The Wired Educator Podcast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Pat Adkins, a veteran superintendent whose leadership, culture work, and views on education are sought out by educational leaders across the nation. Pat and I talk about leading a school district in a time of crisis, such as this pandemic, the importance of building a maintaining a dynamic culture and coaching others to become better leaders. This is a fun and worthy episode I know you will enjoy and benefit from.  Pat Adkins is the Superintendent of the Port Clinton City Schools in Port Clinton, Ohio.  Port Clinton Schools have been recognized as a National Forum School to Watch and selected as a Model School by the International Center for Leadership.  Pat’s thirty years in education include roles as a high school teacher, director of technology, coach, building principal, and Superintendent. He has not only survived but has thrived as Superintendent in Port Clinton for 15 years. He is an adjunct professor for Ashland University where he teaches adm

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Christy Whittlesey, author of the Dave Burgess Publishing book, It’s Ok to Say “They”: Tips for Educator Allies of Transgender and Non-Binary Students. This is a powerful conversation between two educators about doing whatever you can to teach, care and help every student. What is a gender-friendly school? What changes should school districts make? What should school districts be thinking about and considering?  Christy Whittlesey, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) has been an educator in settings ranging from PreK-higher education for the past 17 years, and is currently a PreK-12 Fine and Performing Arts Administrator and a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Arts Ambassador in Massachusetts. In addition to her work in the arts, Dr. Whittlesey regularly collaborates with school districts and organizations to update policy and lead professional development to create gender-friendly schools where all students can thrive, regardless of gender. Christy r

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 I ever heard of the term, coronavirus back in Janu

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast I interview Elisabeth Bostwick, author of Take the L.E.A.P.: Ignite a Culture of Innovation and co-author of Education Write Now, Volume II: Top Strategies for Improving Relationships and Culture. This is a wonderful conversation about remote instruction & remote learning and all of the amazing work Elisabeth does to help educators level-up and make a positive difference in the lives of students. She is brilliant. You will love this episode. In my introduction, I salute our first responders and essential workers during this time of crisis, and I offer some insight and direction on how you can apply the practice of mindfulness to your life.  Elisabeth Bostwick is a multi-award-winning educator who is passionate about creating the conditions to spark curiosity and unleash creativity to empower learning. She is the author of, Take the L.E.A.P.: Ignite a Culture of Innovation and co-author of Education Write Now, Volume II: Top Strategies for Improving Relations

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Rae Hughart. Rae is a member of the Teach Better Team; they create awesome resources for educators. Rae is the co-author of the brand new, best-selling book, Teach Better and she co-hosts the Teach Better Talk Podcast.  How are you, friends? You okay? I have some words of hope and inspiration for you, your schools and your families in my intro. I hope you are all safe and healthy. Thank you for checking in with me. I have four episodes on my desktop ready to be published. Get ready.  Thank you for all of the extra hours I know you are putting in. Thank you for all of the extra care and connection you are providing for your students. Thank you for all of the training you are providing for your colleagues. You are amazing and you are making a difference!  Rae Hughart is a Middle-Level Math Educator in Illinois, creator of the Teach Further Model, Co-Author of "Teach Better" and the Director of Training & Development for the Teach Better Team. In 201

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 wi

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I had the pleasure and honor to interview Dr. Louisa Moats. She pioneered the science of reading and is the leading authority on the planet on how to teach students to read. It was not only my honor and pleasure to interview her, I was able to connect Louisa with three of our educators, Stephanie Kieffer, Amy Quillen, Morgan Siefke, and our primary principal, Kendra VanDoren, to learn about Louisa's work and how we can improve literacy at our district. Our teachers got to ask Louisa questions! Our teachers and principal are part of the interview. Amazing. Dr. Moats has been a teacher, psychologist, researcher, graduate school faculty member, and author of many influential scientific journal articles, books, and policy papers on the topics of reading, spelling, language, and teacher preparation. After a first job as a neuropsychology technician, she became a teacher of students with learning and reading difficulties, earning her Master’s degree at Peabody College

In this episode of the Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Weston Kieschnick. Wes is The author of the phenomena, best-selling, educational book titled Bold School: Old School Wisdom + New School Innovation = Blended Learning That Works. Bold School is awesome! Wes is a gifted educator, speaker, and author that will inspire all listeners of the Wild Educator Podcast. I had so much fun talking with Wes. His amazing approach to education and fun attitude is contagious. Buckle-up. Weston Kieschnick is a lifelong educator with more than fourteen years of experience designing, developing, and delivering leadership training and professional development to teachers and school leaders around the globe. He is the author of the best selling book, Bold School: Old School Wisdom + New School Innovation = Blended Learning that Works, co-author of The Learning Transformation: A Guide to Blended Learning for Administrators and the creator and host of Teaching Keating; one of the most downloaded edu-centric podcasts on Goog