Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators

It is teacher appreciation week and we are thrilled to have the award winning Taylor Mali on the show to shower teachers with stanzas of support and care.

Taylor talks about his brand new book "The Teachers I Loved Best," as well as the collaborative process behind that book.

Listeners may remember his TED Talk 'What Teachers Make' that has now been viewed over 800,000 times.

On this episode we talk further about what it means to be an educator, how and why we need to expand on our definition for educator as well as the significance of emotional intelligence.

To connect with this week's guest you can find him across social media:

Website: TaylorMali.com Twitter: @TaylorMali Instagram: taylor_mali

Learn more about our guest:

TAYLOR MALI is a four-time National Poetry Slam champion and one of the original poets on HBO's Def Poetry Jam. The author of six books of poetry including Late Father & Other Poems, he is also the inventor of Metaphor Dice, a game that helps writers think more figuratively. He lives in Brooklyn. OTHER FUN FACTS ABOUT TAYLOR MALI:

• In a game of SCRABBLE he once earned a score of 581.

• He is a 13th-generation resident of New York City, descended from Dutch settlers who arrived on island as immigrants and invaders in 1624.

• He convinced 1,000 people to become teachers and then donated 12" of his hair to the American Cancer Society.

• He was once the voice of all Burger King commercials.

On this episode, we ask you to consider the ways we might need to rethink traditional career fairs. If your school hosts 'world of work' events, have you thought about ways those events have changed with the needs of learners?

➡️ You can check out our Future of Work curated playlist by clicking here.

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🔗 Other research links discussed in this episode 🔗:

Tech's hottest new job: AI whisperer. No coding required.

Almost 40% of Gen Z is using TikTok and Instagram for search instead of Google, according to Google's own data

Curious to see how plumbers are connecting with aspiring workers? Click here.

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🦾 Ready to learn more about leveraging ChatGPT?

Join us for a webinar on May 11th, learn more here.

In this episode of Shifting Schools, Jeff interviews Dan Barak, from Text Blaze, a text-expansion tool that can save users time and make typing more efficient. Dan explains how Text Blaze can be used in education by creating shortcuts for frequently used phrases or words, which can be helpful for students and teachers. He shares examples of how Text Blaze has been used in education, such as providing feedback on writing assignments or taking notes in class. Dan also discusses how Text Blaze can be integrated into existing workflows and tools used in schools. We thank Text Blaze for being a sponsor of the Shifting Schools community and you can try Text Blaze for free at textblaze.me/shiftingschools

Welcome to this special episode of Shifting Schools, where we dive into the exciting world of AI in education, with a special guest ChatGPT. We discuss the potential benefits and concerns surrounding the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in the classroom and explore how educators can integrate this technology effectively to enhance learning experiences. Throughout the episode, we emphasize the importance of responsible and ethical use of AI, while highlighting the need for collaboration, personalization, and the development of higher-order skills.

In our conversation, we share practical tips for educators on how to adapt assessments, foster collaboration, and encourage ethical use of AI. We provide examples of creative assessment methods that focus on critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving, enabling teachers to create engaging, innovative learning environments for their middle school and high school students. The discussion also covers the role of AI in shaping the future of education and how educators can stay informed and make the most of AI technology.

We encourage listeners to explore the possibilities offered by AI tools like ChatGPT and consider embracing them in their classrooms. By doing so, we can create a more engaging, collaborative, and effective learning environment that prepares our students for the challenges of the future. To learn more about ChatGPT and OpenAI, be sure to visit the OpenAI website. Don't miss this insightful episode that will leave you inspired to try AI in your own classroom!

Disclaimer: This episode uses AI created responoes from ChatGPT and an original AI created voice created at elevenlabs.io exclusivily for this episode.

In today's episode, we have a very special guest, Jennifer LaGarde, aka The Library Girl @jenniferlagarde, an incredible advocate for information literacy and the co-author of "Developing Digital Detectives" 📱🕵️‍♂️. Get ready for an engaging conversation about the importance of information literacy in the digital age, and how we can empower students to be critical thinkers and responsible digital citizens.

Key Points:

1. The Need for Information Literacy: Jennifer discusses the critical need for information literacy skills in today's digital world 🌍. She highlights the importance of teaching students how to effectively evaluate and use online information, navigate digital resources, and critically analyze media messages 📰.

2. Introducing "Developing Digital Detectives": Jennifer provides insights into her book "Developing Digital Detectives" 📕, which focuses on empowering students to become digital-savvy detectives who can effectively navigate the online world.

3. We also look at how Jennifer leverages online book talks to encourage readers of all ages.

Our Guest: Jennifer LaGarde

Jennifer LaGarde is a lifelong teacher and learner with over 20 years in public education. Her educational passions include leveraging technology to help students develop authentic reading lives, meeting the unique needs of students living in poverty and helping learners (of all ages) discern fact from fiction in the information they consume. Jennifer is the coauthor of the books Fact VS Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking In the Age of Fake News (ISTE, 2018) and Developing Digital Detectives (ISTE, 2021) with Darren Hudgins. Subscribe to their free monthly information literacy newsletter here! A huge fan of YA Literature, Jennifer currently lives, works, reads and drinks lots of coffee in Olympia, Washington.

Follow her adventures at www.librarygirl.net or on Twitter @jenniferlagarde.

Visit textblaze.me/shiftingschools to get started saving time today!

Saturday, April 22nd is Earth Day.

While this week is an important week to put a spotlight on climate action and sustainability we need to be sustaining this conversation all year. So, how might ChatGPT help us co-create learning experiences with students?

On this episode, we explore our latest free guide that explores:

🌏 Ways to use ChatGPT to create ethical dilemmas

🌏 Using ChatGPT to create follow-up questions and direct us to resources

🌏 Create rough draft scripts that explore perspectives on the ethical dilemma

🌏 Draft social media campaign scripts

🌏 Create a March Madness-style bracket of key concepts related to climate change

Download our free guide here.

Learn more about our early bird discount on our upcoming webinar here.

Thanks to our sponsor: Visit textblaze.me/shiftingschools to get started saving time today!

April is School Library Month, and we are thrilled to bring you a conversation with award-winning librarian Karina Quilantán!

Looking for more information on School Library Month?

Click here for an overview

Click here for inspiration for celebrating your school librarian

Learn more about this week's guest:

Karina Quilantán, also known as "Q.", is an award-winning library media specialist, international presenter, and keynote speaker from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. She has been an educator for over a decade and has earned array of digital credentials including Apple, Google, and Microsoft for Education certifications. Karina's love for educational technology has allowed her to expand her library programming beyond the classroom and she loves finding innovative ways to keep her students and staff engaged in the learning process. In addition to her love of librarianship and professional development, she maintains several social media channels and moderates a professional learning network called RGV Library Squad which earned her the Texas Library Association Media Virtual Presence Award. Karina currently serves on the Texas Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Committee, TxLA Social Media Committee, and is the Libraries Lead for MagiKids. She was also a TCEA Library Media Specialist Finalist in 2021 and was named the 2022 Texas Library Association Librarian of the Year. When she is not learning and empowering her community, she can be found playing video games, Magic the Gathering, or reading comics on her very comfy couch. You can connect with Karina Q. on any social media outlet by following her @cuethelibrarian or following her blog cuethelibrarian.com.

Be sure to also check out her amazing blogposts by clicking here.

On this episode of the podcast Jeff and Tricia tell listeners all about the latest free guide:

"Kickstarting a critical conversation about equity and generative AI."

They explain why terms like 'algorithmic bias,' and 'search engine optimization' are important for students to understand as critical to the way we think about information literacy in the new era of generative AI tools.

Discussed in this episode:

Would you let an AI date for you?

Survival of the best fit

Facebook's ad-serving algorithm discriminates by gender and race

Propagation of societal gender inequality by internet search algorithms

Fill out this form before April 15th.

Learn more about our Equity and Generative AI Course here

Do you learn from your mistakes? Do your students?

In this episode we go deep into ways we can truly leverage mistakes as fuel for deeper learning, engagement, and reflection. We think more about the mindsets that help us unpack our mistakes and share them with our learning community.

Our fantastic guest this week is Eman Ismail whose podcast 'Mistakes that Made Me'

is a great listen for Business and Entrepreneurship as well as any learning that focuses on Leadership.

Ready to learn more about this week's special guest?

Click here.

Follow Eman on Social Media:

On Twitter

On Instagram

Check out the resource from Eman that we discuss:

Available here

Thank you for listening to this episode!

If you like our podcast you may want to check out our bank of free guides available here.

A huge thanks to our sponsor for supporting us in making this episode possible:

Visit textblaze.me/shiftingschools to get started saving time today!

Thank you to our sponsor MackinVia for sponsoring today's episode.

Jeff's book recommendation: The Dip by Seth Godin

This week on the show we are honored to speak with Dr. Dana Goodier, the author of the book and podcast "Out of the Trenches". Dr. Dana Goodier has 23 years of experience in education. She has taught World Languages and English and worked as a middle school administrator. She completed her doctorate degree (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership early 2020. For her dissertation, she researched reasons parents were opting their students out of high-stakes testing at middle schools and how that affected the district accreditation rating. She often speaks at conferences, providing educators with techniques to minimize off-task behavior and to increase time on task. She is the host of the "Out of the Trenches" podcast, which features educators who share their stories of resiliency. She has also written the book "Out of the Trenches: Stories of Resilient Educators, which features much of her own story in educational trenches intertwined with stories of other educators who have faced challenges.

You can reach Dana at:

www.danagoodier.com