How Personal Growth Can Be Its Own Form of Professional Development This Summer

In this episode, Tara Martin joins us once again for a conversation on how the very things that help us recharge during the summer can be the key ingredients to professional growth in the year to come. In a summer where many educators are burnt out and in need of a break, this episode considers how personal growth can be some of the best and most applicable PD an educator experiences in the summer.

School’s Out! Lessons Learned and Looking Ahead: A Future Ready NE Conference Preview

This is the third pod in our three-part series previewing the Future Ready Nebraska Conference that will take place from 9am-1pmCT on June 14 and 15th. In this episode, we are joined by Melissa Pilakowski, ELA teacher from Valentine High School and Mike Mohammad, physics teacher from Brookfield Central High School in Wisconsin. In this chat, Melissa and Mike reflect on their experiences over the past year, highlight their takeaways, and look optimistically to the future of education in the post-pandemic classroom.

Register for the Future Ready NE Conference at nefutureready.com

High-Quality Instructional Materials Matter: A Future Ready NE Conference Preview

Dr. Cory Epler of the Nebraska Department of Education joins us this week for a conversation on the work being done around High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIMs) in Nebraska. This episode is a Future Ready Conference preview of Dr. Epler’s breakout session, #MaterialsMatter, which will be delivered at 11:35amCT on June 14th.

Resources Referenced in the Pod

The Future Ready Nebraska Registration Link: https://nefutureready.com/

The Nebraska Instructional Materials Collaborative: https://nematerialsmatter.org/

The Nebraska OER: https://www.oercommons.org/hubs/nebraska

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The State of Tech in Education: A Future Ready NE Conference Preview

This week, Matt Miller, author of Ditch That Textbook and Tech Like a Pirate, joins the pod as a Future Ready Nebraska Conference preview. Matt will be keynoting and leading a breakout session at that FREE virtual event on June 14. In this episode, our conversation focuses on how the pandemic era of learning has accelerated tech integration in education, and we discuss the promise this shift holds for the future of education as a result. Additionally, Matt delves into his work supporting teachers, TikTok for professional development, ideas from his latest book, and more.

Register (It’s FREE) for the Future Ready Nebraska Conference: https://nefutureready.com/

Access Matt Miller’s Ditch That Textbook Site: https://ditchthattextbook.com/

Link to Resources Matt Mentioned in the Pod: https://ditchthattextbook.com/101

For ESU staff in network, these books are available for checkout in the PD Library:

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Stories from the Classroom: How Relationships Are at the Heart of Learning

In this episode, Brooke Kavan (ESU 7) and I visit Millard West High School in Omaha, Nebraska to chat with Brooke’s 17-year-old cousin, Camille O’Neill. Camille, a junior at MWHS, navigates her school day with significantly limited vision due to a condition called retinopathy of prematurity. In the pod, Camille shares about the challenges she faces on a daily basis and her ability to persevere, learn, and succeed with the support of her physics teacher, Mr. Tyler Berzina.

A Conversation on “13 Things Strong Kids Do”

Book cover for 13 Things Strong Kids Do

In this episode, international best-selling author and licensed clinical social worker, Amy Morin, joins us to share out about her new book, 13 Things Strong Kids Do. This conversation delves into Amy’s own personal backstory as the impetus driving the Why behind her work, and we explore some of the thirteen talking points in this text, making connections to an educational context.

To learn more from Amy, check out her website at https://amymorinlcsw.com/ where you can find courses, her podcast, books, and more.

For those in our network, check out he audiobook or ebook from the ESUCC PD Library here: ESUCC PD Library

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Artificial Intelligence in Education

If you are curious about the future of education and the role technology will play in supporting student learning, this conversation with Dr. Helen Crompton reveals that what many of us might perceive as the future is actually happening now. Dr. Crompton joins us as one of the leaders and coaches for the ISTE+GM Artificial Intelligence Exploration program, and she shares out about how AI is changing the way teachers can support their learners.

You can access the following link for more information on the ISTE+GM AI Explorations program: https://sites.google.com/docs.iste.org/isteaiandstemnetwork/home

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Prairie STEM: Talking Robotics, STEM Kits, Girls in STEAM, eSports, and More

In this episode, Alan Wang, the executive director of the Omaha-based non-profit Prairie STEM, shares out about the myriad of initiatives that Prairie STEM is currently invested in to provide engaging and authentic learning opportunities for all students in Nebraska (and beyond) in the areas of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. This conversation is as informative and it is inspirational, and if you are interested in learning more about Prairie STEM, you can reach them at https://prairiestem.org/.

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Avenues for Professional Learning in a Digital Age

This week, we are joined by Rachelle Dene Poth, who is a Spanish teacher, national speaker, author, and education technology consultant. In the pod, Rachelle shares her personal love for learning and the many avenues through which she has collaborated with educators from around the world through social platforms. Our conversation looks specifically at the Clubhouse app along with StreamYard as two relatively new ways in which the education community has been able to share ideas and communicate with one another throughout the pandemic.

Career & Technical Education in Nebraska and the reVision Action Grant

This week on the pod, we welcomed Sydney Kobza, the Assistant State Director for CTE with the Nebraska Department of Education, for a chat about the latest in career & technical education in our state. In this episode, we explore the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the extraordinary efforts being made to continue to provide quality learning experiences and statewide competitions despite the challenges of the present time. Our conversation also delves into the details about the DTE reVision Action grant, which can be applied for at https://www.education.ne.gov/nce/action-grant/