Earlier this year, I spoke with Jeff Gargas and Rae Hughart on their Teach Better Talk Podcast. They share interviews with lots of different educators on their podcast. With conversations from various corners of education, they have over one-hundred episodes you can explore on their website.
You can listen to the episode of the Teach Better Talk Podcast with my interview here:
New Teach Better Book
While we were chatting about some of my EdTech favorites, I learned that they had a new book about to be released. Well, their new book Teach Better, co-written with Chad Ostrowski and Tiffany Ott, is now available. They were kind enough to answer some questions about their new book in this blog post.
In addition to some of the resources they share within their responses, the authors of Teach Better are hosting a book study, too! You can learn more about their free book study on Teach Better Academy’s website.
What motivated you to write a book on this topic?
For the past five years, we’ve seen the ideas in this book transform classrooms and school districts across the country, and in a few other countries. We’ve been fortunate enough to work with thousands of teachers and learn so much from them. Chad is always saying that, for every challenge we face in education, there is a solution in a classroom somewhere… we just need to share it.
We wanted to share all of that, and the mindset we’ve seen get them there and also wanted to give people a look into our world. We get very vulnerable in the book and wanted to get real and let people get to know us on a deeper level.
Teach Better EdTech Connections
With four co-authors, what was the experience like when you came together to share your stories?
It was both really cool and exciting and difficult at the same time. It was a great experience learning more about each other through combining our stories, but it’s also tough to bring four voices together to be one.
Sometimes EdTech tools can act as a distraction or a quick fix. What are some ways that digital tools can help educators teach better?
Purposeful integration. Period. EdTech tools cannot be the solution to everything. However, a specific EdTech tool COULD be a piece of the solution to a problem. The key is to use it when it makes sense, not just because it looks cool.
In your book, you discuss the importance of connections and even share some tech-connections. What is one thing an educator can do tomorrow to strengthen connections (with or without EdTech)?
Participate in a Twitter Chat (like #MasteryChat on Thursdays at 8 PM EST). Follow someone you don’t know, reach out and start a conversation with them. Make a new connection.
Here’s a resource with more Twitter chat tips: 140 Twitter Tips for Teachers
What advice would you give a group of educators who want to hold a book club for your book?
The free book study is a great place to start. And reach out! We’d love to help! We can Skype in or visit, run a book study twitter chat, etc. Just ask!
To learn more about the Teach Better team, head over to their website or follow along on social media. Teach Better is now available on Amazon, you can find it here!
