This week The Good Life EDU Podcast features the work of five Nebraska ESUs that received an Educator Pipeline Grant from the Nebraska Department of Education. John Skretta, Molly Aschoff, and Drew Harris join the pod to speak to the unique models that each ESU designed as a way to meet the specific local needs of the districts that they respectively serve. The conversation spans opportunities for education administrators, new-to-the-profession classroom practitioner support, Educator Rising pipeline efforts, fostering substitute teacher pools, and more.

For more information on the ESU in your area of Nebraska, visit our page: ESU Coordinating Council (ESUCC)

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Dr. Nicholas Ziegler, World Languages Coordinator at ESU 5, is back on the show this week to give an update on Distance Learning in Nebraska. On the pod, Dr. Ziegler also speaks specifically about the Distance Learning World Languages Program at ESU 5 and the tremendous successes that students are experiencing through those DL courses. Listeners can expect to learn about the content area of World Languages, Distance Education, and how 76 districts across the state are turning to distance learning as an effective avenue for staffing courses when an in-person instructor is not available.

To learn more about the ESU5 World Language Program, visit: Distance Learning | ESU 5 – Serving Educational Needs in Southeast Nebraska

To learn more about the Nebraska OER Commons, visit: Self-Evaluation Checklists | OER Commons

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This week, we welcome Dr. John Schwartz, Superintendent of Millard Public Schools, to The Good Life EDU to share how schools across Nebraska are telling their stories through the Rooted in Nebraska campaign. Dr. Schwartz is one of a number of leaders in our state who are committed to this effort to highlight how we are “Rooted in Academics and Grown for Success” in Nebraska.

To learn more about the Rooted in Nebraska campaign and access available resources, visit https://www.rootedinnebraska.org/

Also, be sure to check out the hashtag #RootedNE

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This week on The Good Life EDU Podcast, John Meehan of EMC2 Learning joins us for a conversation on student engagement, playful learning, and how educators can get connected to the resources and support that he and Michael Matera provide through their company. John will be in Nebraska for two days of fun and professional learning in November as he works with our ESU PDO TLT affiliate, and this episode previews the ideas, energy, and thoughtful approach to lesson design that educators can expect from that experience.

To learn more about EMC2 Learning, visit https://emc2learning.com/

To register your entire staff for a subscription to EMC2 Learning’s resources, contact the ESUCC Coop Purchasing at https://www.esucc.org/cooperative-purchasing/

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In this episode, we welcome Peg Coover of ESU 10, co-leader of the Digital Citizenship Symposium effort statewide, to preview the upcoming live and in-person DigCit event on October 16th. We are also joined by this year’s keynote speaker Dr. Marialice BFX Curran, who shares her heart for this important topic and what attendees can expect from the event.

To learn more and/or register for this event, visit bit.ly/NEDigCit

To learn more from the DigCit Institute and Dr. Marialice BFX Curran, visit https://digcitinstitute.com/

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Education speaker and author Lainie Rowell joins The Good Life EDU Podcast this week with an uplifting message and a number of great ideas for fostering and maintaining an attitude of gratitude. Lainie recently released Bold Gratitude, an interactive journal that serves as a practical companion to her book, Evolving with Gratitude: Small Practices in Learning Communities That Make a Big Difference with Kids, Peers, and the World, and she shares insights and examples from that project on the pod. We ourselves are grateful to Lainie for sharing on the show as there’s no time like the start of a school year to effectively integrate new strategies into the rhythms of the day!

To learn more from Lainie, visit https://www.lainierowell.com/

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This week on The Good Life EDU Podcast, we welcome Dr. Kathryn Nieves Licwinko to discuss how generative AI technology can help educators reach all learners and design experiences that account for learner variability. We explore how teachers can use generative AI to enhance and expedite their efforts to apply a universal design to learning (UDL). UDL is a framework that helps educators make learning accessible to all students, regardless of their abilities or learning styles.

Dr. Licwinko has extensive experience in developing and implementing generative AI ideas and strategies for educators. To continue to learn from her, listeners can visit her website at http://katienieves.com/

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In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, Sheyanne Smith, who is the High Ability Learning Specialist for Nebraska’s Department of Education, joins us to speak about the present efforts to build upon and enhance services for Nebraska’s H.A.L. students. We also discuss resources and support for the H.A.L. educators who teach and lead in those spaces.

For more information, the resources mentioned in the episode, or to contact Sheyanne Smith directly, please https://www.education.ne.gov/hal/

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