2022: The Year of Boundaries

New Year, new me. Or whatever the kids are saying these days. Have you stuck to your 2022 resolutions so far this year?

New Year goals or resolutions are set year after year by individuals. Some set rigorous goals and are able to stick to them to make drastic changes, some set little goals to lead to a bigger goal, or some might just not care to set goals because they are content with their lifestyle and choices. 

For many people this year, setting better boundaries around work and home life is one of the top resolutions.

After talking to a group of educators it’s clear that they are spending too much time outside of the classroom working, which is unpaid time. Many educators are using tons of personal time at home to make lesson plans or grade tests because they are not given enough planning time during work hours. Some teachers don’t even have a planning period at all. 

This amount of extra time and work paired with the lack of appropriate compensation for educators is unacceptable! It is a clear reason for the need to set boundaries. Maybe you like grading papers while watching your favorite shows in the evenings, but you don’t enjoy having to spend your Sunday nights getting your lesson plans organized and ready for the week ahead. Maybe you’re like me and are constantly checking your work emails on your phone during personal time away, just because you have the access to it.

We’ve got to draw a line somewhere. Set a time where you shut off your working brain to spend time with your friends or family after hours. Take your work email off of your phone so that you are not checking it at brunch on Saturday morning. Your response can wait until you are in the classroom or in your office. 

I know that we all love our jobs and want to do well, but you have to prioritize YOU and your mental health above all else. Make small changes to set better boundaries when it comes to work and personal life. You can also set boundaries in other aspects of your life. It’s all going to help you be the best version of yourself and allow you to be fully present in the places where it matters most.

Shut your laptop to have dinner with your kids, to go on a date with your partner, or to just go have a drink with friends. The work will get done. Don’t let it consume most of your personal time.

If setting boundaries isn’t something you originally had on your list of resolutions, add it for February and on. You’ll be surprised at how it changes your life!

Have any resolutions you’d like to share with us? Message us on IG @leapedlive or comment below. We’d love to hear what your goals are!

10 Reasons to be Thankful for Working in Education

When it comes to being a teacher, there are so many things to be thankful for. To get you started on your own journey to gratitude, here are 10 things that local educators sent in that they appreciate in this field:

1. The students!  They make the lesson planning, activity prep, and long days worth it.

2. Seeing students’ growth and being able to be a constant person in their life every day no matter what happens outside of school.

3. Students who come to school and put in effort in their classes, are respectful, and kind towards others make teaching worth it.

4. Supportive department members.

5. The lasting, meaningful relationships made with students. 

6. Seeing the glow that students have when they 'get it' after they’ve been struggling.

7. Making an impact on the children and families within a specific community. Being able to host a classroom where students are safe, valued, noticed, and loved unconditionally is something to never take for granted.

8. The opportunity to encourage critical thinking and work to make informed young citizens.

9. Always learning something new with technology.

10. Summer Break & Holidays! It’s always great to spend personal time with loved ones, and educators are unique in that they have a summer break.

There you have it! 10 amazing things to appreciate as a teacher. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and were able to spend quality time with friends and family!

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The Need for Change in Education

Education. It’s costly, it is grossly underfunded, and there are inconsistencies and inequalities within the system. As much as we try to move forward and improve education, it almost feels like the more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Let’s begin with the cost of education. Most of us know the burden of student loans, and the strain we go through to apply for financial aid, scholarships, grants, etc. We do all of this work knowing that a huge debt is looming in the background as we enjoy our college years. How can we fully focus on the experience when we know the harsh reality waiting on the other side of graduation?

With other great career options available through trade school or even through social media influencing, more and more students are turning away from furthering their education in a University setting or other school system. Everyone should have the opportunity and accessibility to pursue their passion, no matter the field of interest.

Funding Public K-12 Education in America

The Century Foundation (TCF) published a study led by school finance expert Bruce Baker in 2020 that examined funding gaps in the U.S. public school system. According to this study, the U.S. is underfunding public schools by nearly $150 billion annually. This limits the amount of resources needed in each classroom, which then hinders student success. We cannot keep underinvesting in future generations.

The U.S. is underfunding public schools by nearly $150 billion annually.

This inequality in funding came from budget cuts that followed the Recession in 2007, leading about half of the U.S. states to spend less on education, creating funding gaps. This hit lower-income communities (mainly in the southeast and southwest states) harder than most, causing a ton of teacher layoffs, increased class sizes, and a reduction in school programs. 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could do my best work in an overpopulated classroom with no opportunity for one-on-one time with the teacher to help me grasp a topic I have been struggling to understand.

Inconsistency & Inequality

When lower-income communities are underfunded, this gives students in middle- to upper-class neighborhoods a better chance to reach graduation. This is incredibly unfair to millions - yes, millions - of students across the country. Your background and your home life should not determine your path.

Schools with less than 50% minority enrollment are less likely to have funding gaps, while other schools are twice as likely to have a funding gap if more than half of their students are Black or Latinx. What can be done to decrease funding gaps all over? What is it going to take to convince local governments to provide the support these schools and students need?

A New Tomorrow

At Leaped, we want everyone to have access to the subjects they are interested in without worrying about the debt that lies ahead. Pursuing your education and what you are passionate about should not be unattainable. Leaped will build communities of like-minded people who care about helping each other succeed, and it will happen without you having to dump thousands of dollars into the process.

This platform will offer education on a variety of topics from all types of educators, so that you have a plethora of options to choose from. It will require communication and engagement, so that students are getting the most out of their time learning. It will offer flexibility so that you can teach or learn on a schedule that works for you. 

Most importantly, Leaped is a platform that will give educators the support they need and deserve, while giving students a place to learn without financial worry.

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Teaching in the 21st Century: Technology Use

When I was growing up in school, SMART Boards were introduced and used through the years, but textbooks, hard copies, and hand-writing notes reigned supreme. 

Today, children in elementary schools are using tablets or laptops - I thought using the desktop in my parents’ house to make my own CDs was peak technology at that age. Technology has increased its presence in schools greatly in the past 5 years.

As we get deeper into the 21st century, it’s becoming clear that virtual learning is the new normal. While some may think that you can’t effectively teach this way, we are here to share some knowledge on how to best incorporate technology into your classroom, whether you are physically meeting or if you are teaching online.

Benefits of Learning with Tech:

• Increased student engagement with the lesson

• Opportunities for students to problem-solve

• Students can take control of their learning

• Additional learning opportunities

• Preparing students for their inevitable tech-heavy future

• Collaboration with fellow students

Tech in the Classroom:

1. Games to Help With Learning

There are all types of fun online games that were created with the intention of helping children learn. I used to love playing math games on the computer as a kid. Nowadays, there are engaging apps like Kahoot! available for use; students can compete against each other to answer content-related questions, motivating them to know their stuff! 

Aside from specific games, you can also amplify learning with creative scavenger hunts where students need to team up and search for answers to questions you pose.

Adding this element of fun into your teaching routine encourages students to work together and keeps them excited to learn.

2. Digital Content Creation

Presentations have always been a part of classes, but you can give your students the opportunity to get more creative and showcase their knowledge by creating a website, creating flyers, recording a podcast, writing blogs, and so much more. You never know, this could even plant a seed for what they want to do professionally in the future.

3. Class Calendar

This is probably already included in some of the online programs available to teachers, but if you don’t already have one, you should create a shared online calendar with your students. A shared classroom calendar keeps everyone on the same page through constant updates, and hosting a place for all of the important due dates, assemblies, field trips, etc. Bonus points if it is able to send notifications a day in advance!

When students have access to this, it helps you stay organized with content and helps your class stay on top of their work.

4. Social Media Integration

Children and teens spend huge amounts of time on social media as it is, so you can use this to your advantage by including it in your curriculum. 

One of my history teachers in high school had our class create Facebook pages for historical figures, and we had to make it represent who they were and how they would post. Super fun and creative idea, right?

Another thing you can do is create Facebook groups specific to your classes to discuss readings or certain topics. You can also have students think of unique hashtags for particular events or figures in your lessons. Get involved and show your creativity with this too!

5. Surveys & Polls

Receiving feedback from students helps you help your class. In order to have a successful classroom, you need to gauge the knowledge of your students, find out how they prefer to learn, and ultimately figure out how to get the best out of them. Using polls and surveys, you can get these answers. Do daily or weekly check-ins to know how your students are doing in general. This will help you build trust within those four walls and you will be able to better serve your students what they need.

Teaching Today - Is It Worth It?

Lesson planning, mentoring, teaching, grading, etc. These are just a few of the things our educators do on a daily basis.

Educators are 100% underpaid and overworked. In a perfect world, they would be paid more for all of the hard work they put in day in and day out. 

Some teachers work two or more hours each day after the school day ends because they no longer have a planning period that they need. It’s no longer a 40-hour work week when you’re spending upwards of 60 hours on a job that gives little back to you. 

Most teachers use their personal time and money to put together a classroom that meets their students’ needs. They use time at home to prepare for their next class, and they use their income to obtain the necessary materials for their classroom and the curriculum.

Why? It’s time for this to end.

To answer the prompt for this post - yes, teaching is worth it, but more and more teachers are starting to ask themselves this question each day. 

The national average teacher salary for public elementary & secondary school was $63,645 for the 2019-2020 school year, according to the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.

Here is some hard truth: people do not want to become teachers when they see the pay. This means there are less students pursuing higher education for teaching, which leads to less individuals seeking jobs in education, and so on. The number of fresh graduates available to fill the demand for teachers is decreasing as times goes on. If educators start to get paid more, more people will want to enter the profession.

“Teachers are 3x more likely to get another job than other U.S. workers.”

In many states today, you could get a job at a popular fast food restaurant and make more money starting out than you would as an educator. How crazy is that?!

What’s even crazier is that teachers are having to get second jobs to supplement their income. According to a 2019 National Education Association article, teachers are three times more likely to get another job than other U.S. workers. 

Some do this during the school year, working on weekends or weeknights, while others aim to take on summer jobs during their “break,” just to make ends meet. Some might even take on a third job.

The amount of work educators do and the impact they have is ultimately undermined by the financial stress caused outside of the classroom, as well as the lack of students’ motivation and  commitment toward their grades. Educators are pushing themselves further than ever before and deserve to see a raise in pay.

A higher pay for teachers can even result in better student performance. A study done in 2000 shows that a better investment in education for teachers and students leads to lower dropout rates, higher wages, and an increase in student achievement. 

The correlation here could be a result of many things, whether that is better quality of teachers or more general, adult support for students. Either way, let’s pay our teachers more.

If scholars have been crunching numbers on this for two decades, what is the hold up? The Red for Ed movement has been gaining momentum and has been particularly huge in North Carolina, where members “now hold key positions in state level institutions… with wider reach and greater influence,” according to their website.

As progress continues to be made, there is still a long road ahead. Schools have vacancies for teaching positions, current teachers are on the hunt for non-education jobs, and this profession that individuals once loved is slowly becoming less desirable. 

Everyone remembers their favorite teacher and the impact they have had on their lives. That’s just one aspect of what makes this such a rewarding career. However, a change needs to be made in order to encourage more students to take this path.

All it takes is a simple solution: investing more money in education and educators. 

A Conversation with Dr. Williams — Middle School Principal

Dr. Williams has held a variety of roles in the education world over the years. He has been named Teacher of the Year (2007) and been recognized for many other accomplishments throughout his career. Get to know Dr. Michael Williams, Principal of Harold E. Winkler Middle School, here.

Tell me a little bit about yourself: 

I have been a middle school principal since 2015.  Around 1250 students attend my school and I supervise around 125 faculty and staff members.  Prior to my current role I was an assistant principal (2 years), an instructional specialist for secondary schools (2 years), a high school social studies teacher (2 years), and a middle school social studies teacher (12 years).  I was also a basketball coach at the middle and high school levels. 

 What is your ‘why’?

Each day, I set out with the purpose of making people’s lives better.  I think people and organizations should have a purpose, and this vision and mission must be directly aligned to that purpose.  The purpose should drive everything we do.  On a personal level, I strive to find ways to make sure everyone around me is successful and finds joy through that success.  Organizationally, we strive to empower teachers to do the same for students.  We have built a culture of growing and learning that leads to better lives. 

 What is the best part of your role, and why?

I love hiring the right people and spending time dreaming with them.  I’ve found that my most important role is to hire well, give the right support at the right time, be a cheerleader, and make sure people have what they need to do great work.  I firmly believe great teachers are always going to do great things for students.  And those great teachers are looking for a place where they are empowered, not managed.  I also love the idea of dreaming: we are constantly in a state of “plussing” where we look for what we can do next to make life better for people.  It’s fun to get smart people in the room and empower them to dream! 

 Do you have any advice for teachers or administrators?

This profession is phenomenal when we keep our focus on the long game.  Every profession has moments of frustration, but we have to be careful not to measure our happiness based on the moment.  We can rarely use the moment to define our success.  Instead, we have to get enough time behind us to look back at ALL of the positive work we did.  We also have to be intentional to look for the positive things in our lives. 

 What do you think makes a classroom successful? How have you encouraged students to do their best work?

I believe two things make a classroom successful: strong community and academic rigor.  In our building, we phrase this differently; we talk about love and rigor.  I think great teaching can look like lots of different things, but in all great classrooms, teachers build strong community where students know they are loved and they belong AND they work students really hard.  When teachers can balance these two things, magic happens. 

I also think a lot about engagement for students.  I define this as the spot where what students are willing to do overlaps with what they must learn.  I believe we have to consider students to be volunteers rather than employees, which requires us to think differently about how we motivate them beyond just giving a grade. 

Compare coaching and teaching: how did doing both impact you in your career?

They match.  Great coaching IS great teaching.  Each of the professions requires us to use backwards design to build action steps toward the goals we want students and players to reach.  Coaching isn’t just coming up with a scheme; instead, it is rooted in building players’ skills so they build automaticity and can approximate their own decisions.  In the long game, teaching is exactly the same.  We are helping students build a skill set they can use to live independently. 

 How did you adapt to a virtual school year this past year?

It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.  I am a deeply hands-on leader and I felt completely disconnected from the work.  To adapt, I had to worry less about how teachers were teaching and spend most of my time supporting teachers’ social-emotional-mental well being, and doing my best to make sure students were engaged.  I’m not a big fan of staff meetings, but we started scheduling them twice a week to listen and respond, and I spent a ton of time checking in on kids and families. 

A History of Teaching With Brian King

Veteran teachers have been dealt a wild hand over the past year and a half, having to adapt to new things along the way. This week, I talked to Brian King, a North Carolina educator who has been doing this for more than half of his life.

What do you teach, where do you teach, and how long have you been teaching? 

I teach American History and AP US History at Central Cabarrus High School in Concord, North Carolina. This is my 24th year.

What is your ‘why’?

This is what I’ve always wanted to do. I teach because I like being a positive influence on students’ lives and I love history. I hope to make students love history as well. I think a lot of students don’t like history or find it boring and I try to change that.

What is your favorite thing to teach, and why? 

I really enjoy teaching the Civil War - the things leading up to the Civil War and the Civil War itself. Although the Civil War happened a long time ago, a lot of the things that are important today can be traced back to the Civil War. Whether it’s the lasting impact of slavery, or how after the Civil War, leaders did not successfully deal with the issues that former slaves faced, leading to the Civil Rights Movement later in the 50s and 60s. I also think this topic leads to a good debate about what freedom means.

Do you have any advice for other teachers?

I think the best advice that I always got is to really make sure that you know your content. Everything else will come later, just know your content. The kids will know whether or not you know what you’re talking about so you just need to be prepared. I also think it's important in your first year of teaching to focus on teaching. I was a soccer and basketball coach, and I was told not to coach my first year of teaching so that I could really focus on my classroom instead of getting distracted by extracurriculars. One of the best things that I ever did was wait to start coaching until after my first year.

What do you think makes a classroom successful? How do you encourage students to do their best work?

What makes a classroom successful is to try and make it as fun as you can, and to also make sure the work that you give your students is meaningful and not just busywork. The students need to know that what you’re assigning is important and valid; you are giving them work to help them learn what they need to know.

How did you adapt to teaching virtually this past year?

Before virtual education, I didn’t use Canvas or other online tools very much. Teaching virtually has kind of forced me to get more familiar with technology and now that we are back in school physically, I still use the technology because I’ve enjoyed incorporating it into teaching.

Going Into Year 4: A Conversation with Ms. Herron

As the new school year begins, it’s always important to look at it as a fresh start and an exciting new beginning. I had the opportunity to speak with a young teacher about her experience in education. 

Chelsea Herron, 25, is looking forward to what her fourth year of teaching will bring. 

What do you teach, where do you teach, and how long have you been teaching? 

I teach English at West Cabarrus High School, and I am going into my fourth year!

What is your ‘why’?

As a teacher, I have a unique opportunity to shape the future through my students, the future of the world literally sits in my classroom. It's so exciting to see a student master a standard, like how to cite a text or determine a theme, but it is a different, more rewarding feeling to see them open up and become compassionate towards their classmates, people who they might not have ever spoken to if it weren’t for my classroom. It is my greatest hope that through creating an inclusive culture in my classroom, it will have a ripple effect on the world. 

School starts this coming week, how are you preparing for another school year?

Now that I’m in my fourth year of teaching and considered a real teacher, haha, I am focusing on the details to prepare for this coming school year. I think the first couple years of teaching are just trying to keep your head above water; going into this school year, I’m feeling pretty good about my swimming abilities. I know the standards by heart, I know which texts I’m using and I’m feeling confident in them, I know which classroom management strategies to use. So to answer your question, I am fine-tuning my teaching practices in order to prepare. I have figured out what does and doesn’t work for my teaching style and I’m excited to put those things into action this school year!

What is your favorite thing to teach, and why?

My favorite lesson would have to be Postcards from Odysseus. The Odyssey gets a bad wrap, but I’ve always found it to be a class favorite. As we read about Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca, my students will inevitably have a couple favorite places that he stops at - The Land of the Cyclops usually takes the crown. Once we begin wrapping up the unit, I have students pick a location that we read about and write a postcard to Ithaca, from Odysseus’ point of view. In the postcard, they write about what happened at that location, it is a great way to teach summarizing and key details. Then they have to get artsy and draw on the front of the postcard what the location looks like in their head. Their favorite part is when we actually mail the postcards to Ithaca. I’ve had a couple of students who have ended up with pen pals and they think it's the coolest thing.

Do you have any advice for new teachers?

My best advice would be to form those relationships with your students. A student might hate writing, but if they respect you, they’ll write anything you ask them to. A student might not be the best reader, but if they know you believe in them, they’ll try their hardest to read Shakespeare. A student might not care at all about what diction is, but if they know you care, they’ll give diction a try. So much pressure is put on standardized testing and which teacher will have the best exam scores, and that stuff is important, but none of that matters if we don’t know who our students are outside of the classroom, who they go home to, if they even have somewhere to go home to. The relationships matter, build them. 

What do you think makes a classroom successful?

Referring back to my previous response, I believe relationships make a classroom successful. I have made it one of my teacher responsibilities to have all of my students’ names memorized within the first three days of school. When I stand outside of my classroom and greet students as they’re walking in, I greet them with specific details and then I always make sure to include their name; it’s a small gesture that goes such a long way - “Hey Payton, I love your Yeezys.”, “How are you today, Ricardo?”, “Congrats on winning your basketball game last night, Emonie!” If kids feel noticed, appreciated, and cared for, they’ll do anything for you, they’ll even write that research paper they dread so much. 

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Thanks, Chelsea! If you’re an educator and want to share your story, we are all ears! Send us a DM on Twitter or Instagram @leapedlive. Have a great start to your year!

What Is It Like To Be a Fitness Instructor?

This week, I asked my dear friend and one of my favorite CycleBar instructors, Cassidy Putney, to answer some questions about her life and work in the fitness industry. 

Here is how our conversation went:

How did you get started teaching fitness classes?

I was living in California at the time and was super unhappy, unhealthy, and I was overweight. I started cycling and immediately saw results in my physical and mental wellbeing. About a year later, I decided I wanted to be an instructor myself and started to train and learn as much as I could. I got certified to teach group fitness and then when I relocated to Buffalo, NY, I auditioned to be an instructor at Revolution Buffalo, and the rest is history! 

Are you a full-time fitness instructor? If not, what else do you do?

In addition to fitness, I work full-time in the sustainability field. I am the co-founder and owner of Impact Earth, which is a zero-waste lifestyle and compost hauling company based in Rochester, New York. I am also the founder and CEO of GreenHows Consulting, which is based here in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

You can follow these two businesses on Instagram @impactearth_composting & @greenhows_.

What is your favorite part of teaching and why?

Personally, I am addicted to the feeling of being up on the podium in a cycling class. I love the adrenaline rush and how my playlist can be so personal to me but also so relatable and potentially personal for others in the room. However, I find it most rewarding when my clients find their own journey and really progress in the many ways they can inside and outside our studio. I love being able to make an impact in someone’s life.

What do you think makes an effective fitness instructor?

An effective instructor is there not for themselves, but rather to help lift others up. Someone that takes the time and chooses to program their workout in a way that is accessible, challenging, and provides both extra options and modifications. I truly believe that if you put in the effort to get to know your clients, and create programs that are targeted for each and every person in the room, you can’t go wrong! I always try to bring diversity of music, especially, into my cycling classes with the hope that at least one song in every class is appealing to every single rider. I also think it’s important for an instructor to go from good to great - they need to constantly keep learning, receiving feedback, and finding new ways to coach.

What is your “why”?

I became a fitness instructor because fitness in my early 20s really changed my life and my lifestyle. And at the time, I didn’t feel that there was the correct representation of different types of bodies and different types of people up on the podium at cycling studios.

What are your other goals? Do you want to expand your teaching into other areas of fitness?

I am currently training to be a coach at ISI Elite Training where I will lead group fitness classes. I am also currently studying for my CPT and would love to get into personal, one-on-one training.

Do you have any advice for anyone that wants to get into teaching fitness?

Ask your favorite instructor about their journey! Let them know you’re interested in teaching, and they will most likely point you in the right direction. However, they will most likely 100% freak out with excitement and demand that they will help you get there!

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Thank you, Cassidy! You can follow along Cassidy’s instructor journey by following her @cassidyrayyne on Instagram, or if you are local in NC, you can take her classes at CycleBar - Matthews! 

8 Ways to Encourage Student Success in the Classroom

You probably already have tons of engaging activities in your teaching repertoire, from educational games to dynamic study guides. However, it takes more than a few activities to help your students be the best, most successful version of themselves.

So, How Can Teachers Help Students be Successful?

Here are eight ways that you can promote your students’ success:

Be Clear and Transparent

Be upfront about what you expect from your students and what will be covered over the course of the class. Keep everyone in the loop about any changes or updates in the curriculum as you move forward. With everyone on the same page, there won’t be too many surprises, and you can guarantee that nobody is left behind.

Let Your Students Set the Pace of the Class

Before you really dive into your curriculum, start off with a quiz to figure out where your students are at with the material. Does anything need to be focused on more? Could you spend less time on a certain topic? Once you gauge their knowledge a little bit, you’ll be able to teach them more effectively.

Be Accessible

Emailing, tutoring after school, and even using lunch times are all ways for students to reach you outside of class. When you make yourself more available to students, you are showing them that you truly care about their learning. If you do open your email inbox or offer tutoring to them, be sure to reply in a timely manner or stay consistent with your tutor schedule. They want to know that you are true to your word!

Show a Genuine Interest in the Students

This point goes along with the previous one, because increasing your availability shows them how much you care about their efforts. They might be stubborn sometimes and not always realize it, but their confidence will continue to rise when they notice that you will not give up on them. 

Incorporate Engaging Learning Activities

Yes, play the games! Assign fun projects where students can create a comic strip about an important event. Play your own version of ‘Jeopardy’ with class material. Get creative when you engage the students with different activities to stimulate their minds. High School English Teacher Chelsea Herron knows how important engagement is.

“There definitely needs to be an emphasis on student engagement. From my experience, I think that comes from being up to date on the latest trends or technology and making them relevant and worthwhile for the students.”

Watch and see how excited they get about something that would otherwise be labeled boring or mundane.

Give Your Students Feedback

Tell them why they got the math problem wrong. Explain it to them. Tell them what they can do to improve their writing skills, or how they can study more efficiently. Help your students by constantly pushing them to do their best with their work.

Make Everything Meaningful

All of your content should be related and mean something; Projects, quizzes, tests, and activities should align with what your students need to know to pass the class. As long as they are absorbing relevant information throughout the course, you’re doing your job.

Set High Expectations

Let your students know that you expect them to ace your class! Tell them that you want them to succeed, and that you will do everything in your power to make sure that happens. Tell them that you are in their corner. You are rooting for them!

And, last but not least, here is a bonus idea: have FUN!

Show your class that you have a sense of humor by having fun while you teach. If you’re giving students the tools to succeed, and maybe some occasional tough love, you will gain their respect and watch them do great things.

How will you promote success in your classroom? Let us know - leave a comment, or message us on Instagram @leapedlive. We would love to hear your ideas!

Live Streaming for Education: Why Teachers Will Want to Participate

The future of education is going to continually change with the force of virtual learning. Since Leaped is a live streaming platform for education, it will join other live streaming services in becoming a strong leader in live video education.

Why Should Educators Want to Teach Through Leaped?

To start, it’s an amazing way to expand your reach and talk to a larger audience. The walls of a classroom no longer contain your teaching talents; we have learned over the past year that you can teach from anywhere, at any time. Why limit yourself to only 30 people when you could be reaching thousands? Not only are you talking to more learners, but you are speaking to a targeted audience that truly wants to learn from you. And the more viewers you have, the more viewers will discover you and your content, continually building your virtual community.

The mobility and flexibility of a live streaming platform is a major advantage when it comes to virtual education. Even if you’re not a full-time educator, and you just enjoy teaching others, you can work around your schedule to make time for your passions in life. 

Increased Productivity & Maximized Learning

If you know how to live stream, you know that you are putting out content in real time. In doing this, users can watch you solve problems or teach yoga or make chicken cordon bleu in the moment. Users can send in questions or comments and you can answer them during your live video stream. You are able to explain things as you do them to people that need your help. This real-time engagement, interaction, and elevated communication from anywhere in the world is a game-changer for teaching and learning.

The pressure of raising a hand in class is removed and students are able to learn without that nervousness of getting something wrong, helping them stay more focused and motivated.

Diversity in Curriculum

Who says you are limited to traditional school subjects? Live video streaming allows you to broadcast from a home gym, your wood shop, a craft room, and more. Teach anything you want to teach. Many fitness instructors rely on social media to post workouts or post meal ideas, but with Leaped, they can set up a live stream where they can teach more in-depth on these things.

A retiree can teach his hobby of furniture flipping to the next generation. A baker can share their favorite techniques with the world. The opportunities are endless!

Leaped is a Part of the Future of Live Stream Education

It’s time to learn how to live stream and start being involved with the virtual world as it continues to grow. Leaped opens doors for educators that have not always been available, and only offers benefits to you as an educator.

How will you use a live stream to make the world a better place? What will you teach the world today?

Live Streaming: How Did We Get Here?

It’s no mystery that live streaming is now one of the most popular forms of marketing and getting your content out into the world. We know how to do it and what platforms are used today, but how did it all begin?

This post is all about telling the interesting story of live streaming, and how it has gotten to this level of success.

Live Streaming History - Timeline

Now, the first true live video stream was related to music. In June 1993, a band called Severe Tire Damage was made up of computer scientists and engineers, and they decided to perform a gig like usual. Their friends at Xerox Parc in California decided to try out something new; Using a network called Mbone to broadcast the gig live to all types of people all over the world. Seriously - this live stream was viewed all the way in Australia. 

This network could broadcast audio and video into your home, which was a big deal in the early 90s. If kids today saw the quality of it, they would not be impressed. They wouldn’t believe how pixelated and slow it used to be!

Fast forward a couple years to 1995, when ESPN was able to broadcast a baseball game between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners. This happened through RealNetworks’ media player RealPlayer, which was the first media player that was capable of live streaming content. A very exciting day for sports fans everywhere!

RealNetworks then created the first program to commercialize live streaming - RealVideo. 

In 1999, the government took live streaming for a spin. This was the first true instance of live streaming; George Washington University hosted a webcast with President Bill Clinton where he was able to have an online discussion with other participants, and users were able to send in comments and questions.

When YouTube was created in 2005 nobody knew how it would blow up in the following years, or how much it would promote the live streaming industry. YouTube Live was the first live streaming event by YouTube in 2008. After this and into the 2010s, people were not really utilizing live streaming until social media platforms started to promote it.

Justin.tv became Twitch.tv in 2011, the very well-known live streaming platform centered around video games. Twitch.tv has become incredibly popular among the gaming community and averages hundreds of millions of monthly viewers!

User playing video games online

Social media began taking advantage of live streaming down the road. Twitter acquired Periscope in 2015 which allowed users to begin streaming. A year later in 2016, Facebook and Instagram began offering live streaming capabilities to its users. 

Instagram Live

Who knew that a couple of buddies and a band gig broadcasted out as far as Australia would lead to what live streaming is today? 

Live video has dominated the internet ever since! It is only going to continue growing and expanding over the years, and Leaped is an example of that continued growth. Being able to cater to educators with this platform will without a doubt change the lives of these passionate individuals by giving them a louder voice and a much larger audience. 

We can’t wait to see what the future of live streaming holds! 

Meet Our CEO & Founder: Blake

Hi, everyone! It’s time to formally introduce you to the brains behind this operation.

Blake Moeller has a knack for entrepreneurship. His creativity, intelligence, and drive have gotten him where he is today. Moeller grew up in Vernonia, Oregon, then went on to study Business and Entrepreneurship at Western Oregon University.

As a fresh college graduate, Blake accepted a job with Liberty Mutual Insurance before becoming a partner at Blue Pacific Logistics and later starting his own Life & Business coaching company, Moellerlbc. His latest venture is the creation of Leaped.

“I started this company because I wanted to find a way to give a voice to every educator out there. I wanted to give them a platform that would allow them to share their passion with the world - someone’s passion should not be limited to a single classroom,” said Blake on why he founded Leaped.

Blake came up with the idea for Leaped when thinking about where he grew up. Vernonia, OR is a very small town with small schools. When reflecting on the amazing teachers he had growing up, Blake started to think about how much those teachers loved what they did, but they probably were only able to teach around 50 or 60 students the entire year.

“Why not create something that will allow teachers like them, or anyone to share their passion with the world? We all know teachers deserve more and I thought it was our time to finally create a platform that will give educators, of all types, a chance at more,” says Blake.

As our CEO, Blake oversees all operations within the company and keeps everyone motivated to keep making progress and moving forward. His extensive knowledge and passion for business allows him to constantly innovate within various industries. With that being said, Leaped was founded to innovate virtual education, so that teachers are no longer limited to the four walls of a classroom. 

Here at Leaped, we are lucky to have such a passionate leader that truly cares about our mission and goals. 

Get to know more about Blake with these 5 fun facts:

1. If you’re looking for him in the fall, Blake is probably in Eugene, OR cheering on the Oregon Ducks at football games. If he’s not watching football, he’s either reading or spending time with friends or family.

2. Blake’s favorite book is Shoe Dog by Phil Knight.

3. Blake’s dad made up a song about him when he was a baby called “Baby Blue” and that is why his favorite color is blue.

4. Blake’s favorite movie is The Count of Monte Cristo.

5. If Blake had to choose his last meal, he would want a medium rare steak paired with a bottle of red wine.

We look forward to being a part of your continued success, Blake!