Mary Jo Madda is a math and science teacher that turned into a journalist. Before jumping into a new field, Mary had some serious experience under her belt, she made a training curriculum for teachers looking to create digital media to use in their classrooms. After her transition, she soon became a senior editor at https://www.edsurge.com/, a community of education technology entrepreneurs and educators, before moving on to the role of a Creative Strategy Manager for education initiatives at Google. She still writes for EdSurge.
I picked Mary because of her contribution to building a community of educators and covering a variety of topics related to education. Since the role of an educator is new to me, i find it important to have access to the experience and ideas of others in the field.
I liked that Mary’s articles ranged from silly
“He Had No Pants on” 10 Awkward, Human Moments in the Move to Online Learning
to serious
Confronting the Realities of Sexual Harassment in Education and Edtech
from dry
Not Just Numbers: How Educators Are Using Data in the Classroom
to controversial
White Fragility in Teaching and Education: An Interview With Dr. Robin DiAngelo
EdSurge also has a podcast where relevant ed-tech topics are discussed. After gaining speaking experience on a podcast, Mary moved on to bigger audiences. She was a speaker at SXSWedu, various universities and appeared on TedX. In this particular talk Mary looked back at the failures of the past “Why technology can’t fix education” but she also did other talks about success in the future What Skills Will Students (Really) Need to be Successful in 2025 and Beyond?
Mary Jo Madda is not a worldwide or even national celebrity, educators rarely are, yet she is a good illustration of how women contribute to the field.
That TED Talk with Mary Jo – Why Technology can’t fix education (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqjh24uq9tM) about the successes and failures of Ed Tech is awesome! Definitely worth watching. I think it’s very appropriate in our next topic in our 523 course – the Great Media Debate. How does technology affect teaching?
Thanks for sharing!
Madda sounds amazing! I sometimes wonder what I will do when my job is no longer as satisfying as it is now. It’s great to read examples of those who have moved on from teaching to have an impact on education from outside of that environment. I love how her articles aren’t simply “10 Ways to blah blah blah” but hit at the humanity of education. And, from what I’ve seen, they have some real depth. Thank you for this.