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Are You a WIRED Educator?

Are you a WIRED Educator?

I have always enjoyed the connotations associated with the word ‘WIRED’ in its reference to my podcast and blog. When you hear the word ‘wired’ you think: high energy, connected, technology, with-it, and exciting. At least I do.

I had some fun this morning weaving my thoughts on education into what could be an acronym for what being a WIRED Educator means. I’d love to read your ideas.

I hope you will share your thoughts below and follow the hashtags #WIRED2teach #WIRED4EDU #Wired4Education #WiredEducator

What is a WIRED Educator?

W = World View:

You make learning relevant. You are connected with educators from around the world. You are preparing students for the world. You have a BIG vision for your classroom, your students and your role in the world. You help your students and colleagues understand their role in education and the world.

I = Innovative:

You are a problem-solver, not a complainer. You adapt with change. You get excited about challenges. You reach each learner by trying new approaches. You do things differently.  You are constantly bringing new tools into the classroom.

R = Relationship-Builder:

You understand that your ability to make a difference is dependent on the connections, rapport and relationships you build with students and colleagues. You are constantly working on building relationships and making connections.

E = Energizing:

You are passionate about teaching, students and making a difference. You get people fired up about all things education. You bring a level of excitement and energy to the hallways, classrooms and wherever you are.

D= Documents the Journey:

You are a life-long learner and you model it for your students. You document the journey and share it with the world. You might post on social media, write, speak, blog, vlog, podcast, or present at conferences.

#WIRED2teach #WIRED4education #WIRED4EDU

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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 115 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 

 

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Apple Watch: 3 Updates I’d Love to See Added

My Apple Watch is one of my favorite tools. I have always been a “watch” guy, and I never really thought one watch would be enough. That’s one of the great things about the Apple Watch, it’s always updating and changing. The Apple Watch is the best watch I have ever owned and it gets better all the time. I recommend the Apple Watch to anyone that asks. It is awesome!

There’s a big Apple Event tomorrow. The Apple Watch will gain some new abilities and that is always fun.

Here’s a fun post where I share three ideas I’d love to see make it to the Apple Watch:

  1. Add a Ring: I love the Rings on my Apple Watch. There are three: Activity, Standing, and Exercise. The idea is to close them all each day. Wouldn’t it be great to add a ring for whatever you want? Reading, taking a medication, writing 500 words, calling your mom, etc. It could be like a built in habit tracker for that one thing you really want to do to better yourself.
  2. Find Other Devices: One of my favorite features on my watch is the ability to find my iPhone. I just swipe up and press the icon and in pings my iPhone. Wouldn’t it be great if it could do that for your spouse or child’s iPhone, your AirPods, MacBook, or a fob attached to your keys?
  3. Bigger Apple Watch: A memorable line in Jaws: “We’re going to need a bigger boat,” and with some features and apps with the Apple Watch that is how I feel. I need to put on my reading glasses to see what I need to do. I use to have some BIG watches and they were fun. They had some chunk and heft to the them and they caught people’s eye, but you could also read the face from across the room. Being a big guy, a bigger watch would look great on my wrist and my eyes would be thankful too. I love my Apple Watch and I recommend it to everyone who asks about it. It’s the best watch I’ve ever owned and it gets better all the time with updates. I just wanted to have some fun in sharing what “could be” and dream a little. I wonder what updates you’d like to see in the Apple Watch? Please add them to 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 115 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 

 

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WEP 129: Special Memorial Day Episode: Teachers Honoring Veterans

This special episode of the Wired Educator Podcast is a Memorial Day Tribute to the men and women who lost their lives serving our country in the United States Armed Forces. Today is Memorial Day in the United States.

This ten minute episode examines educators’ roles in teaching future generations about honoring our veterans and shares a peek at some of the great ways schools are doing just that.

This episode is a return to podcasting for me after some international travel and a battle with a nasty cold virus.

I hope you take some time today to reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day and also enjoy some time with your family.

Thank you.

 

Kelly

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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 115 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 

 

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WEP 128: How to Use a Teaching Mindset to Listen, Understand, Explain Everything, and Be Understood

An Interview with Reshan Richards and Stephen J. Valentine

In this 128th episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, Kelly interviews Reshan Richards and  Stephen J. Valentine about their new book, Make Yourself Clear: How to Use a Teaching Mindset to Listen, Understand, Explain Everything, and Be Understood. The authors describe their work as “working at intersection of teaching and business.” Kelly has interviewed Reshan in episode 7 about the top-selling educational app he co created, Explain Everything, and both Reshan and Stephen in episode 50 when they published their first book together, Blending Leadership.

Stephen J. Valentine is an educator, school leader, writer, and serial collaborator. He serves as the Assistant Head, Upper School, and Director of Academic Leadership at Montclair Kimberley Academy. He is Coordinating Editor of Klingbrief, author of Everything but Teaching, and co-author of Blending Leadership.

Dr. Reshan Richards is Chief Learning Officer and Co-Founder of Explain Everything Inc. and teaches at Teachers College, Columbia University and the Columbia University School of Professional Studies. He is co-author of Blending Leadership.

Mentioned in this Podcast: 

planbook.com: The best way to create, organize, and share your lesson plans. 

Their book: Make Yourself Clear by Reshan Richards & Stephen J. Valentine

My interview with Reshan on Episode 7 of The Wired Educator Podcast in 2015: Explain Everything.

My first interview with Reshan and Stephen on Episode 50 of the Wired Educator Podcast in August 2016: Blending Leadership.

Book Website: https://www.makeyourselfclear.xyz

Steve’s Blog: https://www.refreshingwednesday.com

Reshan’s Blog: https://www.constructivisttoolkit.com

Reshan and Stephen are reading: The Passion Paradox, Creative Confidence, Creatively Productive, Little Book of Leadership, and Keep Going. <<<< Lots of great books here!

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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 115 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 

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WEP 127: Everyone Can Create Learning Environments, an Interview with Jason Fahrenbach

In this episode of the Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Jason Fahrenbach about his work with the Everyone Can Create curriculum, designing learning environments, and so much more. His passion and enthusiasm for teaching is enchanting, and his perspective will empower many teachers. This is a great interview that will inspire all listeners.

Jason Fahrenbach is currently the Arts Department Team Lead at Walt Disney Magnet School in Chicago, Illinois. He has worked with various Arts organizations including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Walt Disney Family Museum, and Adobe, in creating authentic and meaningful Arts Integration Projects.

Jason was most recently recognized for his work in the classroom by the Apple Distinguished Educator program, and he was selected as one of the “20 Educators to Watch” in the Chicago area.

I am excited to share Jason’s story and his work with the Everyone Can Create Curriculum. What he is doing in education is outstanding, exciting and beneficial to all educators. 

You are going to love this podcast!

Mentioned in the Podcast: 

Everyone Can Create

Books:

The Clips App by Apple

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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 115 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 
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WEP 126: Start Sole, an Interview with Jeff McClellan

Jeffrey McClellan is the founder and CEO of StartSole.org, a community, a resource and a tool for implementing Self Organized Learning Environments. SOLE is an amazing lesson any teacher, in any grade or subject can employ to level-up their classroom. SOLE combines an essential question, with research and a presentation in a single class period that enhances learning through better technology use, collaboration, presentation skills and so much more.

Jeff is brilliant, and I am incredibly proud to share his story and work with you. This episode of The Wired Educator Podcast will impact the life of and classroom of everyone who listens and applies this amazing free resource. Buckle-up, you are going to love this interview with Jeff McClellan.

“Jeff became the founding director of SOLE CLE in January 2015, after founding and heading MC2STEM High School in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. McClellan is supporting the implementation of Self Organized Learning Environments in schools and educational entities within the Cleveland Region and beyond. The concept of SOLE was first introduced by Sugata Mitra, the winner of the first $1 million TED Prize. Prior to MC2 STEM, McClellan worked for the Lima City Schools in Ohio.

STARTSOLE helps transform education through SOLE (Self-Organized Learning Environments).SOLE focuses on the process of learning itself instead of simply focusing on the results. Ithelps prepare students for success in today’s era of technology and information. SOLEprovides an early intervention in education that can level the academic playing field andincrease equity among all students. With SOLE, kids will be able to develop the skills neededfor a modern digital society, and they will have the opportunity to work in environments that favor inclusion and educational innovation.”

Mentioned in this Podcast:

Planbook.com: The best way to create, organize, collaborate on, and share your lessons. Wired Educator grades Planbook.com an A+. Tell them Kelly sent you.

StartSole.org: This is Jeff’s amazing site that has everything you need to begin SOLE in your classroom. It’s all awesome, and it is all free; I hope you will check it out.

Jeff’s recommended reading: A Time to Learn by George Wood

Your Opening Day Speaker for 2019: I would like to be your school district’s opening day speaker. I hope you will take a minute to check out my speaking page and send me an email. My presentation is unlike anything you have ever seen. I have combined all of my passions: art, computer animation, music, writing, speaking around how to be an innovative educator that makes a lasting impact in the lives of students. I want to honor recognize the amazing work of your staff and give them a new perspective and direction for the year, along with some amazing tools to make their year more fun and their classrooms even more impactful.

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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 115 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 
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WEP 125: Cool Cat Teacher, My Interview with Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis has been writing the Cool Cat Teacher blog for more than 12 years and has been an Edublog award finalist for Best Teacher Blog for most of those. Her blog is listed in the top 50 blogs in education and has more than 100,000 unique visitors who read this blog each month.

Vicki was voted a top 5 twitterer in education by the Edublog awards in 2015, and named by Mashable as one of Twitter’s Top 10 Rockstar teachers. Recently, Onalytica named Vicki as the top female edtech influencer on Twitter in December 2017 according to their statistical research.

Vicki hosts and self produces the podcast the 10-Minute Teacher show since February 1, 2017. Within one week of launch, it hit the top 10 in the k12 store in iTunes. It is a 5-day a week show for busy teachers. Vicki’s prior show Every Classroom Matters had over 300 thousand downloads a month and was produced by BAM Radio Network. In 2014, Vicki won the BAMMY Award for Best Education Talk Show Host in 2014.

Vicki is well known for her creation of more than twenty global collaborative projects including the Flat Classroom Project which won ISTE’s Online Learning Award in 2006 and the MAD About Mattering Project in 2016 and 2017.

Vicki is known for her speeches on differentiating instruction, being an excellent 21st-century educator. Her work with classrooms across the world has taken her and her students around the world- to China, India, Qatar, Dubai, Hawaii and here in the continental US where she has shared more than 100 keynotes and spotlights.

Vicki’s books  Reinventing Writing and Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds, empower teachers to connect their students to technology and the world.

Vicki writes for Edutopia and is one of Cathy Rubin’s Global Search for Education Top 12 Teacher Blogs. Vicki has 138K Twitter followers (and growing) and more than one hundred thousand unique visitors read Vicki’s blog every month. Vicki’s on Tumblr, Flipboard, and Facebook, too.

Vicki is a Discovery STAR educator and a Google Certified Innovator. She has spoken at Google, Microsoft, and other technology companies about innovative classroom technology use. Her classroom was named one of the most top 10 Financially Literate classrooms in the US by the H&R Block Budget Challenge in 2014.

Vicki has 3 three children, 4 dogs, 3 cats, 105 students, and 1 husband and now one more person who has read her bio — and for that — she’s most grateful. She is honored to count many of the finest educators on the planet as her friends.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Vicki’s podcast: The Ten Minute Teacher Show

Vicki’s Blog: The Cool Cat Teacher Blog

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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 115 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 
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Nutrition Facts for The Wired Educator Podcast

Have you tried my podcast? It’s delicious. 

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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 115 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 
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Warning: The Wired Educator Podcast Will Challenge The Way You Think About Education

Please read this warning label before listening to my Wired Educator Podcast. It’s available on iTunes, Google Play, iHeart Radio, and wherever fine podcasts are shard. Leave a review. Recommend it to a friend. Try to catch them all.

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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 115 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 
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Six Reasons The iPad Dominates Over the Chromebook in Education

Six Reasons The iPad Dominates Over the Chromebook in Education: 

  1. Accessibility: The iPad is loaded with accessibility features that no other device has, and these features can help ALL students such as: Captioning and Audio Descriptions, VoiceOver, Display Customization, Guided Access, Speech and so much more! I use Speech to have my emails read to me and I love Magnifier and LiveListen. All students can benefit from accessibility features. Too many teachers think these features are for a particular group of student. You can learn more about iOS Accessibility Features here. 
  2. Durability & Longevity: The iPad wins this one outright. The iPad is made of stronger materials and has less physical features to fail than other devices. Sure the screen can be of a concern but that I don’t think you would want to drop either device, and in a drop test I’ll take the iPad. Battery life on an iPad is superior from my use. The screen looks better on an iPad, the sound, sounds better on an iPad, and the overall experience of operation is awesome.
  3. Portability: Hands down, the iPad is by far a more portable device. The front and rear-facing camera, and the ability to use the iPad in any flexible seating situation makes it perfect for education. Combine this with the long battery life and its super-slim footprint, the iPad can go anywhere. Changing the brightness of the iPad’s screen also makes it great for portability; allowing the student to use it in a theatre and other situations without disturbing others. Watch how students awkwardly try to use Chromebooks: to shoot video, in flexible seating, in labs, while standing.
  4. Reading Device: The iPad as a tablet is an incredible reading device storing thousands of books. There are a variety of reading apps available including: Kindle, Nook, Google Play, iBooks and so many more. It’s a light reading device that is much more pleasurable to read with than a traditional Chromebook laptop. This makes the iPad the best Chromebook for reading. More books and a better format.
  5. Apps: There are far more apps, and educational apps and creation apps available for the iPad than the Chromebook. It’s insane how many awesome apps there are for teachers and students to use to amazing things! No other device has access to this library of GREAT tools to teach and make a difference.
  6. Apple’s Apps for Education: Apple’s apps designed especially for education, only to be found on the iPad: iTunes U, Schoolwork, and Classroom. iTunes University is only available on the iPad and I believe this is the game-changer for education. Giving teachers and students the ability to create interactive textbooks and creating online courses with embedded discussions is the future of education for all levels of education. iTunes University is being used from primary grades all the way through post secondary with incredible gains and impact. For this reason, you can see why the iPad would be the Chromebook of choice for teachers and schools. These apps are free.
  7. Everyone Can Create: Apple has created a dedicated curriculum on using the iPad to create in the classroom, and it’s called Everyone Can Create. You can learn more here. It’s free.
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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 115 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