For full episode notes, visit https://theedpodcast.com

Growing up in Kikambala, a Kenyan village, Samara Visram witnessed her community filled with poverty, drugs and prostitution. Through the incredible example of her parents, Samara was inspired to do her part to improve the world around her. So, at the age of 15, she began a journey that continues today: to build an environmentally sustainable school in her home village. We talk about the value of education for students who might otherwise face a life of poverty, drugs, or the threat of human trafficking.

Links:

CARM Schools Kenya
GoFundMe for CARM Schools Kenya
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

Marvel: Universe of Superheroes at Telus World of Science Edmonton
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

A teacher's work schedule is a full one, even when only considering the basic duties of planning, teaching and grading. Add on top of that the numerous other activities that demand our attention - supervision, emails, clubs, coaching, relationships, testing - and our work lives can easily get overfull. 

This episode, we consider what needs to be thrown out in order to properly prioritize our tasks at work. Nothing is off the table: curriculum, season planning...anything.

On top of that, we've got our usual wins and fails, along with some great time outs.

Links:

Stephen Hurley on Twitter
Ramona Meharg on Twitter
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

The Well Endowed Podcast
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

This week, I'm joined by Amanda Schulz, a charter school teacher specializing in direct instruction. And if those two buzzwords don't perk your ears up...well. We talk about the benefits of structure and predictability, plus a little politics. And somehow, we wind up at musicals and how Amanda uses them as a bridge to understanding for her students. Whether it's singing about fractions, or doing a rap battle about trees, Amanda is doing a pile of cool stuff in her classroom.

Links:

Amanda on Twitter
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

Park Power
Seat Giant
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

In her career, Jennie Magiera has filled many roles: classroom teacher, district administrator, author, instructional coach, and founder of the non-profit organization Our Voice Alliance. Through it all, she's been driven by a passion to make education the best it can be for both students and teachers. We talk about the formative moment when she knew she wanted to become a teacher and how that informed her passion for building "edventures" for her students. We also discuss her passion for seeing equity amongst educational voices. Coming from an east-asian background, Jennie has experienced the barriers built by prejudice and has committed herself to minimizing - if not, eliminating - those barriers for other teachers of colour.

Links:

Jennie on Twitter
Our Voice Alliance
Courageous Edventures (book)
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

Taproot
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

This week, I'm joined by Rebecca Clark. Rebecca works with students with disabilities as they transition out of school. Her approach is diverse and passionate, covering tech, entrepreneurship, social skills and so much more. She shares her journey towards the classroom, the skills necessary to work in a challenging environment, as well as the things that make it all worthwhile.

Links:

Rebecca on Twitter
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

The Alberta Forest Products Association
Unit B Co-Working
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

Jeremy joins me this week all the way from Dubai, where he heads up a school filled with international students. We talk about the impact of having kids from over 40 different countries, and the opportunities that such cultural diversity provides. In our wide-ranging discussion, we also cover curriculum reform, teachers as free-agents, entrepeneurship, and - perhaps the most exciting of all - blockchain. Jeremy tells me about how this recent technological innovation will shake up the world and the importance of preparing our students for the future that awaits them.

Links:

Jeremy on Twitter
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

Marvel: Universe of Superheroes at Telus World of Science Edmonton
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

This month, me and Tanya go off the deep end as we think what we would do with unlimited resources. It's pure flight of fancy, but our conversation also highlights many of the problems of the underresourced classroom, as well as some of the systemic shortcomings of the education system.

Links:

Passenger List (Podcast)
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

Park Power
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

When Staci Lamb decorated her classroom as a labour of love for her students, she had no idea that a video of her work would go completely viral. With over 2 million views of her Harry Potter-inspired classroom makeover, Staci's grade 9 room is now somewhat of a celebrity. We got together to chat about her inspiration for doing so, the real nuts and bolts of how a classroom like that works, and the fact that kids are still kids, no matter what. We also touch on some of the internet response she received, both positive and negative.

Links:

Staci on Twitter
Staci on Instagram
The Engaging Station (website)
The Ed Podcast on Twitter

Sponsored Links:

The Well Endowed Podcast
The Alberta Forest Products Association
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network

This week, I speak with teacher and leader Danny Steele. Known by many for his highly re-tweetable thoughts on Twitter, Danny and I talk about his role as an encourager of teachers, plus how his digital presence has shaped the educator he's become. We dig in to the importance of multiple perspectives, how and when to engage, and the value of having hard conversations.

Links:

Danny Steele on Twitter
SteeleThoughts.com
Essential Truths for Teachers (via Amazon)
Essential Truths for Principals (via Amazon) 
The Ed Podcast on Twitter
The Ed Podcast Website

Sponsored Links:

Park Power
Alberta Forest Products Association
ATB Financial
The Alberta Podcast Network