The Power of Podcasts on PD- May 15, 2019

My commute to work as the School Based Technology Specialist @Vienna ES follows a pattern. Here's how it goes:

• Monday: Google Teacher Tribe and Sons of Technology

• Tuesdays: Shake Up Learning, Shukes and Giff, and Invitations to Learn

• Wednesday: EduDuctTape Podcast

• Thursday: Check this Out with Ryan and Brian or Ask the Tech Coach

• Friday: Catching up on the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast

If you can't tell, I confess- I am an educational technology podcast junkie! I absolutely love my podcast listening time and love it when I find a new great idea as I drive into work. (Sometimes, I wish my commute was a little longer...not really) So this morning as I listened to Episode 12 of the Shake Up Learning Podcast, I knew this would be the focus of this week's blog.

The Podcast Question of the Week was to name 3 ways that podcasts have helped improve your teaching and impacted your students. 3 Ways? I am not sure I can narrow it down to just 3 ways- but here I go.

1. Google Teacher Tribe:  This was the first educational technology podcast I had ever listened to. I found it in January 2018 doing a random search. Immediately, I found myself waiting for Monday morning to come so that I could listen to Matt and Kasey. I couldn't believe how much I could learn just by listening to a podcast while driving to work.

When Kasey shared that her book, Shake Up Learning was coming out, I knew I had to read it.  Just like #GTTribe, her book spoke to me and I finished it quickly. 

How has #GTTribe impacted my students and teaching?

• I am now a Level 1 and 2 Google Certified Educator and plan to take Kasey's Certified Trainer course this summer.

• I love using Choice Boards with my students to provide choice and voice.

• I LOVE me "some Google slides"- it is my favorite GSuite tool! 

• It led me to find other educational technology podcasts that I also regularly enjoy, including Kasey's new podcast, Shake Up Learning

2. Ten Minute Teacher Podcast:  At the beginning of this school year, I was struggling teaching my kinders. Every lesson seemed to take forever and I was looking for something to ground my teaching.  I love that Vicki Davis has themed weeks in her short informative podcast. That week, she was talking about #K2CanToo. I listened as Pana described how she helped her students build icon literacy as they used technology- this was it!

How has #TenMinuteTeacherPodcast impacted my students and teaching?

• I now teach all my students using icon literacy. In fact, I have an icon literacy wall in my technology classroom that students and I frequently refer to.

• When Vicki interviewed @EMosier in episode #345, he described how he had students design their own Google Classroom banners. I did that with my Grade 3-6 students and the excitement when their banner is on my site is amazing.

• I have read many books after hearing authors on this podcast- here are a few:

  • EduMagic by Dr. Sam Fecich

  • Illuminate by Bethany Petty from episode 302

3. Educational Duct Tape: This is a newer addition to my podcast listening list, but it has quickly become one of my favorites. I love how Jake Miller and his guests approach using educational technology as a way to "help solve" a problem.  I also love his soapbox moments and how they help me reflect as an educator. This podcast makes Wednesdays, which I used to think of as just the middle of the week,  a breath of fresh air that I look forward to each week.  

How has #EduDuctTape impacted my students and teaching?

• Episode 7 @KarlyMoura: After hearing this episode and how Karly Moura used #csinsf curriculum in her classroom, I started using this amazing resource with all my students. It was a great introduction for me into computational thinking and I am now using algorithms as a way to scaffold learning.

• Episode 20 @SylviaDuckworth:  After listening to this episode, I took a leap and bought Sylvia's book- I am going to learn how to sketchnote!

• Every episode builds my PLN with new people to follow and learn from.

• I get super excited when Jake mentions one of my tweets or retweets them.