190: The Ditch That Textbook Podcast is back!

190: The Ditch That Textbook Podcast is back!

Author: Ditch That Textbook November 20, 2023 Duration: 36:25

Welcome to the revival of the Ditch That Textbook Podcast, hosted by Matt Miller and now joined by Karly Moura! In this exciting new season, we will be recapping the content shared in the Ditch That Textbook newsletter, along with other news and updates from the education world. Join us as we dive into a big idea, delve into quick teaching strategies, and discuss a template of the week, designed to empower educators with practical tools for their classrooms. Get ready to be inspired, informed, and equipped to revolutionize your teaching approach.

News and Updates

The Big Idea

Tech Tips

Template of the Week

  • Yelp Review Template from Ditch That Textbook
  • April Watkins created a Virtual Field Trips choice board and then had her students write a Yelp Review after their visit. (Note: April created her own Yelp Review template to use with her students. You can create your own or use ours.)
  • Lindy Hockenbary gave her students a prompt "Imagine you are an animal. What environment do you live in? Evaluate the environment that you live in by writing a Yelp review of that environment."
  • Chad Miller had his students write Yelp Reviews of inventions that helped societies thrive.
  • Mr. Topliff asked his students to write a Yelp Review to assess various viewpoints of key revolutions.

Next Week

  • AI lesson planning
  • AI for Administrators

Don't forget to join the Ditch That Textbook email newsletter at DitchThatTextbook.com/join and be sure to subscribe to the show.


Ever feel like your classroom materials are holding you and your students back from more meaningful, engaging learning? That’s the conversation at the heart of the Ditch That Textbook Podcast. Hosts Matt Miller and Karly Moura, from Ditch That Textbook, don’t just talk about theory-they dive into the practical, often messy work of reimagining education. Each episode feels like a planning session with colleagues who get it, focusing on how to leverage technology, spark creativity, and foster innovation in ways that genuinely connect with learners. You’ll hear real classroom stories, straightforward tech tips that won’t make your head spin, and honest discussions about moving beyond a one-size-fits-all approach. This podcast is built for educators who are tired of the status quo and are looking for actionable ideas to make their teaching more dynamic and less reliant on prescribed resources. It’s about building confidence to try new things and designing experiences that stick with students long after the lesson ends. Tune in for a regular dose of inspiration that you can actually use tomorrow, all centered on the empowering idea that the best learning often happens when you look beyond the book.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Ditch That Textbook Podcast :: Education, teaching, edtech :: #DitchPod
Podcast Episodes
154: Student podcasts in Google Slides [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:24
Voice is on the rise. Podcast listenership continues to grow. Smart speakers are selling like hotcakes. With all of this buzz around audio content, maybe now is the time to incorporate podcasting in your classroom. Howev…
153 Your Google Classroom secret power [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:33
We use Google Classroom to assign, collect, grade, and return work with students. Many teachers will use Google Classroom in a web browser on their laptop or desktop computers. But have you tried the Google Classroom mob…
152: Google Slides templates and fixing them [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:52
As teachers, a lot of times we like to assign students work using templates. Google slides is a great choice for doing that! But what do you do when students make mistakes and need to go back to a previous version? In th…
152: Upgrade that textbook with augmented reality [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:40
Augmented reality is showing up in more and more schools all over. But how can we use augmented and virtual reality in meaningful ways in the classroom? I love the approach that David Saunders used to upgrade 9th grade h…
151: Classroom tech: Should I use it? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:57
When I was a beginning teacher, I thought that technology use in the classroom was good no matter what. It didn't take me long to change my views on that, though. When we use tech in the classroom, we have to ask ourselv…
150: More Google Classroom organization ideas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:55
Your Google Classroom can get pretty organized sometimes, can't it? This is a pain point for so many who use it and other learning management systems! A couple of little tips can go a long way to getting it neat and tidy…
149: A new social media for educators [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:26
So many of us educators turn to Twitter and Pinterest to get ideas and connect with each other. But there's a new social media that's developed specifically for educators that's coming out soon. in this episode, I interv…
148: Bringing tech into the library [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:10
Libraries in schools are getting a makeover. They don't just have to be a room full of dusty books! Kelly and Crystal from Pasadena, Texas, share how they're using technology to engage students in their media center.