Hack Learning

Missouri school principal Naomi Austin shares her journey as a school leader, just completing her first year. Austin explains a new leader mistake she made and how she turned that apparent loss into a victory with her staff. Plus, she provides excellent advice for new and veteran leaders in classic Hack Learning style--with What You Can Do Tomorrow tips to build rapport with your stakeholders and to maintain momentum throughout the school year. Austin even explains what to do when leaders need a "kick in the pants". This is the Journey of a First-Year Leader. Learn more on our show notes page at http://hacklearningpodcast.com.

These three quick teaching and learning hacks, based on the runaway bestselling book, Hacking Leadership, are awesome for improving education at any school. Better still, they make people smile, and that’s a beautiful thing. Learn three simple leadership hacks you can implement tomorrow at school, home or in the workplace that will make your stakeholders smile and improve overall attitude and production. This is Hacking Positivity. Learn more at http://hacklearningpodcast.com.

Author James Sturtevant and I talk Hack Learning and student engagement.

Gerald Aungst, author of 5 Principles of the Modern Mathematics Classroom: Creating a Culture of Innovative Thinking, knows how to turn math haters into math lovers. In Episode 53 of the Hack Learning Podcast Aungst explains how he learned to inspire inquiry and conjecture in kids by creating unique situations where "something doesn't make sense or is not immediately obvious."

Math teachers inspire curiosity in students by immersing them in a problem, Aungst says. Rather than handing them the correct formula and a worksheet, the teacher's job is to ask questions the lead to collaboration and conjecture. Questions like: "What can you figure out? What can you notice here?"

When this strategy is employed, students often solve the problem with little or no teacher intervention, according to the author, and then even math haters begin to love math. Learn how to make kids love math from author/expert Gerald Aungst.

For details and a link to Aungst' book, visit the show notes at http://hacklearningpodcast.com.

Learn how Dawn Casey-Rowe, author of Don't Sniff the Glue, navigates the rough waters of standardization in her classroom. In Episode 52 of the Hack Learning Series podcast, Dawn explains how she engages students by merging her business experience with learning outcomes, in order to capture the attention of even the most reluctant learners. Dawn shares several what-you-can-do-tomorrow strategies for teachers who want to create an innovative classroom, including using social media platforms like Snapchat (yes, you read right), even in a standardized society. Listen and learn how Dawn Casey-Rowe is De-standardizing her classroom, and learn more about Dawn on the show notes page at http://hacklearningpodcast.com.

In Episode 51, Hack Learning creator Mark Barnes recruits guru Don Wettrick to Hack Innovation. Wettrick is a high school teacher in Indiana, popular education presenter and author of Pure Genius: Building a Culture of Innovation and Taking 20% Time to the Next Level. His Innovation Class has grown into an amazing place, rife with students who are creating new programs that have caught the eye of the private sector. Don shares several fascinating stories about Innovation Class, focusing on students who have, among other things, worked on reservations bringing innovation to native Americans and have created theater groups for shy kids and students with disabilities. One of the humblest teachers you'll ever meet, Don also explains a revelation about Innovation Class that a student provided, right after she told him one of his ideas was "about the dumbest thing" she'd ever heard. Instead of being angry, Don said, "Why's that?" Then, he had an epiphany about his Innovation Class. This is Hacking Innovation; learn more at http://hacklearningpodcast.com.

Today's technology empowers teachers and learners to break down the walls of school and business. In Hack Learning Episode 50, Mark Barnes explains how you can easily share teaching and learning with all stakeholders with the power of live streaming video. Learn how Facebook, Periscope, and other platforms help you reveal your best practices and engage a global audience with live video. And learn how to begin immediately. See http://hacklearningpodcast.com for further details and resources.

Publishing giant Amazon developed a tool for publishers and bloggers to market books, but in the process it may have empowered teachers to turn non-readers into lifelong readers. Kindle Instant Preview is helping educators bring books to life for students, and Instant Preview just might inspire even the most reluctant readers to dive into a book, once they peruse it from their tablet or mobile device. In this episode, Mark Barnes shares the Secret Sauce inside Kindle Instant Preview, which gives website and blog administrators the ability to embed any book on a web page or blog, so a preview of the book will appear there, making instant reading a one-click experience. But how does this rescue reluctant readers? Listen now to unveil this powerful secret that, according to Barnes, even Amazon doesn't completely understand. Learn more about Kindle Instant Preview at http://hacklearningpodcast.com.

Mark Barnes shares the evolution of the Hack Learning model and says it's time to reframe your thinking and to change your attitude about problem-solving in education and in life. It's time for right now solutions. Here are three examples of solve-today-implement-tomorrow strategies that are sure to improve teaching and learning in your class, at your school, and at home. Learn more at http://hacklearningpodcast.com. Tweet your thoughts to #HackLearning on Twitter.

Renowned educators Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis are not your traditional school leaders. In fact, they prefer to lead from the middle, which is quite unorthodox, when you consider the typical top-down leadership model. In a recent conversation with Hack Learning creator and Times 10 Publisher Mark Barnes, Sanfelippo and Sinanis, co-authors of the new Hacking Leadership: 10 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Learning That Teachers, Students, and Parents Love, explain how to create a positive school culture, how to empower teachers, and how to facilitate a collaborative community in schools. Learn more at http://hacklearningpodcast.com and share your thoughts at #HackLearning on Twitter.