Ditch That Textbook Podcast :: Education, teaching, edtech :: #DitchPod

Alexis Crutchfield, Katrina Yang and Brittany Bondy are believers in Seesaw, a platform for student digital portfolios and parent communications. Hear how these teachers use it in their classes at Sampson Elementary School in Cypress, Texas.

Genius Hour can put a spark in your class, giving students opportunities to pursue their passions. Fourth-grade teachers Kayla Swonke (Twitter: @kaylaswonke) and Lyndsey Kubos (Twitter: @lyndseykubos) share some ideas and lessons from implementing it in their classrooms.

Our why focuses our lives. It's our reason for being. It's easy to lose sight of our why, and many times, our why changes over time. What's your why, and how has it changed over time? It's big questions like these that we tackle in this video: http://ditchthattextbook.com/part3

Google's machine learning is improving lots of its products. Now, it can help us create multiple-choice questions without brainstorming incorrect answers. See how these smarter Google Forms can make your life easier.

Repetitions help students make new concepts permanent. But mindless repetitions are a lot of action without great results. But creating engaging repetitions can make for sticky learning! Learn more about this in the video at http://DitchThatTextbook.com/part2.

How can we incorporate more passion-driven learning and more hands-on projects into our classes? I found this advice from Don Wettrick (@DonWettrick on Twitter). It's a framework for crafting our classes. It's an interesting take and one that could have HUGE benefits.

When we let too many digital tools into the classroom, it can be overwhelming for students. And tech overwhelm is DEFINITELY an issue for teachers. Can we find ways to do new things with the tech students are already comfortable with?

Our students have their favorite websites, apps and digital tools. We don't have to require them to use those apps/sites to get the same experience in class. Recreate the experience without the app! This is one idea from a free video series I'm doing in May. More details: DitchThatTextbook.com/series

I've stumbled upon a new digital assessment/review tool that shows promise. It's like Kahoot with a store where students can buy power-ups to use in the game. It's called GimKit (gimkit.com). The free version is limited, but it's definitely worth checking out.

It finally happened. I missed a day in my daily podcast. Actually, I missed two. So, according to Jon Acuff's book "Finish", today is the most important day in my podcast goals: the day AFTER perfect.

At the end of the school year, it's the perfect time to take stock of what's working and think about different ways of teaching in the future. I talked about this idea on Classroom 2.0 LIVE, a weekly web show at http://live.classroom20.com. Check this one out as well as future episodes!

TED Talks have inspired millions. How can they influence our classes? Rachael Mann of Teach Like TED talks about how we can empower student voice and help students express their ideas and their learning more effectively.

Some of the fundamentals of computer programming / coding, like if/then statements and logic, are likely already present in your class. By identifying them and changing how you talk about them, you may be able to highlight coding in class without changing much. Code Breaker author Brian Aspinall discusses that and more in this show.

How can we create.assessments -- and assess student learning -- that truly demonstrates what they know? Brian Aspinall returns to the show to discuss.

When we switch our teaching from traditional means to the online world without making modifications, we miss out on the greatest parts of digital instruction. Michele Eaton shares how to make the most of it.