SOS Podcast

 We are thrilled to share a free guide that will empower teachers and school leaders to capture meaningful reflections as they wrap up the academic year. 

Welcome back to Shifting Schools, the podcast where innovative educational approaches meet the ever-evolving landscape of learning. Join host Jeff Utecht as he converses with renowned educator, forward-thinking leader, and author of "The Design Thinking Classroom," Mr. David Jakes. In this episode, they explore the transformative power of design thinking in the educational sphere. Alongside the stimulating conversation, we're offering listeners a chance to win one of three copies of Jakes' inspiring book. However, this isn't all the episode has in store. In their commitment to future-forward education, the team at Shifting Schools is excited to announce the launch of their 3-month Generative AI Cohort, a program designed to demystify AI for educators and bring its latest developments to their inboxes. The Generative AI Cohort aims to empower educators by providing them with the tools and knowledge to integrate AI into their teaching methods. The journey kicks off each month with a 30-minute live webinar that

Ready for an Eggcellent Adventure? Let's explore the Egg Drop Challenge with ChatGPT

Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Text Blaze. If you're an educator or a student looking for a powerful tool to boost your productivity, Text Blaze is the answer. It offers you snippets of text that you can insert anywhere you type, saving you precious time. Visit Text Blaze to learn how you can streamline your typing tasks. Episode Overview: In this episode of the Shifting Schools Podcast, we sit down with the incredibly inspiring Rebekah Lowell, a Maine-based author and illustrator with a remarkable story of survival and healing. Rebekah uses her experiences and deep connection with nature to craft beautiful and meaningful children's literature. Key Links: Website: https://rebekahlowell.com/ Book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Br8RmI Twitter: https://twitter.com/RebekahLowell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebekahlowell/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebekahlowellstudio Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rebekahlowellart/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rebekahlowell  Join us nex

On this episode, we think about ways to spread appreciation throughout the year.  Might your team benefit from spreading positive gossip about fellow team members?  How might that spark the practice of better noticing the strengths within your community? We explore our latest free guide Positive Gossip that you can download by clicking this link. This episode also explores research about the role of gossip, read more by clicking this link. Ready to join our webinar coming up May 11th? Learn all about Skills Based Assessment in the Era of ChatGPT As a listener of this show you can take $25 off that webinar by entering special code "SSNEWS25" at checkout.  

It is teacher appreciation week and we are thrilled to have the award winning Taylor Mali on the show to shower teachers with stanzas of support and care. Taylor talks about his brand new book "The Teachers I Loved Best," as well as the collaborative process behind that book. Listeners may remember his TED Talk 'What Teachers Make' that has now been viewed over 800,000 times. On this episode we talk further about what it means to be an educator, how and why we need to expand on our definition for educator as well as the significance of emotional intelligence. To connect with this week's guest you can find him across social media: Website: TaylorMali.com Twitter: @TaylorMali Instagram: taylor_mali Learn more about our guest: TAYLOR MALI is a four-time National Poetry Slam champion and one of the original poets on HBO's Def Poetry Jam. The author of six books of poetry including Late Father & Other Poems, he is also the inventor of Metaphor Dice, a game that helps writers think more figuratively. He lives i

On this episode, we ask you to consider the ways we might need to rethink traditional career fairs. If your school hosts 'world of work' events, have you thought about ways those events have changed with the needs of learners?   ➡️ You can check out our Future of Work curated playlist by clicking here. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this episode of Shifting Schools, Jeff interviews Dan Barak, from Text Blaze, a text-expansion tool that can save users time and make typing more efficient. Dan explains how Text Blaze can be used in education by creating shortcuts for frequently used phrases or words, which can be helpful for students and teachers. He shares examples of how Text Blaze has been used in education, such as providing feedback on writing assignments or taking notes in class. Dan also discusses how Text Blaze can be integrated into existing workflows and tools used in schools. We thank Text Blaze for being a sponsor of the Shifting Schools community and you can try Text Blaze for free at textblaze.me/shiftingschools

Welcome to this special episode of Shifting Schools, where we dive into the exciting world of AI in education, with a special guest ChatGPT. We discuss the potential benefits and concerns surrounding the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in the classroom and explore how educators can integrate this technology effectively to enhance learning experiences. Throughout the episode, we emphasize the importance of responsible and ethical use of AI, while highlighting the need for collaboration, personalization, and the development of higher-order skills. In our conversation, we share practical tips for educators on how to adapt assessments, foster collaboration, and encourage ethical use of AI. We provide examples of creative assessment methods that focus on critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving, enabling teachers to create engaging, innovative learning environments for their middle school and high school students. The discussion also covers the role of AI in shaping the future of education and how educators

In today's episode, we have a very special guest, Jennifer LaGarde, aka The Library Girl @jenniferlagarde, an incredible advocate for information literacy and the co-author of "Developing Digital Detectives"

Saturday, April 22nd is Earth Day. While this week is an important week to put a spotlight on climate action and sustainability we need to be sustaining this conversation all year. So, how might ChatGPT help us co-create learning experiences with students? On this episode, we explore our latest free guide that explores:

April is School Library Month, and we are thrilled to bring you a conversation with award-winning librarian Karina Quilantán! Looking for more information on School Library Month? Click here for an overview Click here for inspiration for celebrating your school librarian Learn more about this week's guest: Karina Quilantán, also known as "Q.", is an award-winning library media specialist, international presenter, and keynote speaker from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. She has been an educator for over a decade and has earned array of digital credentials including Apple, Google, and Microsoft for Education certifications. Karina's love for educational technology has allowed her to expand her library programming beyond the classroom and she loves finding innovative ways to keep her students and staff engaged in the learning process. In addition to her love of librarianship and professional development, she maintains several social media channels and moderates a professional learning network called RGV Library Sq

On this episode of the podcast Jeff and Tricia tell listeners all about the latest free guide: "Kickstarting a critical conversation about equity and generative AI." They explain why terms like 'algorithmic bias,' and 'search engine optimization' are important for students to understand as critical to the way we think about information literacy in the new era of generative AI tools. Discussed in this episode: Would you let an AI date for you? Survival of the best fit Facebook's ad-serving algorithm discriminates by gender and race Propagation of societal gender inequality by internet search algorithms Do you want to get $250 dollars of Shifting School's store credit by being a 'critical podcast review partner'? Fill out this form before April 15th. Learn more about our Equity and Generative AI Course here

Do you learn from your mistakes? Do your students? In this episode we go deep into ways we can truly leverage mistakes as fuel for deeper learning, engagement, and reflection. We think more about the mindsets that help us unpack our mistakes and share them with our learning community. Our fantastic guest this week is Eman Ismail whose podcast 'Mistakes that Made Me'  is a great listen for Business and Entrepreneurship as well as any learning that focuses on Leadership. Ready to learn more about this week's special guest? Click here.  Follow Eman on Social Media: On Twitter On Instagram Check out the resource from Eman that we discuss: Available here Thank you for listening to this episode! If you like our podcast you may want to check out our bank of free guides available here. A huge thanks to our sponsor for supporting us in making this episode possible: Visit textblaze.me/shiftingschools to get started saving time today!

Thank you to our sponsor MackinVia for sponsoring today's episode.  Jeff's book recommendation: The Dip by Seth Godin This week on the show we are honored to speak with Dr. Dana Goodier, the author of the book and podcast "Out of the Trenches". Dr. Dana Goodier has 23 years of experience in education. She has taught World Languages and English and worked as a middle school administrator. She completed her doctorate degree (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership early 2020. For her dissertation, she researched reasons parents were opting their students out of high-stakes testing at middle schools and how that affected the district accreditation rating. She often speaks at conferences, providing educators with techniques to minimize off-task behavior and to increase time on task. She is the host of the "Out of the Trenches" podcast, which features educators who share their stories of resiliency. She has also written the book "Out of the Trenches: Stories of Resilient Educators, which features much of her own story in

Welcome to the NCCE conference live episode sponsored by MackinVia. Today we explore the impact of Generative AI on education, digital and media literacy, and innovative projects happening in schools recorded on my Zoom H2n Mic. We begin with a discussion on Generative AI in education. We delve into the ways in which AI can personalize learning and engage students, while also teaching them about the ethical implications of this technology and the importance of digital literacy skills. Then we shift to the topic of digital and media literacy. We examine the critical role of media literacy in teaching students how to evaluate media sources and recognize misinformation. Finally, we turn our attention to some of the exciting projects happening in schools hearing from teachers and tech coaches about the fun things that are engaging kids today. The NCCE conference provides a valuable platform for educators to discuss how technology can enhance learning experiences for students. We thank MackinVia for sponsoring thi

In this episode, we explore the transformative power of feedback for leaders. Drawing from the insightful article "How Leaders Can Get the Feedback They Need to Grow" from Harvard Business Review by Kim Scott, Liz Fosslien, and Mollie West Duffy (2023), we discuss the importance of seeking feedback as a means of enhancing trust in our learning community. We examine the common barriers that leaders face when seeking feedback and consider key questions to reflect on in order to overcome these obstacles. From the fear of criticism to the illusion of knowing everything, we explore the mental roadblocks that can impede our ability to learn and improve. We share our personal experiences with seeking feedback and reflect on the impact it has had on our leadership journey. Jeff and Tricia also offer actionable tips for leaders to create a feedback-friendly culture within their organization and establish meaningful connections with their team. Want to leverage our free resources on feedback? Find our free guide 'Refra

On the show we are so excited to host Dr. Gina Picha! She explores the strategies and insight inside her new book: Conferring in the Match Classroom. We explore what it means to help learners develop their math identity and to develop their capacity and confidence as problem solvers. This conversation reminds us of the power of building relationships with students and ways we can build more casual conversations into our practice. Learn all about Dr. Picha: Dr. Gina Picha's career in education began in Illinois where she earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with a minor in economics and later a master's degree in education.  Over the past fifteen years, Gina has worked as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, curriculum specialist and district math coordinator.  In 2020, Gina graduated with a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Concordia University-Austin where she conducted research on teacher professional learning that includes time for teachers to reflect on their math identiti

This short and sweet episode asks for YOUR feedback. It has now been a few weeks since we launched our learning opportunities for generative AI tools like ChatGPT. Specifically, we launched: Our 5-Day Generative AI Challenge and  The Intersection of Equity and AI We are thrilled to have folks asking us for follow up challenges and courses and we want to get to work designing them. We want to do that with YOUR needs and questions in mind. So we are offering you a free pass if you agree to give us your feedback. Want your free pass? Please feel out this form by March 20th. Do you want to have a longer conversation about a bespoke training for your community? We love cultivating partnerships, book a discovery call with us free: click here to book your call. Learn more about our resources at www.shiftingschools.com Email us at info(at)shiftingschools (dotcom)

On this episode we explore what it means to 'be bold' in our personal and professional lives. This conversation features the research and insight of Shanna A. Hocking. Shanna A. Hocking is a leadership consultant, philanthropic advisor, author, and speaker with 20 years of experience raising hundreds of millions of dollars and leading large teams at organizations such as the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Alabama, and Duke University. Her clients include universities, national nonprofit organizations, global businesses, and family foundations. Shanna is the author of One Bold Move a Day: Meaningful Actions Women Can Take to Fulfill Their Leadership and Career Potential (McGraw Hill, November 2022), which was recognized as a November nominee of The Next Big Idea Club. Shanna's articles have been published on Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Fast Company, The Muse, and Motherly, and her expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, PIX11 Ne