Living On The Edge Of Chaos

This is a new experiment. I am creating a podcast to go along with the newsletter. Check out the newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/6PDQL If you want the backstory and reasons for what I chose watch the video or the listen to the podcast. If you like it please review on iTunes, like on YouTube, and let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!

No music for this podcast. No intro songs. Just a story. A good story. A story to hopefully get you think about simplifying your life and remembering what it is like to create things with pride and passion and more importantly purpose. Enjoy

Today I bring to you a new podcast and one that I am very excited to bring to you. This podcast has been one that Lisa and I have been wanting to do for quite some time. I was lucky enough to have her on the show last year which is well worth the listen for Episode 5. Check out more at www.coffeeforthebrain.com In this episode we hold a book discussion. We discuss the book [mybooktable book="david-and-goliath-underdogs-misfits-and-the-art-of-battling-giants-by-malcolm-gladwell" display="summary"] This is well worth the read. You don't have to read the book to understand the chat, but hopefully it will inspire you to pick it up and read. [youtube id="csEGatu0Vrg"] All Social Media for Lisa Van Gemert – Please follow and learn from one of the best! Twitter: http://twitter.com/gifted_guru Websites http://www.lisavangemert.com/ http://www.giftedguru.com/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GiftedGuru Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/brightkids/ Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/li

Story about how I made a mistake ordering at Starbucks and life lesson learned.

A new thought as we start a new school year. Don't forget the power we have as educators and the impact that we can deliver.

This is something new that I am trying with my podcast. I am adding a new bit called Mini Thoughts where I will share an unedited, uncut idea from my iPhone. Often times when I drive I record my ideas to develop later on. I thought perhaps this could be something worthwhile to share as I work to polish these ideas. This has been a thought I have had many times and finally going to share.

This is something new that I am trying with my podcast. I am adding a new bit called Mini Thoughts where I will share an unedited, uncut idea from my iPhone. Often times when I drive I record my ideas to develop later on. I thought perhaps this could be something worthwhile to share as I work to polish these ideas. Additionally, I have shared these bits on YouTube as well. It is good to test out new avenues of growth. I will see how this works out.

Shownotes Music created by 8th grade student Dennibro Additionally, if you would like to be on the podcast and talk about a topic please let me know. As always, I welcome all ideas and feedback. Follow and Subscribe to my podcast on iTunes I finally made it to Stitcher so please follow here if you use Stitcher

I am seeking some feedback. I doubt many students and parents who will be in the crowd for the National Honor Society induction ceremony reads my blog.I am a bit nervous. Alright, not going to lie I am super nervous. Probably the most nervous I have been for anything. This is my first speech I have been asked to give and I really want to deliver. I want it to stand out and be worth the ten minutes I have been given.Perhaps I am overhyping this a bit, but this is a big deal to me for many reasons.So, I have recorded a rough draft of what I plan to say. I would love feedback about what is good, not good, things I should change, flow, direction, ideas, etc.I have a few days to cement my plans and then time to recite a million times before I go up on stage.

This episode is designed to do a few things. Talking with one of our guidance counselors here at Bettendorf Middle School we take time to discuss four simple, but very powerful ideas to help parents and students get ready for middle school. 1. Lockers 2. Locks and Combinations 3. Middle School Summer Class: Moving to Middle 4. PE Clothes Our goal here to help educate the people in our community. More importantly we want to share out the things that we do and the things we help families with as they transition from the elementary setting to the middle school setting. While listening if you have cool ideas that you implement in your building please let us know. If you are a parent and have questions let us know. We would love to continue to this conversation and help out as much as we can. Enjoy the show If you want to reach out and contact Coffeechug please go here Shownotes and Credits Masterlock Combo Pack Guidance Office at BMS Mrs. Sones email - gsones@bettendorf.k12.ia.us School Website: http://bms.betten

This episode is designed to do two things. 1. To showcase another amazing project created and developed by a teacher here at Bettendorf Middle School on the topic of courage. We hope that as we continue to share out our projects that it inspires others to develop projects, connect with us, and share out additional ideas and resources so everyone can improve. 2. The students have podcasts and they need an authentic voice. Below you will find a link to their blogs and podcasts. We would love it if you checked out their work and left them a few comments. If you have a class it would be awesome if your students left some feedback. If your students have work we would love to return the favor! Enjoy this episode. Let me know your thoughts. If you have any questions, ideas, resources, etc. please reach out to me at aarmau@gmail.com or Rachael Dierickx at rdierickx@bettendorf.k12.ia.us 6th and 7th grade: http://kidblog.org/BMSHonorsEnglish/ 8th grade: http://kidblog.org/8thGradeHonorsEnglish-2/ Here is a condensed do

We have an 8th grade language arts teacher conducting a project right now around digital footprints. As students are navigating their way through their project I was asked to be interviewed by four students for their project. Their project is focused on helping to educate 5th graders about social media. During the interview I decided to flip the this run of the mill interview into a conversation. I love social media and I share and discuss my ideas and opinions on social media all the time whether it is here on this site, other channels, or at school. After talking with the students I realized that this conversation needed to be shared. Not because we have answers, but because this chat opens up a conversation that needs to be had. I love talking to students about social media. When you listen to the podcast you will gain a sense that the students were not sure how answer some of the questions or perhaps were not sure how they felt on the topic. I hope that as I flipped their interview into a chat we spark a

http://coffeeforthebrain.com/coffeechug-cafe/   Our school has implemented project based learning throughout all grades 6-8 this year where we have asked teachers to develop and come up with four projects this year. As we have worked through the many ups and downs of changing a culture and mindset of learners we have started to see the true value in what we are trying to achieve. Coming up in a few weeks we will host three exhibition nights where we will be celebrating the hard work and learning of students. As we continue to promote their learning we realize that we need to help express what exactly this night is all about. It is something different for parents and community members. We want them to come to these nights excited. Even more important we want the audience to engage with our students. This podcast is designed to help provide some insights into what these nights are all about. We hope we share ideas that spark new ideas, new thoughts, questions, and excitement. As you listen if you have questions

I am so excited and proud to share with the world this podcast. I was pumped when I introduced everyone to Dennibro a few weeks back to help showcase the power of students and sharing the stories of students who have the courage to chart their own path. This episode is amazing and not because I am involved. It is amazing because this student continues to inspire me as I follow her journey. Today I share with the world the AWESOMESAUCE Frankie Ballard who is a high school student currently on work on her third book. What is amazing is that I never directly taught Frankie in my class, but she has been part of my blogging world when it first began and we connected that way as a Teacher - Student. Through my book reviews and various other things I would share on the blog and things I would offer in school it felt like she was in my class at some point. I still have my NANOWRIMO coffee mug that I sip my coffee from weekly. I had a chance to catch up with her to have her share some insights into the mindset of a yo

As I continue to push forward with the job of instructional coach at a school that has morphed into a PBL building I am looking for new ways to help out educators. One of the things I did to help my staff is give a short little survey asking two questions: What is something that you would like help with for this year? What is something that you would like help with to plan and prepare for next year? I received some really thoughtful replies from the staff. One of the ideas that came up several times was the need for teachers to see and hear from other teachers in our building about their projects, how they put it together, resources, etc. I know that to get a variety of staff together is very hard to do with our schedule. I opened up my podcast equipment and asked for volunteers to come in and record an episode. Stephanie Cleveland, 8th grade language arts teacher, was kind enough to give up a prep period to record an episode. Stephanie discusses her Fear Factor project. I hope you find the episode helpful. S

I am so excited and proud to share with the world this podcast. I have wanted to add more student voice to the Living on the Edge of Chaos podcast series. I cannot be more proud to introduce to you Dennis Davis or as he is known on YouTube Dennibro.  I have had the honor to work/teach Dennis for the last five years as part of our ELP program and as of the last few years as a member of our robotics team. The goal of this podcast series is to bring more exposure to the students who are doing amazing things outside of the classroom. These might be the students that go unnoticed at school. They might not get straight A's. They might not have perfect handwriting. They might not fill in every blank on a worksheet. But what they do have is a skill set. What they do have is a mind that can take them places. I view them as entrepreneurs who have the world at their fingertips. As this continues I would love to chat and interview students from all over the world. If you have a student in mind I would love to have the ch

This is the first episode in a new podcast series operated by Coffeechug where we will be interviewing and sharing out information related to bald eagles and in particular two eagles, Liberty and Justice. Eagle Eye To The World – This is one of my favorite projects as it is my first big global project that I helped to create and operate. It is like my own little baby. We follow the journey of two bald eagles, Liberty and Justice, as they live life along the Mississippi River, lay eggs, and work to keep them alive. We have a lot going on and you can stay updated with the Eagle Blog. This is the first episode using new audio equipment in the Coffeechug Cafe. In this first episode we chat with John Riches who is the man behind the cameras at ALCOA. We welcome feedback and questions. Enjoy! Don't forget to check out the site - http://www.alcoa.com/locations/usa_davenport/en/info_page/eaglecam.asp

This is audio pulled from a video I made using my Google Glass where I talk about the importance of teachers and educators have the confidence and self esteem to share out their excellence. You can watch the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoP2u1Xf5O0

Welcome to the second season of Living on the Edge of Chaos. I am kicking off this season talking about goals, systems, and resolutions. It is that time of year where everyone is jumping on board to create plans and goals to accomplish great things in 2014. However, many people fail at these goals within a month or two. This podcast is discussing what exactly is effective at attaining goals and systems. As I post this podcast I am developing a system to accomplish great things in 2014. I am trying to stay away from "goals" in the sense that they are end all, be all. Listen to the podcast and let me know what you have found to be successful. Additionally, if you would like to be on the podcast and talk about this topic please let me know as I will be creating a follow up podcast on this topic. As always, I welcome all ideas and feedback. Show Notes Michael Hyatt Best Year Ever Program - http://bestyearever.me/register/ - I have not paid for this system, but I have used his other work and it was great

  Todd Henry is the author of two great books - The Accidental Creative and his latest release Die Empty. You can check out his website http://www.accidentalcreative.com/ where you can find his podcasts and all social media links.  I read Accidental Creative a few months back and absolutely fell in love with this book and his work. http://coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com/search?q=todd+henry I then pre ordered Die Empty and absorbed that book even more so. I liked it even more than Accidental Creative. The basis of the book is to help people, companies, businesses, and organizations do their most important work. As I read this book I could relate almost all of it to education and to the many ideas that I am striving for within my own job in education. I sent Todd an email about chatting with me on this podcast and I jumped for joy when he said yes.  Here is the link to his latest book, Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Everyday Show Notes Follow this podcast on iTunes and please feedback and ratings.If you would