Are you able to navigate your way through the Google Apps for Education Administration Menu? In this podcast we take you through it step by step! The TechEducator Podcast is a weekly round table discussion about current topics in educational technology.  For more information, please visit www.techeducatorpodcast.com. Many great ways to participate in the TechEducator Podcast. TechEducatorPodcast.com Follow us Live on Video: http://www.TeacherCast.tv Leave a Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail Email: feedback@Teachercast.net Twitter: @TechEdShow (http://www.twitter.com/techedshow) Hashtag: #TechEducator Hosts: Jeff Bradbury - TeacherCast.net - @TeacherCast Jeff Herb - InstructionalTechTalk.com - @InstTechTalk Sam Patterson - MyPaperlessClassroom.com - @SamPatue Chris Nesi - Education the Nesi Way - @MrNesi David Saunders @DesignSaunders Josh Gauthier @mrgfactoftheday Show Information http://learn.googleapps.com http://admin-training/googleapps.com Thank You For Your Podcast Reviews Are you enjoying Educational Podcasting Today or other shows on the TeacherCast Network, please share your thoughts with the world by commenting on iTunes today.  I enjoy reading and sharing your comments on the podcast each week. Ask Me Your Podcasting or WordPress Question Are you interested in starting your own podcast? Do you need help creating an awesome WordPress website?  I am available for 1:1 consulting.  Please visit my homepage and I will help you launch your personal brand today! Contact Me Host: Jeff Bradbury @TeacherCast Email: info@teachercast.net Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail YouTube: http://www.TeacherCast.net/YouTube iTunes: http://www.TeacherCast.net/iTunes Check Out More TeacherCast Programming TeacherCast Podcast (http://www.teachercast.net/tcp) TeacherCast App Spotlight (http://www.teachercast.net/appspotlight) Educational Podcasting Today (http://www.educationalpodcasting.today) The TechEducator Podcast (http://www.techeducatorpodcast.com) View LIVE Professional Development from TeacherCast Watch LIVE: http://www.TeacherCast.tv | Broadcasting Schedule (http://www.teachercast.net/showcal) TeacherCast Broadcasting Community: http://www.TeacherCast.net/broadcastingcommunity Need a Presenter? Jeff Bradbury (@TeacherCast) is available as a Keynote Speaker, Presenter, or to Broadcast your conference LIVE!

Download Listen in a New Window iTunes Stitcher SoundCloud Leave a Review Clammr It Subscribe via RSS Subscribe on Android Follow @TeacherCast Leave a VoiceMail One of the hottest devices being showcased this year at the ISTE conference was Swivl.  Swivl is a complete video solution that provides presenters the ability to capture video during their lessons and create self-directed learning experiences for their students. About Swivl Video is a powerful tool but simply watching a video is a passive experience. Swivl not only makes it easy for teachers, students and administrators to capture video to share with others, we provide features to make video an interactive experience. Teacher Growth and Reflection - Improve performance through video observations and self-reflection, coaching and evaluation. Self-Directed Learning - Encourage student-ownership of learning by allowing students to create, share, and reflect individually and in small groups. Productivity and Effectiveness - Keep students engaged and informed through video playlists aligned to support materials with online note-taking and time-stamped discussions. Links of interest www.Swivl.com @GoSwivl About our Guest Scott Caulfield is the Director of Channels & Sales at Swivl. Prior to that, he worked at Promethean as an Education Consultant for 9 years. If you are a member of Promethean Planet, you may recognize Scott’s voice and quick wit as he developed and produced the ActivTips. Scott Caulfield is a former teacher at Twin Creeks Middle School in Spring ISD, Texas.  He was founder of the School Newspaper (The Echo), Head Basketball Coach and Technology Integration Mentor.  He was named 2005 Teacher of the Year Runner-Up and Intel Teach to the Future Master Teacher. Scott lives in Indianapolis with his wife and their 2 year old son, James. Follow Scott on Twitter @EdTechScott. Share the Love If you enjoyed the show, please rate us on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Please join the TechEducator Podcast LIVE every Sunday night at 7:00 P.M. EST on http://www.TeacherCast.tv Learn How To Launch Your Very Own Podcast! Are you interested in learning how to podcast? Do you want to share podcasting with your students or perhaps create a podcast from your own home?  Jeff is available for one-on-one consulting to help you learn how to bring your podcasting ideas to life. Email: info@teachercast.net Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail Check out our Educators Guide to Podcasting today! | Video | Slideshare Presentation Please contact to become a guest on the show Host: Jeff Bradbury @TeacherCast Email: info@teachercast.net Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail YouTube: http://www.TeacherCast.net/YouTube iTunes: http://www.TeacherCast.net/iTunes View LIVE Professional Development from TeacherCast Watch LIVE: http://www.TeacherCast.tv | Broadcasting Schedule (http://www.teachercast.net/showcal) TeacherCast Broadcasting Community: http://www.TeacherCast.net/broadcastingcommunity Invite TeacherCast to Speak or Broadcast at your conference Jeff Bradbury (@TeacherCast) is available as a Keynote Speaker, Presenter, or to Broadcast your conference LIVE! Check out more TeacherCast Educational Broadcasting Network Shows TeacherCast Podcast (http://www.teachercast.net/education/teachercast-broadcasting/) TeacherCast App Spotlight (http://www.teachercast.net/education/teachercast-broadcasting/the-teachercast-app-spotlight/) Educational Podcasting Today (http://www.educationalpodcasting.today) The TechEducator Podcast (http://www.techeducatorpodcast.com)

I’m an educator and I’m new to podcasting.  I’m setting up a website for the first time and I want to choose the right domain name. Should I set up www.MyName.com or www.MyPodcast.com? So you want to start a podcast and you are interested in setting your first website up to support it?  Perhaps you are looking to create a blog for your professional career and you would like to support it by creating a podcast.  There are several things that you can do to choose the best domain name for your website and setup a support system for both your professional blog and your podcast, but first you need to make the right decision about your domain name and most importantly you need to know the reasons why you are making that decision.  Chances are, the right answer is right in front of your eyes. Lets first start by examining what it is exactly that you are selecting. Domain Names A Domain Name is your Top Level URL.  It is the name (usually) by which you will brand yourself by.  Typically, a domain name goes on your business cards, flyers, email signatures, and t-shirts.  It is the one piece of information you will be saying over and over again to everyone you meet.  It is your identity.  It is your trademark.  It is your brand.  It is essentially… you. When purchasing domains I suggest purchasing in bulk.  After all, they are cheap.  If you are getting www.MyName.com, you should also check into the .org, .net, .me and my personal favorite, .guru.  This might sound like I’m telling you to go on a shopping spree. I’m not.  I’m suggesting that you look out for your brand by securing your future.  If you don’t believe me, visit www.freetechforteachers.com and www.Freetech4teachers.com.  In the case of this website, I own TeacherCast.net, .org, .mobi, .guru, and a few other combinations. So…. Should I buy BOTH Types of Domains? If you are asking whether or not you should purchase BOTH the domain for your name and your podcast my answer is ABSOLUTELY going to be YES.  I would even suggest picking up www.MyClass.com and www.MyClassPodcast.com if you are interested in going down an extra route.  You never know where the traffic will come from. This is the reason why several companies have researched the most common ways their domains are mistyped and then go out and purchase those incorrectly spelled domains.  It sounds weird but….  if it brings a sale to an online store, or if it brings a listener typing with their thumbs to your podcast…. it might be worth a thought. But…. Which Domain Name Should Be Attached To My Website? To get back to answering the primary question, we must first take yet another tangent and understand a bit about websites and the way SEO works.  When you create your website, weather it be in WordPress, Wix, Weebly or even FrontPage, your website is coded in a language known as HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language.  Somewhere near the very top of your page is a Header code.  This identifies the website to the world.  It’s one of the first, if not THE first thing that search engines find when they crawl and index web pages.  Your domain name is not just found on the header of our main index page, it is actually found (if done correctly) on the top of EVERY one of your pages on your website.  When people randomly do a search for you or your podcast, Google will first index your site, your blog, and your podcast by the domain because that is what the header code is suggesting it does. I Think I’m Starting To Understand…. Lets say for example that you are setting up a blog for your website and you were going to be writing about things you do in your classroom.  There are two "best practices" happening in education right now.  The first example is to create a title for your blog and use that title for your domain name.  www.freetechforteachers.com is a very good example.  The second example is to simply go with your name as the blog title.  Both would look good on your business cards.  Right??? Lets say for example, that you are setting up a website for ONLY your podcast.  You are not planning on using it for anything other than podcasting show notes and a way to promote your podcast. There are also two "best practices" happening in education right now.  The first example is to create a website with your podcasts name as the domain.  A Good example of this is www.InstructionalTechTalk.com.  A second example is to again, use your name in the blog post title. A great example of this is www.ChrisNesi.com.  In both of these cases, Chris Nesi and Jeff Herb are podcasters who have set up websites to support their podcasts, but have chosen differently when it came to their domain name.  In both cases, these decisions are perfectly acceptable. But… I Now Own Two Domains…. Is there More? Lets dig a little deeper down the website rabbit hole.  One of the little gems of the internet that help improve your search rankings is something called Webmaster Tools.  Google, Bing, and many other major search companies offer a set of tools designed to help marry your website to their search engine crawlers.  This process is simple to setup, but very troublesome to master. The bottom line is… here is where our answer truly lies (for now).  In Webmaster tools, lets take Google for example.  You first introduce your website to the webmaster tools by creating a new profile to it.  This profile needs to be EXACTLY WHAT IS BEING GENERATED FROM YOUR WEBSITE.   I kinda stress this because my suggestion is to actually do this process twice.  The first time through, you need to know what your website is telling the world your domain is.  Are you sharing www.MyName.com or are you sharing simply MyName.com.   Where we all know when doing a Google search, the actual search engine knows that we are always going to refer to the MyName.com as www.MyName.com and in another reality by making your website officially leave off the www’s actually brings up your website faster (it’s true), understanding how your website has set up your official domain name is essential to setting up Webmaster tools correctly.  Where I can, and I will go into Webmaster tools in much more depth in another blog post, my suggestion is simply this.  Setup webmaster tools for your www.MyName.com and after a few days, go back in and to the entire process again, but for the non "www" version of your domain name… and yes, do them a few days apart so the search engines have time to crawl your site properly the first time. Ok, I Understand Webmaster Tools….  Are We Done Yet? What Does An IP Address Mean? Not done yet because we haven’t yet talked enough about Domain Functionality.  Each website has one and only one domain name.  This is the handshake between your domain name provider and your website.  The connection is known as DNS, or Domain Name System.  The job of the DNS is to translate your pretty name into digital code known as IP (Internet Protocol) Addresses. Each computer has a unique IP Address.  You can check yours by going to www.whatismyipaddress.com.  So… One Website … One Domain. But Domains can also be FORWARDED.  A Forwarded domain is a domain not directly attached to a website that simply acts like the mail system does when you move.  You have your mail forwarded to a different address.  You can have a domain forwarded to a different address.  Check out www.EducationalPodcasting.tips and see what happens to the address above.  In this example, I set up several domains for the various sections of TeacherCast.  Instead of telling people to go to TeacherCast.net/???/^^^/12345 I simply tell them to go to www.TechEducatorPodcast.com and it takes them to the correct page. There are two types of domain forwarding: Masked and Unmasked. Masked Domain: When You click on the Domain, it takes you to a page.  On that page and in any page you click from that part on, the original domain will still be shown on the address bar.  Essentially, the location you have been taken to is then being "masked" from you seeing it. Unmasked Domain:  When you click on the domain, the domain you think you are going to is no longer in the address bar and you then see a different url.  This is the way I have setup www.TeacherCastUniversity.com. Ok, I Understand Webmaster Tools and Domain Masking… Are We Done Yet? With all of this in mind, it is quite easy and logical to come to a conclusion on your domain choice when setting your website up for the first time.  You have the option of setting up the blog with www.MyName.com and having www.MyPodcast.com automatically forward itself to your podcasting category.  You can then register your domain with Webmaster tools and know that everything will be setup publicly and professionally the way it is best for you and for your podcast.  In my setup here, I have created TeacherCast.net to be the home for my research, my podcasts and my professional live.  Where it was once broken into 25 (yes really) different WordPress sites, it is not all contained in one single WP install.  I own 40+ domain names and they are setup to protect each of my podcasts and educational adventures.  Additionally, I also have www.JeffreyBradbury.com and www.JeffBradbury.me setup.  These sites are not blogs, and they are not for podcasts, but they are simply my digital resume.  They are linked to this page up on the top left menu but for "safety reasons" and SEO reasons, I have chosen to put my online resume outside of my TeacherCast world. In Conclusion (Still With Me?) No matter what decision you make, always remember the design and decision for all of your online adventures are totally up to you and you can simply make a decision by looking in the mirror and playing a fun game of One Person Rocks Paper Scissors.  If you do take that route, please email me and let me know who won. Here are the facts, once you make the decision, it’s very difficult to change it without literally creating a brand new website and starting from scratch.  Choose what you want people to search for you as. Choose how you want Google to search for you as.  Choose what looks best on your business cards and t-shirts.  But… all and all… my biggest suggestion beyond learning all of what I wrote about above…….  forget about all of it and go out and make great podcasts!   Ask Me Your Podcasting or WordPress Question Are you interested in starting your own podcast? Do you need help creating an awesome WordPress website?  I am available for 1:1 consulting.  Please visit my homepage and I will help you launch your personal brand today! Contact Me Host: Jeff Bradbury @TeacherCast Email: info@teachercast.net Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail YouTube: http://www.TeacherCast.net/YouTube iTunes: http://www.TeacherCast.net/iTunes Check Out More TeacherCast Programming TeacherCast Podcast (http://www.teachercast.net/tcp) TeacherCast App Spotlight (http://www.teachercast.net/appspotlight) Educational Podcasting Today (http://www.educationalpodcasting.today) The TechEducator Podcast (http://www.techeducatorpodcast.com) View LIVE Professional Development from TeacherCast Watch LIVE: http://www.TeacherCast.tv | Broadcasting Schedule (http://www.teachercast.net/showcal) TeacherCast Broadcasting Community: http://www.TeacherCast.net/broadcastingcommunity Need a Presenter? Jeff Bradbury (@TeacherCast) is available as a Keynote Speaker, Presenter, or to Broadcast your conference LIVE!

It’s a new school year and classrooms are beginning to buzz with the noises associated with a new school year.  With each passing day, more teachers will be reading handbooks, lecturing on class rules, and asking students what they did over the summer.  Did you know however, for many classrooms around the world, their school years will be started by listening to podcasts?  Prerecorded audio and video shows that their teachers created over the summertime are being used more now than ever as a way to flip classrooms and bring in a new type of learning. TeacherCast is excited to be apart of the 2015 International Podcast Day Educational team.  Last summer, I had the privilege of interviewing Steve and David Lee, two of the founding members of last years National Podcast Day.  Due to the huge success of last years events, this year the team is taking this movement global. Over the next several weeks, TeacherCast along with several educational podcasters will be creating blogs and podcasts to support International Podcasting Day. If you are a teacher who uses podcasting in the classroom we would love to hear from you.  If you are already a podcast creator in your own home studio, we are looking to hear from you as well.  Please take a moment and fill our our Google Form below and please take a moment to share this blog post across your PLN so that we may help bring podcasting into as many classrooms as possible. Thank you for the support and lets have an amazing International Podcast Day 2015! Jeff  

As the 2015 school year begins, I’m looking forward to several major events.  I’m excited to be starting a new position as a Technology Integration Specialist in a fantastic school district in North Jersey.  I am also excited about the relocation of my family almost 120 miles north.  Due to this move, I am extremely excited to be able to create a pretty wicked podcasting studio to become the home of TeacherCast. For the next few weeks, I will be sharing my adventures in Podcast Studio Design. I am moving my workspace into an 8×10 room and will be taking photos of the journey from it’s transformation from spare bedroom to broadcasting mega studio. Choosing The Equipment That Is Right For You One of the first things you want to think about when building a podcasting studio is the equipment that will be going into it.  Having proper electrical and wiring is essential to creating a clean space for both you and your toddlers.   This is where you stop thinking in terabytes and start thinking in twist ties. Choosing the best equipment does not always mean choosing the best or most expensive equipment. What Equipment Should I Purchase? Below is a nice representation of some of the equipment I use in my studio.  I’m sure I will be adding to the list as I relocate and begin the building process.  Additional features to the studio I’m excited about are additional cameras, and camera angles.  I’m also excited to being able to create a studio where I can invite guests in for in-room interviews. Stick with me over the next few weeks as I transform one medium sized bedroom and turn it into an edupodcasters dream space.

Greenscreen technology is an inexpensive technology to support, once you already have devices in your classroom. Teachers can get started with classroom greenscreen effects without spending anything on an app and very little on supplies. Here are my rop 5 tips for getting started with greenscreen in the classroom. Mind Your Budget Do it cheap. Bright green felt will work as a backdrop and the lights in your room my be good enough to get started. Think In Bulk Many small green screens are better than 1 big one. Deploy as many as you can and let students use them often. They will discover amazing uses for this fun video technology. Keep It Clean Iron your backdrop. Wrinkles make shadows, and shadows kill the greenscreen illusion. Have an iron on hand and be sure to use it regularly to keep the backdrops smooth. Three Feet Are Better than Two Feet Tripods triple video watchability. Teachers everywhere agree, tripods really help. Lighting Doesn’t Have To Be Expensive Use the best light you can. Don’t tape your backdrop to a window, avoid shadows. If your school will support it, consider getting some inexpensive lights. In this video you can see the proper technique for ironing a greenscreen.

If you’re a teacher, chances are you were taught how to teach. You likely didn’t get training on how to be an IT guru. Which is why it’s so wonderful that some teachers are doing as much as they are when it comes to figuring out technology in their classrooms. Some technically inclined teachers are finding and configuring their own classroom management systems, for instance, or trying to make multiple apps work together that weren’t designed to. Hooray to teachers who have these skills and tenacity. But should teachers even be shouldering this burden? Learning management systems (LMSes) are possibly the worst time sinks. Should individual teachers have to assess the pros and cons for themselves of systems like Edsby, Google Classroom, Edmodo, Schoology or Moodle? Should they have to be canvassing colleagues for recommendations? Should they then have to set up their own accounts and manage their students and, in K-12, parents? Here are a handful of reasons why I think it’s time teachers got more help in choosing and setting up classroom applications: Teachers have more important things to do Teachers live to teach. Yet a good LMS, for instance, is something many individual teachers—if Twitter chatter is any indication—are investing a LOT of time comparing and configuring. Time that could be better spent on lesson planning, grading, parent communication and helping students succeed. Is professional development the answer? Should teachers be getting trained in how to find and configure LMS-like applications? That’s pretty technical stuff, and not everyone has the time and interest. Too many apps make parents unhappy A given teacher might be using a handful of apps: for learning management (Edmodo? Moodle?), parent communication (Remind?), classroom management (ClassDojo?), Google Classroom for assignment submission, Twitter for homework notification. And their kids’ other teachers might be using different things. Parents often now need whole handfuls of apps, usually with different logins, to follow their kids’ progress. Can you imagine what that’s like for parents? All these apps are likely making TEACHERS unhappy Do the apps teachers have chosen talk to each other? Do they find themselves duplicating information? How many different apps do they have to update themselves, or "codes" do they have to send home, when students enter or leave their classes? It’s a veritable jungle of apps in schools and classrooms, and it distracts from the primary purpose: teaching and learning. Parent and student management headaches Teachers shouldn’t be managing lists of students and parents and their contact info themselves. Students come and go. Parents get separated and divorced, and their relationships to their kids change over time. Occasionally, parental access needs to be revoked to students’ information. Teachers shouldn’t be expected to have to manage this. Legal exposure If parents or others get sensitive student data when they shouldn’t because of apps teachers have installed and manage themselves, they and their employers could be liable, according to CIPPA, COPPA, FERPA and other regulations. This culpability is unnecessary and easily avoided by district administrators. A digital divide between teachers hurts students If individual teachers are setting up their own apps, a disparity emerges between students whose teachers are clever and/or motivated enough to incorporate tools like these, and students whose teachers are not. If this is the case, some classes will have collaboration, standards-based assessments and modern parent communication, and some won’t. Is that fair? So What’s the Answer? I feel strongly that school districts need to lead when it comes to sourcing and rolling out complex systems like these. My business partners and I have spent more than 25 years building enterprise applications for education, and time and again we’ve seen that district-level introduction of complex communication and assessment systems makes sense. Why? Reasons include: One app, one login - for teachers, students and parents One learning management app, for instance, can function as a single point of contact for all communication between teachers, students and parents in a district. Even individual teacher websites can quietly go away when everything that needs to be shared between all stakeholders is being shared using a good education engagement system. With a good, well-used LMS that can be accessed any time from anywhere on anything, students and parents know where to go for latest information. School and district database connections manage class creation, enrollment and contact information Teachers never have to put students in classes or manage parent contact information themselves when software is connected to district systems. It’s a huge time savings. When students and parents come and go, connected systems magically update themselves. Without teachers having to do updates. The management work of free systems like Edmodo are one of the reasons teachers stop using them after a few years. Keeping them up to date is a lot of work. All teachers—not just clever ones!—benefit, as do all students When the district investigates, configures and rolls out software and ties it to its central student information system (SIS) and other district databases, all teachers get to use it. Not just the ones (like you?) willing to invest time on the bleeding technology edge. District-managed approaches put critical tools like learning management systems in the hands of EVERY teacher—and as a result every student and every parent in an area. This is key to really moving the needle. Uniform assessment and reporting When installed at the district level, an official district-wide electronic gradebook saves teachers time and hassle. Especially if it’s been configured to use the district’s official grading scheme and reports grades the way the district wants them at report card time. Bonus if it can share students’ grades, and other important information like attendance and teachers’ qualitative observations, securely with parents throughout the year without teachers having to do anything extra. Customizable to the way districts do things Some systems can be customized to use the terms and assessment schemes a district uses. If they can embrace the educational standards in your area, you can assess your students and report their progress against them. And be in compliance with state, provincial and/or federal guidelines. A generic, free product won’t have customization specific to your state, province or district. A throat to choke if needed If a school district rolls something out district wide, it’ll likely be a commercial product from a software vendor. So if the system doesn’t work as planned, the company can be held accountable to make it right. Teachers adopting tools willy-nilly don’t have any clout individually with software companies. Especially if using free products. And if their free tool goes away at some point in the future, tough luck. So, if you’re a teacher, make friends with the instructional technology people at your school district. Introduce yourself. Share your needs. Invite them to investigate systems on behalf of all the teachers in your district. The better they understand your requirements and how they might be similar or different from those of your colleagues, the high the likelihood they’ll find a district-wide solution to your needs. It lowers the probability that you’ll have to become a tech guru yourself. And by being a force for improved transparency and effectiveness, you’ll help make things better for all the teachers and students and parents in your area. Scott Welch is Co-Founder of Edsby, a learning management system for K-12 school districts. Learn more about Edsby at www.edsby.com.

Download Listen in a New Window iTunes Stitcher SoundCloud Leave a Review Clammr It Subscribe via RSS Subscribe on Android Follow @TeacherCast Leave a VoiceMail Jeff sits down with Scott Welch, Vice President of Sales from Edsby to discuss how teachers, students AND parents are using Edsby in their schools.  Edsby is a robust, cloud-based, mobile learning management system that incorporates social learning, course planning, assessment management, and much more into a simple, easy to use package for the entire school community. About Edsby Edsby is a modern, cloud-based learning management system (LMS) for K-12 school districts that uses latest web and mobile technologies to connect teachers, students and parents in exciting new ways. Among its tightly integrated features social learning, school news, group collaboration, assessment management, timetables and calendars, course planning, report cards, attendance and more. Edsby transforms how students, teachers, parents and administrators engage. Students and parents can check grades, attendance, homework and more from a web browser, tablet or mobile phone. Edsby also provides a rich experience for teachers and administrators, who can manage curriculum in Edsby and assess student progress. Unlike other LMSes, Edsby is designed specifically for K12. To make rollouts quick and to minimize ongoing administration, it integrates tightly with existing student information (SIS) and authentication systems, leveraging data and security policies that already exist. And it allows for the deep customization required district-by-district, even while being cloud-based. Links of interest Company website: http://edsby.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/edsby Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edsby LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edsby Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/edsby About Scott H.E. Scott Welch - Vice President of Sales, Edsby Scott Welch has a co-op degree in math from the University of Waterloo, which he graduated from in 1986. He worked at Nortel as a co-op student in 1984, when he became the only co-op student ever transferred from Canada to the Nortel lab in Silicon Valley. He joined full-time in 1986, becoming part of the team building Meridian Mail. Along with two partners, he left Nortel in 1989 to start SoftArc Inc. Serving as CEO until 1999, Scott provided product management and business leadership as SoftArc grew from 3 to over 100 employees and became Centrinity. Scott played a key role in Investor Relations and was instrumental in completing two successful secondary public offerings, including a $25 million self-syndicated offering. After the acquisition of Centrinity by Open Text, Scott continued his role as Chief Evangelist for FirstClass. Scott has extensive experience in the public eye, having appeared at over 500 user groups, trade shows, investor conferences and industry symposiums. With the same founding team from FirstClass, Scott started Edsby. At Edsby, Scott serves as a connection between customers and the engineering and design groups, which he believes is crucial for the long-term success of any software company.     Thank You For Your Podcast Reviews Are you enjoying Educational Podcasting Today or other shows on the TeacherCast Network, please share your thoughts with the world by commenting on iTunes today.  I enjoy reading and sharing your comments on the podcast each week. Ask Me Your Podcasting or WordPress Question Are you interested in starting your own podcast? Do you need help creating an awesome WordPress website?  I am available for 1:1 consulting.  Please visit my homepage and I will help you launch your personal brand today! Contact Me Host: Jeff Bradbury @TeacherCast Email: info@teachercast.net Voice Mail: http://www.TeacherCast.net/voicemail YouTube: http://www.TeacherCast.net/YouTube iTunes: http://www.TeacherCast.net/iTunes Check Out More TeacherCast Programming TeacherCast Podcast (http://www.teachercast.net/tcp) TeacherCast App Spotlight (http://www.teachercast.net/appspotlight) Educational Podcasting Today (http://www.educationalpodcasting.today) The TechEducator Podcast (http://www.techeducatorpodcast.com) View LIVE Professional Development from TeacherCast Watch LIVE: http://www.TeacherCast.tv | Broadcasting Schedule (http://www.teachercast.net/showcal) TeacherCast Broadcasting Community: http://www.TeacherCast.net/broadcastingcommunity Need a Presenter? Jeff Bradbury (@TeacherCast) is available as a Keynote Speaker, Presenter, or to Broadcast your conference LIVE!

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Before you dive head-first into #teachingWithVideo, run through this list to make sure you’ve got everything in place. Preparation is key…but you already know that. #1 Thinking Phase Decide on your flipped lessons’ learning objectives. This is a critical step to achieving impactful results. Are you flipping to help the struggling students or to deepen the in-class learning? Or both? What is it that you want to improve by the end of the semester? If you get to the bottom of these questions, you’ll be able to use various teaching elements to support the objectives. Decide how you will deliver your flipped lessons. Does your school use a Learning Management System (LMS)? Do you have a classroom blog where you’d like to share the videos? Do you want to use secure video hosting service or will a public video platform be enough? Talk to your school’s tech people - it’s possible you don’t know half of the things that are available to you (and you wouldn’t be the only one…).   Ensure all students have Internet access at home. The flipped classroom approach will only work if all of your students can access the content online. Have you asked them or their parents whether they have the Internet connection at home? What are the alternatives if you run into problems? You may want to consider computer labs as a possible workaround. And remember, even if it’s not entirely obvious, there is always a way - be creative. Consider initial student engagement tactics. Change is hard. You should probably expect some kind of a resistant movement in your classroom. Not everyone’s going to be thrilled about the new way of learning. To lessen the tension and make the transition easier, consider such simple engagement tactics as watching and analysing the first video together. Making sure your students understand the new process is key, but it’s also vital to show them that flipped lessons are actually more fun than reading assignments. Make a plan B in case you need help. Who you gonna call? Every cure has a side effect. Inevitably, you’re destined to bump into some difficulties when experimenting with new concepts and (especially) new technology. That’s okay. However, to avoid experiencing more stress than it’s necessary, prepare a plan B just in case things go awry. Let the tech people know about your initiative, have their contact details on hand and create a folder of help documents to soothe the anxiety. And then you’re ready.   #2 Acting Phase Select video captioning & other edtech tools for your flipped classroom. Now that you’ve passed the initial planning stage, it’s time to take action. Your learning objectives should be a decent guiding light in the process of selecting the most suitable tools. What features will your videos need? Are you going to introduce more interactive elements such as quizzes, games or classroom surveys? Build your arsenal of edtech tools before you step out of your comfort zone, so you can focus on delivering interactive and well-structured content. Record your video lecture(s) & organize other course content. A quick Google research will tell you what not to do on the camera, but the most important thing to remember is that you’re talking to the same students that sit in your classroom. So really, there is no reason to be stressed. Video is an amazing thing because you can always record a new version if you want to (so much easier than going back in time). When you get your video lessons sorted in advance, you’ll be able to maintain a certain flow and structure. It will also enable you to create content around these lessons to reinforce the key takeaways and increase the interactivity in the classroom. Just push that button.   Draft a brief document so students know what’s expected of them. When you have your mini video lectures recorded, you will know exactly what the students should be able to get out of them. So let them know. Create a simple instruction how to watch the videos to help the students get their heads round the new process. Should they take notes? What is the main purpose of watching these lessons at home? How will it help them to better understand the topic at hand? Fun fact: it doesn’t really have to be a document - why not deliver the instruction in a video format? Plan and prepare in-class activities. So your students have watched the mini lectures at home. It’s time to find out what they learnt and how they liked it. Carry out a quick classroom survey to get real-time understanding of how your students are doing. A simple question like "what color shirt was I wearing" will give you immediate feedback on who actually watched the video. Project work, discussions, Q&A sessions - you can devote all of your time to deepening your students’ knowledge on the subject; just have several action plans prepared to safeguard yourself from the unexpected. #3 Reflecting Phase Prepare tasks to measure lecture effectiveness. No one will know better how things are shaping up in the classroom than you. Just by observing your students’ engagement with the learning material and paying attention to their questions you’ll be able to tell if the new approach is effective. However, it’s a good idea to plan out a few comparative tests to have some data to back up your findings. What exactly is improving and why? Consider post-session elements to prompt students to reflect on what they’ve learned. You know all of this. You’ve been doing it for years (or at least you know you should be doing it). So it’s just here to remind you that repetition is healthy. Don’t let your students off the hook so easily. A one-sentence essay to summarize the key points of the video lesson is an interesting pick. What seems to be easy is never easy, huh? Seek advice from colleagues who are flipping. One of the easiest ways to avoid disastrous first-time mistakes is to get your colleagues to share their failures. Ask for advice, study the processes they’ve built, copy what you like and improve what you think needs improving. I don’t want to use the phrase, but it has to be done - knowledge grows when shared. Find a way to communicate benefits to students’ parents. For starters, when kids have no other homework but to watch a video lesson, the parents are free from homework, too. I repeat - the flipped classroom model leaves parents with no homework tasks. That should be enough to shift the mood to the brighter side. Then you can use your backup data to reveal the benefits of the flipped classroom approach. Smells like teacher of the year. Good luck. Thinking of flipping your classroom? 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