Jacob McGill

Technology and a Focus on the Depth of Learning #Podcast Are people better with technology today, or is it just way easier to use than before? If it is easier to use, are we focused on creating better things with it and deep learning, or are we focusing on the shine of technology? In this post from January 2019, I discussed these ideas and wanted to dig deeper into them on my podcast. You can read the post below or watch the podcast on YouTube, or listen to Apple Podcas...Continue reading

Rethinking Professional Learning to Support Adult SEL Needs I saw the following quote and image on the Kognito website: The mental health of teachers is a critical component to caring for and addressing the health of our students and communities. We ask so much of them already, and now they are tasked with not only coping with changes and uncertainty due to COVID-19, but with supporting their students through this crisis, too....Continue reading

Wonder. Explore. Lead. In The Innovator’s Mindset, I share the following: ...Continue reading

Learning That Works for the Learner I was a fidgety kid in school. I always seemed to be taller than the other students in my class as I grew early. The same desks that they would sit in were often too small for me, and I remember my knees pushing at the bottom of the desk, and it always annoyed me, but not to the point that I would want a big desk that would look different from the others....Continue reading

Comfort in the Discomfort of Growth If you want to listen to the podcast based on this topic, you can watch here on YouTube, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Soundcloud. ... In November of 2019, I wrote a post titled The Needed Struggle of Learning, discussing some of the struggles and insecurities I was having with recording my podcast. November 2019 seems like ten years ago, and to think that making a podcast would be my biggest challenge of 2020 seems foolish now! What a year it has been with up and so many downs. But in either sense, the struggle that ranges from those things that seem simple to those that seem complicated, are all crucial to growth. That is learning. It is why we do what we do and why school is not a checklist of things to get through but should be focused on helping others to navigate whatever comes their way. My friend AJ Juliani shares this quote, and it always resonates: Preparing our students (and ourselves) for anything is a crucial element of the process and doesn’t always travel on an upward trajectory. We often celebrate the ups of our journey, but in the downs is where the majority of the learning happens, if we choose to find the lessons. Through that process, we can either learn to forge ahead or switch directions altogether. Either way, moving forward is the goal. Image from Demetri Martin In the original post, I shared these three strategies for growing through the discomfort of new learning: It is good to struggle because it is pushing me out of my comfort zone. Modeling that struggle might help someone else who is going through the same thing or something similar. If I stick with what I am learning now, it will get better over time. 2020, whether we like it or not, is the year of the learner. I am doing my best to grow through the change to become better personally and professionally. It is often hard to find those lessons of learning when we struggle most, but if we do, the learning is something that will stick with us long past the discomforting experience and make us better in the future. January 8, 2020 Making an Impact on One Person (#Podcast) May 13, 2020 4 Non-Negotiables for Schools #Podcast April 22, 2020 The Quickest Path to a Destination April 5, 2020 4 Ideas to Consider for Online Learning #Podcast March 29, 2020 10 Core Values for Education #Podcast Do you need an introduction to someone? Send me a message and I'll do what I can to get you in front of them

3 Things in Education That Have Stayed the Same and How They Have Changed #Podcast As schools continue with the beginning of the year and things seem to be changing at a daily rate, I wanted to think about what should stay consistent. I went back to this post from 2018 and recorded some thoughts on my podcast that you can watch on YouTube or listen to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Soundcloud. The full post is below. ...Continue reading