Who is The Tech Rabbi, Michael Cohen?
RABBI MICHAEL COHEN is a designer, educator, creativity instigator, podcaster, YouTuber, speaker, and an Apple Distinguished Educator. He’s also the Director of Innovation at Yeshiva University of Los Angeles Boys High School and the author of Educated by Design: Designing the Space to Experiment, Explore, and Extract Your Creative Potential.
⭐️ Use the timestamps below to jump to specific parts of this conversation in YouTube. ⬇️
05:09 – It’s story time! Please share with us about a low moment or an experience of adversity that you’ve faced in your teaching or education career, and describe how you overcame it.
08:54 – I can’t say enough about your book, Educated by Design: Designing the Space to Experiment, Explore, and Extract Your Creative Potential. So many good directions we could go here, and it’s been fun to hear you discuss your ideas chapter by chapter on your podcast. But let’s start with this quote:
“We want our students to believe that they have the ability to create something incredible, but for that to happen, they must experience the freedom of authentic learning. Our students must be allowed to take risks and be given the space to experiment, fail, and try again.”
Can you talk more about what you mean by authentic learning? How can school leaders and teachers move their practices and thinking in this direction?
12:15 – You also wrote that “I believe that creativity is a mindset, not an art set.” I love that quote because I hear the growth mindset there – the ideas that our identities and capacities to learn are not fixed, that we all have creative capacity.
What is your word to students and educators who have decided that they are not creative people?
16:39 – How are you looking to grow professionally and improve your practice next year? Can you share about a specific professional goal or project that you’re currently working on?
19:55 – Outside of education, what’s another area of learning for you? What is it that ignites your passions outside of the classroom and brings you alive as a human being? Tell us why this area interests you and why you enjoy it.
20:38 – Share about one personal habit or productivity hack that contributes to your success.
Voices and resources that spark Michael’s thinking and ignite his practice:
On Twitter
- @AskATechnoGirl (https://twitter.com/askatechnogirl)
- @TanyaAvrith (https://twitter.com/TanyaAvrith)
- @CineHead (https://twitter.com/cinehead)
EdTech Tools
- Zoom (https://zoom.us/)
- Trello (https://trello.com/)
Books
1. What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 – 10th Anniversary Edition: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World by Tina Seelig
2. Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brene Brown
YouTube Channels
- Claudio Zavala Jr. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCRXntDtSLM9e4NMnuR8EfA)
Film
- Free Solo (https://films.nationalgeographic.com/free-solo)
Follow The Tech Rabbi
- On Twitter @TheTechRabbi (twitter.com/thetechrabbi)
- On Instagram @TheTechRabbi (https://www.instagram.com/TheTechRabbi/)
- On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheTechRabbi/
- On his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/thetechrabbi
- On his website at https://thetechrabbi.com/blog
- At his book at http://techrabbi.me/buythebook
Connect with the Teachers on Fire podcast on social media
- On Twitter @TeachersOnFire (https://twitter.com/TeachersOnFire)
- On Instagram @TeachersOnFire (https://www.instagram.com/teachersonfire/)
- On Facebook @TeachersOnFire (https://www.facebook.com/TeachersOnFire/)
- On LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/TimWCavey
- On The Teachers on Fire Magazine: https://medium.com/teachers-on-fire
- On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/teachersonfire
Subscribe to the Teachers on Fire podcast on your mobile device
- On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2ozOTRb
- On Google Podcasts: https://goo.gl/iA6swC
- On Anchor: https://anchor.fm/teachersonfire
- On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2QkF2KW
Song Track Credits
- Intro: Easy (by Mike Cosmo — license purchased at https://taketones.com/)
- Outtro: Bluntedsesh4 (by Tha Silent Partner, courtesy of FreeMusicArchive.org)
Teachers on Fire 