Who did we meet along the way?

This space will be used to highlight the incredible people we have met with along the way!

Mark French

In Episode 3, we were very thrilled to be joined at the White House by Mark French, principal of Rice Lake Elementary in Maple Grove, MN. Mark just recently finished his 10th year there. He’s a 33-year veteran of education, with 18 years as a principal. Currently, he is serving as President of Minnesota Elementary School Principals Association and he was very honored to be selected as 2015 Minnesota National Distinguished Principal.

Kayla Delzer

At Hollywood in Episode 4, we were connected us with Kayla Delzer, a 2nd grade teacher with West Fargo Public Schools. She holds her master’s degree in Elementary Education and is currently attaining National Board Certification, the highest mark of professional accomplishment. On July 23, she delivered a TEDx Talk to over 1,800 people titled Reimagining Classrooms: Teachers as Learners and Students as Leaders. This fall, she will begin writing her first book for educators based on best practices for digital natives.

Carrie Burke

During Episode 5 at the Statue of Liberty, we were very excited to be joined by Carrie Burke, a 4th grade teacher in Warren County, VA. and mom to 3 amazing children. Justin is lucky to have Carrie on his fourth grade team. She is an extremely passionate educator who focuses on accepting all students. 

Rich Hattal

Richard Hattal joined us in episode 6 at the Golden Gate Bridge. He spent his career (22 years!) in the US Air Force, then went back to school to earn a teaching degree. Richard’s classroom is very connected with other classrooms, and allows students to chat with many professionals in a variety of fields. He talks about the Literacy Design Collaborative, which bridges all content areas to create engaging and real-life lessons that scaffold learning and support the writing process.

Jennifer Williams

Jennifer Williams was our guest at the Library of Congress in Episode 7. Jennifer is a Literacy Specialist and Educational Program Developer for Calliope Global; she is also the co-founder of EdCamp Tampa Bay, the #Read4Fun Twitter chat, and the #FutureEdChat Twitter Chat. Jennifer speaks, writes, and consults on educational practices that develop global perspectives through creative uses of technology and digital literacy. 

Ben Brazeau

We met up with Ben Brazeau in Episode 8 at Gettysburg. Ben is a Tech Integrator in Green Bay Public Schools. After 15 teaching of teaching various levels of social studies, he made the the switch to being the Tech Integrator. In addition to this official responsibility, he is the leader of #sstlap Twitter chat, which meets Thursdays at 9 pm EST. 

Nicole Link

Nicole Link was our guest at Mt. Denali in Episode 9. Nicole is a second year 7th and 8th grade math teacher at Mar Vista Academy in San Diego, CA. She is a mom of 2 and a military wife. In her free time, Nicole loves running and spends many of her weekends camping with her family.

Paul Solarz

In Episode 10, we met with Paul Solarz at the Center of USA. Paul has been teaching 5th grade for 17 years in Arlington Heights, Illinois.  He is Nationally-Board Certified and has a masters degree in curriculum and instruction.  Paul was a Top 50 Finalist for the 2015 Varkey-GEMS Global Teacher Prize and recently published his first book entitled, “Learn Like a PIRATE,” which helps teachers empower their students to collaborate and lead in the classroom.

Jerry Blumengarten

Jerry Blumengarten met us at the Google HQ in Episode 11. Jerry aka Cybrary Man is constantly searching for great sites and information to help busy students, educators and parents find educational materials. We’re meeting Jerry at the Google HQ because Google and Jerry both search the web for awesome and helpful resources.

Doug Robertson

In a special two-partner, Doug Robertson was our guest in Episodes 12a and 12b at Area 51. Doug is the CUE blog editor, Slytherin faculty representative, and a tenth-year teacher currently talking at fifth graders in Northern Oregon. He’s taught in California, Hawaii, and Oregon in 3rd, 4th, and 6th grades. He’s the author of two books about education, He’s the Weird Teacher and THE Teaching Text (You’re Welcome) and an active blogger. Doug speaks at teaching conferences including CUE Rock Star Teacher Camps, presenting on everything from technology to teaching philosophy (or teaching The Weird Way, to use his words). Doug is also the creator and moderator of #WeirdEd on Twitter, which happens every Wednesday at 7pm PST.

Marty Keltz  

Jena Ball

Episode 13 connected us with Jena Ball and Marty Keltz at Thomas Edison Center. Marty Keltz is the Co-founder along with Jena Ball of CritterKin, publishers of the Not Perfect Hat Club and related project based learning initiatives. Marty is the former co-founder and President of Scholastic Productions Inc, and Emmy award winning producer who led the teams that produced The Magic School Bus and Goosebumps. Jena is a writer, illustrator and educator whose writing adventures have taken her to Japan, Nepal, Korea and Hawaii. She has penned everything from technical papers and speeches for SONY’s Akio Morita to syndicated columns and online classes. Her latest project is the CritterKin books series. The Not Perfect Hat Club is the latest book in the series.

Matt Miller

We Ditched our Textbooks and socks with Matt Miller on Episode 14 at the Wikipedia HQ. Matt Miller is a teacher, blogger and the author of “Ditch That Textbook,” a book about revolutionizing the classroom with innovative teaching, mindsets and curriculum.  He has infused technology and innovative teaching methods in his classes for more than 10 years. Matt is a Google Certified Teacher, PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovator and two-time Bammy! Awards nominee. He writes at the Ditch That Textbook blog about using technology and creative ideas in teaching.

Brad Lands

At the Superflag, Brad Lands discussed finding your FLAG in Episode 15. Bradley Lands the Director of Technology at an Independent School in Northern Virginia.  In addition, he is also an Instructional Technology Specialist who provides consulting services for educators to help them meaningfully integrate Google Apps and other educational technology in the classroom to enhance student achievement.  Brad is available for training, guidance, and support in the field of educational technology and has a background in STEM education.  In addition to being a Google Certified Teacher and Google Education Trainer, Brad is also an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Siemens STEM Institute Fellow, and a National Board Certified Teacher in Technology Education.  Brad graduated from James Madison University with a B.S. and a MAT, and graduated from Virginia Tech with an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

Dave Burgess

Shelley Burgess

In Episode 16, we were joined by he PIRATEs themselves, Shelley and Dave Burgess. Dave and Shelley Burgess run Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. Education consulting and publishing company. Both have been in education for over 20 years. Dave has written Teach Like a Pirate, and both wrote P for Pirate. They run a very successful twitter chat: teach like a pirate (#tlap).