Summer is the push-pull of regeneration and rejuvenation: Should I spend my summer weeks learning my craft or relaxing? Me, I have no regular winner but the more convenient learning is, the more likely I’ll squeeze a goodly quantity of learning into my vacation that serves me in the long run. Where years ago, that used to be attending a conference at an out-of-town hotel that required traveling expenses, now, I’m more likely to pick online classes. In fact, I’ve talked about these choices in other posts. Today, I want to talk about podcasts, webinars, and screencasts of knowledgeable educators who quickly can become your trusted advisors on a wide variety of education topics.
Here are my favorites:
Alice Keeler
Blog: Teacher Tech with Alice Keeler
Books: Get Started with Google Classroom, Ditch That Homework, and more
Training: Go Slow Online Workshops, CoffeeEdu, and more
Social Media: @alicekeeler, YouTube
Alice Keeler is a Google Certified Teacher, New Media Consortium K12 Ambassador, Microsoft Innovative Educator and LEC Admin & Online and Blended certified. Professor of Curriculum, Instruction and Technology at California State University Fresno and Teacher on Special Assignment at ACEL Charter High school. She has developed and taught online K12 courses as well as the Innovative Educator Advanced Studies Certificate (cue.org/ieasc). Her goal: to inspire and help teachers to try something new. With a boatload of accolades, certifications, and followers, she is often a keynote or presenter at ISTE and CUE conferences and is the number one choice for those interested in anything Google.
Cult of Pedagogy
Blog: Cult of Pedagogy
Books: The Teacher’s Guide to Tech 2017, Hacking Education
Training: Jumpstart: A Technology Course for Thoughtful Educators, Twitter for Teachers and Students
Social Media: @cultofpedagogy, iTunes podcast
Jennifer Gonzalez is the voice behind the team that is Cult of Pedagogy. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and author with broad pedagogical and technical knowledge, down-to-earth honest, and a sense of humor. She is a welcome presenter at keynotes, lectures, and workshops. She is integral to Cult of Pedagogy’s commitment to making teachers awesome in the classroom. The website offers videos (on instruction, classroom management, edtech, advice, and more), podcasts, free materials, and lots more through their Teachers Pay Teachers store. All are focused on teaching strategies, classroom management, education reform, educational technology — anything to do with teaching,
Eric Curts
Blog: Control Alt Achieve
Training: anything on using Google in the classroom
Social Media: @ericcurts, YouTube
Eric Curts is an Authorized Google Education Trainer, a Google Certified Innovator, host of monthly “What’s New to Google” online meetings, and a popular knowledgable presenter at many tech-in-ed conferences and meetings. He has provided thousands of hours of training and consulting for schools and organizations all across Ohio and around the country for more than twenty years. This includes dozens of tech training topics, Certification bootcamps, conference presentations (such as ISTE, ITIP, and . He specializes in everything Google and Chromebook for teachers and administrators but has been known to cover other topics as well.
FreeTech4Teachers
Blog: FreeTech4Teachers
Training: Google apps, webtools for educators
Social Media: @rmbyrne, YouTube
Richard Byrne is a former high school social studies teacher at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Maine. He is a popular speaker at events worldwide discussing tech-in-ed topics focused on sharing free web-based resources that enhance student learning experiences. He is a five five-timeer of the Edublogs Awards, a Google Certified Teacher, winner of the California State University Merlot Classics award, finalist for ACTEM’s (Association of Computer Teachers and Educators in Maine) educator of the year award, and one of Tech & Learning Magazine’s”people to watch” in their 30th Anniversary celebration. His popular quick YouTube webinars (most two-five minutes) focus on free webtools, Google Tools, and other useful webtools for teachers.
Jamie Keet and Teachers.Tech
Blog: Teachers.Tech
Training: How to Set up the Digital Classroom
Social Media: Facebook, YouTube Channel
Jamie Keet, MEd, has taught K-12 for over fifteen years and led many PD days coaching other teachers in the integration of technology into learning. He is a Google for Education Certified Trainer and Google Certified Innovator.
Kathy Schrock
Blog: Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything
Social Media: @kathyschrock
Kathy Schrock has been a school district Director of Technology, an instructional technology specialist, and a middle school, academic, museum, and public library librarian, and is currently an online adjunct professor for Wilkes University (PA) and an independent educational technologist. She is an Adobe Education Leader Emeritus, a Google Certified Innovator, an Amazon Teacher Innovator, an Apple Teacher 2016, an Alpha Squirrel, a ThingLink Certified Educator, a MakerBot Curriculum Creator, and a Discovery Education Guru. Besides teaching online, Kathy conducts professional development workshops, presents at conferences such as ISTE, and keynotes both nationally and internationally. Kathy’s passions are online tools to support classroom instruction, the role of emerging technologies in the classroom, infographics, tablets in the classroom, assessment and rubrics, copyright and intellectual property, and gadgets of any type.
Monica Burns
Blog: Class Tech Tips
Books: Tasks Before Apps: Designing Rigorous Learning in a Tech-Rich Classroom (ASCD), #FormativeTech: Meaningful, Sustainable, and Scannable Formative Assessment with Technology (Corwin), Deeper Learning with QR Codes and Augmented Reality(Corwin), and co-author of Taming the Wild Text: Literacy Strategies for Today’s Reader (Shell).
Training: How to make technology integration exciting and accessible
Social Media: @ClassTechTips
Dr. Monica Burns is a Curriculum and EdTech Consultant, Apple Distinguished Educator and vocal advocate for bringing one-to-one technology into classrooms. She has presented to teachers, administrators and tech-enthusiasts at numerous national and international conferences including SXSWedu, ISTE, FETC and EduTECH. She is a webinar host for SimpleK12 and a regular contributor to Edutopia.
Technology for Teachers and Students
Social Media: @TechForEducate, Facebook, YouTube
The dozens of videos on this YouTube channel have helped over 8 million visitors learn how to use a wide range of educational websites and tech tools in the classroom. Topics include Adobe, PowerPoint, Office Sway, multimedia, MS Office, Excel, Teacher Tools, Technology Hacks, Tech Gadgets, Google, Website design, Formative Assessment, Canvas LMS, and more.
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The sources above cover everything teachers need in their classroom but each expert specializes in one or more topics. Look them over carefully and select what works best for you.
–published first on TeachHUB
More on teacher resources:
10 Hits and 10 Misses for 2017
Best-in-Class Resources–You Decide
2017 Teachers Pay Teachers’ July Conference — Overview
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.
