In this episode, we talk to Phil and Luice from the Learning and Engagement Team at The Henry Ford. We discuss research that indicates that humans are innately innovative, especially in difficult situations. Yet innovation tends to happen in clusters in specific locations in the U.S. So why is that? Is there a key that might unlock greater opportunities? How might educators harness the habits of an innovator to unleash the innovator in all of their students? This, and a special preview of a new Michigan Virtual podcast on this episode of the Digital Backpack.

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Ariel Raz is the Head of Learning Collaborations with the Stanford d.school k12 Lab. In this episode, we chat with Ariel about design thinking and how it can be used in K-12 schools to unlock innovation. Ken Dirkin, Executive Director of the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute joins us to unpack our conversation with Ariel.

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Adam Rubin is a Founder and Partner with 2Revolutions, an education design lab. In this episode, we chat with Adam about his organization’s approach to supporting schools, districts, and education agencies to clarify goals for student learning, identify the barriers that are in the way, and use the design lab model to design and test methods that help make the shift happen. Rather than coming with the method in hand, Adam shares his view that it’s important to build solutions around the local context.

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In this episode, we chat with Dr. Jay Marks, Diversity and Equity Consultant with Oakland Schools (Michigan). We discuss the topics of race, culture, social justice, and inequities that exist in the K-12 system. We discuss how Dr. Mark’s experiences have shaped him over his 30-year career in education, the approach and impact of the work he’s currently doing, and he provides recommendations for how individuals can contribute to more inclusive school systems.

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In this episode, we chat with Lauren Kazee about the impact COVID-19 is having on our social and emotional wellness. We discuss what social-emotional learning (SEL) is, how it’s been used to help students in schools, and how we can all benefit by understanding and living by the basic tenets of SEL especially during times of high stress and trauma. We also welcome Justin Bruno in his official debut as co-host of the Digital Backpack!

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In this episode, we’re joined by Spencer Kiper, a STEM educator and the 2019 Louisiana State Teacher of the Year. We focus our conversation on STEM education, the opportunities that have come along with state teacher of the year platform, and how he’s leveraging his opportunities to support his students. Justin Bruno joins to help unpack the conversation with Spencer.

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In this episode, we chat with Keith Tramper about digital wellbeing. We discuss what digital wellbeing is, how it relates to our lives, and how teachers and students might benefit from being mindful of their own digital wellbeing. We also review apps from  Apple and Google that help support digital wellbeing goals and Stacey Schuh joins us to help us unpack the conversation with Keith.

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In this episode, Jeff chatted with Kevin Santer, Lead instructor with the Career & Technology department at Michigan Virtual. Kevin shared his story about coming to education after a successful career in the computer science industry and how he’s been able to build meaningful relationships with students as a fully online instructor.

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 Welcome to Digital Backpack! In our first Digital Backpack cast, we chat with Traci Smith, a high school English teacher at De La Salle. She shares some gems about connecting with students, creating an atmosphere of trust and how she uses technology to help with all of it!  

In our first cast, we chatted about…

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This episode was originally published on November 16, 2018, when the podcast was called "Campfire: Igniting Education with Blended Learning."  

In this episode, we chat with our colleague Emily Sicilia about engagement in the classroom. We explore how to define engagement in the classroom and chat about Hoopla, an app Emily shares that has changed our reading lives!

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