10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

Today I share the tool kit and tips that have helped streamline distance learning at my school. Check out the shownotes for the list of tools and links. www.coolcatteacher.com/e658 Sponsor:See 10 Professional Development Courses to Improve Your Online Classroom which I shared recently on my blog. I share 10 important concepts we need to level up as we transition to online learning. Today's sponsor Advancement Courses has courses you can take in each of these areas. See these and 280 online graduate-level PD courses at advancementcourses.com/coolcat and use the offer code COOL20 to save 20% off your courses. Use this time to level up learning. Vicki Davis is a classroom teacher and an Instructional Technology Director. She blogs at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog and hosts this podcast. See www.coolcatteacher.com/bio for her full bio. It is her "birthday week" this week, so she's doing some solo episodes to share some up-to-date resources from how she's helping lead her school with instructional technology that works.

As students learn from home, pundits and parents alike ask "is this really learning?" Yet, in every circumstance, students (and teachers) are learning something. What is it? www.coolcattecher.com/e657 Sponsor: See 10 Professional Development Courses to Improve Your Online Classroom which I shared recently on my blog. I share 10 important concepts we need to level up as we transition to online learning. Today's sponsor Advancement Courses has courses you can take in each of these areas. See these and 280 online graduate-level PD courses at advancementcourses.com/coolcat and use the offer code COOL20 to save 20% off your courses. Use this time to level up learning. Vicki Davis is a classroom teacher and an Instructional Technology Director. She blogs at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog and hosts this podcast. See www.coolcatteacher.com/bio for her full bio.

On a Friday, we had school in our physical building. By Monday, we had more students in our online school that we had on the previous Friday. In this episode, 10 Minute Teacher host, Vicki Davis, talks to production editor Vicki Morgan about the story at her school as the students began distance learning due to #covid19 stay at home requirements. You'll learn the tips for onboarding, orienting, and teacher professional development that can help you as you also do this for your school. Sponsor: See 10 Professional Development Courses to Improve Your Online Classroom which I shared recently on my blog. I share 10 important concepts we need to level up as we transition to online learning. Today's sponsor Advancement Courses has courses you can take in each of these areas. See these and 280 online graduate-level PD courses at advancementcourses.com/coolcat and use the offer code COOL20 to save 20% off your courses. Use this time to level up learning. Vicki Davis is a classroom teacher and the Instructional Technology Director at Sherwood Christian Academy in Albany, Georgia. She blogs at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog and hosts this podcast. See www.coolcatteacher.com/bio for her full bio.

High school junior Jameson Cohen was looking forward to Spring Baseball Season. When he found out he'd be spending it at home, he turned it into a season of giving back. Not only was he able to feed and connect with people in need, he created a special organization called "Circle of Friends" -- designed to encourage children of HealthCare workers right from his own home. This is one example of how students are giving back for National Volunteer Week April 20-25. How are you connecting? www.coolcatteacher.com/e655 Disclosure: Today's guest is also a guest on the Let's Volunteer now event from today's sponsor. All opinions are my own and that of the guest. Sponsor: The WE Schools Program, made possible by the Allstate Foundation, is kicking off National Volunteer Week with Let's Volunteer Now! Join this free online event to help discover how virtual volunteering can help your students build SEL skills. It will be hosted on Friday, April 17 at 1pm EST on the @Wemovement Facebook channel with special guests SEL expert Dr. Amy Cranston and her brother award-winner actor Bryan Cranston, and joined by remarkable students and WE Volunteer Now campaign participants, Tyler and Jameson. Jameson Cohen - Bio As submitted Jameson is 17 years old from New York City. He is passionate about taking action in his community and wants to ensure he is doing everything he can to continue to spread light and positivity in the world. In light of what is happening in the world and the high demand and pressure on medical professionals, Jameson is focusing his efforts supporting health care professionals who bravely work everyday to ensure the rest of us are safe and feel protected in our homes. He has been supporting a local restaurant package and deliver meals to hospitals around New York City. As part of National Volunteer Week (April 20 - 25), Jameson is giving back thorough the WE Volunteer Now campaign (https://www.we.org/en-CA/our-work/we-schools/we-schools-campaigns-and-curriculum/service-learning-campaigns/take-action/we-volunteer-now) -- encouraging his peers to take action and volunteer in their communities . Jameson has started "Circle of Friends", a volunteer program that provides virtual programming to medical professionals, educators and parents who need help keeping their children engaged and excited during this uneasy time. Circle of Friends pairs a family with a volunteer over the age of 16 and arranges a 30 minute session focusing on an array of activities. From helping with homework, partaking in a "private yoga lesson" or even having a fun conversation about sports. Jameson hopes this platform is a way to support parents whilst also instilling a sense of hope within young people to continue to pursue their passions and interests during this time.

Research says that when students are engaged in service-learning, their immune system, heart rate and sense of well-being improves dramatically. Children are happiest when they feel a sense of purpose. Here are ten tips to help kids experience these positive benefits -- even while stuck at home. www.coolcatteacher.com/e654 Disclosure: Note that today's guest is an advisor for today's sponsor. All content and opinions are my own and that of the author. Sponsor: The WE Schools Program, made possible by the Allstate Foundation, is kicking off National Volunteer Week with Let's Volunteer Now! Join this free online event to help discover how virtual volunteering can help your students build SEL skills. It will be hosted on Friday, April 17 at 1pm EST on the @Wemovement Facebook channel with special guests SEL expert Dr. Amy Cranston and her brother award-winner actor Bryan Cranston, and joined by remarkable students and WE Volunteer Now campaign participants, Tyler and Jameson. Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl - Bio as Submitted Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl is an expert advisor for the WE organization's WE Schools program, which is accessed by over 18,000 schools across North America – with a special emphasis on social and emotional learning and mental wellbeing. Dr. Kim is known as a world-renowned, American expert in the area of social and emotional learning (SEL) and sits on CASEL's Board of Directors. Within the realm of SEL, Dr. Kim's studies have covered the following topic areas: The correlation between social and emotional competence (SEC) and academic achievement in early adolescence (click here for 2018 research) The identification of the processes and mechanisms that foster positive human qualities such as empathy, compassion, altruism and resiliency in children and adolescents How volunteer action helps develop caring, altruistic behaviors and promotes emotional and physical well-being (click here for 2018 research) The use of mindfulness in the classroom to foster a stress-free environment (click here for 2016 research) Projects that examine the effectiveness of classroom-based universal SEL programs (i.e. Roots to Empathy, MindUp) Dr. Kim has over 100 publications in scholarly journals, book chapters, and reports and has edited two books on mindfulness in education, including a co-edited book (with Dr. Robert W. Roeser) published by Springer Press in 2016 titled "Handbook of Mindfulness in Education: Integrating Theory and Research Into Practice." She has presented her research at over 200 scholarly conferences and has given over 300 presentations on the topic of children's social and emotional development and social emotional learning. Dr. Kim's research has been highlighted in several magazines and newspapers across the US, and internationally, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Le Monde, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Scientific American Mind, Neurology Now, The Huffington Post, The Telegraph, The Atlantic and many more. Her research on the Roots of Empathy was profiled on the PBS Newshour special, the American Graduate.

Students can sense and even internalize the emotions their teachers are feeling, especially stress, depression and worry. Not only do we need to help kids stay physically healthy, we need to help them stay emotionally healthy. SEL expert Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl unpacks the concepts of stress contagion, the importance of routines, co-rumination and other SEL topics to help us better help today's students. Disclosure: Note that today's guest is an advisor for today's sponsor. All content and opinions are my own and that of the author. Sponsor: The WE Schools Program, made possible by the Allstate Foundation, is kicking off National Volunteer Week with Let's Volunteer Now! Join this free online event to help discover how virtual volunteering can help your students build SEL skills. It will be hosted on Friday, April 17 at 1pm EST on the @Wemovement Facebook channel with special guests SEL expert Dr. Amy Cranston and her brother award-winner actor Bryan Cranston, and joined by remarkable students and WE Volunteer Now campaign participants, Tyler and Jameson. Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl - Bio as Submitted Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl is an expert advisor for the WE organization's WE Schools program, which is accessed by over 18,000 schools across North America – with a special emphasis on social and emotional learning and mental wellbeing. Dr. Kim is known as a world-renowned, American expert in the area of social and emotional learning (SEL) and sits on CASEL's Board of Directors. Within the realm of SEL, Dr. Kim's studies have covered the following topic areas: The correlation between social and emotional competence (SEC) and academic achievement in early adolescence (click here for 2018 research) The identification of the processes and mechanisms that foster positive human qualities such as empathy, compassion, altruism and resiliency in children and adolescents How volunteer action helps develop caring, altruistic behaviors and promotes emotional and physical well-being (click here for 2018 research) The use of mindfulness in the classroom to foster a stress-free environment (click here for 2016 research) Projects that examine the effectiveness of classroom-based universal SEL programs (i.e. Roots to Empathy, MindUp) Dr. Kim has over 100 publications in scholarly journals, book chapters, and reports and has edited two books on mindfulness in education, including a co-edited book (with Dr. Robert W. Roeser) published by Springer Press in 2016 titled "Handbook of Mindfulness in Education: Integrating Theory and Research Into Practice." She has presented her research at over 200 scholarly conferences and has given over 300 presentations on the topic of children's social and emotional development and social emotional learning. Dr. Kim's research has been highlighted in several magazines and newspapers across the US, and internationally, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Le Monde, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Scientific American Mind, Neurology Now, The Huffington Post, The Telegraph, The Atlantic and many more. Her research on the Roots of Empathy was profiled on the PBS Newshour special, the American Graduate.

Social-emotional learning is a vital part of health and wellness. Today's guest has some free word of the day SEL workouts for students. As students stay home, learn some ideas to help students be healthier at home during this time with some videos you can share with the students. www.coolcatteacher.com/e652 Show Sponsor: Advancement Courses has a free micro-course - Launching Online Learning. Register for this free micro-course. Now is the time we all need to educate ourselves on effective online teaching and I recommend this course as a great place to start. Thank you, Advancement Courses for sponsoring this show. Rupa Mehta - Bio As Submitted Rupa Mehta is a teacher, entrepreneur, and author who has helped thousands of adults and youth become healthier individuals. She is the founder of Nalini Method and NaliniKIDS, both based on Rupa's wellness philosophy that true health is achieved by being both emotionally and physically connected. "There is an age-old question in education: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" We continue to place increasing value—and pressure—on paving a student's path to professional success. But I think there is an important question that we have to ask first, and it's a question that we should be asking people of all ages throughout their lifetime: "Who are you now, and what can you teach us?" I believe that in order for students to truly succeed when they grow up, we need to teach them the subject of self in schools." ~ Rupa

Math can be taught online. In today's show, Noelle Pickering shares free ideas for teaching middle school math online. These ideas will help you teach math no matter where you or your students are online. www.coolcatteacher.com/e651 Show Sponsor: Advancement Courses has a free micro-course - Launching Online Learning. Register for this free micro-course. Now is the time we all need to educate ourselves on effective online teaching and I recommend this course as a great place to start. Thank you, Advancement Courses for sponsoring this show. Noelle Pickering - Bio Noelle Pickering is a former middle school math teacher and instructional coach, and now can be found online at maneuveringthemiddle.com. Maneuvering the Middle seeks to support teachers through hands-on resources, standards-aligned curriculum, and practical teaching ideas. She has the joy of being called mom by two of the sweetest and busiest boys and has been married to her biggest supporter, Michael, for ten years.

How do teachers share information quickly as they have had to move to distance learning amid coronavirus school closures? Brad Currie shares how teachers are sharing #remotelearning best practices as well as what is happening with him and his school in New Jersey. www.coolcatteacher.com/e650 Show Sponsor: Advancement Courses has a free micro-course - Launching Online Learning. Register for this free micro-course. Now is the time we all need to educate ourselves on effective online teaching and I recommend this course as a great place to start. Thank you, Advancement Courses for sponsoring this show. Brad Currie - Bio as Submitted Brad is the Supervisor of Instruction and Dean of Students for the Chester School District in Chester, NJ. He is also the Founding Partner of Evolving Educators LLC. Brad was recently named the 2017 NASSP National Assistant Principal of the Year and the 2017 NJPSA Visionary Assistant Principal of the Year. He is also part of the ASCD Emerging Leaders Class of 2014. Brad is a Google Certified Trainer, author, presenter and adjunct professor at Drew University. Brad has written four books including 140 Twitter Tips for Educators and Hacking Google for Education.

Montana State Teacher of the Year, Dylan Huisken talks about online distance education learning. He shares how he is connecting with students during the Coronavirus crisis as students and teachers stay home and work to connect for learning in Montana. www.coolcatteacher.com/e649 Sponsor: Advancement Courses has a free micro-course - Launching Online Learning. Register here for this free micro-course. Now is the time we all need to educate ourselves on effective online teaching and I recommend this course as a great place to start. Thank you, Advancement Courses for sponsoring this show. About Dylan Huisken Dylan Huisken is the 2019 Montana Teacher of the Year and has been teaching social studies for more than a decade. His love for deep-dive history and student learning has led him to be an advocate for place-based education, especially when it comes to making sure all students are deeply educated about the tribes of their state and region.