The Good Life EDU Podcast

Julie Downing and Ryan Ricenbaw of the NDE SEED Team are back again this week with an update on their efforts with the Nebraska Teacher and Principal Performance standards. This episode highlights educator effectiveness as the "connective tissue" supporting a variety of education initiatives in Nebraska. In this NDE Admin Days preview, Julie and Ryan identify those connections that they will be presenting on across six sessions at our statewide conference later this month. To learn more about the NDE SEED Team, visit https://www.education.ne.gov/educatoreffectiveness/

This week on The Good Life EDU Podcast, Scottsbluff High School principal Justin Shaddick joins us to share about their unique approach to career academies and how that programming has enhanced student learning and fostered a career pipeline between their school and local businesses. While Justin is quick to point out that programs like this need to evolve to fit a local context, anyone can listen in and learn from the episode as he shares insights from over a decade invested in this work. For more information on the Career Academies at Scottsbluff HS, visit https://www.sbps.net/families_and_students/students/career_academies

This week on The Good Life EDU Podcast, the global connector behind the DigCit Institute, Dr. Marialice B.F.X. Curran, joins us to talk about Digital Citizenship and how we can support learners in these ever-changing, tech-forward times. To learn more about the DigCit Institute, visit https://digcitinstitute.com/ List of resources mentioned in this episode... Follow Jaime Donally @jaimedonally Follow Heather Brantley @HeatherTechEdu Follow Mrs. Jalland @ellieprimary1 Follow Noa Daniel @iamnoadaniel

This week we have the pleasure of welcoming NDE's new commissioner, Dr. Brian Maher, to The Good Life EDU! In this episode, Commissioner Maher shares his backstory in education and provides his vision and aspirations for his overall impact in this role. He also delves into some of what he hopes to accomplish in his first 100 days. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Maher on the pod and look forward to our continued collaboration with NDE in support of education in our state.

This week's guest, Eirik Hernes Berre, joins us to share all about Curipod, an interactive instructional tool that uses artificial intelligence to save educators design and research time while also promoting a more collaborative and engaging learning experience for all. Eirik is Curipod's co-founder and our conversation delves into his experiences working with schools around the world, some potential implications of AI on the future of education, and his personal love for all things Harry Potter! We certainly enjoyed this fun and insightful episode and hope you do as well! For more, visit Curipod.com, create an account, and begin designing your own AI-enhanced lessons. Also, be sure to stop by Curipod's vendor booth at this year's ISTE Conference!

This episode is the third of three pods devoted to previewing the keynote/featured speakers for this summer's Future Ready Nebraska Conference! Dr. Paula Kluth joins us to share some of her work with Universal Design for Learning and the UDL Hacks found in her book Universal Design for Learning Daily: 365 Ways to Teach, Support, and Challenge All Learners. Paula will be keynoting day two of the FR Nebraska Conference on June 13th, 2023. To register for the Future Ready Nebraska Conference (it's FREE), visit nefutureready.com To learn more from Dr. Paula Kluth, visit inclusionrules.com To learn how to turn on live captioning in PowerPoint, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=847QVGk3jVo

This week on The Good Life EDU Podcast, Dr. Michael Dulaney and Kyle McGowan of NCSA join Jack Moles of NRCSA to share their insights regarding LB705, which has moved to final reading in the Nebraska legislature. This episode explains several of the 20+ measures included in LB705 and explores the potential impact of each across the education landscape in the state. To learn more about Legislative Bill 705, access https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=50370

This week the ESUCC's Executive Director Dr. Kraig Lofquist takes over as the host of The Good Life EDU Podcast to interview our usual host, Andrew Easton! Andrew will be keynoting this summer's Future Ready Nebraska Conference, sharing his message from his recently released book, Empowered to Choose: A Practical Guide to Personalized Learning. This episode previews Andrew's various sessions that will be featured at this FREE hybrid professional learning event! To register for the Future Ready Nebraska Conference (free to in-person and virtual attendees), visit nefutureready.com To connect with Andrew Easton, visit andrewdeaston.com Listeners can contact Dr. Lofquist at [email protected]

In Nebraska, there are so many efforts being made to support teaching and learning in the area of science that we decided to record an episode that showcases the plethora of professional learning and resources available to educators this summer and into the '23-'24 school year! Dianah Steinbrink of ESU 10 and Kristen Slechta of ESU 9 join the pod as representatives of our statewide ESU science cadre to connect listeners with fun educational opportunities to learn and grow together! Here's the link to all the resources and registration sites shared in this episode. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q_mxlnrVOM71n3QxZ_XcAtGAFsor9IXuMl7UFDzxbSc/edit?usp=sharing

This week features the first of three episodes dedicated to previewing featured speakers at this year's Future Ready Nebraska Conference. Tom Bober will present on June 12th, speaking from his role as a school librarian and as a former teacher in residence at the Library of Congress. Tom joins The Good Life EDU Podcast and shares some of his experiences along with insights regarding primary sources and news literacy. For more information and to register for this FREE hybrid conference, visit nefutureready.com

ESU 3's team of mental health leaders (Jen Pollock, Sarah Eades Hamilton, Ashlee Houy, and Avery Fleck) join The Good Life EDU podcast this week to share their work under the SAMHSA mental health grant that was awarded to Nebraska Region 6/ESU 3. The grant funds their unique and innovative approach to supporting student mental health in the rural schools in their region, and their collective hope is that this effort can be a model others adopt and build upon across the country. US Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona, recently visited ESU 3 to learn more about this effort, and now our listeners can learn all about it as well! To learn more about the School Mental Health Services at ESU 3, access smhs.esu3.org/home To learn more about Grants for the Expansion and Sustainability of Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances, access https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/sm-22-007

This week, Martha Bruckner, the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Omaha Education Consortium, joins The Good Life EDU to share the history and present work of this unique organization. MOEC's membership is comprised of Omaha-area educators from public schools, higher ed institutions, and service agencies who are collectively committed to enhancing public education through collaborative efforts that support school, teaching, learning, and kids. To learn more about MOEC, access their website at https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-education-health-and-human-sciences/moec/index.php

Matt Miller joins The Good Life EDU Podcast this week to share his insights and learning from the development of his new book, AI for Educators. The episode advocates that listeners actively seek out conversations about the impact of artificial intelligence on education, as this is a topic that is rapidly evolving. Matt asks educators to see their work through the lens of what he calls their "tomorrow glasses" to acknowledge that our students will be learning and working in an AI-infused environment. So, naturally, this episode explores the implications of that reality. For those interested in extending their learning and diving deeper into AI, check out these resources from Matt Miller... Book: AI for Educators -- A readable, understandable primer about AI and its implications for educators in classrooms and schools. It translates AI for teachers so you'll know how to prepare students for the future. https://www.amazon.com/Educators-Strategies-Efficiencies-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1956306471 Online Course: AI for Educators -- This deeper dive helps you tackle some of the bigger issues about AI alongside other educators taking the course. Join live streams to get details and discuss. Download bonus resources. Get 5 hours of professional development credit. Spring cohort: April 17 to May 12. https://ditch.link/aicourses Blog Post: ChatGPT, Chatbots, and Artificial Intelligence in Education -- This comprehensive blog post gives you details about what artificial intelligence is, how it impacts the classroom, and how it can be implemented. https://ditch.link/ai

This week, we are joined by Dr. Amy Rhone, NDE's Administrator and State Director for the Office of Special Education, to chat about the department's focus on inclusion practices and how that work aligns with the coherence efforts going on in our state. Dr. Rhone is an inspirational leader who has a big heart for the work that she and others have the opportunity to elevate throughout Nebraska, and that aspect of her character truly shines as she shares about the guidance, pilot groups, and other resources that have been developed to support implementation in Nebraska schools. For more on NDE's Journey to Inclusion effort, visit https://www.education.ne.gov/sped/journey-to-inclusion/

This week on The Good Life EDU Podcast, we asked Shelby Aaberg (Scottsbluff HS), Heidi Rethmeier (ESU 8), and Trever Reeh (Omaha Westside HS) to join us for a conversation on Nebraska's new data literacy standards in mathematics. The episode captures everything from the origin story of these standards to how math departments and math teachers might approach embedding them into current coursework. We were also grateful to learn more about the upcoming mathematics conference hosted by the Nebraska Association of Teachers of Mathematics (NATM) along with the myriad of other resources shared that are relevant to professionals in their work in this area. Visit the NATM site for more info and to register for the conference at https://www.natmathematics.org/ Additional resources referenced in the episode include... Skew the Script: https://skewthescript.org/ Stats Medic: https://www.statsmedic.com/ Mathigon: https://mathigon.org/ Graspable Math: https://activities.graspablemath.com/ Desmos: https://www.desmos.com/ GeoGebra: https://www.geogebra.org/?lang=en

This week on The Good Life EDU podcast, we are joined by Jaime Donally, an expert at the forefront of augmented and virtual reality in education. Every March, Jaime dedicates herself to blogging daily about the latest and greatest AR/VR tools as part of her #31DaysofARVRinEDU effort. On the pod, she shares a number of the tools, sites, and software highlighted in those blog posts, paying special attention to the impact that generative AI is having on the tech available in that space. Near the end of the conversation, she also speaks to the heightened role digital citizenship plays in a world with AGI. To learn more about AR/VR from Jaime Donally's blog, access https://www.arvrinedu.com/blog During the episode, Jaime references Digital Citizenship leader Dr. Marialice Curran, who you can connect with via Twitter at https://twitter.com/mbfxc

This week we are joined by Dr. Helen Crompton who is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology, the Director of the Virtual Reality Lab, and the Director of the Technology Enhanced Learning Lab (TELL) at Old Dominion University (ODU). Dr. Crompton is on Stanford’s list of the top 2% of scientists in the world, and she is a consultant for various governments and bilateral and multilateral organizations (such as the United Nations and the World Bank) on educational technology topics. She has been researching and leading work around artificial intelligence in education for over a decade, and we are grateful to have her back on the pod to talk ChatGPT and all things generative AI (AGI) in the present while also looking to the future of this rapidly-evolving technology.

Bill Pulte of ESU #3 and Andy Boell of the NNNC join The Good Life EDU Podcast his week to provide an update on the present efforts to ensure that Nebraska schools, educators, and students are safe from cyber-attacks. This episode highlights the concern, the current collaborations taking place, and the proposed bills being discussed in the legislature to keep information and hardware safe.

This week, we are joined by Brian Buffington who serves as a tech integration specialist at Pioneer RECA in Cleveland, Georgia. This episode focuses on some of the fun stories and innovative practices that Brian has seen and led in his region in an effort to enhance his support of school leaders and teachers. This episode previews the message of an upcoming session that Brian will be leading for AESA's Small Staff Community of Practice titled, Buff Nuggets for Leaders: Empowering Others. For more on the AESA session, access the following link before March 23rd. https://associationofeducationalserviceagenciesaesa.growthzoneapp.com/calendar/details/2023-24-small-staff-esas-community-of-practice-822154 For more Buff Nuggets from Brian Buffington, access https://briankbuffington.com/

On this week's episode, Deanna Ingram and Zuzi Sulcova of uBEATS (from UNO and UNMC) join us to point educators and learners alike to the tremendous online materials available for free through the uBEATS program. Listeners will learn about the health science modules uBEATS has available for grades 6-12, and not only is the content vetted by university experts, but it is also aligned with national science standards and is FERPA and COPPA compliant. Additionally, these on-demand, asynchronous materials come with their own teacher guide! So the only thing left to do is listen to the pod and then access the uBEATS website at https://www.unmc.edu/ubeats

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 teaching and learning going on in the classroom setting. And did we mention that - best of all - CANVA for EDUCATION is FREE! For more on Canva for Education, visit https://www.canva.com/education/ For more from Tisha Richmond, check out her site https://www.tisharichmond.com/

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 the potential unintended consequences in the future while also noting just how imperative it is for education to be innovative in how we invite new and potential teachers into the workforce. Here's the link to the OWH story: https://omaha.com/news/local/education/ops-boosts-student-teacher-numbers-after-creating-9-000-stipend/article_ba7f2358-9908-11ed-8607-9f2369c12228.html

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 can access video tutorials, online resources, and downloadable documents to ensure the successful implementation of these devices into student learning experiences. We even included a webinar series with implementation ideas featuring representation from Pitsco and our ESU network statewide. For more on everything pertaining to this initiative, listen to the podcast and then access the resource page at https://resources.pitsco.com/ne-geer-up-program

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 experiential opportunities for personal growth and to acquire new knowledge. This conversation offers listeners a chance to think about learning experience design from a lens that is outside of the traditional way we might think about education, and that perspective shift can incite new ideas and innovations in the way in which we support students and educators alike. To learn more about Gold Bug Interactive, access https://www.goldbuginteractive.com/ To learn more about the iNaturalist app mentioned on the show, access https://www.inaturalist.org/

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. John Skretta, Dr. Scott Blum, and Dr. McKayla LaBorde who all provide their own personal insights about this event. Additionally, Dr. Joan Wade, the Executive Director of AESA, joins us to provide some national context regarding the significance of this historic visit, the first where an acting US Secretary of Education has visited a service agency. For more on the story of Secretary Cardona's visit, access ESU 3's press release at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LGRKUQFSD8b5eKex2v3LKdPA1Tgm8tD2/view

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 from the 2023 session! Nebraska Legislature Main Page: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/ Nebraska Public Media Page (Where Viewers Can Watch the Live Session): https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/watch/live/ Where to Access the Unicameral Update: http://update.legislature.ne.gov/ Bills Referenced in the Episode LB48: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB48.pdf LB153: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB153.pdf LB324: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB324.pdf LB516: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=50447 LB527: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB527.pdf LB583: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB583.pdf LB638: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB638.pdf LB753: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB753.pdf LR24CA: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=50236

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 have until February 28th, 2023 to join the Canvas Consortium this spring and have their implementation costs covered by NDE. To learn more about Nebraska's Canvas Consortium, access https://www.education.ne.gov/educational-technology/canvas-statewide-consortium/.

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. Listeners should expect to learn, laugh, and hopefully derive some inspiration from the "Behavior Bites" Team as they strive to enhance their support of educators as they work with and serve students. To access the episodes, follow this link to the ESU 2 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@educationalserviceunit2788

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 collectively serve students with autism.

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 support he and John Meehan have built for on-demand and ongoing support for the schools and educators they support with their efforts with EMC2 Learning. To learn more from Michael, access https://mrmatera.com/ To learn more about EMC2 Learning. access https://emc2learning.com/

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 EDU podcast, we are joined by Katie Graham (State Director for Career and Tech Ed), John Skretta (administrator of ESU 6), and Guy Trainin (professor of education at UNL) for an insightful dialogue regarding the backstory, the guidance, and the implications resulting from the Computer Science and Technology Education Act. For more information, access https://www.education.ne.gov/nce/cis/computer-science-technology-act-guidance/

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 with the Nebraska Department of Education, Dr. Julie Delkamiller the Associate Professor of Special Education & Communication Disorders at UNO, and Anne Thomas the Assistant Professor of Practice for Special Education & Communication Disorders at UNL. For more information, access https://www.education.ne.gov/sped/

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 for teachers to "feel, deal, and be real" in support of educator wellness. To learn more from Danna and The Happy Teacher Revolution, access https://www.happyteacherrevolution.com/

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 this transition. In the pod, Monica and Alyssa frame the Why behind this work and the need for this effort on behalf of kids. For more about the Buffett Early Childhood Institute's Preschool Development Grant, access https://buffettinstitute.nebraska.edu/our-work/preschool-development-grant Visit the Nebraska Department of Education's Office of Early Childhood page to download the toolkits and resources. Those materials can be found at https://www.education.ne.gov/oec/nebraska-transition-to-kindergarten-toolkit-and-resource-guide/

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 how educators came together this past summer to create a differentiated set of student-facing, self-assessment checklists to promote learner engagement and metacognition. You can find access to the standards and also the self-assessment checklists at https://www.education.ne.gov/worldlanguage/

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 building blocks that support that work and its implementation. You can listen to Matt and Holly's show, The Digital Learning Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts.

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 grow from six districts to fifty districts between this school year and the next, and all districts in Nebraska are eligible to participate. For more information on their administrative leadership academy and/or their mentoring and induction programming for special education teachers, please reach out to Pam directly at [email protected].

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 teachers have with their students each and every day. This is a practical and pragmatic conversation that will leave all listeners with a few takeaways for how to enhance our understanding and support of school staff.

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 the recent efforts of the blended learning workgroup towards living out their new purpose statements. Those efforts include the "What's N.E.X.T. with Blended Learning" live show, which airs across the ESUCC's social media pages at 9:30 am CT on the last Tuesday of each month. Regardless of whether you live in or outside of Nebraska, this episode offers great ideas and avenues for new learning that we hope you find useful and enjoy! Links Access our ESUCC live shows on our Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube sites. Access the ESU's Digital Citizenship Symposium (Resources) and Contest at bit.ly/NEDigCit Here's a document that highlights the history of the ESUCC's efforts with Blended Learning Here's the impact study that illustrates the data derived from that initiative. Here's the blended learning rubric referenced in the episode. You can watch the first episode of the What's N.E.X.T. with Blended Learning live show here. For more information, please contact us via our website at esucc.org

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 Allyson, visit allysonapsey.com/

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 our deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. Listeners will appreciate learning about the statewide structure, the programming available, and the heartfelt examples these great educators share from their personal experiences with serving their students. To learn more about this program and to contact a regional coordinator, access https://nrpdhh.esu9.org/ for more details.

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, you can do so here: https://www.aasa.org/edu-workforce.aspx If you only have 10 minutes, check out this video that captures the big idea of the Next Education Workforce and click around the Next Education Workforce website. Here is the Resource Collection related to budget-neutral financial models that support innovative staffing (referenced in the episode). Recent press on the Next Education Workforce The Nevada Independent, “Reimagining Teaching” (July 28, 2022) AZ Republic OpEd, “Arizona needs great teachers, not just warm bodies, in classrooms. Here's how to get them” (July 30, 2022) EdWeek, “It’s Time to Rethink the ‘One Teacher, One Classroom’ Model” (July 20, 2022) Ed Surge, “Arizona Needs Teachers. Does the Answer Lie Beyond Recruitment?” (July 20, 2022) Scottsdale/Paradise Valley Independent, “Leaving the classroom: 30% of Scottsdale Unified teachers resign, retire” (July 6, 2022) CNET, “The Great Resignation Hasn’t hit School Teachers Yet. Here’s Why it Still Might.” (Feb 14, 2022).

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 students learning experiences that would be challenging to provide without this programming.

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 journal article by the same title, "What Do We Really Know About the Teacher Shortage and What Can We Do?" which can be accessed at https://www.aesa.us/blog/?p=405.

This is the fifth episode in a five-part series with members of the NDE SEED Team as they share their work with establishing the Educator Effectiveness Standards in Nebraska. This particular pod hones in on school leadership through the Educator Effectiveness lens. Ryan Ricenbaw, co-lead of the NDE SEED Team, opens the episode with a recap of the June Educator Effectiveness Summit, and he is joined by Reid Ehrisman, principal at Madison Middle School, who provides his learning and reflections following that two-day Summit.

This episode highlights the amazing efforts and the resulting inquiry units of study developed by thirty Nebraska educators as a part of the ESUCC's 2022 social studies special project. This initiative brought together personnel from several ESUs, including members of SDA (the staff development affiliate) and TLT (the teaching and learning with technology affiliate) to train, lead, and support this select group of 4th-8th grade teachers as they designed units of study to implement in their own classroom practices and to share with others across our state! For more information on the SS special project, the inquiry design model, the NE social studies standards and shifts, and to receive access to the resource collection (including the inquiry training itself), access https://www.esucc.org/instructional-materials/social-studies/

Have a pen and paper ready to take notes because this week we are joined by tech integrationist, Eric Curts of Stark Portage Area Computer Consortium (ESC) who shares a myriad of tech tools, sites, and insights that educators can look to integrate into their lesson design and professional learning in the school year ahead. In the episode we discuss... Eric Curts's Control, Alt, Achieve Blog: https://www.controlaltachieve.com/ Google's Screencast App for ChromeOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHyPcIHvlxo Feedly: https://feedly.com/ Steve Wick's Blog: https://rechargelearning.blogspot.com/ 75 Super Ed Tech Blogs to Follow: https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2021/04/edtech-blogs.html No Sign-Up Tools: https://www.nosignup.tools/ Geo Artwork from Google: https://artsandculture.google.com/experiment/geo-artwork/wgEPVBAUiRVlEQ?hl=en EmojiMix: https://tikolu.net/emojimix/ Google Educators Group of Ohio: https://sites.google.com/view/geg-ohio/home

Erica Johnson, Assistant Special Education Director at ESU 10, and Pam Brezenski, Special Education Director at ESU 13, join the pod this week to explain the individualized programming that our 18 to 21 special education learners receive in Nebraska as they work towards completing their IEP goals.

Dr. Chris Haeffner of Lincoln Public Schools (ESU 18) joins The Good Life EDU this week to share out about the work that their district is doing to create resources to support school librarians in their district and across Nebraska. Those materials include clear identification of learning objectives by grade level bands, an at-a-glance pacing guide, and lesson plans specific to each objective. Best of all, the team at LPS wants this work to be available to all school librarians, so if you are interested in accessing their resources, now and as they develop more, you can access those at https://home.lps.org/libraries/