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Katie Martin on Episode 341 of the 10-Minute Teacher From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Katie Martin, an ISTE 2018 keynote, talks about the importance of putting learners at the center of your innovation model. She starts with the questions we need to ask ourselves and our students and talks about what learner-center innovation looks like. Get inspired and motivated by listening to Katie. Today’s Sponsor: Advancement Courses Donor’s Choose.  From now until September 28, Advancement Courses, an online provider of professional development for K-12 teachers, is donating 10% of their sales to funding DonorChoose.org projects. Go to  advancementcourses.com/give  to submit your project today. Get a discount off your PD.  AND, if you are in need of PD, 10-Minute Teacher listeners get 20% off any online courses with code COOL20 . With this coupon, a 3 grad credit course for continuing ed...

Nikki Robertson in Episode 340 of the 10-Minute Teacher From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Nikki Robertson, ISTE Librarians Network President Elect, shares five ways to use social media to enhance professional development and improve student learning. Can you use Snapchat to connect with parents? Can social media be effective professional development? Nikki shows us how. Listen to Nikki Robertson on Episode 340 Listen to the show on  iTunes  or  Stitcher Stream by clicking here .   Bio of Nikki D. Robertson Nikki is a veteran educator, school librarian, Instructional Technology Facilitator and ISTE Librarians Network President Elect. Nikki is passionate about 1:1 Digital Initiatives, collaboration with other education professionals, and assisting students in becoming well informed, critically thinking digital citizens. Nikki is the co founder of the first EdCamp Atlanta and has also collaborated in the cre...

Jessica Cabeen on Episode 339 From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Jessica Cabeen, the 2017 Minnesota National Distinguished Principal, and talks about how we can hack and improve early learning. This is a must-listen for kindergarten principals and teachers. Listen to the show on  iTunes  or  Stitcher Stream by clicking here . Jessica Cabeen’s Bio Jessica is the Principal of Ellis Middle School in Austin Minnesota. Prior to that, she was the principal of the “Happiest Place in Southeastern Minnesota”, the Woodson Kindergarten Center. She has been an assistant middle school principal, a special education supervisor, and special education teacher. She started her career as a Music Therapist and worked with adults with disabilities and adolescents in residential settings in Iowa and Illinois. Jessica was awarded the NAESP/VINCI Digital Leader of Early Learning Award in 2016 and in 2017 was named the Minnesota National...

Mandi Tolen on Episode 338 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Mandi Tolen shares how she teaches math, engages students and teachers to standards with NO TEXTBOOK. From choose your own adventure stories to other engaging methods, all teachers will have something to learn from this teacher who ditched her textbook and enhanced learning. Listen to the show on  iTunes  or  Stitcher Stream by clicking here . Bio of Mandi Tolen Mandi Tolen has been an educator for over 18 years in the areas of Math, Communication Arts, and Technology courses, and served as a District Technology Coordinator. Mandi’s passion is changing how we teach to create thinkers and learners. She is a connected educator and blogs regularly on two educational blogs. Mandi is a Google Certified Innovator, a team moderator of the Twitter chat #ditchbook and #SJSDchat, and has presented at both local and national confere...

Episode 337 with Kasey Bell From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Kasey Bell shares her tech tips for helping teachers make progress with technology. She also shares the biggest mistake she’s made as a teacher relating to edtech. Listen to the show on  iTunes  or  Stitcher Stream by clicking here . Kasey Bell’s Bio Kasey Bell is part sparkling smile, part witty personality and a whole heap of passion as big as a Texas–go big or go home, y’all! She is a disruptor of the boring. An engaging, innovative, from the heart sharer who inspires educators while transforming their teaching with original, timely and use-tomorrow ideas for student choice, differentiation, and technology integration. Whether it is learning from home through online courses, professional development, conference workshops or as a keynote speaker Kasey is a relentless innovator of ideas and a devoted transformer of classrooms and teaching. Through teac...

Inside Virtual Reality and Predictions for the Future From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter I donned my Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset at about 10:30 p.m. After what seemed like five minutes, I took off the headset — to find it was 12:30 a.m.! I had spent two exciting hours (about half of it with my mouth open) in a complete flow state exploring a new virtual reality world using the  Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset on my Acer Aspire 7 laptop  with  Windows Mixed Reality by Microsoft. I cannot remember having such a transformative experience since I first played on the Internet in 1992. In this blog post, I’ll share my experience, tell you how you can enter to win your own headsets and STEAM lab makeover, and give my predictions for the future of virtual reality. Seeing the World in VR There are those who want you to think that virtual reality will be everything. And while some espouse a Ready Player One- type of e...