EduTechGuys

In this episode of The EduTechGuys, we tackle the uncomfortable question echoing through faculty lounges across the country — what happens when the person in the principal’s office has barely spent time in a classroom?We break down the “fast-track phenomenon” driving inexperienced educators into administrative roles, from the nationwide leadership shortage to a policy shift that’s turned principals into operational managers rather than instructional leaders. Then we dig into why pedagogical diversity in leadership teams matters just as much as demographic diversity — and the real cost when it’s missing, from teacher burnout to a culture of compliance over connection.If you’re a teacher with your eye on administration, we’ve also got a few practical tips for making the leap with credibility and integrity — including how to diversify your classroom experience, build leadership without a title, and stay grounded in what actually works for kids long after you leave the classroom. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

On today's episode, the guys talk about the art of conversation, the "Face to face", and the role podcasts are playing in keeping the conversations alive! A little reminiscing about the past 10 years of the ETF podcast and and some helpful tips for those podcasters starting out! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

It’s a NEW YEAR and the guys are trying to get the engine started once more! Meeting at lunch seemed the perfect setting for this years episodes, so here we go! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

How can you create change in the educational landscape from your classroom? We have a few ideas AND we hope they help! That and so much more on this episode of the educatechguys! EduTechGuys.com We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

On today's show, the guys talk about the Curse of the Comfy Classroom, is it routine masked in a disguise of consistency? How can AI and other wonderful web apps help stop that routine that deflates both he teacher and student? The guys take a swing at those questions and more! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

We could write a bunch of excuses and reasons why in this space, but we aren't. We changed our minds, canceled the sale, and fired the mics back up. Take a listen to this quick episode and get ready for the weekly show to come back with all the power of a Happy Days Spin-off! Jumpin' the Shark, Baby! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Gobble, gobble and all that gravy! On this episode, the guys catch back up after a brief departure and chat about, well, everything! It’s a Thanksgiving extravaganza of talk and laughs. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The guys take a breather and intro a wonderful past episode with Jenny Buccos and Kari Byron talking about the National Stem Festival and EXPLR Media. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

On today’s show, the guys discuss the challenges of math anxiety with Dr. Aditya Nagrath, founder of Elephant Learning. Dr. Nagrath explains that his company uses AI to help students overcome math anxiety by providing personalized learning paths and coaching. He emphasizes the importance of meeting students at their level of understanding and building their confidence. The program, which promises a year's worth of learning in 10 weeks, has seen significant success, especially in helping students catch up quickly. Dr. Nagrath also highlights the importance of parental involvement and teacher training to sustain student success. Be sure to check out Dr. Nagrath’s book Treating Mathematics Anxiety: Inclusive Strategies for Working with Students Exhibiting Mathematics Anxiety! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

On today’s episode, the guys chat with Seth Fleischauer, founder and president of Banyan Global Learning, discussing the evolution of his company, which started 16 years ago providing live video teaching in cultural and digital competencies. Initially focused on Asia, Banyan expanded to the US five years ago, emphasizing global citizenship and social-emotional learning. Fleischauer highlights the importance of intercultural connections and digital literacy, noting the impact of the pandemic on these areas. He also mentions his two podcasts, "Why Distance Learning" and "Make it Mindful," which explore educational innovations and mindfulness in education. Fleischauer emphasizes the need for consistent, long-term engagement in distance learning to foster meaningful cultural exchanges. All this and more on this episode of the EduTechGuys. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

On today’s episode the guys talk with Jessica Hull, the Executive Director of Communication and Community Engagement for Roseville City School District. After the pandemic, the spike in chronic absenteeism is something that Roseville City School District, located in the Sacramento metropolitan area, has found success in addressing through positive school-home relationship building. The district serves 12,000 students across grades PreK-8. In 2019, the district's chronic absenteeism rate was just 5.8%. By 2022, after pandemic learning disruptions, that level rose to 26%. The district wanted to better understand patterns in attendance and work to educate and inform families on the impact of missing school. By partnering with SchoolStatus, a provider of K-12 data-driven solutions, the district worked to remove barriers for families and make it easier for students to attend school. In 2023, Roseville was able to bring the chronic absenteeism rate down to 19.7% and they are projecting that the rate for 2024 will be between 10 and 11%. There is so much to learn in this episode, you’ll be glad you tuned in! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

On this episode, the guys chat with Jon Gillham, Founder and CEO of Originality.ai, discussing the evolution of AI detection in content creation. Jon highlights the challenges of AI-generated content, particularly in publishing and academia, where tools like ChatGPT have become prevalent. Gillham emphasized the importance of detecting AI to maintain fairness and integrity, noting that Originality.ai's AI detector achieves 99% accuracy with a 3% false positive rate. He also touched on the ethical considerations and potential future developments in AI detection, including style and tone matching to enhance accuracy. We also cover the tool's applications in various sectors, including education and marketing. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

On today’s show the guys have Marcio Sequeira, an architect from Brazil, discussing his educational product, Mola, which simulates the behavior of real buildings and bridges using springs. Mola, which means "spring" in Portuguese, has been developed over 20 years and is used in structural engineering education. The product has been successful, with four crowdfunding campaigns, including a significant one in Brazil. Mola is used at MIT for structural dynamics classes and by Apple's design team to teach intuition. The latest product, Mola 4, includes curved springs and origami elements, launched in collaboration with the Structural Engineers Association of North California. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The guys are BACK! We know it’s been a while, but we are “back in the saddle again!” We figured we better start off our 10th season (10 years, WOW!) with a Back to School episode. A lot has happened in education and especially edtech over the past decade and you know us, we’re gonna talk about it! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The EduTechGuys talk with Renaissance Chief Product Officer Todd Brekhus about Renaissance Next - a new, powerful tool to help teachers with assessment, practice and instruction! This puts the data from STAR products, MyOn, NearPod and other RenLearn products in one easy place! Teachers can use the information to help create small groups, focus on individualized instruction and enhance learner understanding. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The EduTechGuys talk STEM and STEAM education with the new CEO of TinkRWorks, Dr. Chad Stevens. From cool projects like Smart Lamps to Weather Stations, Living Plants, and more, TinkRWorks provides STEAM activities for the K-8 classroom and beyond! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The EduTechGuys visit with Storey Sitwala and Eric Swanson of Renaissance Learning to talk about differentiated instruction through meaningful data. This episode focuses on the new Renaissance Learning product: Renaissance Next - an unified dashboard across the RenLearn family of products to better help teachers use data for small group instruction, individualized focus and more! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The EduTechGuys talk with Brian Johnsrud, Global Director of Education Learning & Advocacy at Adobe, about creativity and mental health through the lens of a research study done to find out just what effect creativity has on emotional and mental states in creatives. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer for Renaissance and General Manager of Nearpod, shares the newest offering called Renaissance NEXT. This integrated interface brings together the family of Renaissance products AND provides a dashboard to allow educators to make informed instruction decisions in real-time regarding further instruction, small group assignments (or reassignment), and more. https://www.renaissance.com/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL. Learn more about Renaissance: As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★