Episode 67: Strong Collaboration with CoLab!

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Welcome to the Under the Hat podcast,

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the show where we talk about everything

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and anything that is top of mind in

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education.

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The goal is to provide meaningful

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conversations to what is currently

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happening in our classrooms.

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Stories, pains, moments of success.

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We want to hear it all.

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hey friends welcome back to under the hat

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we are sitting here in episode sixty seven

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and as you can see i'm here steve

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martinez your co-host but we're not joined

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by sophie today so um i'm holding it

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down hosting uh solo but i'm super excited

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to be joined by

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Ariella Rocco,

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who is an Ontario-based educator turned ed

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tech,

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and you know that speaks to my heart

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with my background, entrepreneurship,

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who found CoLab Education.

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So I'm super excited to dive into that.

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And she experienced firsthand challenges

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of this concept of teacher isolation,

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right?

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And trying to break down barriers to get

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folks collaborating more,

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having classroom experiences that really

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reflect those types of levels of

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collaboration.

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Ariella, welcome.

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We're so excited to have you.

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Thank you, Steve.

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I'm very excited to be here.

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Like we said at the beginning,

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it's a long time coming and I think

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it's really exciting to connect across

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long distances to be here and to chat

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with you.

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I'm really looking forward to it.

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Your experiences and your background are

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something that

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I'm excited to get into too.

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Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely.

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I'm super excited for it.

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And so we will dig in to this

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platform,

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this lovely platform that you've created,

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CoLab Education.

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And just for a little bit of context

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here, you are the CEO, is that?

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I am, I am, yes.

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Awesome, awesome.

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Before we dig into that though,

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just for anybody listening, watching,

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a little bit of background on you,

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if they've not met you before,

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how'd you get into education?

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Yeah, so my story is a little bit,

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well,

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to get to where I am today is

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a little bit longer winded,

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but in education to begin with,

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I just was doing, you know,

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typical career exploration as you do in

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secondary school and high school and

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trying to figure out where I would see

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myself fitting.

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I had so many experiences working with

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kids in summer camps and childcare,

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nannying and

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I love the energy of being around kids,

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making their eyes light up with wonderment

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and excitement for new and exciting

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learning opportunities.

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And I never thought originally I would be

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a teacher,

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but then it started to really click and

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make a lot of sense as I worked

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more and more with kids.

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I did a couple of classroom placements.

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in high school,

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which was a really cool opportunity and

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something kind of rare, I guess,

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to be a volunteer in a classroom,

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loved it, applied to Teachers College,

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got into one that I was really excited

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about, McGill University in Montreal.

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And

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had my sights set on education throughout.

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The more I did the program there,

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it was a five-year bachelor's of

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education,

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the more I knew this is exactly where

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I wanted to be.

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And I just jumped right in.

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And then I was teaching primary elementary

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school and then spent most of my career

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in middle school teaching in Canada and

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then also abroad in Spain.

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Absolutely loved it.

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I do miss being in the classroom a

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lot.

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There's things you cannot replace simply

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if you don't work in a school environment

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every day.

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But I'm really passionate and driven about

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what I'm doing now to support more

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educators through CoLab.

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So that's kind of like a rapid fire

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version.

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But yeah,

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happy to answer any other questions there.

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But

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Yeah, no, I love that.

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I think that for a lot of folks

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that get into the profession,

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it's like there's a lot that resonates

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there, right?

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With your story of like that

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self-discovery, you know, like I,

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when I was a kid,

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I had no intention of being a teacher,

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right?

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Being an educator.

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But there's like,

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I think there's certain life experiences

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that we end up having that really pulls

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us, pulls our heart towards that piece.

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The other thing that you mentioned that

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really resonates with me is just like the

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missing of classroom, right?

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Missing of...

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impacting families and students directly.

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That was a little bit of the trauma

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for me when I got to CAMI.

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It was like, okay,

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this lifestyle is different and I suppose

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healthy in some ways,

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but then not healthy in others, right?

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Yeah.

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Well, you said it, right?

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You're pulled with your heart into

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education.

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if that's where you're pulled,

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and then you're like, Oh, well,

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I'm a little bit disconnected from some of

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the hard work that you do,

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that has healthy elements,

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because it's really emotionally

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challenging to be in schools and to

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support kids and families through all the

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different challenges and, you know,

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phases and ages and stages.

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But at the same time,

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it's why people are in education,

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like they care so deeply.

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So it's you got to always strike that

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balance,

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making sure that you're

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you're still connected to your mission and

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your vision,

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no matter what space you are in education.

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And I think everyone who's not in the

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classroom,

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you can sniff out people who are in

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it for the right reasons,

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who are really trying to drive meaningful

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change for students, for families,

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and just for the greater good of society.

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And then you can find out people who

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are, you know,

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looking for ulterior motives to work in

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the space or, or to be there.

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So,

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I think true educators and people whose

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heart are in the right place are kind

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of the best of the best to keep

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around in all facets of the ecosystem.

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A hundred percent.

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A hundred percent.

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And part of that is, you know,

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like teacher burnout and

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making sure that careers and practices are

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sustainable.

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That's something that I talk to my

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pre-service teachers about like often.

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I'm like, how are you going to make,

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because at the end of the day,

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they have a lot of autonomy over what

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happens next.

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within their classrooms,

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regardless of policy, regardless of admin,

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whatever the case is.

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But what are you implementing?

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What are you buying into that is going

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to make it sustainable?

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And I say this because I don't know

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much about Colab,

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but I'm assuming that it does strike that

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nerve of like, OK,

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how do we make it

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last and how do we make it joyful?

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Right.

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And so.

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Yes.

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And I can, I can talk to that,

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but I did want to like,

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just touch on some of the things that

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you just said there,

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which is for pre-service teachers,

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the fact that you are framing it to

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them, that they have autonomy and agency.

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I, I have heard that rarely.

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which I think is a problem because a

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lot of people will say, you know,

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you have to figure out how not to

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burn out in this really tough profession.

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But they don't include that element of you

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have autonomy, you have agency,

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which is more empowering than telling

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somebody, hey, you know,

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teachers are burning out.

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It's a really stressful environment.

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Maybe you'll fare well,

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maybe you won't like that.

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Nobody wants to go into a career where

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they're not sure if this is something that

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will be sustainable for them and that

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they're worried right away that it's

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something that they can't make an impact

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in.

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And that is something that,

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that is just weighing on them from the

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beginning.

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And I think if we can infuse that

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early into like pre-service teachers,

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like there are things that the system will

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test you on.

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There are things that you can't control.

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But with what you can control,

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with the ways that you can decide for

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yourself, for your students,

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what every day looks like,

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when you can take advantage of those

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things and make the most of it and

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make it what you want,

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you should lean into that.

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And I feel like it's more of an

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empowering statement,

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which ultimately will help people take on

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challenges and

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get through difficult times,

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the system has a lot of work to

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do and it's not up to every individual

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to make that change.

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But I think there has to be a

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balance and you have to work with what

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you have right now.

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We can't give up on our students and

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not, you know,

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be in this space because we think it's

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too tough.

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We have to kind of,

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we need people who are willing to keep

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pushing

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And I feel like that message that you're

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sharing will be what sparks that push,

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which I think is important.

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Well, it's a mindset, right?

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And like when you said like, oh,

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that's something I've not heard often,

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like immediately in my head, I'm like, oh,

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it's because we're still thinking the same

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about a lot of different things about

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education as we did like even a hundred

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years ago.

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Right.

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And so like I somebody that's a friend

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of mine, I won't say his name,

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but like a friend of mine,

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he was on LinkedIn recently being like,

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hey,

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how come

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how come we're still saying

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student-centeredness?

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Like, shouldn't that be the baseline?

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And I'm like, in my head, I'm like,

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it's because it's not the baseline.

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It's not.

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And to me, it's more about,

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and I think this is kind of what

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you were hitting on, is like,

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you do have a lot of autonomy in

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the sense of like, yeah,

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we have standards.

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Yes, we have initiatives.

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We have all these things.

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But at the end of the day,

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you do have a lot of autonomy in

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like how you get your kiddos there, right?

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And so, and that,

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I think when we go into it,

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when I used to have student teachers,

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they're like,

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I didn't realize that teaching could be

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like this.

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I had this sort of picture painted in

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my head.

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And they would tell me like,

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I thought it was,

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I was just going to be like reading

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off PowerPoints.

00:10:17.241 --> 00:10:18.062
I'm like,

00:10:18.163 --> 00:10:19.802
if you think that that is going to

00:10:19.822 --> 00:10:20.302
be your next

00:10:22.691 --> 00:10:24.131
First of all, that seems boring.

00:10:25.292 --> 00:10:27.052
Yeah.

00:10:27.493 --> 00:10:30.413
And, and yeah, so, so this is,

00:10:30.533 --> 00:10:31.394
this is super exciting.

00:10:31.414 --> 00:10:32.575
I, I,

00:10:32.674 --> 00:10:34.775
I do want to give you some space

00:10:34.836 --> 00:10:39.138
though, to talk about like how you,

00:10:39.758 --> 00:10:41.759
how you founded collab.

00:10:41.818 --> 00:10:42.259
Like what is,

00:10:42.298 --> 00:10:44.299
what is that story of like how you

00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:46.321
got into this, into this organization?

00:10:47.181 --> 00:10:48.682
I think a lot of it stems from

00:10:48.942 --> 00:10:50.523
obviously my own personal experiences,

00:10:50.562 --> 00:10:51.182
but just kind of,

00:10:52.385 --> 00:10:54.506
looking left and right and all around and

00:10:54.547 --> 00:10:58.168
figuring out that a huge area of challenge

00:10:58.187 --> 00:10:59.989
for teachers is that they're working in

00:11:00.048 --> 00:11:02.870
silos and a lot of isolation.

00:11:03.150 --> 00:11:05.812
And I think I share this message with

00:11:05.831 --> 00:11:08.153
a lot of early career teachers because

00:11:08.493 --> 00:11:10.273
it's not something you realize as a

00:11:10.354 --> 00:11:12.293
student yourself when you're in a building

00:11:12.333 --> 00:11:13.634
and you look to your teachers and you

00:11:13.674 --> 00:11:16.676
see them in these big buildings with lots

00:11:16.716 --> 00:11:18.136
of people, it's really bustly.

00:11:18.177 --> 00:11:20.097
You see them maybe chatting here and there

00:11:20.118 --> 00:11:21.018
in the hallway with,

00:11:21.683 --> 00:11:22.164
with teachers,

00:11:22.205 --> 00:11:23.948
so their experience growing up is maybe

00:11:23.989 --> 00:11:24.610
thinking, you know,

00:11:25.091 --> 00:11:26.474
teaching is like you're in a wonderful

00:11:26.514 --> 00:11:27.976
community environment and you're always

00:11:28.017 --> 00:11:28.839
connected to people.

00:11:29.537 --> 00:11:31.477
But one of the biggest challenges is that

00:11:31.577 --> 00:11:33.979
you're in front of students and working

00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:35.940
with students for a lot of the day

00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:37.801
and you don't have as much time as

00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:38.581
you would think.

00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:39.600
And this is obviously,

00:11:40.001 --> 00:11:41.642
this is very obvious to people who've been

00:11:41.662 --> 00:11:42.263
in the profession,

00:11:42.562 --> 00:11:44.283
but you just don't have that much time

00:11:44.403 --> 00:11:45.183
with your peers,

00:11:45.203 --> 00:11:47.445
your colleagues to bounce ideas,

00:11:47.544 --> 00:11:50.046
to co-plan and just space.

00:11:50.086 --> 00:11:51.687
Like a lot of educate,

00:11:51.787 --> 00:11:53.947
like the work of an educator is creative

00:11:54.067 --> 00:11:56.528
problem solving and you need a lot of

00:11:56.548 --> 00:11:56.649
space.

00:11:57.428 --> 00:12:00.169
bandwidth and space to think and a lot

00:12:00.210 --> 00:12:01.630
of my best ideas came to me when

00:12:01.691 --> 00:12:03.530
i was on a walk with my dog

00:12:03.551 --> 00:12:05.072
or in the shower because i had more

00:12:05.692 --> 00:12:08.232
space and it's not something that we have

00:12:08.312 --> 00:12:09.633
and so what that means for a lot

00:12:09.653 --> 00:12:11.874
of educators is that they are just kind

00:12:11.913 --> 00:12:13.695
of left with the pockets of time that

00:12:13.735 --> 00:12:15.674
they have in their schedule within the

00:12:15.715 --> 00:12:18.196
school day and then after school to kind

00:12:18.235 --> 00:12:20.476
of grind out and come up with how

00:12:20.576 --> 00:12:21.937
am i going to solve problems how am

00:12:21.957 --> 00:12:23.577
i going to get this slide deck prepped

00:12:23.618 --> 00:12:25.359
how am i going to revamp this assessment

00:12:25.379 --> 00:12:25.458
to

00:12:25.999 --> 00:12:27.820
to meet the needs of my my new

00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:31.462
students this year and what really shocked

00:12:31.503 --> 00:12:32.683
me in the picture i always try to

00:12:32.703 --> 00:12:34.884
paint for people is that like the same

00:12:35.666 --> 00:12:39.447
actions are happening in schools just down

00:12:39.467 --> 00:12:41.470
the street from each other and people are

00:12:41.490 --> 00:12:44.091
feeling really worn out by the cycle of

00:12:44.751 --> 00:12:47.693
reinvention and working in isolation to

00:12:47.754 --> 00:12:51.537
build new things to create new ideas to

00:12:51.956 --> 00:12:53.398
reinvent the wheel and

00:12:54.712 --> 00:12:56.254
it's wearing people down really,

00:12:56.274 --> 00:12:57.014
really quickly.

00:12:57.375 --> 00:12:59.798
And they don't have easy ways to connect

00:12:59.977 --> 00:13:00.619
with people,

00:13:00.678 --> 00:13:03.640
to spend time with colleagues and to share

00:13:03.682 --> 00:13:04.361
resources.

00:13:04.701 --> 00:13:06.224
And now that hasn't stopped teachers.

00:13:06.703 --> 00:13:09.466
Obviously we know people have used social

00:13:09.506 --> 00:13:12.250
media for the last chunk of time to

00:13:12.289 --> 00:13:13.791
try to connect and find each other.

00:13:14.270 --> 00:13:16.312
And it's been somewhat useful.

00:13:16.352 --> 00:13:17.453
Like a lot of people will say,

00:13:18.613 --> 00:13:20.714
I've got a global educator network,

00:13:20.774 --> 00:13:22.134
or even I'm just part of like a

00:13:22.214 --> 00:13:24.894
local group where I've got friends and

00:13:24.914 --> 00:13:26.576
family in the profession and we meet up

00:13:26.615 --> 00:13:27.836
and we try to support each other.

00:13:27.875 --> 00:13:29.076
And people are really,

00:13:30.197 --> 00:13:32.097
are constantly seeking that peer

00:13:32.138 --> 00:13:34.438
connection for resource sharing,

00:13:34.479 --> 00:13:35.198
for support.

00:13:35.619 --> 00:13:36.019
And again,

00:13:36.038 --> 00:13:38.080
just someone to bounce ideas off of when

00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:39.760
you don't know how to solve a really

00:13:40.301 --> 00:13:43.121
critical problem that you're facing with

00:13:43.142 --> 00:13:45.222
your students or with parents or whatever.

00:13:46.062 --> 00:13:48.283
Um, so that just really woke,

00:13:48.364 --> 00:13:50.405
like it was wearing on me personally,

00:13:50.966 --> 00:13:52.368
but when I looked to my colleagues,

00:13:52.408 --> 00:13:52.908
my friends,

00:13:52.927 --> 00:13:55.850
and really felt like it doesn't make sense

00:13:55.890 --> 00:13:57.572
that we just don't have the tools to

00:13:57.592 --> 00:14:00.534
connect, to share and to work together.

00:14:01.015 --> 00:14:02.697
And that what a lot of people love

00:14:02.758 --> 00:14:05.620
most about the profession is the

00:14:05.659 --> 00:14:06.941
connection, the sharing,

00:14:07.061 --> 00:14:07.942
the working together.

00:14:08.482 --> 00:14:09.604
And when you ask them.

00:14:10.652 --> 00:14:12.111
What would make your job better?

00:14:12.231 --> 00:14:14.173
Which is something I started doing and

00:14:14.212 --> 00:14:15.493
saying, what would make your job better?

00:14:15.533 --> 00:14:18.933
Because teachers will often complain, um,

00:14:19.033 --> 00:14:21.095
quite a lot and have a laundry list

00:14:21.134 --> 00:14:22.274
of things like this is,

00:14:22.315 --> 00:14:22.955
this is a problem.

00:14:22.975 --> 00:14:23.596
And this is a problem.

00:14:23.615 --> 00:14:24.196
This is a problem.

00:14:24.216 --> 00:14:24.855
And I said, yes,

00:14:24.956 --> 00:14:27.596
I hear you in many cases I've been

00:14:27.636 --> 00:14:29.677
there, but what would make it better?

00:14:30.456 --> 00:14:31.618
Like if any,

00:14:32.097 --> 00:14:34.118
whatever resources available and they

00:14:34.138 --> 00:14:37.298
would always say connection to peers that

00:14:37.818 --> 00:14:39.879
understand what I'm going through.

00:14:41.363 --> 00:14:45.086
is the number one thing that they need.

00:14:46.126 --> 00:14:46.907
And that person,

00:14:46.947 --> 00:14:49.188
that connection to a human being brings

00:14:49.369 --> 00:14:51.071
all that expertise,

00:14:51.270 --> 00:14:53.572
brings physical resources that they can

00:14:53.673 --> 00:14:54.513
use in their class.

00:14:54.913 --> 00:14:57.796
And it just brings that spark,

00:14:57.816 --> 00:14:59.317
that excitement, that motivation,

00:15:00.337 --> 00:15:03.600
that brings back that joy into the role.

00:15:03.740 --> 00:15:05.422
And so with that answer,

00:15:05.481 --> 00:15:06.763
I just kind of went off and said,

00:15:07.446 --> 00:15:09.629
We can do better than scrapping together,

00:15:10.030 --> 00:15:10.312
you know,

00:15:10.451 --> 00:15:12.655
random social media apps and kind of ad

00:15:12.696 --> 00:15:15.140
hoc meetings and conferences that last for

00:15:15.181 --> 00:15:15.922
a day or two.

00:15:15.981 --> 00:15:18.988
Like we need to build infrastructure.

00:15:19.128 --> 00:15:20.009
We need to build.

00:15:20.580 --> 00:15:24.162
connective tissue to bring us all together

00:15:24.702 --> 00:15:26.043
and make this something that is

00:15:26.082 --> 00:15:29.706
sustainable and not just left to people's

00:15:29.785 --> 00:15:30.985
individual devices.

00:15:32.027 --> 00:15:34.448
And that's what CoLab is all about.

00:15:34.509 --> 00:15:36.169
And I can get into kind of the

00:15:36.210 --> 00:15:37.811
nuances of how it works,

00:15:37.850 --> 00:15:40.111
but our goal ultimately is to connect

00:15:40.152 --> 00:15:41.173
people to people.

00:15:42.693 --> 00:15:43.994
And that's what we've been doing for the

00:15:44.033 --> 00:15:44.715
last little bit.

00:15:46.149 --> 00:15:49.091
I so I have so many thoughts slash

00:15:49.110 --> 00:15:52.094
questions before we get into the nuance

00:15:52.234 --> 00:15:53.634
piece of this conversation.

00:15:54.696 --> 00:15:58.099
I so my first thought was like,

00:15:58.499 --> 00:15:58.859
you know.

00:16:00.640 --> 00:16:02.501
Being an educator myself,

00:16:03.363 --> 00:16:06.125
you and there's so many that probably feel

00:16:06.144 --> 00:16:06.304
this,

00:16:06.346 --> 00:16:09.908
but like you get this messaging from on

00:16:09.967 --> 00:16:13.030
top from somewhere, right?

00:16:13.071 --> 00:16:13.671
Superintendent.

00:16:15.304 --> 00:16:17.505
And then this messaging trickles down of

00:16:17.546 --> 00:16:21.710
just like, hey, PLC, PLC, collaborate,

00:16:21.750 --> 00:16:22.410
collaborate.

00:16:23.892 --> 00:16:24.873
But they don't actually,

00:16:25.232 --> 00:16:27.514
if you compare it to the business side

00:16:27.894 --> 00:16:28.395
of the world,

00:16:29.636 --> 00:16:34.160
they actually don't explain or articulate

00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:34.780
how.

00:16:35.822 --> 00:16:38.783
It's more of like, just go do and...

00:16:39.644 --> 00:16:42.405
And then sometimes leaders get frustrated

00:16:42.426 --> 00:16:44.025
to be like, well,

00:16:44.285 --> 00:16:46.366
we're not seeing results from our PLCs.

00:16:46.866 --> 00:16:48.547
And it's not like a hard look in

00:16:48.567 --> 00:16:49.607
the mirror of like, okay,

00:16:49.727 --> 00:16:50.528
what are we doing?

00:16:50.988 --> 00:16:52.908
I loved how you put it,

00:16:52.967 --> 00:16:55.528
like it's the infrastructure, right?

00:16:56.028 --> 00:16:58.289
And oftentimes,

00:16:58.490 --> 00:17:00.149
and this goes to the second thought I

00:17:00.169 --> 00:17:00.370
had,

00:17:02.551 --> 00:17:06.731
is you get into these PLCs

00:17:07.818 --> 00:17:10.981
And so much time and energy gets put

00:17:11.142 --> 00:17:15.266
into the logistical part of the cycle of

00:17:15.365 --> 00:17:17.627
like, where is the common assessment?

00:17:17.688 --> 00:17:18.607
Who's building it?

00:17:19.269 --> 00:17:20.390
How are we getting the data?

00:17:20.430 --> 00:17:21.631
How are we, you know,

00:17:21.671 --> 00:17:22.971
what does that collection look like?

00:17:22.991 --> 00:17:25.674
And then by the time you're done with

00:17:25.714 --> 00:17:27.675
all that, a semester is gone.

00:17:28.257 --> 00:17:29.637
And you have like,

00:17:29.897 --> 00:17:31.579
you have no opportunity

00:17:32.377 --> 00:17:35.759
to have those meaningful discussions about

00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:39.820
your students and your instruction um and

00:17:39.901 --> 00:17:41.422
what kind of what i'm hearing is like

00:17:41.501 --> 00:17:43.242
this is your attempt at solving that

00:17:43.962 --> 00:17:46.084
absolutely i mean i think we all have

00:17:46.104 --> 00:17:48.224
a pretty good understanding and there's

00:17:48.305 --> 00:17:51.326
data that says kind of differing and

00:17:51.365 --> 00:17:53.007
contradictory things on this but i think

00:17:53.027 --> 00:17:56.708
we really do have good research backed

00:17:56.847 --> 00:17:57.848
evidence for what

00:17:58.541 --> 00:18:01.143
supports move the needle for educators.

00:18:01.583 --> 00:18:03.263
I feel like we have a good idea.

00:18:03.344 --> 00:18:06.265
We've just never been able to execute it

00:18:06.586 --> 00:18:08.205
and really like flush it out.

00:18:08.266 --> 00:18:09.686
And even what you're talking about when it

00:18:09.707 --> 00:18:10.747
comes to PLCs,

00:18:11.188 --> 00:18:14.929
PLCs are often seen as in theory,

00:18:15.009 --> 00:18:15.970
a gold standard.

00:18:16.170 --> 00:18:17.971
We are bringing educators together.

00:18:18.010 --> 00:18:19.090
They have the space,

00:18:19.111 --> 00:18:21.172
the resources to connect, to collaborate,

00:18:21.192 --> 00:18:22.952
to bring in context.

00:18:23.113 --> 00:18:23.272
And,

00:18:23.932 --> 00:18:25.534
and if we give them time and all

00:18:25.574 --> 00:18:27.355
the, like, it can seem really,

00:18:27.434 --> 00:18:27.734
really

00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:29.541
impactful and meaningful.

00:18:29.843 --> 00:18:31.244
But then as you just described,

00:18:31.265 --> 00:18:32.646
there are realities,

00:18:32.686 --> 00:18:35.571
there are barriers that actually make it

00:18:35.632 --> 00:18:37.674
very challenging for results to happen

00:18:37.955 --> 00:18:40.539
quickly and for the full impact to be

00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:42.202
realized with some of these

00:18:42.886 --> 00:18:46.230
very well-intended systems, programs,

00:18:46.570 --> 00:18:47.310
resources.

00:18:47.672 --> 00:18:51.055
And I think we can't solve for everything,

00:18:51.075 --> 00:18:51.976
but I think what's really,

00:18:52.236 --> 00:18:53.896
what I'm excited about with this

00:18:53.938 --> 00:18:56.680
opportunity is that if you ask people,

00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:56.839
like,

00:18:56.900 --> 00:18:59.423
what do you think would really push change

00:18:59.442 --> 00:19:00.143
in your school?

00:19:00.824 --> 00:19:04.488
People can quickly identify fairly similar

00:19:04.548 --> 00:19:04.928
things,

00:19:04.968 --> 00:19:05.808
which means we're all

00:19:07.034 --> 00:19:08.476
in and around the same ballpark.

00:19:08.516 --> 00:19:11.861
Like we all want similar ish things.

00:19:11.901 --> 00:19:13.683
We definitely want the same outcomes for

00:19:13.743 --> 00:19:14.204
students.

00:19:14.404 --> 00:19:15.707
I think that is one of the things

00:19:15.727 --> 00:19:18.191
that really rallies people together in

00:19:18.250 --> 00:19:19.913
education is we know at the end of

00:19:19.952 --> 00:19:20.934
the day what we want

00:19:21.431 --> 00:19:24.933
to happen for with our students.

00:19:25.054 --> 00:19:27.375
And that helps refocus when things kind of

00:19:27.394 --> 00:19:29.277
get awry.

00:19:29.836 --> 00:19:32.679
But what we're really trying to do is

00:19:33.159 --> 00:19:36.080
support education communities of all

00:19:36.101 --> 00:19:38.943
different sorts in working better

00:19:39.163 --> 00:19:39.564
together.

00:19:39.644 --> 00:19:40.585
Honestly, it's not just,

00:19:41.484 --> 00:19:43.807
it sounds like a funny little tagline,

00:19:43.826 --> 00:19:45.969
but really like if people,

00:19:46.709 --> 00:19:48.790
because one of the other pieces I'll

00:19:48.810 --> 00:19:49.290
mention is

00:19:50.010 --> 00:19:53.252
Collaboration has a little bit of iffy

00:19:54.232 --> 00:19:56.433
kind of sentiment in the education world,

00:19:56.473 --> 00:19:57.775
because as you said,

00:19:57.835 --> 00:19:59.516
people are told to collaborate,

00:19:59.536 --> 00:20:02.938
but they're not given information on how

00:20:03.137 --> 00:20:05.459
or what's the purpose or even the

00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:08.461
structures in place like time and space to

00:20:08.560 --> 00:20:10.141
do said collaboration.

00:20:10.682 --> 00:20:12.663
So sometimes it just feels like

00:20:13.896 --> 00:20:16.838
something that is told but never done in

00:20:16.898 --> 00:20:19.500
practice, it kind of feels disconnected.

00:20:19.941 --> 00:20:21.882
But people are collaborating every single

00:20:21.942 --> 00:20:25.364
day and educators are seeking

00:20:25.384 --> 00:20:26.184
collaboration.

00:20:26.724 --> 00:20:28.465
And a lot of it just doesn't happen

00:20:28.526 --> 00:20:30.807
in the ways that administrators are seeing

00:20:31.106 --> 00:20:32.107
in their school buildings.

00:20:32.167 --> 00:20:34.288
It's happening in the shadows.

00:20:34.328 --> 00:20:36.310
It's happening after school.

00:20:36.351 --> 00:20:40.292
It's happening in social media platforms,

00:20:40.432 --> 00:20:41.213
app spaces.

00:20:42.676 --> 00:20:44.598
conferences that people spend money to go

00:20:44.659 --> 00:20:44.939
to.

00:20:45.479 --> 00:20:46.759
It's, you know,

00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:47.820
you might meet some new people.

00:20:47.881 --> 00:20:48.321
It's great.

00:20:48.342 --> 00:20:49.321
You build connections,

00:20:49.362 --> 00:20:51.284
you build up some resources, you,

00:20:51.463 --> 00:20:52.565
you gain a lot of momentum.

00:20:52.605 --> 00:20:54.066
Like I was just at a science teachers

00:20:54.086 --> 00:20:55.887
conference here locally in Ontario.

00:20:55.988 --> 00:20:57.848
And I talked to an educator and I

00:20:57.888 --> 00:20:58.890
said, why are you here?

00:20:59.470 --> 00:20:59.971
And she said,

00:21:00.270 --> 00:21:04.094
I'm actually losing like the spark for

00:21:04.153 --> 00:21:04.634
teaching.

00:21:05.115 --> 00:21:06.776
And I'm here because I know that if

00:21:06.836 --> 00:21:09.178
I'm around other people who care,

00:21:09.898 --> 00:21:11.220
I will regain that spark.

00:21:12.546 --> 00:21:16.990
that so that right there is such a

00:21:17.109 --> 00:21:23.035
huge need um i for anyone that's listening

00:21:23.055 --> 00:21:25.656
that's from my former district i apologize

00:21:25.997 --> 00:21:31.340
but um the majority of the learning that

00:21:31.461 --> 00:21:35.384
i got was not in my own district

00:21:36.157 --> 00:21:37.538
like I had to go somewhere else.

00:21:38.038 --> 00:21:38.298
Right.

00:21:38.538 --> 00:21:39.719
And, and, and, and so,

00:21:40.459 --> 00:21:42.980
and you get kind of like, I, I,

00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:45.039
I love how you put it and not

00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:45.900
these exact words,

00:21:45.940 --> 00:21:49.540
but you find like-minded people that are

00:21:49.661 --> 00:21:50.842
just as passionate,

00:21:50.862 --> 00:21:52.761
that just as caring and you don't always

00:21:52.821 --> 00:21:54.342
get that at home.

00:21:54.843 --> 00:21:55.002
Yeah.

00:21:55.042 --> 00:21:55.663
That makes sense.

00:21:55.742 --> 00:21:55.903
Right.

00:21:55.942 --> 00:21:57.962
And I think that that's a really important

00:21:58.002 --> 00:21:59.824
piece was when I mentioned earlier that

00:21:59.844 --> 00:22:01.683
teachers are looking for that peer

00:22:02.084 --> 00:22:04.404
connection as they're

00:22:04.875 --> 00:22:05.516
their resource,

00:22:05.536 --> 00:22:06.817
they want to connect with people.

00:22:07.558 --> 00:22:08.941
The follow-up is, okay,

00:22:09.040 --> 00:22:10.042
what types of people,

00:22:10.222 --> 00:22:11.545
where would you find these people?

00:22:12.385 --> 00:22:14.690
Most people feel like their school network

00:22:15.250 --> 00:22:15.451
is

00:22:16.238 --> 00:22:17.878
minuscule, it's way too small.

00:22:18.058 --> 00:22:19.439
They're, they're great people.

00:22:20.159 --> 00:22:21.819
Ideally you love your colleagues or you

00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:22.940
know, you've got a good network.

00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:24.220
Um,

00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:26.260
I was always great friends and really well

00:22:26.300 --> 00:22:27.701
connected to my school community.

00:22:28.422 --> 00:22:29.221
And we,

00:22:29.362 --> 00:22:30.622
we worked really well together

00:22:30.902 --> 00:22:31.643
collectively.

00:22:31.942 --> 00:22:33.682
We ha there was power there with us

00:22:33.722 --> 00:22:34.383
working together.

00:22:34.423 --> 00:22:37.183
We had really different experiences and

00:22:37.243 --> 00:22:39.464
expertise and skill sets and it worked.

00:22:40.269 --> 00:22:41.150
but then you hit a cap,

00:22:41.210 --> 00:22:41.871
you hit a limit.

00:22:42.010 --> 00:22:42.391
Like there,

00:22:42.490 --> 00:22:44.011
you need to go beyond your school.

00:22:44.451 --> 00:22:46.913
And then what structures are districts

00:22:46.952 --> 00:22:48.574
putting in place to get people together,

00:22:49.074 --> 00:22:51.375
whether it's in person or otherwise,

00:22:52.194 --> 00:22:53.135
it's much more limited.

00:22:53.296 --> 00:22:54.476
And now with teachers,

00:22:55.257 --> 00:22:57.116
now with it being more difficult to pull

00:22:57.136 --> 00:22:58.057
teachers out of class,

00:22:58.077 --> 00:23:00.338
because it's hard to find coverage and,

00:23:00.538 --> 00:23:01.378
or, you know, they're,

00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:03.599
they're trading off costs.

00:23:03.619 --> 00:23:05.280
Like if we pull someone out of

00:23:05.867 --> 00:23:06.409
the building,

00:23:06.429 --> 00:23:08.289
we're paying for a supply and we're paying

00:23:08.309 --> 00:23:09.530
for them to go out somewhere.

00:23:09.571 --> 00:23:10.551
And that's not a cost that we're

00:23:10.633 --> 00:23:11.173
comfortable with.

00:23:11.573 --> 00:23:12.775
Whatever the reason is,

00:23:12.855 --> 00:23:14.675
like less and less people are actually

00:23:14.695 --> 00:23:15.596
getting out of the building.

00:23:15.938 --> 00:23:17.838
And even like, like we all know,

00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:20.721
they're very short opportunities.

00:23:20.781 --> 00:23:22.242
You're there for a day or two or

00:23:22.262 --> 00:23:22.564
whatever.

00:23:23.910 --> 00:23:27.032
And people need ongoing wraparound

00:23:27.272 --> 00:23:27.794
support.

00:23:27.854 --> 00:23:30.095
They need people that they can message and

00:23:30.255 --> 00:23:31.576
connect with when they need.

00:23:32.396 --> 00:23:34.618
And so that's going to happen beyond your

00:23:34.659 --> 00:23:35.900
school, beyond your district.

00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:37.781
It's going to happen with that cross

00:23:37.821 --> 00:23:39.103
district collaboration.

00:23:39.143 --> 00:23:40.624
It's going to happen with people across a

00:23:40.683 --> 00:23:41.805
state or a province.

00:23:42.605 --> 00:23:44.567
We've seen some really cool collaborations

00:23:45.173 --> 00:23:48.255
across the world, because like I said,

00:23:48.335 --> 00:23:50.036
one of the most unifying things for

00:23:50.115 --> 00:23:52.217
educators are student outcomes.

00:23:52.537 --> 00:23:53.817
No matter your standards or your

00:23:53.857 --> 00:23:55.959
expectations that you are trying to drive

00:23:55.979 --> 00:23:56.578
in your school,

00:23:56.979 --> 00:23:58.579
you still care about the same ultimate

00:23:58.599 --> 00:23:59.400
goals for students.

00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:01.661
You want them to be well-rounded.

00:24:01.721 --> 00:24:03.862
You want them to find joy in purpose.

00:24:03.882 --> 00:24:05.262
You want them to feel like they have

00:24:05.303 --> 00:24:09.964
the skills and the capacity to solve

00:24:10.025 --> 00:24:11.546
problems, to grow.

00:24:12.164 --> 00:24:13.766
to continuously learn throughout their

00:24:13.806 --> 00:24:14.126
life,

00:24:14.186 --> 00:24:16.429
like to find that thing that's going to

00:24:16.469 --> 00:24:18.349
get them out of bed and excited to

00:24:18.711 --> 00:24:21.333
change the world or make a difference or,

00:24:21.393 --> 00:24:23.714
you know, even just build personal wealth,

00:24:23.755 --> 00:24:24.295
whatever it is.

00:24:24.776 --> 00:24:25.236
These are,

00:24:25.776 --> 00:24:27.498
these are things that are really important

00:24:27.698 --> 00:24:29.159
and that we all can rally around,

00:24:29.219 --> 00:24:29.859
but it takes,

00:24:30.867 --> 00:24:33.992
connections well beyond your school to do

00:24:34.032 --> 00:24:36.376
that and i think that's why educators were

00:24:36.416 --> 00:24:39.702
trying to use social networks to to

00:24:39.742 --> 00:24:41.726
connect but there was a lot of challenges

00:24:41.766 --> 00:24:43.469
with that and so that's what we're trying

00:24:43.489 --> 00:24:43.548
to

00:24:44.557 --> 00:24:47.238
to switch up and create a professional

00:24:47.377 --> 00:24:48.699
space for networking,

00:24:48.999 --> 00:24:50.118
a professional space for that

00:24:50.159 --> 00:24:52.619
collaboration that is also way more

00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:54.641
connected to the needs of districts and

00:24:54.681 --> 00:24:57.561
the outcomes and the goals that districts

00:24:57.602 --> 00:24:58.041
have.

00:24:58.481 --> 00:25:02.284
So you can see the value of educators

00:25:02.324 --> 00:25:03.003
working together.

00:25:03.064 --> 00:25:04.984
You can see the value of resources being

00:25:05.045 --> 00:25:05.464
shared,

00:25:06.085 --> 00:25:08.066
of new professional learning being

00:25:08.105 --> 00:25:08.605
created.

00:25:08.986 --> 00:25:12.047
And you can tie it directly to positive

00:25:12.287 --> 00:25:14.048
outcomes for students, for staff.

00:25:15.167 --> 00:25:16.909
Because we need to track that or else

00:25:16.929 --> 00:25:17.628
we don't know.

00:25:17.729 --> 00:25:19.308
We're just shooting things out there and

00:25:19.328 --> 00:25:21.569
we don't know what's creating what change.

00:25:22.130 --> 00:25:26.050
And we need to be data driven in

00:25:26.090 --> 00:25:27.332
a meaningful way, of course.

00:25:27.392 --> 00:25:29.832
You can't just be overloaded with data,

00:25:29.951 --> 00:25:31.813
but there's a balance there.

00:25:32.337 --> 00:25:32.577
Right.

00:25:32.938 --> 00:25:34.398
Yeah.

00:25:34.479 --> 00:25:36.299
I just love your whole piece on the

00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:38.320
global collaboration and your emphasis

00:25:38.340 --> 00:25:38.560
there.

00:25:38.800 --> 00:25:41.761
And we're going to get into what this

00:25:41.801 --> 00:25:43.123
looks like in a bit for those that

00:25:43.143 --> 00:25:43.903
are watching and listening.

00:25:44.423 --> 00:25:48.025
But what you're describing kind of gives

00:25:48.105 --> 00:25:48.224
me...

00:25:49.085 --> 00:25:50.967
it's not around anymore but it kind of

00:25:50.987 --> 00:25:54.028
gives me flip grid vibes of like because

00:25:54.108 --> 00:25:55.911
that was a place i don't know if

00:25:55.951 --> 00:25:57.771
that was like the original intent of the

00:25:58.413 --> 00:26:00.835
product i don't think it was but it

00:26:00.855 --> 00:26:02.395
was one of those things like so many

00:26:02.476 --> 00:26:05.398
teachers and even students were

00:26:05.739 --> 00:26:09.221
collaborating globally and i was you know

00:26:09.643 --> 00:26:11.784
however large or small like was involved

00:26:12.045 --> 00:26:13.546
involved in that movement of like

00:26:14.361 --> 00:26:15.962
my students were getting connected with

00:26:16.222 --> 00:26:18.565
others on a more global scale.

00:26:18.605 --> 00:26:21.488
That's really cool.

00:26:21.847 --> 00:26:23.470
The way I use Flipgrid with my middle

00:26:23.490 --> 00:26:25.872
school students was honestly for formative

00:26:27.173 --> 00:26:29.134
check-ins and assessments where we would

00:26:29.194 --> 00:26:30.455
use it for them to be able to

00:26:30.836 --> 00:26:31.938
explain their thinking,

00:26:32.137 --> 00:26:35.080
their knowledge in a new format because it

00:26:35.121 --> 00:26:36.241
was a lot of

00:26:36.965 --> 00:26:41.009
traditional writing and assessments and to

00:26:41.068 --> 00:26:43.270
do oral assessments at scale and to have

00:26:43.290 --> 00:26:45.472
a really cool way for students to share

00:26:45.492 --> 00:26:47.154
their knowledge was how I was using it.

00:26:47.295 --> 00:26:49.737
And I knew of this other component of

00:26:49.777 --> 00:26:52.318
it, this collaborative piece.

00:26:52.338 --> 00:26:55.040
And it's kind of, yeah,

00:26:55.060 --> 00:26:56.041
I never really tapped into that,

00:26:56.082 --> 00:26:56.541
unfortunately.

00:26:56.561 --> 00:26:58.124
And now it is no longer, but...

00:26:58.624 --> 00:27:00.265
Well, yeah.

00:27:00.285 --> 00:27:01.066
Thanks a lot, Microsoft.

00:27:01.266 --> 00:27:04.027
But like it's it's one of those things

00:27:04.086 --> 00:27:07.128
where like I was so I was using

00:27:07.169 --> 00:27:08.829
it for what what you just described.

00:27:09.050 --> 00:27:09.211
Right.

00:27:09.250 --> 00:27:10.371
Like the formative piece,

00:27:11.092 --> 00:27:11.951
oral assessment stuff,

00:27:12.092 --> 00:27:12.772
stuff of that nature.

00:27:13.752 --> 00:27:17.016
But like it did have that global piece

00:27:17.076 --> 00:27:19.076
where other educators can.

00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:22.020
get connected like it even had a map

00:27:22.161 --> 00:27:25.382
in their on their website um and then

00:27:25.402 --> 00:27:27.301
the students like from for me from a

00:27:27.362 --> 00:27:30.163
project-based learning standpoint um like

00:27:30.403 --> 00:27:33.625
mentorship ideating stuff of stuff of that

00:27:33.664 --> 00:27:36.885
nature um so it it gave it it's

00:27:36.945 --> 00:27:38.526
giving me what you're describing is giving

00:27:38.546 --> 00:27:41.527
me those types of vibes but also like

00:27:42.067 --> 00:27:43.428
i just want to call out that like

00:27:44.451 --> 00:27:46.512
we have all these other platforms that

00:27:46.532 --> 00:27:50.035
could do that and back when it did

00:27:50.095 --> 00:27:52.656
feel like Twitter was like when it was

00:27:52.698 --> 00:27:54.858
called Twitter like the main hub for all

00:27:54.898 --> 00:27:58.082
that but now there's so many of them

00:27:58.981 --> 00:28:02.885
and even as a podcaster like it is

00:28:03.086 --> 00:28:05.887
it is hard to decide like do we

00:28:05.928 --> 00:28:07.128
subscribe to all of them

00:28:07.590 --> 00:28:10.732
do we hone in on just one like

00:28:10.773 --> 00:28:13.174
where teachers grab like to me it feels

00:28:13.194 --> 00:28:15.897
like you know TikTok and face and meta

00:28:16.198 --> 00:28:18.640
are kind of like the two spots but

00:28:18.660 --> 00:28:21.342
like what you're describing though is like

00:28:21.422 --> 00:28:24.203
a more professional place a more

00:28:24.263 --> 00:28:28.106
purposeful place um and so so if we

00:28:28.126 --> 00:28:29.909
can dive into like the more nuance

00:28:30.867 --> 00:28:31.769
components of this?

00:28:33.128 --> 00:28:35.090
If someone were to use Colab,

00:28:35.471 --> 00:28:36.932
what does it look like?

00:28:37.951 --> 00:28:40.374
Kind of give us those details.

00:28:40.933 --> 00:28:41.233
Yeah.

00:28:41.354 --> 00:28:44.395
So everything you shared about these other

00:28:44.957 --> 00:28:45.836
apps rings true,

00:28:45.856 --> 00:28:47.077
and I hear it time and time again.

00:28:47.198 --> 00:28:50.220
There's such a nostalgia for Twitter when

00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:52.681
it was Twitter and the connections that it

00:28:52.701 --> 00:28:53.221
created.

00:28:54.602 --> 00:28:56.903
And that's a lot of what we're trying

00:28:56.943 --> 00:28:57.903
to rebuild,

00:28:58.345 --> 00:29:00.506
but in a new and interesting way is

00:29:01.518 --> 00:29:03.519
a place where people are excited to go

00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:06.843
and gain meaningful resources and

00:29:06.863 --> 00:29:07.763
connections quickly.

00:29:07.943 --> 00:29:09.766
So when you come into Colab,

00:29:10.086 --> 00:29:11.867
the first thing we actually ask you to

00:29:11.907 --> 00:29:13.789
do is to build your professional profile

00:29:13.829 --> 00:29:15.330
because nobody wants to connect with

00:29:15.351 --> 00:29:17.212
somebody who is just a little avatar with

00:29:17.252 --> 00:29:17.952
no information.

00:29:18.374 --> 00:29:20.776
So we look to things like

00:29:21.484 --> 00:29:22.445
places like LinkedIn,

00:29:22.546 --> 00:29:25.448
where you will not find educators actively

00:29:25.488 --> 00:29:26.248
spending time.

00:29:26.268 --> 00:29:28.390
There are people in the education system

00:29:28.430 --> 00:29:31.951
there, superintendents, people in ed tech,

00:29:31.991 --> 00:29:32.853
consultants,

00:29:33.272 --> 00:29:34.733
and that's a great space to connect

00:29:35.424 --> 00:29:37.685
them but teachers don't feel it's a place

00:29:37.705 --> 00:29:39.826
for them they say it why i'm not

00:29:39.846 --> 00:29:41.106
getting a new job why would i be

00:29:41.166 --> 00:29:42.827
on linkedin they they haven't unless

00:29:42.847 --> 00:29:44.607
they're trying to leave unless they're

00:29:44.627 --> 00:29:46.648
trying to leave then they will revamp

00:29:46.949 --> 00:29:49.349
their you know their skills and their

00:29:49.430 --> 00:29:51.810
portfolio to kind of reflect everything

00:29:51.830 --> 00:29:53.171
they've learned and how they're trans a

00:29:53.230 --> 00:29:56.031
hundred percent right um and it's just it

00:29:56.132 --> 00:29:58.272
isn't built for educators because the

00:29:58.313 --> 00:29:58.573
things

00:29:59.153 --> 00:30:01.713
i think educators should be in linkedin to

00:30:02.054 --> 00:30:03.773
gain you know information about the world

00:30:03.794 --> 00:30:05.034
and things that are happening and there's

00:30:05.074 --> 00:30:06.433
you know there's cool ways you can connect

00:30:06.473 --> 00:30:08.335
with people outside of the education space

00:30:08.875 --> 00:30:10.615
but when you think of a busy teacher

00:30:10.694 --> 00:30:13.236
who's like i only have this much time

00:30:13.256 --> 00:30:14.496
in a day i need to get in

00:30:14.596 --> 00:30:16.777
and get out i need resources for my

00:30:16.817 --> 00:30:18.936
class this week i need people who i

00:30:18.977 --> 00:30:20.836
can ask questions to that understand my

00:30:20.896 --> 00:30:23.518
context linkedin is not that place so

00:30:24.567 --> 00:30:27.089
We are encouraging teachers to create

00:30:27.109 --> 00:30:30.051
their professional profile where it shares

00:30:30.071 --> 00:30:31.212
a little bit about themselves,

00:30:31.232 --> 00:30:32.634
their background, their skills,

00:30:33.654 --> 00:30:35.576
what they can help other people with.

00:30:35.656 --> 00:30:37.478
We specifically call that out on the

00:30:37.518 --> 00:30:38.959
profile because we want people to,

00:30:39.319 --> 00:30:40.861
if I land on your profile, Steve,

00:30:40.941 --> 00:30:42.402
I want to know what can,

00:30:42.642 --> 00:30:43.843
what can you bring?

00:30:44.063 --> 00:30:44.544
Like what,

00:30:45.104 --> 00:30:47.926
skills, experiences can I lean on you for?

00:30:48.346 --> 00:30:50.568
And what can you in turn and return,

00:30:51.068 --> 00:30:51.890
look for me for?

00:30:52.790 --> 00:30:52.971
Like,

00:30:53.270 --> 00:30:55.432
do I have a specific niche skill set

00:30:55.953 --> 00:30:57.214
in a subject area?

00:30:57.555 --> 00:30:59.777
If I've been like mastering project based

00:30:59.817 --> 00:31:00.257
learning,

00:31:00.336 --> 00:31:00.738
have I

00:31:01.337 --> 00:31:03.820
really figured out a way to build

00:31:03.881 --> 00:31:07.042
engagement with manipulatives and math.

00:31:07.083 --> 00:31:09.806
Like what is my thing that I can

00:31:09.925 --> 00:31:11.467
share with a community of educators?

00:31:11.527 --> 00:31:13.269
And we have that specifically on people's

00:31:13.308 --> 00:31:15.770
profiles so that you can connect quickly

00:31:16.451 --> 00:31:18.493
and directly message people.

00:31:18.713 --> 00:31:20.516
You can see the resources that people have

00:31:20.536 --> 00:31:22.116
shared, the groups that they're a part of,

00:31:22.156 --> 00:31:23.858
and you can build these connections.

00:31:23.898 --> 00:31:25.359
So that's the first piece.

00:31:26.282 --> 00:31:27.963
We then have two other kind of core

00:31:28.003 --> 00:31:28.944
components right now,

00:31:28.984 --> 00:31:31.267
and I'll share also some exciting roadmap

00:31:31.287 --> 00:31:34.368
pieces as well when people can come into

00:31:34.388 --> 00:31:35.690
the space and check out what we have

00:31:35.750 --> 00:31:38.311
now and then learn what we're pushing in

00:31:38.392 --> 00:31:39.133
twenty twenty six.

00:31:39.173 --> 00:31:39.313
So

00:31:40.028 --> 00:31:41.388
The other main component is resource

00:31:41.409 --> 00:31:41.809
sharing.

00:31:42.289 --> 00:31:44.509
So teachers obviously are flooded with

00:31:44.569 --> 00:31:45.810
resources right now.

00:31:46.290 --> 00:31:47.211
Everyone has,

00:31:47.570 --> 00:31:49.352
at least I can speak for myself and

00:31:49.372 --> 00:31:50.392
a lot of people I've talked to,

00:31:50.832 --> 00:31:53.313
you have a Google Drive or some sort.

00:31:53.413 --> 00:31:55.294
You have bookmarks in your web browser.

00:31:55.354 --> 00:31:57.255
You have saved things on Instagram.

00:31:57.575 --> 00:31:59.835
You have Pinterest boards that maybe are

00:31:59.855 --> 00:32:01.236
collecting a little bit of dust now.

00:32:01.276 --> 00:32:01.736
Who knows?

00:32:02.955 --> 00:32:05.116
You are everywhere with your saved

00:32:05.156 --> 00:32:07.958
resources, ideas, files, and resources.

00:32:08.402 --> 00:32:11.303
I think it's really tricky when I talk

00:32:11.323 --> 00:32:13.803
to a lot of districts, admin, principals,

00:32:13.843 --> 00:32:14.262
et cetera.

00:32:15.064 --> 00:32:15.344
They're like,

00:32:15.384 --> 00:32:17.263
we don't really know what teachers are

00:32:17.564 --> 00:32:20.224
using for teaching.

00:32:20.404 --> 00:32:22.664
When we used to be really by the

00:32:22.684 --> 00:32:23.144
book,

00:32:24.026 --> 00:32:25.746
we knew that teachers were pulling out a

00:32:25.786 --> 00:32:27.145
physical textbook and we knew what

00:32:27.226 --> 00:32:28.287
chapters were in the book.

00:32:28.727 --> 00:32:30.586
Now we know teachers are grabbing things

00:32:30.626 --> 00:32:31.887
from here, there, and everywhere.

00:32:32.428 --> 00:32:34.188
Some teachers are doing that effectively

00:32:34.528 --> 00:32:35.969
and some teachers aren't.

00:32:36.148 --> 00:32:37.929
And we can't really get a sense of,

00:32:38.446 --> 00:32:39.288
what they're using.

00:32:39.847 --> 00:32:41.410
And this is because teachers are looking

00:32:41.450 --> 00:32:43.652
for what is the best thing that I

00:32:43.692 --> 00:32:45.853
can find that is accessible to me.

00:32:46.554 --> 00:32:48.395
And these things live everywhere.

00:32:48.596 --> 00:32:50.517
And so we're creating a centralized place

00:32:50.537 --> 00:32:52.219
for people to share resources of all

00:32:52.259 --> 00:32:53.000
different kinds,

00:32:53.740 --> 00:32:56.663
to share them more effectively with each

00:32:56.702 --> 00:32:57.042
other,

00:32:57.123 --> 00:32:59.125
to save them into collections so that they

00:32:59.144 --> 00:33:00.766
can refer back to them.

00:33:00.826 --> 00:33:01.586
So you can save

00:33:02.454 --> 00:33:05.397
files and links and videos and images,

00:33:05.438 --> 00:33:08.461
like whatever works as a resource for you

00:33:08.520 --> 00:33:09.141
professionally.

00:33:09.201 --> 00:33:10.603
And this could be lesson plans,

00:33:10.663 --> 00:33:12.304
it could be teaching supports,

00:33:12.503 --> 00:33:13.905
all different types of resource sharing.

00:33:14.526 --> 00:33:17.209
But the other component there that is

00:33:17.269 --> 00:33:19.451
pretty unique to CoLab is our ability for

00:33:19.490 --> 00:33:20.932
people to create iterations.

00:33:21.452 --> 00:33:23.694
So one of the biggest things that people

00:33:23.734 --> 00:33:26.477
do is you find a great resource or

00:33:26.497 --> 00:33:27.298
a good resource

00:33:28.496 --> 00:33:30.696
And you hack it up in some way,

00:33:30.896 --> 00:33:32.396
you take the parts that you like,

00:33:32.416 --> 00:33:33.436
you mash it together.

00:33:33.517 --> 00:33:35.637
You reinvent like teachers are creators.

00:33:35.657 --> 00:33:36.738
They love to build.

00:33:37.337 --> 00:33:39.019
They've got students who change year over

00:33:39.098 --> 00:33:39.439
year.

00:33:40.259 --> 00:33:43.579
The best teachers are adapting quick and

00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:45.940
they will take something and revamp it,

00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:47.641
find something interesting,

00:33:47.760 --> 00:33:49.080
put it together with another thing that

00:33:49.101 --> 00:33:51.441
was interesting and build and build and

00:33:51.461 --> 00:33:51.721
build.

00:33:52.001 --> 00:33:54.461
But all this stuff is happening relatively

00:33:54.501 --> 00:33:56.182
in isolation without visibility.

00:33:56.782 --> 00:33:58.002
And so the iteration is.

00:33:58.737 --> 00:34:01.618
is a way for people to share how

00:34:01.659 --> 00:34:05.121
they're reviewing, improving,

00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:07.622
adapting resources visibly,

00:34:07.701 --> 00:34:09.262
publicly over time,

00:34:09.362 --> 00:34:11.565
keeping track of who did what.

00:34:11.625 --> 00:34:13.246
So you're not losing ownership over the

00:34:13.266 --> 00:34:14.266
things that you're contributing,

00:34:14.746 --> 00:34:16.527
but people can see like,

00:34:16.708 --> 00:34:18.469
we started with this awesome unit plan and

00:34:18.568 --> 00:34:20.909
now this is a new version and how

00:34:20.949 --> 00:34:22.311
is it different and why could it be

00:34:22.570 --> 00:34:25.373
more useful or better for me this school

00:34:25.393 --> 00:34:25.632
year?

00:34:26.251 --> 00:34:27.333
And the other one is better for me

00:34:27.373 --> 00:34:28.012
next school year,

00:34:28.052 --> 00:34:30.313
depending on my context and my students,

00:34:30.634 --> 00:34:31.235
whatever it may be.

00:34:31.335 --> 00:34:34.036
So we create this ability for people to

00:34:34.195 --> 00:34:37.358
iterate in public and co-create truly

00:34:37.498 --> 00:34:38.538
resources together.

00:34:39.259 --> 00:34:41.639
And then we also have community groups and

00:34:41.659 --> 00:34:42.699
discussion spaces.

00:34:42.920 --> 00:34:44.340
Do you think to Facebook groups,

00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:48.563
people love using Facebook groups because

00:34:48.822 --> 00:34:50.523
that was the original place where people

00:34:50.563 --> 00:34:52.485
were connecting socially with each other.

00:34:52.545 --> 00:34:53.925
So there are thousands of people.

00:34:54.750 --> 00:34:56.349
in these various different Facebook

00:34:56.369 --> 00:34:59.351
groups, regionally, nationally.

00:34:59.690 --> 00:35:01.771
There's almost every single ed tech

00:35:01.811 --> 00:35:03.331
company has a Facebook group where they're

00:35:03.351 --> 00:35:05.333
trying to connect people together around

00:35:05.353 --> 00:35:07.092
their services, their product,

00:35:07.132 --> 00:35:08.393
whatever it may be.

00:35:08.833 --> 00:35:10.673
But we are improving that process and

00:35:10.713 --> 00:35:12.034
making it much more organized.

00:35:12.054 --> 00:35:14.215
You can tag people, resources.

00:35:14.255 --> 00:35:15.795
You can create shared collections in

00:35:15.855 --> 00:35:16.375
groups.

00:35:16.934 --> 00:35:18.536
You can have, again,

00:35:18.556 --> 00:35:20.556
your members list that's connected to your

00:35:20.596 --> 00:35:22.197
group is connected to a professional

00:35:22.237 --> 00:35:22.757
profile,

00:35:22.896 --> 00:35:23.416
not their

00:35:23.976 --> 00:35:25.416
personal Facebook profile with their

00:35:25.436 --> 00:35:27.418
family pictures and their, you know,

00:35:27.539 --> 00:35:28.579
everything else that's going on.

00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:31.802
So we're really trying to create that

00:35:31.882 --> 00:35:33.523
intentional spot where you land,

00:35:33.682 --> 00:35:35.204
you find professional resources and

00:35:35.224 --> 00:35:38.507
connections and it's purpose built.

00:35:38.666 --> 00:35:40.467
So you're not going to be scrolling past

00:35:40.748 --> 00:35:45.291
ads and recipes and whatever other

00:35:45.411 --> 00:35:47.753
exciting political scariness that's

00:35:47.773 --> 00:35:49.494
happening in these other,

00:35:50.054 --> 00:35:50.695
in these other apps.

00:35:51.920 --> 00:35:53.922
We have lots more exciting things coming

00:35:54.023 --> 00:35:58.009
in twenty twenty six that will, I think,

00:35:58.530 --> 00:36:01.554
really wow people because we've been

00:36:01.594 --> 00:36:02.976
building them with teachers

00:36:03.800 --> 00:36:05.521
And principals who have said,

00:36:05.940 --> 00:36:07.322
if you could take this thing that's in

00:36:07.342 --> 00:36:08.543
my head and build it,

00:36:09.282 --> 00:36:10.224
we would be excited.

00:36:10.503 --> 00:36:12.025
And then I said, great, let's,

00:36:12.385 --> 00:36:13.126
let's work on that.

00:36:13.166 --> 00:36:14.606
Let's think about how we can build this

00:36:14.746 --> 00:36:16.246
out, what this will look like.

00:36:16.668 --> 00:36:18.208
And we have successfully done that with a

00:36:18.248 --> 00:36:19.768
couple of new features coming out.

00:36:19.869 --> 00:36:21.891
Like we've got a launch pad feature for

00:36:21.911 --> 00:36:24.791
connecting people for projects and for

00:36:24.831 --> 00:36:26.293
collaboration.

00:36:26.333 --> 00:36:28.655
We have some really cool things happening.

00:36:29.815 --> 00:36:33.659
And what I know is most exciting to

00:36:33.699 --> 00:36:36.262
me is that it's built with heart from

00:36:36.461 --> 00:36:38.362
other educators in the systems right now

00:36:38.402 --> 00:36:41.545
who've said, we want this, let's do it.

00:36:41.686 --> 00:36:43.568
And we're really happy that we're able to

00:36:43.588 --> 00:36:45.528
kind of make that possible over the last

00:36:45.548 --> 00:36:45.989
little while.

00:36:50.443 --> 00:36:52.905
I have been listening to you.

00:36:53.405 --> 00:36:56.088
But I have been just poking around on

00:36:56.128 --> 00:36:56.728
your website.

00:36:57.909 --> 00:37:00.351
And one thing that stood out to me,

00:37:00.411 --> 00:37:01.452
and I kind of had to go through

00:37:02.271 --> 00:37:04.353
the bowels of it a little bit,

00:37:04.974 --> 00:37:07.096
but CTE.

00:37:08.923 --> 00:37:10.625
Um, yeah.

00:37:10.644 --> 00:37:11.364
So to me,

00:37:11.425 --> 00:37:14.085
the CTE is becoming more and more of

00:37:14.146 --> 00:37:14.505
a need.

00:37:15.585 --> 00:37:15.925
Um,

00:37:16.025 --> 00:37:17.967
I can't speak for all of the states,

00:37:18.507 --> 00:37:22.027
but California, like we, we're, we,

00:37:22.128 --> 00:37:23.407
we are growing in this way.

00:37:24.268 --> 00:37:25.088
Um,

00:37:25.168 --> 00:37:27.548
so can you speak to that a little

00:37:27.568 --> 00:37:27.748
bit?

00:37:27.809 --> 00:37:28.829
Like what, what, yeah.

00:37:28.889 --> 00:37:31.250
So in general, so our platform,

00:37:31.289 --> 00:37:33.471
we have this free open,

00:37:33.570 --> 00:37:34.931
I shouldn't mention that it's like a free

00:37:35.052 --> 00:37:36.652
open source community that we have

00:37:37.369 --> 00:37:37.929
built right now.

00:37:37.949 --> 00:37:38.789
So you can come in,

00:37:39.190 --> 00:37:40.409
you can create your professional profile,

00:37:40.429 --> 00:37:42.670
do all those things for free and connect

00:37:42.690 --> 00:37:43.150
with people.

00:37:43.590 --> 00:37:44.971
And then we support schools,

00:37:45.030 --> 00:37:46.972
districts and other education communities

00:37:46.992 --> 00:37:49.012
with private collaboration as well.

00:37:49.452 --> 00:37:50.572
So one of the things that we can

00:37:50.612 --> 00:37:53.693
help is we can create an interconnected

00:37:53.753 --> 00:37:55.813
space where you've got your free open

00:37:55.853 --> 00:37:57.534
source community connecting to teachers

00:37:57.574 --> 00:37:59.215
globally, even if you want.

00:37:59.614 --> 00:38:00.815
But then you can also have your own

00:38:00.875 --> 00:38:03.456
district space or your own space for your

00:38:03.496 --> 00:38:03.775
school.

00:38:03.835 --> 00:38:05.336
So you can create private groups,

00:38:05.396 --> 00:38:06.617
private resource sharing,

00:38:08.045 --> 00:38:09.065
and all these other features we're

00:38:09.106 --> 00:38:09.586
building out,

00:38:09.666 --> 00:38:12.869
you can do in a more niche kind

00:38:12.989 --> 00:38:14.570
of controlled way,

00:38:14.969 --> 00:38:16.791
but you will never lose access to that

00:38:16.831 --> 00:38:18.873
free open source community because like I

00:38:18.893 --> 00:38:19.233
shared,

00:38:19.913 --> 00:38:21.673
it feels too limiting for a lot of

00:38:21.733 --> 00:38:24.016
educators to only have connection to their

00:38:24.536 --> 00:38:26.717
school or even within their own district,

00:38:26.737 --> 00:38:27.498
they want more.

00:38:27.617 --> 00:38:30.400
So we are balancing that by having private

00:38:30.619 --> 00:38:31.940
communities for districts,

00:38:31.981 --> 00:38:33.961
but also that greater access.

00:38:34.702 --> 00:38:36.364
What we're looking at here

00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:38.682
is something that we've launched this last

00:38:38.704 --> 00:38:39.264
school year,

00:38:39.425 --> 00:38:40.646
which are professional learning

00:38:40.666 --> 00:38:43.432
communities supported by various different

00:38:43.472 --> 00:38:44.695
professional learning partners.

00:38:46.621 --> 00:38:49.242
Every school has training days.

00:38:49.322 --> 00:38:50.764
You're trying to success.

00:38:50.784 --> 00:38:52.065
We talked about PLCs.

00:38:52.625 --> 00:38:53.985
People have consultants come in for

00:38:54.025 --> 00:38:57.867
workshops or have in-house PD happening.

00:38:58.929 --> 00:39:01.391
And what people have shared is that a

00:39:01.431 --> 00:39:04.233
lot of the times it can be successful,

00:39:04.793 --> 00:39:05.612
but it fades.

00:39:06.114 --> 00:39:07.934
And so what we are trying to do

00:39:08.014 --> 00:39:10.597
is use our collaborative infrastructure to

00:39:10.657 --> 00:39:12.878
support professional learning and keep

00:39:12.898 --> 00:39:13.778
people connected

00:39:14.358 --> 00:39:16.641
all year round using our technology.

00:39:16.961 --> 00:39:17.722
So, for example,

00:39:17.782 --> 00:39:19.585
with the Career and Tech Education Group,

00:39:19.864 --> 00:39:21.146
people would join a cohort,

00:39:21.567 --> 00:39:22.949
they would do live,

00:39:23.668 --> 00:39:27.172
either virtual or in-person training.

00:39:27.353 --> 00:39:28.373
Like, they're there,

00:39:28.414 --> 00:39:30.476
they're connecting with people, live,

00:39:30.577 --> 00:39:31.277
real human people.

00:39:32.115 --> 00:39:33.757
for structured professional learning,

00:39:34.157 --> 00:39:36.099
but they use our platform for all the

00:39:36.139 --> 00:39:37.018
resource sharing,

00:39:37.079 --> 00:39:40.442
for the collaboration asynchronously to

00:39:40.461 --> 00:39:42.422
make sure that they have a place to

00:39:42.483 --> 00:39:46.365
go and return to when the PLC is

00:39:46.425 --> 00:39:48.588
no longer or in between the live sessions.

00:39:49.168 --> 00:39:50.548
And so we're trying to build these

00:39:50.568 --> 00:39:52.309
communities that last more than a few

00:39:52.349 --> 00:39:53.851
months or more than a school year.

00:39:54.731 --> 00:39:56.693
And we've been really successful.

00:39:56.733 --> 00:39:57.733
Like, as you can see,

00:39:57.994 --> 00:40:00.436
the CTE cohort is coming.

00:40:01.217 --> 00:40:03.199
What we've started with this last school

00:40:03.239 --> 00:40:05.740
year was AI because people have said,

00:40:06.422 --> 00:40:08.702
we're tired of just logging into a course

00:40:08.802 --> 00:40:11.304
in a module and learning on our own

00:40:11.485 --> 00:40:13.306
and then applying this learning on our

00:40:13.427 --> 00:40:13.606
own.

00:40:14.407 --> 00:40:15.588
The other theme, right?

00:40:15.628 --> 00:40:17.489
This teacher isolation is just

00:40:17.550 --> 00:40:19.331
perpetuating through some of the training

00:40:19.351 --> 00:40:21.211
that schools and districts have been

00:40:21.251 --> 00:40:21.793
deploying.

00:40:22.172 --> 00:40:23.994
And so the professional learning community

00:40:24.034 --> 00:40:25.896
model changes that.

00:40:25.956 --> 00:40:27.577
You have people learning together,

00:40:28.117 --> 00:40:28.958
working together,

00:40:29.617 --> 00:40:31.057
And we're trying to do it in a

00:40:31.117 --> 00:40:31.898
revived way.

00:40:32.579 --> 00:40:34.159
We're trying to make this something that,

00:40:34.480 --> 00:40:34.800
again,

00:40:35.081 --> 00:40:37.601
is lasting using our technology so people

00:40:37.641 --> 00:40:39.282
can stay connected,

00:40:39.342 --> 00:40:41.724
can keep the resources shared.

00:40:41.864 --> 00:40:42.545
And over time,

00:40:42.565 --> 00:40:45.847
you can also see if we have shared

00:40:46.148 --> 00:40:47.929
resources that we've co-created.

00:40:48.088 --> 00:40:48.748
For example,

00:40:49.710 --> 00:40:53.713
we've created unit plans on AI literacy

00:40:53.773 --> 00:40:55.414
for our middle school students.

00:40:55.454 --> 00:40:55.693
Great.

00:40:57.148 --> 00:40:58.050
Are people using them?

00:40:58.449 --> 00:40:59.773
Like this is one of the things that

00:40:59.932 --> 00:41:02.097
a lot of districts have these resource

00:41:02.137 --> 00:41:04.001
collection websites or they'll create a

00:41:04.041 --> 00:41:06.164
Google site and they'll have links to

00:41:06.184 --> 00:41:07.045
things and say like,

00:41:07.126 --> 00:41:08.429
this is a great place to go to

00:41:08.469 --> 00:41:09.271
find resources.

00:41:10.528 --> 00:41:12.208
Do people know that these exist?

00:41:12.610 --> 00:41:13.969
How are people using them?

00:41:14.150 --> 00:41:16.411
How are people iterating those resources?

00:41:16.791 --> 00:41:18.311
Where are they finding successes?

00:41:18.351 --> 00:41:19.630
Where are they finding challenges?

00:41:19.650 --> 00:41:22.192
Like when you jump into Colab,

00:41:22.211 --> 00:41:24.132
you'll see there's so many opportunities

00:41:24.152 --> 00:41:25.773
for people to connect,

00:41:25.813 --> 00:41:28.253
to message each other, to tag people,

00:41:28.833 --> 00:41:29.873
to share things.

00:41:30.233 --> 00:41:32.295
So every single piece of our platform is

00:41:32.335 --> 00:41:33.014
collaborative.

00:41:33.375 --> 00:41:35.175
So you're not just stuck looking at

00:41:35.235 --> 00:41:36.076
something static.

00:41:36.815 --> 00:41:38.717
um yeah you can check out yeah whatever

00:41:39.237 --> 00:41:42.838
for teachers even um and so if you

00:41:42.898 --> 00:41:47.458
are a teacher coming into this versus a

00:41:47.539 --> 00:41:49.798
district leader like like like let's say

00:41:49.818 --> 00:41:52.320
like you're one teacher that is interested

00:41:52.559 --> 00:41:54.760
in diving into this like what is that

00:41:54.820 --> 00:41:57.221
what does that look like in comparison to

00:41:57.260 --> 00:41:59.141
like maybe district level adoption

00:42:00.103 --> 00:42:01.784
Yeah, so for our teacher, I mean,

00:42:01.903 --> 00:42:03.304
a lot of things that we've talked about

00:42:03.545 --> 00:42:04.226
stand true.

00:42:04.306 --> 00:42:05.947
You're connecting with people

00:42:06.007 --> 00:42:08.568
professionally in a space that's

00:42:08.608 --> 00:42:09.210
purpose-built.

00:42:09.590 --> 00:42:12.032
You can find thousands of resources that

00:42:12.052 --> 00:42:12.891
have been vetted,

00:42:13.012 --> 00:42:14.773
created by other educators.

00:42:15.193 --> 00:42:17.355
You can message the person who created it.

00:42:17.414 --> 00:42:19.036
You can iterate their resource.

00:42:19.056 --> 00:42:20.697
You can join them in a community group.

00:42:21.257 --> 00:42:24.621
and you can work with them to help

00:42:24.701 --> 00:42:27.603
improve your resources, your content,

00:42:27.844 --> 00:42:28.563
ask questions,

00:42:29.144 --> 00:42:31.487
get answers to important questions and

00:42:31.507 --> 00:42:32.467
solve problems together.

00:42:32.568 --> 00:42:33.809
So for an individual teacher,

00:42:34.309 --> 00:42:36.431
you just jump in and start collaborating

00:42:36.490 --> 00:42:37.851
and we're building out our engagement

00:42:37.871 --> 00:42:38.672
features right now.

00:42:38.713 --> 00:42:41.375
So we're building a central community feed

00:42:41.855 --> 00:42:43.115
that is, you know,

00:42:43.335 --> 00:42:45.398
an homage to our wonderful old Twitter

00:42:45.418 --> 00:42:45.757
days.

00:42:46.559 --> 00:42:48.800
kind of bringing it into a new age

00:42:48.820 --> 00:42:50.900
with some better features that, you know,

00:42:50.940 --> 00:42:53.862
LinkedIn has where you can share cool

00:42:53.882 --> 00:42:55.802
things like I just got a certificate in

00:42:55.822 --> 00:42:58.844
this area or I got a new role

00:42:59.164 --> 00:43:01.224
or here's a project I'm launching.

00:43:01.264 --> 00:43:02.826
Would you like to collaborate with me?

00:43:03.385 --> 00:43:06.047
And so we're creating a way for that

00:43:06.068 --> 00:43:08.188
to happen more seamlessly.

00:43:08.648 --> 00:43:10.369
This is the launchpad space that you're

00:43:10.389 --> 00:43:10.829
looking at.

00:43:11.010 --> 00:43:14.010
And this is where people can post requests

00:43:14.471 --> 00:43:15.891
for projects,

00:43:16.795 --> 00:43:18.556
for collaborators,

00:43:19.016 --> 00:43:20.717
for resources to be created.

00:43:21.217 --> 00:43:22.418
And this was again,

00:43:22.458 --> 00:43:23.858
designed from some of our earliest

00:43:24.298 --> 00:43:25.780
educators and principals who said,

00:43:26.440 --> 00:43:28.141
there's so many cool initiatives happening

00:43:28.702 --> 00:43:30.362
and we don't know how to connect people

00:43:30.402 --> 00:43:30.782
together.

00:43:31.182 --> 00:43:32.704
We want people to, you know,

00:43:33.443 --> 00:43:37.485
do cross-school collaboration.

00:43:37.525 --> 00:43:42.226
We want people to work on things across

00:43:42.266 --> 00:43:44.427
grades, across disciplines,

00:43:44.648 --> 00:43:46.507
and it's really hard to facilitate those

00:43:46.527 --> 00:43:47.128
connections.

00:43:47.869 --> 00:43:48.688
But people want it.

00:43:48.728 --> 00:43:49.929
People want to collaborate.

00:43:50.048 --> 00:43:51.510
I want my grade two class to work

00:43:51.530 --> 00:43:52.650
with a grade eight class.

00:43:54.150 --> 00:43:55.050
I want to build

00:43:56.010 --> 00:43:57.371
an event in my school,

00:43:57.411 --> 00:43:58.552
but I don't want to do it alone.

00:43:58.612 --> 00:44:00.393
Who would be excited about working with me

00:44:00.454 --> 00:44:00.793
on this?

00:44:00.914 --> 00:44:02.934
Or I want to create a training day

00:44:03.074 --> 00:44:03.876
and a workshop.

00:44:04.536 --> 00:44:06.416
Like, how do I get this started?

00:44:07.277 --> 00:44:09.438
And so that's what the launch pad space

00:44:09.458 --> 00:44:09.918
will do.

00:44:10.440 --> 00:44:11.780
And that's coming soon.

00:44:11.820 --> 00:44:13.141
So we're really excited about that.

00:44:14.521 --> 00:44:16.103
For district leaders,

00:44:17.744 --> 00:44:19.644
The piece and where we're changing and

00:44:19.684 --> 00:44:21.927
pushing quite a lot is, like I said,

00:44:22.586 --> 00:44:24.568
you've got the ability to create a private

00:44:24.588 --> 00:44:26.150
collaboration space for your community,

00:44:26.590 --> 00:44:28.452
which means that you can ensure that

00:44:29.211 --> 00:44:31.534
people are aligned to your strategic goals

00:44:31.554 --> 00:44:34.175
and vision so you can share resources out

00:44:34.775 --> 00:44:36.496
and see how people are adapting them,

00:44:37.318 --> 00:44:38.298
what they think about them,

00:44:38.358 --> 00:44:39.440
if people have questions.

00:44:40.380 --> 00:44:43.581
um we are giving capacity to instructional

00:44:43.621 --> 00:44:47.623
coaches to of all different kinds to staff

00:44:47.663 --> 00:44:50.623
who are there purposely to support other

00:44:50.704 --> 00:44:53.744
educators with tools to connect people to

00:44:53.784 --> 00:44:56.065
each other to connect people to resources

00:44:56.085 --> 00:44:58.786
that are meaningful and to have community

00:44:58.806 --> 00:45:02.228
spaces where they can chat share ideas and

00:45:02.248 --> 00:45:05.329
all of the rest but the most exciting

00:45:05.369 --> 00:45:07.851
push that we're doing is we are building

00:45:08.871 --> 00:45:11.974
the PD operating system for schools and

00:45:12.014 --> 00:45:12.574
districts.

00:45:13.115 --> 00:45:16.039
So what this means is we are helping

00:45:16.099 --> 00:45:19.342
districts create their own in-house PD

00:45:19.402 --> 00:45:20.744
from community signals,

00:45:20.784 --> 00:45:23.668
from the wants and wishes from teachers,

00:45:24.143 --> 00:45:26.605
principals and instructional coaches and

00:45:26.625 --> 00:45:28.244
then deploying it through CoLab.

00:45:28.264 --> 00:45:29.085
So for example,

00:45:29.804 --> 00:45:32.945
if you have a CTE teacher group formed

00:45:33.005 --> 00:45:34.726
in your district and people are chatting

00:45:35.505 --> 00:45:38.286
and sharing resources and sharing

00:45:38.327 --> 00:45:40.947
challenges, people can say,

00:45:41.128 --> 00:45:44.708
we want more support training on this

00:45:44.748 --> 00:45:45.228
topic.

00:45:45.628 --> 00:45:49.349
We want to create a PLC or we

00:45:49.389 --> 00:45:51.590
want a podcast series or we want

00:45:52.708 --> 00:45:55.349
physical lessons that we can use next

00:45:55.548 --> 00:45:56.648
school year, ready to go.

00:45:57.389 --> 00:46:00.829
They can put this request out to their

00:46:00.869 --> 00:46:03.210
district and then the district can say,

00:46:03.230 --> 00:46:03.570
great,

00:46:03.869 --> 00:46:06.331
we will empower our staff to be able

00:46:06.371 --> 00:46:10.072
to build this content with tools within

00:46:10.112 --> 00:46:10.472
Colab.

00:46:10.672 --> 00:46:13.331
So for example, okay,

00:46:13.391 --> 00:46:14.873
now you've got all this community

00:46:14.913 --> 00:46:15.492
knowledge,

00:46:15.592 --> 00:46:17.753
data and requests coming at you.

00:46:18.293 --> 00:46:20.253
How do we build this content so a

00:46:20.293 --> 00:46:21.233
teacher could build

00:46:21.911 --> 00:46:24.253
a podcast for teachers in their district

00:46:24.695 --> 00:46:26.255
and they could share it through CoLab.

00:46:26.817 --> 00:46:29.659
And then people could say, this was great.

00:46:29.920 --> 00:46:32.842
And this also counts for my CPD hours.

00:46:32.922 --> 00:46:36.065
This is relevant and related to things

00:46:36.085 --> 00:46:36.887
that I care about.

00:46:37.467 --> 00:46:39.768
The educator who created that content gets

00:46:39.809 --> 00:46:41.771
credited for their work and their effort

00:46:41.811 --> 00:46:43.492
of sharing their knowledge and expertise

00:46:43.532 --> 00:46:44.414
across the district.

00:46:44.931 --> 00:46:47.135
And people are learning from peers instead

00:46:47.175 --> 00:46:49.018
of from people who don't know their

00:46:49.059 --> 00:46:51.603
context or people who

00:46:53.422 --> 00:46:56.324
are a little bit unsure of how to

00:46:56.864 --> 00:46:59.244
take what is kind of best practice and

00:46:59.284 --> 00:47:02.347
apply it into a real classroom,

00:47:02.567 --> 00:47:03.788
which is kind of one of the biggest

00:47:03.807 --> 00:47:05.648
challenges we see with training.

00:47:06.148 --> 00:47:08.730
So I've been blabbing a lot because I'm

00:47:08.789 --> 00:47:12.952
so- No, no, it's good.

00:47:13.432 --> 00:47:15.574
This is all super insightful.

00:47:16.074 --> 00:47:18.675
Like the last comment you made about like,

00:47:18.735 --> 00:47:19.235
just like the,

00:47:20.458 --> 00:47:22.139
the professional development part of it.

00:47:22.679 --> 00:47:23.260
And I was in my head,

00:47:23.280 --> 00:47:24.581
I was like, oh yeah,

00:47:24.920 --> 00:47:26.983
that is kind of like the Google form

00:47:27.003 --> 00:47:30.965
that goes out every December to what to

00:47:31.005 --> 00:47:32.106
do in January.

00:47:32.367 --> 00:47:36.289
But in comparison, it's so passive, right?

00:47:36.489 --> 00:47:37.291
So passive.

00:47:37.630 --> 00:47:38.572
And it's really hard, like,

00:47:39.411 --> 00:47:40.492
I don't know if you've been in this

00:47:40.532 --> 00:47:41.034
position,

00:47:41.054 --> 00:47:44.135
but have you felt comfortable always

00:47:44.175 --> 00:47:46.557
sharing where your needs are?

00:47:46.976 --> 00:47:49.557
like what you really feel you want?

00:47:49.697 --> 00:47:52.318
Are you always sure even of what you

00:47:52.398 --> 00:47:55.018
need to get to grow as a professional?

00:47:55.179 --> 00:47:57.739
Sometimes it's hard to articulate.

00:47:57.818 --> 00:47:59.440
It's hard to feel comfortable.

00:47:59.480 --> 00:48:00.320
It's hard to know,

00:48:01.119 --> 00:48:03.661
do I really want to lock into a

00:48:03.981 --> 00:48:04.740
course?

00:48:04.780 --> 00:48:06.360
Do I need a workshop?

00:48:06.400 --> 00:48:07.981
Do I just need a conversation,

00:48:08.021 --> 00:48:09.981
like a peer mentor?

00:48:10.021 --> 00:48:12.003
Like it's tough,

00:48:12.063 --> 00:48:13.322
but people know that they need more.

00:48:14.766 --> 00:48:18.648
it's well it's also like um stubbornness

00:48:18.708 --> 00:48:22.608
too like i have all the answers or

00:48:23.228 --> 00:48:25.769
it's more of like there's this

00:48:26.690 --> 00:48:31.072
preconceived notion or just a notion of

00:48:31.972 --> 00:48:36.492
what pd means to them so um oh

00:48:36.532 --> 00:48:39.094
it's something i have to do or but

00:48:39.153 --> 00:48:40.773
like it's and it's the same thing with

00:48:40.813 --> 00:48:42.534
the kids right be like oh

00:48:43.739 --> 00:48:45.922
I have to learn about the causes of

00:48:45.963 --> 00:48:47.985
the first world war because I have to

00:48:48.025 --> 00:48:48.346
do it.

00:48:48.525 --> 00:48:48.626
And,

00:48:49.086 --> 00:48:51.130
but it's not until someone shows them the

00:48:51.190 --> 00:48:52.851
why and like the relevance and the

00:48:52.871 --> 00:48:54.153
importance of like, oh no.

00:48:55.824 --> 00:48:56.965
Yeah, this is important to know.

00:48:56.985 --> 00:48:58.927
Yeah, yeah.

00:49:00.409 --> 00:49:01.670
But I think this,

00:49:02.231 --> 00:49:05.012
I think collab helps unlock a lot of

00:49:05.052 --> 00:49:05.733
these things.

00:49:07.375 --> 00:49:09.456
You had mentioned that,

00:49:09.697 --> 00:49:12.239
so when I'm just moving around here,

00:49:13.860 --> 00:49:16.362
I do see some other brands that are

00:49:16.382 --> 00:49:16.902
not your own.

00:49:19.445 --> 00:49:20.385
What partnerships...

00:49:21.362 --> 00:49:22.083
do you have?

00:49:22.864 --> 00:49:26.047
So in my district,

00:49:26.086 --> 00:49:27.047
we have an app portal.

00:49:28.489 --> 00:49:29.349
In my former district,

00:49:29.369 --> 00:49:31.490
you'll find Magic School.

00:49:31.711 --> 00:49:33.112
You'll find Kami.

00:49:33.373 --> 00:49:34.893
You'll find Edpuzzle.

00:49:35.255 --> 00:49:36.255
You'll find Canva.

00:49:37.476 --> 00:49:38.556
You'll find all these things.

00:49:39.458 --> 00:49:41.940
How does all of that fit into this?

00:49:42.219 --> 00:49:44.121
Or is it as simple as just uploading

00:49:44.161 --> 00:49:44.481
stuff?

00:49:45.362 --> 00:49:47.565
It is as simple as uploading stuff at

00:49:47.605 --> 00:49:48.284
this stage.

00:49:48.525 --> 00:49:50.067
But there's more that we need to.

00:49:50.686 --> 00:49:53.286
unlock there because the interoperability

00:49:54.146 --> 00:49:55.367
is really important.

00:49:55.746 --> 00:49:59.387
If we're trying to centralize professional

00:49:59.427 --> 00:50:01.349
resources and expertise in CoLab,

00:50:01.369 --> 00:50:02.989
which is the ultimate goal is like,

00:50:03.088 --> 00:50:04.949
this is the place you go when you

00:50:05.449 --> 00:50:06.289
need a resource,

00:50:06.309 --> 00:50:08.291
when you have a question and you need

00:50:08.351 --> 00:50:08.731
an answer.

00:50:09.525 --> 00:50:12.447
We need to take the really high quality

00:50:12.507 --> 00:50:14.548
resources and content that exists in other

00:50:14.608 --> 00:50:17.550
spaces and make it easily accessible

00:50:17.590 --> 00:50:19.632
through Colab because of our sharing and

00:50:19.693 --> 00:50:20.554
social features.

00:50:21.393 --> 00:50:21.954
The other plot,

00:50:21.974 --> 00:50:23.896
like you can find great resources.

00:50:23.936 --> 00:50:24.376
For example,

00:50:24.396 --> 00:50:26.699
you might find something really cool or

00:50:26.739 --> 00:50:29.159
have created something really impactful on

00:50:29.201 --> 00:50:29.581
Canva.

00:50:30.389 --> 00:50:30.469
Uh,

00:50:30.489 --> 00:50:31.969
but then it just lives in your account

00:50:32.010 --> 00:50:33.630
or maybe you have shared with a couple

00:50:33.650 --> 00:50:35.030
of colleagues, but we need,

00:50:35.331 --> 00:50:37.231
those are the areas that we're pushing to

00:50:37.271 --> 00:50:39.693
make it easier for people to share across

00:50:40.233 --> 00:50:42.974
platforms into a community infrastructure.

00:50:43.034 --> 00:50:44.014
So you can say like, Hey,

00:50:44.393 --> 00:50:46.635
I'm pulling in this really useful resource

00:50:46.875 --> 00:50:48.114
or professional support.

00:50:48.474 --> 00:50:49.775
And now we have a space where we

00:50:49.795 --> 00:50:50.655
can talk about it,

00:50:50.715 --> 00:50:52.215
where we can improve it,

00:50:52.275 --> 00:50:53.456
where we can iterate it.

00:50:53.896 --> 00:50:56.536
And so that's an area for growth for

00:50:56.597 --> 00:50:59.137
us is we need to work with.

00:50:59.619 --> 00:51:01.260
our wonderful EdTech partners and figure

00:51:01.280 --> 00:51:02.900
out how can we bring these things together

00:51:03.021 --> 00:51:03.840
in a meaningful way.

00:51:04.501 --> 00:51:05.760
One of the ways that we're partnering

00:51:05.820 --> 00:51:08.041
right now with different organizations is,

00:51:08.961 --> 00:51:11.561
like I shared, most organizations,

00:51:11.621 --> 00:51:13.702
whether they're an EdTech company that has

00:51:13.722 --> 00:51:15.563
a really awesome tool that teachers are

00:51:15.623 --> 00:51:20.103
loving or a consulting organization that

00:51:20.143 --> 00:51:21.264
is supporting districts,

00:51:22.164 --> 00:51:25.105
they want to build community or have built

00:51:25.164 --> 00:51:26.925
community around their products and

00:51:26.965 --> 00:51:27.465
services.

00:51:28.280 --> 00:51:31.501
because they know that people want to be

00:51:31.541 --> 00:51:33.581
connected and find like-minded people.

00:51:33.862 --> 00:51:35.621
They have questions and they want answers.

00:51:35.681 --> 00:51:38.043
They sometimes Facebook groups for,

00:51:38.163 --> 00:51:38.882
for example,

00:51:38.963 --> 00:51:40.543
if you think of like magic school,

00:51:40.864 --> 00:51:42.344
people are there asking technical

00:51:42.384 --> 00:51:42.943
questions.

00:51:42.963 --> 00:51:45.405
Like how do I, I came into a,

00:51:46.126 --> 00:51:47.088
I came across an issue,

00:51:47.128 --> 00:51:47.949
help me figure it out.

00:51:48.010 --> 00:51:49.612
But a lot of the times people are

00:51:49.632 --> 00:51:51.014
there because they want to figure out how

00:51:51.034 --> 00:51:53.257
do I use this tool better for my

00:51:53.297 --> 00:51:53.798
students?

00:51:54.219 --> 00:51:56.643
Or I saw an example of a teacher

00:51:56.682 --> 00:51:58.405
who did X, Y, Z effectively.

00:51:59.344 --> 00:52:00.403
I want to figure out how to do

00:52:00.443 --> 00:52:02.264
that because I really want to create

00:52:02.324 --> 00:52:03.125
awesome impact.

00:52:03.505 --> 00:52:06.005
So what we can enable people to do

00:52:06.065 --> 00:52:08.567
is build those communities within Colab

00:52:08.626 --> 00:52:11.268
and connect communities together.

00:52:11.568 --> 00:52:13.469
So instead of having your own separate

00:52:13.509 --> 00:52:14.528
community space,

00:52:14.588 --> 00:52:18.210
like some organizations are using Circle

00:52:18.411 --> 00:52:20.931
or Mighty Networks or even Slack channels

00:52:21.271 --> 00:52:22.032
to connect people.

00:52:23.014 --> 00:52:24.835
They are individual logins and you're in

00:52:24.856 --> 00:52:26.215
that community and then you have to get

00:52:26.275 --> 00:52:27.635
out of that space and go to another

00:52:27.675 --> 00:52:28.137
community.

00:52:28.496 --> 00:52:29.297
And within Colab,

00:52:29.317 --> 00:52:30.777
like all of the communities that you're a

00:52:30.797 --> 00:52:31.757
part of professionally,

00:52:31.797 --> 00:52:34.498
whether they're from your district or from

00:52:34.938 --> 00:52:36.978
organizations that you love,

00:52:36.998 --> 00:52:38.500
like you're a brand ambassador for a

00:52:38.539 --> 00:52:39.420
certain company,

00:52:40.039 --> 00:52:41.960
or you're helping to inform the product

00:52:42.001 --> 00:52:43.201
development for somebody else,

00:52:43.702 --> 00:52:45.561
all of that is connected within Colab and

00:52:45.601 --> 00:52:47.342
you can bounce from thing to thing to

00:52:47.382 --> 00:52:47.902
thing and

00:52:48.445 --> 00:52:50.126
centralize all of your professional

00:52:50.186 --> 00:52:53.088
resources and connections in one place.

00:52:53.449 --> 00:52:55.710
So that's been exciting for us.

00:52:56.570 --> 00:52:59.052
The other major professional partnerships

00:52:59.092 --> 00:53:01.773
we're doing are with teaching associations

00:53:01.893 --> 00:53:03.074
and teachers colleges.

00:53:03.755 --> 00:53:06.496
The reasons being these are the original

00:53:06.536 --> 00:53:09.860
community managers and facilitators of

00:53:09.940 --> 00:53:10.960
professional growth.

00:53:11.721 --> 00:53:14.342
They and these models have been around and

00:53:14.362 --> 00:53:15.943
haven't changed for a really long time.

00:53:16.510 --> 00:53:17.653
And people who work,

00:53:17.773 --> 00:53:19.317
and I would love to hear your perspective,

00:53:19.358 --> 00:53:19.557
Steve,

00:53:19.597 --> 00:53:21.362
of like what you're doing in your new

00:53:21.422 --> 00:53:21.802
role.

00:53:22.804 --> 00:53:25.510
People are trying to find ways to create

00:53:25.751 --> 00:53:27.175
meaningful professional learning

00:53:27.590 --> 00:53:28.931
to connect people together,

00:53:29.492 --> 00:53:32.195
to make the resources more accessible,

00:53:32.315 --> 00:53:34.175
and to build communities of practice

00:53:34.657 --> 00:53:37.179
around areas of interest and need.

00:53:37.918 --> 00:53:40.121
And it's been really difficult work.

00:53:40.300 --> 00:53:43.903
It's a huge lift to build successful

00:53:43.943 --> 00:53:44.503
community.

00:53:45.184 --> 00:53:47.206
And part of what we're supporting with,

00:53:47.327 --> 00:53:47.766
like I said,

00:53:47.827 --> 00:53:49.527
is that digital infrastructure to help

00:53:49.548 --> 00:53:50.568
people stay connected.

00:53:51.210 --> 00:53:52.510
And by partnering with

00:53:52.971 --> 00:53:54.092
teaching associations,

00:53:54.132 --> 00:53:56.795
they can build a digital home for their

00:53:56.815 --> 00:53:58.615
community, which is,

00:53:58.655 --> 00:54:00.677
which hasn't been done previously in many

00:54:00.717 --> 00:54:01.157
cases.

00:54:01.699 --> 00:54:02.960
And for teachers colleges,

00:54:03.400 --> 00:54:05.382
you have teachers who need the most

00:54:05.461 --> 00:54:06.222
resources.

00:54:06.362 --> 00:54:08.784
They need professional connections before

00:54:08.824 --> 00:54:10.485
they even enter the classroom.

00:54:10.545 --> 00:54:12.007
They need to, they have answers.

00:54:12.047 --> 00:54:13.849
They have questions, many questions.

00:54:13.889 --> 00:54:16.492
I've gone to many teachers colleges and

00:54:16.552 --> 00:54:19.034
just like, I've got, you know,

00:54:21.391 --> 00:54:22.692
How would you want to use this time?

00:54:23.371 --> 00:54:26.012
And the pre-service teachers just want

00:54:26.652 --> 00:54:27.632
answers to questions.

00:54:28.233 --> 00:54:30.193
They're anxious and excited and eager,

00:54:30.293 --> 00:54:31.733
and they want to know, like,

00:54:32.054 --> 00:54:32.673
what about this?

00:54:32.753 --> 00:54:34.974
And what do I do if this happens?

00:54:35.074 --> 00:54:36.715
And if I'm on a teaching placement and

00:54:36.755 --> 00:54:37.454
this happens,

00:54:38.034 --> 00:54:39.096
what do you suggest that I do?

00:54:39.215 --> 00:54:40.175
Or I've gotten questions,

00:54:40.695 --> 00:54:42.135
how do I apply to my first job?

00:54:42.175 --> 00:54:43.257
How do I make a difference?

00:54:43.336 --> 00:54:44.936
Like, what should my portfolio look like?

00:54:45.956 --> 00:54:47.757
These are things that can be answered by

00:54:47.936 --> 00:54:50.358
the collective education community

00:54:51.152 --> 00:54:53.052
And they can jump in and start using

00:54:53.092 --> 00:54:55.655
CoLab and gain those connections and stay

00:54:55.675 --> 00:54:57.576
connected to people throughout their

00:54:57.596 --> 00:54:58.476
career as they grow.

00:54:58.675 --> 00:55:00.657
So I would love to hear from you,

00:55:00.697 --> 00:55:01.197
Steve, though,

00:55:01.237 --> 00:55:03.259
on that community building piece.

00:55:03.278 --> 00:55:03.398
Like,

00:55:03.438 --> 00:55:05.099
what are you seeing in your work as

00:55:07.061 --> 00:55:10.163
important and critical right now for

00:55:10.222 --> 00:55:11.663
pre-service teachers, for example?

00:55:11.702 --> 00:55:12.804
Like, what do you need?

00:55:13.853 --> 00:55:15.255
Yeah, it,

00:55:15.275 --> 00:55:16.695
it's kind of a little bit of what

00:55:16.715 --> 00:55:17.396
you described.

00:55:18.056 --> 00:55:22.318
Um, it is, so they get into,

00:55:22.438 --> 00:55:23.980
they're getting into the profession.

00:55:24.300 --> 00:55:26.760
They are, as you mentioned, um,

00:55:26.800 --> 00:55:27.440
the way I put it,

00:55:27.481 --> 00:55:29.463
they're so bright eyed and bushy tailed,

00:55:29.922 --> 00:55:30.182
right?

00:55:30.583 --> 00:55:32.443
Super excited, but yes, very,

00:55:32.623 --> 00:55:33.525
very curious.

00:55:33.545 --> 00:55:39.068
Um, and so I, I think for me,

00:55:39.128 --> 00:55:40.989
like from a community standpoint,

00:55:42.969 --> 00:55:46.893
um what they struggle with when they first

00:55:47.074 --> 00:55:56.842
enter a building is um the negativity the

00:55:56.922 --> 00:56:00.947
lack of modeling and what i mean by

00:56:01.007 --> 00:56:04.429
that is that so for for those that

00:56:04.469 --> 00:56:05.610
are listening watching like

00:56:06.724 --> 00:56:08.764
Um, I'm a coordinator at my college,

00:56:09.226 --> 00:56:10.186
but I'm also,

00:56:10.425 --> 00:56:12.106
I have the opportunity to still teach in

00:56:12.148 --> 00:56:15.128
my program, which I, that's why I'm there.

00:56:15.309 --> 00:56:16.269
Like the fact that I can,

00:56:16.369 --> 00:56:19.351
I can lead and be with still teaching

00:56:19.391 --> 00:56:20.612
is, is my bread and butter.

00:56:20.632 --> 00:56:22.733
Um, but I kind of,

00:56:22.753 --> 00:56:24.094
what I'm seeing is like,

00:56:24.775 --> 00:56:26.577
they're getting a lot of modeling from me

00:56:27.556 --> 00:56:33.161
that they don't have in their school

00:56:33.181 --> 00:56:33.661
districts.

00:56:34.221 --> 00:56:34.541
And, um,

00:56:35.666 --> 00:56:39.606
to hit on what you said earlier of

00:56:39.708 --> 00:56:43.829
like the ongoing uh they'll leave my

00:56:43.889 --> 00:56:47.710
college within a year or two they might

00:56:47.731 --> 00:56:49.371
come back to get their masters and they

00:56:49.391 --> 00:56:51.371
might come in and get credits and like

00:56:51.411 --> 00:56:54.893
that's fine whatever but like it in my

00:56:54.913 --> 00:56:57.134
program in particular like they'll leave

00:56:58.134 --> 00:57:02.396
and if they're not being supported in the

00:57:02.436 --> 00:57:04.237
appropriate ways then

00:57:05.369 --> 00:57:07.418
they'll lose that learning and that

00:57:07.559 --> 00:57:07.800
growth.

00:57:07.860 --> 00:57:09.346
But while I have them, it's like,

00:57:11.077 --> 00:57:12.438
I always felt this like teaching high

00:57:12.478 --> 00:57:12.719
school,

00:57:12.739 --> 00:57:15.880
but like now even more so of like

00:57:16.101 --> 00:57:18.342
every second, every minute counts.

00:57:18.742 --> 00:57:21.664
And I get that feedback of like, Steve,

00:57:21.704 --> 00:57:24.965
like you were the most exciting teacher

00:57:25.005 --> 00:57:26.786
I've ever met and just the nature of

00:57:26.806 --> 00:57:27.367
my energy.

00:57:27.487 --> 00:57:31.188
But it's, it's one of those things though,

00:57:31.228 --> 00:57:31.688
that like,

00:57:32.469 --> 00:57:34.329
I don't want that to end for them.

00:57:34.909 --> 00:57:37.411
I want to surround them with,

00:57:37.992 --> 00:57:41.655
with a circle of people that will continue

00:57:41.715 --> 00:57:44.219
to give that sparkle to give that energy

00:57:44.259 --> 00:57:46.862
to give that innovation to just be that

00:57:46.942 --> 00:57:48.903
like not that everybody has all the

00:57:49.003 --> 00:57:51.387
answers because i certainly don't but like

00:57:51.567 --> 00:57:57.032
just be that positive vibe um because

00:57:57.152 --> 00:57:58.454
that's what they struggle with they're

00:57:58.474 --> 00:57:58.673
like

00:57:59.456 --> 00:58:00.637
So Steve, what you're describing,

00:58:00.717 --> 00:58:01.438
I'm not seeing,

00:58:01.737 --> 00:58:03.657
or here's another roadblock or here's

00:58:03.677 --> 00:58:06.199
like, so from a community standpoint,

00:58:06.998 --> 00:58:09.820
how do we reframe the profession for them

00:58:10.659 --> 00:58:14.121
to more effectively break down those

00:58:14.161 --> 00:58:14.820
barriers?

00:58:15.561 --> 00:58:18.141
And no,

00:58:18.561 --> 00:58:20.983
how do they break down the systems that

00:58:21.023 --> 00:58:22.702
are in their way and how do they

00:58:22.742 --> 00:58:25.324
create new systems to become more

00:58:25.344 --> 00:58:25.824
effective?

00:58:27.070 --> 00:58:27.570
I love that.

00:58:27.630 --> 00:58:29.231
And I think what you touched upon,

00:58:29.371 --> 00:58:30.052
I remember that.

00:58:30.092 --> 00:58:34.333
I remember going from my college program

00:58:34.532 --> 00:58:37.554
with, you know, best practices, left,

00:58:37.574 --> 00:58:38.273
right, and center,

00:58:39.094 --> 00:58:41.514
really great modeling from instructors,

00:58:42.215 --> 00:58:46.436
this hope and even structure.

00:58:46.456 --> 00:58:47.416
You need structure, right?

00:58:47.436 --> 00:58:48.257
When you're in early career,

00:58:48.277 --> 00:58:51.998
you need to know or at least have

00:58:52.018 --> 00:58:53.858
a sense of how something could be done.

00:58:53.978 --> 00:58:55.079
And then you can kind of go from

00:58:55.119 --> 00:58:55.300
there.

00:58:55.320 --> 00:58:56.059
But you need to see

00:58:57.454 --> 00:59:01.697
real practical examples and physically

00:59:01.737 --> 00:59:04.298
modeled for you of how to engage how

00:59:04.318 --> 00:59:06.460
to question how to whatever these

00:59:07.320 --> 00:59:10.202
different things are and then i remember

00:59:10.262 --> 00:59:11.943
going into the classroom placements and

00:59:11.983 --> 00:59:15.726
going oh my wow this is not what

00:59:16.025 --> 00:59:18.947
i was told was best practice i'm not

00:59:19.027 --> 00:59:22.909
seeing the best of the best um i'm

00:59:23.130 --> 00:59:24.090
i'm seeing or

00:59:24.880 --> 00:59:26.860
The other piece is if I saw things

00:59:26.880 --> 00:59:29.442
that I was really thrilled about and I

00:59:29.481 --> 00:59:31.161
could see students were engaging and

00:59:31.302 --> 00:59:33.523
learning deeply and it was fantastic,

00:59:34.003 --> 00:59:35.922
there wasn't that breakdown of, okay,

00:59:36.123 --> 00:59:38.063
and how are they doing this and why

00:59:38.083 --> 00:59:38.903
are they doing this?

00:59:38.983 --> 00:59:40.844
And it's hard.

00:59:40.864 --> 00:59:43.085
Like if you are a teacher welcoming in

00:59:43.105 --> 00:59:44.644
a pre-service teacher into your class,

00:59:44.664 --> 00:59:45.344
for example,

00:59:46.005 --> 00:59:47.786
as an observer or a co-teacher,

00:59:47.806 --> 00:59:48.465
whatever it may be,

00:59:49.929 --> 00:59:51.891
It's busy, like you're there,

00:59:51.931 --> 00:59:52.612
you're doing stuff,

00:59:52.632 --> 00:59:54.132
you're making decisions and you don't have

00:59:54.193 --> 00:59:56.653
time to break, pause the frame and say,

00:59:56.873 --> 00:59:59.076
and here is why I decided to do

00:59:59.376 --> 01:00:00.215
X, Y, and Z, right?

01:00:00.516 --> 01:00:02.938
So there isn't that capability all the

01:00:02.998 --> 01:00:03.378
time.

01:00:03.717 --> 01:00:05.119
But collectively,

01:00:05.179 --> 01:00:08.360
if you take that industry expertise that

01:00:08.481 --> 01:00:09.541
educators have,

01:00:09.621 --> 01:00:11.083
that other staff members have,

01:00:11.677 --> 01:00:15.318
and bring it together um there's so much

01:00:15.358 --> 01:00:17.079
more that we can tap into that we

01:00:17.119 --> 01:00:20.501
can that we can leverage whether it's you

01:00:20.521 --> 01:00:22.782
know those in-person opportunities or just

01:00:22.802 --> 01:00:25.103
the ability to answer a question ad hoc

01:00:25.143 --> 01:00:27.764
like that's the other piece is i feel

01:00:27.784 --> 01:00:29.605
like teachers are really reluctant to call

01:00:29.625 --> 01:00:32.726
themselves experts so they'll say people

01:00:32.746 --> 01:00:34.967
will say things like teachers and experts

01:00:34.987 --> 01:00:37.487
and like could

01:00:37.914 --> 01:00:38.956
can they be, why are they,

01:00:39.356 --> 01:00:40.338
why are they exclusive?

01:00:40.358 --> 01:00:40.798
Like, could they,

01:00:40.938 --> 01:00:42.862
could the teacher also be an expert on

01:00:42.902 --> 01:00:43.242
something?

01:00:43.282 --> 01:00:45.385
Like, why, why are we struggling to,

01:00:45.965 --> 01:00:47.989
to self-identify in some ways?

01:00:48.248 --> 01:00:49.590
I know expert is a little bit of

01:00:49.670 --> 01:00:52.394
a, it's kind of feels weird to say,

01:00:52.554 --> 01:00:54.597
but in some cases people,

01:00:55.523 --> 01:00:57.204
could be identified as an expert.

01:00:57.224 --> 01:00:59.003
They don't even know maybe that they are

01:00:59.844 --> 01:01:02.246
crushing it in a certain area that other

01:01:02.365 --> 01:01:04.407
educators have not tapped into yet.

01:01:04.786 --> 01:01:06.327
And if somebody could highlight that and

01:01:06.347 --> 01:01:07.487
say, wow,

01:01:07.588 --> 01:01:09.289
what you're doing is awesome and other

01:01:09.329 --> 01:01:11.389
people need to see it in a way

01:01:11.429 --> 01:01:13.311
that is valuable,

01:01:13.371 --> 01:01:15.911
meaningful and impactful.

01:01:16.052 --> 01:01:16.811
Like, wow,

01:01:16.931 --> 01:01:19.172
imagine like we've got all these amazing

01:01:19.213 --> 01:01:23.034
people out there who can really kind of

01:01:23.094 --> 01:01:23.614
guide

01:01:24.170 --> 01:01:27.652
new educators and peers and colleagues um

01:01:27.731 --> 01:01:29.512
throughout and everyone has something to

01:01:29.552 --> 01:01:31.434
bring but it's really hard to figure out

01:01:31.534 --> 01:01:34.576
what is that collective knowledge what

01:01:34.896 --> 01:01:37.237
where is it uh how do we organize

01:01:37.297 --> 01:01:38.498
it how do we tap into it how

01:01:38.518 --> 01:01:41.059
do we pull from it like we are

01:01:41.840 --> 01:01:43.601
we're ways away i think from being able

01:01:43.621 --> 01:01:45.101
to do that successfully and i think it

01:01:45.181 --> 01:01:45.922
starts from

01:01:46.666 --> 01:01:48.568
bringing people together more often and

01:01:48.608 --> 01:01:51.708
facilitating connections that last.

01:01:52.128 --> 01:01:53.188
And I think from there,

01:01:53.248 --> 01:01:54.909
we will figure out better systems.

01:01:56.170 --> 01:01:58.791
And I'm not just speaking from CoLab WE.

01:01:58.831 --> 01:02:01.853
I'm talking about we as collective

01:02:02.293 --> 01:02:03.012
educators.

01:02:03.497 --> 01:02:03.677
Okay.

01:02:03.937 --> 01:02:05.518
So we're getting to that point in the

01:02:05.558 --> 01:02:08.300
show where we do ask that question to

01:02:08.441 --> 01:02:08.901
all of our guests.

01:02:08.961 --> 01:02:13.324
So what is top of mind for you

01:02:13.344 --> 01:02:13.984
in education?

01:02:14.085 --> 01:02:15.986
What is under the hat?

01:02:16.086 --> 01:02:17.967
Anything human centric.

01:02:18.127 --> 01:02:20.329
And that's not a hot take as we

01:02:20.389 --> 01:02:22.250
are in this kind of AI era,

01:02:22.771 --> 01:02:24.392
but anything to do with

01:02:25.152 --> 01:02:26.513
people connecting to people,

01:02:26.653 --> 01:02:28.153
peer led growth.

01:02:28.813 --> 01:02:30.614
That is what is top of mind for

01:02:30.634 --> 01:02:30.854
me.

01:02:31.034 --> 01:02:32.415
And when I talk to people,

01:02:32.615 --> 01:02:33.695
they are so excited.

01:02:33.815 --> 01:02:37.257
It just feels right to be figuring out

01:02:37.677 --> 01:02:40.598
how are we connecting people together to

01:02:40.678 --> 01:02:42.239
move the needle in education.

01:02:43.099 --> 01:02:44.640
There are a lot of challenges and we

01:02:44.660 --> 01:02:47.080
could talk ad nauseum about what's not

01:02:47.120 --> 01:02:47.581
working,

01:02:48.001 --> 01:02:50.782
but the answers live within each of us.

01:02:51.402 --> 01:02:53.263
as to how are we going to solve

01:02:53.283 --> 01:02:54.003
these challenges.

01:02:54.523 --> 01:02:54.963
And so,

01:02:55.443 --> 01:02:57.464
and it doesn't live in an individual,

01:02:58.104 --> 01:03:00.625
it lives in the connection and the

01:03:00.645 --> 01:03:02.586
collaboration between those individuals to

01:03:02.626 --> 01:03:03.246
figure it out.

01:03:03.826 --> 01:03:04.806
I strongly believe that.

01:03:04.866 --> 01:03:06.927
And so many people also are aligned with

01:03:06.947 --> 01:03:07.147
that.

01:03:07.187 --> 01:03:08.847
And so we were just trying to figure

01:03:08.867 --> 01:03:10.568
out what are those ways to build that

01:03:11.508 --> 01:03:12.589
human capacity,

01:03:12.889 --> 01:03:16.050
that human connection and spark that joy

01:03:16.950 --> 01:03:18.891
and excitement into people's lives of

01:03:18.931 --> 01:03:20.291
like, we are doing great work.

01:03:20.909 --> 01:03:24.172
We are doing difficult work and it's

01:03:24.212 --> 01:03:26.233
really meaningful and it's worthwhile and

01:03:26.253 --> 01:03:28.195
it's something that we're only going to be

01:03:28.215 --> 01:03:30.397
able to do by putting our heads together

01:03:30.717 --> 01:03:32.438
and figuring it out.

01:03:32.478 --> 01:03:34.620
So that's top of mind for me.

01:03:35.200 --> 01:03:36.782
I don't know if it's typical for people

01:03:36.822 --> 01:03:38.683
to ask what's top of mind for you,

01:03:39.143 --> 01:03:40.845
but I do have a question.

01:03:41.485 --> 01:03:44.066
Yeah, no, I yeah, no,

01:03:44.186 --> 01:03:46.127
that's that might be the first time this

01:03:46.147 --> 01:03:47.788
has happened, but that's OK.

01:03:48.969 --> 01:03:51.370
I think as we as we close down,

01:03:52.210 --> 01:03:54.031
we just closed down twenty twenty five and

01:03:54.771 --> 01:03:56.612
we're here at twenty twenty six.

01:03:57.252 --> 01:03:58.753
I for me,

01:03:58.773 --> 01:04:02.395
what's top of mind is just finding.

01:04:04.695 --> 01:04:07.898
Anytime that I leave one role and go

01:04:07.938 --> 01:04:10.960
to another, I kind of,

01:04:11.180 --> 01:04:13.422
it's almost like self-discovery.

01:04:13.442 --> 01:04:15.104
It's almost like you get,

01:04:15.644 --> 01:04:16.685
it's almost like you have like,

01:04:17.245 --> 01:04:19.047
your job ends up being your identity,

01:04:19.447 --> 01:04:20.688
right?

01:04:20.969 --> 01:04:21.629
And for me,

01:04:21.669 --> 01:04:25.212
it's like rediscovering this new job that

01:04:25.292 --> 01:04:25.813
I have.

01:04:26.856 --> 01:04:31.478
new people that I'm super lucky to just

01:04:32.199 --> 01:04:34.780
go into office every day and just get

01:04:34.800 --> 01:04:36.721
to work with them and being a part

01:04:36.761 --> 01:04:38.342
of their mission and vision.

01:04:39.762 --> 01:04:40.223
So for me,

01:04:40.243 --> 01:04:42.704
what's top of mind is just, you know,

01:04:44.005 --> 01:04:47.926
rediscovering myself as a professional and

01:04:48.047 --> 01:04:49.147
bringing new insights,

01:04:49.207 --> 01:04:50.828
bringing and learning along with them.

01:04:52.208 --> 01:04:59.912
But it's being able to reframe, right?

01:05:00.892 --> 01:05:04.433
The Kami era has left super happy for

01:05:04.513 --> 01:05:06.614
all the work that they're doing.

01:05:06.734 --> 01:05:09.256
But the work I'm doing is different.

01:05:09.416 --> 01:05:11.016
I feel a little bit more meaningful.

01:05:11.196 --> 01:05:13.477
The scale is a lot different.

01:05:14.598 --> 01:05:16.159
And the stakes are a lot higher, right?

01:05:16.179 --> 01:05:18.700
Like if someone decides to use Kami or

01:05:18.740 --> 01:05:18.960
not,

01:05:19.871 --> 01:05:22.553
OK, but for me,

01:05:22.613 --> 01:05:24.934
it's like with these candidates,

01:05:24.994 --> 01:05:26.495
with these folks that I'm supporting,

01:05:26.555 --> 01:05:28.556
it's like it's their livelihood.

01:05:28.616 --> 01:05:29.977
It's like, will they be effective?

01:05:30.417 --> 01:05:32.298
Will they impact the lives of their

01:05:32.338 --> 01:05:32.679
students?

01:05:32.719 --> 01:05:34.200
So that's what's top of mind for me

01:05:34.240 --> 01:05:34.500
right now.

01:05:34.660 --> 01:05:35.360
But thanks for asking.

01:05:36.021 --> 01:05:37.381
That's a big I think it's such a

01:05:37.541 --> 01:05:40.183
great framing going into the new year.

01:05:40.323 --> 01:05:42.785
And I think you you're putting a lot

01:05:42.825 --> 01:05:46.387
of weight on your shoulders with this new

01:05:46.447 --> 01:05:46.687
role.

01:05:47.209 --> 01:05:49.591
And it's, it is very significant,

01:05:49.651 --> 01:05:51.613
but it's a collective effort.

01:05:51.693 --> 01:05:53.594
Like what the support that you're bringing

01:05:53.634 --> 01:05:55.956
to pre-service teachers and what their

01:05:55.976 --> 01:05:56.877
career will look like.

01:05:56.937 --> 01:05:59.138
And I think it's all of our responsibility

01:05:59.239 --> 01:06:02.601
to better support educators at this stage.

01:06:03.022 --> 01:06:05.824
And so sparks and starts with you and

01:06:05.844 --> 01:06:08.746
your work and the college and, and,

01:06:08.766 --> 01:06:10.367
but it's,

01:06:11.048 --> 01:06:13.370
it's a bigger collective effort and I

01:06:13.410 --> 01:06:13.610
think.

01:06:14.310 --> 01:06:16.111
Maybe that will help take a little bit

01:06:16.132 --> 01:06:17.132
of pressure off on days when you're

01:06:17.152 --> 01:06:18.393
feeling like it's a lot.

01:06:19.294 --> 01:06:19.835
No, it's good.

01:06:20.095 --> 01:06:20.435
It's good.

01:06:21.676 --> 01:06:23.818
Ariella, thanks so much for being here.

01:06:24.158 --> 01:06:25.259
This is super fun.

01:06:25.699 --> 01:06:27.601
I, for one, have learned a whole lot.

01:06:28.422 --> 01:06:30.223
We'll be sure to drop all of your

01:06:30.904 --> 01:06:31.264
stuff,

01:06:31.344 --> 01:06:33.126
all of your links up in the show

01:06:33.146 --> 01:06:33.606
notes.

01:06:34.807 --> 01:06:37.509
But yeah, and we'll be in touch soon.

01:06:37.609 --> 01:06:39.071
There's a lot that I'm sure you and

01:06:39.151 --> 01:06:40.752
I can chat about in the future.

01:06:41.316 --> 01:06:41.636
Yeah.

01:06:41.736 --> 01:06:43.357
Thank you so much for being here.

01:06:43.437 --> 01:06:44.977
And I really hope they have a great

01:06:45.717 --> 01:06:46.178
kickoff.

01:06:46.238 --> 01:06:47.658
Twenty twenty six with a great bang.

01:06:48.258 --> 01:06:48.598
Yeah.

01:06:48.958 --> 01:06:50.579
Really successful for you and everybody

01:06:50.639 --> 01:06:51.379
else who's listening.

01:06:51.939 --> 01:06:52.260
Awesome.

01:06:53.040 --> 01:06:53.580
All right, friends.

01:06:53.660 --> 01:06:55.220
Until next time, keep your hats on,

01:06:55.280 --> 01:06:56.081
but your minds open.

01:06:56.581 --> 01:06:56.861
Bye bye.