Safer Ed

For this episode, special guest Dr. Tyler Love joins host James Palcik to discuss safety in career technical (CTE) programs. This episode explores how schools can support students' interests in STEAM careers and keep them as safe as possible. 

The conversation begins by discussing Tyler’s role in the career technical world and the challenges of implementing safety standards in CTE environments. Tyler has conducted research and worked with teachers nationwide to train and develop them to lead CTE programs.

In the second part of the episode, James and Tyler focus on the details of safety training and how it impacts everyday teaching. One interesting aspect is Tyler’s research on Engineering and CTE training. What you expect of a STEM classroom or CTE laboratory is not always what the data shows, particularly concerning safety.

The episode ends with a discussion on defining comprehensive safety training and its impact on incident rates in the classroom. Learn more about the participants below. 

About the participants: 

Dr. Tyler Love has been a Professor at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore since January 2023. He formerly held Associate and Assistant Professor roles at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, from 2015-2018 and was the Program Coordinator for Technology and Engineering Education. He was awarded and recognized as the CareerSafe Educator of the Year for 2018 by the ACTE. He is an OSHA Certified Trainer for General Industry and a member of the Safety Advisory Board for the NSTA (National Science Teaching Association). He has won multiple awards from ITEEA and TEEAP, among others, related to safety, STEM, lab design, CTE, Makerspaces, and Engineering education. Received a Robert Noyce Grant from the National Science Foundation in 2022. Author of many journal articles and surveys as well as over four publications designed to enhance teacher and student learning in STEM, CTE, and Science education environments. 

For this episode, special guests Anne Brown and Tobin Novasio join edCircuit host Tina Byland to discuss mental health awareness. This episode explores how schools and outside organizations can support students' mental health inside and outside of the school.

The conversation begins by defining youth mental health and its impact on students' learning and development. Both guests explore the need for a multi-tiered approach to address student mental health inside and outside of the school. Within the school, the school plays a role in being a regulatory and supportive environment. Outside of school, it is important to recognize the importance of mental health, giving students access to the same care for mental health as they do for their physical health. 

In the second part of the episode, the trio focuses on eliminating the stigma of mental health. There is still a stigma attached to mental health, affecting everyone in the school building, including staff. The hope of many K12 leaders is that when schools increase their investment in student mental health, the conversation will open doors and reduce stigma concerning staff and teacher mental health. 

The episode ends with a discussion on creating environments and cultures of support. Particularly how essential it is to establish mental health resources for students and communicate accessibility to their support networks. 

About the participants: 

For this episode, special guest Dr. Chad Stevens joins host James Palcik, CEO of Science Safety. This episode explores community engagement. Particularly how K12 schools communicate and advise parents and community stakeholders about the connection between technology and school safety. 

The conversation begins by exploring what communication looks like in contemporary school districts. As Dr. Stevens and James discuss, the school, community, and household landscapes have all changed drastically over the past several years. In the first part of this conversation, Dr. Stevens explores some strategies and factors of engagement success. 

For this episode, special guests Frankie Jackson and Jeff Angle join host James Palcik, CEO of Science Safety, to discuss K12 cybersecurity. 

The conversation begins by defining some cybersecurity challenges and threats to school data and information technology structures. From typical fishing cybersecurity attacks to the kind of vulnerable data, this conversation provides a great baseline for cybersecurity in K20. 

In the second part of the episode, the trio discusses the effects of distance learning on cybersecurity and frameworks for cybersecurity success. A major key discussed in this conversation is the development of a culture and practice of cybersecurity. The challenges of establishing great cybersecurity hygiene are resources, funding, training, and leadership. 

Overall this conversation sets a great groundwork for school districts to assess, bolster, and create scaffolding for cybersecurity. 

About the participants: 

Frankie Jackson is a former K-12 CTO for 25+ years. She has worked as an assistant superintendent and CTO for one of the largest K-12 school districts in the nation. Frankie serves on CoSN’s policy committee, CoSN’s advisory board for driving K-12 innovation, CoSN’s advanced professional development committee, and CoSN’s cybersecurity committee. Additionally, she is a facilitator for CoSN’s IT project management for school systems leaders’ course and CoSN’s Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL) program. Frankie serves the Association for School Business Officials and Texas ASBO as a subject matter expert, mentor, and chair of the Information Technology certification programs. 

Jeff Angle is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in the education industry. Jeff has held senior and executive roles at HMH, Pearson, the University of Phoenix, and Arizona State University, where he was the CMO of ASU Online. Jeff heads up ISACA’s academic and workforce development business and oversees the product management for ISACA’s emerging products and markets. Jeff is a certified CTE teacher and a faculty associate at Arizona State University.

For this episode, special guest Jacqueline Monteith joins host James Palcik, CEO of Science Safety, to discuss developing an informed perspective on keeping students with additional needs safer in schools.

The conversation begins by discussing some challenges that students with disabilities and additional needs come across and educators' ability to support those additional needs. As Jaqueline points out, each student with specialized needs has a wide range of challenges depending on their individualized needs. To make students safer and more successful in learning environments, educators need to recognize the unique needs of these students and work to accommodate and modify learning with them in mind. Part of that accommodation/modification structure is Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), which is a major focus of the first part of this discussion.

Overall this conversation sets a great groundwork for supporting students with disabilities and how schools, educators, and administrators can best support students with additional needs.

About the participants:

Jacqueline Monteith is an Instructional Coach for Science and STEM for the Frontier School Division and an example of educational excellence. She is a recognized leader in remote and distance learning, an award-winning STEM educator, as well as a lifelong learner. She has worked with many international organizations, including overseas Departments of Education in Dubai and Thailand, Polar Bear International, and multiple professional educational associations. Jaqueline has a Master's Degree in Distance Education, which was exceptionally helpful during the pandemic, and is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at Brandon University.

For this episode, special guest Dr. Ken Roy joins host James Palcik, CEO of Science Safety, to discuss Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

The conversation begins by defining PPE and its applicability in STEM classrooms and lab environments. This part of the discussion focuses on the behavioral standards of using PPE, various hazards, and how to use PPE in the classroom effectively.

In the second part of the episode, the duo discusses the legal and professional safety standards regarding PPE, including the three major kinds of protective gear and proper maintenance for each.

The episode closes with a great discussion on PPE-based budgetary constraints and teacher training.

About the participants: