The Good Life EDU Podcast

In this episode, Julie Moore, the Executive Director for NETA, joins us for a conversation on the multitude of efforts the NETA organization has made and is making to support education in our state throughout the pandemic. The pod captures the NETA board's vision for supporting education and illustrates how that leadership group has held true to that mission despite the challenges facing everyone in education over the course of the past year.

In this episode, Paul Darvasi joins us for a practical conversation on the thinking that goes into developing an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) unit. This pod takes an in-depth look at this unique style of unit design that leverages both game-based learning and gamification elements to create an immersive and engaging narrative experience.

This episode shares audio recorded from an hourlong Q&A session that the ESU TLT group had with author, speaker, and blended learning expert Dr. Catlin Tucker. In this chat, Catlin shares her insights on a myriad of important topics and scenarios related to remote learning and also concurrent or hyflex learning. The pod covers quite a bit of ground in this area in a relatively short period of time.

In this episode, three students from Tri County High School in Nebraska share how they created a self-care resource to support their peers' mental wellness during this challenging time during the pandemic.

There is some exciting new work being done by the Nebraska Department of Education as they look to update the current teacher and principal standards for educators statewide, and in this episode, the leaders of that work, Kim Snyder, Julie Downing, and Ryan Ricenbaw, join us to share the vision and work being done in that space. This pod is the first of several that we will release about this initiative in an effort to keep everyone informed as this work evolves.

This week, Quim Sabrià, the co-founder and CEO of the ed tech tool Edpuzzle, joins us on the pod to share the ways in which Edpuzzle can add accountability and engagement when learners are assigned instructional video content. Our conversation spans everything from Quim's personal story from classroom teacher to CEO to the nuances of how. teachers might use Edpuzzle in their class. We also delve into how Edpuzzle can enhance learning both in the remote setting and also when we return to our future, new normal.

In this episode, NRCSA's executive director Jack Moles, ESU 6 Administrator John Skretta, and Superintendent of Gibbon Public Schools Vernon Fisher join us to discuss their most recent collaborative efforts to develop remote learning supports for rural Nebraska schools. Our conversation provides the backstory and vision behind the initiative, a detailed look at the work currently being done, and a preview of what districts can expect to see from this work as early as December.

In this episode, Julie N. Smith, media literacy advocate and author of Master the Media, speaks to just how important it is for educators to equip learners with media literacy skills, regardless of content area or grade level. In this pod, Julie offers useful insights for how we might better identify fake news and misinformation while also sharing a myriad of practical examples of how teachers might integrate media literacy into their current teaching practices/units.

Ann Kozma from Flipgrid joins us for this episode of The Good Life EDU podcast to share some of the best ideas for how educators might look to leverage Flipgrid during the multitude of learning models occurring during the pandemic. In this episode, we talk ways Flipgrid can support SEL, student creation, relationship and community building, and more.

Wow. We covered a lot of content in this pod! In this episode, Shara Johnson of ESU 2 shares her insights and expertise with how everyone from classroom teachers to school administrators to ESU employees (and even the state of Nebraska as a whole) might seek to leverage Canvas to enhance communication, collaboration, and ultimately learning. Shara has been an integral part of the Nebraska Canvas Consortium's statewide implementation, and so it was great to have her on the show to relay some of the amazing things that Canvas can do in support of education in our state.

This week, we revisit the topic of mental health with ESU 5's Jen McNally and Tri County Public Schools administrators Jesse Gronemeyer and Ryan Clark. In this pod, we explore how Tri County Public Schools have made wellness a part of the school culture as a result of their collaboration with ESU 5's Wellness for All support. In these trying times, this is a critical topic to keep at the forefront of our thoughts and conversations, and this episode shares one district's efforts to be intentional about building an environment where it is okay to not be okay.

This episode is a must listen as Amy and Kristen of ESU 9 go through five engagement strategies that lead to powerful learning experiences for students. Amy and Kristen do a phenomenal job in this pod of first establishing what these practices look like in a traditional classroom setting before then delving into how those same strategies can be utilized in a digital environment for remote learning.

Doug Fisher, co-author of The Distance Learning Playbook, joins us this week on the pod for a discussion on remote learning best practices and strategies. This pod is a fun kick-off to our ESU network's bi-monthly book study of this text! Our first DL Playbook Lunch Bunch session starts today! Whether you are an ESU employee or an edu-friend of the pod, be sure to pick up your copy of The Distance Learning Playbook as a way to extend your own work with remote teaching and learning.

Author, blogger, and teacher self-care advocate Mandy Froehlich joins us on this week's episode as we identify some of the emotional struggles teachers are facing in the present moment. Our conversation explores how giving words to your feelings and fostering empathy for others can help us all get through these hardships together. If you would like to continue to learn from and with Mandy, you can access her blog and resources at https://mandyfroehlich.com/

In this episode, Otis Pierce joins us as our first return-guest of the show to share the work the ESU Perkins Cadre memebers do in support of CTE Teachers statewide. This pod is part of a series showcasing our ESUs' respective cadre groups in the hopes of sharing insights and resources to help teachers navigate the current hybrid or remote learning experiences they are designing for students.

In this episode, Lori Broady of ESU 4 speaks as the ESU Social Studies cadre co-chair and shares her insights regarding the new shifts in the social studies standards, making sure to relay resources and remote learning ideas along the way. Lori is incredibly knowledgable and passionate about this content area, and that truly shines through in this fantastic conversation.