We get a lot of email, and it can take time to get back to everyone. Before you contact us directly, check these frequently asked questions to see if you can find your answer. If it’s not here, use the contact form at the bottom of this page to send us a message.
Help with Your Teaching
If You Have Something to Share
Appearing as a Guest on the Podcast
About the Content of this Site
Why Don’t You Just Stick to Education Topics?
Etc.
Sharing Cult of Pedagogy Resources
Teaching Questions
I need advice or resources for my specific situation. Can you help?
Because I receive a lot of email, I am not able to give advice to everyone who writes in. However, I have been writing, doing podcasts, and creating videos on education-related topics since 2013, so I probably have already created something that meets your needs. Here’s what you should do before writing in:
- Start by clicking on the magnifying glass at the top of your screen. From there you can do a search on your topic.
- Visit the blog page and browse the big categories, or scroll down a bit further and look over the index of topics.
- Visit my Pinterest boards, where my team has collected thousands of resources on over 50 different topics.
If you still can’t find what you need, write in using the contact form below and someone from my team will do their best to guide you toward something that can help. Both of my Customer Experience Managers are educators who understand teaching and should be able to point you in a helpful direction.
Do you have any materials I can use in my classroom?
Yes! Visit my Classroom Materials page, where you’ll find links to all of my ready-to-use e-books, templates, unit plans, classroom forms, and videos that you can use with your students.
Advertising
I would like to share my website/tech tool with your readers.
I offer podcast sponsorships for products that offer something unique and meet my audience’s needs. You can learn more about these opportunities HERE. After reading this (and please do read it first), if you believe your product is a good fit, please fill out this form. If we are interested in partnering with you, we will get back to you with our current rates.
I’m not quite ready to do anything sponsored. Can I just get your feedback on my tool/website? Maybe we could jump on a call?
Unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t allow me to jump on calls or give one-on-one feedback to companies.
I hear you have a tech guide. Can you feature my tool in that?
My Teacher’s Guide to Tech is updated once a year, and I am always excited to learn about new tools to include in the next edition. If you think your tool would be a good fit for the guide, please fill out this form so we can add it to our list of tools to look at for next year’s update.
Speaking/PD
Can you speak at our event?
In order to keep this site and my family first and foremost, I only do a limited number of public speaking engagements every year. This sheet summarizes the topics and formats I offer. For a sample of my speaking style, watch my 2019 Keynote at the SXSW Edu conference.
If you would like to have me speak, please use the contact form at the bottom of this page to send a description of your event, the date, and the location. If it looks like a good fit, my team will get back to you with my current rates.
What other professional development do you offer?
Take a look at my courses page. These can be taken completely online, and I offer substantial discounts for groups, so this would be an excellent option for personalized PD. If you need to pay with a purchase order, use the contact form at the bottom of this page: Let us know how many teachers will be taking the course and we will get you a quote for your purchase order.
Blogging Advice
How can I start my own blog or grow my own website/online business? Can you give me some tips?
I wish I had time to mentor new bloggers; it’s a pretty exciting adventure! Because I don’t have time to do that, I have explained all the details of how I got my site started and how I keep it running. Hopefully that will get you started: Behind the Scenes at Cult of Pedagogy
How do you make your illustrations?
For over three years, I used MS Paint to create my illustrations. It’s a free program that comes in most Windows platforms. In 2017 I got Sketchbook Pro and started using a Wacom tablet to draw with it. It’s still awkward.
What software do you use to make your videos?
For my animated videos, I start by creating illustrations with MS Paint, then I place these on a PowerPoint slideshow. I use a lot of the built-in animations in PowerPoint to make the illustrations move around. Then, using a screencasting software called Camtasia Studio, I put the PowerPoint in slideshow mode, then record myself narrating the slides, using a USB microphone called a Samson GoMic (more recently, an Audio-Technica microphone) to record my voice. Camtasia then allows me to convert the recording to MP4, which I then upload to YouTube.
Guest Posting
Do you accept guest posts?
Although I create most of the content for Cult of Pedagogy myself, I do publish posts by other writers. Take a look at my submission guidelines, where you can read about the specific kinds of writing I am looking for and the steps you need to take. The posts on this site must come from people with experience and passion for education who have personal stories or insights to share; I do not accept posts written by non-educators or “content writers” who do not have a background in education. Although I no longer do sponsored posts, see the advertising page to learn about podcast sponsorships.
Appearing as a Guest on the Podcast
What do you look for in a podcast guest?
Our podcast guests do some kind of work that’s related to education and have an area of expertise that they can share with our wide audience. They might be classroom teachers, education researchers, authors, or have some other role in education. We have moved away from featuring people who represent a specific company on the podcast. The main reason for this is that we get a ton of these kinds of requests and are trying to keep the site from mostly representing particular products or services. Our recommendation to people who are wanting to get long term-exposure and brand recognition out to Jenn’s wide audience is to consider a podcast sponsorship. You can visit our advertising page to learn detailed information about how podcast sponsorships work.
What kinds of interview topics do you look for?
We try to cover a variety of topics and we look for things that are actionable—ideas teachers can use right away to impact their teaching. We very rarely revisit a topic if it’s been covered within the last year and even then, we look for it to have a unique angle. The best way to get a sense for the kinds of topics we cover is to click here. After reading this (and please do read it first), if you think you or someone you represent would be a good candidate for a podcast interview, please fill out this form.
What happens after I submit the form?
If we are interested, we will ask you to provide an introductory paragraph followed by an outline of what the post for Cult of Pedagogy might contain on the topic.
What happens after I send my introductory paragraph and outline?
The team will take a look and if we are interested in moving forward, we’ll be in touch. If we don’t end up going in this direction, we encourage you to keep reaching out to other podcasts.
Book Review Requests
Can you review a book and interview the author on your podcast? I have a book that I think would be a great fit for your audience.
We receive hundreds of book review requests, and unfortunately we are only able to accept a limited number. Our book selection doesn’t follow any one formula, but we’re mostly looking for good quality writing, ideas with fresh angles, and topics we think our audience would be interested in. Many books may seem to fit this description, but again, we only review a limited number of books every year. If you’d like to submit a book for review, please fill out this form.
What happens after I submit the form?
If we’d like to preview the book, our team will reach out to request a copy. Please do not send unsolicited copies.
What happens after I send a copy?
The team will preview the book and if we are interested, we’ll be in touch. If we don’t end up selecting your book, we encourage you to keep reaching out to other education publications.
Sharing Cult of Pedagogy Resources
I would like to share one of your blog posts with a group. Is that okay?
Yes! You have permission to share or distribute any blog post by linking to it from your website, listing it as a resource in a research paper, or printing it by clicking the print icon that appears alongside each post (when you’re in the print dialogue box, you can also change the print destination to create a PDF version). In all cases, be sure credit is given to the site and the author of the post. This permission is granted for noncommercial use; in other words, you may not charge money for access to the blog posts you share. The only exception to this is if you are teaching a course and would like to link to one of our blog posts as part of your instruction: That’s perfectly fine, as long as our website content does not make up the majority of your course materials.
Can I republish your blog post?
Please do not republish or reblog Cult of Pedagogy posts on other websites. If you would like to feature one of our posts on your website, you should create your own post that provides a summary or some other reflection on the Cult of Pedagogy post, then link your readers back to the original Cult of Pedagogy post so they can read it here. You can even quote sections of our post in your post; just don’t republish the whole thing. Two exceptions to this are:
- If you have a website or other publication that is written in a language other than English, you may publish a translation of any blog post, provided you link back to the original post on Cult of Pedagogy in your translated post.
- If you would like to include a Cult of Pedagogy post on an aggregated or curated site, such as one created with a tool like Scoop.it or Paper.li, that is okay.
Can I use one of your images?
Please do not re-use our images, unless you are doing so in order to promote Cult of Pedagogy.
Can I share one of your videos or use it in my instruction?
You may link to any public videos on our YouTube channel, or use the embed feature to embed them on your own website. Please do not download or republish these videos in any other way. We do have some videos that are only available inside paid products, like our JumpStart technology course, Twitter course, Grammar Gap Filler videos, and the Google Drive Basics course. Any sharing or redistribution of these videos is strictly prohibited.
Subscriber Questions
How do I subscribe to your mailing list?
Go to this page, provide your email address, and then check your inbox for a confirmation email from me. If you don’t see it, it might be in your spam or junk folder. If you can’t find it anywhere, there’s a good chance you entered your email address wrong–try again!
What do I get if I subscribe?
To start with, you’ll get a copy of 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, my free e-book that will start saving you time right away. You’ll also get access to my Members-Only Library, where I keep the other free downloads that I have shared with readers on other parts of the site. Then, after a few introductory emails showing you around the site, you’ll start receiving one email a week, telling you about my latest blog post, podcast episode, or project. A few times a year, I’ll let you know about a new product I have created or other opportunities I want you to know about. The emails are usually quick and conversational, and I have heard that some people like them just as much as the blog posts. You can unsubscribe at any time. Give it a shot.
Does it cost money to subscribe?
Nope.
When I subscribed to your mailing list, I downloaded something for free, but now I can’t find it. What should I do?
Open the last email you received from me, scroll down near the bottom, and click on Members-Only Library. It should be in there.
Collaborating with Jenn
I also work in education as a writer, researcher, podcaster, etc. Can we collaborate on something?
Apart from the regular work it takes to keep the site running, I have a full schedule of other projects I’m already working on, so there’s very little room to take on anything else. With that said, I certainly don’t want to miss an opportunity to reach more people or join forces with someone who has a different skill set from my own. Use the contact form below to describe the project you have in mind. My team will add it to our list of projects to consider, which I review once a month. If it looks like something I want to work into my schedule, I’ll let you know!
Why don’t you just stick to education topics?
You write about topics like race, discrimination, and LGBTQ rights. Why don’t you just stick to education?
(This response is copied from the introduction to episode 147 of my podcast.)
Anytime I post about something remotely “political,” especially if it has anything to do with racial justice, I will typically get a few emails from educators who are basically asking me to “stay in my lane.” They want me to keep posting about teaching strategies and about pedagogy, but avoid controversial topics like race.
My response to that request is no. No, I will not stop writing about, researching, or exploring topics related to equity. If you’re looking for a website or a podcast that only covers teaching strategies, you will have to look elsewhere.
For me, equity and pedagogy cannot be separated. As educators, we are participants in one of the most extensive and well-established institutions for the management, conditioning, sorting and separating of human beings, and in many, many schools, inequities are being perpetuated and reinforced every day. What I want is to see us do better, and to know that our schools are full of teachers committed to doing just that. I have serious concerns about any teacher who doesn’t want to hear about equity and racial justice. If you haven’t had a change of heart by now, it’s time to step aside so others can do the work. You should not be teaching, full stop.
What’s Up with the Language?
Your writing can get pretty informal and you occasionally use profanity. Is it really necessary?
This question comes up from time to time in response to posts like this one on pronunciation (8th paragraph), this one on marigolds, or even the title of this one on PD.
Years of feedback have taught me that one reason people come back to my site is that my posts are written by a real person, and not a faceless representative of an institution or corporation. I try to make things simple, clear, and entertaining to read; teachers don’t have much time to dig into academic research or books on methodology, so I see it as my job to process as much of that as I can and deliver it in a form that helps teachers digest it quickly, then use it. Using a less formal tone seems to get that done.
On top of that, teaching can be incredibly isolating, and one of the services I try to provide is making teachers feel understood and supported. To that end, I keep my writing as close to my natural voice as possible, and for better or worse, that’s how I talk in person. It’s how I talked to colleagues in the teacher’s lounge–the ones I really liked to hang out with, anyway. It probably seems silly to defend the use of words like “butt” or “ass” in my writing, because it’s not like it would be difficult to remove or replace them, but this is the place I have carved out for myself on the internet, and I have to be me here, even if it rubs some people the wrong way.
I also believe that one of the things that brings people to my blog posts is the way I write titles. I could easily make them sound more formal, but my gut tells me that if people have the choice to read a post called “Using Worksheets in the Classroom” or one called “Frickin’ Packets,” they’re probably going to choose the latter.
I realize that my writing style is not everyone’s cup of tea, and if you find that you need to step away from the language here, I will understand, but I hope you’ll be back, because I’m going to keep writing epic stuff.
Contact Us
Our Customer Experience Team is here to help if your question is not answered above. To send us an email, please fill out the form below; you should expect to hear back from someone within a day or two. To learn more about the people on the other end of your email, visit our Who We Are page.