What happened in Charlottesville, Virginia should not be politicized, says Hack Learning creator Mark Barnes. Many people have made this despicable event about the president and what he said in the aftermath of violent protests of the removal of a statue. Teachers, parents, and school leaders are better served with a discussion about how the events in Charlottesville can lead to lessons about tolerance. But is teaching tolerance really a teacher's job? Mark says, Yes, and shares some What-You-Ca...
Aug 17, 2017•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast @markbarnes19 is Uncut again, and swearing, literally, that students need to like their teachers in order to learn from them. Mark references a blog post at Teachthought.com that covers students liking their teachers. Most students, Mark says, won't learn from you, if they don't like and trust you and believe you like them back. Find out why students must like you as a teacher and learn Mark's keys to making this happen this school year. Subscribe to the show at http://hacklearningpodcast.com Le...
Aug 01, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Engagement guru James Alan Sturtevant joins Mark to discuss better presenting for teachers and students and his latest book, Hacking Engagement Again: 50 Teacher Tools That Will Make Students Love Your Class. Sturtevant, host of the Hacking Engagement Podcast, shares some of his best engagement tools and strategies for being the Sage on the Stage (yes, it's okay when done right), but not boring students, and for eliminating those awful student-presentation days that most teachers (and students) ...
Jul 26, 2017•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Barnes is unedited and Uncut again, discussing how he used to be the most thin-skinned SOB you'd ever meet. Mark provides 3 simple hacks that he learned help thicken even the thinnest skin. Mark shares several personal stories about the dangers of having thin skin, from an epic blog post you can find on the blog at http://hacklearning.org . Listen to more episodes at http://hacklearningpodcast.com . Grab some free hacks for innovative teaching and leading at http://hacklearningfree.com...
Jul 10, 2017•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast We teach behind walls, and it's time to leverage todays technology to create transparency in education. In episode 92, Mark shares some right-now solutions for building a Glass Classroom -- an environment that empowers teachers and learners to show off what they're doing in class to all shareholders. Mark also wishes Happy Birthday to Book 1 in the Hack Learning Series -- Hacking Education: 10 Quick Fixes for Every School -- which turns 2 this month. Learn how to build a Glass Classroom tomorrow...
Jul 06, 2017•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this edition of Uncut, Mark riffs on teachers using technology, just to say that they are integrating technology in their classrooms. Telling kids to type an essay in a Google Doc just so they can say they're teaching with tech, only to have the students print the essay, is not creative technology integration. It's time to eliminate old-school EdTech, Mark says, in addition to sharing a cool new intro and outro of Hack Learning Uncut. To join the conversation, visit http://hacklearningambassa...
Jun 29, 2017•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 90 of the Hack Learning Podcast, Mark shares Toni's Template for engaging reluctant learners, taken from the forthcoming Hacking Engagement Again: 50 Teacher Tools That Will Make Students Love Your Class (Times 10 Publications August 2017) by James Alan Sturtevant. Toni taught some of Cleveland's most reluctant learners and developed a simple, hacky template for engaging even the most reluctant, and sometimes beligerant, students. Mark shares this amazing template, while providing a s...
Jun 14, 2017•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast As summer break begins, Mark gives a homework assignment to all teachers: Break up with nightly homework this coming school year. Learn how to change your homework mindset and eliminate the useless traditional homework assignments that often make students and parents hate school. Mark shares a story about lying constantly as a middle school student, in order to avoid punishment for not completing homework. He also provides an anecdote from school principal Bethany Hill, who has changed the homew...
Jun 07, 2017•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you tired of alerts? Fed up with one bell or buzz after another on your Smartphone or tablet? Now, you can sift through all the Internet noise with a much quieter, much more effective kind of alert -- Google alerts in your email inbox. In this episode, Mark shares three of 99 Ways to Leverage Google Tools in Classrooms, Schools, and Districts, from Hack Learning Book 11 -- Hacking Google for Education. All three strategies center on Google Alerts and how to use them to teach kids new ways to...
May 17, 2017•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast With sports fans abuzz over the NFL draft, Mark Barnes got to thinking, What if educators held their own draft? What positions would they fill. Mark selects his Top 3 in three key education categories. See how they stack up to your picks and share your favorites on Twitter at #DraftEDU Learn more at http://hacklearning.org/draftEDU Download Hack Learning Anthology for free at http://hacklearningfree.com...
Apr 26, 2017•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 42 percent of students who are bullied report that it happens in school hallways and stairwells. Thirty-four percent say they're bullied in the classroom, right under their teachers' noses, yet the bullying problem continues in both public and private schools. In this episode, Mark shares three easy hacks to stop bullying at your school. Check out the show notes at http://hacklearning.org/bullying . Download a free Hack Learning book at ...
Apr 05, 2017•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast After an intense debate on Facebook, which led to some heated comments, Mark explains how to both model and teach kids best practices on social media. Read his 5 tips for teaching kids to police themselves on social media at http://hacklearning.org/police . Grab the free Hack Learning Anthology and other Innovation Tips at http://hacklearningfree.com
Mar 22, 2017•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Asked by a book translator if people would consider the word "Hacking" negative, Hack Learning creator and your host Mark Barnes explained that "hackers" can actually be heroic. Mark shares the story of how a fictional character from the famous movie Jurassic Park taught him why hackers and hacking are perfect for education. Download the free Hack Learning Anthology at http://hacklearningfree.com Check out all podcast episodes at http://hacklearningpodcast.com...
Mar 03, 2017•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Worksheets and workbooks do not provide real-world learning opportunities. The best real-world teaching and learning comes from, where else, the real world. Mark Barnes explains how buying and selling a house gives his kids better real-world learning than they get at school and how teachers can carry their own real-word experiences back to their classrooms. For more episodes visit http://hacklearningpodcast.com . Download the free Hack Learning Anthology: Innovative Solutions for Teachers and Le...
Feb 15, 2017•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hacking Literacy author Gerard Dawson wonders, Why are required texts often so inaccessible? These texts are often not modern. They may take place in a different historical, geographical or cultural setting than the setting of your classroom. They are often written at a reading level that may far exceed that of your students, and the experiences of the characters may not immediately appear to be relevant to your students’ lives. With all that working against us, we still can make required texts ...
Feb 03, 2017•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 81 of the Hack Learning Podcast, Mark Barnes shares a heartfelt story from author James Sturtevant about being the best teacher you can be, taken from the conclusion of the new book, Hack Learning Anthology: Innovative Solutions for Teachers and Leaders. Read Sturtevant's story and learn more about being your best on the show notes page at http://hacklearning.org/bestteacher . For all the Hack Learning episodes, visit us at http://hacklearningpodcast.com . Look for the new Hack Learni...
Jan 26, 2017•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Meryl Streep, the three-time Oscar-winning actress, condemned the actions of a man she chose not to name and who shall remain nameless here on the Hack Learning Podcast. During her acceptance of the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement award at the Golden Globes, Streep stood as tall as ever, as she set her sights on the most powerful man in the world and fired back like no on has since the 2016 presidential election. Hack Learning Podcast host Mark Barnes discusses Streep's viral speech and su...
Jan 11, 2017•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Connie Hamilton wrote a book. What's the big deal? Like most would-be writers, Connie wondered if she could do it. In Episode 79 of the Hack Learning Podcast, educator/presenter and popular Twitter influencer Connie Hamilton explains how she went from self-doubting, wannabe writer to a published author whose book hit Number 1 on Amazon in its first week. Best of all, she gives you a success plan with some hacks you probably didn't know. Learn more about Connie's journey at http://hacklearning.or...
Jan 04, 2017•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Starr Sackstein believes in change, and sometimes change in education means cutting out archaic practices like traditional homework and grades. Author of Hacking Assessment and Hacking Homework, Starr explains how to change out-of-class work so that the onus of learning and how that learning is assessed falls squarely on our most important stakeholder — the student. Read an excerpt of Starr's latest book, Hacking Homework, at http://hacklearning.org/hwgrades Check out all Hack Learning podcast e...
Dec 27, 2016•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast PBL paralysis. That's a scary phrase that makes many teachers run as far as possible away from project-based learning. Hacking Project Based Learning authors and PBL and inquiry learning experts Ross Cooper and Erin Murphy explain how to overcome the paralysis and dive into project-based learning today. In this episode, the authors identify several problems with project-based learning and share several simple ways teachers can begin creating an efficient PBL environment immediately. Learn more a...
Dec 21, 2016•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's your turn. Let's hack your professional growth. You tell us what you need, and we'll give it to you. Visit http://hacklearning.org/survey . Answer three questions (it takes about 30 seconds). Ask and you shall receive. More episodes at http://hacklearning.org Read us at http://hacklearningbooks.com...
Dec 07, 2016•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Justin Birckbichler is 25 years old. He teaches fourth graders in Virginia, and he recently learned that he has cancer. What is he doing about this horrendous news? He's not screaming, "Why me?" and "Life's not fair!" He's not crying. He's not feeling sorry for himself or blaming anyone. And he is definitely not hiding his illness from anyone. Justin Birckbichler is taking action. He's talking about his cancer. He's telling his family, friends, and thousands of people who follow him on Twitter. ...
Nov 22, 2016•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's time to bring a little passion into school and into professional growth, according to school leaders and Hack Learning authors Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis. Based on the strategies in Hacking Leadership, Mark Barnes explains how school leaders can implement Passion Projects with teachers, so they'll be more enthusiastic about their own professional development. Passion Projects were inspired by Genius Hour for students. Learn more about Genius Hour in the free webinar at http://GHmasterc...
Nov 16, 2016•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Whole child education is often missing from our classrooms. Schools and teachers work in isolation, sometimes overlooking the impact other stakeholders can have on improving learning environments and pedagogy. Educator/innovator Valerie Lewis explains how to nurture your whole child movement with a School Advocacy & Advisory Council (SAAC) -- partnerships with multiple stakeholders outside the school, so we can better meet the needs of all learners. Learn how to begin your own SAAC today. Check ...
Nov 09, 2016•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Well-known connected educator Connie Hamilton says the most critical component of kids becoming independent learners is to be clear about what they should be learning and how it’s connected to a broader purpose. In another edgy, unabridged, unedited edition of Hack Learning Uncut, Hamilton, co-author of Hacking Homework: 10 Strategies That Inspire Learning Outside the Classroom, discusses a much-needed shift in education away from kids learning at home “because my teacher said I need to.” to stu...
Nov 04, 2016•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Many districts/schools are implementing technology programs that offer opportunities for 24/7 learning, but teachers need more support and ideas when it comes to implementing the technology in a way that redefines and transforms teaching and learning. Mark discusses using the SAMR model and the 4 Cs with Stephanie Smith Budhai and Laura McLaughlin Taddei, authors of Teaching the 4Cs with Technology: How do I use 21st century tools to teach 21st century skills? Learn more on the show notes page a...
Nov 01, 2016•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hack Learning Podcast host Mark Barnes is uncut, as he vilifies traditional homework and the idea that it has any real value to learners. Hack Learning Uncut is a special weekly episode, dedicated to subscribers. There are no formal show notes, although you can locate all episodes at http://hacklearningpodcast.com . To learn more about throwing out traditional homework and inspiring independent learning outside the classroom, look inside the book Hacking Homework at http://hackinghomework.com Jo...
Oct 28, 2016•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast A Teacher Disposition Assessment (TDA) measures bias. Student experts, who consume your presentations daily, generate critical information. The TDA is a set of teacher-created prompts based on potentially controversial subjects that may surface in the course content. Hacking Engagement author James Sturtevant created the TDA, so he could learn more about his own biases and how they impact teaching and learning in his class. In Episode 69, Mark Barnes explains Sturtevant's TDA and shares some Wha...
Oct 25, 2016•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Hack Learning "Uncut"--the unedited, unbridled, under-eight-minute edition of the Hack Learning Podcast--Mark Barnes explains how to do projects right. Using a model of an uninspiring old-school project, Mark shares some right-now solutions for bad projects and emphasizes how to do projects and project-based learning (PBL) right. Want to build a fascinating, engaging project-based learning event? This brief, Uncut podcast episode is the perfect starting point. Then, read the b...
Oct 21, 2016•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast When Kansas middle school teacher Casey Ewy realized that kids will become independent, enthusiastic learners if they are part of a non-threatening community, she threw out everything that most teachers consider to be classroom management and replaced those strategies with an emphasis on Classroom Core Values. Ewy and Mark discuss how to engage all students in a conversation about values and how to inspire students to create their own core values. Check out Ewy's 5 simple ways to integrate core ...
Oct 18, 2016•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
