Rebel Teacher Alliance

Welcome back to a new episode of Rebel Teacher Alliance! This week, we sit down with the multi-talented Dr. Mervin Jenkins, who brings the heat with stories about hip hop pedagogy, community building, and the power of edutainment. We dive into the five pillars of hip hop and how they show up in classrooms—from breakdancing in P.E. to graffiti in art class. Dr. Jenkins shares his journey from art teacher to principal to Flowcabulary to national speaker (and part-time Jedi). Oh, and things go full nerdcore in our ever popular segment “What’cha been playin’…?”

Join @hofmannedu.bsky.social, @jedijamie.bsky.social and @findingmyaloha.bsky.social each week by subscribing to our podcast and rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts! Join our Discord on rebelteacheralliance.com or here. Find us on Instagram @rebelteacheralliance, on BluSky @rtalliance.bsky.social, and on TikTok @rebelteacheralliance.

Things Mentioned on the Show:

- @DrMervinJenkins (everywhere!)

- Life Thru Music

- Flocabulary

Welcome back to a new episode of Rebel Teacher Alliance! This week, we dive deep into the post-conference haze as Jamie and Fabian return from Spring CUE in Palm Springs with arms full of swag (okay, mostly stickers). We unpack a slew of AI tools like Brisk and Curipod, explore using Magic School to run Star Wars-themed Civil War RPGs, and dream up lessons with trash pandas, rap pedagogy, and micro:bits galore. It’s the edtech buffet you didn’t know you needed. And of course, we sleeve up and go full woodland creature in our ever popular segment “What’cha been playin’…?”

Join @hofmannedu.bsky.social, @jedijamie.bsky.social and @findingmyaloha.bsky.social each week by subscribing to our podcast and rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts! Join our Discord on rebelteacheralliance.com or here. Find us on Instagram @rebelteacheralliance, on BluSky @rtalliance.bsky.social, and on TikTok @rebelteacheralliance.

Things Mentioned on the Show:

• Spring CUE

• Brisk Teaching Tool

• Curipod

• Magic School AI

• Birdbrain Technologies

• Learning Genie

• Commander Magic the Gathering (Bloomburrow)

Welcome back to another episode! This week, Jamie is deep in open house prep and discovers the holy grail of classroom supplies: sticky-backed chart paper. Fabian experiments with ChatGPT for quizzes, but finds Claude and NotebookLM to be more reliable. Scott shares a new passion project from a student who wants to turn his artistic skills into a wall mural. We also discuss unexpected weather in California, procrastinating over break, and a student defying all odds to graduate. And, of course, we wrap things up with our ever-popular segment, "Whatcha been playin'...?" in which Fabian introduces us to Flamecraft, a game that’s as pretty as it is fun.

Join @hofmannedu.bsky.social, @jedijamie.bsky.social and @findingmyaloha.bsky.social each week by subscribing to our podcast and rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts! Join our Discord on rebelteacheralliance.com or here. Find us on Instagram @rebelteacheralliance, on BluSky @rtalliance.bsky.social, and on TikTok @rebelteacheralliance.

Things mentioned on the show:- Flamecraft

Welcome back to another episode! This week, Jamie and Fabian prepare to meet up in person (sorry, Scott) and discuss all things engagement. From making PE even worse (but somehow more fun) with chaotic math relay races to a deep-dive parks project that might just save national parks (or at least get kids to research them). Scott shares his foolproof bribery tactics for review committees and how duct tape solves all classroom problems. Fabian experiments with Scramble Centers—where structured chaos meets meaningful learning. Plus, with a game featuring chickens in detective hats we wrap it all up in our ever-popular segment, “What’cha been playin’…?”

Join @hofmannedu.bsky.social, @jedijamie.bsky.social and @findingmyaloha.bsky.social each week by subscribing to our podcast and rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts! Join our Discord on rebelteacheralliance.com or here. Find us on Instagram @rebelteacheralliance, on BluSky @rtalliance.bsky.social, and on TikTok @rebelteacheralliance. 

Things mentioned on the show:

- Outfoxed

This week, we dive into the joys and pains of professional development (spoiler: no icebreakers this time), the magic of making fractions make sense, and why sketching during read-alouds might just be the engagement boost you’ve been looking for. Scott shares how his students are prepping for real-life interviews with actual hiring managers (and how not to answer the weakness question), while Fabian turns AI-generated podcasts into primary source analysis gold. Plus, we talk about summative assessments with choice boards that actually make sense. And of course, we wrap it all up with a game about arguing over the best utensil for mac and cheese in our ever-popular segment "Whatcha' been playin'...?"

Join @hofmannedu.bsky.social, @jedijamie.bsky.social and @findingmyaloha.bsky.social each week by subscribing to our podcast and rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts! Join our Discord on rebelteacheralliance.com or here. Find us on Instagram @rebelteacheralliance, on BluSky @rtalliance.bsky.social, and on TikTok @rebelteacheralliance. 

Things mentioned on the show:

- I Dissent - Boardgame

- Notebooklm.Google

This week, Scott’s students reflect on their good old days of doing absolutely nothing in class—before he came along and ruined it with actual learning. Fabian survived a lock-in with his 10th graders, complete with late-night chaos, sprinklers gone rogue, and a morning spent knee-deep in Hawaiian taro fields. Jamie, meanwhile, has some thoughts on PDs (spoiler: chart paper and stale Snickers are unacceptable). And in our ever-popular segment, Whatcha Been Playin’?, we discover the true joy of avoiding responsibilities.

Join @hofmannedu.bsky.social, @jedijamie.bsky.social and @findingmyaloha.bsky.social each week by subscribing to our podcast and rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts! Join our Discord on rebelteacheralliance.com or here. Find us on Instagram @rebelteacheralliance, on BluSky @rtalliance.bsky.social, and on TikTok @rebelteacheralliance. 

Things mentioned on the Show:

- Future Me Problems Boardgame

This week, Scott’s students hit the third-quarter slump, and he may or may not have tricked them into working harder. Fabian finally ran the RPG Dice Roll Rumble—turns out, battling your students with oversized dice is as fun as it sounds. Jamie’s mini-report protocol has students writing full essays in record time (even at home, for fun—yes, really). Meanwhile, Valentine’s Day looms, bringing chaos, candy, and questionable life choices. Plus, Fabian’s classroom gets a surprise guest—of the reptilian variety— and in our ever-popular segment, Whatcha Been Playin’? Jamie tries to take the command!

Join@hofmannedu.bsky.social, @jedijamie.bsky.social and@findingmyaloha.bsky.social each week by subscribing to our podcast and rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts! Join our Discord on rebelteacheralliance.com or here. Find us on Instagram @rebelteacheralliance, on BluSky @rtalliance.bsky.social, and on TikTok @rebelteacheralliance. Leave us a message here!

Things Mentioned on the Show:

• Magic: The Gathering Commander (and its many themed decks)

• RPG Dice Roll Rumble from EMC2

• Six-Word Memoirs as a classroom activity

• Mini-Report EduProtocol

Welcome back to a new episode of Rebel Teacher Alliance! This week, we dive into the joys of third quarter blues, wrestling with student engagement, and the struggle of keeping things fresh in the classroom. We talk about the power of EdTech tools like read-aloud extensions and how tariffs make for surprisingly engaging classroom discussions. Plus, we get into an EMC2 strategy that brings dice rolling chaos to learning and Jamie breaks down how the Mini Report sneaks kids into writing full essays before they even realize it. And of course, we wrap things up with our ever-popular segment, "What'cha been playin'...?" where Fabian introduces us to a game full of meeple peril and island survival.

Join@hofmannedu.bsky.social, @jedijamie.bsky.social and@findingmyaloha.bsky.social each week by subscribing to our podcast and rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts! Join our Discord onrebelteacheralliance.com orhere. Find us on Instagram@rebelteacheralliance, on BluSky@rtalliance.bsky.social, and on TikTok@rebelteacheralliance. Leave us a messagehere!

Things Mentioned on the Show:

-Read Aloud: A text-to-speech Chrome extension

- Mini-ReportEduProtocol

-Survive the Island (board game)

Welcome back to a new episode of Rebel Teacher Alliance! This week, we sit down with the fantastic Dr. Fatty Acid (a.k.a. @When_Nerds_Teach) to talk about middle school madness, engagement strategies, and the legend of Squonk. We explore how humor fuels her classroom, the importance of recognizing student creativity, and why she’s always down to buy a hand-drawn pumpkin-truck tattoo concept from a sixth grader. We also dive into why students don’t need to suffer to learn resilience and why making things easier for them isn’t a bad thing (seriously, people). And, of course, we get into a game recommendation that lets you explore the great outdoors—without ever leaving your living room. All that and more in our ever-popular segment, "What'cha been playin'...?"

Join @hofmannedu.bsky.social, @jedijamie.bsky.social and @findingmyaloha.bsky.social each week by subscribing to our podcast and rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts! Join our Discord on rebelteacheralliance.com or here. Find us on Instagram @rebelteacheralliance, on BluSky @rtalliance.bsky.social, and on TikTok @rebelteacheralliance. Leave us a message here!

Things mentioned on the Show:

- Trekking the National Parks Boardgame

Welcome back to a new episode of Rebel Teacher Alliance! This week, Scott’s students are deep into bridge-building (and possibly bridge-destroying) while he keeps them guessing about whether they actually like school or not. Fabian tries out a new EMC2 activity, The Firm, leading to a TikTok-inspired debate that goes in an unexpected direction. Meanwhile, Jamie welcomes a former student as a high school intern and kicks off Board Game Club, where students face off in the dark with Shadows in the Forest in our ever-popular segment Whatcha been playin...?.

Join @hofmannedu.bsky.social, @jedijamie.bsky.social and @findingmyaloha.bsky.social each week by subscribing to our podcast and rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts! Join our Discord on rebelteacheralliance.com or here. Find us on Instagram @rebelteacheralliance, on BluSky @rtalliance.bsky.social, and on TikTok @rebelteacheralliance. Leave us a message here!

Things mentioned on the show: