The Teaching Space

Episode 25 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores how powerful a morning routine can be for teachers. Podcast Episode 25 Transcript  Welcome to The Teaching Space podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands.  Hello. It's Martine here and welcome to Episode 25 of The Teaching Space Podcast. Today we're talking about the power of a morning routine for teachers. Now, I'm not talking about the morning routine that happens with your learners in your classroom. I'm talking about you. Today's episode is all about you. The routine that happens from the moment you wake up until you arrive in your classroom. Today's episode, I repeat, is all about you. Backstory I'll give you a bit of backstory. Up until fairly recently, my morning routine was nonexistent. There was nothing resembling a routine for me in the mornings. I'd get up at different times every day. Sometimes I'd have breakfast, sometimes not. Sometimes I'd go to work early and do emails; sometimes I'd arrive exactly on time and start my day in

Podcast Episode 24 Transcript Welcome to The Teaching Space podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Hello, it's Martine here, and welcome to Episode 24 of The Teaching Space podcast. Today I'd like to talk about how I use Asana to manage my teaching workload. Asana and Trello Actually, I'm not just going to talk about my teaching workload. I use Asana to manage my entire life. I use it in combination with some other apps, but ultimately Asana is the hub of everything. So I've tried pretty much every task and project management tool out there. After lots of trial and error, I settled on Asana. But I must give an extra special runner-up style shout-out to Trello. Trello is a really good project management tool. I think Asana is a little bit more complex, but also a bit more powerful. So if you're looking for something slightly more simple then go with Trello, it's very visual and does similar things but in a different way. Asana - A Brief Overview In this episode I want to talk about a few

Episode 23 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores seven ways that teachers can rethink their approach to meetings. Podcast Episode 23 Transcript Welcome to The Teaching Space Podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands.  Hello, it's Martine here. Welcome to Episode 23 of The Teaching Space Podcast. It's wonderful to have you here with me. Today's episode is all about meetings. I'm going to share seven ways teachers can make a start at rethinking their approach to meetings, but why are we talking about meetings? What's the problem with meetings? Well, I'm going to be blunt. They suck up an inordinate amount of teacher's precious non-contact time, and that is simply not okay. What makes it worse is that many of the meetings we teachers attend don't actually need to be meetings. There is usually a more efficient way to handle the things discussed in the meeting. Meeting Strategies Now I appreciate you might not be responsible for setting your school's overall meeting strategy. By the way, that is

Episode 22 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores how Google Keep is your G Suite for Education secret weapon. Podcast Episode 22 Transcript Welcome to the Teaching Space Podcast coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Hello. It's Martine here and welcome to Episode 22 of the Teaching Space Podcast. Today's Episode is called is Your G Suite for Education Secret Weapon. And I should add that if your school or college isn't a G Suite for Education organisation you can still make use of this secret weapon as long as you have a Gmail email account. What is the Secret Weapon? So what is it? I know you're dying to ask. It's Google Keep. People talk all the time about Google Docs and Google Sheets and Google Classroom and rightly so. They are amazing tools. Nobody seems to be mentioning Google Keep and I just can't understand why. Google Keep is part of the Google apps suite you get with G Suite for Education and G Suite Basic and all other types of G Suite. It's web-based and available across different

Episode 21 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the use of exit tickets for assessment and evaluation with learners.  Podcast Episode 21 Transcript Welcome to The Teaching Space podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Hello, it's Martine here. Welcome to Episode 21 of The Teaching Space podcast. It's great to have you with me. Today's episode is called Excellent Exit Tickets For Assessment And Evaluation. What's an Exit Ticket? So what's an exit ticket? Well, typically it's a short assessment or evaluation activity that your students would complete before they leave the classroom. Often it will be a slip of paper which might be pre-printed to look like a ticket, or could be just a scrap of paper from your shredding bin. It could be an online exit ticket. You might use a Google Form or a Padlet or something similar. Whatever you use, the idea behind an exit ticket is that your student will complete it before they leave the session, and if they don't complete it they don't leave the sessi

Episode 20 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores nine classroom backchannel tools that can be used for communication between learners. Podcast Episode 20 Transcript Welcome to The Teaching Space Podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Hello, it's Martine here. Welcome to Episode 20 of The Teaching Space Podcast. Today's episode is all about backchannel tools. If you've not come across the phrase backchannel before, I will explain it to you. What is a Backchannel? A backchannel is a way for learners to have an on-topic conversation during a teaching session, this could be anything from learners in your class to delegates on a corporate course. Whoever they are, this is a way for them to either talk during the session and maybe submit questions, or even continue the conversation afterwards. The main reason for this episode is that I recently found out one of my favourite backchannel tools, TodaysMeet is closing its doors in June 2018. This, therefore, seemed like the ideal opportunity to l

Episode 19 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores how teachers use social media for personal and professional development and networking. Podcast Episode 19 Transcript Welcome to the Teaching Space Podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Hello, it's Martine here. Welcome to Episode 19 of the Teaching Space Podcast. Today I'm going to be giving you the lowdown on teachers and social media. Well, I say lowdown. This is a 10-minute episode, so it's quite difficult to give you the lowdown in 10 minutes, but I'm going to try. Q and A  I'm focusing on teachers using social media for personal and professional development and networking, not to connect with students. And I thought the easiest way to do this episode would be a Q and A format, so essentially I'm going to interview myself. I hope this works well. Anyway, let's give it a try. Question: Are you against using social media with students then? Answer: In principle, no, I'm not, assuming the students are of an appropriate age. I've seen m

Podcast Episode 18 Transcript Welcome to The Teaching Space podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Hello and welcome to Episode 18 of The Teaching Space podcast. It's Martine here. Thank you so much for joining me. In this episode, I want to encourage you to question the idea of digital natives. I hear a lot about digital natives versus digital immigrants when the topic of ed tech comes up in my staff room and other staff rooms that I have the privilege of visiting. Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants Before we get into the discussion about whether digital natives and digital immigrants are even a thing, let's rewind a little bit and, I'll tell you about when these terms were first used. Back in 2001, Marc Prensky wrote an essay, which coined the term digital natives and digital immigrants. He was getting at the fact that our students are digital natives and the teachers, most of the teachers, tend to be digital immigrants. This is a direct quote from the essay regarding Prensky's des

Episode 17 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores how you can set up your mobile phone for maximum efficiency. Podcast Episode 17 Transcript Welcome to the Teaching Space podcast. Coming to you from Guernsey in The Channel Islands.  Hello and welcome to Episode 17 of the Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here. Thank you so much for joining me. In this episode, I'm going to talk to you about a subject very dear to my heart and that's productivity. Companion Video In particular, we are going to focus on how you can set up your mobile phone so you are the boss of it and you use it on your terms and it isn't the constant distraction that I suspect it probably is for you right now. Teaching is such a busy job and I think it can become easier to manage if we are in charge of our time. And I think managing your mobile phone in an appropriate way very much forms part of that. Incidentally, talking to you about my mobile phone setup is quite a visual thing so I have also recorded a companion video for this podcast

Podcast Episode 16 Transcript Welcome to The Teaching Space Podcast coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Hello and welcome to Episode 16 of The Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here. Thanks for joining me. Today's episode is not going to be in the usual format. It is taking the format of an audio diary. Let me tell you why.... On the 23rd, 24th, and 25th of March, there was a Google Summit in London, and I was lucky enough to be asked to speak at the event. This is my first time speaking at an event like this as an educator and a Google Certified Trainer, and it was quite nerve-racking, I have to say. I thought it would be a nice idea for the podcast to record some audio snippets from the event and share them with you, so what follows is an audio diary covering my experience. I hope you enjoy it. Ooh, before I forget, I should mention the audio I recorded was on my mobile device, so if the quality isn't as good as normal, that's the reason. Okay, let's go. The French College Hello, it's Mar

Episode 15 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores two edtech tTools to try this week. ***04/04/18: since recording this episode, Padlet has introduced a new pricing structure - the free option only allows you 3 walls. While this is a bit disappointing, Padlet is still a great tool and I very much recommend it.*** Podcast Episode 15 Transcript Welcome to The Teaching Space Podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Hello, it's Martine here. Welcome to Episode 15 of The Teaching Space podcast. Thanks so much for joining me. In this episode, I'm going to share two ed tech tools that I think you're going to want to try this week or indeed next week. What is Padlet? The first tool is Padlet, and it can be found at padlet.com.  What is Padlet? Well, it's kind of an online bulletin board or notice board. That's how they describe it on the website, but actually, it's so much more than that. I really think of it as a collaborative online space. You can share all sorts of different things on a Padlet,

Episode 14 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the Power of Journaling for Teachers. Podcast Episode 14 Transcript Welcome to the Teaching Space Podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Hello and welcome to Episode 14 of The Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here, thank you so much for joining me. Today's episode is all about The Power of Journaling for Teachers. Well, I say for teachers, this podcast is aimed at teachers and trainers so there is going to definitely be a teaching training angle to the show. However, what I've learned over the past month or so is that journaling is very good for all aspects of your life and career. So, while there is going to be a bit of teaching stuff, I'm also going to talk about journaling in a more general sense. Let's get started then. What is Journaling? I found a really good definition, on a website called lonerwolf.com and I'm going to read that out to you because I think it explains the process really well: "Journaling is the practice of writ

Episode 13 of The Teaching Space Podcast is an interview with Elizabeth Hutchinson from the Schools' Library Service in Guernsey. Podcast Episode 13 Transcript Welcome to The Teaching Space podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands.  Hello, and welcome to Episode 13 of The Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here, thank you so much for joining me. In today's episode, I'm interviewing Elizabeth Hutchinson from the Schools' Library Service in Guernsey.  Martine: Welcome, Elizabeth. Elizabeth: Hello there, nice to be here. Martine: Lovely to have you here. Rather than me do the introductions, I'm going to kick off with a question to you. Who are you and what do you do? Elizabeth: Okay. I'm Head of the Schools' Library Service in Guernsey. I'm a librarian, and I support the school libraries across the Bailiwick of Guernsey. We look after and support all primary schools, all secondary schools, and we even fly across to Alderney to support them too. Martine: Fantastic. It's a busy job then, by th

Episode 12 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the Pomodoro Technique and why it is the perfect productivity tool for teachers. Podcast Episode 12 Transcript Welcome to The Teaching Space podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands.  Hello, and welcome to Episode 12 of The Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here, thank you so much for joining me. In today's episode, I'm going to talk to you about why I believe the Pomodoro Technique is the perfect productivity tool for teachers. What is the Pomodoro Technique? If you've not come across the Pomodoro Technique before, it is a time management method developed by a chap called Francesco Cirillo in the late 80s. The technique involves using a timer to break work down into intervals. And traditionally, those intervals are 25 minutes in length, and a 25-minute chunk of work is called a Pomodoro. Why Pomodoro? It's called a Pomodoro because Mr. Cirillo used to use a kitchen timer that was shaped like a tomato, and I believe, correct me if I'm wro

Episode 11 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores Covey's circle of influence and circle of concern. Podcast Episode 11 Transcript Welcome to The Teaching Space podcast, coming to you from Guernsey in the Channel Islands.  Today we're going to be talking about understanding your circle of influence and circle of concern. This concept comes from Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People I'm not one of these people who stands by absolutely everything in that book, but there is one thing that I find myself using in my teaching role all the time, and it's having an awareness of my circle of influence and circle of concern.  That's why I thought it would be a really good topic to cover in isolation for an episode. Having an awareness of my circles is really helpful for working out where to focus my effort and energy. It allows me to prioritise effectively. For those of you who've not come across the circle of influence and circle of concern, let me explain

Episode 10 of The Teaching Space Podcast shares 10 things you must do before, during and after an education conference. Podcast Episode 10 Transcript Introduction Hello and welcome to episode ten of the Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here. In today's episode, I want to share with you ten things you must do before, during and after attending an education conference. Bett Show 2018 These ten things are based on recent experience. In January, I attended the Bett Show, which takes place in London. And it's a large education technology show at the ExCel Centre. Now, I'm based in Guernsey, so the reality of attending a show at the ExCel Centre looks something like this: The Journey I take the red-eye flight, which is the seven a.m. flight from Guernsey to London Gatwick. We used to be able to fly directly to London City, which was a lot more convenient if you know London geography, but alas, that's not possible anymore. So I'm on the red-eye flight at seven a.m. I like to be at the airport an hour before, so

Episode 9 of The Teaching Space podcast is an interview with ADHD expert Soli Lazarus.  Martine: Hello, it's Martine here. Welcome to the Teaching Space Podcast. Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Soli Lazarus. Now, rather than tell you all about Soli, I'm going to ask her to introduce herself. Soli, welcome to the show. Soli: Hello, Martine. Thank you so much for inviting me. It's lovely to be here today. Martine: It's great to have you here. Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do? Soli: Right. Yes, my name is Soli. I'm, at the moment, an assistant SENCO in a large primary school in London. I do that part-time. The rest of my time, I run my own consultancy, Yellow Sun. I support families with children with autism and ADHD. I support them on a one-to-one basis within a support group. We have a great Facebook group. I have an online training course and I've got so many other things in the pipeline. My head's buzzing with ideas. But I'm super, super passionate about p

Episode 8 of The Teaching Space Podcast asks and (hopefully) answers the question "what's the difference between coaching and teaching?" Podcast Episode 8 Transcript Welcome to episode 8 of The Teaching Space Podcast. Today's episode asks the question "what is the difference between coaching and teaching?" This question arose out of a discussion in The Teaching Space Staff Room Facebook group. One of the members suggested this would be a good topic to cover in a podcast, so I am responding to that. Incidentally, if you aren't a member of the Facebook group, it would be great to have you in there because, as you can see, you can influence the topics I cover on the show. Terminology  The terms teaching or training and coaching are often used interchangeably but actually, there is a distinct difference between the two, and that's what we're about to explore.  What is Teaching? Teaching is concerned with the acquisition of new knowledge. A teacher uses their own knowledge and experience, as they are a subject exp

Episode 7 of The Teaching Space Podcast investigates Medium, the popular blogging and social media tool. Podcast Episode 7 Transcript Welcome to episode 7 of The Teaching Space Podcast. Before, we start, if you can hear any weird crunching sounds in the background, I'm afraid that's my dog. She's joining me for recording today. In this episode, I am going to introduce you to an exciting social media platform from which I get a fantastic wealth of content related to teaching and training. That platform is Medium. About Medium So let me tell you a bit about Medium. It was created by Twitter co-founder Evan Williams in 2012. The idea behind it was that people would be allowed to share more in-depth articles than the 140 characters they shared on Twitter (which is, of course, now a lot longer than that, but at the time it was a hundred and forty characters). According to Medium's website: "Medium taps into the brains of the world's most insightful writers, thinkers and storytellers, to bring you the smartest take

Episode 6 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores 5 ways teachers can mark or grade faster and smarter. Podcast Episode 6 Transcript Welcome to episode 6 of The Teaching Space Podcast. In the last episode, I promised we would be delving into ways teachers can mark or grade faster and smarter. And that's what we're going to talk about today. 1. Feedback Abbreviations; My first top tip is to come up with abbreviations for your feedback. Make a note of any feedback comments you seem to be repeating and then abbreviate them and provide learners with a key to your abbreviations. Here's an example. You have a learner who has made a spelling, punctuation or grammar error, for example, they've missed out an apostrophe. Rather than typing or writing "please can you check your spelling here, there seems to be an apostrophe error." You might put "P-A". (Punctuation-Apostrophe). Put these abbreviations in a spreadsheet and have your spreadsheet open by your side when you are marking. Also, provide your learners with a lin