Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The Dr. Will Show - Race in Education with Christina Torres



On today's episode, I chat with Christina Torres about race in education.

Christina Torres teaches English and Drama at University Laboratory School in Honolulu, HI. After graduating from the University of Southern California, she earned her Masters in Education focused on Digital Learning at Loyola Marymount University. After two years, Christina came to Hawai‘i to work on Teach For America Hawai‘i's staff, then worked as a TFA national social media manager before returning to the classroom. Christina is part of Hawai‘i's Teacher Leadership Initiative, a Hope Street Group Fellow, a TFA Education4Justice cohort leader, and part of the EduColor collective. When she's not teaching, Christina likes marathon running, writing, and eating cheeseburgers.

Monday, August 24, 2015

The Dr. Will Show - Digital Leadership with Dr. Katrina Keene




On tonight's episode, I chat with Dr. Katrina Keene about digital leadership.


Dr. Katrina Keene, Director of Innovation and Instructional Technology, has spent the last 15 years in the K-12 technology education field and enjoys researching and integrating new technologies into classrooms. Her most recent experience as the Director of Innovation at a College Preparatory School, was dedicated to raising student achievement through technology integration. Her love for education is driven by her focus and awareness of effective classroom technologies.

Katrina is a Remind Connected Educator, Class Dojo Ambassador, Nearpod PioNear, Osmo Ambassador, Book Creator Ambassador,  and can be found in several well known EdTech publications.

Katrina’s passion for technology and education is strengthened through the phenomenal educators she works with every day. She believes teachers and administrators are dedicated professionals who strive to educate the entire student and prepare them for a technologically advanced world.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

The Dr. Will Show - Get Empowered with Brittni Pope



On today's episode, I chat with Brittni Pope about empowerment.

Brittni Pope is a self-described global soul imbued with a nomadic spirit who splits most of her time between Atlanta, Georgia and California. She is the founder and creative director of BrittniPope.com where she creates and curates content that is utilized as a tool for personal and professional development for people all over the world since 2011. She is driven by the desire to empower people through introducing them to a lifestyle that is defined by happiness, love, new experiences and an opportunity to connect with their most authentic selves without the filter of outside approval.
Born and raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, Brittni has always had a passion for pushing the envelope of normalcy and expanding her views of the world through study and experience. She discovered very early in her formative years how valuable of a tool the internet was and has been creating a space for herself online ever since. Her craft evolved from solely writing to include videography. In addition to her written pieces on her blog, she has built a library on her Youtube channel covering a variety of topics ranging from professional development to lifestyle to fashion.
Connecting with people has always been important to Brittni and, through her website, she has been able to organically build a community centered around empowering amazing people across the globe searching for a voice, motivation or representation.
Brittni most enjoys traveling, heart pounding adventures, spontaneous dance parties and jam sessions, celebrating life and the people she loves, learning about different cultures through food and continuously honing her craft. She looks forward to expanding her online space in an offline capacity through domestic and international workshops and conferences. Ultimately, she hopes that her dedication to uplifting and empowering society one post, video, interaction or relationship at a time will leave the world just a little bit better than she first found it.

The Dr. Will Show - Leading Others with Connie Hamilton, Ed.S.



On today's episode, I chat with Connie Hamilton, Ed.S. about leadership.

Connie Hamilton Ed.S. currently serves her school district in West Michigan as their curriculum director and co-elementary principal.  Her teaching experiences include 1st through 8th grade and interventions and contribute to her vertical perspective on best instructional strategies.  Connie strives to build leadership capacity within teachers, creating teams of educators to work together to increase student achievement.  Identifying student needs from the day-to-day and building to a district point of view allows for various strategies and systems to meet student needs.  As a certified trainer for classroom questioning, Connie shares methods with teachers not only to pose questions for students, but within themselves to help maintain a growth-minded drive in education.

As the founder and moderator of Sunday night's weekly #TMchat, Connie has had the privilege of collaborating with minds like Larry Ferlazzo, Doug Fisher, Dave Burgess, Nancy Frey and many more.  These Twitter chats have proven to be a source for references and thought-provoking conversation on critical educational topics such as student engagement, formative assessment, rigor, etc.  Please follow her on Twitter @conniehamilton and consider joining the dynamic group of educators for a #TMchat Sundays at 10pm ET.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

The Dr. Will Show - Personalized Learning with Jill Thompson



On today's episode, I chat with Jill Thompson about personalized learning.

I love learning and am passionate about what I do. I am a Personalized Learning Program Manager. I also serve as the President and CEO of Edulum, a education consulting company, that offers affordable professional development that guide teachers, principals, and administrators in the implementation of best practices with curriculum. My passion involves co-hosting #21stedchatblogging, presenting at conferences and being an ASCD emerging leader. My background includes teaching fifth grade, a K5 math and science facilitator/coach and an Instructional Technology Specialist. I am also Google Apps and Chrome Qualified. The diversity of these positions has given me the skills and knowledge to draw from when integrating ways to educate 21st century learners through innovative curriculum. My educational philosophy is to create a positive 21st century learning environment for students; setting the stage for their entire academic life. Teaching a rich, meaningful, and well balanced curriculum of skills and concepts through age appropriate activities, will encourage children to want to become life long learners. I believe in building upon a child’s curiosity and encourage them to pursue new knowledge. I believe in authentic real world teaching that is innovative will help our students succeed in the 21st century. The children we teach today are the future of the world; their goals and beliefs are taken from what we provide for them. If we provide a positive personal learning environment to all our students that encourages good values and high expectations, they will foster life long learning skills.

Friday, August 7, 2015

The Dr. Will Show - Personalized PD with Dr. Randall Sampson


On today's episode, I hangout with Dr. Sampson and talk about personalized professional development.

Randall Sampson, PhD, ensures equity and access for students through innovative learning models. Dr. Sampson has experience at the K-12 secondary education level as an administrator, teacher and a national transformation specialist. 

Dr. Sampson's focus areas:
1. Closing achievement gaps through the implementation and coaching of rigorous Common Core State Standards
2. Systemically increasing college and career-readiness
3. Boosting graduation rates
4. Implementing Innovation Learning Pathways 
5. Building Public-Private Partnerships through our community engagement process

These are skill sets Dr. Sampson honed through the Harvard University Achievement Gap Initiative and through teacher quality research with Harvard University's Dr. Ronald F. Ferguson. As a practitioner, Dr. Sampson's analysis of students’ performance data provided a national value-add approach to building sustainable learning environments. 

At Dr. Sampson's former high school Westerville North High School, such practices led him to identify gaps in student enrollment in Advance Placement (AP) courses that led the school district to create systemic corrective measures to improve student learning outcomes. As a result, the school experienced a 600% increase of African-American students enrolled in Advance Placement courses. Additionally, the school saw a 35% increase of students' AP exam scores rising from 3 to 4.

To learn more, click on the following link: 

Thursday, August 6, 2015

The Dr. Will Show - Podcasting with Gretchen Schultek Bridgers



On today's episode, I chat with Gretchen Schultek Bridgers. We chop it up about podcasting.

Gretchen is an elementary educator of almost a decade. She holds a master’s degree in Curriculum and Supervision and earned her National Board Certification in 2012. Always A Lesson is Gretchen’s educational blog where she shares her classroom experience with her audience. She recently has taken this blog and turned it into a podcast that she refers to as her ‘audio blog.’ Hop on over to iTunes or Stitcher and subscribe to Always A Lesson’s Empowering Educators podcast to hear inspiring words every Monday morning on your commute to work or the gym. If you are a new teacher, check out her first published book “Elementary EDUC 101: What They Didn’t Teach You in College” for tips on starting your first year off ahead of the game! Gretchen currently works for The New Teacher Project as a new teacher development coach. 

Let’s Connect: Name: Gretchen Schultek 

Email: gschultek@gmail.com 

Blog: http://alwaysalesson.com 

Facebook: Always A Lesson 

Twitter: @gschultek 

Google+: Gretchen Schultek 

iTunes Podcast: Always A Lesson’s Empowering Educators Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/always-lessons-empowering/id1006433135?mt=2 

Stitcher Podcast: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=69879&refid=stpr 

Paperback Book: $11.95 http://www.amazon.com/Elementary-Educ-101-Didnt-College/dp/1478711868/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412203865&sr=8-1&keywords=education+101+what+they+didn%27t+teach+you+in+colleg 

Kindle Edition: $9.99 http://www.amazon.com/Elementary-EDUC-101-Didnt-College-%20ebook/dp/B00NBXGWHI/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

 

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

#beyouEDU - Finding Your Hustle with Kerry Gallagher

Educators come in many shapes, sizes, colors, roles, titles, and geographic locations. Over the course of one career we may even find ourselves shifting between these categories. In my case, I'm in the midst of a transition from classroom educator to instructional technology coach.

Yes, I'm incredibly excited about the possibilities.

Yes, I have fears.

Consider this:



Here are some examples:

Excitement: Enthusiasm is contagious

My teaching methods have gone from "don't smile until Thanksgiving" -- which is what I was told was a best practice when in my undergraduate education certificate program (ugh) -- to "student centered." I know the latter term is a buzz word at this point, but it perfectly describes the approach of consulting students when planning a unit, including student-discovered resources in our OER lists, and letting student imagination and creativity run a bit when creating project-based learning experiences. The results can be ground-breaking. When we allow students to unleash their enthusiasm, it will spread to their classmates and to us. We will build learning experiences previously impossible. Sound superlative? I challenge you to let your students design one unit this year. Then tell me I'm crazy. This is the enthusiasm I'm hoping to spread like a virus to the teachers I work with.

Fear: Do I have what it takes?

I've been a classroom educator for over a decade. I've hit my stride in that arena. I know how to connect with kids, research my content, create and execute engaging lessons, and provide both students and parents with high quality feedback on learning and progress. I'm confident at my skills in this area, but does that mean I will be the instructional technology coach that teachers like me deserve? The truth is that I'm not sure yet. It can be scary to have committed to such an important life choice as a career shift, especially when I'm unsure of whether I'll be as good at this new role as I was at my previous role. Rather than shrinking away from moments of insecurity, this fear motivates me to speak up and ask questions. I have at least as much to learn as I have to contribute, and I won't learn if I let fear keep me silent.

I'm sure more instances of excitement and fear will present themselves as this new adventure unfolds.  As the #beyouEDU movement grows I will surely share them. In the mean time, the message for all educators is to revel in both victory and defeat. Use the emotions that come from those experiences as motivation to find your hustle. Each of us has much to learn and much to share. If you are poised for both receiving and giving at any moment, you have found your hustle. Our students will be the beneficiaries. Isn't that the reason any of us are looking for our hustle in the first place?

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

The Dr. Will Show - Mobile App Development with Sheena Allen of Sheena Allen Apps


On today's episode, I chat with Sheena Allen of Sheena Allen Apps about mobile app development.

Sheena Allen is best-known as the founder and CEO of mobile application company, Sheena Allen Apps. Allen attended the University of Southern Mississippi to major in psychology and film. During her senior year, she thought of an idea for a finance mobile app after leaving Wal-Mart and having a long receipt. With no technical background, Sheena got her app developed and went on to build Sheena Allen Apps from 1 app with 50 downloads to 6 apps with over 2 million downloads. 


In late 2014, Sheena started HouseBoxx, a company that not only develops mobile applications for individuals and corporations, but it also allows the client to be part of the process. She has also worked on and with various other startups.

Sheena has spoken on subjects such as owning a successful tech company as a non-technical founder and diversity in tech at numerous universities, including Texas A&M, and conferences, including The Lean Startup Conference and Tech808


Monday, August 3, 2015

The Dr. Will Show - Blogging with Christina Torres


On today's episode, I chat with Christina Torres about blogging.

Christina Torres teaches English and Drama at University Laboratory School in Honolulu, HI. After graduating from the University of Southern California, she earned her Masters in Education focused on Digital Learning at Loyola Marymount University. After two years, Christina came to Hawai‘i to work on Teach For America Hawai‘i's staff, then worked as a TFA national social media manager before returning to the classroom. Christina is part of Hawai‘i's Teacher Leadership Initiative, a Hope Street Group Fellow, a TFA Education4Justice cohort leader, and part of the EduColor collective. When she's not teaching, Christina likes marathon running, writing, and eating cheeseburgers.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

The Dr. Will Show - Happiness with Brittni Pope


On today's episode, I chat with Brittni Pope about happiness.

Brittni Pope is a 25-year-old woman residing in Atlanta, Georgia dedicated to empowering and enriching the lives of others through sharing ways to build a positive and healthy relationships with themselves. She only takes two things in life very seriously, love and happiness! Her main platforms are her website,www.BrittniPope.com, and her YouTube Channel, www.youtube.com/BrittniPope where people can find blogs or videos covering a variety of topics dealing with personal and professional development, fashion, lifestyle and travel. Brittni also works in the digital marketing industry where she is able to combine her personal passions with her profession. She has been able to build a community of people across the world who are committed to living their happiest lives and looks forward to the continued growth and expansion of channeling her passions in this capacity. If you are interested in connecting with her, you can do so by e-mailing her at BrittniPope@gmail.com or following her on Instagram or Twitter at @BrittniPope.

“We only ever settle for anything in life because we’re scared of something worse or something better. I’m here to help people understand that ’something better’ can be their reality and that their fear only has as much power as they assign to it.” -Brittni Pope

#beyouEDU - Wildcard August: Finding your signature look or Finding your hustle