The Good Life EDU Podcast

Educators everywhere are turning to Canva as their one-stop-shop for creating any one of a number of things from presentation slides to infographics to video production, editing, and more. For this episode of The Good Life EDU, we are joined by Canva Learning Consultant, Tisha Richmond, who shares her wealth of knowledge on not only what Canva can do but also where those possibilities meet the tea...

Dr. Dan Schnoes of ESU 3 is back again this week to share his insights on a topic that was recently on the front page of the Omaha World-Herald, paying student teachers for their time spent student teaching. On the pod, Dan provides the backstory of this effort, the details of its implementation, and the immediate impact it has already garnered in Nebraska. Our conversation also entertains some of...

Preston Fraizer, Pitsco Education's Advisor for the Midwest Region, joins The Good Life EDU this week to share the story of the GEER-Funded robotics purchase that sent $1.4 million dollars worth of robotics devices into Nebraska schools. In a collaborative effort to support this monumental purchase, Pitsco Education and the ESUCC came together to develop a support site where educators and students...

This week we welcome back Gold Bug Interactive's CEO and Co-founder, Dr. Paul Darvasi, for an episode that illustrates how Gold Bug is designing creative learning experiences on an international scale. Throughout the pod, Paul shares about numerous projects, each with a very different aim. Despite their differences, every example has a common goal of seeking to understand and engage the learner in...

On February 8th, 2023 US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited ESU 3 in Omaha, Nebraska to learn more about the innovative work being done in the state to support student and educator mental health. This episode of the pod features Dr. Dan Schnoes, CEO at ESU 3, whose advocacy led to the Secretary's visit. We also welcome several Nebraska education leaders including Dr. Kraig Lofquist, Dr....

In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, ESU administrators Dr. Dan Schnoes, Dr. Larianne Polk, and Dr. John Skretta join the pod to inform our audience about Nebraska's legislative process and provide insights into several key education-related bills. In the show notes below, you will find several links referenced in the podcast. Continue to follow our show as this won't be our last update f...

In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, Shara Johnson of ESU 2, Matthew Burg who is a business teacher at Freemont High School, and Jess Bland who is the superintendent at Oakland-Craig Public Schools join us for a conversation that speaks to the impact that the learning management system, Canvas, has had in their respective buildings and classrooms. On the pod, Shara notes that schools only...

In this episode of The Good Life EDU podcast, we are joined by the ESU 2's own Mike Feit, Brad Hoffman, and Aryn Halsey for a conversation about their YouTube show, "Behavior Bites." Our conversation delves into the backstory, creative process, and content that these three educators have experienced during their efforts to deliver concise, relevant, and practical strategies through this effort. Li...

This week on The Good Life EDU podcast, LaRaesha Kugel of ESU 9 joins us for a conversation about supporting students who are on the autism spectrum. On the pod, LaRaesha advocates from various lenses; she's a former teacher, an ESU instructional coach and MTSS facilitator, and the mother of a son on the spectrum. As such, LaRaesha has an intimate understanding of the numerous roles that collectiv...

In this episode of The Good Life EDU podcast, we are joined by educator, author, and consultant, Michael Matera for a conversation about learner engagement. Michael is a master teacher whose creativity and passion for gamification have fostered his unique perspective and approach to learning experience design. On the pod, Michael also delves into his work leading adult learning and his vision for...

The 2022 legislative session in Nebraska saw LB1112 pass, which led to the Computer Science and Technology Education Act. As the 2022 fall semester drew to a close, the Nebraska Department of Education released its guidance in support of districts as they ensure that all students have exposure to computer science at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. In this episode of The Good Life E...

This week on The Good Life EDU Podcast, we learn more about teaching learners with low-incidence disabilities and the unique educator training programs and supports in place for anyone interested in becoming certified to teach students who are deaf or hard of hearing. This conversation features insights from a panel of experts that includes Darsha Pelland the Director of Low Incidence Disabilities...

In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, we are joined by Danna Thomas, founder and CEO of the Baltimore-born, international movement The Happy Teacher Revolution. On the pod, Danna provides insight into the causes contributing to teacher burnout and its prevalence at this time. She goes on to share how both individual educators, as well as entire teams and/or school systems, can make space f...

Dr. Sonny Magana joins us on The Good Life EDU Podcast this week for a conversation about his new book, Learning in the Zone. In the episode, Dr. Magana shares his 7 Habits of Meta-Learners and explains the vital role that "head-and-heart tech" play in the learning process. To learn more, access https://maganaeducation.com/

In this episode, Monica Wells and Alyssa Anson of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute join us to talk about their work to connect and support early childhood care and education providers, schools and kindergarten educators, and families as they onboard learners to the kindergarten experience. Listeners can expect to learn about and receive access to a set of toolkits and resources to support thi...

Chrystal Liu, world languages specialist at NDE, and Nick Ziegler, world languages coordinator and tech integrationist at ESU 5, join us for an episode dedicated to Nebraska's World Languages Standards. This discussion highlights the 2019 prioritization of five standard strands that focus on communication, culture, connections, communities, and cognition. On the pod, Chrystal and Nick also explain...

Matt Miller is back this week on The Good Life EDU to share about his new show, The Digital Learning Podcast. On their pod, Matt and his co-host Holly Clark delve into the topic of blended learning and reframe how we might think of that work in our modern context. In this episode, Matt discusses blended learning through that lens, highlighting the importance of blended learning and a few of the bu...

The Good Life EDU Podcast welcomes back Pam Brezenski who now serves as the Project Manager for Get SET Nebraska, a grant by the Office of Special Education Programs (secured by NDE in collaboration with ESU 13 and UNL). Get SET Nebraska aims to help retain special education teachers in Nebraska to enhance student success across the state. This effort, which is in its first pilot year, aims to gro...

For our 100th episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, we welcome the author of the book Mindfulness for Teachers, Dr. Tish Jennings, to the show to frame our understanding of the many stressors currently impacting the teaching profession. On the pod, Dr. Jennings uncovers ways of addressing these very real issues that range from the macro, systemic-level factors to the micro-level interactions that...

This is a fun and informative conversation that shares about two efforts in Nebraska to support teaching and learning with technology. Peg Coover of ESU 10 takes the lead in the first half of the pod as she explains the history, current work, materials, and contest opportunities that Nebraska's ESU Digital Citizenship group provides. In the second half of the pod, Eileen Heller of ESU 3 describes...

In this episode, we are joined by speaker, author, and education advocate Allyson Apsey, who shares insights from her latest book, "Leading the Whole Teacher." Listen and learn from Allyson as she highlights her six elements of how we might effectively lead and support teachers, and just like her book, this resource is filled with practical strategies that are easy to implement. To learn more from...

This episode brings together all five of Nebraska's Regional Program Coordinators for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and the group is joined by NDE's Darsha Pelland, who works in the Office of Special Education as the IDEA Low Incidence Director. On the pod, coordinators Heather Witte, Sara Peterson, Jill Hoffart, Lindsey Hinzmann, and Diane Meyer explain the full scope of services for...

This week, we explore a "co-teaching plus" approach to reimagining how teams of teachers can facilitate learning experiences thanks to Brent Maddin, the Executive Director of the Next Education Workforce Team and the Professor of Practice at the MLF Teachers' College at Arizona State University. Show notes: If you are interested in joining the 2022-2023 Next Education Workforce Learning Cohort, yo...

Recently, The Good Life EDU podcast has been exploring a variety of ways in which the education community at large has responded to the present teacher shortage. In this episode, the superintendent of Morrill Public Schools, Barry Schaeffer, and the coordinator for the world languages program at ESU 5, Dr. Nicholas Ziegler, explain how distance learning courses are helping Nebraska schools offer s...

Dr. Kay Shurtleff of ESC Region 10 in Texas joins us on The Good Life EDU Podcast this week to share her recent research findings regarding teacher shortages in the US. In this episode, Dr. Shurtleff details the factors contributing to this issue and highlights several innovative efforts being made to address it. This conversation came about as a result of Dr. Shurtleff's recent AESA Perspectives...