Hosted by John Mikton and Dan Taylor. Every two weeks we discuss all aspects of technology and life in International Schools.
Episodes
Monday Jul 24, 2023
Monday Jul 24, 2023
Valérie and Jane share their work, experience and learnings with the dynamics, challenges, and opportunities of transitions for students, parents, educators and schools. Together we explore the creative tensions many international educators and students experience with transitioning between schools and cultures, and how their respective organisations support and provide resources for the positive transition-care of students, families and educators around the world.
About Valérie Besanceney
Valérie Besanceney is an international education and transition consultant, passionate about helping students, staff and families thrive through transitions. Author of two children’s books, B at Home: Emma Moves Again and My Moving Booklet and founder of Roots with Boots, she currently consults for families, schools, and organizations. She is Dutch by birth, Swiss by nationality, and well-versed in cross cultural awareness. Having moved often as a child, Valérie understands the challenges and impact of early transitions on your sense of identity and belonging as an adult. Valérie has been an international educator for the past 18 years in international schools and organizations across four continents. Valérie serves as the Executive Director of Safe Passage Across Networks’ (SPAN)) and is the co-creator and co-facilitator of the SPAN certificate course on the Laws of Transitions. Together with her husband and their two daughters, she lives in Gryon, Switzerland.
About Jane Barron
Jane Barron (MEd) is an educational consultant specialising in student cross-cultural transitions. Her professional hats include educator, researcher and writer. Jane’s work is informed by a lifetime of mobility, parenting two Cross-Cultural Kids and 30 years of teaching and consulting in both international and local schools. Committed to healthy cross-cultural transitions and attachment security, she has been a part of the Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN) leadership since 2016 and is currently serving as their Director of Training and Consulting. Founder of Globally Grounded, Jane consults to schools, families and students crossing cultures, developing their understanding of the impact of cross-cultural mobility, creating programs and implementing support mechanisms to enhance learning and life. She is the lead researcher of Surveying the Landscape: Common Practices, Challenges and Opportunities in International School Transitions-Care (2020). Currently based on Garigal land in Sydney, Australia, Jane's writing has been published in numerous international education publications.
Social Media
SPAN
Website: Safe Passage Across Networks
LinkedIn: Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN)
Facebook: SPANschools
Instagram: spanschools
Twitter: @SPAN_schools
Roots with Boots:
Website: Roots with Boots
LinkedIn: Valérie Besanceney
Facebook: Valérie Besanceney
Resources
A summary of different ways to connect with SPAN:
- The SPAN website, for engagement with other transition-care providers, curated resources and pathways for an enhanced positive transitions-care program in your school and between schools.
- ‘The Nest’, to join SPAN’s free monthly award-winning online gathering for positive transitions-care practitioners and advocates, first Thursday of every month @12 UTC.
- The Annual Virtual SPAN Symposium, to gather together like-minded practitioners and supporters to strengthen the network of positive transitions-care across international schools
- The SPAN Training & Consulting team to strengthen your positive transitions-care team, policies, programs and practices. SPAN’s courses, workshops and consultancy services empower individuals, schools and school networks to transform transitions-care for their community members.
- Our Laws of Transitions Certificate Course, which offers research, practical strategies, and the opportunity to share best practices to enhance positive transitions-care within and between schools. Your team can also benefit from the Early Bird discount on registration before August 15, 2023.
- SPAN Membership, to join a network of people on the frontline of transitions-care in schools, small businesses and organisations. As part of this network, an individual, small business school or organisation SPAN member finds a home where like-minded people connect, support and encourage one another. With discounted access to expert training and resources, they also feel equipped and refreshed to continue their important work.
John Mikton on Social Media
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton
Web: beyonddigital.org
Dan Taylor on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantcz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanTaylorAE
Web: www.appsevents.com
Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube
Would you like to have a free 1 month trial of the new Google Workspace Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education)? Just fill out this form and we’ll get you set up bit.ly/GSEFE-Trial
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
An opportunity to connect with John Miller of the Agile Classroom, a next-generation learning framework, with a student-centered approach, emphasizing collaboration, communication, self-organization, and social skills . We look at the Agile classrooms approach focusing on real-world approaches that the most innovative companies in the world use brought to a classroom setting. What the structures, workflows and pedagogic strategies for educators to consider when working with this framework.
About John Miller
I had worked for years as an Education Technology Director for a school district, which as a whole, wanted to move towards integrating 21st century skills within the curriculum. But what we found was that we could not change the way students learn, without first changing and modeling these 21st-century skills in the staff and teaching methods themselves.
Using Agile, I spearheaded an innovative and engaging way to organize workflows with self-managed teams and quick feedback, creating a healthy and productive workplace culture that allowed for growth and prosperity.
John is a Certified Scrum Trainer, Certified Enterprise Coach®, Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, ICF Associate Certified Coach, Spiral Dynamics Integral Level 2, and a Project Management Professional. When not focused on work, John loves to surf (well, wiping out more than actually surfing), spend time with his family and 2 daughters, volunteer as a life coach for students, and make insanely delicious drinking chocolates.
John Miller on Social Media
Twitter: @agileschools
Website: https://agileclassrooms.com/
John Mikton on Social Media
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton
Web: beyonddigital.org
Dan Taylor on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantcz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanTaylorAE
Web: www.appsevents.com
Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube
Would you like to have a free 1 month trial of the new Google Workspace Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education)? Just fill out this form and we’ll get you set up bit.ly/GSEFE-Trial
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
Angela and Peter educators and now entrepreneurs share their journey around the transition to starting a company focused on report writing and leveraging new AI technologies to save teachers time, improve workload and enhance the quality of feedback to students and parents. We explore why such a company, the challenges and opportunities of using artificial intelligence in delivering an educators service and learnings from the experience.
About Angela Newton
Angela is Co-Founder of Real Fast Reports - an AI-powered report writing tool that helps teachers to write better school reports, faster. She is an established education professional with experience across the education landscape.
She started out as a teacher, working in a range of secondary school contexts across London as a Chemistry teacher and Head of Faculty..
Alongside developing and growing Real Fast Reports, she is a policy and delivery advisor at the Department for Education, with special interest in social mobility, support for vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people, and early help to improve educational and health outcomes.
Angela Newton on Social Media
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/newtonangela
Twitter: @newton_angie
About Peter Gravell
Peter is the Co-Founder of Real Fast Reports, an AI-powered tool that is revolutionizing school reports.
As a former teacher, timetabler, and Head of Science in top UK and international schools, Peter understands the challenges educators face. He’s also a parent of two, so he has experienced reports from a parent’s perspective.
An experienced programmer and Google Certified Innovator, Peter co-founded Real Fast Reports with Angela after recognizing the potential of GPT-3, a precursor to ChatGPT.
Based in Gran Canaria, Peter remains focused on creating innovative tools that enable educators to thrive and enrich students' academic experiences.
Peter Gravell on Social Media
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petergravell
Resources
Website: realfastreports.com
Twitter: @realfastreports
John Mikton on Social Media
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton
Web: beyonddigital.org
Dan Taylor on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantcz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanTaylorAE
Web: www.appsevents.com
Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube
Would you like to have a free 1 month trial of the new Google Workspace Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education)? Just fill out this form and we’ll get you set up bit.ly/GSEFE-Trial
Saturday Jun 10, 2023
Saturday Jun 10, 2023
Data and information have become a critical component to leading and managing international schools. Understanding the data and more importantly getting it into a format and visual representation that all stakeholders can understand and engage with comes with challenges and opportunities Chris Smith shares his experiences supporting schools, the technology behind the data, and how this process supports schools to be agile and responsive to changes and needs of the school community.
About Chris Smith
Chris is an academic data specialist for school leaders and educators. He helps them make sense of their data by turning it into information that informs effective decision-making.
Chris has worked with clients such as Bedford School District, Singapore American School, Yongsan International School Seoul, Dallas Independent Schools, and Ferndale School District. He has coached and trained nearly 300 educators through his online synchronous and self-paced courses. Chris leads teams through data literacy, data visualization, and dashboard design workshops for organizations such as Apps Events and 21st Century Learning International using Google Workspace tools such as Google Sheets and Looker Studio.
Chris has 25 years of experience in education. Starting off as an elementary classroom teacher for 17 years, he moved into an educational technology coaching role and eventually found himself helping others be more efficient with their work around data analysis and data literacy. Chris holds a master’s in educational leadership from California State University, data science certification from Harvard Business School, and data visualization certification from Cornell University.
When not jamming out on spreadsheet formulas and chart elements, Chris can be found ascending punchy climbs and bombing down drops in the jungle on his mountain bike.
Appsevents Google Looker Studio for Educators and School Leaders next cohort October 2023! More info: https://appsevents.com/looker-studio
Chris Smith on Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/smithrchris
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smithvisualizations/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smithviz
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithrchris/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@smithviz
Resources
https://smithvisualizations.com/
https://courses.smithvisualizations.com/
https://appsevents.com/data-studio-course
John Mikton on Social Media
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton
Web: beyonddigital.org
Dan Taylor on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantcz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanTaylorAE
Web: www.appsevents.com
Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube
Would you like to have a free 1 month trial of the new Google Workspace Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education)? Just fill out this form and we’ll get you set up bit.ly/GSEFE-Trial
Saturday Jun 03, 2023
Saturday Jun 03, 2023
100 hundred conversations, 100+ guests who have come to share their story, learning, challenges and interests. Dan and I spend a few moments reflecting on how this podcast started in June 2019, some of the themes, focus areas, and reflection of the podcast and the times we live in. Thank you to the generosity and kindness of our guests. A huge shout out to our audience for your support and taking the time to listen, we both are most grateful. Ready for the next 100! Tune in with us!
John Mikton on Social Media
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton
Web: beyonddigital.org
Dan Taylor on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantcz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanTaylorAE
Web: www.appsevents.com
Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube
Would you like to have a free 1 month trial of the new Google Workspace Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education)? Just fill out this form and we’ll get you set up bit.ly/GSEFE-Trial