I had a great chat with Vriti and Mike! We talked about AI, metaverse, web3, and more! I recommend signing up for the Ed3 Futures Summit, which is coming up April 19-21. It is an event you don't want to miss! Sign up today! About my guests Vriti Saraf (https://www.vritisaraf.com/) is a co-founder of Ed3 DAO (https://www.ed3dao.com/), a non-profit that helps educators catalyze innovation in education using emerging technology, with a focus on AI & Web3. She is also the founder of k20 Educators (https://www.k20educators.com/), a metaverse for learning design studios and consultancy, which also incubated Ed3 DAO. Vriti started her career as a Teach for America teacher in Brooklyn, NY. She has served as a professor, a dean, & a director in public, private, & charter schools both locally & internationally across K-12 & higher education. Dr. Mike Peck is a progressive educator and leader with experience in classroom teaching and technology leadership. Currently, he is the Director of Technology and Innovative Learning at a public school district in the United States, where he oversees district-wide technology professional development and cyber security initiatives. Dr. Peck is also a co-founder of Ed3 DAO, an organization dedicated to integrating web3 technologies in education and providing educational opportunities for educators worldwide.You can follow his work through his blog. About Ed3DAO Ed3 DAO is a global community for educators who wish to catalyze innovation in education and reimagine learning with emerging technologies, with a focus on web3 (AI, blockchain, Metaverse).  We have three main areas of work. Educate: The first involves educating educators about emerging technologies including blockchain, artificial intelligence, and metaverse. We offer free resources and events, globally. We work with university partners to create and distribute web3 coursework for educators through the lens of pedagogy. We also host an annual summit in our custom metaverse space. Empower: The second area involves empowering educators to take ownership of learning and implementing solutions in their ecosystems. In the 23’-24’ school year, we are giving away $50k in grants to fund peer-to-peer learning events and hackathons. We are also building a distributed governance model that empowers our members to take ownership of organizational decision-making.  Elevate: The third area is research & consultancy. For organizations struggling with emerging technology integration and policies (including artificial intelligence), we offer consulting services. We are also aiming to publish case studies and research on what is and isn’t working well with web3 and education.  Ed3 DAO is an open and free community. Thanks for listening! Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and my blog: www.Rdene915.com

Try some new ideas! Dive into https://www.cospaces.io/3d-creation and podcasting! So many benefits. Use my promo code for CoSpaces EDU COSPromoRDP24!! Sign up for my blog: https://www.Rdene915.com My newsletter: https://bit.ly/thriveineduPD Let me know if you want to be a guest!

I really enjoyed my chat with Jenny Hubanks. She is an educator, author and advocate and we had a great conversation about her work in special education, her book https://www.masterbooks.com/thrive-special-needs-strategies-that-work. Jenny shares some great strategies, quick tips, and valuable insight for educators and families. Enjoy! About Jenny: Jenny Hubanks is a dynamic force in the world of special education! With 18 years of experience in the field and 8 years as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®), she's a passionate advocate for individuals with autism and multiple disabilities. In 2023, Jenny took her expertise to the next level, opening Maven Learning Innovations to serve educators and families. She's not just a BCBA®; Jenny is also a certified Safety Care crisis prevention and management trainer, well-versed in the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), and a pro at collaborating with Speech Pathologists to teach augmentative communication. Jenny's love for evidence-based practices and commitment to lifelong learning shine through in her work. In every area of her work, she brings services that are well-researched and very effective to individuals with disabilities. When she's not transforming lives, you'll find Jenny immersed in family time with her husband, two energetic sons (ages 5 and 3), and their trusty dog, Hooey. And if she's not dedicating her free time to pursuing a doctoral degree in performance leadership improvement, you might catch her indulging in a love for glitter that adds an extra sparkle to her vibrant life! Learn more about Maven Learning: https://www.mavenlearninginnovations.com Subscribe to the podcast and my newsletter: https://bit.ly/pothnews1

Hope you will enjoy this great chat I had with the team from Eduaide! Check out the earlier episode where I spoke with Thomas Thompson! Thomas Hummel is a middle school science teacher and soccer coach. He is the Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Eduaide. Thomas Thompson is an educator and the Chief Executive Officer of Eduaide.ai. His research background examined Open Educational Resources, concept mapping and procedural argumentation, and distributed communities of practice. Beyond instructional and research experience, Thomas led Muckraker Media, a non-profit organization focused on expanding access to the auditory public domain. Additionally, he has experience in multimedia instructional design and distance education. Currently, his work focuses on integrating Generative AI into the lesson-planning workflow to eliminate points of friction and unlock teachers’ time and creativity. Check out Eduaide.Ai Instagram: https://instagram.com/Eduaide.AI Twitter:  https://twitter.com/EduaideAI Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eduaide-ai/ Subscribe to my newsletter: https://bit.ly/pothnews1

A recap of some of the recent conferences: FETC, TCEA, IDEAcon, and big topics! Explore more AI resources via AI4ALL, AI4k12, Teach AI, and some fun tools like the Duet AI to generate images in Google or Padlet AI "I Can't Draw." Stay tuned for my next episode with a guest! Book me for your PD events, individual coaching, conference workshops, or keynotes via https://bit.ly/thriveineduPD. See testimonials on my https://www.Rdene915.com.

I had a great conversation with my friend, Dr. Jerod Phillips. Dr. Jerod Phillips Sr. is the Principal of David E. Robinson Elementary School (DRE) in Magnolia, DE. He arrived at DRE in February 2023 with a zeal to engage the school community with the vision of being great for kids in all aspects of the school. Prior to arriving at DRE, Dr. Phillips was a Principal and Assistant Principal at the elementary level in Middletown, DE. He has 9 years of school leadership experience. He is passionate about developing positive public relations between the district, school, students, parents, and the overall community. As a result of Dr. Phillips’ journey from teacher to Principal, while being connected, he believes that being a connected educator can help take one’s career to unprecedented heights. Dr. Phillips was the Delaware National Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year for 2021. Dr. Phillips has had one publication in NAESP’s Principal Magazine: "Being a Bias-Conscious Leader." Principal, May/June 2022: Rewriting the Role, Volume 101, Issue 5, in addition to being a contributor to several monthly sections of the APs Rising section of the same publication. Dr. Phillips is a podcaster in the education sector, starting with three co-hosts of the podcast, Speaking Educationally in January 2020. Since then, he has recently launched his solo podcast, The Squad Builder Podcast. The podcast focuses on shaking things up in education in the realm of building and maintaining highly effective and successful teams in our schools. He has a B.S. in Finance and Banking from Delaware State University, a M.S. in Educational Leadership from Purdue University, and his Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership and Management at Capella University. Dr. Phillips is a proud husband and father of 3 (2 daughters and 1 son). He has teamed up with his wife and kids over the past several years to explore the world of entrepreneurship together, and he is very active in his local church. Connect with him on Twitter(X) https://twitter.com/japhillips0722 Subscribe to the Thriveinedu podcast and check out my blog at https://www.Rdene915.com. https://www.Rdene915.com.

Here are a few ideas to explore that help with boosting student engagement. Check out some of the tools mentioned including EduaideAI, Curipod, https://go.snorkl.app/rachelle and SchoolAI. Contact me for PD training, individual coaching, or keynotes via my form: https://bit.ly/thriveineduPD Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and my blog at https://www.Rdene915.com. Thanks for listening! If you are attending TCEA or IDEAcon, be sure to say hi!

Are you looking for some conferences to attend? Today's episode highlig hts some of my favorites to kick off the year. FETC, TCEA and IDEAcon. Listen in for some tips and ideas for attending and takeaways. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and my blog https://www.Rdene915.com Interested in PD or need a keynote? Connect with me via my form: https://bit.ly/thriveineduPD

This episode is sponsored by Turnitin. I had such a great conversation with Annie Chechitelli, Chief Product Officer at Turnitin. Hope you will enjoy this episode! About Annie: Annie Chechitelli has spent the past two decades innovating with educators to expand access to education, meet the quickly changing needs of learners, and empower students to do their best, original work. As the Chief Product Officer at Turnitin, Annie oversees the Turnitin suite of applications which includes academic integrity, grading and feedback, and assessment capabilities. Prior to joining Turnitin, Annie spent over five years at Amazon where she led Kindle Content for School, Work, and Government and launched the AWS EdTech Growth Advisory team, advising education technology companies on how to grow their product and go-to-market strategies with AWS. Annie began her career in EdTech at Wimba where she launched a live collaboration platform for education which was ultimately acquired by Blackboard in 2010. At Blackboard she led platform management, focused on transitioning Blackboard Learn to the cloud. Annie holds a B.S. from Columbia University and an M.B.A. and M.S. from Claremont Graduate University.  She resides near Indianapolis, Indiana with her youngest child and husband, with two children attending college on the East Coast. Learn more about Turnitin's great resources: Turnitin's AI writing detection web page:  Blog: One piece at a time: Navigating AI writing:  AI writing puzzle for educators, institutions and administrators: (Note - each puzzle piece directs users to a resource)  AI writing resource page

I always love getting the chance to talk with Dr. Desiree Alexander. She is positive, inspring and real! Kicking off the 2024 year, I wanted to have her share some ideas for self-care, dealing with overwhelm and making yourself a priorty. We had a great conversation and I hope you enjoy it. Learn more about Dr. Desiree and definitely catch her webinars! Connect with her on social and her websites! Dr. Desiree Alexander (or Desiree Alexander, EdD) Founder CEO, Educator Alexander Consulting Dr. Desiree Alexander (or Desiree Alexander, EdD) Deputy Director Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana (A+PEL) Biography: Dr. Desiree Alexander is an award-winning, multi-degreed educator, speaker, and author who has been in the educational field since 2002. She is the Founder and CEO of Educator Alexander Consulting, LLC and the Deputy Director for the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana. She consults with members of several schools/businesses and presents at conferences globally. Dr. Alexander is lifetime certified in Louisiana in Secondary English Education as a Reading Specialist, as a School Librarian, as an Educational Technology Facilitator, as an Educational Technology Leader, and in Educational Leadership 1. She is certified in Texas as a Principal in English Language Arts and Reading for grades 4-8 and grades 8-12, as a Reading Specialist for grades EC-12, and as a School Librarian. She holds multiple technology certifications, including, but not limited to, IC3 certification, Google Certified Trainer, Innovator and Partner, Apple Teacher, and Microsoft Office Specialist. She holds a Bachelor, a Master + 30, and an Education Specialist Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Louisiana State University, a Master of Library Science from Texas Woman’s University and a Master of Educational Leadership with a concentration in Educational Technology Leadership from Nicholls State University. She also holds a Doctorate in Education with a concentration in Educational Leadership from Lamar University. She is the author of Ready to Be an Educational Leader: Your Guide for Passing the SLLA 6990 , a 2022 & 2021 Texas Computer Education Association Featured Thought Leader, 2020 International Society for Technology in Education Featured Voice, 2020 Future of Education Technology Conference Featured Presenter, 2019 Customer Commitment Award Honoree from Council Mover and Shaker, a 2017 Young Professional Initiative 40 Under 40 Awards Honoree, 2017 Center for Digital Education Top 30 Technologists, Transformers &; Trailblazers, 2017 PBS Learning Media Digital Innovator for Louisiana, 2016 Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana Member of the Year, 2015 Librarian of the Year for Louisiana Librarian Association, 2015 Campus Teacher of the Year in the Zachary Community School District and 2014 Leader of the Year for Region 2 Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators. Learn more at whttps://ww.educatoralexander.com.   Speaker Bio: Dr. Desiree Alexander is an award-winning, multi-degreed educator, speaker, and author who is the Founder CEO of Educator Alexander Consulting, LLC, and the Deputy Director for the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana. She is an international speaker who consults with conferences, districts, schools, individual educators, and businesses. Educator Alexander Consulting empowers educators to discover and amplify the intrinsic desire to become innovators in education and aims to create a worldwide network of educators focused on the constant and consistent improvement of education for our students. Learn more at https://www.educatoralexander.com. https://www.educatoralexander.com: Social Media Handles https://www.educatoralexander.com/subscribehttps://www.educatoralexander.com/newsletter: https://twitter.com/educatoralex:  Facebook:  https://www.instagram.com/educatoralexander:  https://www.youtube.com/EducatorAlexander:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/educatoralexander: https://www.pinterest.com/educatoralexander: https://www.tiktok.com/@educatoralexander: Pronouns: She/Her Book Available: Ready to Be an Educational Leader: Your Guide for Passing the SLLA 6990 Short Link: https://bit.ly/sllabook