The Pixel Classroom Podcast

I am joined by very first musical education teacher and my old friend, former classmate, Jill McCorkmick. Jill graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with a B.S. in Music Education 2001, complerted her Masters in Music at NIU 2005. Jill has an endorsement in English as a Second Language 2018. She  has been the Music Coordinator for District 428 since 2012-1 and currently teaches General M...

I talk to Xander and Mark after the Epilepsy 5K 2021 walk.

I talk to a few of the runners and why we are running for a cure.

Introduce to the 2021 Epilepsy Walk 5K with our Epilepsy Warrior Group.

On episode 76 I am joined by Tim Needles who is an artist, educator and author of STEAM Power: Infusing Art Into Your STEM Curriculum. He is a technology integration specialist and teaches art/media at Smithtown School District, is a TEDx Talk speaker, and his work has been featured on NPR, in the New York Times, Columbus Museum of Art, Norman Rockwell Museum, Alexandria Museum of Art, Katonah Mus...

For the big 75th Anniversary episode, I am joined by teacher, librarian and author, Jennifer Casa-Todd. ennifer Casa-Todd is wife, mom, and a Teacher-Librarian,  and a former Literacy Consultant. Jennifer holds a Masters in Education and Digital Technologies from Ontario Tech University with a specialization in social media, digital citizenship and education. She is a Google Certified Trainer...

In episode 74, I am joined by Phil Gattone, who is the CEO and Founder of Neurish, a startup that creates applications and tools to help patients, caregivers, friends, and families impacted by epilepsy. He was diagnosed with epilepsy, himself, in 1991. He has had thousands of seizures, been on dozens of medications, and has had two brain surgeries. Despite the epilepsy, Phil has a background in el...

In the Season Three opening I sit down and talk with Becky Schnekser, Becky is a National Geographic educator, Explorer, grantee, field scientists and science teacher in Virginia. She recently published a book titled Expedition Science: Empowering Learners through Exploration and has joined a new nonprofit school opening this Fall in Norfolk, VA. She believes in field based, authentic experiences...

In the Season 2 finale, I recap and review the Netflix He-Man relaunch, Masters of the Universe: Revelations by Kevin Smith. I recap and review each episode from plot, to story points to Easter Eggs and toy nods. I did mostly enjoy the series and those who have not watched it completely or at all, there are spoilers through out the episode. Enjoy and please leave me a review on your favorite podca...

In episode 71, I talk about the importance of creating goals, journaling and finding mind fullness in your personal and professional lives. I give instruction and advice on how to create a vision board, the importance of journaling and talk about three authors you should check out if you are looking into these areas for both your professional and personal lives. Creatively Productive by Lisa Johns...

In this special episode on Epilepsy Awareness, I am joined by Laurie McKeon and her Epilepsy Support group with mat Elfring and returning guest, Becky Vinehout. They share their story, journey and hopes as they talk about Epilepsy, seeking support and living and enjoying life.  You can connect with them and learn more information on their discussions at: Laurie: www. Marklund.org www.hosannac...

In this episode, I review my audio blog from my website written o n July 9, 2017 on living with depression. I share this episode to let others dealing with depression and anxiety that it is OK to ask for help and to talk about your problems. 

In this episode, I give out a few suggestions for reading this summer. Whether it's for entertainment, education or self care.  The books I look at are:  The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Jeffrey Westhoff Hacking Teacher Burnout: 8 Steps to go from Isolated to Empowered  by Amber Harper Mindset Moments by Andrew J. Canle Teaching with Google Jamboard by Alice Keller & Kimberly Mattin...

I am joined by the Batgirl to Oracle Podcast founder and host and fellow educator, Stella Bowman. In this episode, Stella talks about her love of reading. What lead her to education, what made her fall in love with both reading and listening to podcasts. Stella also talks about her: Ten years in education, 8th-12th grade, Latin IB, II, AP Latin HS bookclub, International Food Festival, Comedy Show...

As I wrap up the school year, I reflect on the school year as a whole. The ups and downs and joined by my wife, Melissa, our son, Tyler, his friend Braydon on looking back at the school year and as we dream ahead of the 2021-2022 school year for all of us. 

Local teacher and old friend, Liz Padgett guest stars on the Pixel Classroom Podcast. A Genoa Native and graduate of the Class of 2008. Liz has an Associates of Science from Kishwaukee College and a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Blackburn College, I also have my middle school endorsement. She also has an ESL endorsement from Rockford University and then worked as a substitute teac...

In this episode I talk about my journey to losing thirty pounds. What inspired me, what continues to drive me to stay healthy and my history with weight gain, mental health and striving forward in both good and bad times. 

Brad created the Crawlspace back in 1998 while attending college at the University of Missouri-Columbia.  He’s the webmaster and writes front page news items, administrates the message board and also produces, hosts and edits the podcast. He’s been collecting Spider-Man comics since the age of three and is a life-long fan of the webhead. His website has been featured in USA Today, Entertainme...

In this episode, I am joined by my old friend, Juan Castro, an inker and illustrator from Tijuana, Mexico, has worked in the comics industry for over 10 years on such titles as, GI Joe, Transformers, Halo, Arrow, Aquaman, Green Lantern Corps, Suicide Squad, Grayson, the Wrong Earth and more, has also been nominated to 3 inkwell awards. Juan talks about how he found himself in a career as a profess...

In this byte size episode, I reflect on the past two years of the Pixel Classroom Podcast. How it came into being, where I would like it to go and even asking for your suggestions on what you would like to see in season 3. I want to thank everyone who has listen to the podcast and been with me on this journey. There is also a Google Form up here . 

I am joined by my friend, Tony Vincent. Tony Vincent has been an educator for 23 years. He started out teaching 5th grade and then was a tech coach. He left school teaching to be a self-employed consultant, on a mission to empower teachers & students with awesomeness. Recently, Tony went back to teaching for the 2018-19 school year where his fifth grade class was 1 to 1 with Chromebooks. Tony post...

In this episode, I follow up on my blog post from earlier in the year about Social Media Burnout. I talk about signs that you are starting to burn out from social media whether it is simple posting to video and more. What are some ways that have been researched to cut back on Social Media and to start dealing with your burnout. 

In this episode, Becky shares her story of how she d ealt with drug-resistant seizures for 23 years. Her seizure focus was located at an Epilepsy Center in the EMU/epilepsy monitoring unit and surgically removed. She talks about her journey, the writing of her book, Living Seizure Free and more about Epilepsy Advocacy and her about Surgical Hair Design.  You can contact or follow Becky throug...

In our first episode for April 2021, I am joined by my former co-worker and school principal, Shavina Baker. Shavina's passion for education compelled her to teach in the city of Rockford to give back by educating and empowering the children in her city to achieve their goals and use their talents and gifts to enrich the city of Rockford. Prior to taking on her role as principal Shavina has had th...

In this episode, I talk about how you can use a Cricut in your classroom from Elementary all the way to Higher Education. A Cricut allows for PBL, creativity and of course play with your students and learning. Look below for several of the resources I talked about in the episode.  Youtube Videos https://youtu.be/9OjywJZp3jM https://youtu.be/KCcYdqgpWSc https://youtu.be/3b6qjVUUtL8 https://you...