At work on The Teachers Podcast

I just re-discovered this photo of me with colleague, Olivia, on my lap. I was hard at work reviewing materials for TTP right before recording an episode. I was sitting across from my podccasting parner, Dr. Kathy King, who snapped the picture. FYI - Kathy and I started The Teachers Podcast (orignal title was Podcast for Teachers) in August of 2005. Since then it has been downloaded more than 6 million times and been written about in too many articles to count. TTP is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential education podcasts since the medium was introduced. Please check it out @: http://teacherspodcast.org/

My Article "South Bronx 'GreenFab' Customizes Education" in CONVERGE Magazine

Often described with terms like “urban blight” and “toxic environment,” the Hunts Point neighborhood in New York’s Bronx does, in fact, have its share of determination and positive impact. One such example is the GreenFab educational program at Bronx Guild High School, which is designed to foster 21st-century skills in at-risk youth and prepare them for work force readiness in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related fields, and primarily green collar jobs.

GreenFab evolved as a response to inner city students’ educational need for instruction that connects with them. The program draws on students’ environmental and economic conditions and problems as raw material from which to create an instructional program — and the staff doesn’t see the school as a technical or a job-training institution. “We’re a college prep school that uses real-world experiences to improve academics,” said Co-Director Jeff Palladino, adding that GreenFab impacts the kids because it exposes them to STEM subjects through real people who are actually doing the work. “They help our kids connect academic subject matter to real-life applications, experiment and create things, and solve problems that directly impact them, especially environmental justice issues.”

Work Force Preparation
Some students are interested in creative technology, and some are interested in the environmental work, Palladino said, but the program provides numerous opportunities that can be customized to individual needs.

'We want them to find their passions and run with them,” he said. “For instance, one of my seniors hopes to follow his passion for technology and create robots that will assist people with disabilities, people like returning war veterans who have lost limbs. He wants to get into the biomedical field through this interest.'

Laura Allen, president of Vision Education and Media, which heads up the GreenFab program, said she is struck by Bronx Guild High School’s knowledge of what its students need — and that its students aren’t on the same footing as typical middle-class kids. “Bronx Guild really tries, in innovative ways, to piece together a high school experience that can get these kids well on the road to being productive citizens,” she said.
Bronx Guild High School has a well articulated vision of learning through meaningful work, and work force preparation is a major thrust at the school..."

Read the FULL ARTICLE at its source:
http://www.convergemag.com/workforce/South-Bronx-GreenFab-Customizes-Education.html

Read or Download as PDF below...


South Bronx ‘GreenFab’ Customizes Education

Podcasting for Teachers Gets Glowing Book Review!

Podcasting for Teachers, by Kathleen P. King and Mark Gura
Reviewed by Steven W. Schmidt
Podcasting for Teachers, by Kathleen P. King and Mark Gura, Charlotte, NC: IAP –
Information Age Publishing, 2007, 288 pages, $45.99 (paperback).

“The phenomenon of podcasting has grown popular in a very short period of time. In their book Podcasting for Teachers (2007), authors Kathleen P. King and Mark Gura chart the rise in podcasting popularity “from the first introduction in June, 2005 when people were saying ‘podwhating?’to July 2006 when the trend reached 9 million podcast listeners in the United States”(p. 36). This statistic alone is enough to pique one’s interest in the concept of podcasting, and this book provides answers and information in the form of text, diagrams, figures, graphics, flowcharts, and other useful tools. Websites and details about existing podcasts, some developed by the authors, are featured as well. Podcasting for Teachers consists of 16 chapters divided into three sections. The first section presents basic information on podcasting. The second section delves into detail on podcast development, and the third section discusses the use of podcasts in education…”

Read the full article at its source: http://education.fiu.edu/newhorizons/journals/New%20Horizons%20in%20AEHRD%2023(4)%20issue.pdf

Purchase the book and book information:
http://www.amazon.com/Podcasting-Teachers-Technology-Revolutionize-Teaching/dp/1607520230/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265822990&sr=1-1