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.
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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/
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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 Computer Science & Technology Act Guidance – Nebraska Department of Education
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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 Special Education – Nebraska Department of Education
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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/
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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/
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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/
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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/
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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 at The Digital Learning Podcast
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The Good Life EDU Podcast welcomes back Pam Brezenski who now serves as the Project Manager for Get SET Nebraska, a grant by 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 Pbrezenski@esu13.org.
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