Now Available: The Chromebook Classroom Podcast

Season 1 of the Chromebook Classroom podcast is now available!

The Chromebook Classroom Podcast was created to highlight how Chromebooks are impacting education around the world. Each episode features an interview with someone who is using Chromebooks to improve teaching and learning. Listen to the season introduction below.


Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, Google Play, or listen on Chrmbook.com.

 

Season 1 Episodes:

ep. 01 | Cyrus Mistry - Group Product Manager, Android & Chromebooks for Education
ep. 02 | Dave Bast - Technology Integration Specialist, Holland, Michigan
ep. 03 | Eric Griffith - Tech Director, Mechanicsburg, Ohio
ep. 04 | Elliot Soloway, Professor of education, engineering and information at the University of Michigan
ep. 05 | Jolanda Nederveld - K-4 Technology and Media Specialist, Oriole Park Elementary School
ep. 06 | Wendy Nimtz - 5th grade, Our Shepherd Lutheran school

The Chromebook Classroom Podcast

I have always wanted to write a book and publish a podcast.

I finished my book in November, so I decided to tackle the podcast!

Next week I will be launching the Chromebook Classroom podcast to explore how Chromebooks are impacting education.

Season 1 features 6 interviews with a wide variety of guests. Here's what you can expect:

• ep. 01 | Cyrus Mistry - Group Product Manager, Android & Chromebooks for Education
• ep. 02 | Dave Bast - Technology Integration Specialist, Holland, Michigan
• ep. 03 | Eric Griffith - Tech Director, Mechanicsburg, Ohio
• ep. 04 | Elliot Soloway, Professor of education, engineering and information at the University of Michigan
• ep. 05 | Jolanda Nederveld - K-4 Technology and Media Specialist, Oriole Park Elementary School
• ep. 06 | Wendy Nimtz - 5th grade, Our Shepherd Lutheran school

All six episodes will drop "Netflix style" on January 17th on iTunes and Google Play. If you would like to be notified when season 1 is available, just enter your contact information below and I will send you an email.

Season 1 is a test to see if my podcast is well received, and if I enjoyed publishing it. I will be looking for feedback to decide if there will be a season 2! If you listen to any of the episodes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! 

Top Podcasts for Educators

I grew on on radio. My family didn't even have a TV until I was in high school and we never had cable. Radio was our TV. Podcasts have always been a favorite form of media for me, fitting nicely into the "on-demand radio" category. Here are the podcasts that I listen to regularly.

EntreLeadership (Dave Ramsey) - this is a business focused podcast under the Dave Ramsey brand however the show is hosted is Chris LoCurto who features short excerpts from Dave's business seminars and interviews with well know guests. This show features quality interviews and solid leadership advice and motivation.

The Unofficial Linchpin Podcast (Andy Traub) - This podcast is the namesake of a book by Seth Godin. The premise of the show is to find and highlight individuals who have become linchpins by creating something of value for others. The guests on the show vary greatly, from well know business leaders to regular people who have started or done interesting things.

Seth Godin's Startup School (Seth Godin) - Seth is one of my favorite bloggers and online personalities. He has a tremendous ability to convey simple truths. A year ago, Seth hosted a three day "school" with several dozen individuals; regular people who were starting new things. This podcast is a recording of the event. It's raw, unpolished, and a bit haphazard, but contains lots of good ideas. 15 episodes.

The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast (Andy Stanley) - Andy Stanley is the pastor of the second largest church in America and the author of many books. In this podcast, Andy discusses leadership principles that are applicable to all industries. Each episode features an intelligent and challenging discussion on a practical aspect of leadership.

The State of Tech (Sean Beavers, Eric Curts, Eric Griffith) - an EdTech podcast with an Ohio flavor. These three guys have a lot of fun together and put on a good show. Each show includes a run down of recent tech news and a discussion of a worthwhile topic. The State of Tech is available in both audio and video form. You can also participate in their live recordings on Google+.

The Google Educast (EdReach collaboration) - A weekly run-down of news, tips, and tricks centered around the Google web ecosystem. I am a previous contributor to this show, but haven't had time lately to join in. If you are a big Google Apps users, this is a good podcast to listen to or watch.

TEDTalks - These 18 minute presentations feature some of the sharpest minds in the world. If you subscribe to this podcast, be prepared for some wild topics! Nothing is off limits. One minute you are learning about Agile Programming and the next you're listening to an episode by the world's leading mushroom expert. I tend to pick and choose which episodes I download on this one, but there is usually something worth listening to.

Oh, in case you are wondering, I am an iPod/iPad person, so I listen to all of my podcasts via the Apple Podcast app. The Podcast section on iTunes is very comprehensive and a great place to find new shows. 

How to Build a Course for iTunesU

This post provides an overview of iTunesU Course creation process along with suggestions and tips for creating an outstanding course. To view a completed course, I would recommend looking at the "Google in the Classroom" course that I developed.

For several years academic institutions have posted content to iTunesU. The problem with this system is that there was no systematic way to organize this content into a coherent sequence. With the iTunesU App this is now possible. Instructors now have a method of organizing and introducing their content in a logical, sequential format that students can review on their iPad or iPhone. A course on iTunesU is different than a collection. A collection is a group of audio, video and PDF files about one topic and is accessible on all platforms that have iTunes. Files within a collection are typically listed in the order they are submitted, similar to a blog.

Unlike a collection, an iTunesU course has a sequential structure which helps provide context to the material that is being presented. Courses can contain an introduction, instructor biography, course outline, and assignments. Assignments can include a wide range of content including audio files, videos, PDFs, Apps, and iBooks. To download and access a course on iTunesU, users must download the free iTunesU App on their iOS device. Currently only devices running iOS 5.0 and greater can download the iTunesU App. 

The iTunesU course ecosystem is very sparse. The vast majority of the courses available are from collegiate institutions. My search for K12 courses yielded few results. 

With more and more K12 schools adopting iPads for student and teacher use there is a great need and opportunity for high quality content to be added to the iTunesU marketplace. For this reason I was asked to develop a course for inclusion into Michigan's iTunesU channel. I learned quite a bit through the process and am happy to share my thoughts and suggestions to help others create a high-quality course. 

Access to iTunesU Course Manager
Only educational institutions are able to build and post course. Many states have developed a state-wide iTunesU initiative. Individual districts and schools are also starting to create their own sites. To resister your school, district, or state for a free site, view these guidelines and contact Apple.


Using the iTunesU Course Manager
The iTunes U Course Manager is a web-based interface that you will use to design your course. Unfortunately, at this time Safari is the only browser that supports the course manager. PC users will need to download the latest version of Safari in order to build a course.

After receiving access from the institution managing the iTunesU site, you can begin building your course! It is recommended that you create your course in the following order: 

1. Enter basic course information

• Course Information: You will need to enter the title of your course, affiliated institutions, appropriate categories and an approximate length.
• Overview: enter a short but comprehensive overview of what this course will cover including your goals and objectives.
• Instructor: Enter a brief bio about yourself including methods for students to contact you should they have questions. It is strongly recommended that you include a recent photo of yourself.
• Outline: begin building an outline for your course. It is likely that this will change and evolve over time; consider this a working draft. It is important to note that the outline section is not dynamic and will not update as you add/update content to the “Post” and “Material” section of your course. The outline is primarily needed to allow people to view an overview of the course before they download it.
• Course Image: Each course needs a 600x600 image that provides a visual representation of the course. This image should also include the MI Learning logo available from the MI Learning course manager

2. Organize and Post your media FIRST!

• Anyone who has existing media that they have previously posted to the MI Learning channel of iTunesU will want to review, clean up, organize, and update content BEFORE you begin working on your course! 
• If you do not have any existing media you will work with it is recommended that you post all of your media before you begin adding it to the course. 
• If your links change, you will need to re-link each file that was changed. 
• The iTunes system does NOT refresh in real-time. It sometimes takes 1-2 days for the newly uploaded files and links to propagate throughout iTunes. 

3. Create your Topics and your Posts

• Adding content to your course is easy. Create a series of “Posts” that match the outline you created in step one. Each post can include an introduction (recommended) and assignments. An assignment can be any of the following:
• Anything from the iTunes store (a podcast, song, movie, etc)
• An App from the App store
• A weblink
• A PDF file
• An iBook (note that if you include an iTextbook they will only be viewable on the iPad)
• Because these courses are currently accessible only on iOS 5 devices, keep in mind that you should only include web links that are capable of running on an iPad/iPhone. Certain subscription feeds, javascript, and flash multimedia may not work.

4. Beta Test!

• Make sure you download and install the iTunesU app on your iPad/iPhone/iTouch so that you can view your course as you create it. After logging into the course manager, you will see a “share” button underneath the course you are working on. Open that link on your iOS 5 device to view the course in its “final” format.
• It is important that you test all of your web-links to make sure that they open and behave properly.

iTunes U Course Manager Tips

1. Download and browse through courses that others have created to get a feel for how they have organized their information and what features are available through the  iTunes U Course Manager. 
2. Save often! The iTunes U Course Manager may crash/freeze unexpectedly. 
3. Test your links on an iOS device-- it may not work!
4. Beware of the iTunes update lag-- it can take 24 hours for any changes you  make to files in the iTunes store to available for inclusion in your course.

Publishing your course
When you are ready to publish the course, send the course URL to the site manager who will publish it to the live site.

New on iTunesU: Google in the Classroom

iTunes has long been the go-to source for interesting, entertaining, and informative podcasts. A recent update to iTunes included an overhaul of iTunesU, the educational division of Apple's web store. iTunesU contains content from of the world's leading universities as well as offerings from K-12 districts around the country.

I have been heavily involved in developing content for both teachers and students which have been added to the MI Learning channel of iTunesU. This month I have been working to publish one of the first online "courses" available in the K-12 space on iTunesU.

The title of the course is "Google in the Classroom" and is designed to introduce new users to the collaborative tools that Google has developed which have great application for the classroom:

The use of technology in education provides powerful opportunities to engage students in authentic learning. Google has developed a suite of tools that can easily be integrated into K-12 classrooms to encourage collaboration and creativity. This course will provide educators with a basic understanding of various Google products and suggest ways to integrate those products into the classroom. 

The course features seven units including lessons on Google Docs, Calendar, Sites, and Gmail. Instructional videos provide an overview of various aspects of each tool and suggest potential applications for the classroom. Also included in the course are links to innovative teachers who have used Google products with their students in interesting ways.

This course is entirely free an can be downloaded to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. You will need to install the brand new iTunesU app (free) which can be accessed here. This will allow you to browse the iTunesU course library and find the "Google in the Classroom" course.

The process of creating this course was an interesting journey. I am working on several posts which outline the process of creating and posting a course via iTunesU. Please consider subscribing to the RSS feed for this blog, or following me on Twitter for future updates.

Leaders As Community Managers

I listened to Chris Anderson (editor-in-chief of Wired, The Long Tale, Free) interviewed on the Catalyst leadership podcast today while on a walk with my 19 month old daughter and, was struck by a new idea the he fleshed out near the end of the interview.

"Today's form of leadership is community management. I do a lot less things for people. Instead I'm helping them do things for themselves."

Anderson went on to say that "If you can create a community, they'll find you." This perfectly intersects with the thesis of my post about Seth Godin's new book Linchpin which I posted earlier this week. Leaders are no longer valuable because they can set up systems, they are valuable because they connect with people and create an environment (i.e. community) that causes them to achieve their best.

The connection to education is obvious. As a teacher, I lead my students. Setting up systems (seating charts, grading scales, homework policies) is less important than my ability to craft a community or environment which is conducive to learning. Are my students encouraged to take academic risks, to try new things, and to learn on their own or do they just show up, do their work, walk out the door and forget everything they just did?

As I reflect on the classroom environment that I've created this year I'm fairly happy. I haven't spent a lot of conscious effort in creating this environment, it's just happened based on my personality. Next year I need to adopt a more proactive approach in crafting the environment of my the classroom from the first day of school forward. Here are four things that I would like to emphasize:

1. Building community as a class by celebrating successes, encouraging each other, and lending a hand when needed.
2. Assigning students to small lab/learning groups of 3-4 for an entire semester to hold one another accountable and help and encourage each other.
3. Spending class time to regularly remind students of the big picture: skills are more important than facts and habits that you start now will be with you tomorrow.
4. Model life-long-learning by sharing with my students the things that I am learning on a regular basis.

That's all I've got for now. I'm sure my list will grow over the summer as I reflect on this past year and prepare for the upcoming year.

As a leader, I'm a community builder.

Leaders Reproduce

Andy Stanley is the pastor of North Point Community Church outside of Atlanta Georgia. He is a gifted communicator and leader. I highly recommend his book Next Generation Leader. It's a short and succinct look at what it takes to be a leader.

Andy was interviewed on the Catalyst podcast which I listened to in my car while I was stuck in Detroit rush hour traffic this afternoon. The interview was an interesting glimpse in to the daily life of a very influential leader (his church has 22,000 members and 300 staff) however I was impressed by one comment that Andy made:

"My greatest job as a leader is seeing the leaders around me succeed."

In a move that very few pastors would take, Andy removed himself from the pulpit over the summer and mentored and coached ten younger guys who led the multi-campus congregation during the summer months.

"If I don't leave a dozen trained communicators in my wake when I move on then I haven't been successful."

As a teacher, if I don't help train up a dozen or more innovative, creative, and influential men and women, then I haven't been successful. This goes well beyond content knowledge and diverges into the realm of what my students "catch" rather than what they are "taught." What attitudes, disciplines, and qualities do I exemplify on a daily basis that my students might possibly emulate?

Teachers are leaders. Leaders reproduce.

New PodCast Series

Several of my previous posts have mentioned work that I have been doing in conjunction with MACUL and the MDE on podcasts that are being listed on the MI Learning channel (iTunes link) of iTunesU K-12. My first podcast project was a series of lab demonstrations that I call "labcasts." They are currently available for download on iTunes and to watch on youtube.

I recently submitted a proposal for another podcast series that I am calling "Google, more than search." The proposal was accepted and I am eager to beging putting together 20 or so screencasts illustrating classroom uses for some of the powerful tools that Google has put together.

Here is the introduction to the series. If you have ideas or suggestions, let me know!