Rebel Educator®

Mark Metry is an author, podcaster, and keynote speaker and has achieved what many of us define as success.  In high school he launched a Minecraft server that  saw over 5 million people log on and brought him financial independence, but he still felt like an outsider.  In college he became depressed, socially isolated and contemplated suicide.  He realized he could either become a statistic or a story.

Hear about his journey of self discovery, learning about nutrition for brain success and what you can do when you let go of the of the fear of failing.

In this episode, we cover:

• Taking care of our mental health when sharing our stories
• Mark’s high-school experience, dealing with a lack of diversity, racism, and bullying
• How Minecraft led to Mark’s financial independence
• What can happen when embrace failure
• Mark’s rockbottom moment and the strategy he used to overcome it
• The invisible problem that millions of people are dealing with and how schools can help to address it

SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/15

Our guest this episode, high school senior Sasha Keck, shares her favorite memory of school, talks about chairing the Spartan Buddies club, and gives us some ideas on how high school could be made better by requiring fewer classes and allowing students to pursue their passions.

Enjoy this conversation with an incredibly insightful student!

In this episode, we cover:

• What’s missing in traditional high school classes
• Why interdisciplinary learning increases student engagement
• Equity issues that exist when distance learning
• What an ideal school experience could look like
• The benefits of attending college and alternative paths to higher education
• Sasha’s biggest inspiration and her favorite elementary school experience

SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/14

Our guest this episode, Liv, is a junior in high school.  She shares with us her experience, her biggest influences as teachers, and ideas to make school more equitable. I was impressed by how aware she was of the challenges and discrepancies that exist in high school, even if adults and educators aren't talking about how to fix it - the students see it and are working to make a difference.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why autonomy matters in the way students experience learning
• Liv’s definition of success as a high school student
• College’s role in modern society
• Why school feels less like learning and more like a competition
• The club Liv started to raise awareness of social justice issues

SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/13

In this episode, we dive deep into what high school is like, and what it could be like (answer: like a banana split) through discussing Deborah Olatunji’s experiences and her book "Unleashing your Innovative Genius: High School Redesigned". Deborah founded the Student Leadership Initiative Program (SLIP), a social venture that helps mentor and support the game-changers of tomorrow. Her desire to learn from and share the voices of her generation has lead her to the launch of her podcast, Voices of Disruption.

Join us as we discuss Deborah’s journey designing her own high school experience and what the future of self-directed learning can look like.

In this episode, we cover:

• The ways modern technology has changed activism and amplified the Black Lives Matter movement
• What Deborah learned through designing her own learning experience
• How students and teachers can both be resources for each other
• Is college really necessary?
• Where Deborah gets her support and encouragement from and her most memorable elementary school experience

SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/12

Nepris Co-Founder and CEO, Sabari Raja, talks with us about creating authenticity in project-based learning. Nepris is a web-based connections platform that allows teachers to connect their classrooms to industry professionals as a way to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and math in the real world.

We discuss how to make professionals available in rural districts and areas, helping the 3 out of 4 teachers who have no industry experience support industry learning and the question, "how can you aspire to something you don't know exists?”

In this episode, we cover:

• How our inherited network impacts our learning
• The benefits of connecting real world industry professionals and classrooms
• How parents play a key role in student engagement
• What our next iteration of education will look like and why experiential learning is critical
• EdTech resources for parents to explore

SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/11

Devin Vodicka has spent the past 20 years working towards high quality student outcomes. He has earned multiple prestigious awards in the education field, including 2015 California Superintendent of the Year by both ASCA and Pepperdine University. He is also a nine-time White House honoree in recognition for his achievements and to partner with the U.S. Department of Education’s office of Educational Technology and Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools.

Devin's years of experience in the education system have made one thing clear, school must have purpose and relevance. Listen as we discuss how schools can create connectedness with the outside world and why it is imperative to listen to students.  He challenges us to review our definition of success and escape the perceived security of our current educational model.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why we need an asset-based perspective in schools
• How a different definition of success can change education
• Making progress within a rigid and resistant system
• What can happen when we listen to learner’s on-going input
• Devin’s experience establishing multi-aged, competency-based micro schools
• Some practical advice for parents to help energize their children

SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/10

As Co-Founder and CEO of EdSurge, a leading and award-winning news and resource site on EdTech entrepreneurship, no one has been in a better position to witness the evolution of online and blended learning!  Betsy Corcoran has written for Forbes, the Washington Post, Scientific American, and has also appeared on Forbes, Fox, CNBC, and NBC.

Join us as we discuss what this moment in time means for the future of education, ed-tech, and the agency of educators and students.

In this episode, we cover:

• Who should be deciding what educational technology is used in classrooms
• The next steps needed to make education more adaptable for the future
• Dealing with the inherent limitations of a communicating in a digital space
• How can we continue to build relationships in a virtual world
• What is causing the lack of student agency

SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/9

Jill Ackers-Clayton is the Senior Learning Designer at Fielding International and facilitator and coach with TeachThought, focusing on educational programming design. In 2017, Jill founded a Spanish Immersion project-learning based school and has authored a book based on the experience, which focuses on project-based learning in early childhood education. She is also co-author of the book Developing Natural Curiosity Through Project-Based Learning.

As a parent, educator and expert in education design, Jill helps us to understand how to design learning spaces in schools, our homes and other spaces. Join us as we discuss how design affects learning and the future of school.

In this episode, we cover:

• How the project-based learning model supports language acquisition
• Designing spaces that support PBL learning and build learner agency
• The 3 foundational pieces educators need to focus on to support student’s social and cognitive development in a digital environment
• Advice for parents on setting up a successful physical space in their homes

SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/8

Michael B. Horn, is an author and thought leader in the discussion of the future of education. He works with a portfolio of organizations to improve the life of each and every student. Michael is the co-founder of and distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for disruptive learning and author of the award-winning book ‘Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns’ and Amazon bestseller ‘Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools’.

Join us for this exciting conversation about K-20 education, being life-long learners, and how change can happen within a rigid education system.

In this episode, we cover:

• Benefits of employers investing in their employees’ education and self-development
• The historical origins of passive learning and why this is not the best way to learn
• Why all people need to be life-long learners
• How the rigid organizational structure of school makes it difficult for learners to connect with their learning
• Giving educators more agency so that learning can be more interdisciplinary
• What do we really want from our schooling experience?

SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/7

Loni Bergqvist is the Founder and CEO of Imagine If, an agency based in Denmark, that focuses on supporting schools and helping all students thrive with engaging, personalized and authentic project-based learning.

Loni focuses on helping educators do better by doing less through making students the co-creators of their education. She believes that schools need to be flexible and agile communities designed to support students.

Join us on this journey through project based learning, re-imagining schools, how schools differ across countries, and what it means to be "behind" in school.

In this episode, we cover:

• What Imagine If does to bridge the gap between theoretical changes in education and actual implementation
• How schools differ across countries
• Why going back to school is the catalyst for change in the education system
• How educators can “do less and do better”
• What kids need most to their best learning
• How we can use PBL to make learners the co-creators of their education

SHOW NOTES: https://www.podpage.com/rebel-educator/6