Getting Smart Podcast

Tim Stensager is a lifelong educator and EdLeader in Washington State. He now serves in the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). In this episode, we talk with Tim about the role that guidance plays in college and career readiness

Inspired by #OERStories, this episode is all about Open Educational Resources (OER). Tom Vander Ark leads our examination of what the shift to digital means when it comes to content. We talk about what the difference between free and open resources, the impact of the rise of Chromebooks and the role of learning platforms with OER, as what all this means for teachers, districts and states.

Napa New Technology High School was created when local businesspeople came together in 1996 to develop a school in which students would learn the skills necessary to succeed in the new economy. Fast forward to 2016 and the New Tech Network supports nearly 200 schools, 90% of them in school districts.

In this episode we talk with Intrepid Learning who are making the case that when it comes to professional learning to deliver value not only to businesses with innovative approaches to PD, but also to employees with credentialing that can be carried throughout their careers.

Liz Whisnant, Principal at Horace Mann Elementary in Washington, D.C., led the most interesting pedagogy to facilities translation that we’ve encountered, and she shares more with us about this journey.

Author Trenton Goble discusses sharing candid and powerful stories of his own time teaching and leading schools as a principal in his new book--Reclaiming the Classroom: How America’s Teachers Lost Control of Education and How They Can Get It Back

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, we feature student stories about their experiences with project-based learning (PBL), an interview with a PBL STEM teacher and interviews with education leaders Bob Lenz and John Larmer of Buck Institute for Education about PBL and the impact PBL has on student achievement.

At its core, the purpose of the personalized learning framework is to open student pathways and to encourage student voice in their education. As we shift to next-gen education models, ones that place students at the center and in control of learning, student voice can serve as a catalyst for this change. This episode was sponsored by The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation and iNACOL. Correction: David Haglund is now deputy superintendent in Santa Ana Unified Schools District.

Predicting the future is difficult but we can build useful frameworks that help update our mental models and assist us in making better decisions. In a recent episode of Driven 2 Educate hosted by Linda Buchner, Tom Vander Ark, CEO of Getting Smart, frames emerging issues and invites experts and practitioners to contribute stories and examples. These crowdsourced thought leadership campaigns help illuminate the path forward and promote better decision making. The three recent campaigns -- Smart Cities, Smart Parents and GenDIY.

If you are an educator these days you’ve probably heard of blended learning. Odds are you’re blending in some capacity already. So in this episode we look at the future of blended learning, from the current issue of its multiple definitions to schools leading in next-gen models, from the importance of blended and personalized learning for educators to the growing importance of having a guiding vision for implementation.

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, sponsored by iNACOL, we talk with Edurado Briceño, co-founder & CEO of Mindset Works, and personalized learning students from RB Stall High School from Charleston, SC about why growth mindset matters.

Digital learning has changed the way the world learns. We are in an age in which access to an internet connection gives way to a flood of information and a vast opportunity for on-demand learning. In this podcast, we talk with Mickey Revenaugh​, co-founder at Connections Education & Director of New Schools Models for Pearson and Tom Vander Ark, CEO of Getting Smart about what that shift to digital learning has looked like and what we hope to see as it continues.

The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation's Nick Groff shares the importance of finding your passion and letting your passion drive you to a life you want to live.

Although some recent high school and college graduates enter the job market unqualified for even the most entry level positions, high school students in Wisconsin are graduating with their diploma, industry credentials and transferable postsecondary college credits. In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, GPS Education Partners, a Milwaukee-based accelerated technical education program, joins our team at the iNACOL Symposium to share how they are making this possible.

In this episode we talk Generation Do-It-Yourself (GenDIY). Powered by personalized learning, GenDIY is all about young people taking control of their journey through K-12 and postsecondary, powered by personalized learning opportunities, to employment. RoadTrip Nation, J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation and YouthBuild USA leaders join us in exploring the strategies, mindsets, and platforms available for students navigating BIG decisions.