Show other educators how to do this.
  18. Publish Student Work: Find unique and powerful ways to share and publish the work your students do in your classroom. Give them authentic audiences and genuine purposes to create. Build a website, start a podcast, host a “fair”, publish them on a blog, YouTube, or SeeSaw. Have them create digital books as published authors using Book Creator or Apple’s Pages. Publish their work.
  19. Contact Every Family You Teach: Seriously, forget the email. Pick up the phone or send a postcard home to every family you teach. Find something positive to say about every student and offer them a personal challenge in your class. Let them know you care about them. When you do have to contact home for something less than positive it will be easier because you have already talked with them about something positive.
  20. Read an Educational Book: There are so many great educational books out there that will change your career. Grab one and see what a difference it makes. Looking for suggestions? Try Tom Murray’s new book, Personal and Authentic: Designing Learning Experiences that Impact a Lifetime. It is awesome!  Tom is an amazing educational speaker and you will love his book. Also check out my podcast for links to fantastic educational books mentioned by my guests.

Bonus: Are you doing something great in education? Fill out this form! Are you #Wired2Teach? Are you doing something amazing in education? I want to know. I want to recognize listeners of the podcast and share it out to the world on www.WiredEducator.com, and I may even choose to interview you on the show. Check the show notes for a link to a form so you can submit your EDUawesomeness. Here is a link to the form: https://forms.gle/ovd1cZjd7YCx1Vyg7

 

What did I miss? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Kelly Croy is an author, speaker and educator. If you’d like to learn more about Kelly, or invite him to your school or conference to speak please send him an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast, The Future Focused Podcast and subscribe. • Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with over 150 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Visit Kelly’s website at www.KellyCroy.com. • Looking for a dynamic speaker for your school’s opening day? • Consider Kelly Croy at www.KellyCroy.com • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for a school book study or your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on InstagramÂ