Block Schedules, #EdTech, John Nesi - HoET108

#EdTech Thought

Amazon Skill Announcement!

UPDATE: THIS SKILL WAS RETIRED IN EARLY 2020.

I am excited to announce that I have developed and have released an Amazon Alexa Skill for the House of EdTech! This is, for all intents and purposes, a new podcast exclusive to the Amazon platform. If you don’t have an Amazon device I’m sorry, but I am currently working on another distribution option to accommodate all AI users.

I’m calling this the House of #EdTech 60 Sec Rec. In 60 seconds you will get a new edtech recommendation, 5 days per week Monday-Friday. I may also include other bite-size nuggets of edtech awesomeness too!

New content will start to publish on April 30th, 2018. If you’re listening to this after April 30, 2018, enable the skill and you will be able to jump right in.

The way I have it set-up you will always be able to listen to the 5 most recent briefings. After you’ve heard some please let me know what you think or if you have an idea for other content you would like to get in this way please go chrisnesi.com/feedback and let me know.

One last thing, if you have something you would like to recommend then send me 30-45 seconds of audio and I would be happy to feature you!

#EdTech Recommendation

Telegram

• Telegram is a cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging app with a focus on security and speed.
• Who is Telegram for?
  • Telegram is for everyone who wants fast and reliable messaging and calls.
  • Telegram groups can have up to 100,000 members, with support for replies, mentions, and hashtags that help maintain order and keep communication in large communities efficient. You can appoint admins with advanced tools to help these communities prosper in peace. Public groups can be joined by anyone and are powerful platforms for discussions and collecting feedback.
  • In case you’re more into pictures, Telegram has animated gif search, a state of the art photo editor, and an open sticker platform. What‘s more, there is no need to worry about disk space on your device. With Telegram’s cloud support and cache management options, Telegram can take up nearly zero space on your phone.
  • Those looking for extra privacy should check out our advanced settings and rather revolutionary policy. And if you want secrecy, try our device-specific Secret Chats with self-destructing messages, photos, and videos — and lock your app with an additional passcode.
• There is an app for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, as well Windows, Mac, and you can access Telegram via your browser.
• I’m going to be testing Telegram and I’m exploring it as a Voxer replacement. It would be cool if you tried it with me!
• Why switch to Telegram?
  • Telegram messages are heavily encrypted and can self-destruct.
  • Telegram lets you access your messages from multiple devices.
  • Telegram is free forever. No Ads. No subscription fees.
  • Telegram has no limits on the size of your media and chats.
  • Groups of up to 100,000 members.
  • Send documents of any type.
  • Destruct your messages with a timer.
• My username is @chrisnesi
  • https://t.me/chrisnesi

Featured Content

My Dad, John Nesi, first appeared on episode 100 of the podcast and so many of you reached out with your compliments about our conversation so I decided to bring him back into the studio for another education conversation.

The bulk of our conversation revolves around block scheduling. Dad shares his school/district’s 3-year planning that is about to go into effect beginning in September 2018. His school, Marlboro (NJ) HS, and the Freehold Regional School District have chosen a rotating block schedule.

House of #EdTech VIP

KEIRA SCUSSA – Asst. Superintendent of C&I @ NB Public Schools (UPDATE: LEFT DISTRICT DEC. 2020). In this role, she focuses on promoting a collaborative professional environment to create successful school experiences for teachers and students, as she supervises all district instructional programs.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s University and a master’s in Educational Leadership from Delaware Valley University.

Before taking on the role of Asst. Super Keira spent 20 years in the classroom and as an administrator. She has worked at multiple grade levels and in a variety of educational settings. She previously served as a Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Special Education, and Basic Skills teacher, and worked as a Gifted and Talented coordinator.

She’s got great energy and enthusiasm for education and she is worth adding to your PLN.

Connect with Keira: https://twitter.com/keirascussa