Scott's Podcasts

This page is a collection of podcasts.


"Flow"
August 25, 2010


"Ultimately the most valuable search is the one that connects us to people; they are often the best sources of information and knowledge”

Consider the need for educators to connect with their peers both within their school and district and on a global level.


"Unlearning How to Teach"
September 12, 2010


"The shift from ‘sage on the stage’ to ‘guide on the side’, while it has served an important function in shifting the focus from the teacher to the learner, does not capture the fullness of the implications of this shift. We have been hearing about the importance of ‘lifelong learning’ for some time now in formal education. If, as Bauman asserts, ‘unlearning’ will be as important to social success in the 21st millennium as learning has been in the 20th millennium, then the habit of ‘lifelong learning’ will need radical re-thinking in terms of the nature and purposes of pedagogical work. Put simply, we will need to see a further shift from sage-on-the-stage and guide-on-the-side to meddler-in-the-middle"

Resources Referenced







"Looking Ahead"
September 19, 2010



"But this column isn’t just a story about a boy and a bike. Rather, it’s an example of an aid intervention that puts a system in place, one that is sustainable and has local buy-in, in hopes of promoting education, jobs and a virtuous cycle out of poverty. It’s a reminder that there are ways to help people help themselves, and that problems can have solutions — but we need to multiply them. Just ask Abel."

Resources Referenced
  1. A Boy and a Bike
  2. World Bicycle Relief
  3. Glee: To Sir With Love


"The Case For and Against Homework"
September 27, 2010

Having read the arguments both for and against homework I can't help but try to think of it not from the teacher's point of view, but from the student's. If I were 15 years-old taking a class, I know that I'd have a better time understanding what was going on if I were prepared. I also know that completing boring (even worse -- patronizing) textbook work every night would drive me insane. So, if the teacher asked me -- given my busy 15 year-old student schedule of school plays, sports, band, family commitments, etc -- I'd pretty much say that I'd want to be prepared for class and that if that meant doing some prep at home, that would be fine. But don't give me homework out of a sense of obligation. And don't give it to me just as a way to get a 'grade'. Give me homework because it's going to help us get stuff done. And let's get stuff done that's going to thrill me

Resources Referenced
  1. Homework: From Chills to Thrills
  2. Graphics Design At Morristown High School
  3. Moodle Forum Discussions
  4. Google New


"Re-Imagining Learning"
October 5, 2010


We need to re-frame the conversation from one about re-froming schooling to re-thinking education and re-imagining learning.

To think about schools differently, we must talk about learning differently.  We need to talk about learning first and not "schools".

Resources Referenced
  1. We are not waiting for Superman, We are Empowering Superheroes 
  2. Edutopia Panel Discussion 
  3. #elev8ed Transcript 

"Creative Spaces in Our School"
November 2, 2010

Innovative academic endeavors required equally innovative environments.  "Creativity in the design process doesn't automatically fit into the parameters many architects and contractors use for constructing schools. The traditional process focuses on management—schedule, budget, and efficiency—and leaves little room for creativity. This process doesn't just undermine innovation; it can kill it.”

Resources Referenced
  1. Classrooms With a View: Innovative school design is hard, but it doesn't have to be
  2. Mobile Learning Institute: Problem Based Learning at High Tech High
  3. High Tech High
  4. Sue Redelinghuys, St Cyprian's School, on Creative Buildings, Spaces, Learning and Teaching

"Some Good Reads"
November 14, 2010


Authentic interactive instruction increases achievement for ALL students, regardless of school level, size, context, ethnicity or socioeconomic status

Resources Referenced
  1. Authenticity in Math: Connecting to the Real World
  2. Dan Meyer- TedxNYED 3/6/10
  3. K20 Center University of Oklahoma
  4. Daniel Pink- The Fisch-Flip
  5. PLEF: A Conceptual Framework for Mashup Personal Learning Environments


"What are We Testing?"
November 18, 2010

Higher-order thinking skills are "something that schools are paying a little bit more attention to these days.  It's largely in response to the recognition that these skills are needed to be competitive in the global marketplace.

Resources Referenced
  1. A Stealth Assessment Turns to Video Games to Measure Thinking Skills
  2. Glogster

"Taking a Different Approach"
November 24, 2010


Traditional U.S. History courses are built around a textbook and the ancillary workbooks and activities supplied by the textbook publisher.  The High School's U.S. History courses will use a variety of sources to provide the basic content information to students, most of which are available online.
 
Resources Referenced
  1. Hippocampus 
  2. Digital History
  3. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Wikipedia Discussion Forums
  4. Khan Academy


"Good Things Happening at MHS"
December 5, 2010



Creative and innovative instructional approaches are being applied to traditional learning engagements.  As a result, the roles between teacher and students are starting to blur.  

Resources Referenced
  1.  Google Alerts
  2. Google Custom Search Engine
  3. Google Earth
  4. Google Earth Lit Trips
  5. Aviary
"A Time to Act"
December 14, 2010


"As California's budget crisis continues we must find such innovative ways to save money and improve services," said Governor Schwarzenegger. California was built on innovation and I'm proud of our state's continued leadership in developing education technology. This first-in-the-nation initiative will reduce education costs, help encourage collaboration among school districts and help ensure every California student has access to a world-class education."

Resources Referenced
  1. Inkling
  2. California Open Source Text Book Project
  3. COSTP World History Project
  4. Open Source Courseware Consortium
  5. MIT Open Courseware
  6. Youtube EDU
  7. iTunes U
"Don't Talk To Strangers"
January 9, 2011

Don't Talk to Strangers

The most creative leaders aspire to learn from people and organizations far outside their field as a way to shake things up and make real change. Strategies and practices that are routine in one industry can be revolutionary when they migrate to another field. Do you have new ideas about where to look for new ideas?”

Resources Referenced


Nurturing Talent
January 19, 2011

A model for total talent development requires that we give equal attention to interests and learning styles as well as to the cognitive abilities that have been used traditionally for educational decision making. The Total Talent Portfolio is a vehicle for gathering and recording information systematically about students' abilities, interests, and learning styles.

Resources Referenced
  1. The Total Talent Portfolio