In this episode, Julie N. Smith, media literacy advocate and author of Master the Media, speaks to just how important it is for educators to equip learners with media literacy skills, regardless of content area or grade level. In this pod, Julie offers useful insights for how we might better identify fake news and misinformation while also sharing a myriad of practical examples of how teachers might integrate media literacy into their current teaching practices/units.

Ann Kozma from Flipgrid joins us for this episode of The Good Life EDU podcast to share some of the best ideas for how educators might look to leverage Flipgrid during the multitude of learning models occurring during the pandemic. In this episode, we talk ways Flipgrid can support SEL, student creation, relationship and community building, and more.

Wow. We covered a lot of content in this pod! In this episode, Shara Johnson of ESU 2 shares her insights and expertise with how everyone from classroom teachers to school administrators to ESU employees (and even the state of Nebraska as a whole) might seek to leverage Canvas to enhance communication, collaboration, and ultimately learning. Shara has been an integral part of the Nebraska Canvas Consortium's statewide implementation, and so it was great to have her on the show to relay some of the amazing things that Canvas can do in support of education in our state.

This week, we revisit the topic of mental health with ESU 5's Jen McNally and Tri County Public Schools administrators Jesse Gronemeyer and Ryan Clark. In this pod, we explore how Tri County Public Schools have made wellness a part of the school culture as a result of their collaboration with ESU 5's Wellness for All support. In these trying times, this is a critical topic to keep at the forefront of our thoughts and conversations, and this episode shares one district's efforts to be intentional about building an environment where it is okay to not be okay.

This episode is a must listen as Amy and Kristen of ESU 9 go through five engagement strategies that lead to powerful learning experiences for students. Amy and Kristen do a phenomenal job in this pod of first establishing what these practices look like in a traditional classroom setting before then delving into how those same strategies can be utilized in a digital environment for remote learning.

Doug Fisher, co-author of The Distance Learning Playbook, joins us this week on the pod for a discussion on remote learning best practices and strategies. This pod is a fun kick-off to our ESU network's bi-monthly book study of this text! Our first DL Playbook Lunch Bunch session starts today! Whether you are an ESU employee or an edu-friend of the pod, be sure to pick up your copy of The Distance Learning Playbook as a way to extend your own work with remote teaching and learning.

Author, blogger, and teacher self-care advocate Mandy Froehlich joins us on this week's episode as we identify some of the emotional struggles teachers are facing in the present moment. Our conversation explores how giving words to your feelings and fostering empathy for others can help us all get through these hardships together. If you would like to continue to learn from and with Mandy, you can access her blog and resources at https://mandyfroehlich.com/

In this episode, Otis Pierce joins us as our first return-guest of the show to share the work the ESU Perkins Cadre memebers do in support of CTE Teachers statewide. This pod is part of a series showcasing our ESUs' respective cadre groups in the hopes of sharing insights and resources to help teachers navigate the current hybrid or remote learning experiences they are designing for students.

In this episode, Lori Broady of ESU 4 speaks as the ESU Social Studies cadre co-chair and shares her insights regarding the new shifts in the social studies standards, making sure to relay resources and remote learning ideas along the way. Lori is incredibly knowledgable and passionate about this content area, and that truly shines through in this fantastic conversation.

As the saying goes, no significant learning occurs without a significant relationship, and finding ways to foster and maintain those relationships may prove to be more challenging than ever this fall as more and more learning moves online. In this episode, Kindergarten teacher and Apple Distinguished Educator Dustin Carlson and high school ELA teacher Melissa Pilakowski share their ideas for how we might stay connected with our learners during a hybrid and/or remote learning setting.