The 2022 legislative session in Nebraska saw LB1112 pass, which led to the Computer Science and Technology Education Act. As the 2022 fall semester drew to a close, the Nebraska Department of Education released its guidance in support of districts as they ensure that all students have exposure to computer science at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. In this episode of The Good Life EDU podcast, we are joined by Katie Graham (State Director for Career and Tech Ed), John Skretta (administrator of ESU 6), and Guy Trainin (professor of education at UNL) for an insightful dialogue regarding the backstory, the guidance, and the implications resulting from the Computer Science and Technology Education Act.

For more information, access Computer Science & Technology Act Guidance – Nebraska Department of Education

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This week on The Good Life EDU Podcast, we learn more about teaching learners with low-incidence disabilities and the unique educator training programs and supports in place for anyone interested in becoming certified to teach students who are deaf or hard of hearing. This conversation features insights from a panel of experts that includes Darsha Pelland the Director of Low Incidence Disabilities with the Nebraska Department of Education, Dr. Julie Delkamiller the Associate Professor of Special Education & Communication Disorders at UNO, and Anne Thomas the Assistant Professor of Practice for Special Education & Communication Disorders at UNL.

For more information, access Special Education – Nebraska Department of Education

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In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, we are joined by Danna Thomas, founder and CEO of the Baltimore-born, international movement The Happy Teacher Revolution. On the pod, Danna provides insight into the causes contributing to teacher burnout and its prevalence at this time. She goes on to share how both individual educators, as well as entire teams and/or school systems, can make space for teachers to “feel, deal, and be real” in support of educator wellness.

To learn more from Danna and The Happy Teacher Revolution, access https://www.happyteacherrevolution.com/

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Dr. Sonny Magana joins us on The Good Life EDU Podcast this week for a conversation about his new book, Learning in the Zone. In the episode, Dr. Magana shares his 7 Habits of Meta-Learners and explains the vital role that “head-and-heart tech” play in the learning process.

To learn more, access https://maganaeducation.com/

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In this episode, Monica Wells and Alyssa Anson of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute join us to talk about their work to connect and support early childhood care and education providers, schools and kindergarten educators, and families as they onboard learners to the kindergarten experience. Listeners can expect to learn about and receive access to a set of toolkits and resources to support this transition. In the pod, Monica and Alyssa frame the Why behind this work and the need for this effort on behalf of kids.

For more about the Buffett Early Childhood Institute’s Preschool Development Grant, access https://buffettinstitute.nebraska.edu/our-work/preschool-development-grant

Visit the Nebraska Department of Education’s Office of Early Childhood page to download the toolkits and resources. Those materials can be found at https://www.education.ne.gov/oec/nebraska-transition-to-kindergarten-toolkit-and-resource-guide/

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Chrystal Liu, world languages specialist at NDE, and Nick Ziegler, world languages coordinator and tech integrationist at ESU 5, join us for an episode dedicated to Nebraska’s World Languages Standards. This discussion highlights the 2019 prioritization of five standard strands that focus on communication, culture, connections, communities, and cognition. On the pod, Chrystal and Nick also explain how educators came together this past summer to create a differentiated set of student-facing, self-assessment checklists to promote learner engagement and metacognition.

You can find access to the standards and also the self-assessment checklists at https://www.education.ne.gov/worldlanguage/

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Matt Miller is back this week on The Good Life EDU to share about his new show, The Digital Learning Podcast. On their pod, Matt and his co-host Holly Clark delve into the topic of blended learning and reframe how we might think of that work in our modern context. In this episode, Matt discusses blended learning through that lens, highlighting the importance of blended learning and a few of the building blocks that support that work and its implementation.

You can listen to Matt and Holly’s show at The Digital Learning Podcast

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The Good Life EDU Podcast welcomes back Pam Brezenski who now serves as the Project Manager for Get SET Nebraska, a grant by Office of Special Education Programs (secured by NDE in collaboration with ESU 13 and UNL). Get SET Nebraska aims to help retain special education teachers in Nebraska to enhance student success across the state. This effort, which is in its first pilot year, aims to grow from six districts to fifty districts between this school year and the next, and all districts in Nebraska are eligible to participate. For more information on their administrative leadership academy and/or their mentoring and induction programming for special education teachers, please reach out to Pam directly at Pbrezenski@esu13.org.

About – Get SET Nebraska

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For our 100th episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, we welcome the author of the book Mindfulness for Teachers, Dr. Tish Jennings, to the show to frame our understanding of the many stressors currently impacting the teaching profession. On the pod, Dr. Jennings uncovers ways of addressing these very real issues that range from the macro, systemic-level factors to the micro-level interactions that teachers have with their students each and every day. This is a practical and pragmatic conversation that will leave all listeners with a few takeaways for how to enhance our understanding and support of school staff.

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This is a fun and informative conversation that shares about two efforts in Nebraska to support teaching and learning with technology. Peg Coover of ESU 10 takes the lead in the first half of the pod as she explains the history, current work, materials, and contest opportunities that Nebraska’s ESU Digital Citizenship group provides. In the second half of the pod, Eileen Heller of ESU 3 describes the recent efforts of the blended learning workgroup towards living out their new purpose statements. Those efforts include the “What’s N.E.X.T. with Blended Learning” live show, which airs across the ESUCC’s social media pages at 9:30 am CT on the last Tuesday of each month. Regardless of whether you live in or outside of Nebraska, this episode offers great ideas and avenues for new learning that we hope you find useful and enjoy!

Links

Access our ESUCC live shows on our Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube sites.

Access the ESU’s Digital Citizenship Symposium (Resources) and Contest at bit.ly/NEDigCit

Here’s a document that highlights the history of the ESUCC’s efforts with Blended Learning

Here’s the impact study that illustrates the data derived from that initiative.

Here’s the blended learning rubric referenced in the episode.

You can watch the first episode of the What’s N.E.X.T. with Blended Learning live show here.

For more information, please contact us via our website at esucc.org

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