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

This quote by Haim Ginott had a HUGE impact on me as a young educator. It still speaks to me today. At the end of the school year, it's something we have to keep in mind. We have ENORMOUS power on the climate of our own classrooms.

I (Matt) didn't major in education in college. It was journalism. I worked several journalism jobs before becoming a teacher. I wouldn't change it, though. Here are some great skills I learned from the journalism world that helped me as a teacher.

Bitmojis are so fun! They're like cartoon versions of ourselves, and we can communicate via Bitmoji. Some are inappropriate, though, and the terms of use are 13+ years old. Here's a safe way to get Bitmojis in the hands of our students.

"If you're not hearing from every student in every classroom, you're doing it wrong." What do you think of this quote? Technology can help teachers hear from every student in ways we couldn't before.

It's happened to all of us. A lesson is going great and ONE kid is spacing out -- OR giving you the death stare. That student is all we can think about afterward. Remember that ONE disconnected student doesn't mean failure in teaching.

Inquiry is a great way to help students own their learning and learn how to pursue their curiosity. KQED Learn is a platform that's set up for students to start exploring, discovering and sharing. It's free and it's ready for you to use immediately!

I was inspired by a story in the book "The Wild Card" by Hope and Wade King where a student had lunch with different groups of students for an entire month. How could that have a great impact on your relationships with students?

Do you struggle with students creating naughty nicknames in Kahoot! games? Kahoot! has created a new feature to eliminate the temptation of typing a naughty nickname. Check it out and see if it's a good fit for your class.

What would happen if we allowed "open internet access" during any assessment? I saw this question on Twitter from John Eick (@John_Eick) over the weekend and it had me thinking. What would happen?

Social media can be our lifeblood of classroom ideas, inspiration and connections. Here are some suggestions for making the most out of Twitter / social media for educators.

Poptropica is one of my sixth grade daughter Cassie's favorite games. She makes the case for using it to help kids learn.

It's so easy to Google almost anything ... especially assignments. Can we "make" students stop? What's the solution?

Littles can use Google tools too! In this book by Christine Pinto and Alice Keeler, they show you how!

Padlet, a digital bulletin board-style collaboration tool, recently announced that it is no longer totally free. How should we deal with digital tools we have to pay for?

Student voice is a hot topic in education right now. But how can you give students that microphone in an authentic, doable way? Andrew Fenstermaker and his fifth-grade students show you how! Twitter: @a_fenstermaker