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IB Unplugged: Why We Started & What to Expect · IB Unplugged

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  Welcome to IB Unplugged, a Kognity podcast for
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  IBDP educators that tackles your submitted challenges and questions
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  by connecting you with experts and peers who share their ideas and stories
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  from real classrooms.
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  Whether you're a seasoned educator or new to the IB world, each bi weekly episode
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  and guest aims to equip you with practical tips and positive inspiration,
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  helping you teach with more confidence, creativity, and joy.
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  So whether you're walking your dog or commuting to school, hit play and join
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  a community of educators ready to learn, laugh, and thrive in your IB journey.
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  Welcome to our new podcast, IB Unplugged.
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  I'm John Patton and I'm Courtney Marline,
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  and we're really excited to take this time
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  to just introduce you to the podcast.
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  What's it about and what are you going to get from
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  this entire show.
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  So, Courtney, you know, the podcast was effectively your brainchild, your idea.
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  So why don't you tell us a little bit about it?
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  Where did it come from?
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  What are we going to get from this show? Sure.
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  So I work at Kognity.
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  I've been working there for about eight years now,
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  and I've been able to work with a lot of authors doing
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  kind of the textbook and, content side of things.
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  Then I was able to move into working on workshops, webinars, things like that.
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  So I've been able to meet so many amazing people through the IB community
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  and build up this network of just fantastic people
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  that I've been able to have fantastic conversations with.
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  And so it's kind of been
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  in the back of my mind for a long time that I really wanted to do this podcast.
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  I love podcasts personally, so it's a medium that I feel quite
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  strongly, is a really powerful tool to be able to connect people.
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  And Katie, our producer,
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  and I were talking for years now about
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  but maybe we should do a podcast.
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  And it's something that
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  we've just always wanted to do, but never we were never able to make it happen
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  and really be able to commit the time and the energy to do it right.
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  Because I think that that's something that we really wanted to make sure that
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  if we did this podcast, it's something that we could do and commit to
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  and make sure that we have this regularity,
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  be able to get the right people on and be able to produce something
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  that's quality and valuable and worth people's time to listen to.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  Because, I mean, you've done so many different ways
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  of connecting educators,
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  and I think it just makes a lot of sense to get into the podcast here.
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  Yeah.
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  So, you know, it's a it's an exciting show I think that we've got going on here.
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  I think so too.
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  I think we've done so many different mediums.
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  We've done webinars, we've done virtual conferences,
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  we've done in-person conferences,
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  videos, all kinds of things that really bring a lot of value in different ways.
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  But I think that especially over the last year, we've been thinking about
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  webinars, for example, that became this catchall medium.
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  But we were all listening to them in a different way,
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  where at least personally, I would sign up for a webinar
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  and be like, yeah, I'm going to go this is going to be a great topic.
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  And then that time would go and it's this idea of, you have to stop
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  what you're doing and interrupt your life for that hour.
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  Commit to being there.
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  And then even when I would commit, which was maybe
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  not as often as I would like to,
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  I would have ten other tabs open and I would be working on other things.
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  While I was there, I couldn't focus, but the only medium,
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  at least in my life, that I consistently listen to is podcast.
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  Yeah, kind of integrates a little bit easier into your life, right?
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  It's not like I need to stop and do this thing here,
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  and however or whatever else I'm doing in my life has to stop and be part of this.
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  Exactly.
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  With podcasts, you kind of get to, you know, engage as
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  and when you're like, in the times that work for you.
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  Exactly. Right.
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  So why not just kind of take the reins on this on your own and like,
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  let's do the podcast.
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  So, we talked about this.
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  We decided, all right, we're going to do this, but how are we going to do it well?
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  And one of the most important things for us was that,
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  it wouldn't just be me talking the whole time.
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  And so we said, we really want to find a co-host that somebody
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  that still very much in the field and somebody that's in the classroom
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  and really brings the same perspectives as a listener.
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  And so we thought long and hard who could possibly fill this role?
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  We went through our whole list of people we've ever met.
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  Oh goodness.
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  And we ended up with you, John.
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  We called everybody else on the ticket.
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  Nobody could do it. But yeah, came over to me.
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  You know, we are very, very lucky and grateful that John agreed to be a co-host.
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  And, we think that
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  yeah, you bring a lot of perspective, a lot of background, and,
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  that we really felt like you would be a great co-host for this podcast, so.
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  Well, I mean, I'm flattered by,
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  you know, I mean, I was excited when you got in touch and said,
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  hey, we can, you know, we could do a podcast together.
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  And, you know, for me, I'm an educator, kind of dyed in the wool.
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  My parents are educators, my whole family, we're educators.
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  It's what I studied.
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  It's what my degree work is in and what I continue to practice
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  and research, you know, to this day, you know,
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  I mean, I'm an IBDP coordinator in my school.
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  I'm university and careers guidance counselor, biology teacher.
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  So I'm constantly involved in education and trying to improve the lives
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  of the young people at my school, as well as the other adults as well,
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  and help us get better as educators in general.
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  Yeah.
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  And over the years, it's been fun to, like, dive into that in my school.
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  But I've constantly been looking for ways to share some of the things
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  that have been able to learn and to dialog with other professionals.
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  And so that's led to webinars and workshops and conferences
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  and all sorts of things.
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  But just as you say, you know, so often in a webinar or workshop,
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  it's kind of isolated to that moment.
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  Yeah.
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  So when you got in touch and you were like, hey,
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  we're thinking about doing a podcast
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  where we can talk about education, we can talk with experts in the field.
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  For me, that was super exciting because it's a way of continually
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  creating this professional development that is constantly ongoing.
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  And I think
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  that's one of the biggest advantages of what we can do with the show.
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  Yeah. So that’s I'm excited about.
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  So, you know, as we build this show itself,
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  there's ways that you can get involved, right?
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  Like the overall structure here. Let's talk about that a bit.
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  Yeah, sure.
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  So when we were thinking about
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  how can we make this podcast as valuable as possible, what should we talk about?
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  Who should we talk to?
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  We always have believed that we're not
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  the ones that have all of the answers whenever we were doing.
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  That's what she believes. I have all the answers.
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  Exactly. Well, from our end, we don't.
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  And so whenever we've worked with workshop hosts, we always kind of come to them.
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  Not saying, Will you do all the work for us,
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  but what is, what's most passionate for you?
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  What is something, what's a topic that you feel like
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  is really going to resonate with the audience?
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  And so then we decided, let's take it a step further
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  and just ask the listeners themselves.
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  So asking you.
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  And so the idea of what we hope to achieve with this podcast is having
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  this regular dialog with the listeners and hearing,
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  what do you want to, what do you want us to talk about?
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  Who do you want us to talk to?
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  So as you submit your questions,
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  as you submit your recommendations, your feedback, we're going to use that
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  to evolve the episodes and to evolve the calendar of who we meet with.
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  So the idea is you tell us
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  what is pressing, what is conversation you want to be part of?
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  What's a topic that you want to learn more about,
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  and we'll find the best people in place to to be able to at least start
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  that conversation.
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  We hope to be able to have a nice balance between some really practical,
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  applicable tips that kind of real classroom experience,
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  but also starting interesting conversations around it,
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  being able to take the time that maybe you don't necessarily get to
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  in your day to day to think a bit more critically about what you're doing.
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  And so each episode we're going to release every two weeks.
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  The episodes are going to be about 45 minutes.
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  So hopefully that's a nice amount of time for your commute, your cooking,
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  whatever it is in your life that you usually listen to episodes and be able to
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  yeah, really break down some of the questions that you submit
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  and hopefully give you some meaningful tips, tricks,
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  things to think about, as we go along throughout your day.
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  Yeah, yeah.
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  I mean, ultimately you're subscribing to a supportive community, right?
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  It's IBDP educators.
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  And we know how it goes.
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  Like, you know, sometimes the IBDP can be a bit overwhelming.
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  You feel like I've just got to get through all this content.
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  I just got to make this work for my students so they can take some exams.
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  But, you know, ultimately the teachings of Fun Thing to Do and dare
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  I say, teaching the IB diploma program is a hugely rewarding experience.
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  So what we want to do with
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  this podcast is really kind of re infuse that joy and bring in that creativity
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  and build a little bit more confidence around like using the strategies
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  that we talked about in your daily practice as well.
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  So it's the goal is just to help educators get better at what they want to do
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  and listen to tips that are constantly there to help them improve.
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  Exactly. So that's what we're hoping to do.
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  We are definitely relying on you to give us ideas,
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  advice, questions, of course.
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  And let us know how we can make this as valuable for you as possible.
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  I'm really excited.
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  I think John is, too.
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  We have fantastic guests already lined up
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  that we are really excited to talk to and learn from.
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  And yeah, we just really hope that this can be a great way to build
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  your community, have positive, inspiration for your classroom
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  and for just feeling good about being an IB teacher.
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  Getting a bit more perspectives, more people that you get to learn from,
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  and, maybe even have a nice time doing it. Have a good time as well.
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  I mean, it's effectively great professional development, you know,
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  I mean, as workshop leader,
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  you go to these workshops and sometimes they're really useful.
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  You know,
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  I hope like somebody comes to a three day workshop
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  and you really want to give them all the tools.
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  So when they go back to their classroom, they're like, yeah, I'm ready to go.
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  But that's as we started with.
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  It's just sort of like this interruption to the day.
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  But I think, you know, what we're able to do now is
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  this is a constant professional development at your own speed.
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  So wherever you're, you know, commuting to work
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  or if you're just kind of out listening to your podcast,
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  this gives you a chance to really improve your practice on a daily basis.
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  So it's super exciting. We're glad to be part of it.
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  And, glad to embark on this journey with you as well.
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  Exactly. So welcome to IB Unplugged.