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Ditch That Textbook Podcast :: Education, teaching, edtech :: #DitchPod

Ditch That Textbook Podcast :: Education, teaching, edtech :: #DitchPod

By Ditch That Textbook

Helping you teach with less reliance on the textbook through technology, creativity and innovation. Hosted by Ditch That Textbook's Matt Miller and Karly Moura. Find us at ditch.link/podcast. Subscribe to the email newsletter: ditchthattextbook.com/join
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049: What do our assessments reward?

Ditch That Textbook Podcast :: Education, teaching, edtech :: #DitchPodMay 02, 2018

00:00
06:18
192: Celebrate CS Education Week and the Hour of Code

192: Celebrate CS Education Week and the Hour of Code

In this episode of the Ditch That Textbook podcast hosts Matt Miller and Karly Moura share news about Magic School's new SEL lesson generator and a contest for sharing Ditch Summit. They discuss CS Ed Week resources including 20 ways to celebrate the Hour of Code and explore creativity with AI and NASA's Space Jam. They also provide tech tips on creating fill-in-the-blank image generator prompts and using virtual versions of robots. Matt and Karly share quick teaching strategies like writing a message in binary for students to decode and asking an AI assistant for common misconceptions about content. They also share a template of the week and ideas for using it.

News and updates:

Here’s how you can participate …

  1. Go to DitchSummit.com and sign up.
  2. In your Ditch Summit welcome email, you’ll get your unique referral link. (If you got an earlier welcome email, it might not have a link. Just sign up again.)
  3. Go share your link far and wide! Every time someone clicks your link and signs up for the summit, you’ll get a referral.

Learn more in this issue of the DTT email newsletter.

The Big idea: 

Tech tips:

Quick teaching strategies:

Template of the week

Share with us on social media!

Use #Ditchbook or tag @jmattmiller or @Karlymoura on Twitter/X 


Don't forget to join the Ditch That Textbook email newsletter at DitchThatTextbook.com/join and be sure to subscribe to the show.

Dec 04, 202327:50
191: Plan lessons faster with AI

191: Plan lessons faster with AI

In this episode of the Ditch That Textbook podcast, hosts Matt Miller and Karly Moura delve into the exciting world of lesson planning with AI. They explore free tools that can help educators save time, offering quick teaching strategies and tech tips that can be implemented immediately. Additionally, they provide updates on education news and share innovative ideas for utilizing the template of the week. 

News and Updates

The Big Idea

Tech Tips

Quick Teaching Strategies:

Template of the Week


Don't forget to join the Ditch That Textbook email newsletter at ⁠DitchThatTextbook.com/join⁠ and be sure to subscribe to the show.

Nov 27, 202333:54
190: The Ditch That Textbook Podcast is back!

190: The Ditch That Textbook Podcast is back!

Welcome to the revival of the Ditch That Textbook Podcast, hosted by Matt Miller and now joined by Karly Moura! In this exciting new season, we will be recapping the content shared in the Ditch That Textbook newsletter, along with other news and updates from the education world. Join us as we dive into a big idea, delve into quick teaching strategies, and discuss a template of the week, designed to empower educators with practical tools for their classrooms. Get ready to be inspired, informed, and equipped to revolutionize your teaching approach.

News and Updates

The Big Idea

Tech Tips

Template of the Week

  • Yelp Review Template from Ditch That Textbook
  • April Watkins created a Virtual Field Trips choice board and then had her students write a Yelp Review after their visit. (Note: April created her own Yelp Review template to use with her students. You can create your own or use ours.)
  • Lindy Hockenbary gave her students a prompt "Imagine you are an animal. What environment do you live in? Evaluate the environment that you live in by writing a Yelp review of that environment."
  • Chad Miller had his students write Yelp Reviews of inventions that helped societies thrive.
  • Mr. Topliff asked his students to write a Yelp Review to assess various viewpoints of key revolutions.

Next Week

  • AI lesson planning
  • AI for Administrators

Don't forget to join the Ditch That Textbook email newsletter at DitchThatTextbook.com/join and be sure to subscribe to the show.

Nov 20, 202336:26
189: Two words to guide your remote teaching and learning

189: Two words to guide your remote teaching and learning

Back to school is getting close. And as we get closer, many educators are thinking about how remote learning fits into their teaching plans. As we make those plans and create strategies, there are two important words to keep in mind, and how we balance them will have a lot to do with our students' success. In this episode, we will talk about those two things and how we can use them successfully.
Jul 29, 202006:14
188: Press record to give students instructions

188: Press record to give students instructions

There are lots of digital tools out there to help students record their thinking. video tools. Audio tools. There's a lot to choose from. but what if we, as teachers, use some of those tools to give our students instructions? This could be especially important during remote learning. In this episode, I'll talk through the idea, which was first shown to me by fellow educator Holly Clark.
Jul 28, 202005:42
187: A fun tip for recording remote learning videos

187: A fun tip for recording remote learning videos

When we do instruction remotely, it's nice to be able to record videos for your students. You can record instructional videos, daily check-in videos, announcements, and more. Lots of educators are using Flipgrid (flipgrid.com) for this. In this episode, I share a couple of quick tips to level up your videos for your students on Flipgrid.
Jul 27, 202006:07
186: Awesome Teacher Summer #3: Google/Microsoft training

186: Awesome Teacher Summer #3: Google/Microsoft training

Are you a Google-using educator or a Microsoft-using educator? Both companies offer training for educators that goes WAY beyond simple support pages. Google has the Google for Education Training Center, which helps you get Google certified and provides courses for learning their products. The Microsoft Educator Center offers lots of courses on a wide variety of topics -- on Microsoft products and others. In this episode, I'll tell you all about them both.

May 27, 202007:19
185: Awesome Teacher Summer #2: Global EdTech Academy

185: Awesome Teacher Summer #2: Global EdTech Academy

Imagine a conference you could attend that had lots of really, really good presenters. Imagine they were presenting on lots of topics that really interested you. Now imagine that conference happening for free, every day, and virtually. That's the idea behind the Global EdTech Academy, a project by CUE and Microsoft. They include lots of presentations, master classes, and office hours you can attend for free. In this episode, I'll tell you all about it and where to get signed up!

May 26, 202006:20
184: Awesome Teacher Summer #1: EdTech tools

184: Awesome Teacher Summer #1: EdTech tools

Summer is a great time for us to renew and recharge. But once we have, sometimes we want to level up our teaching skills. In this episode, I'll share a handful of courses you can take on edtech tools that will widen your teaching repertoire.

May 25, 202009:04
183: Student-created unboxing videos

183: Student-created unboxing videos

YouTube has some pretty fun videos to watch. That should be no surprise. it is the second largest search engine in the world! YouTubers have found very creative ways to engage their viewers. We can look to YouTube for inspiration on the activities we ask our students to do! In this episode, I share a fun idea for your next video activity with your students -- The unboxing video!
May 21, 202006:40
182: 10 options for online whiteboards

182: 10 options for online whiteboards

I love having a whiteboard to write on whenever I'm in a classroom! But when we are doing remote learning, or when we want to engage students in digital spaces, sometimes the whiteboard doesn't translate into those spaces easily. What can we do? In this episode, I will share lots of options for recreating a whiteboard in digital spaces.
May 20, 202009:03
181: A FREE remote learning online course!

181: A FREE remote learning online course!

We have had to do a lot of adapting and learning in a short period of time with our adjustments to remote learning. To help provide some ideas and solutions going forward, I have created a free online course about remote learning. in this episode, I will tell you what to expect if you enroll and a little bit about what you might learn.
May 19, 202005:36
180; Tech Like a PIRATE is out!

180; Tech Like a PIRATE is out!

After a hiatus of more than a month, I'm back! My new book, Tech Like a PIRATE, is now finally available! In this episode, you will hear all about it. Plus, I will share where you can find lots of free resources whether you buy the book or not! Plus, you can read the "lost chapter" of the book, the one I wrote that didn't make it in print!
May 18, 202005:26
179: No-internet remote learning (part 3)

179: No-internet remote learning (part 3)

when all of our students don't have equal access to the internet, what can we encourage them to do to keep learning going? In this episode, the third in a series of activities you can do with no internet, I share four final ideas to help keep the learning going and help students develop themselves as learners.
Apr 09, 202008:03
178: No-internet remote learning (part 2)

178: No-internet remote learning (part 2)

When students don't have equal access to the internet, what's a teacher to do? There are lots of options for students who don't have regular access to the internet. We can encourage them to do certain activities that will help them grow in our content areas and as lifelong learners. In this episode, we will talk about three more ways to build our learners without focusing on the internet.
Apr 08, 202007:06
177: No-internet remote learning (part 1)

177: No-internet remote learning (part 1)

If your students don't all have equal access to the internet during remote learning, you are not alone. Many educators have concerns about the equity of access during remote learning. However, there are still lots of activities students can do to advance their learning and make themselves better learners. In this episode, I will share three ideas to keep learning going and help students develop themselves as learners from home.
Apr 07, 202007:40
176: An app for your daily gratitude

176: An app for your daily gratitude

Could you handle a little extra happiness in your day? I recently found an app that helps you track and reflect on what you are grateful and happy for. This could be a great tool for us as educators. It could certainly help our students. And the prompts inside of it could make for great discussions and reflections for students!
Apr 02, 202005:47
175: What do students need from us now?

175: What do students need from us now?

With the world changing -- and our class situations changing -- during this time of pandemic, what do students need from us? Their needs may be different than they were when we were last face-to-face in class with them. On the OnlineLearningIdeas.com website, Holly Clark and I discuss five things we think students need from their teachers right now. In this episode, I summarize those five things.
Apr 01, 202005:47
174: What to do on video calls (Part 2)

174: What to do on video calls (Part 2)

lots of educators are using video calls to do remote learning. But once you and your students are on a video call, what can you do? In the previous episode, I shared three ideas. In this episode, we take it to the next level with three new ideas!
Mar 31, 202006:52
173: What to do on video calls (Part 1)

173: What to do on video calls (Part 1)

lots of educators around the world are connecting with their students through video calls. There are lots of different platforms to use. But once you get on a video call, what will you do with your students? There's so much more to it then direct instruction! In this episode, I share three ideas for using video calls with your students.
Mar 30, 202006:13
172: Step by step instructions without video

172: Step by step instructions without video

When we want to give students step by step instructions, sometimes we turn to a screen recording video. Those videos are clear, but they can be big files that are hard to access for students with slow internet speeds. An alternative that uses very little data is Iorad, a tutorial tool that lets you create web-based instructions. In this episode, I share how you can use Iorad to give students instructions.
Mar 27, 202005:50
171: Recording video for slow internet speeds

171: Recording video for slow internet speeds

When students have a slow internet connection at home, remote learning can be difficult. It's especially difficult if teachers are providing large video files for them to watch. there are some steps we can take as educators to make those videos smaller and still effective. In this episode, I share a trick for creating smaller video sizes that will work better for students with slow internet speeds.
Mar 26, 202006:06
170: eLearning activities: #3 video activities

170: eLearning activities: #3 video activities

if we want to keep learning going at home, having some ideas for learning activities can be helpful. In this four-part series, I am sharing some activity types that you can use when your students are learning from home. In this episode, I share a handful of video activities and video tools that students can use. There are even options when students don't have regular internet access at home!
Mar 19, 202007:19
169: eLearning activities: #2 creative slides ideas

169: eLearning activities: #2 creative slides ideas

there is so much that students can do to learn from home! Whether they have internet access or not, slide presentations offer lots of options. And they don't have to look like the standard oral reports we have done on slides for years! In this episode, I share lots of creative ideas for using slides to demonstrate learning.
Mar 18, 202007:11
168: eLearning activities: #1 graphic organizers

168: eLearning activities: #1 graphic organizers

As we try to wrap our brains around what distance learning looks like, it's helpful to have some ideas and examples. In the next four episodes, I'm going to share several different types of activities you can provide students while they are learning from home. In this episode, we talk about the power of graphic organizers to help students navigate their thinking instead of just recall facts.
Mar 17, 202007:16
167: Empowering students to own learning

167: Empowering students to own learning

When students take control of their learning, amazing things can happen. They go from being compliant followers to commanders of their own future. In his session at the NCTIES Conference, author John Spencer shared tips from his book about how to empower students. He encourages teachers to move up the spectrum from compliance students to engaged students to finally empowered students.
Mar 11, 202006:19
166: Finding game hooks to use in class

166: Finding game hooks to use in class

We love games, and so do our students! When we can pull elements of games into class, it has potential for great engagement. North Carolina educator Chris Goodson shares some of his favorite game hooks in this episode. With some of his ideas, you may spark your own ways to make learning more like a game!
Mar 10, 202007:22
165: Creating in VR with Darcy Grimes

165: Creating in VR with Darcy Grimes

virtual reality is beginning to spread, and so many of its uses have to do with consumption. What if students were able to create with VR? Darcy Grimes, a North Carolina educator and former state teacher of the year, shares how Google Tour Creator can help students learn how to create in virtual reality. You don't even need any fancy gear to make it happen!
Mar 09, 202006:20
164: Digital bell ringer activities to kickstart class

164: Digital bell ringer activities to kickstart class

The beginning of class is a crucial time everyday. Those first several minutes can set the tone for the entire day of instruction! If we want to make the most of those minutes, we can give students learning activities that really engage them and stimulate them. And our digital devices can help! In today's episode, I share several ways to kick off class with digital bell ringer activities. I'll also share the blog post -- with a free ebook and a tutorial video! -- where you can find 20 of them.
Mar 06, 202007:17
163: 10 WEEKS of freebies for my new book!

163: 10 WEEKS of freebies for my new book!

My new book is coming out in April, and I want to celebrate by giving you lots of great free resources! The book, Tech Like a Pirate, shares how we can create memorable learning in the classroom with technology. It will be lots of fun! For the next 10 weeks, we will be sharing lots of free resources on the Ditch That Textbook blog. They will be related to each of the eight ways to Tech Like a Pirate. In this episode, I'll tell you more about it and where you can find those resources!
Mar 05, 202006:54
162: 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon/connection makin'

162: 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon/connection makin'

Have you ever heard of the "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon" game? You're supposed to be able to connect any actor to Kevin Bacon with no more than six connections to other actors. Making connections can be a powerful classroom activity! Nate Ridgway, my co-author in the book Don't Ditch That Tech, has shared a whole folder of templates that help your students to do this. In this episode, I'll tell you about this activity and where you can get those templates!
Mar 04, 202006:05
161: Making infographics with Adobe Spark

161: Making infographics with Adobe Spark

Infographics are very brain friendly. They blend together visuals and text in a way that's very sticky for the brain. I recently found a video tutorial by Claudio Zavala that shows how to create those using Adobe Spark Post. In this episode, I will share a few of the tips I learned from his video and show you where you can watch the whole thing on YouTube.
Mar 03, 202006:50
160: Social media hooks for classroom use

160: Social media hooks for classroom use

many of our students are very interested in social media. We can tap into that excitement and enthusiasm, and we don't even need students to use those apps! There is an inherent draw that every social media platform has that gets us interested in it. If we know what that draw is, we can infuse our lessons with it. In this episode, I share a few of those draws that I see in a variety of social media.
Mar 02, 202006:32
159: 5 Chrome extensions to check out

159: 5 Chrome extensions to check out

Chrome extensions add extra super powers to our Google Chrome web browsers. Teachers and students all over reap the rewards of them, too! In this episode, educator Michael Bertoni shares A few useful Chrome extensions from his presentation at the PETE&C Conference In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Feb 26, 202006:08
158: Podcasting in the classroom with Heather Kelly

158: Podcasting in the classroom with Heather Kelly

Podcasting is on the rise. When we use it in the classroom, it gives students a voice. They are able to create with what they learn. Teacher Heather Kelly has seen great benefits from podcasting in the classroom with her students. In this episode, she shares the simple way she is publishing her students' audio work and tips for helping reluctant students to dive right in.
Feb 25, 202006:28
157: Promoting a solid democracy in schools

157: Promoting a solid democracy in schools

We want students to be good citizens and productive members of society. But how can we advocate responsibly for the democracy that we all hope for? Pennsylvania teacher Mike Soskil (Twitter: @msoskil) is the editor of a book that will be published soon. It collects thoughts from classroom teachers and academics about this subject. In this episode, Mike shares a couple of things we can do from the classroom to promote a solid democracy.
Feb 24, 202006:12
156: A good fake news self assessment

156: A good fake news self assessment

It can be tricky to discern fact from fiction these days. It can be even trickier to help our students navigate the digital waters of fake news and fact. In this episode, I share a good fake news self-assessment. It comes from the book Fact vs Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in the Age of Fake News by Jennifer LaGarde and Darren Hudgins.
Feb 21, 202006:36
155: 5 FREE virtual field trips to check out

155: 5 FREE virtual field trips to check out

Virtual field trips are so much fun. We can take our students to places all over the world without leaving the comfort of our classroom. Thankfully, lots of these virtual field trips are available for free. They include live video calls with people in museums, historic sites, and national landmarks all over the United States and beyond. In this episode, I will tell you about five great virtual field trips and where you can find more. Did I mention that they are free?!?
Feb 20, 202006:35
154: Student podcasts in Google Slides

154: Student podcasts in Google Slides

Voice is on the rise. Podcast listenership continues to grow. Smart speakers are selling like hotcakes. With all of this buzz around audio content, maybe now is the time to incorporate podcasting in your classroom. However, it doesn't have to be complicated. You can do it with a simple tool you may already use -- Google Slides -- and a free audio recording tool. I ran across a blog post by Jen Giffen (@virtualgiff) and love her solution for it. In this episode, I will share the steps that Jen provides for podcasting with Google Slides. Link: virtualgiff.blogspot.com/2020/02/podcasting-in-classroom.html
Feb 19, 202006:24
153 Your Google Classroom secret power

153 Your Google Classroom secret power

We use Google Classroom to assign, collect, grade, and return work with students. Many teachers will use Google Classroom in a web browser on their laptop or desktop computers. But have you tried the Google Classroom mobile app? It has a couple of superpowers that the regular browser version does not. In this episode, I'll tell you about two of those features and why they are really helpful.
Feb 18, 202005:33
152: Google Slides templates and fixing them

152: Google Slides templates and fixing them

As teachers, a lot of times we like to assign students work using templates. Google slides is a great choice for doing that! But what do you do when students make mistakes and need to go back to a previous version? In this episode, I talk to Maria Sohn, who teaches technology and stem. She has a couple of unique ideas to share!
Feb 17, 202005:52
153: Ask this question for better results

153: Ask this question for better results

I ran across a really helpful question in a post on Twitter. It may help you, too!
Feb 14, 202005:40
152: Upgrade that textbook with augmented reality

152: Upgrade that textbook with augmented reality

Augmented reality is showing up in more and more schools all over. But how can we use augmented and virtual reality in meaningful ways in the classroom? I love the approach that David Saunders used to upgrade 9th grade history textbooks with augmented reality. I found this example in the book Reality Bytes: Innovative Learning Using Augmented and Virtual Reality by Christine Lion-Bailey, Jesse Lubinsky and Micah Shippee.
Feb 13, 202006:41
151: Classroom tech: Should I use it?

151: Classroom tech: Should I use it?

When I was a beginning teacher, I thought that technology use in the classroom was good no matter what. It didn't take me long to change my views on that, though. When we use tech in the classroom, we have to ask ourselves, " How is it improving learning? " In today's episode, I share a few questions we can ask ourselves to see whether we should be using technology in our lessons.
Feb 12, 202006:57
150: More Google Classroom organization ideas

150: More Google Classroom organization ideas

Your Google Classroom can get pretty organized sometimes, can't it? This is a pain point for so many who use it and other learning management systems! A couple of little tips can go a long way to getting it neat and tidy. At the TCEA conference in Austin Texas, I hosted a session on organizing your Google Classroom. Some of the suggestions from the participants were fantastic! I share them in today's episode. To catch the session resources from that presentation, go to ditchthattextbook.com/organize.
Feb 11, 202006:55
149: A new social media for educators

149: A new social media for educators

So many of us educators turn to Twitter and Pinterest to get ideas and connect with each other. But there's a new social media that's developed specifically for educators that's coming out soon. in this episode, I interview one of the founders, Michael Crawford, to get all the details.
Feb 10, 202006:26
148: Bringing tech into the library

148: Bringing tech into the library

Libraries in schools are getting a makeover. They don't just have to be a room full of dusty books! Kelly and Crystal from Pasadena, Texas, share how they're using technology to engage students in their media center.
Feb 07, 202007:11
147: Flipgrid, information literacy and coaching

147: Flipgrid, information literacy and coaching

I'm at the TCEA conference in Austin, Texas! There's a lot to learn here. In this episode, I share several of my key takeaways from the first day.
Feb 06, 202006:06
146: You CAN do that with Microsoft! with Scott Titmas

146: You CAN do that with Microsoft! with Scott Titmas

Many times, when we see the cool things that teachers are doing with Google products, we might assume that the same things can't be done with Microsoft. But that's not necessarily the case! Scott Titmas Share some of his favorite tips and tricks for making Microsoft products work for you in the classroom.
Feb 05, 202006:08
145: Offering custom PD with Stacy Saia

145: Offering custom PD with Stacy Saia

teachers love to have choices in their professional development as much as students love to have choices in their learning! In this episode, Stacy Saia shares how her school district is giving teachers choice and how they learn professionally -- and how they are reaping great rewards from it.
Feb 03, 202007:06