Open Way Learning with Ben Owens

#CSK8 Podcast - A podcast for computer science educators

In this interview with Ben Owens, we discuss Ben’s transition from working as an engineer to working in K-12 education, opensource as a metaphor for teaching and learning, various stakeholder reactions to opensource resources and learning, bridging the gap between out-of-school and in-school learning, iterating on teaching and learning, and so much more.

Click here for this episode’s show notes.

How to Get Started with Computer Science Education

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00:00 Intro

00:52 Ben introducing himself

01:42 Ben's shift from engineer to educator

05:28 What surprised Ben about teaching

08:42 How Ben learned how to teach and how it has evolved over time

10:54 How people reacted to Ben's approach to teaching

16:59 How open source influenced Ben's approach to education

21:45 Responding to the pushback to open source

24:23 Hyper local curriculum and open source content

27:17 What is Open Way Learning?

32:30 How working in the nonprofit space impacted Ben's understanding of education

36:51 What's holding back educators and what can we do about it?

40:21 The negative impact of the factory model on education

44:22 Advice for elevating student voice

47:51 Recommendations for preventing burnout

52:13 What Ben wishes there was more research on

54:43 Something a listener could help Ben with

56:59 My thoughts on Ben's approach

01:00:28 How to connect with Ben

01:01:24 Outro