Ditch That Textbook Podcast :: Education, teaching, edtech :: #DitchPod

This quote by Haim Ginott had a HUGE impact on me as a young educator. It still speaks to me today. At the end of the school year, it's something we have to keep in mind. We have ENORMOUS power on the climate of our own classrooms.

I (Matt) didn't major in education in college. It was journalism. I worked several journalism jobs before becoming a teacher. I wouldn't change it, though. Here are some great skills I learned from the journalism world that helped me as a teacher.

Bitmojis are so fun! They're like cartoon versions of ourselves, and we can communicate via Bitmoji. Some are inappropriate, though, and the terms of use are 13+ years old. Here's a safe way to get Bitmojis in the hands of our students.

"If you're not hearing from every student in every classroom, you're doing it wrong." What do you think of this quote? Technology can help teachers hear from every student in ways we couldn't before.

It's happened to all of us. A lesson is going great and ONE kid is spacing out -- OR giving you the death stare. That student is all we can think about afterward. Remember that ONE disconnected student doesn't mean failure in teaching.

Inquiry is a great way to help students own their learning and learn how to pursue their curiosity. KQED Learn is a platform that's set up for students to start exploring, discovering and sharing. It's free and it's ready for you to use immediately!

I was inspired by a story in the book "The Wild Card" by Hope and Wade King where a student had lunch with different groups of students for an entire month. How could that have a great impact on your relationships with students?

Do you struggle with students creating naughty nicknames in Kahoot! games? Kahoot! has created a new feature to eliminate the temptation of typing a naughty nickname. Check it out and see if it's a good fit for your class.

What would happen if we allowed "open internet access" during any assessment? I saw this question on Twitter from John Eick (@John_Eick) over the weekend and it had me thinking. What would happen?

Social media can be our lifeblood of classroom ideas, inspiration and connections. Here are some suggestions for making the most out of Twitter / social media for educators.

Poptropica is one of my sixth grade daughter Cassie's favorite games. She makes the case for using it to help kids learn.

It's so easy to Google almost anything ... especially assignments. Can we "make" students stop? What's the solution?

Littles can use Google tools too! In this book by Christine Pinto and Alice Keeler, they show you how!

Padlet, a digital bulletin board-style collaboration tool, recently announced that it is no longer totally free. How should we deal with digital tools we have to pay for?

Student voice is a hot topic in education right now. But how can you give students that microphone in an authentic, doable way? Andrew Fenstermaker and his fifth-grade students show you how! Twitter: @a_fenstermaker

Sketchnoting (or visual notetaking) is a very brain-friendly way of learning ... and it's TONS of fun! Hone your sketchnoting skills (and introduce it to your students) with #Sketch50! Check it out at sketch50.org or the #sketch50 hashtag on Twitter.

The band OK GO has the coolest music videos! There's a lot of math and science behind these videos. They have recently created a fantastic resource for the classroom to help you inspire students academically with their music videos: OKGOsandbox.org.

Students that use Google Classroom are greeted by header images every time they log in. Create your own custom Google Classroom header image. To give it some added flair, use animated GIF images to make it move! Hat-tip to Paul West (@pdubyatech on Twitter).

March Madness and the men's college basketball tournament has people all over the United States buzzing with excitement. How can we use brackets to carry that excitement over into the classroom? Check out Brackify.com as a free digital tool to use.

What's it going to look like? Really, it's anyone's guess how tech will influence education in the future. But an interview with Microsoft's CEO piqued my interest and got me thinking about it.

How can hip hop influence and inspire students at a middle school in Bronx, NY? The effects can be farther-reaching than you might think. Listen as a principal, musician and filmmaker combine to influence student lives. More info: casadocumentary.com.

Augmented reality and virtual reality are becoming a reality for classrooms. Mike Drezek shares some cool ways teachers can start incorporating this cutting-edge technology in class for little to no money. (Mike's Twitter: @m_drez)

Mike Drezek connected students to India. Those students' worldview was widened. How can you make similar connections? It may be easier than you think. Mike shares some ideas. (Mike's Twitter: @m_drez)

Genny Kahlweiss's students sent a flag to a research station in Antarctica, where it was flown for three days. They video chatted with scientists and named penguins. How cool! How did she do it? She shares how YOU could do these things, too! (Genny's Twitter: @kahlweiss)

Flipgrid's short video response platform has taken the education world by storm. What are some of the coolest ways teachers are using it? Flipgrid's Joey Taralson and Adam Parker-Goldberg share some ideas!