Last year on this day, I featured Britt Buirs (go find that one). But this year, I've selected Lilly Woodbury. I first recorded this episode in September of 2020 and I have always felt this is one of my favourite episodes. Lilly's articulate way of expressing complex issues surrounding the climate, the health of the oceans, sustainability and good, healthy living is just so impressive.

I would recommend following Lilly on Social accounts and read some of her blog posts on lillywoodbury.com...and happy International Women's Day!

Please rate, review and share this episode and others on Science360.

How far outside the box are you willing to take your classroom? How about far enough that you enter a virtual world, where your students use their own avatar to manipulate the concepts you're teaching. This is what Jennifer Brown does in her math classroom. She uses a curriculum developed by Prisms of Reality (link to their website below) to teach her students about algebra. This requires wearing a headset and "leaving" the room to enter a virtual space. Would you be willing to let your students do this? To discover and control their environment in order to learn and gain mastery over graphs and equations? This is a bold move, but I predict that this is one of many, many more classrooms that will be teaching this way. They say that cell phones of the 2000s and the advent of the smart phone will be as VR goggles will be as we move through this decade into the 2030s. Hold on teachers, it's going to get wild and sooner than later!

Check out the work of Prisms of Reality at their website:
https://www.prismsvr.com

I would also suggest you check out a book by Jaime Donally called The Immersive Classroom available on Amazon. Find her on twitter: @JaimeDonally

I've known BJ since he was a grade 9 student in my science class. I knew there was something special about him back then because he gained international attention by challenging the system over a flag. Seriously, look it up.

But every tech question I had, BJ had the answer. As I watched him over the next couple of years, I knew this was a special individual. He started to explain to me the ins and outs of cryptocurrency and I thought teachers need to know something about this. But I have to admit, I conduct this interview and still wonder what it all means. But I did, in fact, learn several things and gained an insight into the way our world is heading. And I always think that it's not just my world, but it's also the world my students are heading into. We all need to speak the language of the ages to come and BJ can help you with that.

Take it in and replay it a couple of times as this interview is complex. And don't forget, my guest today is 17 years old! This is the age we live in, everybody. Get ready.

Find BJ on Twitter: @figmasimp

In the summer of 2021, I had the fun opportunity to be on the Out of the Trenches podcast with Dana Goodier. We had a great chat about teaching, but then Dana gave me this glorious chance to talk space! She asked me, "what do people get wrong about space?" and off I went.
I asked Dana for the audio because I wanted to share my answer with my audience on Science 360. So this is a clip from that talk.
It's more than just space though. As much as I want to help teachers teach about space, I also want to inspire creative education where we recognize that our students are heading into an incredible world where there is much work to be done. So as the episode unfolds, I give my take on why we have a responsibility to teach to their future.
So I guess this episode is about the past, that is the origin of the universe, but it's also about the future, which is what we can influence every day as a teacher. So, ready to take some notes? Hit play!

Find Dana on Twitter: @danagoodier
Find the podcast Out of the Trenches: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/episode-119-tim-stephenson/id1514020148?i=1000539933493

In this episode, I take a swing at the way we teach science. To me, it is a subject that needs a major shake up. There is just too much going on in the world today that demand a new understanding of scientific principals to continue with the status quo.

I give some examples from elementary grades and high school grades of science topics that cannot be taught the same way anymore. I give practical examples of how it could be taught and focus in on the result, which in my experience, is students who are motivated, driven by purpose and seeking deeper understanding.

All of this requires the teacher to be learning too! And always thinking of ways to bring meaning to science. I even give an example of the rock cycle and how if Ii were to teach it, that's how I would do it. And it wouldn't be by using rock charts and memorizing words.

Are you ready to be challenged to think differently about the way you teach? This episode could possibly "rock" your socks, but when the whole world is changing, it's our responsibility to change along with it.

Reach out to me on twitter (@astrostephenson) if you have thoughts or ideas about what you hear. And leave me a rating and a review on the podcast platform you listen to. I like 5 stars :)

There has been a lot of research and speculation on what that star was and if it really was a star at all. In this episode, I explain the common understanding of the Heaven's at the time of Christ and what they thought they saw in the night sky. I touch on many aspects of the history of astronomy, from Pythagorus through Newton and Einstein. But sometimes you have to do that to get the whole perspective. And when it comes to something such as this, where science and religion intersect, I believe it takes a bit more care to give it its fair share. I offer up my perspective at the end, and I hope that it influences the way you think about the stars.

This is a very informative talk with Zack Rago, star of the Netflix film Chasing Coral. We talk about his education and what motivated him to pursue a Ph.D. degree in marine science in Hawaii. But it shouldn't come as a big surprise that there was an event when he was in high school that spurred him on to this love and fascination with the oceans and in particular, the coral reefs.

If you teach high school biology or chemistry, this episode will teach you a lot of practical applications of the content you've always delivered. But with what you hear in this episode, you can now frame your teaching around something that will connect your students to the natural world, a place where they will have an emotional attachment. So be ready to take notes!!

If you haven't seen the documentary Chasing Coral on Netflix and Youtube yet, be sure to watch it. It is a film with stunningly beautiful underwater scenes yet heart wrenchingly horrific scenes of what's going on beneath the ocean's surface due to human influence. And Zack is central to the whole story. You can get to know him here.

Chasing Coral - https://youtu.be/aGGBGcjdjXA
School Resources - https://www.chasingcoral.com/in-the-classroom/

In this episode, you will hear the results of a library research day attended by two Grade 6 and 7 classes from a nearby elementary school. I hosted over 50 of them in our high school library where we taught them about online resources, file sharing, collaboration and content creation in print and audio.

I gave the students several topics to pick from for their research. So in this episode, I reflect on the process, we then listen to the students' recordings, and I follow up with some comments. My final analysis is process over product wins the day. The content they produced was good, but the process to arrive at that content was fantastic.

Don't be afraid to let students have the time needed to process. I know you could get them there faster, but the quality of the result depends on a slow simmer sometimes. So listen and be impressed by what these students cooked up.

Craig Leeson is an international film-maker/journalist/adventurer and director of the Netflix film "A Plastic Ocean". He joined me for this episode to discuss his perspective on the state of plastic pollution, climate, COP26 and the future of our planet.

Craig has another film coming out on IMAX in March '22. It's called "The Last Glaciers" and highlights the reality of climate change by filming on location of some of the world's largest glaciers, from the alpine summit of the Alps to the Antarctic and Greenland. This will be a very important documentary containing essential information for educators.

You should follow Craig and all that he is involved with on the social media platforms. And why should you? Because he is providing riveting and relevant information that needs to be brought to the classrooms of the world. Our climate issues won't fix themselves. They need motivated, curious and educated young people to emerge from the schools inspired and equipped to make a difference and bring about change. I'm proud to be an educator with the opportunity to effect change on the planet and affect the future through my students. Craig Leeson does the same through film. Our goals are one and the same: with knowing comes caring and with caring comes change.

Find Craig on Instagram:
@therealcraigleeson
@thelastglaciers

Find Craig on Twitter:
@CraigLeeson

In this episode, I have to admit...I kind of ramble on a bit. It really is me thinking through these big issues of energy, transportation, climate, resources. But really, I think everybody should sit and ramble in their own minds about these things and engage in conversation with others, in order to come to some very important conclusions.
Stick with me on this one. Let my thoughts affect yours. I don't need to "change your mind". I just want you to make up your mind on what could be one of the biggest global issues we face. Long after the pandemic, there will still be climate change issues that need to be addressed.