Getting Smart Podcast

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark sits down with Roberta McFarland, Director/Principal of Outdoor Environmental Education for Waskowitz Outdoor Programs.  Dr. McFarland has a long career in residential outdoor environmental education and she loves helping young people find magic by engaging on a journey of diversity with people and nature.  Let’s listen in as they discuss the magic of the outdoors, learning by playing, 

his episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is sponsored by our recent publication Designing Microschools: Why Small Learning Environments is a Big Idea On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark sits down with Martin Reeves, SVP Boston Consulting Group, BCG, and chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Martin recently co-authored a book called The Imagination Machine, an executive’s guide to systematically harnessing imagination for organizational reinvention and rejuvenation. Let’s listen in as Tom and Martin discuss collective imagination, how schools can better empower young people to imagine and how imagination intersects with strategy. 

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast we’re talking with Michael Levine, Senior Vice President of Noggin, Nickelodeon’s direct-to-consumer interactive learning service for young people.  Michael spent time at Carnegie, Sesame Street, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and has been a leading advocate for the importance of research in early learning. He is also the co-author of Tap, Click, Read. Let’s listen in as he and Tom discuss the role of digital media in early learning, the importance of learning sciences, and more.  Links Digilearn Gregg Behr & Ryan Rydzewski on When You Wonder, You’re Learning

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is sponsored by 20 Invention Opportunities in Learning & Development. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Rebecca Midles sits down with Katie Martin, Chief Impact Officer at Learner-Centered Collaborative.  Katie supports school and district leaders to reimagine school. Along with the professional learning team, Katie supports district and school leaders to create the conditions and experiences to shift to learner-centered models of education. Before her time at Learner-Centered Collaborative, Katie was an educator and also served as Director of District Leadership at the Buck Institute for Education. She is recently the author of Evolving Education: Shifting to a Learner-Centered Paradigm.

This episode of Getting Smart Podcast is sponsored by Screencastify.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark sits down with Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (better known as ISTE), a nonprofit serving education leaders in 127 countries. Richard was appointed by President Obama as the Director of the Office of Educational Technology for the US Department of Education. Richard also is the author of a new book, Digital For Good: Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online World. Let’s listen in as Tom talks with Richard about smart tools, inclusion and more.  

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark sits down with Ken Kay, founder of Partnership for 21st Century Skills and its successor EdLeader 21, and Suzie Boss, long time education writer and consultant. Ken and Suzie recently co-authored the book Redefining Student Success: Building a New Vision to Transform Leading, Teaching and Learning.  On this episode they discuss who should be present for the create of a portrait of a graduate, whether or not PBL is catching on, how to truly center the student and co-author learning experiences alongside them and more.

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is sponsored by Screencastify. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark sits down with Amir Nathoo (@AmirNathoo), CEO of Outschool, an education platform that offers live online classes for K-12 learners. Amir earned a Masters degree in Electrical and Information Sciences from Cambridge 20 years ago and has been an entrepreneur and business builder since. Amir led the development of Square Payroll and served as CEO and co-founder of Trigger.io.  Let's listen in as Tom and Amir discuss the opportunity of live online classes and his history in tech.  Navid Nathoo on What Education Can Learn From the Real World Learners From The Knowledge Society

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is sponsored by Screencastify. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Rebecca Midles (@AKRebecca) sits down with Rebecca Wolfe (@rewolfe13), Vice President of Impact and Improvement at Knowledgeworks and Ryan MacDonald, Senior Program Associate on the Student-Centered Learning team at the Council of Chief State School Officers.  They discuss the updated version of the Educator Competencies for Personalized, Learner-Centered Environments, a new customizable toolkit and a district usage map. Listen in to hear more about the competency toolkit, the pandemic’s impact on SEL and equity and what’s coming next. 

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is sponsored by Screencastify. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by John Watson, founder of Evergreen Education Group. John is the leading expert on online learning. He recently hosted the Digital Learning Annual Conference (DLAC). Let’s listen in as Tom and John discuss the promise of online learning, how it is different from remote learning and how educators and districts can better use online learning to serve their learners. 

Be sure to sign up for the Getting Smart Smart Update for a weekly blast about what's next in learning.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom sits down with Briony Chown (@BrionyChown), Director of High Tech High Elementary Explorer.  Briony is a seasoned educator who is passionate about creating a better future of elementary education. She is going into her sixth year as Director of High Tech Elementary Explorer and her ninth year with the Explorer team. Let’s listen in as Tom and Briony chat what elementary schools could be, the outstanding student work at High Tech High, international approaches to learning and community connected projects for young learners. Additional Links Episode 217 - How Educators Can Positively Impact a Child’s Cognitive Development with Dr. Pamela Cantor.