Episode 94 of The Teaching Space Podcast shares three tips for an organised Google Classroom. Introduction I wouldn't usually focus on a single tool that you might or might use for a podcast; however, I think the ideas behind these tips can apply to other tools in a more general sense, so I hope they are helpful. I am dealing with some concepts that will likely be communicated better visually so please pop over to the show notes to see some annotated screenshots: theteachingspace.com/94. Tip One...
May 30, 2020•10 min
Episode 93 of The Teaching Space Podcast looks at what makes a successful video conference call. Introduction This episode has been inspired by the recent increase in video calls I've experienced as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. While I certainly don't profess to be an expert video call host or participant, I realised early on that I'd had a bit more experience than some in this area. I thought it would be useful to compile and share some top tips for a successful call. I'll start with genera...
May 23, 2020•12 min
Episode 92 of The Teaching Space Podcast is about my approach to running an online class. Introduction I am recording this episode in April 2020 while Guernsey is locked down in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Because I bulk record my episodes, you will be listening to this in the future. I hope that life has got back to some semblance of normal now, but I suspect things won't ever be the same again. This episode, and the next few that follow, are inspired by my personal experience of teaching ...
May 16, 2020•13 min
Episode 91 of The Teaching Space Podcast explains my number one productivity tip for teachers and trainers. Introduction Let’s talk about the biggest challenge facing teachers today - too much to do and not enough time. There is so much information in a teacher’s head at any one time, it is amazing anything gets done. I wish this wasn’t the case, but I strongly believe it is. It is one of the reasons I started this podcast. While I wish I could go to the root of the problem and fix it (that’s a ...
May 09, 2020•10 min
Episode 90 of The Teaching Space Podcast attempts to answer this question: should I start a teaching blog? Introduction I’m often asked where I get ideas for podcast episodes (which, 90 episodes in, is a fair question!) My favourite episodes are those that answer questions I am asked. This episode is one of those. A colleague asked me if they should start a teaching blog; I have recorded this response. The short answer is YES as more voices are needed in the online teaching community. We lack di...
May 02, 2020•11 min
Episode 89 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the use of mind maps for teachers, trainers and students. Introduction There’s a lot of buzz about graphic organisers at the moment (also known as concept maps and knowledge organisers). And rightly so, they are an amazing way for students and teachers alike to chunk up aspects of a subject and make connections between themes and ideas. If you Google ‘graphic organisers’ you’ll find a range of templates from simple to complex. Oliver Caviglioli h...
Apr 25, 2020•10 min
Here's a word for word transcript of the episode: Introduction ------------ Hello. It's Martine here. Welcome to the Teaching Space podcast. This is a special episode. It doesn't have a number so hopefully that won't be too confusing when it comes to looking at your list of episodes. I wanted to record a special episode today and the date is Friday, the 3rd of April. I'll be releasing this episode today as well. I don't normally tell you the date that I'm recording because I bulk record my episo...
Apr 03, 2020•16 min
Episode 88 of The Teaching Space Podcast explains my method for reading and taking notes on a journal article. Introduction At the time of recording, I am about half way through my first year of a Master’s in Education (listen to episode 80 if you would like to hear more about this). Something I really struggled with at the start, but is now starting to get a little easier, is reading and making notes on journal articles. In this episode, I will share my approach. This might well be something I ...
Mar 28, 2020•9 min
Episode 87 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores yoga as a tool for wellbeing for teachers and trainers. Introduction Honestly, I have been unsure about recording this episode because there has, in the past, been negative chat in the community about educational organisations introducing a yoga initiative as a bit of a coverup for other issues. For example ‘workloads are too high; let’s put on a yoga class’… type thing. That’s not what this episode is about. And for the avoidance of doubt, I don...
Mar 21, 2020•9 min
Episode 86 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores 5 more ways teachers can mark faster and smarter. Introduction This episode is a follow up to podcast episode 6 in which we looked at: Feedback abbreviations Feedback database Rubrics Peer and self-assessment Video feedback 1. Work Less Than Your Students The idea of marking so you work less than your students is inspired by a blog post I read on Teacher Toolkit . It’s not a tool as such, it is more of a mindset, and will, of course, be dictated ...
Mar 14, 2020•9 min
Introduction This episode includes a number of resources and links that I have posted below. Please excuse the audio quality, I recorded this episode on my phone! Links and Resources: 10 Things You Must do When Attending an Education Conference Bett Show Turnitin Google Classroom Teacher Toolkit Teacher Toolkit on Twitter Just Great Teaching by Ross Morrison McGill Teacher Tapp app Teacher Tapp on Twitter Wrap Up Support the Show That’s it for today. Before I go I have a small request: if you en...
Mar 07, 2020•20 min
Episode 84 of The Teaching Space Podcast is about TickTick and why it's a helpful tool for teachers and trainers. Introduction In the last episode, I shared my love of note-taking apps... today's episode is about to-do list apps! Actually, it’s about one app in particular: TickTick . I’ve tested a lot of apps to manage my tasks including: Asana (I have a podcast about this ) Workflowy Trello Notion ClickUp (for about 10 minutes) Todoist Wunderlist (now Microsoft To Do) I am currently using TickT...
Feb 29, 2020•9 min
Episode 83 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores three note-taking apps for teachers and trainers. Introduction As a child, I was obsessed with notepads. As an adult, I am obsessed with note-taking apps. I’ve been trying out three ‘new to me’ apps lately so I thought I’d share my findings with you. These are not intended to be detailed reviews by the way - I want to give you just enough information to decide whether you want to try these tools out. You’ll note (pardon the pun) that Evernote is ...
Feb 15, 2020•9 min
Episode 82 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores four methods for formative assessment. Introduction It’s another back to basics episode today. We’re exploring a few of my favourite formative assessment methods. Formative Versus Summative Assessment As a little ‘revision’ let’s distinguish between formative and summative assessment. Formative assessment is known as ‘assessment for learning'. It is consists of informal assessment methods, usually devised by the teacher or trainer, to check learn...
Feb 08, 2020•13 min
Episode 81 of The Teaching Space Podcast goes 'back to basics' and revisits session planning. Introduction Some time ago I asked members of my Facebook group what type of podcast episodes they would like to see more of in the future and there were many votes for ‘back to basics’ topics. In response, we’re looking at session planning today. Initial Teacher Training One of the courses I most enjoy teaching is the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (formerly ‘PTLLS’). It’s an introduction to t...
Feb 01, 2020•12 min
Episode 80 of The Teaching Space Podcast is about being a Master's student while working full-time in further education. Introduction I believe there’s no better way to improve your teaching than to be a student as often as possible. It’s probably a good thing I hold this view as (a) part of my day job is leading professional development at my local FE college, and (b) I started studying for a Master’s in Education with the Open University in October 2019. In today’s episode, I want to tell you ...
Jan 25, 2020•9 min
Episode 79 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores ways teachers and trainers can manage worry. Introduction Today it’s personal! When I started this podcast back in 2017 I didn’t have plans to talk about myself a great deal. I knew I wanted to help teachers and trainers try to achieve their version of work/life balance, but of course, there was a personal reason for that. Without talking about myself explicitly, it was still about me. I was in a position to share some useful strategies I had lea...
Jan 18, 2020•13 min
Introduction Hello and welcome to the Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here. Thank you so much for joining me. Martine: Today, I have a guest on the show and we're going to be talking productivity. Rather than have a big intro, I'm going to hand straight over to my guest, Justin Hockey. Justin, welcome to the show. Justin: Thank you, Martine. It's great to be here. Martine: I'm so pleased to have you on. Could you tell me, I'm going to get you to introduce yourself if that's okay, who are yo...
Jan 11, 2020•39 min
Episode 77 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores setting up a professional development library… anywhere! Introduction Today’s episode is will be short and practical. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was an episode in its own right! However, based on the success of this particular initiative, I decided it was too good not to share. So, here’s the issue: through conversations with teaching colleagues, I became aware that only a small number seemed to be reading for professional development (with th...
Dec 07, 2019•10 min
Episode 76 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the topic of helping lower level learners to thrive. Introduction Hello and welcome to The Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here. Thank you so much for joining me. Today I have a guest on the show and, I think, rather than me tell you all about her, I'm going to ask her to do that bit herself. Hello, Louise. How are you? Louise: Hello, I'm good. Thank you. Martine: Welcome to the show. Would you like to introduce yourself to The Teaching Spac...
Nov 30, 2019•33 min
Episode 75 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores five more ways teachers and trainers can improve their presentation slides. Introduction In episode 45 of The Teaching Space Podcast I explored ten ways teachers and trainers could improve their presentation slides. I recommend you listen to the episode or read the show notes. As a short recap, I covered this: Use a consistent design Use images carefully Pay attention to fonts Avoid text heavy slides Try shortlinks Embed video Keep animation mini...
Nov 21, 2019•10 min
Episode 74 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the visual note taking skill of sketchnoting. Introduction In today’s episode we’re exploring my new favourite thing: sketchnoting. I am excited about this topic because it seems to combine all of my worlds: education, writing, reading, learning, technology and drawing. I’m still a sketchnoting novice, but hopefully, for the purpose of this podcast anyway, my enthusiasm makes up for my lack of skill. What are Sketchnotes? According to sketchnote-...
Nov 16, 2019•9 min
Episode 73 of The Teaching Space Podcast shares clips from my visit to the ResearchED National Conference in London earlier this year. Links and Resources This episode features a selection of recordings I made on my mobile phone (please excuse the quality) while attending the ResearchED National Conference in September 2019. Here are some of the people and resources I mentioned: ResearchED ResearchED Guernsey event Daisy Christodoulou on Twitter Seven Myths About Education by Daisy Christodoulou...
Nov 09, 2019•13 min
Episode 72 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the skill of public speaking and why it is relevant to teachers and trainers. Introduction Today’s episode is based on a blog post I wrote a few years back on public speaking. I really wanted to make an audio version; so here it is. Before I launch into this topic, I want to say this: teaching is SO MUCH MORE than public speaking. I don't believe good public speakers necessarily make good teachers. In fact, often, they're terrible. The role of th...
Oct 26, 2019•21 min
Episode 71 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores how to get started with productivity apps and tools. Introduction If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while you will know I love a good productivity app! If a new one comes out I will be first in line to try it. However, the massive range of tools and apps available can be overwhelming, particularly if you are just starting your journey to becoming a productive teacher. Even if you’ve been working on improving your productivity for some...
Oct 19, 2019•14 min
Episode 70 of The Teaching Space Podcast is an interview with Oli Bailey-Davies discussing the use and impact of plenaries. Introduction Hello and welcome to the Teaching Space podcast. It's Martine here. Thank you so much for joining me. In today's episode I am excited to bring you an interview. I'm going to hand straight over to Oli and ask him to introduce himself to you, explain who he is, what he does and where he is in the world. Martine: Hello Oli. Oli: Hi, Martine. How are you? Martine: ...
Oct 12, 2019•33 min
Episode 69 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores different ways to start your teaching sessions. Introduction We’re going back to teaching basics today and focussing on starter activities. For the benefit of any new teachers or trainers listening, a starter activity is a short activity at the start of the session which engages your learners as soon as they arrive. It sets the tone of the session. Why are Starter Activities a Good Idea? One of the main benefits of using a starter activity is tha...
Oct 06, 2019•12 min
Episode 68 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores a reluctant teacher’s experience of meditation. Introduction So, guess what? The “one teacher” named in the title is me and up until about six weeks ago, my general attitude towards meditation was something akin to: it’s a bit “woo-woo” and it’s for “other people”. I should have called this episode “One Reluctant, Anti-Woo-Woo Teacher’s Experience with Meditation” actually; it would have been more accurate. Let’s unpick this a little. Based on a ...
Sep 26, 2019•11 min
Episode 67 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores seven ways you can simplify your life outside work. Introduction While I keep my personal and professional lives separate, I cannot deny that having a simple, stress-free personal life makes me happier and more productive at work. Here are seven ways I have made my life outside work as simple as possible. Each of these strategies saves precious minutes and minimises stress. 1. Wardrobe Choices My college doesn’t have a specific dress code; teache...
Sep 19, 2019•12 min
Episode 66 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the power of sticky notes! Why Sticky Notes? My favourite non-digital teaching tool is, without a doubt, the humble sticky note. Despite running a mostly paperless classroom, I seem to be able to find a phenomenal number of uses for these magical squares of stationery goodness. In fact, I love them so much, I thought they deserved a dedicated podcast episode. Incidentally, I will probably use the terms “sticky note” and “post-it note” interchange...
Sep 12, 2019•14 min
