K-12 Greatest Hits: Your shortcut to what works in education

How effective is your teaching? How do you know how much your students are learning? What are the best practices and tools for doing effective formative and summative assessment? We discuss all of this and more in this episode.

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Garnet Hillman is an instructional coach at Caruso Middle School in Deerfield, IL. She is passionate about reforming assessment and grading practices to ensure the focus for all students is on learning.

Most teachers are familiar with the idea of students developing a portfolio of their work, but what is a a digital portfolio? Today we'll explore the benefits and challenges of this teaching tool.

Rusul Alrubail is an educator in residence at Design Cofounders. She is a co-creator of The Writing Project, an essay writing app for students currently in Beta. She is also an Edutopia blogger and an editor at Medium's largest publication on Education: The Synapse. Michael Fisher is an author and educational consultant working with schools around the country to upgrade current curricula, design new curricula, and modernize instruction with immersive technology. He is the author of Digital Learning Strategies: How do I assign and assess 21st Century Work? and the co-author of Upgrade Your Curriculum: Practical Ways to Transform Units and Engage Students.

Our guest argues that our schools are too often not teaching the skills that will most ensure student success in school and in life. What are these skills? How can you make sure these skills are taught in your classroom?

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Dr. Brad Johnson is an international speaker in the field of education. He is author of What Schools Don't Teach: 20 Ways to Help Students Excel in School and in Life (Routledge) and his latest book, From School Administrator to School Leader: 15 Keys to Maximizing Your Leadership Potential (Routledge).

Our special guest on this episode is our first international host of #edtechchat. He comes to us all the way from Singapore to talk about making global connections.

Follow: @ajpodchaski @iplante @s_bearden @mrkempnz @bamradionetwork

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Craig Kemp is a New Zealand born educator with over 10 years experience both in the classroom and in leadership. Craig is now based in Singapore and is Head of ICT and Learning Innovation and Middle School Lead Teacher at Avondale Grammar School. He cofounder Twitter Chat. #whatisschool are simple, to give educators a space to express an unbiased response to questions about schooling, where educators have a voice in shaping the future through their experiences, recommendations and interests. Susan M. Bearden is the Director of Information Technology at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Melbourne.

This week we talk with Todd Whitaker about what it takes to create a school culture of greatness.

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Todd Whitaker is a professor of educational leadership at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. He has written over 30 books including the national best seller, What Great Teachers Do Differently. Other titles include: Shifting The Monkey, Dealing With Difficult Teachers, What Great Principals Do Differently, Motivating & Inspiring Teachers, and Dealing With Difficult Parents. Brad Currie is the co-founder of #satchat, a weekly Twitter discussion for current and emerging school leaders. Brad is a Vice Principal and Supervisor of Instruction for the Chester School District in Chester, N.J.

Our guest is passionate about Google classroom and literally wrote the book on how educators can make the most of this teaching tool.

Follow: @ajpodchaski @iplante @s_bearden @alicekeeler @bamradionetwork

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Alice Keeler lives in Fresno, California where she is a mother of 5 and teaches in the credential program at Fresno State University. She is a Google Certified Teacher and the author of the book "50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom." Sharon Plante is Director of Technology at Eagle Hill-Southport in Southport, CT.

In this segment we talk about encouraging students to create content on the iPad. Though the iPad was central to the discussion, including pros and cons, the focus was promoting higher order thinking.

Follow: @ajpodchaski @iplante @Katrinastevens1 @s_bearden @thomascmurray @bamradionetwork

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Alex J Podchaski serves as the Director of Technology at Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in Summit, NJ. Susan M. Bearden is the Director of Information Technology at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Melbourne. Sharon Plante is Director of Technology at Eagle Hill-Southport in Southport, CT.

Your father's school library and school librarian are rapidly disappearing. In this segment we talk about the many ways that the school library is changing teaching and learning.

Follow: @joycevalenza @shannonmmiller @elissamalespina @bamradionetwork

Joyce is an Assistant Professor and Director of the MLIS Program at Rutgers University. She has been a school librarian for 25 years. Joyce was the techlife@school columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the author of Social Media Curation, Power Tools, Power Research Tools and Power Tools Recharged for ALA Editions.

Through trial and error, our guests discovered that what parents want from teachers and school leaders may differ from what schools and PTO's believe. Tune in to learn what matters most to many parents and how to marry what parents want with what schools need.

Lisa Davis is a Parent Leader in her community. She currently serves as Vice President of Jericho joint council of PTAs. She previously held the position of President, Vice President, and chair of numerous committees. She also serves as a member of the district's President's Council and Health & Safety Committee. Gwen Pescatore is a mother of 3, serving as the home and school association president at @KnappElementary, and on the planning committee for #ParentCamp.

Our guest is a principal at a Title 1 school that is making exceptional progress with student achievement. In this segment he shares strategies that every teacher and school leader can use to produce better student outcomes.

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Jayson Snyder is principal and lead-learner at Meadow's Edge Elementary in the PHM school district. Their dedicated staff, hard working students, and supportive parents are all instrumental pieces in them being recognized as one of Indiana's top Title I schools for student achievement.