Students Should Build the World, Not Just Enter It - TEC 103

Students Should Build the World, Not Just Enter It - TEC 103

What happens when students stop consuming digital experiences and start building them? In this episode of the Tech Ed Clubhouse Podcast, I sit down with Rob Keneally, founder and CEO of Aquatic Metaverse and the creator of Salty Sharks and the Saltyverse. Rob’s work started with a passion for sharks, marine conservation, and changing the way young people see misunderstood ocean species. It has grown into an immersive STEM learning platform where students can explore virtual worlds, solve problems, conduct experiments, and even help design the environments themselves. Our conversation goes well beyond technology for technology’s sake. We talk about what happens when students create something with a real audience, a real purpose, and a life beyond the teacher’s gradebook. In this episode, we dig into: • Why sharks need better public relations • How virtual worlds can support STEM and project-based learning • What changes when students build for an authentic audience • How students in Australia created a virtual platypus world • How students in Greece helped develop an interactive Archimedes experience • The role of productive failure, exploration, and experimentation • How virtual escape rooms can support problem-solving • Why student ownership increases retention and engagement • Student privacy and safety inside virtual environments • How teachers can explore immersive learning without becoming technology experts Rob also shares the story behind The Pharaoh’s Vault, a multiplayer virtual escape room where students use history, mathematics, astronomy, hieroglyphics, and collaboration to escape before time runs out. The bigger question running through our conversation is simple: Are students using technology to complete assignments, or are they using it to create something worth sharing? The Tuesday TestYou do not need a virtual reality headset or a metaverse platform to start. Take a topic you are already teaching and ask students to design an experience that helps someone else understand it. That could be a physical escape room, an interactive map, a model, a game, a guided tour, or a student-created exhibit. The tool is secondary. The real shift is moving students from completing the lesson to helping build it. Connect with Rob and Salty SharksExplore the Saltyverse, schedule a tour, or learn more about school access at: saltysharks.io [saltysharks.io] Connect with Rob Keneally on LinkedIn to follow the continued development of Aquatic Metaverse, Salty Sharks, and immersive learning experiences for schools. About the Tech Ed ClubhouseOn the Tech Ed Clubhouse Podcast, I explore practical ideas in technology education, STEM, project-based learning, creativity, play, and school redesign. No hype. No new initiative required. Just better ways to help students build, think, and reflect.

What the Rest of Education Can Learn From Shop Class with Bobby Miller - TEC102

Schools spend a lot of time talking about creativity, problem-solving, communication, engagement, and career readiness. Shop teachers have been building those skills for decades. In this episode, I’m joined by Bobby Miller, better known online as Mr. Miller’s Woodshop, to talk about what hands-on learning gets right—and what the rest of education can learn from CTE, technology education, and the skilled trades. Bobby shares how his classroom uses real tools, real materials, real standards, and real accountability. We discuss why students who struggle in traditional classrooms often thrive when the work has a visible purpose, how finished projects create ownership, and why relationships become stronger when teachers work alongside students. We also dig into cell phone policies, teacher autonomy, industry partnerships, safety, project-based assessment, and Bobby’s use of short instructional videos and QR codes to help students work more independently. This conversation is not just about wood shop. It is about creating classrooms where students make decisions, solve actual problems, build something that matters, and leave with skills they can use beyond school. * Why hands-on classes often reach students who feel disconnected from school * What authentic engagement looks like in a working classroom * How shop classes naturally develop accountability, perseverance, and problem-solving * Why students take greater ownership when they build something they can bring home * The value of teacher autonomy and professional judgment * How QR codes and short videos can support differentiation and student independence * The tension between schoolwide cell phone policies and classroom-specific uses * Why industry partners are often eager to support CTE programs * How volunteers can strengthen shop programs and reduce the maintenance burden on teachers * What every teacher can borrow from the structure of a shop classroom Identify one explanation, demonstration, or question you repeat constantly. Record a short video showing the process, make it available to students, and let them revisit it when they need it. The video does not need to be polished. It needs to be clear, useful, and available at the moment students need it. Bobby Miller is a technology education and CTE teacher licensed in construction, manufacturing, and communications. Through Mr. Miller’s Woodshop, he shares practical ideas about woodshop instruction, classroom systems, career readiness, safety, industry partnerships, and the future of skilled trades education. Find Mr. Miller’s Woodshop on: * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrmillerswoodshop/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mrmillerswoodshop] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563799341620] * X [https://x.com/millerswoodshop] * YouTube [https://youtube.com/@mrmillerswoodshop?si=P1oWcsABeLswqS4W] Email: mrmillerswoodshop@gmail.com Follow the TechEd Clubhouse for more conversations about practical learning, project-based education, CTE, technology, creativity, and the work schools should be doing next. Tools support the work. Humans lead it.

AI Literacy Without Losing the Learning—with Matt Miller - TEC101

What does student engagement actually mean? And when AI can generate lessons, feedback, images, and activities in seconds, how do we make sure students are still doing the thinking? In this episode, I sit down with Matt Miller, educator, speaker, author, and founder of Ditch That Textbook, to talk about practical instructional design, AI literacy, and why new technology should never become the goal of the lesson. Matt shares how Ditch That Textbook began in his high school Spanish classroom, where he realized that following the textbook was not helping students actually communicate. That realization led him to experiment with more conversational, creative, tactile, and technology-supported learning. We also dig into Matt’s new book, AI Literacy in Any Class, and how teachers can build AI literacy through small, intentional moments inside their existing curriculum—not through another isolated initiative or standalone course. * Why engagement is more than students being quiet, busy, or entertained * How to evaluate whether a worksheet, tool, or activity actually produces worthwhile thinking * Why teachers should not force AI into lessons that already work * How AI can serve as a thinking partner instead of an answer generator * Using AI to ask better questions and expose gaps in lesson design * Building AI literacy through everyday classroom conversations * Why creativity, critical thinking, adaptability, and reflection matter more than tool-specific training * Matt’s current AI tools, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Brisk * His plans for ISTE 2026 * The new Ditch That Textbook Community One of the strongest ideas from the conversation: We are not called to integrate technology. We are called to teach. The goal is not more AI. The goal is better learning—and students doing more of the thinking. Connect with Matt Miller: Ditch That Textbook: DitchThatTextbook.com [https://ditchthattextbook.com/] Newsletter and free resources: ditch.link/join [ditch.link/join] Ditch That Textbook Community: ditch.circle.so [ditch.circle.so] Book: AI Literacy in Any Class [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1968898077?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback] Follow Matt [https://ditch.beehiiv.com/links]on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ditchthattextbook/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/ditchthattextbook], X [https://twitter.com/jmattmiller], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/ditchthattextbook/], and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@ditchthattextbook] for practical classroom strategies and ideas.

Small Moments Build Big Futures: Inclusive STEM, Coding, and Hands-On Learning with Kai’s Education - TEC100

What happens when coding stops being a separate technology activity and becomes a tool for learning math, literacy, science, collaboration, and problem-solving? In this episode of the TechEd Clubhouse Podcast, I’m joined by Ronel Schodt and Bruce Jackson from Kai’s Education in Auckland, New Zealand. We explore how hands-on robotics, screen-free coding, Python, virtual environments, and inclusive design can create more accessible entry points into computer science and STEM learning. Bruce and Ronel share the story behind KaiBot, including how a classroom experience with a blind student changed the direction of their work. Their coding cards now provide tactile, audio-supported pathways that allow students—including blind and low-vision learners—to engage with sequencing, algorithms, debugging, and text-based coding. We also discuss why students should experience concepts before receiving vocabulary, how robotics can shift a child’s identity from “I’m bad at math” to “I can solve this,” and why the most important bug to fix may be the belief that a student is not capable. * Moving from screen-free coding cards to Blockly and Python * Designing STEM tools through Universal Design for Learning * Using robotics across math, literacy, geography, and science * Creating authentic collaboration through project-based learning * Why productive struggle matters more than quickly giving students answers * Helping students develop confidence through genuine wins * Making coding more accessible to girls and historically excluded learners * Using failure, iteration, and debugging as essential learning experiences * Balancing physical, digital, augmented, and virtual learning * What meaningful student engagement actually looks like Before teaching another lesson, identify one student who has already decided they are “not good” at the subject. Give that student a challenge they can genuinely solve—not a compliment or an easier worksheet, but a real opportunity to experience success. Confidence often grows before competence becomes visible. “The biggest bug fix isn’t in the robot. It’s in the belief system.” “Small moments create big futures.” Students rarely wake up wanting to learn algebra. They want to build, play, explore, and solve something that matters. Learn more about KaiBot, KaiLab, the Dragon of Disengagement, and Kai’s Education at kaiseducation.com [kaiseducation.com]. Contact the team: Bruce: bruce@kaiseducation.com [ ⁠bruce@kaiseducation.com] General inquiries: hello@kaiseducation.com [hello@kaiseducation.com⁠] Mention the TechEd Clubhouse Podcast when contacting the Kai’s Education team to receive the listener offer discussed during the episode. Follow the podcast for more conversations about hands-on learning, project-based instruction, STEM education, creativity, and practical changes teachers can use immediately. Tools support the work. Humans lead it.

Clarity Before Capacity with Casey Watts - TEC99

In this episode of The TechEd Clubhouse, I sit down with Casey Watts, educator, leadership coach, speaker, author, and creator of the Clarity Cycle Framework, to talk about something schools need right now: clarity. Teachers are not short on effort. Administrators are not short on initiatives. Students are not short on expectations. But too often, everyone is working hard while still operating from different pages. Casey breaks down why clarity is not just about giving better directions. It is about creating shared understanding, simplifying what feels complex, and helping people see what success actually looks like before asking them to move forward. We talk about leadership, classroom communication, AI, teacher overwhelm, student motivation, formative assessment, and why “clear is kind” only works when people can actually see and experience what “done” looks like. This conversation is for teachers, administrators, instructional coaches, and anyone trying to lead learning without adding more noise to an already crowded system. IN THIS EPISODE: I talk with Casey about: - Why clarity precedes capacity - The difference between motivation problems and clarity problems - How leaders can avoid initiative overload - Why buy-in may matter less than commitment - How teachers can use clarity to increase student ownership - Why overexplaining does not always create understanding - How AI is exposing communication gaps in schools - Why formative assessment is really about uncovering misconceptions - How leaders can simplify complexity into two or three clear moves - What educators can try tomorrow — and what they can reflect on over the summer KEY TAKEAWAYS: * Clarity is not the same as explanation. * More words do not automatically create more understanding. Sometimes the strongest leadership move is simplifying the message. * People do not commit to what they cannot see.Whether you are leading teachers or students, people need to know the goal, the role they play, and what success looks like. * AI is not the real issue.The deeper issue is whether schools have clarity around values, expectations, integrity, and how tools should actually support learning. * Formative assessment should reveal thinking, not just answers. * If all we know is whether students got it right or wrong, we are missing the misconceptions that should shape instruction. Strong leaders ask better clarity questions. Casey offers simple questions that can change the conversation: “In what ways have I been unclear?”and“What are we actually focused on here?” STANDOUT MOMENT: Casey shares the story that shaped her clarity work: a group of teachers who showed up to a curriculum meeting with no real understanding of why they were there or what they were expected to do. That moment became a powerful example of how easily leaders can assume communication has happened when clarity has not. We also dig into the classroom side of the same issue. Students often hear directions, expectations, and assignments, but still do not understand the purpose behind the work. Casey pushes us to think about how we can make learning visible, relevant, and connected to a bigger picture. PRACTICAL TUESDAY MOVE: Try this tomorrow in a lesson, faculty meeting, PLC, or end-of-year conversation: Ask: “In what ways have I been unclear?” Then listen. That one question shifts ownership, surfaces confusion, and gives you real information about what needs to be clarified before people move forward. GUEST INFORMATION: Casey Watts is an educator, leadership coach, speaker, writer, and creator of the Clarity Cycle Framework. Her work focuses on helping educators and leaders get not only on the same team, but on the same page. Her book, The Craft of Clarity, [https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Clarity-Commitment-Sustainable-Alignment-ebook/dp/B0DS93RV3C?ref_=ast_author_mpb] explores the leadership habits that help schools clarify goals, communicate expectations, and improve follow-through. You can connect with Casey on LinkedIn at CatchUp With Case [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catchupwithcasey/]y visit her website at catchingupwithcasey.com [https://www.catchingupwithcasey.com/].