Oct 28, 2019
Podcasting can be a great way to share your message with others, but for teachers it's also an excellent opportunity to grow in the classroom and share new things with your students. Today's guest shares all about his podcasting journey and how he brings his new knowledge into the classroom.
Today's Guest: Ryan, Host of the Classroom Brew Podcast
Ryan (Mr. F) is a high school Social Studies teacher, a coach, a teacher mentor and host of the Classroom Brew Podcast.
Originally from Algonquin, IL, Ryan received his Bachelor or Arts in History, Education, and Psychology from the University of Iowa in 2015. During that time, he worked as a teacher aide in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics’ In-patient/Out-patient “Circle School. After receiving his Bachelor’s, Ryan moved back to Chicago to earn his Master’s degree in the Teaching of History and Social Sciences.
Ryan’s podcast, which features a variety of guests and solo episodes, explores the funny side of teaching and the classroom over a couple of beers. He has proudly worked in Chicago Public Schools since the Fall of 2017.
Summary
Ryan started his podcast as an idea while he was just sitting around chatting with student teaching friends. when he finally got his own classroom he decided that there was enough material there to actually have a podcast so classroom Brew was born
At first guess we're just friends of his who would stop by and have a drink or two while they chatted about the realities of teaching school children and the 21st century. He eventually branched out to speak with people teachers he never met before and even students about their own School experience. Uline
Launching a podcast brought about a whole new learning experience. Things like publicity and social media, the teachers don't typically have to worry about, are a key piece of having a successful podcast. But as Ryan says, it's easy to learn as you go with a format like podcasting.
These days Ryan has even brought podcasting into his classroom having students use the medium for extra credit or as a new way to show their learning. for those interested Casey Bell of shake up learning does a podcast on this very topic which you can find here.
Recently Ryan has started doing voice-over work on the platform known as fiber. And well the work got off to a slow start with fake pitches from people who quote-unquote needed his help he's now seeing a fairly regular stream of small jobs come in to supplement his income.
At one point Ryan was nervous about people he knew finding out about his podcast. But as time passed and he became more comfortable with the medium and what he was choosing to share that anxiety subsided. when students discover his podcast he asked them how and you know jokes around with them about what they've heard or if they would listen and then moves on. in the two years he's been on the air he hasn't had any negative repercussions from reading his show.
Key Take-Aways:
- Sometimes the ideas that seem crazy are the ones that end up being great and just what you were looking for.
- You don't have to be super tech-savvy in order to launch a podcast (or a blog or YouTube channel), you just have to be willing to learn, to make mistakes, and to get better as you go.
- Podcasting can open up doors to other avenues for income like voice over work.
- Any learning you do for yourself and your business can benefit you in the classroom and your students as well.