Ep8: Confessions of an EdTech "Badge Chaser" with Rick Ballew

Google certifications? Check. ISTE credentials? Check. Five Different Teaching Licenses? Check. But which of these badges are actually worth the grind? In Episode 8 of Innovators UnscriptED, Tina and Liz sit down with the hilariously honest Rick Ballew (NYC '19). Rick unscripts his wild career pivot from middle school band director to Computer Science and Engineering teacher at a Title I school. We talk about his self-proclaimed "badge chasing" journey, and get to the core of his lighthearted teaching philosophy for both kids and adults: "We are all people, and we are all learning." Whether you are helping a middle schooler build a robot or trying to convince a veteran teacher to try AI,…