Tech Lasso

Katherine Goyette is the Computer Science Coordinator for California Department of Education. She is an author, learner and educational leader who advocates for inclusive educational opportunities for all students within the communities they reside. Katherine was primary writer for California’s inaugural Computer Science Standards and is the founding president of the California Central Valley chap...

Laura James is a seasoned educator with 35 years of experience who currently heads the Multimedia Services unit at the Los Angeles County Office of Education, providing professional development on effective instructional strategies and appropriate digital tools to enhance instruction. She has incorporated multimedia into her teaching and engaged students with interdisciplinary projects to increase...

Chris and Jennifer Ormsby discuss digital literacy and LACOE’s eLibrary services  in this episode. ELS provides K-12 educators throughout Los Angeles County with free access to the Educator Library. Get your eLS library card today at https://els.lacoe.edu/ .  Jennifer Ormsby has been at LACOE for over ten years, reinventing the LACOE library as eLibrary Services. Formerly a selector for the LA Cou...

In this episode of Tech Lasso, Christopher Hoang and Scott Moss get to know Lisa Moe (@MissMoeTeaches) and her adventures with EdTech, Social Emotional Learning, STEM, and more.   Lisa Moe teaches 6th Grade in Corona-Norco Unified School District and is known on Social Media as @MissMoeTeaches. She was named the 2020 Edwin Carr recipient in Educational Technology through California State Universit...

    An eSports Conversation  In this episode of Tech Lasso, Christopher Hoang, Donna “Basic Taq” Walters and Thomas Phelps discuss all things eSports.  Donna "BasicTaq" Walters is the founder and Executive Director of College Esports, a California non-profit organization seeking 501c3 status that supports educators, community leaders, and government officials in creating sustainable, eng...

In this episode, Alexis Candelaria, a SPED teacher from Los Angeles County, and ITO Coordinator Christopher Hoang speak with Lauren Burlison, known as the Canvas Queen for her tips and tricks on integrating Canvas LMS into the classroom seamlessly, on Canvas, AI, and how to support our students in the classrooms and at home in learning, especially with the rapid rise of generative AI. To learn mor...

In this unedited episode of Tech Lasso, the LACOE ITO Coordinators and special guest, Cameron Smith, a Long Beach teacher, visit Leandro Otero and Jostin Grimes from Soundtrap in Pod City in downtown Los Angeles to discuss what Soundtrap is doing for students and educators. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast and follow us on social media. Twitter:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lacoe_ito ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lacoeITO ⁠...

In this brief episode, Christopher Hoang, Mark Schwanz, and Kyip briefly touch on the structure of the upcoming season and invite the audience to register and attend to AI Symposium on August 4th at the LACOE office. Registration for the AI Symposium: https://ito.lacoe.edu/workshops/registration.pl?run_mode=create&workshop=693 Be sure to subscribe to this podcast and follow us on social media....

In the last episode of the 2022-2023 school year, Christopher Hoang, Kyip, Alejandro Chavira, and Mark Schwanz share and discuss their own perspective and thoughts on the different topics that arose during this season and provide their take on a variety of topics from esports to identity to AI to coding. Additionally, Tech Lasso will go on a two week break and return on July 5th. Be sure to subscr...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has existed since the 1950s, and yet since late November 2022, the discussion around AI has taken hold in all sectors of the world. In this episode, Brandie Wright and Nancye Blair Black join ITO Coordinators Scott Moss, Christopher Hoang, and Cathy Rodriguez to discuss AI, why we engage in the use of it, and remind us that AI is just another technology tool. Additiona...

Erica Aguirre returns with a fellow teacher, Thomas Phelps, to discuss and address questions and concerns that two parents, Jared Tafua and Erin Sheppard, have about what goes on in the classroom, particularly with the use of technology. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast and follow us on social media. Twitter:  ⁠⁠⁠lacoe_ito ⁠⁠⁠ Facebook:  ⁠⁠⁠lacoeITO ⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn:  ⁠⁠⁠lacoe-ito ⁠⁠⁠ If you have...

Social media is the norm. From Twitter to Instagram to YouTube to Discord to Facebook and so forth, social media is readily accessible to all individuals connected to the internet. Influencers have become more and more of the norm, and today we have Pamela Price, a micro-influencer, and Jared Tafua, a parent, to discuss social media use, what influencers are, and how to be safe when online and how...

Dr. Toutoule Ntoya shares that your identity is your North Star. It is what guides you, grounds you, and motivates you. How we view ourselves and how we view our abilities can be attributed to how we identify ourselves. Yet, what is a STEM Identity? Listen as Ella Farinas and Dr. Ntoya discuss with ITO Coordinators Christopher Hoang and Scott Moss the concept of an identity and how we can apply it...

In this episode, Melanie Mendoza discusses with Chris and Mark about her life growing up as a product of East Los Angeles, cybersecurity, and Minecraft. She shares with us how technology she sees technology as an equalizer in society, what Microsoft is doing to support schools, and what Minecraft in Education offers. Melanie Mendoza is an Account Representative at Microsoft that supports Los Angel...

In this episode, Sue Thotz from Common Sense Media shares with Chris Hoang and Scott Moss the importance of Media Literacy. She provides examples as to how this is applicable to our everyday lives and why it is important for our students to become aware of what they are consuming, especially as deep fakes begin to emerge. She also shares different examples from the Common Sense Media curriculum th...

There are many organizations out there that try to promote the use of technology in education, however, the non-profit International Society for Technology in Education (or ISTE), is considered the leader in this. Erin Dowd, Program Manager for ISTE, joins Chris Hoang and Cathy Rodriguez as we discuss digital citizenship, the ISTE standards, and what the seal of alignment is.   Erin Dowd has been...

Tech Corps and the Teaching and Learning Collaborative (TLC) have partnered to provide support to teachers, particularly elementary school teachers, in integrated computer science into their math curriculum. Lisa Chambers from Tech Corps and Kelli Shrewsberry from TLC recently sat down with Alexis Candaleria, a SPED teacher from Los Angeles, and Christopher Hoang to discuss the importance of their...

In this episode, Chris Hoang and Anna Heinbuch, School Counseling Coordinator, discuss with Dr. Matthew Rhoads about social-emotional learning (SEL) with technology, as well as, integrating technology in the classroom successfully. From high school special education teacher to EdTech Trainer, Dr. Matthew Rhoads understands what needs to be done and what it takes to successfully implement technolog...

Erica Aguirre is a dedicated educator from Cerritos, California. Born and raised in the community, Erica developed a passion for learning and teaching at a young age. After graduating from high school, she pursued her studies at the University of California, Irvine, where she earned a degree in sociology.  Erica's love for her hometown led her back to Cerritos, where she became a secondary his...

Los Angeles County is approximately 4,000 square miles, enough space to fill 2,000,000 football fields. Within Los Angeles County there are many great organizations that support educators to become more comfortable with technology and provide many opportunities for professional growth and development with other educators. SGV CUE is one of those organizations. Chris and Scott have a small discussi...

Anthony D. Mays went from foster care to being a Google software engineer to giving back to his community of Compton. His story shows how resilience, determination, and caring adults can impact one’s life regardless of all the obstacles. Listen to this episode of Tech Lasso as we discuss with Anthony his journey from foster care to Google Software Engineer, what parents/guardians can do to support...

Our guest today is a true leader in education. With a background as a former classroom teacher and member of the Scratch team, Mary Jo brings a unique perspective on education technology and innovation. She has been recognized as one of Forbes magazine's prestigious "30 Under 30" in education and last summer served as a moderator at ISTE for an important conversation between Cornell...

In this episode of Tech Lasso, Christopher Hoang and Laura Wilson chat with Selwyn Hollins, Director of the Internal Services Department for Los Angeles County, and Sonia Hooks, Assistant Director of Technology Services with LACOE, to learn more about the Delete the Divide initiative. Delete the Divide, an initiative led by Los Angeles County, aims to remove the digital divide between those who ha...

Alan Sitomer, California Teacher of the Year award winner, author of 22 books, and CEO of Mastery Coding , will share tools, resources, and best practices in coding instruction that will afford students the opportunity to step into high-paying, high-need jobs right out of high school. In this episode, Alan Sitomer sits with Chris and Scott to discuss why it is important for the youth of today to l...

Ep. 07: Tech Lasso Introduces the ITO Coordinators: Kapui Yip "It’s something I need to be able to pick up and fairly intuitively.” - Kapui Yip In this episode, Kapui Yip shares with Chris, Mark, Scott, and Alejandro why he goes by the name Kyip (pronounced Kip), his take on using technology, and how we can engage students by embracing what students are already using. If you have recommendations o...