Advertise on podcast: SYS Presents: Adventures in Online Education

Guest Bios -  All of Season Two’s guests are featured today! It’s an all-star crew!   Episode Summary -  All of our guests and the crew at AOE answer the same question - Who was your favorite teacher as a kid and why?    Timestamps -  Katie Novak [1:21] John Warner [6:35] Allison Galvin [8:54] Tom Schimmer [10:11] Ken Williams [12:27] Amanda VanBuren [14:46] Rachael George [17:00] Nefertiti Dukes [19:17] Tim Batiuk [20:25] Chase Orton [22:41] Cassie Pierce [24:15] Matt Rhoads [28:11] Maddy Dahl [29:29] Rachel McBroom [31:36] Thomas Cooper [32:48] Chris Smith [33:35] Chris Voelker [34:33] Shawn Bundy [36:54] Megan Mills [40:36] Katie Schweitzer [42:56] Andrew Senkowski [44:59] Nick Wolf [47:17] Joe Dale [50:32] Jodi Miller [53:10] Fonz Mendoza [53:38] Ashley White [55:05] Matt Duran [55:50] Lexie Boren [56:48] Natalie Farrell [58:14] Natalie Conway [1:00:15]   Resources -  SYS Website

Guest Bio - Joe Dale was a teacher for 13 years and is now an independent languages consultant. He’s from the UK and works with a range of organizations such as the BBC, Skype, Microsoft, The Guardian and many more. He has spoken at conferences and run training courses around the world!   Episode Summary -  Today Natalie and Joe talk about how technology can help students gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for modern foreign languages and cultures.    Timestamps -  What Joe and Natalie have in common [2:11] Free webinars?! Yes please! [4:01] Benefits of Google Arts and Culture in virtual classrooms [6:53] Importance of primary sources [7:38] What’s the future of augmented reality (AR)? [9:14] How Google Earth can help with language learning [14:30] Traveling around the world with Window Swap and more [16:32] Natalie’s high school language teachers took two different approaches [20:01] Yes/and not either/or when it comes to language and culture [21:14] Technology as a means to promote independent learning [26:10] How Joe’s approach to Clinical Sessions inform our work with students [28:13] The need for algorithms and apps to be paired with a human element [30:32] Will technology replace teachers? [34:42] Who was Joe’s favorite teacher as a child? [36:42]   Episode Resources -  Find Joe Dale Twitter @joedale YouTube  LinkedIn FREEBIE!!! Online Tools for Language Learning Virtual Field Trip Websites  Google Earth Window Swap Drive N Listen City Walks Virtual Vacation ThingLink Expeditions Other Resources TiLT Webinars (free) Learning For Justice Facing History Quizlet EdPuzzle Google Arts and Culture FlipGrid AR EdTech Review Sept 2021 Article Book Creator GifCap Developer MOTE Vocaroo

Guest Bios -  Nefertiti Dukes leads the Professional Development team at Screencastify where they focus on what video makes possible for classroom educators, not what Screencastify makes possible. Before joining the Screencastify squad, Nef taught middle school and high school Humanities. And, she has worked with learners of all ages on speech and debate.   Alfonso Mendoza serves as an Instructional Technologist and has received his Masters in Educational Technology, E-Learning Certification, Technology Leadership Certification and Technology Director Certificate. He is currently working on his doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction with an emphasis in Educational Technology. Alfonso is a Google Innovator and was named 1 of the Top 50 EdTech Influencers on Augmented Reality in K-12 Worth a Follow in 2021.    Jodi Miller is a former high school biology teacher and current PhD student at The Johns Hopkins University School of Education. She also created WellCheq, an online platform that allows students and teachers to log their feelings each day.    Summary -  Today my guests wrestle with four scenarios that students and teachers often encounter in online learning, from struggles with engagement to community building and checking our assumptions in order to better serve our students.    Timestamps -  Scenario One: Engagement [3:36] Jodi asks, “What’s going on?” [4:12] Fonz shares the importance of connection before content [5:42] Nef considers connection in another sense [7:14] Scenario Two: Seeing Students’ Thinking [9:05] Kids as customers in our class [10:07] The obvious answer [12:20] Consider getting an inventory of preferences [13:29] Scenario Three: Flipped Class Model (FCM) [17:14] What TikTok teaches us about video instruction [18:08] Timestamps aren’t just for podcasts [19:57] Flipping the FCM script on students [21:27] Do kids have to watch the entire video? [23:42] Treating students as customers choosing our classrooms [26:00] Scenario Four: Class Community [27:21] Fonz keeps it simple [28:23] Nef zeroes in on community norms [30:35] Jodi includes empathy in the conversation [32:12]   Resources -  Connect with Nef Dukes @NiftyNef Connect with Fonz Mendoza @MyEdTechLife and @MyEdTech.Life Connect with Jodi Miller @Jodes39 and @CheqWell WellCheq Website MyEdTechLife Website Screencastify Website EdTech Heros Podcast

Guest Bios -  Andrew Senkowski is a former Math educator who has worked in both brick & mortar and online schools over the past decade. He currently lives and works from Pennsylvania as a Content Editor Manager for a national curriculum company, but stays connected to online teaching as an Instructional Coach for SYS.   Nick Wolf spent his career working in all aspects of K-12 education, both nonprofit and for-profit, from the local to national levels. Nick started out his career at the KIPP Foundation before moving on to work at Alma, an upstart student information system, and now serves as the Technology Systems Coordinator at SYS Education.   Episode Summary -  Today Andrew and Nick teach us that there’s a lot that must be pre-planned and intentionally designed in the background for an online school or program to function really well for students and families. These two help us understand that it’s okay to use fewer apps and use them really well, and that we should treat ourselves like a best friend and be kind to ourselves as we learn and take risks in the online world.    Timestamps -  Learning about Andrew’s birding life [3:23] Nick is an indoor kid [4:48] Andrew’s take on the unseen work of an online educator [6:29] Balancing synchronous and asynchronous instruction [8:05] The tech side of a school is all about preparation [11:10] What is equity of access? [12:10] Eliminating user friction [13:00] It always comes back to universal design for learning [16:00] The walled garden of student safety [16:33] What all the successful schools start with [17:56] The most important factor in any online program [18:38] Start with ideas, not tech [21:21] Steady, responsive and flexible leadership [24:44] What Andrew learned from working in an online school in PA [26:13] Nick’s advice for first-year online teachers [31:16] Nick quotes Shakira [32:29] Andrew’s advice to treat ourselves like a friend [34:27] Concerning student accountability [37:06] Andrew’s favorite teacher growing up [39:53] Nick’s favorite teachers growing up [42:45] Resources -  SYS Education Website The Big Year Movie Whiteboard.fi Desmos MyEdTechLife Podcast SYS FREEBIE! Open Educational Resources (OERs) for MS/HS and K-5 Dr. Katie Novak’s Website Chase Orton’s AOE Episode Contact Nick Wolf on Twitter @NickCWolf and [email protected] Contact Andrew Senkowski at [email protected]

Guest Bios -  Megan Mills has 14 years experience teaching in the areas of special education, general ed and talented/gifted students. She’s done this work in both brick and mortar and virtual settings. She is currently in her 4th year as a special education teacher at Frontier Charter Academy.    Dr. Katie Schweitzer has worked in public education for the last 18 years both in brick and mortar and online. She is a principal and district level administrator for student services and teaching and learning, and holds a doctorate in educational leadership.    Summary -  In this episode we learn that it’s essential to imagine what online education could be, and work to make that a reality for students. We learn that connecting with families and students is essential to success and that the beauty of online education lies in the fact that accommodations are available to everyone, all the time.    Timestamps -  What keeps both Katie and Megan going back to school themselves? [3:04] What led Megan to online teaching? [4:53] We had no idea… [5:42] How did Katie find online education? [6:55] Asking ‘what could it be?’ [8:36] Megan’s Take: teaching challenges and rewards [11:10] Katie’s Take: admin challenges and rewards [14:14] Who can online schools support? [17:31] The greatest struggle we face [19:56] Accommodations are a snap! [21:10] Families are looking for answers [22:07] The importance of listening to families [22:51] Normalizing virtual learning and therapies [27:57] The silver lining to remote learning [29:02] Recognition of the good in online charters [30:24] New Mindset - we don’t accept limitations [31:46] Megan’s favorite teacher [33:23] Katie’s favorite teacher [35:44]   Resources - Accommodations FREEBIE!!! FCA Website Guest Emails Megan Mills [email protected] Dr. Katie Schweitzer [email protected]

Guest Bio -  Shawn Bundy has been teaching science and coaching high school soccer and chess for nearly 20 years. Shawn has spent the last ten years teaching high school science at Oregon Charter Academy and coaching girls soccer at a variety of Portland area high schools. He enjoys helping young adults to experiment in the classroom and on the field and believes that the best way for students to learn is when they feel safe enough to make their own decisions and mistakes.   Episode Summary -  In today’s episode, Shawn teaches us that teachers are coaches and that in an online environment, we can reach a variety of students in a variety of ways if we’re open to being creative, engaging in collaborative work with our peers, and if we take student-feedback with open minds. Below you’ll find a resource for Shawn that will help you with your own project planning for students.    Timestamps -  How did Shawn come into the field of education? [1:56] What keeps Shawn coming back to the online classroom? [4:32]  According to Shawn, the biggest part about teaching is… [6:02] How does Shawn meet the wide variety of student needs in his classes? [7:51] The power of choice and connection in PBL [9:33] The ease and challenge of differentiation [12:17] Shawn's tech recommendations for online educators [14:15] The importance of student feedback [16:51] The morph in role from when Shawn started teaching online and today [18:04] The hidden benefit of online teaching is something every teacher always wants [20:57] Permission to wear pajamas?! [21:55] Who was Shawn's favorite teacher/coach growing up? [23:13] Teaching is leading… [26:54]   Resources -  Oregon Charter Academy Shawn’s Semester Project Choices FREEBIE

Guest Bio -  Christine Voelker is the K-12 Program Director for Quality Matters, a global non-profit dedicated to quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments.  QM provides a scalable quality assurance system for online and blended learning used within and across organizations grounded in research and driven by best practices.     Summary -  Today Chris is going to teach us about what QM does and how their work supports the national standards for quality online education.  Timestamps -  Career transitions over the years and seeking greater impact [2:44] What are the National Standards for Quality Online Learning? [6:55] What do the standards for teaching cover? [10:56] What do the program standards cover? [11:15] What do the course standards cover? [11:53] Similarities with the Danielson Framework [12:39] What is the Learning Portal? [13:40] QM’s mission statement [16:46] Three-pronged approach to quality assurance [16:57] What’s the course review process? [18:46] What is Rigorous Professional Development? [19:39] Quality Matters reviews are for you to see [21:23] How does the work of QM complement the work of the Standards? [23:32] What’s “QM Lite”? [24:50] Becoming certified! [25:34] Who was Chris’ favorite teacher as a kid? [27:28]   Resources -  National Standards for Quality Online Learning Quality Matters Bridge to Quality Course Design Guide Digital Learning Collab Virtual Learning Alliance Twitter: @nsqol; @k12qm; @qmprogram; @vllaonline; @theDLCedu; @voelkerc

Beau Neal is an educator, an administrator, and an entrepreneur seeking to improve the state of education not just in his home state of Oregon, but across the country. In the last four years he has co-founded a revolutionary online charter school, Frontier Charter Academy, and a first-of-its-kind educational consulting company, SYS Education. Beau is an advocate for online education and a believer in giving power to teachers. Beau joins Natalie to discuss all our previous guests’ thoughts on formative and summative assessments. We learn to go beyond a grade and find worth in backward design and student-centered projects. Timestamps: Tim Batiuk’s ideas about student engagement and reflection [1:38] Maddy Dahl’s backward design focus [2:51] Ashley White’s ideas for chunking assessments [4:08] Katie Schweitzer’s functional lens [5:37] Our educators’ views are legit [8:19] Beau and Natalie talk reflection in the grading process [9:09]  Benefits of feedback loops [11:10] Why am I learning this? [11:40] Real world application as the goal [12:35] Thinking in terms of function [13:05] Assume kids will Google info and ask them to do something with it [13:22] Why am I giving this assessment? [14:45] Don’t forget your teacher prep learning [15:15] Tiny home designs as assessments? [15:40] Can we be more intentional? [16:27]   Resource Links: Tiny House Project - Grade 5 Math

Guest Bios -  Dr. Rachel McBroom is the Chief Academic Officer at NC Virtual. Dr. Thomas Cooper III is the Instructional Director at NC Virtual. Dr. Chris Smith serves as the Instructional Director at NC Virtual. These three leaders are bringing high quality online courses to students across the state of North Carolina.    Summary -  Today we will learn that virtual education can achieve its promise of providing high quality courses and instruction across socio-economic and geographic divides. Will will come to understand that teachers have the skills to create high quality curriculum themselves and that with proactive thinking and community support, a whole state can provide high quality online education to all its students.    Timestamps -  Remote teamwork tools [3:22] NC Virtual - the origin story [5:26] Who is creating the curriculum? [8:28] Deaf and blind students access online learning too [11:33] How the fully asynchronous model works for NCVirtual [12:40] Grades and placement, who ultimately decides? [15:26] The need for flexibility in timing of course completion [16:19] Serving students with learning exceptionalities [17:44] Filing the gaps statewide and providing career awareness [21:49] What is Iwork? [23:32] Rachel’s favorite teacher [27:32] Thomas’ favorite teacher [28:45] Chris’ favorite teacher [29:32]   Resources -  Quality Matter Website NC Virtual Website

Guest Bio Maddy Dahl has been teaching online for 8 years. During her tenure, she has taught a wide range of classes from basic high school writing and grammar to AP English courses. When she isn’t teaching, you can usually find her playing board games or exploring Oregon.    Episode Summary Maddy teaches us about how to create an online AP course for students, how to help students earn college credits while in high school, and provides invaluable advice to teachers just getting started on their AP journey.    Timestamps Maddy’s exciting news! [2:13] How do you create high school AP courses online? [3:50] How the FCM works in an online AP class [6:40] A focus on collaboration asynchronously and synchronously [8:53] Supporting students’ organization, practice, and executive functioning [9:30] All about formative assessments [11:50] Collaborate and listen [13:21] Partnering with community colleges [16:56] AP and college credit courses are rigorous but different [20:25] Maddy’s advice for creating your own online AP course [22:00] Maddy’s favorite teacher when she was in high school [26:29]   Resources Find Maddy Dahl at [email protected] How-To AP Guide FREEBIE College Credit Now (Oregon) Frontier Charter Academy College Board AP Central FCM Episode (S2 EP16)

Guest Bio My guest today is Tim Batiuk. He’s been an online teacher and currently is chief technology officer at SYS Education LLC. Tim is one of us. He has taught at the elementary level online and currently works to support and drive teachers forward in their use of technology to meet the needs of all students. He’s passionate about UDL and is always willing to help educators implement the framework.    Episode Summary In this episode we take a deep dive into UDL - universal design for learning. This isn’t a gimmick or “thing of the moment” but a way of thinking about Engagement, Representation and Expression. It’s a framework for thinking and planning that requires us to look through a lens larger than our own personal lived experiences, preferences or needs. This is maybe the most important episode of the season. There’s so much to learn!   Timestamps: Why is Tim so passionate about UDL? [02:38] Accessibility is great! [3:48] Who is speech to text for? [4:20] How does UDL and ADA connect? [5:00] Tim’s thoughts on pre planned accessibility [5:32] Why is UDL important and relevant? [7:00] How UDL breaks down barriers and helps create equity [7:26] How does UDL look to students? [9:11] UDL is difficult but we do the work [10:15] How does a teacher incorporate UDL in their planning? [11:15] What is a question bucket? [14:18] Tim’s tips for visual presentation [17:40] What about students who need more processing time? [20:57] What’s the best way to provide a hyperlink? [22:10] The importance of a teacher’s voice [24:35] What does expression mean in terms of UDL? [28:20] Reflecting as a means of doing better next time [30:30] Tim’s call to action! [31:40]   Resource Links: CAST’s UDL Guidelines CAST’s plan to update the guidelines Tim’s Question Basket Discussion Example

Guest Bio Dr. Matt Rhoads is an innovator and expert in integrating EdTech and research-based instructional strategies to amplify student learning. He currently is an instructional leader and EdTech integrationist for a consortium of Adult Schools. He spent his prior years like me, in Special Education in K-12. He has also worked as a technology coach. Matt is also a lecturer of Education Technology, K-12 teacher candidate supervisor, author, podcaster, and educational consultant.    Summary Dr. Rhoads is everywhere in education and has collaborated with many brilliant educators. Today, we talk about his new book, Navigating the Toggled Term, and the future of online education.   Timestamps Teaching adults vs teaching children [2:44] What Matt learned from Navigating the Toggled Term [5:23] What are successful schools doing differently? [8:13] What is the coherence framework? [8:40] The power of teachers leading other teachers [10:30] Should districts continue to have an online option? [12:09] Intentional online design vs emulating in-person learning virtually [14:19] How do we prioritize activities for synchronous vs asynchronous times? [17:56] Changing our perceptions and use of assessment tools [21:17] Technology isn’t the driver of online learning [25:29] Digital Promises, Learner Variability Tool [26:36] Who was Matt’s favorite teacher? [27:45] Resources Matt’s Website Navigating the Toggled Term Book Digital Promises: Learning Variability Project