Tag Archives: educator

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WEP 144: Impossible to Possible, an Interview with Ray Zahab

Photo from Ray’s Instagram.

In this episode of the Wired Educator Podcast, I had the privilege to sit down in person with Ray Zahab after his keynote at the Leadership and Learning Academy 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. Ray is one of my heroes. I love how he connects with educators and students. You are going to love this episode. Than you for listening!

Ray Zahab is a Canadian Adventurer, ultra distance runner and Founder of non-profit impossible2Possible. A recent recipient of the Meritorious Service Cross of Canada, Ray is an Explorer in Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. In 2015 Canadian Geographic recognized Ray as one of Canada’s Top Explorers. He has ran 14,000+km across the world’s deserts, and completed multiple unsupported expeditions in some of the coldest places on the planet.

Kelly Croy and Ray Zahab.

On November 1, 2006, former “pack a day smoker” turned ultra runner Ray Zahab and two friends, Charlie Engle and Kevin Lin, set out on an expedition to cross the Sahara Desert by foot. 111 days and 7,500 kms after leaving the coast of Senegal, Africa they completed their journey by stepping into the Red Sea.

The expedition had the trio running an average of 70kms a day without a single day of rest, for 111 days. National Geographic tracked the expedition by web, as well as the documentary film ‘Running The Sahara’, produced by Matt Damon and directed by Academy Award winner James Moll, was created in an effort to raise awareness for the drinking water crisis in North Africa. After witnessing and learning about the water crisis in North Africa, Ray decided to leverage his future adventures to help raise awareness and funding for causes, like this one, that he supports and believes in.

Ray founded impossible2Possible (i2P) (impossible2possible.com) an organization that aims to inspire and educate youth through adventure learning, inclusion and participation in expeditions. Youth Ambassadors are selected from around the world, and then participate, at no cost, in all aspects of the expedition, from logistics and running to creating educational content and team support.

Interviewing Ray Zahab.

Ray has also found the time to write two books about his life and adventures. Running for My Life published in 2007 and Ray’s second book, geared at youth readers, Running to Extremes, which recently became a National Best-Seller in Canada. He is currently writing his third book.

In addition to being an adventurer, youth advocate and runner, Ray speaks around the world at events such as TED, IOC World Conference, Idea City, The Economist World in 2010 and 2011, World Affairs Council, and numerous Apple Distinguished Educator events internationally, as well as numerous corporate events. He has been interviewed and appeared on several talk and news programs including CNNi, CNN, The Hour, CBC, CTV, BBC, Jay Leno, OLN and Discovery, and has connected his expeditions live, using satellite to both mainstream and social media. He has also appeared in print media globally, and has been interviewed on numerous popular podcasts. Ray was the host of Project Guatemala which aired on OLN, and co hosted-guided a few episodes of Finding Sarah on OWN.

Outside of his own organization Ray has volunteered as a board member, Ryan’s Well Foundation, volunteered as Athletic Ambassador of the ONExONE.org, and SpreadTheNet. He continues to volunteer with Run For Water, and various other initiatives. Ray received the ONExONE Difference Award in 2007, and the Torchbearers Award in 2010. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In spring 2012, Ray was invited by H.E. Tsogtbaatar Damdin (Minister of Environment, Mongolia) to join their Internal Advisory Committee. In 2015 Canadian Geographic recognized Ray as one of Canada’s Top Explorers. In December 2015 Ray was presented with the Meritorious Service Cross of Canada by the Governor General of Canada. In 2018 Ray was named Explorer in Residence by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

He continues today with life as an adventurer and as a volunteer with impossible2Possible. ‘Running The Sahara’ would begin a lifelong journey of discovery. A journey of learning that some of the greatest barriers to achieving our goals are the ones we put upon ourselves. By breaking these down, Ray has learned that we are all capable of achieving truly extraordinary things…a message he continues to share with his two young daughters!

Mentioned in this podcast:

Ray’s TEDtalk
Ray’s website
Ray’s InstagramRay’s Foundation: Impossible to Possible
Ray’s book: Running for My Life
Ray’s book: Running to Extremes
Ray’s book: Just Deserts
• Kasey Bell’s Google Certification Online Courses for listeners of The Wired Educator Podcast! This course closes Dec 3, 2019.

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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 143 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 131: Daily STEM, an Interview with Chris Woods

STEM for Every Student, Every Classroom, Everyday

In this episode of the Wired Educator Podcast, I interview an expert in all things STEM, Chris Woods.  Chris is the host of the Daily STEM Podcast and I love following him on Twitter. He is an amazing resource. He finds STEM everywhere!

Chris started the idea of dailySTEM to help educators and parents find STEM in the real world and share STEM with the kids they know.  Why?  Because STEM is all around us…in the backyard, at the store, in our homes, on TV and movies, in the news…everywhere!

Chris has been a High School Math teacher (Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Hands-on Geometry) since 1999 in Calumet, Michigan. He wrote his own Algebra 1 iBook (Part 1 and Part 2) for students, complete with short video examples and practice questions for every lesson (all of the videos are available on YouTube as well.)

Chris lives in a woods in a house he built himself with his wife and three children.

Chris’s work in education has be recognized as the 2013 Teacher of the Year, Calumet Public Schools, and he was a recipient of the 2017-2018 Michigan Teacher Leadership Advisory Council.

Chris and I talk of all things STEM and how it fits into any grade, in any content area. We talk maker spaces, making, science, math, technology, engineering, creating and, so much more.
Mentioned in this podcast: 
This episode’s sponsor: www.zappycode.com
Breaking News: A NEW Wired Educator Logo will be coming to you very soon. Stay tuned!
Chris recommends the book: The Simple Faith for Mr. Rodgers
Twitter: dailystem
Instagram: dailystem
Website: dailystem.com

 

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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 130 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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Can Fortnite Make You a Better Teacher? Squad up!

A lot of people are playing Fortnite, and it’s not all bad. In a recent article by FastCompany, I learned there are 200 million users on Fortnite, with about 8 million of those on at one time, with the average user spending over 10 hours a week playing the game. It is now emerging as one of the biggest social media platforms, and generated over 3.5 billion in revenue from this ‘free’ game.

Love it or hate it, Fortnite is not going away, and I aim to show that learning just a little bit about the game will make you a better teacher, and help make your classroom a better learning environment. I’m not suggesting you spend hours playing the game, but I do suggest you read this post and crack the code of Fortnite’s popularity, and find ways to bring its addictiveness to your instruction. Learn what makes students love Fornite and apply it to your class.

  1. Students want to sky dive into learning: Make the start of your class exciting. At the beginning of the game, Fortnite, everyone is literally on a “battle bus.” The players parachute down to an island. It’s exciting. Hook your students in with something close to a 13,000 foot freefall. Parachuters get about 60 seconds of free fall. What can you do that is exciting, quick and relevant to the lesson?
  2. Students want to choose their destination. Let students make choices about their learning. As the players are parachuting they are gliding down and choosing which part of the island to land and explore. Students in your classroom want to make choices, too. It’s fun. Give them options or let them choose. What can you let your students choose tomorrow? Do it.
  3. Students want a sense of urgency and a quick paced session. When the players land in Fortnite, the players are racing to stay away from a surround storm that is tightening. Players must keep moving, encountering new adventures, and face challenges. Your class needs to keep moving forward with new challenges. Students get bored with one activity that goes on and on.
  4. Students want an environment to explore. In the game, players explore an island looking for tools, prizes and surprises. Get students out of their seat and have them exploring your class and halls. Put task cards on the walls, use BreakOut EDU boxes, and find other ways to make your class a hands-on exploration.
  5. Students want to make stuff. In Fortnite, players must build forts. They can get pretty creative. The forts have a purpose and making stuff is fun. I’ve seen my daughters watch videos of people making stuff for long periods of time. What can you have your students build and make that is relevant and fun in your class?
  6. Students like to compete. I know. I know. We hear it so many times, “Competition in school is bad.” But students seem to love it. Can’t some competition be good? Can we find ways to game in class to have fun and hook students? I say, yes! Fortnite keeps track of your wins and players celebrate this.
  7. Students want to collaborate. In Fortnite, players can work together to achieve wins. Let’s give them opportunities for collaborative learning in class. I don’t mean group projects, I mean learning with a partner and tackling the obstacles of learning together.
  8. Students want to communicate with classmates.  The headset is popular in Fortnite. Players like to talk with each other and bark commands and summarize plans. Give students opportunities to speak their learning strategies and communicate about learning with classmates. Find more creative ways to do this.
  9. Fortnite is fun! It’s full of crazy costumes, colors, music, and themes. They are constantly updating the game with seasons and new stuff. How about your class? Do students ever walk in and say, “Wow! What did you do? What’s all this?” They should. Surprise them. Switch it up.

I think Fortnite can be a ridiculous time-suck for most players. I really do. I also think a little bit of it is a lot of fun. Mostly though, I look at things like this and try to figure out what I can learn from it to connect with students. I hope you do too.

Squad up! Go teach those students.

Written by Kelly Croy (With the help of my daughter, Jaclyn.)

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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 0096: Unmapped Potential an Interview with Julie Hasson

WEP 0096: Unmapped Potential and Interview with Julie Hasson

In this 96th episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, Kelly interviews Julie Hasson, the co-author of the amazing book, Unmapped Potential: An Educator’s Guide to Lasting Change. Julie has a unique perspective in education from multiple vantage points, she has been an educator, and administrator, and now trains future teachers as a college professor. Julie and Kelly have an incredible conversation about educational data and the best ways to use it. This is a great conversation with a brilliant educator and author, Juie Hasson. You are going to love this interview.

Julie is a third generation educator and a former public school teacher and principal. She is currently a professor at her alma mater, Florida Southern College, where she teaches graduate courses in educational leadership. When Julie is not teaching, she is doing qualitative research in schools, delving into educator expectations and impact. Julie is also a speaker, trainer and author of Unmapped Potential. Julie Hasson, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Coordinator for the Master of Educational Leadership at Florida Southern College.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Our Sponsor: Potato Pirates: A fun card game that teachers you programming! <<< Check it out!

Julie’s book, Unmapped Potential: An Educator’s Guide to Lasting Change by Julie Hasson & Missy Leonard.

Books Kelly is reading and recommends:

The Wild Card: 7 Steps to an Educator’s Creative Breakthrough by Hope & Wade King

Culturize: Every Student Every Day. Whatever it Takes. by Jimmy Casas

Code Breakers: Increase Creativity. Remix Assessment. And Develop a Class of Coder Ninjas. by Brian Aspinall

 

 

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12 Resolutions Every Educator Should Make in 2018

We Should All Do Number 6

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!

Here are twelve resolutions I believe every educator should make:

  1. 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.
  2. Transform the Use of Technology in Your Classroom: Technology should be used the majority of the time to create content, and only briefly to consume. Examine how you are using tech in your classroom. 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. Try the book 50 Things You Can Do with Google Classroom.
  3. Share Your Story: 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!
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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. Publish their work.
  12. 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.
  13. (Bonus) 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 Teach Like a Pirate, Lead Like a Pirate, or Empower. Also check out my podcast for links to fantastic educational books.
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WEP 0085: The Epic Classroom an Interview with Trevor Muir

Kelly interviews educator, author, and speaker, Trevor Muir. Trevor makes amazing inspirational videos and is the author of the book The Epic Classroom: How to Boost Engagment, Make Learning Memorable, and Transform Lives. Kelly and Trevor talk about how to make your classroom epic!

Trevor is a teacher, author, speaker, and project based learning expert. He is the author of The Epic Classroom, a book about using the power of story to make learning engaging and unforgettable. Trevor is a faculty member for the Buck Institute For Education, and travels across the country to work with educators on how to bring project based learning into their schools. He is the host and creator for the We Are Teachers show, Teacher Helpline Live, and his writing has been featured in the Huffington Post, The Creative Classroom, and EdWeek. He also gave a TEDx Talk titled, “School Should Take Place in the Real World,” at TEDxSanAntonio. Trevor’s work can be found on his Facebook page, on Epic Classroom and on his blog at www.trevormuir.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Trevor’s book, The Epic Classroom: How to Boost Engagment, Make Learning Memorable, and Transform Lives.

The Buck Institute and Project Based Learning

Skype in the classroom. 

Seth Godin

Trevor recommends reading The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Stephen Pressfield.

 

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WEP 0083: Book Snaps! An Interview with Tara Martin

In this episode, Kelly interviews, Tara Martin, the originator of #BookSnaps, a super-cool and relevant way to share what you are reading through social media. Tara used SnapChat to get intice young readers to engage meaningfully with books, and now BookSnaps! has become an incredibly popular movement and hashtag on SnapChat, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more. Learn how Tara took what she thought was an annoying fad and turned it into an educational opportunity! You going to love this episode.

Tara Martin is an enthusiastic educator who thrives on change and refuses to settle for the status quo. Martin’s mission is to invigorate teachers, administrators, and staff members to apply instructional practices that foster creativity, personalize learning and prepare 21st-century learners for success. Check out her latest hashtag #BookSnaps on Twitter.

Mentioned in this episode: 
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WEP 0081: Table Talk Math: An Interview with John Stevens

Table Talk Math: A Practical Guide to Bringing math in Everyday Conversations.

Kelly interviews author and educator, John Stevens, about his new book, Table Talk Math: A Practical Guide to Bringing math in Everyday Conversations.

John Stevens is an educational technology coach for Chaffey Joint Union High School District who has also taught high school Geometry, Algebra 1, middle school Math, Service Learning, and Robotics, Engineering, and Design since 2006. As the co-author of “The Classroom Chef”, he has served as the go-to guy for trying new, crazy, and often untested ideas to see how well they will work.

He co-founded and moderates #CAedchat, the weekly teacher Twitter chat for the state of California. He also is the co-founder and organizer of EdCamp Palm Springs, the first in the area.

In his free time that doesn’t exist, he runs a site called Would You Rather? which is dedicated to getting students talking about math. He is an author of Flipping 2.0, a resource that helps teachers take the flipped classroom to the next level. During recent summers, John has had the honor of presenting at CUE Rockstar events in California and various technology and math conferences. John blogs at fishing4tech.com. His latest adventure has led him into the world of 3D-printing, designing lesson plans and curricula for AirWolf3D. Follow him @jstevens009 or email him at stevens009@gmail.com

Mentioned in this podcast:

Creation Crate: An awesome subscription service sending you new electronic projects each month! I love it and so do my kids!

How to Make a Freaking iPhone App Kickstarter by Nick Walter: This kickstarter project will become an awesome online course to help you make an app. Very cool.

John’s books:

Table Talk Math: A Practical Guide to Bringing math in Everyday Conversations

The Classroom Chef: Sharpen Your Lessons, Season Your Classes, and Make Math Meaningful.

Books I’m reading this summer and that I’ve seen poolside:
• Kids Deserve It! by Todd Nesloney and Adam Welcome

• Instant Relevance by Denis Sheeran

• The Writing on the Classroom Wall by Steve Wyborney

Equipment I just ordered: 

• iPad Pro 12.9 inch: The greatest device I have ever owned. Wow!

• Apple Pencil: I love this. Wow!

• Logic hard shell case and backlit keyboard for iPad Pro: this is the best keyboard and case available for the iPad Pro.
• Omoton Leather sleeve for iPad Pro with document folder and Pencil holder: this is awesome and less the $15 bucks.

Another book: 

John’s favorite book is Outliers by Malcom Gladwell

App: Desmos graphing calculator

My book: Along Came a Leader: A Guide to Personal and Professional Leadership

My February 2018 Weekend Retreat for Educators: Click here to learn more!