Every Classroom Matters With Cool Cat Teacher

If you are not already involved in the Choose2matter movement listen up and find out why you'll want to be. It's about passion based learning and a whole new model for thinking about education and the purpose of schools. Follow:@coolcatteacher @angelaMaiers @bamradionetwork As a teacher educator, author and consultant, Angela Maiers has spent the past twenty-two years working diligently to help learners of all ages succeed by recognizing their power as readers, writers, and global communicators. Today, Angela is at the forefront of Web 2.0 technologies and is an active blogger and social media evangelist. Her cause is called You Matter a program that is growing rapidly and achieving national acclaim.

Learning to write computer code is a skill that our guest believes is not just for geeks and will be increasingly important to students and teachers in the future. Follow:@coolcatteacher @alfredtwo @bamradionetwork Alfred Thompson currently teaches high school computer science at Bishop Guertin HS in New Hampshire. He has also been a software developer and worked at academic relations at Microsoft. He is the author of several computer science textbooks, project books, and a blog about computer science education. He was recently elected to the board of the computer Science Teachers Association.

In this segment we talk about how technology is changing the game of training teachers, offering new tools and new possibilities. Follow:@coolcatteacher @ebrownorama @bamradionetwork Eva Brown is a teacher educator at Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She is a Flat Classroom Certified Teacher and a Microsoft Innovative Teacher.

If connecting learning to student's passions and interests is the master's skill of teaching, then a concept called "Genius Hour "may be the master stroke. Borrowed from Google's policy of allowing staff to spend 20% of their work week on the pet project of their choice, teachers are reporting profound changes in student engagement and student motivation where Genius Hour is used. Moreover, they are finding that the quality of learning is radically more authentic than learning driven solely by desire to get good grades. Follow:@coolcatteacher @hughtheteacher, @mrsdkrebs, @gallit_z @bamradionetwork Joy Kirr currently teaches 7th grade LA & Literature in a suburb of Chicago, first as a special education teacher working with deaf & hard of hearing students, and next a reading specialist & nationally board certified. Hugh McDonald is a father, grade 6/7 teacher, learner, collaborator, and sports enthusiast. Gallit Zvi is an elementary school teacher in Surrey, BC, Canada. She is the co-moderator of the Genius Hour wiki and the #geniushour chat on twitter. Denise Krebs is the chief learner in her middle school classes at a small Catholic school in rural Iowa.

In this segment we talk about various tools, projects and strateties you can use to get your students globally connected. We also offer some guidelines for good digital citizenship. Follow:@coolcatteacher @tdallen5 @bamradionetwork Theresa Allen is the Technology Teacher and Coordinator for the Cathedral of St. Raymond School in Joliet, IL. She is Flat Classroom certified and manages the Digiteen Project, a digital citizenship project for junior high and high school students. She is a global educator, involving her students from Kindergarten to 8th grade in many global projects including various Flat Classroom projects.

In this segment we talk about the challenges and opportunities ahead as states gear up to embrace the Common Core standards. We discuss content, instruction and with the aim of identifying what needs to be done differently to meet the demands of the standards. Follow:@coolcatteacher @dgburris @bamradionetwork Darren Burris is currently a PARCC Educator Leader Fellow for Massachusetts and a member of the state's Model Curriculum Development Team. He is also working on One Dorchester, a collaborative project between BCCS, the Jeremiah E. Burke High School, and Cristo Rey Boston High School around implementation of Common Core-aligned performance tasks in ELA and mathematics. He curates Common Core resources around the clock on Twitter @dgburris.

In this segment we talk with teachers from around the nation about the projects they're using to create global learning experiences. Guests discuss tools, challenges and benefits of connecting and collaborating globally in the classroom. Follow:@coolcatteacher @toniobarton @bcdtech@djesponsito@MrsSchmidtB4 @bamradionetwork Toni Olivieri-Barton is a Flat Classroom Certified Teacher in Colorado Springs. Michelle McGarvey is a Flat Classroom Certified Teacher in North Carolina. Maureen Tumenas taught Kindergarten at Berkshire Country Day School for 13 years and is currently the Technology Department Head.Tina Schmidt is a 3rd grade teacher at St. Ignatius of Antioch School in Yardley, PA. Donna Esposito is currently teaching technology at an intermediate school in New Jersey.

According to our guest teaching STEM at the Elementary school level is not as novel a notion as many believe. What is new is some of the creative ways it can now be done. Tune is as a teacher who is passionate about STEM shares some of his practices. Follow:@coolcatteacher@kJarrett @bamradionetwork Kevin Jarrett is a K-4 Teacher of Computer Technology since 2003. In 2012, he "re-imagined" his program into a STEM-infused, learner-centered experience called "K4STEMLAB," which he blogs about regularly (http://blogs.ncs-nj.org/k4stemlab/). Jeremy A. Ervin, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in Science Education and general pedagogy at The Richard Stockton College of NJ.

In this episode we go inside the buzz on MOOCs as we talk with a professor who started a MOOC and a Student who participated. Both believe MOOCs are indicative of a transformation that will impact all classrooms everywhere. Follow:@coolcatteacher@ak_leeg@costerhout@bamradionetwork Dr. Lee Graham is the Coordinator of STEM and an Associate Professor at the University of Alaska Southeast. She teaches online courses in Educational Technology to students across the state of Alaska and embraced MOOC: the Differentiating Instruction through Technology #diffimooc for teachers. Colin Osterhout has been working as an Information Technology contractor for Alaska's sole private non-profit educational resource center serving school districts around the state of Alaska. .