10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

Today's guest, Chris Chappotin, shares how he uses Notion to organize himself. He talks about how to get started and why people use it. This is a quick seven-minute overview podcast and I've also included many resources to get started with Notion on the blog post . Sponsor - Free Educator Wellness Toolkit: Educator wellness is now more important than ever. Go to  coolcatteacher.com/wellness  and d...

Reading instruction can be challenging when a teacher has many different ability levels in her classroom. Furthermore, kindergarten and elementary grades are fundamental. Reading expert, Laura Robb breaks down excellent reading instruction from kindergarten through fifth grade. Dr. Robb has written more than 25 books on reading but also takes 3-4 months each school year as a classroom teacher. Fro...

Artificial intelligence (AI) experiments can open up discussion of the human aspect of training algorithms and help them improve. In this podcast episode, Roberta Freitas shares AI Experiments that any teacher can use with students. Additionally, we discuss the morals and ethics of Artificial intelligence and the responsibility of users to report issues of bias and concerns with  AI and algorithms...

Graphic Design helps us present in more interesting ways, teach better, and communicate better. Not only do educators need to understand effective graphic design, we need to teach it. Sadie Lewis helps educators understand and teach graphic design in this quick, helpful show full of graphic design resources for educators.  Make sure to scroll down to see the resources and the transcript of this sh...

Where will edtech go in the future? How do we evaluate what to keep doing and what to change? What are the biggest mistakes with edtech that are causing undue technostress on teachers? Al Kingsley tackles these questions and more on this episode. Show Notes, Transcript & Resources: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e788/   Sponsor: Educator wellness is now more important than ever. Go to coolcatteach...

My goal is to read books for an hour each night. In this episode, I wanted to share some of the books that have me thinking this summer. It is a wide assortment of books that I've linked to at the bottom of the show. From technology to interpersonal skills to ponderings from history, sometimes patterns emerge between random books in surprising ways. If you have books you'd like to suggest for my r...

Self-care is a word thrown around a lot these days in education. In the real world of teaching, answers aren't always easy. In fact, as I release this episode, "self-care" is the reason I did not go to #ISTELive that is this week. I need to focus on my health. So, it is fitting that today I discuss the reality of teaching with another teaching veteran. We share how we have navigated the stresses a...

Today, Million+ follower, TikTok teacher, and creator of #TeacherTipTuesday, Megan Mayer, shares her thoughts about TikTok, how to prevent profanity on TikTok and why it is a valuable tool for teachers. Megan talks openly about what she's learned about her videos that have gone viral, how to pick hashtags, and secrets for making videos that will help teachers. We end the podcast by discussing the...

Can we have joy in schools? How about on social media? With so many difficulties, it seems beyond impossible sometimes to find joy but it can be done. Today, Dean Shareski, the author of Embracing a Culture of Joy brings his perspective to the challenges of modern living and learning. While his message has been around for a while, it is perhaps even more important today. In today's show we'll disc...

The end of the school year can be so exciting and give us ideas for great teaching. Jillian DuBois talks about her end of the school year and from the conversation we have twelve inspiring ideas for classrooms everywhere including: how to use the element of surprise in learning vocabulary building ideas watching bald eagles and teaching ideas about them how eagles fly higher on turbulent winds how...

Awesome teachers connect with their students. KeKe Powell teaches second grade and has lots of ideas for ending the year and also just connecting with kids. She also shares some of her story of deciding to share what she does with a wider audience as she is becoming an education influencer. If you're considering if you want to share or if you just want great teaching ideas, this is a great listen...

School leadership is more challenging than ever. Assistant superintendent Chris Chappotin shares ideas for making yourself available, the importance of taking things off teachers' plates (and not adding to them), and questions you can ask when encouraging leaders. Practical, encouraging ideas are shared throughout this show for principals, administrators, and anyone working to encourage school lea...

Did you know you can use a live translator app in PTA meetings, parent teacher conferences, and presentations -- that actually works? Did you know there is a tool that will translate your parent newsletters? How about one that parents can use to translate homework so they can help their children? Well, all of these exist! You'll learn about these and more on a special extended episode of the podca...

Years ago when I discussed strategy with a Disney Cruise leader, they told me that people tend to remember how an experience starts and how it ends. Therefore, they designed events with intentionality, particularly on the first day and the last night. So, I adopted this approach in my own classroom and so has today's guest fourth-grade teacher, Alana Stanton. Over the last seventeen years, Alana h...

Nicole Biscotti had children, and she was a teacher. She thought she understood everything about children. That was until her fourth son, Jason, was born. As Jason grew, Nicole knew he was different. Nicole shares how eventually she discovered Jason had ADHD and how she changed her high school classroom to reach all of the children. Kids with ADHD are different and need accommodations, but it can...

World language teachers can have challenges with teaching students. Particularly when many want to use technology translators instead of learning the language. However, Rachelle Dene Poth has experience engaging and exciting students in her Spanish classroom From building relationships to using technology, she shares how Spanish teachers can engage students in learning. She uses augmented reality...

As teachers, we have many ways to open class. Bell ringers, conversation starters, and even special handshakes can open class. But what if the answer is a question that helps create social connections? Dr. Leigh Zeitz from the University of Northern Iowa surveys his students. The result has helped him (and us) better engage students. (He also will share why his students said they turned off their...

The best Instructional Technology Coaches are partners, culture leaders, encouragers, and easy to work with, says Dr. Katie Ritter. She covers ten essential points for being a successful education technology coach based on her research and her personal coaching of instructional technology coaches and teachers. This blog post includes a full transcript, a pinnable (or printable) graphic, and the po...

Surprise can increase learning and change the lives of our students in positive ways. Today's guest researcher, Dr. Michael Rousell, studies the neuroscience of surprise and has some interesting points for educators and presenters.  The Johns Hopkins' article,  The Element of Surprise Helps Babies Learn Significantly Better , points to a phenomenon that impacts all ages. For example, if you've pla...

Classroom culture defines your classroom. You can feel a classroom culture, but what is a classroom culture? How do you build a positive classroom culture? In this show, Andrew Sharos, author of Finding Lifelifes: A Practical Tale about Teacher and Mentors , shares how to create a thriving classroom culture. He also talks about creating positive classroom habits. Furthermore, you'll learn how he m...

You can have the first day back to school activities any day of the year. We all need classroom management tips and first-day back stations are one of those you can use any time of the year. Right now, this is more important than ever as classrooms return from quarantine, teachers handoff substitute teachers, students come back to school from spring break, or a classroom may get off track and need...

The harsh reality of classroom life is that students and teachers both report lower motivation and morale right now. We must reengage students! Games can help us! SEL games can help you teach social-emotional learning skills and life skills. Today's expert, Dr. Matthew Farber, gives us an interesting twist on games by integrating them with SEL. He has practical ideas for understanding and using ga...

How do we accelerate learning? The US Department of Education Roadmap for Reopening Safely says that "accelerated learning provides opportunities for students to learn at grade level rather than through tracking or remediation…."  Simply put, acceleration "builds on what students know as a way to access new learning." (Roadmap p 18) Sponsor: Advancement Courses Thank you Advancement Courses for sp...

Reading stamina matters. Prior to the pandemic, nearly two-thirds of students in the US were not at or above grade reading level for grade 4,8, and 12 (NAEP). If that isn't bad enough, UNESCO found that more than half of children and adolescents were not even learning worldwide. Furthermore, in September 2020, UNICEF reported that 1 billion children worldwide aren't learning at all. With these big...

Acceleration research can teach us how to accelerate learning. Dr. Douglas Fisher, co-author of the best-selling book Rebound, Grades K-12: A Playbook for Rebuilding Agency, Accelerating Learning Recovery, and Rethinking Schools . Instead of learning loss, Dr. Fisher is advocating how we can accelerate learning. He reflects on what we have learned and how we can move forward together as we work to...