VSR46: This is Personal

Kathleen McClaskey and Barbara Bray take a special interest in personalised learning, differentiated instruction and the whole concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). In this episode we dig into many of these concepts to learn more, including the sharing of some useful apps for personalised learning.

VSR45: Blocks and Filters

Like most teachers, Brett Moller, Bruce Fuda, Ashley Proud and Carolyn Foote all have to deal with the realities of filters and blocks on their school Internet connection, although they all experience this reality in slightly different ways.. In this episode we talk about web filters, the need to keep kids safe online and try to balance the argument with good old fashioned some common sense.

VSR44: A World of Difference

Michael Graffin is a young relief teacher from near Perth, Western Australia who has never had his own classroom but has still managed to discover the joys of working across the Internet on global projects. In this episode, Michael is joined by one of his collaboration partners Theresa Allen from Chicago, and also Lisa Parisi from New York, as we discuss the wonders of learning using online collaborative projects.

VSR43: The Global Village

John Warnken is a good guy. He's 58 years old, lives in Florida and is not officially a teacher. However, John has been voluntarily working with students from all over the world to help them improve their English and broaden their view of the world. He's now on a mission to help other seniors do the same. Using the power of Skype, John has spent the last 4 years Skyping into classrooms all over the world working with kids that want to talk with a native English speaker. It's a short podcast, but a great story.

VSR42: iOS App Smackdown!

Deon Scanlon, Andrew Churches, Allanah King and Amanda Marrinan are leading Australian and New Zealand educators who use iPads, iPods (and even iPhones) in their work with kids. In this episode we share 48 of our favourite and most useful iOS apps… some fun, some silly, some educational, some serious; but all amazing!

VSR41: Culture and Vision

Helen Otway is an assistant principal and Ultranet Coach in Victoria, Australia. She is passionate about ICT, professional development and developing a school culture of continual learning. In this episode we talk about a range of topics including sharing to build  school culture, learning through failure, and developing a more thoughtful approach to teaching and learning through reflective practice.

VSR40: There's an App for That

Apple's iDevices are gaining lots of traction in the education sphere lately, and with good reason. They have many of the characteristics of an almost perfect learning device, so it's no wonder so many schools around the world are trying to work out how they might best fit into the learning process. Rob Newberry, Tyler Sherwood and Brett Moller all work in schools that are exploring ways that the iPad, iPhone and iPad touch can be leveraged for greater learning.

VSR39: Scientific Curiosity

Tim Kong, John Pearce, Britt Gow and Leigh Zeitz get together to chat about science education, but we soon get carried away talking about some of the bigger, broader issues of teaching in general. In the end, we cover a whole lot of different stuff.  This was another podcast organised over Twitter at short notice.

VSR38: Student Voice

When it comes to blogging with students, Linda Yollis and Kathleen Morris know what they're talking about. In this episode they share some of their wisdom about getting very young students to blog effectively. Some great tips and advice on blogging.  Both Linda and Kathleen had their blogs nominated for the 2010 Edublog Awards, and Linda was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award. If you're looking for great advice about student blogging, this is the place!

VSR37: Design is Everything

Melinda Alford is a teacher who cares about design. From the design of her classroom, to the design of her school, to the design of the work she expects from her students, design plays an important role in the things she does.  In this episode we talk to Melinda about her classroom, her school, her city and a bunch of other things.