Episodes

On May 2, 2017, I had the privilege of being invited to attend the #LEARNWHATSNEXT keynote produced by Microsoft. The first of its kind during Microsoft Satya Nadella's tenure as CEO, the keynote revolved around education and what Microsoft thinks the classroom of the future should look like. More than 20 educators from across the world representing Pre-K through University studies were invited to attend and meet with representatives from the Education team to share their thoughts about how thi...

On today's episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, we take a look at the topic of the Gender Gap in STEM Education. For more information on this topic, please visit MakeWhatsNext.com. I would like to thank Microsoft Philanthropies and Microsoft Education for helping to set this episode up. What if she could be the one to find the cure, crack the code, or invent something that has the potential to save lives? When we encourage girls to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), we dou...

On this episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, I sit down with Microsoft Product Manager, Matt McGinnis to learn about Microsoft School Data Sync, the powerful free application that allows school districts to sync their student data directly from their Student Information System. If you are an IT Director or a Director of Technology, this is certainly the perfect show for you. During the show, Matt walks us through a typical school situation where School Data Sync is being used to create a seamles...

On today's episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, I welcome educator Dan Rezac from Tynker.com on to discuss STEM Education and how Tynker is offering educators a FREE professional development opportunity called the Blue Ribbon Educator Program. What is the Blue Ribbon Educator Program? If you are an educator interested in learning more about STEM education and are either currently working with students in a Computer Science program, or interested in starting a coding based program, the Blue Ribbo...

On today's podcast, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Elementary Principal and ASCD Author Jennifer Schwanke to discuss her new book called “You're the Principal! Now What? Strategies and Solutions for New School Leaders.” I met Jennifer Schwanke on a recent ASCD book chat and was completely amazed at how similar the story of a new administrator can be to the story of a new Tech Coach. In most situations, you may be the only one in your position in a building, you have to keep your confid...

In this episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, I sit down with California educator and SMART Exemplary Educator Denesa Menge to discuss how she has created a fully immersive and interactive learning environment for her students, with the help of SMART Technologies. One of the most important things you can do with your students is to provide them an engaging, interactive learning environment. When students are active, they become attentive learners. By using tools such as SMART Interactive Boards a...

Is your school district looking to make a change in it's Learning Management System, or Student Information System? Are you tired of getting recommendations based only on reading twitter and edtech blogs? In this episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, I sit down with Michael Winters and Molly Levitt from EdSurge to discuss their new service called EdSurge Concierge. Recently released and made available to school districts across the country, EdSurge Concierge allows School Districts a simple and p...

Welcome to the TeacherCast Podcast. In this episode, Jeff sits down with the Executive Director of CSNYC, Michael Preston and Superintendent Jason Eitner to discuss why students of all ages should have a Computer Science infused curriculum. About CSNYC CSNYC is a nonprofit founded in 2013 to ensure that all of New York City’s 1.1 million public school students have access to a high-quality computer science (CS) education that puts them on a pathway to college and career success. To build thrivi...

Welcome to the TeacherCast Podcast. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Microsoft Innovative Educator Steve Isaacs, and Minecraft Education Manager Neal Manegold to discuss how Minecraft Education Education is shifting the way our students are learning in classrooms around the world. What is Minecraft Education Edition? Minecraft: Education Edition is an open-world game that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive environment where the only limit is your imagina...

On November 29 and 30, educators from across the planet will be participating in the annual Skypeathon. Brought to you by Microsoft Education, the Skypeathon is a fantastic way of bringing together not only classrooms, but it's a great opportunity to invite industry experts into your class to share their passions about their professions. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with New Jersey educator and Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, Steve Isaacs and TEDx Speaker and Middle School ...

Search Engine Optimization is a skill that we all should be thinking about when we teach our students about Digital Citizenship. When we teach our students to comment on each other's Google docs, we are really setting our students up to improve their search rank. In this episode, learn all about SEO and how we can set our students and our websites up for a global audience. About Company Ardor Media Factory is the ultimate multi-national backlink building company. We help businesses achieve utmo...

Welcome to the TeacherCast Podcast. In this episode, Jeff sits down with speaker, author, and “Serial Innovator” John Kao, founder of EdgeMakers.com. In this episode, John and Jeff discuss how creativity can be fostered in every child by developing a strong interest and love for Music Education. Join Jeff and John on September 24th for “Hack the Classroom” Presented by Microsoft Education LIVE from 8-10AM PST. For more information: TeacherCast.net/HackTheClassroom Links of interest Hack the Cla...

Welcome to the TeacherCast Podcast. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Dr. Corinne Hyde, a fantastic professor at USC Rossier School of Education and an amazing educator to have a very candid discussion about Digital Literacy. In this interview, we touch on every topic from Social Media use to working with teachers who may be afraid of stepping out of the box in their classroom. About Dr. Hyde Dr. Corinne Hyde is an Associate Teaching Professor of Clinical Education at the USC Rossier School ...

Jeff sits down with author Marnie Howard to discuss her new educational books called The BuzzyLuvz and how moms and dads worldwide are teaching great behavior skills to their students with the help of some little bees. About BuzzyLuvz “Kindness is essential in our world today and must be reinforced during the early stages of childhood. As a former elementary school substitute teacher, I have launched a Children’s Kindness Campaign starting with my six-book series BuzzyLuvz®: Practice Kindness....

Jeff sits down with educator, author, and Apple Distinguished Educator Monica Burns to discuss her book Deeper Learning with QR Codes and Augmented Reality. Why Scannable Technologies? Social Media: Blog ClassTechTips.com Twitter @ClassTechTips Facebook.com/ClassTechTips Pinterest.com/ClassTechTips About Monica Burns Monica Burns is an Curriculum and EdTech Consultant, Apple Distinguished Educator and Founder of ClassTechTips.com. As an educator, Monica was part of her school’s Federal Magne...

About Recap Recap is a free video response and reflection app developed by the makers of Swivl. It gives teachers and parents insight into students’ learning and progress by introducing video as a quick, simple and everyday tool to collect student data. Recap provides evidence of student thinking, improves formative assessment, and supports personalized learning. Sign up at www.letsrecap.com! Teacher Resources www.letsrecap.com www.swivl.com Download on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/r...

Jeff sits down with Travis and Anthony from mcSquares, a dynamic new edtech tool that brings personalized non-tech learning back into the classrooms. About mcSquares mcSquares are personal, handheld whiteboards that easily snap together on a wall to create a larger, collaborative system that is infinitely flexible and completely customizable. Links of interest www.mcsquares.com www.mcsquares.com/youtube www.mcsquares.com/facebook Twitter: @mc_squares Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/mcsquares About...

While getting students interested in math can be a challenge for teachers, TenMarks has found a fun – and timely – way to get kids buzzing about numbers. Drawing on students’ interest in sports and the excitement of the annual March Madness basketball tournament, the Math Madness contest is a great way to get kids genuinely excited about math! Through a little friendly competition, students have fun, win prizes and gain mastery in math. However, it’s not just about the cool prizes. Participating...

Jeff sits down with Matt Niemitz from Adobe Education to discuss Adobe Education Exchange, a free resource for teachers to learn how to enhance their curriculum using Adobe solutions. About Adobe Education The Adobe Education Exchange helps ignite creativity in classrooms worldwide by connecting educators through free professional development opportunities, teaching materials, and peer-to-peer collaboration. Links of interest Adobe Education Exchange: https://edex.adobe.com Twitter: @AdobeEdu ...

Jeff sits down with Eric Schweikardt of Modular Robotics to talk about STEM education in today's classrooms. Learn how your students can learn programming skills through Modular Robotics interlocking Cubelets to create amazing robotic projects. About Modular Robotics Modular Robotics is home to more than 50 people who design, engineer and manufacture tiny robots. Every day, we work to build robot construction systems for kids because we believe that toys shape the way children think about the w...

Have you ever wondered what an Apple Distinguished School looks like? Have you ever thought about rolling out a successful 1:1 initiative across thousands of students and teachers? In this episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, Jeff sits down with Ross Cooper to discuss TL2020, a State of the Art, 21st Century vision for the Salisbury Twp. School District that not only is turning heads worldwide, but chasing the lives of students as they become college and career ready. About Salisbury School Dist...

In this episode, Jeff sits down with Kasia Chmielinski to learn how Scratch is being used in over 150 countries in more than 40 languages. About Scratch Scratch is a programming language and an online community where children can program and share interactive media such as stories, games, and animation with people from all over the world. As children create from Scratch, they learn to think creatively, work collaboratively, and reason systematically. Millions of people are creating Scratch pro...

Jeff sits down with Mary Jo Madda and Michael Winters to discuss how EdSurge is one of the BEST resources for educators on the planet! Learn how EdSurge was founded and how it operates today. About EdSurge EdSurge is a news and information company focused on the intersection between education and technology. EdSurge readers and fans are edtech entrepreneurs, educators, investors, and education policy makers who are interested in technology K12 and Higher Ed. EdSurge has keynoted with U.S. Secr...

Jeff sits down with Jason Valade from Techsmith Education to discuss how easy it is for teachers to be Screencasting in the Classroom for their students. In this video, Jason shows several great reasons for creating screencasts for the classroom. Learn how educators across the country are using video to transform teaching with flipping, project-based learning, and to get more choices in how they teach. Join former educator Jason Valade as he provides inspirational ways to teach more effectively...