What makes great professional development? We spoke with Justin Hardman, the founder and Director of 21st Century Learning, about professional development for international educators.

Since 2012, 21st Century Learning has connected more than 20,000 K-12 educators with a wide variety of face-to-face and online professional learning opportunities. Beyond professional learning, Justin has a passion for supporting schools in better-integrating technology into school programs with a focus on strategy, leadership, and planning for systemic change. He was Director of Technology at Hong Kong International School and has led EdTech consultancy projects with many of the leading international schools in the Asia Pacific region.

Our Guiding Questions were, “What does the landscape of professional learning opportunities look like? What is the menu of offerings for educators to design personalized learning plans?”

Here are some of the topics covered:

• The mission of the 21st Century Learning company
• The learning pathways it provides for international educators
• Ways that educators can become PD providers
• A menu of professional learning offerings
• The role of Generative AI in professional development
• Some thoughts on how school leaders can design and implement professional learning opportunities for their communities
• Ways that schools can design PD programs that connect to student learning while working to gather data on their implementation, thus building in feedback loops for PD.

Justin’s Contact Information: 21st Century Contact Page | X: jahardman

Resources Mentioned in the Episode:Breathing Fire Into Web 2.0

The show was recorded on September 3, 2024.

Categories: PD | School Life | Wellness

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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

Transitions are a given when you are an international educator.

We did a different style show here with David asking all the questions as he interviewed Audrey and Mark Forgeron about their recent return and transition to international teaching.

Audrey Forgeron is a 30-year, nine-country international teaching veteran. She has taught Health and PE, French, Information Technology, and Film. She has recently transitioned from teaching to life coaching.

Mark Forgeron has spent 40 years as a teacher, with 38 years teaching internationally. Nepal is now his 10th country, and he has always been a middle-level math teacher. Mark has enjoyed teaching in all regions of the world, always looking for a new and non-lateral location. He has served as a math teacher and math coordinator, a middle school coordinator, and a coach of middle school, high school, and community sports, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, and track & field.

Our Guiding Question was, “What are some tried-and-true ways to prepare to transition to a new school and country?”

Here are some of the topics covered:

• Finances both in one’s home country and new country
• Documentation to do’s
• Packing - what goes and what stays
• Social Factors
• Emotional Experiences
• Orientation - School provided and doing one’s own

Audrey’s Contact Information: educatorsgoingglobal@gmail.com, LinkedIn.com/in/aforgeron


The show was recorded on October 18, 2024.

Categories: Transitions | School Life | Wellness

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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

We so enjoyed our first chat with Michael Nachbar, Executive Director of the Global Online Academy (GOA) that we asked him to come back for a second interview! Just as before, Michael tackled our questions with vigor and showed an incredible depth of knowledge.

We are curious about the concept of “future-proofing” education, so it made sense to consider Michael’s take as a future-focused thinker. With that in mind, our guiding question was: “What does online learning look like going forward, especially given the rapid growth of AI?”

Here are some of the topics covered:

• How GOA has adapted to recent changes in the education sector.
• Preparing for the possibility of school closure.
• Getting buy-in from stakeholders for virtual learning.
• The efforts of the GOA community to harness AI for education.
• Advice from author Daniel Pink on innovation in schools and his daughter Sophia’s version of hybrid learning at HKIS.
• Strategies to support teachers and students in learning to use AI for education.
• Michael reflected on his GOA Insights Blog post, “Seven Predictions for Education in 2024.”
• A few future-proofing strategies and guiding principles for schools.

Michael spearheads a global network of schools and educators dedicated to transforming education. His expertise lies in integrating foundational teaching principles with cutting-edge technologies and innovative pedagogies.

Michael regularly presents at conferences on topics including leadership and innovation trends. His thought leadership is widely recognized and respected across the educational community. He is also a Lakeside School trustee and has served on the boards of the NAIS, the Mastery Transcript Consortium, Summer Search, the ISAnet, and JUMP! Foundation.

Michael holds an M.A. in Education Leadership from Columbia. He began with Teach For America, laying a strong foundation for his ongoing commitment to educational excellence, innovation, and equity.

Resources Mentioned:

Michael’s Blog Post “Seven Predictions for Education in 2024.”
Sophia Pink interviews on the Ed Tech Co-Op Podcast: Interviews 1 and 2

Michael’s Contact Information: LinkedIn | Global Online Academy (scroll down for contact info)

The show was recorded on July 10th, 2024.

Categories: Online Learning | Pedagogy | School Life

Remember to access our Educators Going Global website for more information or to subscribe to our newsletter!

Email us with comments or suggestions at educatorsgoingglobal@gmail.com

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.

Listen on your favorite podcast app: connect from our share page.

Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.