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WEP 213: Inspiring Joy an Interview with Jennifer Appel

An Interview with Jennifer Appel

In this 213th episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Jennifer Appel. She is an amazing educator, coach, speaker and the author of several books including:  Inspiring JOY:  A Revolutionary Lesson Planning Framework for Teaching the Whole Learner, and picture books: Award Winning Dog and I’M WHO… We talk about Award Winning Culture, her books and how every teacher can make an impact with students in the area of social emotional learning regardless of what grade they teach, or content.

Click here to listen to my interview with Jennifer Appel on The Wired Educator podcast.

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving Break. I am thankful for you for listening to The Wired Educator Podcast and the difference you make every day.

Jennifer Appel is an educator, coach, speaker, and writer.  She’s the Co-host of the Award Winning Culture podcast and the Co-Creator of Award Winning Culture.  In addition to being the author of the highly anticipated book: “Inspiring JOY:  A Revolutionary Lesson Planning Framework for Teaching the Whole Learner,” she’s the author of a line of picture books focusing on Social Emotional Learning and Character Ed which includes, “Award Winning Dog and I’m WHO.”

Mentioned in this episode: 

Jennifer Appel’s Books: Inspiring JOY, Award Winning Dog and I’M WHO…

Jennifer Appel’s website:  awardwinningculture.com

Jennifer Appel’s twitter and instagram:  @jennifermappel

Sign up for Kelly’s newsletter by clicking here. 

Both of Kelly’s books are 25% off right now and can be purchased by clicking here. 

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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.  Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with 212 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 books, Along Came a Leaderand Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

 

 

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WEP 212: Rising and Inspiring, an Interview with LaTezeon Humphrey Balentine

An Interview with LaTezeon Humphrey Balentine

LaTezeon co-hosts the Rising and Inspiring YouTube Channel and is the author of the children’s book Fur Friends Forever.
An educator with many years of experience within the classroom. She has taught on the elementary and secondary levels. LaTezeon worked as an education consultant in MS where she assisted several school districts with professional development and education support in the classroom. Her skills vary from communication, computer, and interpersonal.
She is responsible, goal-oriented, and an expeditious learner. LaTezeon enjoys blogging, marketing and building a social media presence. Her ultimate goal is to find a career where she is able to enhance and develop new skills to expand a company and grow as a person. LaTezeon is highly qualified and goal-oriented with outstanding interpersonal and communication skills. She is passionate about efforts to create more affirmative, structured, caring, and innovating culture for our youth and community. LHB is a mental health advocate and a literacy advocate. She has book giveaways on Twitter and a book scholarship for seniors. A part of her proceeds from her book will go to animal shelters in MS.
Here is the link to our YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aCnZdTAz_w
Twitter account: @LHBLovesEdu
Instagram: @LHBLovesEdu
Her book: Fur Friends Forever: Follow this amazing adventure of two dogs with different lifestyles as they take on a new situation that tests them. This story is about friendship and all that comes with it including peer pressure in decision making. Enjoy this journey while Abby, Lincoln, and Molly learn the true meaning of care, love, and sacrifice.

Tip: How to Read More Books Than You Ever Imagined: I recently came across an amazing app for my phone called Blinkist that provides written and audio summaries of books that I can consume like potato chips. (If you’ve never seen me consume potato chips, you’re welcome.) I was skeptical of Blinkist, but tried the free 7-Day trial, and then I fell in love. I know I’ll never be able to consume all the books I want to read about becoming a better human, building a better business, and many other important categories, yet Blinkist breaks down the core concepts of books I know I’ll never get to and offers it in easily consumable “blinks” that allow me to get the gist of an entire book in about 12 minutes. I kid you not. I’m now a subscriber. Yes, of course I still read, and a lot, and I still listen to audio books on Audible, regularly, but I love Blinkist for those books that I just want the essence of to apply in my life. You can try Blinkist for 7-Days free, and I think you will thank me; it is one of the most amazing technologies I have run across in a long time. That’s saying a lot. (Share this on Twitter)​

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This link will take you to ALL of Kelly’s social media: https://linktr.ee/kellycroy

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.  Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with 212 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 books, Along Came a Leaderand Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

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WEP 211: The Gifted Guy an Interview with Todd Stanley

An Interview with Todd Stanley

In this 211th episode of The Wired Educator Podcast I interview Todd Stanley on how we can best teach students, especially gifted students.

Todd Stanley is a National Board teacher and the author of many teacher-education books including Project-Based Learning for Gifted Students (2nd edition), Promoting Rigor Through Higher Level Questioning, and his latest How the Hell Do We Motivate Theses Kids? from First Educational Resources. He served as a classroom teacher for 18 years where he worked with all grade levels in all subject areas in all types of service. He is currently the gifted services coordinator for Pickerington Local Schools in Ohio where he lives with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter @the_gifted_guy or visit his website at thegiftedguy.com where you can access blogs, resources, and view presentations he has given.

Click here to listen to this episode with Todd. 

Topics:
Student motivation, gifted, authentic learning strategies, project-based learning
Mentioned in this episode: 
Sign-up for Kelly’s newsletter here: https://chipper-teacher-8587.ck.page/28d5dcfda8
Todd’s website:  http://www.thegiftedguy.com
Todd’s book: Enrichment Activities for Gifted Students by Todd Stanley
Todd is the author of more than twenty educational books.
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This link will take you to ALL of Kelly’s social media: https://linktr.ee/kellycroy

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.  Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with 210 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 books, Along Came a Leaderand Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

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Boom! Deliver Awesome Feedback, an Interview with Ben Kalb

An Interview with Ben Kalb

This is episode 210 of The Wired Educator Podcast, and I have the privilege to share with you the awesomeness of Ben Kalb.

Ben is an amazing educator and we are both members of The Apple Distinguished Educator Community.

Ben teaches some important things we need to know about delivering awesome feedback. We also have a great conversation about deficit thinking and the power of storytelling in education.

Click here to listen to this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast.

Ben Kalb is the Director of Communication for the Muskegon Area ISD in Muskegon Michigan. As a former classroom teacher he is a passionate advocate for Public Schools. Ben is an Apple Distinguished Educator and was the cohost of another top ranked education podcast. Throughout 4 seasons of Vrain Waves, teachers were informed, inspired, and connected through the advice of giants in education. Although his podcast wasn’t as prolific as this one, over the course of 4 seasons he and his co-host Becky interviewed dozens of New York Times Best selling authors including Dan Heath, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Daniel Pink and more.

Mentioned in this episode: 

I am excited to announce that Wired Educator has published its first book, 3DU: A Guide to 3D Printing in Every Classroom, written by Keven Rinaman.

Join the Wired Educator Squad Wednesdays for a 30-minute Twitter Chat. Follow the hashtag #WiredWednesday

Follow Wired Educator on Facebook and Twitter to join in our LIVE video chats.

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Invite Kelly to be your opening day speaker at your school, lead a leadership workshop, or share his What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying presentation here. www.kellycroy.com

This link will take you to ALL of Kelly’s social media: https://linktr.ee/kellycroy

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.  Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with 210 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 books, Along Came a Leaderand Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

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Wired Educator Publishes First Author, Keven Rinaman’s 3DU Guide

Wired Educator Consulting, Inc. Adds Educational Publishing Division

I am excited to announce that Wired Educator has published its first book, 3DU: A Guide to 3D Printing in Every Classroom, written by Keven Rinaman.

If your school has a 3D Printer, it needs this book. Keven provides simple and affordable ways to start 3D printing in ANY classroom, no matter what grade or content area. Yes, EVERY educator can use 3D printing to engage students and help them create.

As the host of The Wired Educator Podcast it has always been my primary mission to celebrate and promote the voices of outstanding educators. I am proud to celebrate the outstanding work of Keven Rinaman and share his voice and message with the world.

The Wired Educator Motto is, “To Level Up and Make a Difference in the Lives of Students”. Keven’s book does that and more. Keven’s book emphasizes that students should be using devices to create MORE than they consume. I love the possibilities and direction Keven offers teachers to bring 3D printing to every grade and every content area.

It gives me great pride to help a fellow educator publish a physical book that another educator can hold in their hands, apply in their classroom, add to and pass along to others.

This is the first book published by Wired Educator. I can feel the impact this book will have in students’ lives, I can picture the amazing creations students will design and produce, I can hear the laughs of failed prints, and the cheers of success as students and teachers collaborate together to create an environment of learning where experimentation, reflection on failure, and the tenacity to try again until they succeed is the norm.

Congratulations Keven on an amazing book and making a global impact on education. Well done.

Kelly Croy

Keven Rinaman is an educator and author. 

He has taught history, math, and technology at middle and high school grades, and has served as the technology director and Dean of Students for his district. Keven has coached numerous sports including: wrestling, golf, baseball and esports. He is a graduate of Heidelberg University and Western Governors University, earning both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Tiffin University. 

Keven is the author of 3DU: A Guide to 3D Printing in Every Classroom, the host of an educational podcast titled, Magic Potion EDU, and blogs at TeachersTechToolbox.com. Keven has spoken at numerous national and regional conferences including FETC and OETC. 

Keven lives with his wife Katie, and son, Cooper in Tiffin, Ohio. Contact Keven at kevenrinaman@gmail.com 

Book description:

Did your school purchase a 3D printer for teachers to use? Did someone donate one to your classroom and you are not sure how you will use it with your students? Check out 3DU: A Guide to 3D Printing in Every Classroom. This book is full of project ideas and lessons that will help any teacher, in any grade level, and in any content area, learn how they can use this technology with their students.

Starting with the basics of vocabulary and how the printer functions, readers will then embark on a journey that features projects and lessons that dive deeper with their students and make a cultural shift from consumption to creation. This book will give students the opportunity to get hands-on with their learning and make objects that demonstrate their understanding of classroom content through creative means.

3DU is for you if…

  • You are a teacher eager to engage students with your content.

  • You want students to design, create, and find solutions.

  • You are an administrator leading instructional change toward a 21st-century learning environment.

  • You want to create opportunities of hope, fun, and fulfillment for students.

Wired Educator Consulting, Inc. will be publishing the voices of more educators over the next year. Stay tuned.

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The Courage to Make a Difference, an Interview with Kevin Honeycutt

An Interview with Kevin Honeycutt

In this 209th episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, Kevin Honeycutt and I talk about the courage of teachers making a difference, the importance of creativity, why educators must build strong relationships with parents, and so much more. 

Click here to listen to this episode with Kevin. 

Kevin Honeycutt is a technology integrationist, staff developer and keynote speaker  from Colorado Springs. He spent 13 years teaching K-12 art. Since then he’s spent 17+ years becoming a presenter and change maker with worldwide reach. With his live presentations limited by the pandemic, he pivoted and brought his focus to bear largely online. Now he’s back out there and thrilled to be back in the “live” inspiration game. He’s an art teacher, musician, former school board member and published author as well as an an Apple Distinguished Educator who received the Making It Happen Award for his tech leadership in the classroom. Through all of his networks and associations he communicates with over 100,000 people each day.

Mentioned in this interview: 

Join the Wired Educator Squad Wednesdays for a 30-minute Twitter Chat. Follow the hashtag #WiredWednesday

Learn more about Kevin and follow his work with these links:

Invite Kelly to be your opening day speaker at your school, lead a leadership workshop, or share his What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying presentation here. www.kellycroy.com

This link will take you to ALL of Kelly’s social media: https://linktr.ee/kellycroy

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.  Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with 209 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 books, Along Came a Leaderand Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

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Vanquish the Myth of The Digital Native Learner

What Every Educator Needs to Know About Teaching and Learning with Technology!

Vanquish the Myth of The Digital Native Learner: What Every Educator Needs to Know About Teaching and Learning with Technology!

In this 208th episode of The Wired Educator Podcast I share what every educator needs to know about teaching and learning with technology.

Click here to listen to this episode.

In this episode Kelly presents solutions to many of the challenges and obstacles teachers and school districts face when implementing good instructional practice with technology. Our problems are never really about funding, the number of devices, the WiFi, professional learning, nor the devices themselves, but rather the correct mindset, culture and practice needed.

This episode addresses the following questions: 

What do we do to counter and correct the myth that students know how to use technology to learn?

What kind of environment do we need to create in our classrooms about learning with technology?

What should the culture of our schools be with technology?

What should we really be teaching students do with technology?

How should we approach professional learning?

What can a school learn from a hospital about the use of technology?

What is permanent beta and why should I embrace it as my teaching philosophy?

And more!

You are going to love this episode. Be sure to leave a review and share it out.

A Big Thank-You to our sponsor www.Planbook.com – Enter code “Wired” at sign-up

Planbook has been the established leader in online lesson planning since 2010, offering collaborative lesson sharing, flexible administrator access, and even student view tools for just $15 a year. Using Planbook, educators can build customized school years, classes, and lessons 100% online, directly inputting class materials and up-to-date standards from all over the world. Enter code “Wired” at sign-up to join over 800,000 Planbook teachers today and get your first year for only $5!

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Invite Kelly to be your opening day speaker at your school, lead a leadership workshop, or share his What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying presentation here. www.kellycroy.com

This link will take you to ALL of Kelly’s social media: https://linktr.ee/kellycroy

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.  Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with 207 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 books, Along Came a Leaderand Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

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Educational Leadership and Literacy, an Interview with Evan Robb

An Interview with Evan Robb

In this 207th episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Evan Robb, the author of The Ten Minute Principal, Team Makers and more! Evan and I talk about literacy, leadership, culture and more. I learned so much and I know you will too.

Click here to listen to my interview with Evan Robb. 

Evan Robb is presently Principal of Johnson-Williams Middle School in Berryville, Virginia. He has served for more than twenty years as a building level principal. Prior to being a school principal, he was an English teacher, department chair, and Assistant Principal. Evan is a recipient of the Horace Mann Educator of the Year Award. In addition, the NCTE Commission on Reading selected him to serve on its national board.

A TEDx Speaker, Evan presents inspirational keynotes, workshops, and webinars on leadership, mindset, culture, impactful change, and how to improve literacy in schools. Evan has shared his ideas with thousands of educators at workshops across the United States and in other countries.

His first book, The Principal’s Leadership Sourcebook: Practices, Tools, and Strategies for Building a Thriving School Community was published by Scholastic in the fall of 2007. His next book, The Ten- Minute Principal, was published by Corwin in May 2019. Evan Robb and Laura Robb collaborated with Dave Burgess Publishing to write, Team Makers, published in August of 2019. In addition, Evan partnered with Laura Robb to write, A School Full of Readers, with Benchmark Education, published in January, 2020.

Evan has been named one of the top 25 educational leaders to follow on Twitter. Scholastic EDU also named Evan one of the 10 educators to follow on Twitter. Evan was recently named one of the 10 most inspiring global thought leaders for 2020.

Mentioned in this episode: 

Planbook.com: Our sponsor and the leader in online lesson planning and collaboration. Enter code WIRED for The Wired Educator special discount.

Links to Evan’s websites:

Learn more about Evan: https://about.me/evanrobb

Evan’s website: https://robbcommunications.com/

Evan’s blog: https://therobbreviewblog.com/

Evan’s books: 

A Big Thank-You to our sponsor www.Planbook.com – Enter code “Wired” at sign-up

Planbook has been the established leader in online lesson planning since 2010, offering collaborative lesson sharing, flexible administrator access, and even student view tools for just $15 a year. Using Planbook, educators can build customized school years, classes, and lessons 100% online, directly inputting class materials and up-to-date standards from all over the world. Enter code “Wired” at sign-up to join over 800,000 Planbook teachers today and get your first year for only $5!

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Invite Kelly to be your opening day speaker at your school, lead a leadership workshop, or share his What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying presentation here. www.kellycroy.com

This link will take you to ALL of Kelly’s social media: https://linktr.ee/kellycroy

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.  Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with 207 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 books, Along Came a Leaderand Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

 

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WEP 206: Crazy Good Stuff About Teaching an Interview with Rick Wormeli

An Interview with Rick Wormeli

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I have the privilege of interviewing one of my all-time educational heroes, Rick Wormeli. He’s the Mick Jagger of Education. He tackles the big questions in education and explores every strategy and method and puts it to the test. He will make you laugh. He will make you think. He will challenge the way teach. He’ll inspire you in so many ways! Rick isn’t just a legend, he’s one of the most authentic voices in education. We dive in so many areas including assessments, grading, rubrics, literacy, preparing for the new year, starting new initiatives and more.  I think think this may be the greatest interview with Rick ever recorded but I am biased. Buckle up.

Click here to listen to this interview with Rick Wormeli on The Wired Educator Podcast. 

One of the first Nationally Board Certified teachers in America, Rick brings innovation, energy, validity and high standards to both his presentations and his instructional practice, which include 39 years teaching math, science, English, physical education, health, and history, as well as coaching teachers and principals. Rick’s work has been reported in numerous media, including ABC’s Good Morning America, Hardball with Chris Matthews, National Geographic and Good Housekeeping magazines, What Matters Most: Teaching for the 21st Century, and the Washington Post. He is a columnist for AMLE Magazine and a frequent contributor to ASCD’s Education Leadership magazine. He is the author of the award-winning book Meet Me in the Middle as well as the best-selling books Day One and Beyond, Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom (Second Edition), Differentiation: From Planning to Practice and Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching any Subject, all five from Stenhouse Publishers, as well as Summarization in any Subject: 60 Innovative and Tech-Infused Strategies for Deeper Student Learning (releasing in fall 2018) published by ASCD.  His book, The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli: Crazy Good Stuff I Learned about Teaching Along the Way, is collection of his published articles, guest blogs and more through 2013. His classroom practice is a showcase for ASCD’s best-selling series, At Work in the Differentiated Classroom.

With his substantive presentations, sense of humor and unconventional approaches, he has been asked to present to teachers and administrators in all 50 states, Canada, China, Europe, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Australia the Middle East, and at the White House. He is a seasoned veteran of many international webcasts, and he is Disney’s American Teacher Awards 1996 Outstanding English Teacher of the Nation. He won the 2008 James P. Garvin award from the New England League of Middle Schools for Teaching Excellence, Service and Leadership, and he has been a consultant for National Public Radio, USA Today, Court TV and the Smithsonian Institution’s Natural Partners Program and their search for the giant squid. Rick lives in Herndon, Virginia, with his wife, Kelly, and both are proud of recently launching the last of their children into adulthood. With the kids’ college years now behind them, Rick and Kelly are now eagerly spending their childrens’ inheritance while Rick works on his first young adult fiction novel and a new book on changing the culture of a school for ethical grading practices.

Mentioned in this episode:

Please support our sponsor: www.PlanBook.com

Rick’s website: www.rockwormeli.com

Some of my favorite Rick Wormeli book:

Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom

The Collected Writings (so far): Crazy Good Stuff I’ve Learned About Teaching Along the Way of Rick Wormeli

A Big Thank-You to our sponsor www.Planbook.com – Enter code “Wired” at sign-up

Planbook has been the established leader in online lesson planning since 2010, offering collaborative lesson sharing, flexible administrator access, and even student view tools for just $15 a year. Using Planbook, educators can build customized school years, classes, and lessons 100% online, directly inputting class materials and up-to-date standards from all over the world. Enter code “Wired” at sign-up to join over 800,000 Planbook teachers today and get your first year for only $5!

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Invite Kelly to be your opening day speaker at your school, lead a leadership workshop, or share his What Everyone Needs to Know About Bullying presentation here. www.kellycroy.com

This link will take you to ALL of Kelly’s social media: https://linktr.ee/kellycroy

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.  Subscribe to The Wired Educator Podcast with 202 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 books, Along Came a Leaderand Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

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The Influence of A Good Teacher: A Tribute to Mrs. Joan Francis

Guest post by Theresa Welch, Wired Educator Squad Member

They say that the influence of a good teacher can’t be erased.  Recently I found out that my fifth grade teacher passed away and those words truly apply here.

It was 1991 and the world was a different place.  We rode in our friends’ moms’ minivans to field trips (and may or may not have worn seatbelts).  Videos in class were rare occurrences and they were on these big black boxes called VHS (insert millennial doing a Google image search here).  And I was in fifth grade at St. Lawrence School in Shelton, Connecticut.

Mrs. Francis was the teacher everyone talked about and loved.  She made social studies come alive.  Her classes were filled with laughter and smiles.  The irony is that thirty years later (author gasps as she writes that!), I couldn’t much tell you about the content of the academic classes she taught me.  But I can tell you that she made learning fun and made me want to keep learning.  Before there was a movie Jurassic Park, she had the book on her desk and was telling us about this exciting story of a world where dinosaurs return.  She moved to the beach and we took a field trip TO. HER. HOUSE.  Yes, you read that right.  Not only did I know where my teacher lived, we went there as a whole class of rambunctious 10 and 11 year old Catholic school kids!  We found snails and dug in the sand and all made it back to school in one piece!

When my life long friend texted me that Mrs. Francis had passed, I was heartbroken.  I was friends with her on social media and went to her profile.  In it she wrote: “I enjoyed every class and every subject AND EVERY CHILD.”  That passion was apparent to me as a child and even more so now as both and adult and teacher.  As I was reading the text, I heard my teenage son watching Cheers on TV and the familiar words of its theme song, “Sometimes you want to go; where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came, you want to be where you can see, our troubles are all the same, you want to be where everybody knows your name.”  Mrs. Francis knew all our names.  She remembered and befriended many alumni of our school on social media.  She commented on pictures of our kids and our live’s accomplishments.  But most importantly, she helped lay the foundation for a love of learning and enthusiasm for life for so many of us.

I can imagine that there aren’t many readers of the Wired Educator blog that had the honor of knowing Mrs. Francis.  But I know that you each have a Mrs. Francis in your life.  If you are lucky enough to still be in contact or can get in contact, send them a note of appreciation.  My challenge to you is that even if you cannot find your teacher to thank, strive to be that teacher for your students.  Be the teacher that they will remember 30 years from now and fondly remember that time when…