Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

Today, I have a breaking news announcement from Microsoft at ISTE 2023. This was prerecorded for a simultaneous release with today's news so that all of you who are not at ISTE could get this news. It will also be released on my podcast and YouTube channel, although I have embedded the YouTube channel below and included the transcript. Mark Sparvell sat down with me to share these amazing announcements. This show is sponsored by Microsoft . Check out their new AI course . All opinions are my own. Some of these awesome announcements include: Generative AI features built into Reading Progress inside Microsoft Teams are game-changers for teachers. Excellent generative AI features are now being used inside Kahoot and PowerSchool that will help teachers. These are powered by the Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. A cool collaboration between Microsoft and New York City Public Schools to support their exploration of the development of generative AI tools tailored for their...

What is Figjam? Figjam is a cool, flexible, fun, collaborative space for student projects, presentations, and collaborations. Today's guest, Tom Mullaney, shares how he uses Figjam with students and teachers; he explains why it is useful and gives tips and tricks that will engage students in the collaborative skills they need to be creative collaborators in today's world. Figjam is part of the Adobe Figma suite of tools and is free for educators and their students. Check out the shownotes, resource links, guest bio, and a full transcript at: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e804 Show Sponsor: Research Quest Are you looking for engaging NGSS-aligned science lessons designed to improve critical thinking in your middle school students? Now is the time to sign up for  Research Quest  from the Natural History Museum of Utah. Designed by teachers for teachers, these online investigations are lead by museum scientists and use the museum’s incredible collections to create engaging l...

This podcast with Jennifer Seravallo is dedicated to helping reading teachers improve their teaching methods by providing practical tips and in-depth insights into differentiated reading strategies. If you're a reading teacher looking for ways to make your teaching more effective, you're in the right place. We know that every student is unique and has their own learning needs. That's why in this podcast, we'll explore various differentiated reading strategies that can be adapted to fit the needs of every student in your classroom. From process-based approaches to individualized instruction, we'll cover a range of strategies to help you teach better and, ultimately, help your students become better readers. Show Notes, Guest Bio, and Transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/803   Show Sponsor:   Propello  is a free online platform offering an amazing NGSS-aligned science curriculum for grades 6-8, with ELA lessons coming in the fall. With built-in student differe...

This podcast with Andrea Gribble will help school administrators and principals create a school social media strategy to drive engagement, build community, and enhance their organization's online presence. Schools and districts are leveraging the power of social media social more and more because it engages them with parents, students, and the larger community. But with so many platforms and strategies, it can be challenging to know where to start. That's where this podcast comes in. In this episode, we'll explore successful social media strategies proven to work for schools and districts. We'll cover all you need to know so your school and district can understand how to effectively use social media and create a strategy that works. Show Notes, Guest Bio, and Transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e802 Show Sponsor: Propello is a free online platform offering an amazing NGSS-aligned science curriculum for grades 6-8, with ELA lessons coming in the fall. With bui...

Today, we share a must-listen podcast for educators who want to help their students succeed financially. With April being financial literacy month, there's no better time to tune in and learn how to integrate financial literacy into your curriculum. This show's guest is financial literacy expert Brian Page. This podcast provides practical tips and strategies for teaching financial literacy to middle and high school students. From budgeting to investing, credit to debt management, you'll gain valuable insights and resources to help your students make informed financial decisions and achieve financial stability. Show Notes: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e801 Sponsor:  This is financial literacy month! I recently taught my students about budgets, and they were so grateful! Teach students the things that matter during financial literacy month and beyond! From budgets to banking to credit and savings, choose a topic and use it in your classroom with EVERFI’s free financial li...

The conversation is about Artificial Intelligence. Is it helpful? Should it be welcomed in schools? Should it be blocked? Today's three guests are expert authors of the newly released The AI Classroom: The Ultimate Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Education .  We need to get practical, past the hype, and work to do that in this show. This is also episode 800. We always celebrate when arriving at such milestone episodes so I have my son, John, share the stats for the first eight hundred episodes and we have a little fun. I hope this extended episode serves as a helpful addition to the AI discussion. Also note, and ironically so, that due to the extended nature of this episode and that we have four speakers, the AI tools I use to write the transcript had a bit of a meltdown, and I've had to apply a significant amount of human intelligence to the transcript which delayed this episode to Thursday. This podcast does come out on Mondays and future episodes will be the ten minute...

Using your smartphone, you can now scan a human. In this episode of the 10 Minute Teacher podcast, I speak with AR expert Jaime Donally about practical ways to use augmented reality in the classroom. Jaime shares 12 top tips and resources for engaging learning with immersive tech, including 3D scanning, 3D printing, and more. She discusses the importance of spatial learning and how AR and VR can help students prepare for future careers. Teachers looking to make their lessons more engaging and interactive won't want to miss this conversation! Show Notes, Transcript, and Bio on https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e799   Sponsor:  This is financial literacy month! I recently taught my students about budgets, and they were so grateful! Teach students the things that matter during financial literacy month and beyond! From budgets to banking to credit and savings, choose a topic and use it in your classroom with EVERFI’s free financial literacy lesson plans. Here are some great courses...