Episode 15: Jennifer Vollmann - New Global Citizens

I'm so, so, so excited to have Jennifer Vollmann on the show with us today to share her insights on preparing students to be global citizens.

The focus of this week's episode is on how we can prepare students for the global world and help students realize how their actions will impact the world on a global level. 

Students graduating today will be graduating into a world that Daniel Pink, Seth Godin, and Sir Ken Robinson all agree is a global world. Students will live in a world that crosses cultures on a daily basis without ever having to board a plane. All it takes is a click of a button. 

Outsourcing, partnering, and creating new bodies of work that we can't  even think about today will involve an intricate web of global networking.

Jennifer is at the head of this move connecting students to non-profits and connections to create opportunities for students to engage in a globally connected work style very much like the world of work they will be graduating into.

I love this kind of stuff, especially since I was the student who sat in school and wanted to know the clear connection the content I learned had to do with the real world. 

Jennifer's work with New Global Citizens is doing just that. 

So, for any of my listeners who are want to know how to best prepare their students to become global citizens or for the education entrepreneurs looking for how to take your startup idea from napkin to real work business plan, Jennifer can help give you the insight needed.

Jennifer shares 

• How New Global Citzens was formed
• The need for a Global IQ score
• The benefit of travel (virtual and real) for students worldwide
• What the global economy looks like for graduates today

Quick note:

I'm 99% done with my e-book that serves as a toolkit for school leaders on how to use social media. It takes all that I've learned as both an educator, my M.S. Educational Leadership, and my marketing MBA study. If you have any questions you'd like me to answer in the book, just send them over to mark@markwguay.com.

If you haven't yet done so, please head over to iTunes and give an honest review of the podcast

Find out more and reach out to Jennifer at,

• Website: newglobalcitizens.org
• Twitter: @NGCitizens
• Email: jennifer@newglobalcitizens.org

Let me know what you think of the episode by leaving a comment!   

Episode 12: Chris Plutte - Global Nomads Group

Imagine a world where students bridge borders and cross cultures all with the click of a button? 

Meet Chris Plutte from Global Nomads Group  He shares his background in international peacekeeping efforts and how that led to co-founding this unique non-profit that connects students of differing backgrounds. 

Chris is the leading expert on global student discussions and the current GNG focus is on building classroom connections between students in the U.S. to students in the Middle East.

A bit about Chris: He is a sought after speaker on media, youth and conflict and has been on Today Show, CNN, NPR, Education Week. So as to say, I was a bit nervous having him on the show and honored that he joins us today. Chris opened and directed all of Search for Common Ground’s  programs in Rwanda.  And during his time in Rwanda he introduced innovative programs for peace building using technology in the classroom. 

Quick Note: This episode is brought to you by the Google Plus community: Schools Gone Social, a community of school leaders and teachers using social-media to its fullest potential. Join the group by going on Google plus and typing in "Schools Gone Social" and clicking "Ask to join". 

On the call, Chris shares the following information which you can travel to below by clicking on the hyperlink:

• Global Nomads Group
• Semester at Sea
• The Importance of the globally-connected student
• Pahara-Aspen Education
• How to build student discussions around sensitive topics 

Reach out to Chris and his team on Twitter: @global_nomads and @chrisplutte 

Email his team at info@gng.org

One last thing: 

Please take a second and give this podcast an honest rating in ITunes. Click here to go to iTunes directly. I created this podcast for you and want to hear from you!

Feel free to reach out to me at anytime at mark@markwguay.com or @markwguay. Your comments and thoughts mean so much to me as I continue to build this podcast on transforming education. 

Episode 11: Matt Niemitz - Adobe Education Exchange

What happens when a bunch of educators get together to share their most creative lessons? You get Adobe's Education Exchange program.

On this episode of The Transforming Education Podcast I have the head of the Adobe Education Exchange program, Matt Niemitz. We dive into a deep conversation about creativity and how educators from all around the world are sharing ideas to help spark students' creativity. 

It is such an incredible conversation and I think Sir Ken Robinson's ears must be ringing, because we tie in his work quite a bit. 

On the call, Matt shares the following information which you can travel to below by clicking on the hyperlink:

• Adobe's Education Exchange Program

• Sir Ken Robinson's book "Finding Your Element"
• The Importance of Creativity
• The Globally Connected Teacher
• What Makes a Great Lesson for Creativity 

Reach out to Matt and his team on Twitter: @mattniemitz  @AdobeEdu

Please take a second and give this podcast an honest rating in ITunes. I created this podcast for you and want to hear from you!

Feel free to reach out to me at anytime at mark@markwguay.com or @markwguay. 

Episode 8: Google's Connected Classrooms w/ Lisa Jiang

We are currently preparing students for a world that we know very little about. The world we live in now is truly remarkable and something we could never had predicted in the 1970s and 80s. The one thing that we can agree on, however, is that the world got a lot smaller when we fit the internet in our pockets.

I truly believe that we are living in a new renaissance - one that allows ideas to spread with a click of a button and zero budget. It's an amazing time to be alive and a truly amazing time to be a student.

To date, Google has been a leading superpower in making these changes and I am so excited to hear that Google has just taken one giant leap in building the global classroom with its new program Connected Classrooms. 

Today on the call, I have with me Lisa Jiang, one of the founders behind Google's new Connected Classrooms  program. 

On the call, Lisa and I chat about:

• The value of cross-cultural communication
• Building the global citizen
• Global Nomads Group and their role in creating conversations that matter on an international level
• How virtual field trips do not replace field trips, yet create an opportunity like never before

You can find out more on the show by joining Connected Classrooms on their Google Plus homepage. and sharing your thoughts. 

You can contact with Lisa on Twitter at @callmelisaj.

I hope you get a lot out of this episode and would love, love, love to hear from you. So please send me an email at mark@markwguay.com or tweet me @markwguay.

Episode 4: Sallome Hralima - The Future Project

"Education is something you give yourself, and school is any place where you go to learn." - Words from the wise mother of Sallome Hralima  (Tweet this!) 

Today I talk with Sallome who acts as the mastermind Chief Dream Director behind the The Future Project.

You can check out Sallome's personal work here  and read more about The Future Project here.

To give you an idea of what students have created so far you can watch this video and check out Flutter, created by 17-year old Raenuka Reneau.

My favorite idea? One current student-scientist is working to create a hoverboard. I'll make sure to post a picture of me riding it when it gets patented. 

Towards the end of the interview, Sallome opens up and honestly shares her thoughts on what's missing in the school design and how The Future Project works to fill these gaps. Take, for example, the importance to build an innovative school culture that views failure as a learning tool. 

Make sure to watch the launch of Dream.org on 8-28-2013 as well as join The Future Project commemorate the I Have a Dream speech given by one of our nation's greatest dreamers, Martin Luther King Jr. 

It means so much to me to have you listen in and get to share these stories with you.

If there is a topic you'd like addressed or perhaps someone you think I should interview please send me an email at markwguay@gmail.com.

So, what do YOU think?  if you were a student in high school today, what would you ask your dream director to help you achieve? Tell me by leaving a comment below.

Episode 3: U-Class - Assignments Gone Global

On this episode, I'll be taking a look into what it means to globalize education when I interview two edu-preneurs who took their roots in teaching and created a more global classroom. 

About a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to run a breakout session at the NYC Global Education Forum and got to mingle with some of the key catalysts behind building a more global education. 

On the interview today, I have the organizers behind that whole event and am so humbled that they have agreed to come on and discuss global education.

Zak Ringelstein and Leah Schrader founded UClass to build a more global education and help educators and students transcend learning beyond the four walls of the classroom. Their company U-Class links students and teachers together through assignments that have gone global. 

Find out more about UClass by visiting their site here and reaching out to Zak@Uclass.org

What do you think? How do you envision a global education? You can share your story by leaving a comment below. 

Episode 1: Edwin Dannen on the History of NYC Education

Episode 1: Edwin Dannen 

"The Grandfather of NYC Education"

June 18th, 2013

Wow! You know that feeling when you're in the presence of someone with such intellectual wisdom and experience, it becomes daunting. That's what I felt like this week when talking to Edwin Dannen. This man has seen it all and can arguably be called the greatest role model for the youth today. At age 93, he's still rocking and rolling and enjoying life; he even shares his thoughts as a lecturer at Hofstra University. 

He joins in on the call this week to share his most recent thoughts on education and its needed transformation. 

To get in contact with Edwin, he shares his personal email address with you: 

eddannen@verizon.net

What do YOU think we can learn from education leaders like Edwin who have been around the block a few zillion times?