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This was my 2nd time attending the TCEA convention, and I'm pretty sure I will be back year after year after year. The event brought together educators, tech experts, and thought leaders who shared practical ideas and fresh perspectives to improve learning experiences. This first (of two) posts will cover some of my key takeaways from the sessions I attended, the conversations I had with vendors, and the people I met along the way. A quick note before I dive in. This was t

Oh, did I have some big plans to post over the holiday break! However, three things got in the way: sleep, playing with my kiddos, and the ever-looming seasonal depression! However, I'm back and feeling better than I have in a long time! So, in today's post you'll find three things: How I'm planning to post music I'm loving weekly. The NEW App Arcade, and what's inside! What my TCEA Schedule looks like at this moment. Using Wakelet for my 2026-in-Music! If you're reading this

I recently started subscribing to Jamie Clark 's newsletter DistillED . I think I picked it up from a Ditch That Textbook newsletter. Each week, Jamie's newsletter highlights a different challenge in the classroom and offers quick, actionable steps. From monitoring independent practice to inclusive communication and peer feedback, I've found some excellent research-based strategies to enhance the classroom experience for students. This week's newsletter focused on incorpora

If I got a nickel for every time I heard someone ask about my "why" when attending a PD, Keynote, Webinar, or anything in education...I'd have a whole mess of nickels. If I also got a nickel for each scoff, sigh, and hard eye roll from the audience at those same spots...this would be me: However, for the first time, I've encountered an argument for "starting with why" that doesn't make me gag! On Friday, Jeff LeBlanc (Go Penmen!) had an article on EdSurge published titled:

First of all, I'm finishing a redesign of the website (as you may or may not have noticed), which was spurred by me trying to find an easy and visually appealing way to share my courses, lessons, and materials. That stuff is finally rolling out this week, as I feel like the website looks less terrible! I may or may not have also been distracted by the introduction of player housing into World of Warcraft. Seriously, I've started and destroyed so many exterior designs. My cu

I will go on the occasional rant about just about anything. It's part of my introverted charm; I bottle everything up and then find a hill to die on with all of my hottest of takes! Today, my thoughts are on the accessibility of resources in education. Education is a powerful tool that shapes lives and opens doors to new opportunities. With the advent of the internet and AI, it has become FAR easier to embrace the democratization of education. According to SORA Schools : "E

It has been a rough and wild two weeks, which pulled me away from blogging, social media, and anything that wasn't physically in front of me! First, for the last two weeks, I've had some sort of bronchitis-adjacent sinus crud that has physically slowed me down! Second, I had two time-consuming presentations to prepare for/deliver while also being sick as a dog. Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be selected to run a district-wide PD group, where we are focusing on AI usage

Two quick announcements at the top: The podcast is bumped to next week; my editing software ate it, so now I'm trying out Adobe Podcast! As an appateaser, here's the new logo/theme! On October 15th at 11E/10C I'll be presenting at the Wakelet Appsmash Festival, showcasing the power of appsmashing wakelet with Edpuzzle! Horizon/West by Thrice If you missed last Friday's post about the Starting Line and Edpuzzle , know that my love of both early 00's music and ed tech runs d

I'm guilty, several times in my past, of creating an assignment for students and simply telling them to "be creative!" As someone who can engage in creative acts, I've known that I struggle when I do not have a deep connection with the prompt. I've also become overwhelmed with ideas and die a slow death from choice paralysis. However, the last three years I've leaned into a tool that is dedicated to harnessing the creative spark and giving users the ability to create anything

I love Friday. Not because it's the end of the week, but because I can listen to all of the new music released on Thursday night and Friday morning! So, I will make sure, in addition to talking about the application of a tech tool, I'll also be sharing my favorite listen of the week! Warning: my algorithm is heavily biased towards pop-punk, emo, metalcore, and other similar genres. I love that my inaugural "New Music Friday" post covers one of my all-time favorite bands. Et

Just as last year, I've changed positions, and the transition has disrupted my desire to write more on my blog (and the podcast). Guess what, Stella has gotten her groove back , and I'll be publishing at least twice a week on the website, and unveiling a new podcast on the first Wednesday in October! I've transitioned from a regular on-level classroom teacher into the position of an academic interventionist. At my school, the interventionists work with a small cohort of stud

Holy crap, I thought I would leave #ISTELive knowing I had a great time, but I didn't know both my head and my heart would be overflowing with love and ideas! As I reflect on the vibrant atmosphere of ISTE Live 2025, I feel invigorated by the collective passion for transforming education through technology. This year's conference was a hub of innovative ideas, inspiring sessions, and dedicated educators striving for change. The Power of Community One of the most striking aspe

Reclaiming Our Voices: Embracing Change and Growth in Education Navigating Personal Loss and Professional Growth Things shifted for me both personally and professionally throughout 2023. My mother was in and out of the hospital and various rehab facilities for various medical issues. This never-ending domino effect finally took its toll. Tragically, we lost my mother on December 23. Not only did we lose her just before Christmas, but it was also the day before my youngest's b

After my presentation this morning concluded, I looked to see what else I had put on my schedule that I considered a do-not-miss. The first item on the docket was a session about using Brisk Teaching in your classroom. While I had seen and participated in several webinars on Brisk virtually, I knew I wanted to see the amazing Suvi work her magic live! While I am no novice to Brisk, I was excited to dive into a feature for the first time, and learn about some release update

Can you think of a thumbnail that's more "me?" I love being a walking contradiction. I've forged most of my identity and career in the world of competitive speech and debate. As a coach and former competitor, you'd think getting in front of an audience would be no-sweat. I've presented at state and local conferences before, I've done small booth sessions or rapid-fire table talks at AMLE, but this one feels different from the beginning. I'm presenting on something I'm passion

On last week's episode of Plai Around and Find Out , I talked about my excitement for this weekend's AMLE (Association of Middle Level Educators) conference in Nashville. Not only was it my first conference of the 2024-2025 school year, the first conference focused on middle school of my career, but it was also my first opportunity to present live and in the flesh to a national audience (excluding the debate topic selection meeting). The thought of learning from passionate p

For the past two months, I have been part of the Teach Better Team 's inaugural Grid Method cohort. The goal has been simple, to create an instructive and collaborative learning environment to create amazing mastery learning oriented plans for our variety of students and courses taught. My goal for the fall is for 100% of my classes to transition to mastery learning/standards-based grading. Here's why I'm super pumped about this change: Personalized Pace for Every Student Ev

SchoolAI is a game-changer in the world of education. This powerful tool revolutionizes classroom feedback by providing real-time insights into student performance. It's like having a teacher's assistant for every student! With SchoolAI , teachers can easily student's understanding of different concepts, identify areas for improvement, and offers instant feedback unique to the answers students give to a variety of topic-oriented prompts! Source: images.unsplash.com Great Fea

A couple of weeks ago on the podcast , I reviewed Quinn Rollins' Play Like a Pirate. I believe the first thing out of my mouth was "if I ever wrote a book, this would be it." Rollins speaks to so many amazing ideas and things to incorporate, that I never thought of, but they are definitely in my wheelhouse. As someone who is both a massive collector and massive nerd I already bring those passions into my classroom. I have plenty of in and out of box Funko Pops, action figur

I have always been a massive basketball fan. Living near Lawrence, Kansas nearly all of my life has always made the ever presence of the Jayhawks in March impossible to avoid! It always feels like the first four big days of the tournament head into our spring break. However, with us headed back to school on March 18th, I'm excited to bracket literally everything, to give me moments of competitive joy when there are no active games being played. Whether or not you're a basket