Episode #75: Start with the Why: Purpose-Based Learning with Tara Linney

Tara Linney is a Google Certified Innovator, Mentor, and Trainer, currently working as an EdTech Coach in Paris, France. Tara has a passion for advocacy and equity which is what led her to write the book “Code Equity: Keying Girls into Coding.â€

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I was so fortunate to have met Tara at ISTE in 2018 in person. At that time, she was president of the Global Collaboration PLN where I participated in the scavenger hunt. Tara knows how to make life exciting and fun. Enjoy the post and podcast!

Your background

I grew up as a Coast Guard brat, living in various towns around the U.S. By far, my most favorite place to live as a child was Spring Valley, California. In college, I carried on with the nomadic lifestyle that being a Coast Guard brat brought. Beginning my college experience in North Carolina as an Elementary Education major, before transferring to Florida to switch majors altogether, leading to a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations. My background is very diverse, to say the least. I’ve lived in three countries in my life, with the current being France.

EduMatch Special Edition with Tara Linney

Start with the why! Get to know #EduSnap17 Contributing Author @TaraLinney, as she talks about her chapter on Purpose-Based Learning. Check out her work in Volume 1, Chapter 2 in #EduMatch Snapshot in Education. Find out more at https://buff.ly/2D3bjka

What it was like for you as a student

In elementary school, I was a member of the Peace Patrol and was typically the student chosen to show the new students around. From a very young age, I’ve been a very altruistic person, giving resources and time to nonprofits and causes that were in line with my beliefs, like Keep America Beautiful, the American Cancer Society, and feeding the homeless.

As a student, I was very diligent and thorough. I was ranked as “gifted†from a young age and quickly discovered how to learn, unlearn and relearn. Whenever there was a topic or content area that was of interest to me, I would apply it to my personal life activities. The long division became something that I would do on long car rides, setting up my own math problems with a host of random numbers. Poetry is another area that I really took to as a student. I’ve had poems published in anthologies, and was actually scolded by a teacher once in school for writing a poem that was “too matureâ€â€¦.she accused me of not being the author….the matter was settled once she read my other poems.

One thing that has been ingrained in me as a learner, is how to be an advocate. Throughout my life, I’ve watched as my mother advocated for my autistic brother’s academic journey, trying to make it as normal and mainstream as possible. Seeing this example throughout my whole life has, in essence, taught me how to advocate for marginalized students, to ensure that they have everything they need in order to be successful. This passion for advocacy and equity is what led me to write the book “Code Equity: Keying Girls into Codingâ€.

Your journey as a teacher

Following a career in the nonprofit and marketing worlds, I decided to jump into education. My first teaching role was as a K-8 prep teacher in Philadelphia, PA. As I jumped into my first year of teaching, I was also beginning my Master’s degree and teacher certification program at Drexel University. It was a bumpy launch, to say the least.

Episode 9: Tara Linney Part 1 podcast with Brian Costello

After getting laid off in Philadelphia, I took a job as a Technology Teacher in Matthews, NC. During that time, I was getting deeper into my Master’s program, and as my educational beliefs started developing, I realized that they weren’t in line with the opportunity that I had in North Carolina – so, I moved to Washington, DC. In DC, I started as a Technology Teacher at an all-girls public charter school in Ward 8, before moving into the role of the school’s first EdTech Coordinator.

Becoming an EdTech Coach

It was during this time in 2013, when Code.org launched with the Hour of Code, that I became so interested in coding. While at the FETC conference that year, I met Kevin Elgan, the Educational Manager for Tynker at that time. That meeting eventually led to a summer position as a consultant for Tynker in the summer of 2014. Following the work with Tynker, I became the first EdTech Coach at a school in Illinois, rolling out their 1:1 Chromebook program.

Then, one day while I was scrolling through Twitter, I saw a tweet from Jay Atwood, announcing that Singapore American School was hiring for an EdTech Coordinator. I applied, and four weeks later, got the interview that then led to the job. After working in Singapore for the last 3 years, I seized an opportunity that came across my Twitter feed while I was attending a conference in India. A few short days later, I accepted a job offer for EdTech Coach at the American School of Paris.

EduTECH Asia 2017 – Keynote Panel: Women in Tech

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Tara Linney is an award-winning Learning Innovation Coach, recognized for her work in gender equity in the teaching of computer programming, global collaborations in education, and educational coaching. As a Learning Innovation Coach, Linney has guided educators on developing interdisciplinary learning opportunities, allowing their students to leverage prior knowledge in the learning of new concepts. Part of Linney’s recent work includes integrating Sustainable Development Goals into education, finding places of overlap within the C3 Framework, NGSS, and Common Core State Standards, integrating computer science into the curriculum and using ISTE Student Standards to support the “how†in the learning process.

In 2015, Linney became an international educator, based in Singapore. She has traveled to conferences throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe to speak on a wide variety of educational topics. Linney is a Google Certified Innovator, Google Education Trainer, ASCD Emerging Leader, Seesaw Ambassador, Common Sense Certified Educator, and a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator. She is the Past President of the ISTE Global Collaboration PLN and has been an active ISTE member since she began her career in education, back in 2010. She holds an M.S. degree in the Science of Instruction from Drexel University and is certified as an Instructional Technology Specialist.

Two of Tara’s biggest passions include teaching kids how to code and introducing them to a more global world. Tara Linney is the author of a book released in May 2018, Code Equity: Keying Girls into Coding.

Contact Information

• Email: techlinney@gmail.com
• Website: codeequitybook.com
• Twitter:     @TaraLinney

Other resources from Tara

ISTE Interview with Ignite Speaker Tara Linney with APlusEdTech

https://www.aplusedtech.com/2018/01/07/iste-interview-with-ignite-speaker-tara-linney/

Stories in EDU – The One With Tara Linney Where She Tells About Teaching Students Around the World

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bretzmann-group/stories-in-edu/e/53220264

Code Equity with Tara Linney with Bedley Bros.

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/bedleybros/episodes/2018-06-20T07_50_30-07_00

Collaborative Techniques for Bringing Coding into the Elementary Classroom

Tara Linney Shares Collaborative Techniques for Bringing Coding into the Elementary Classroom | Education Vanguard # 44

https://21clradio.com/tara-linney-shares-techniques-for-bringing-coding-into-the-elementary-classroom-education-vanguard-44/

Code Equity

060: Code Equity with Tara Linney with Aaron Maurer

https://coffeechug.simplecast.com/episodes/060-code-equity-with-tara-linney-efc50d7f

ISTE Global Collaboration Leadership Team

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