And the Learning Continues with Zencastr

Ever since the Blab website went away, I have been using Google Hangouts on Air to connect with my guests. After the hangout I take the audio from the video and then edit it using Audacity. Well, earlier this month Google Hangouts on Air moved over to YouTube. It now lives within the "Live Streaming" section over there. At first I wasn't very happy about this but after some investigation I realized that it is essentially the same thing, just in a different place.

Last night, while I was surfing the net I got a FB message from my Jedi Podcasting Master, +Brian Briggs. He had found a 'new' podcasting option and was letting me know about it. Less than 2 minutes later, we are chatting on this new platform!! Talk about making my day! As Brian and I were chatting and soaking in the features/options on this site I had to wipe the drool from my face before it hit my keyboard. 

Zencastr is the name of the site and you can read about all its amazingness at the site. I just listened to the short audio Brian and I recorded yesterday and it's great! There is no video option with Zencastr but that is ok because video uses up a lot of bandwidth which reduces the quality of the audio when people are using wifi (and even when people are hard wired) to connect. 

Looking forward to using Zencastr right away. Stay tuned. 

Ep16 - Jaime Casap: "What's your purpose? What problem do you want to solve?"

In this episode I connect with Jaime Casap - the Chief Education Evangelist at Google. Jaime travels the globe talking about the power and potential of technology and the Internet to enable and support learning. When I heard Jaime speak at Google HQ in 2014, he talked about education as a silver bullet. His narrative has always interested me. Born and raised in Hell's Kitchen, New York (as a first generation American to a single mother), he experienced poverty first hand and 'beat the odds' to become an influential advocate for the improvement of education through the use of technology. 

Listen in to hear what Jaime has to say about the former Google Teacher Academy (now known as the Google Innovation Academy), the work he has been doing at Google for the last 10 years, the power of education and growing up in poverty, his motivation/inspiration to get himself out of poverty (fear and stubbornness), how he ended up at Google, being contacted by the First Lady for an event at the White House called "Beat the Odds", what exciting to him about the education space, the importance of being who you are, what real collaboration is, what he would say to people who aren't motivated and not sure where to start, how finding your purpose is different than doing what you love, and being resistant to change and what that actually means (it's not the change people are resistant to it's what the change actually is).         

You can listen to the Podcast here.   

You can connect with Jaime on Twitter (@jcasap) and/or on Google +.

Ep15 - Doug Peterson: "Lead them to water and show them what's there"

In this episode I chat with Doug Peterson. Doug is a retired Ontario educator who taught at the High School level (Computer Science, Data Processing, Mathematics and Business Education teacher and Department Head) and later became a Computers in the Classroom Consultant. Doug has, and continues to be, quite involved with the integration of technology in education. He has extensive experience chairing and co-chairing Edtech conferences in the province, is an avid blogger, and leverages social media to connect with others and share his learning. 

Listen in to hear what Doug has to say about the work he did in his teaching career, what got him interested in "computers in the classroom" - Mr. Cook, what led him to become a teacher, his interest and engagement in social media, how people could get started with blogging, his Follow Friday (#ff) philosophy, how people might get started using social media (Twitter), what he would say to someone to help them get motivated/inspired, the power of Twitter with respect to face to face interactions, and the importance of patience when helping people learn about edtech/social media.

You can hear the Ep here.


You can connect with Doug on Twitter (@dougpete) and/or at his website.

Ep14 - James Sanders: "Look for the smallest increment of progress"

Episode 14 belongs to James Sanders. James is an educator, innovator, vlogger, and founder (BreakoutEDU - a platform for immerse learning games) who resides in San Francisco, California. James has a passion for trying new things and going after the 'fun' aspects of projects that interest him - and does so with gusto.

Check out what James has to say about the path that has led him to his present day work, his background/history as an educator, being a Presidential Innovation Fellow at the White House, "What if..." questions and the ideas in his head that he wants to test out, the beginnings of BreakoutEDU (Canadian content!!), his vlog, and what he would say to someone to help them find their motivation/inspiration (Austin Kleon book called "Show Your Work").

Podcast Audio: Ep14 James Sanders

You can connect with James on Twitter (@jamestsanders) and/or at his About.me page.

Ep12 - Sam Patterson: "Let the kids lead you"

In this episode I connect with Sam Patterson, an educator in California. Sam is currently the Makerspace Coordinator in an independent school (Echo Horizon School) in Culver City, California. Sam wears many hats - he has an EdD in Literacy, has a bunch of Puppets, is a Podcaster, is a Rasberry Pi Certified Educator, Google Certified Innovator, Sphero Ambassador, and an Author!

Listen in to hear what Sam says about his work as a Makerspace Coordinator, design thinking, the Makerspace at Echo Horizon, YouTube tutorials, challenge of the week, what motivates and inspires him to do what he does (he provides a great history of his journey), his book about programming in the primary grades (and how it came to be), his Puppets and how they came to be, his doctorate in Literacy Education, and how to help people become motivated and inspired.  

Sketch Nation: a site that lets you create games by drawing them.

https://rt.podbean.com/mf/web/4m2bzx/Ep12_Sam_Patterson.mp3

Sam has recently written a book entitled "Programming in the Primary Grades: Beyond the Hour of Code", check it out!

You can connect with Sam on Twitter (@SamPatue), at his About.me page, and/or his website.

Ep11 - Gerry Chidiac: "Do what you love to do!"

In this episode I chat with Gerry Chidiac, a High School teacher in British Columbia. Gerry teaches German, Social Justice, and Pre-Employment (working with at risk students struggling to get through school). Gerry has a great last name....and for the record, we are not related!

Listen in to what Gerry has to say about his connection with Ontario, his work teaching Social Justice and Genocide Studies, his connection to the Toronto Blue Jays (Bat flip article), fitting in time to reflect about his beliefs and to write his articles, writing a book, doing what he can to make the world a better place, 7 habits of highly effective people, a recent article he has written about people not being bad, failure/learning/success, the importance of creating happy memories, what he would say to people to help them feel motivated/inspired, being a Christian and working in the the public school system, Canada's multiculturalism, and the Middle East.

https://rt.podbean.com/mf/web/v9vv9u/Ep11_Gerry_Chidiac.mp3 

Gerry is on local radio, television, YouTube, and writes for his local newspaper and Troy Media. You can find Gerry's Troy media articles here and his local newspaper articles here. Take some time to check out his YouTube channel as well.       

You can connect with Gerry on Twitter (@GerryChidiac), Facebook, and/or email.

Ep10 - Will Gourley: "What's in your way?" "Let your heart be your guide"

It only took 10 episodes but I finally got to chat with Will Gourley, but I am glad that we finally made it happen. Will is an elementary teacher in Ontario who enjoys all things TED Ed. He was part of the 1st cohort of TED Ed Innovative Educators and recently did a TEDx talk in Kitchener. He brings a lot of passion to his role as a classroom teacher.

The Rolland Chidiac Connects podcast is an indirect result of Will's positive influence on me to innovate. You can imagine how happy I am to be able to chat with one of the people who have helped me "move forward" in a new and exciting way.

https://rt.podbean.com/mf/web/igzg69/Ep10_Will_Gourley.mp3

Listen in to what Will has to say about TED Ed Clubs, his role in education (Grade 6 Teacher), his work before becoming a teacher, his University experience, the benefits of failure/mistakes and what success is for each student, growth mindset, his TEDx talk, what motivates him as an educator, student  voice, helping others with motivation/inspiration, and blogging.  

You can connect with Will on Twitter (@WillGourley), his About.me page, and/or his blog.