25 min read
What This Episode is About
This week on The Bridge, Cate sits down with the ever-energetic Farmer Faubs to talk about creativity, community, and the contagious power of a good “Yeehaw moment.” From her Ohio roots to her years teaching digital media in El Paso, Faubs shares how she discovered the world of edtech and built a classroom culture that celebrated every student’s courage to create.
Now serving as a District Growth Manager for Book Creator, she’s helping teachers unlock the same creative confidence in their students. Together, Cate and Faubs reflect on the rise of EduGuardians—a grassroots PLN built on authenticity and friendship rather than tools or titles—and why community still matters most in education.
Meet Our Guest
Alyssa Faubion, known as Farmer Faubs, is a passionate educator, innovator, and advocate for creativity in the classroom. With over a decade of experience transforming teaching and learning through cutting-edge technologies, Alyssa has presented at leading conferences, including FETC, AIR Show, and ISTE, and served as a keynote speaker at MACUL—showcasing how edtech can spark creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking.
Believing that "Creativity takes courage," Alyssa inspires teachers and students to embrace innovation and discover their unique “Yeehaw Moments” — those transformative periods of excitement and achievement. As co-founder of EduGuardians, she is committed to connecting, inspiring, and empowering the educational community.
Key Takeaways
- Creativity takes courage — and when teachers model it, students discover their own courage to create and share.
- During her years teaching digital media, Faubs built a classroom social media page to spotlight student work, and soon her students were lifting each other up, celebrating creativity across classes.
- Share what’s happening in your classroom—not to boast, but to inspire others. When teachers see each other shine, it gives them permission to be “extra” too.
- The power of community. Farmer Faubs reminds us that finding your people—whether online or in your district—can transform isolation into belonging and keep educators grounded in their why.
Resources & Mentions
EduGuardians: https://www.eduguardian5.com/
Transcript
Cate Tolnai (she/her): so welcome Farmer Faubs to The Bridge
Farmer Faubs: Howdy. Howdy, everyone.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): It's so nice to have you on here. We were just chatting as we were getting started about. Just how lucky we both are to have to be in this space with educational technology and connected learning with the people that we have found ourselves in with, and like a. I, I just don't think that happens by accident.
But I also don't think, it's just like, I feel like I work my tail off to be connected and I know I like, I like full disclosure, I am a Farmer Faubs fan girl as am a book creator, fan girl. So like, I've dialed in little bit, little bit and I know you work for it too. So like, tell us a little bit about.
Your journey, like your bio will be in the show notes, but like your journey, like how did you get here and then how what you do now.
Farmer Faubs: Yeah, you know what, you know, my grandma always says, you are where you're supposed to be, and everything happens for a reason.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): love that. Love that.
Farmer Faubs: you know, my grandma, you know, a lot of people that follow me know I'm, you know, my grandma was my best friend and she's 92 and taught for 36, 36 years. And so. Sometimes you just, you just gotta listen. but, you know, I was, I was born and raised in Ohio, grew up on her farm a hundred acres, and then found my way to El Paso, Texas for 16 years. I always say, I never knew this ed tech community. ever existed.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hmm.
Farmer Faubs: I taught digital media and, you know, I was a basketball coach and just, you know, into sports, into digital media, graphic design with Adobe. and then I moved back home and it's where I was then introduced to this EdTech, I call it EdTech cults, really.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I get it. I get it.
Farmer Faubs: Yeah. So, you know, it's been a super blessing and like, you know, sometimes the chats before these podcasts can are, are the podcasts. And
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: just, just how thankful I am to just find my people.
And I would be nowhere close to where I'm at today if it wasn't for our, for my big brothers, my big
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: like, shout out to Anne. I,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: just that, that big sister for
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: but so many amazing people that have really. Seen the vision before. I saw the vision of where I was gonna go and what I was gonna be, and how I was gonna contribute to,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hmm.
Farmer Faubs: this EdTech space.
So, so thankful that I can share just like, just my Yeehaw moments that I have as an educator. And it's, it's literally why I started sharing, just because I felt like. If I started sharing, I could inspire other
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: kids those Yeehaw moments, that I give those kids and just kind of be contagious and be able to be supportive
Cate Tolnai (she/her): yeah.
Farmer Faubs: see where it's all led.
just because of like the power of social media and the power of community is everything, me. So that's a little, that's a little tidbit,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): bit there.
Farmer Faubs: Yeah, that's a little,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I love that.
Farmer Faubs: the scenes. Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Be contagious. That is so. Appropriate and, and I can connect to that a lot. I actually like right this, this right here I got from my sister years ago, and it says she was learning the most beautiful thing of all shine by letting her light shine brightly. She was giving others permission to shine.
And that's totally, I think that captures what you just shared too. You know, it's like we gotta be contagious, right?
Farmer Faubs: Yeah. And you know what? I think when we are contagious, and I, and I tell people, share, share,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yes.
Farmer Faubs: doing in your classroom not to like. Boast about
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: but to you, you wanna share because you wanna inspire that other teacher either down the hallway or across the states, or even across the pond, you know,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yep.
Farmer Faubs: in, in other countries is that's why I tell people to share and showcase what you're doing in your classroom. Not to just give yourself a big pat on the back,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: You're, you're wanting to be Cota contagious. You're
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: shine because you are giving somebody else. Just that like that idea,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: also, it's okay, we say it's okay to be extra,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: and you know, you find your people and you
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah,
Farmer Faubs: extra people and so when you share, you give somebody the opportunity and just that like boost to go be extra because I
Cate Tolnai (she/her): yeah.
Farmer Faubs: You go be
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: and find your people. So
Cate Tolnai (she/her): : Yeah, let's be extra together. That makes it like normal, so, okay.
Farmer Faubs: like, I feel like I was born extra,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): : I know,
Farmer Faubs: : you call it.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I think you're not extra enough is what I say to people. I mean, you need to be a little bit more, so, so you have been in education for how long?
Farmer Faubs: okay. So I taught for 10 years and then this is about year number two, so,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Okay.
Farmer Faubs: 12, about 12 years.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): So you were in the classroom like up through and including COVID.
Farmer Faubs: Oh, a hundred percent.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Okay.
Farmer Faubs: I taught online for over a year and a half
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh my gosh.
Farmer Faubs: El Paso, we never went back
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh,
Farmer Faubs: we were gone. We were out of the classroom for about a year and a half, so I was that teacher during COVID. A hundred percent.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): wow. And
Farmer Faubs: Yep.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): what do you think was like. What were some of, what were some of your like Yeehaw moments using your words? What were those Yeehaw moments that got you through? Like, I don't wanna be like hyper-focused on COVID, but like when you were in the classroom, what were, what like stands out? What were some of those like shiny little nuggets that you remember?
Farmer Faubs: Yeah, you know what, for me, you know, so I taught digital
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: taught a class that wasn't an elective. sometimes kids were just thrown in there to get their credit. You know, I taught nine through 12, but I took every kid that walked through my, my classroom as an opportunity
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hmm.
Farmer Faubs: allow them to see what creativity looks like.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yep.
Farmer Faubs: you know, some kids say they, I'm not creative. Every kid is creative in their own right. And, you
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Teachers say that too, by the way. Teachers say that all the time and I'm like, oh, you need to find your creative. You got it.
Farmer Faubs: You know, a hundred percent. So the first day of every class would al the, always say creativity takes courage. And so those kids had to, you know, we had to really embody that and say, this creativity is gonna take courage.
And so also when I do pd, as I say that. Hey, teachers, creativity takes courage and we're all in this together. And so just for me, seeing kids go from, I'm not creative
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: finding their why and
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: this is what I wanna do when I get out of high school.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: They didn't know what they wanted to be, but this class led them to like finding their why and finding that.
And another big thing is I started, you know, just this sense of community within all of my class periods where I started social media for that class where I would, you know, kind of maybe pick the top 10 designs out of, out of all of my classes and, and put them on social media and really highlight.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh, that's cool.
Farmer Faubs: what was happening in our class. And those kids, absolutely, they got better and better and better and better because they wanted their work to shine.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hmm.
Farmer Faubs: to see their work. And just having other kids continue to share other kids and uplift other kids and just showcase like, Hey, I love that design.
I want to do that too. and so it really felt like there was this community of creativity, all of our classes. You know, these kids weren't in the same class
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: They were supporting each other's creativity. really enjoyed that, just celebration, kind of really embodies what I do even today, is just celebrating each other's creativity and celebrating everybody's yaha moments, you know, because everybody has one.
And you know, and it's like when we celebrate, we lift each other up, we're just getting better and better and better. so that was some, some aha moments for me.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Well, so talk a little bit about what you're doing now. So you said you were in the classroom for 10 years and these last two years you are doing
Farmer Faubs: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): what?
Farmer Faubs: I came back to Ohio, I started working for a, a company that, was a Google PD partner, and then I was an instruction coach at my, small town. I was very thankful for, for,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: opened my eyes to what is this ed tech? What?
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: is Isti? What are conferences?
I didn't
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: about it. so was there about a year and a half. And then joined book creator in January
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Ah.
Farmer Faubs: a district growth manager. So I get to foster all of the pilots, throughout the whole country. I get to help.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh, no big deal. Oh my gosh.
Farmer Faubs: No big deal. No big deal. The country. If people are like, you have an area, I'm like the country.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): The United States. Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: States, I love it because, you know, for a lot of people I get to be their first touch of book creator and you know, they get to go through three different rodeos and they are hands on and they are creating and like, you know, we always like start off with a big old yee-haw, but really giving those teachers the power to be creative and confident. In that tool where they can then go and allow students to be
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah, exactly.
Farmer Faubs: biggest thing is like, I love getting people excited about using creativity in their classroom. You know, really, no matter what tool they're using, it's,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: have to give every kid the opportunity to be creative. We have to give
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: to have voice and choice. And, I just get the, you know, the opportunity to work for Book Creator and, and showcase how amazing that tool is. really uplift our community, you know, through the states. and so yeah, I'm very thankful to, to be able to, to be here today with that.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): So when you like, how'd you find book creator?
Farmer Faubs: Oh, that's a, that's an interesting, that's an interesting, question because I often share this in my pd.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Okay.
Farmer Faubs: because, you know, for me, when I went to my small town, when I moved back up here, know, I was big into Adobe and Canva You know, I come into this small town, you know, I'm tech driven, and I'm like, yeah, you know, like, you know, does anybody know what Canva is?
And they're like, what's that? And I was like, got work to do. We got work to do. and so I, you know, we really started using Canva and, and then, you know, then we were able to get Adobe Express onboarded. But, you know, you know, some teachers were like, Hey, Faubs, like. a lot, you know,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: my kids aren't finishing, they're going down rabbit holes.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: teachers were having a hard time understanding how to use the tool,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: or tools, and they were like, we're done. We're thrown in the towel. And I was like, no, no, no, no, no. so, yeah, I think about a year, about a year ago, I, you know, a lot of the tech tools I know is because of social
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: and you know, I've been able to connect with people that use book creator and I'm like. think this is the time. I think this is the moment.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hmm.
Farmer Faubs: So I brought Book Creator in and it just really, really, the kids loved it. The teachers loved it. They were able to allow every kid in their classroom to have voice and
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hmm.
Farmer Faubs: audio
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: speech to text. and then we finally got the Adobe Express
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: this year, which
Cate Tolnai (she/her): So good.
Farmer Faubs: stoked. Yeah, that was my journey to book creator and, and then I, I, I'm a co-founder of the EduGuardians, which is a PLN
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yep.
Farmer Faubs: on social media, and was creating their, their trading cards. And I'm like, we need to have 'em all housed in one place. So I was like, okay, I've heard about this book creator, but I've never really used it.
Why not now? So I create, my first book was our EduGuardian
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh.
Farmer Faubs: I just threw in all the trading cards. then created our Junior EduGuardian, book where kids get to go in and create their trading cards in book creator now with the Adobe Express or Canva. so yeah, that's been my book creator journey and just like, hearing from the teachers
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: that, I have to, I have to really, you know, mission is for every kid to be creative and I will find something.
Don't,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm
Farmer Faubs: on
Cate Tolnai (she/her): mm. Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: ools for everybody at
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: and I was really excited to, to find book courage.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): okay. Something you said earlier struck, struck, like, reminded me of my mantra, which is basically like, if we don't give it to the teachers, it's never gonna get to the students. Right? Like,
Farmer Faubs: Preach. Preach.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): mm. Like teachers need it, kids deserve it, teachers need it, you know, like, and, and that, and I, I deeply like, like I.
I bleed it and,
Farmer Faubs: have to be confident in using the tool before they give it to the teachers. And that was my journey to book cra and that's why I
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Right.
Farmer Faubs: is such a, the most simple content creation tool out there.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Well, and I,
Farmer Faubs: I, I
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hmm.
Farmer Faubs: it, you know, I,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I totally agree. I totally agree. And I think the, the, what I love about what you shared too is you're like, you know, I tried this, I tried this. They were abandoning it, like wasn't the right fit. And it reminds me of like, 'cause, so I taught middle school for 10 years, nine years, one year high school.
Then I, then I jumped into being a, an ed tech TOA about 12 years ago. So I was part, that's how I know Anne and that's how I know a bunch of people. 'cause we were all TOA together in like the early 2000 tens. And that's when like. All of the solutions were coming out and Google was blowing up and Microsoft was like, everybody was just like tech, tech, tech, tech, tech.
and it was raining resources. Like, and, and there was money for the tech at that time. And
Farmer Faubs: I missed that.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): you did miss it. You missed it because it's different now. But what's interesting is like, I. Ultimately, like the reason why I kind of fell into Ed Tech and I fully fell into it was because I just love the way it let me connect with my middle school students.
Like the moment when I was like, wait a second, there is a Google document. I can leave a comment and I can watch them type right At the same time, like I was already the teacher that was pretty hands off. Like I, I had already started flipping my classroom. I was like, okay, I'm gonna, like, I was kind of the teacher that, that hung out more towards the front of the room.
But always like Spidey eyes were always open ears. I could hear across the room, but I wanted to give them space as if I wasn't like, you know, on top of them. And then all of a sudden when I was able to like see the creative process, I was like. Oh, this is amazing. And, and then it, every things just got better and better and better.
But to your point, like I didn't, I don't consider, I never considered myself like the tech person, but it kind of happened, you know? And then, and then through social media, a lot like your story.
Farmer Faubs: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): found some other people who were doing the TOA thing all by themselves, and we were like, how are you doing this?
How are you doing this? I, I don't know. Do I belong? I don't know. Like we were all kind of floundering. So it's interesting for me to hear that you've arrived at the journey literally a decade later, and it doesn't sound like it was that different. Like, I'm trying to think. Like, like you, were you a book creator, like ambassador?
Do they have ambassadors?
Farmer Faubs: Yeah, I ended up, after I created my first book and
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Okay.
Farmer Faubs: couple books and I started using it with
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: was like, you know, I was in other ambassador groups,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Okay. Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: you know, curipod school,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Right.
Farmer Faubs: Magic School,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): All the All of 'em. Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: And, and I, I've always enjoyed my connections within community.
So of course, hey, let me become a book creator, ambassador. And then, we presented at Isti, our EduGuardian thing at the book figure booth in our book, and just showcased, you know, what students have created. And so rest has been history.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Okay. So go to edu. Guardians, take us there. Like what's that backstory? How did it come together? Is it still like ticking? Is it doing its thing still
Farmer Faubs: s: it is still doing its thing. He's
Cate Tolnai (she/her): cool?
Farmer Faubs: his thing. So, what was it about February of last year? we always say it's five strangers who literally, one of 'em, you know, Microsoft was throwing out just like superhero, and you know, we were all kind of like within communities, but maybe we just didn't connect, but we kind of maybe knew of each other. And, Christie, created it and then she put it in a group chat, was like, Hey guys, create it. And we're like, okay. Like this is fun. This is creative, this is extra. And like little do we know, I mean like that day or the next like 30 people started doing it and
Cate Tolnai (she/her): God.
Farmer Faubs: were like, what is this? And then like, we just came up with like a funny name, like just EduGuardians, you know,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Was there a reason for the guardians?
Farmer Faubs: I, I think the Guardians were just that super hero,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Okay. Okay.
Farmer Faubs: education, just edu and
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Like guardians. Okay, got it.
Farmer Faubs: And, you know, chat, BT definitely helped
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: that name. and then, you know what, like people, I mean, from all over the world, I mean, it went from 30 to 120 to
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah. Isn't it crazy?
Farmer Faubs: and grew, all on, all on Twitter, all on X
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Okay.
Farmer Faubs: just became, you know, really good friends and we were able to just really. Just very authentically a community that happened. none of us worked for a tool, you know, at that time we really just wanted to share knowledge. We really wanted to uplift the community. We had like EduGuardian exchanges, and we still do where, you know, people from, you know, different tech tools would
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm.
Farmer Faubs: Then we started our tech T-shirt Tuesday, and so we blew that up.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): And Jennifer Womble posts that, right?
Farmer Faubs: our, that's our girl. Jennifer Womble.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): she one of the EduGuardians?
Farmer Faubs: Is an EduGuardian and
Cate Tolnai (she/her): stop that.
Farmer Faubs: eah, she is a huge supporter of the EduGuardians because at FETC, we actually have an EduGuardian meetup. She is so
Cate Tolnai (she/her): She's so amazing.
Farmer Faubs: wears her EduGuardian t-shirt at ISTE or at FETC. and so she's been so supportive of that community because, you know. Jen Womble is, is really just the most amazing person that leads a conference,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: and is always supportive of the educational community. No matter where you come from, no matter what tool you, you, like, you, you work for, she's here for educators and she uplifts the community.
So we,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: had an EduGuardian meetup last year at FETC. We're going to again this year. So shout out to Jen. Yeah, she's a, she's a good
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Big shout out to Jen. She was on my, like, she was on my list of, she should come on the bridge 'cause she's such a connector.
Farmer Faubs: she is a huge connector and it's been really cool and,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: we always love going to FETC to support her. Just seeing
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah,
Farmer Faubs: those hugs from her.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): yeah.
Farmer Faubs: is one of the most visible leads of, you know, leader of conference.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Like tireless.
Farmer Faubs: I still don't
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I,
Farmer Faubs: she goes everywhere.
She
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I don't either.
Farmer Faubs: But big shout out to Jen. She
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yep,
Farmer Faubs: o get on here.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): she does.
Farmer Faubs: yeah. Love her.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Okay. I didn't realize that your guardians was like so new and it's like so vibrant and like we're definitely, I wanna make sure we put links in the chat just in case anybody's like. Oh, I wanna, I wanna know more, and in fact, I'm selfless selfishly, I'm like, I wanna, I wanna see what's going on here.
I, another chapter that I didn't share that I think I'm drawing connections to is I am Back During those TOSA days, there were a couple tech teacher, Twitter chats that were happening. Okay.
Farmer Faubs: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Are you all doing EduGuardians chats?
Farmer Faubs: We, we don't, we've done a few. but you know, I, I definitely wasn't in this whole Twitter thing when all those chats were blowing up. But I've heard about 'em
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh my God.
Farmer Faubs: some, and I know some had started on blue, blue
Cate Tolnai (she/her): We tried Blue Sky again. Yeah. Oh, it just didn't work.
Farmer Faubs: but I've jumped into some, I've, I've learned a
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: I get to, I love just being able to connect with the new
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Totally.
Farmer Faubs: in, in the, in the chats. but I've, I've heard about these Twitter chats that they were just
Cate Tolnai (she/her): They were crazy. They were, honestly, they were a lifeline. And I, yeah, so there was one that I moderated with several different people over, but, but kinda like you said, like every good story starts with, well, there were these five strangers that decided to do blah, blah, blah. Like for us it was three, three strangers that met at a conference that decided, Hey, what if every Tuesday for an hour, we like throw some questions out on Twitter?
Like you said, oh my gosh, how amazing is it when you're like, oh my God, 20 people are on there. Oh my God. Now, now 50, now.
Farmer Faubs: more.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Right. And so we were, we were called Connected tl. So connected teacher leaders is what our, our chat was. 'cause we didn't wanna say tosa. We were like afraid that that wouldn't include other teacher leaders or people that wanted to be teacher leaders.
And then, and then there was this whole other camp doing a very similar thing called TOSA Chat, which had a ton of my friends in it. So there was like this, these two opportunities, these two conversations happening and. Nobody at the time was connected to a specific tool, which is, that's kinda what I wanna dial into.
'cause you, you made a point. EduGuardians is not like, it's not like a, a tool, right?
Farmer Faubs: you know, even for, for several of us, you know, I mean we even had people that worked for a tool that joined the EduGuardians made their superhero, but we always made a very strong point is. We don't care if you work for a tool. We don't care if you're an educator. Like, like, we don't care. We welcome anybody and
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm.
Farmer Faubs: we're not trying to push a tool. We don't, you know, we don't, we don't do that because so many people love just multiples of
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah. Yeah,
Farmer Faubs: and so we would kind of just like, just organically and authentically just talk about what we loved and what we were using, and be able to even invite people that worked for the tool to
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: Something, but like they would send, you know, tech t-shirt Tuesdays
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yep.
Farmer Faubs: : the community and, I don't think anybody's ever tried to really just like, push that tool or this tool. It's just what you like, what you do. Get some ideas from everybody. And we've learned so much. Like we always say there's an EduGuardian for that. because like there's so many people that use this or use that or just like. What are they teaching and what, what? I can go to that person, you know,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: new to stem, who else teaches stem? Who
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yep.
Farmer Faubs: this?
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yes.
Farmer Faubs: that person who's done this, this, and this activity, or you know, you go to that person.
So I've really enjoyed seeing it just grow and be just authentic. And every time about isty around isty, like people get so excited to be able to
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah. Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: so many people have gone to conferences and they're like, I usually go and I only know myself and I don't get to know anyone else. And it's been a community
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: you now have someone to connect with and you, you find your buddy, you know, you find your buddy, and you're able to connect with them and not feel alone in this EdTech world.
Which I think is just so special.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: your buddy, find, find that person that you can go to conferences and give a big hug and share ideas. So
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: it's been really fun to watch to grow.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh my gosh. You're bringing back all the feels. It's, I, I had a conversation with Jeni Long Magic School, Jeni,
Farmer Faubs: Yep.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): and we were, we were talking about how, how in the last 10 years, like, I think what you're describing is what was happening 10 years ago, which was nobody belonged to a tool. We belonged to each other, you know, like
Farmer Faubs: Yeah. Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): were, we were.
Alone on islands. And we needed each other to figure out our jobs and to figure out our problems and our solutions. And a lot of those people have since graduated and are doing that work at Tools.
Farmer Faubs: Yep.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): And so now it becomes, oh, oh, are you Google or Microsoft? Oh, are you school AI or, OR, or Magic school? Oh, you know?
And all of a sudden you're like, but I'm both. I'm all like, I don't want to. And.
Farmer Faubs: that is, that is a, that is, you know, that is that message that needs, you know, I was talking to somebody the other day is like, that's the message that we need to continue
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yep.
Farmer Faubs: forward is like, you know, when a lot of of people see. you know, Jeni Long, they think of, of Magic
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Right.
Farmer Faubs: they might think of, you know, see Farmer Faubs and they might think of a Book Creator, but we're so much
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: tool that
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: You know, for me, you know, I'm just out here to make sure that every kid, you know, gets their Yeehaw moment, you know, and gets the opportunity to create. And I know Jeni Long, you know, does the same thing as,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yep.
Farmer Faubs: we're so passionate about. You know, kids getting, you know, their education and creating their own Yeehaw moments that, you know, we're all, you know, a lot of us that work for EdTech tools now, I just remember we are still educators, like
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yes.
Farmer Faubs: and,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yes.
Farmer Faubs: you know, and also. You know, those of you that have gone to EdTech, don't ever forget where you came
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hmm.
Farmer Faubs: your why, because you know, it's, and that's so important. You know, I know for me, like the part of the job that I love the most is I get to go into classrooms and I get to get kids using book creator. Create a Yeehaw moment right there in
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: that was a part of my job that I was like, you're not gonna take me outta the classroom. That's gonna be a part of my job.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I love it.
Farmer Faubs: going to be a part of it. And like, if you're not getting back into the classroom in your ed tech, like go volunteer some time,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah,
Farmer Faubs: a teacher that you can just, Hey, what are you teaching?
Like, let me come in and, and help you with a lesson. you know, I'm married to a teacher, so I get the pleasure of. I probably will never, ever forget, you know, that, that part. But, you know, it's really cool because, you know, me and my wife are, are constantly building lessons for her class
Cate Tolnai (she/her): yeah.
Farmer Faubs: continuing like that education hat and that educator's
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: seeing the concerns.
Seeing what, what they need. Like, don't ever lose your why. You know, I
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah,
Farmer Faubs: it's easier, you know, said than done.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): totally.
Farmer Faubs: You know, don't forget your why. Continue to get into those
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: and hug those teachers and see those kids and build lessons. And so don't ever forget that, that that's where you came from.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Love it. I love it. You're like, I feel so grounded. Like you have a, one of the posts that you shared. Maybe it was this week or last week. Clearly I've been paying attention. you were at a, you were at a session and they, traded, they had you trade your, cowboy hat for,
Farmer Faubs: Yes,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): for was a sombrero.
Farmer Faubs: it was a yes. Yes.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): That was adorable.
And I just thought, like, like how cool I, to me that spoke volumes. Like even though we haven't spent much time together, I'm like, that just tells me so much. Like, like just somebody who has made it, it. People feel that comfortable with them that quickly. And I know how hard it is, especially when you're teaching a new tool.
And people may or may not, they, they're bringing their baggage, you know, good baggage, bad baggage. They're bringing it. And, and I was so like touched by that 'cause I'm like, she gets it. Like she's able to make community and,
Farmer Faubs: think community's always
Cate Tolnai (she/her): that's it. Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: always been my why. And you know, you know, you know, like, you know, you're bridging that gap, you know? And you know, I think. Especially in my pd, it's, it's not about, it's not about the tech tool that
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Now?
Farmer Faubs: right? It's how, how am I making you feel?
Am I making you laugh? Am I making you smile?
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: you collaborate? Am I making you create? Because that's the part you're gonna remember. You're gonna remember when you come to my pd, always tell 'em, you're gonna remember a few things that a Farmer. Taught you a little bit about book creator and we left with a giving out a big old Yee-haw,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I love it.
Farmer Faubs: And so, you know, it's all about how, you know, our teachers feel when they leave our pd.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: you know, and I
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: that's just super important for me is to just. Everybody that, that walks into that room in a pd, leaves with a smile, leaves with some laughter, leaves with a friend, you know, a
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yes.
Farmer Faubs: you know, and, and just making people feel like, you know, they can be creative. Like you said, we gotta get to the teachers
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yep. Okay.
Farmer Faubs: that tool gets to the students.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yes.
Farmer Faubs: every kid deserves the opportunity
Cate Tolnai (she/her): eah.
Farmer Faubs: But we gotta get to those teachers.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Farmer Faubs: they're gonna get to the kids. And, but I'm, I'm, I'm so lucky to see so many people, you know, just giving them the courage to be creative.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: thankful that everybody that walks through my doors or comes to a pd like. They're so stoked to learn, and so shout out to all those educators that go
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: pd, like they are so stoked to learn. They want to learn. So continue just being that continuous learner, like I just love seeing people just want to learn. So shout out to all the educators
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh my God. Love it.
Farmer Faubs: to my pd. I love it.
So yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Okay, last question. If you could go back and talk to Alyssa Faubs, Farmer Faubs year two. Oh my God. Alexa thought I was talking to her. Stop at Alexa. Alexa, stop. My gosh. Stop listening. Good lord. okay. You year two, what, what advice would you give yourself year two,
Farmer Faubs: year two teaching.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: Okay. Okay.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I,
Farmer Faubs: Year two. Year two or three of teaching is if I had to give myself some of the biggest advice is, I would say, find your people.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): hmm.
Farmer Faubs: your community. Hop on social media back then
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Ah.
Farmer Faubs: with people because I am, I've enjoyed so much about connecting with people that at the time of year two and year three, I felt like I was on this island that the only educators I had to reach out to were the people in my. And, you know, I was this, you know, 20 some year old kid that I loved. I knew, I knew things as, I had the energy. I loved technology, I loved, you know, project-based learning, but there weren't people in my building that had that
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: And so I felt kind of just on this island kind of stuck. Like, do I have to be like the teacher next door? felt like I kind of had, because that was the only example I had.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): totally.
Farmer Faubs: if I had to go back, I would say hop on social
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hmm.
Farmer Faubs: be in some of these communities because the power of community and the power of people that are outside those four walls. Will make you a better teacher and you'll feel like, hey, that that weird idea that you're having or that extra idea you're having is not so weird, is not so extra because there's someone in the states or in the world that is going to uplift that idea and give you resources and be your, your backbone when you really felt like I'm, this is like crazy, you know, and you're not so crazy.
So find your
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Mm.
Farmer Faubs: Don't be afraid to reach out. Don't be
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah. Do it.
Farmer Faubs: to get in these communities. Don't be able to, don't be afraid to post because you have to find your people because you're not alone in all this.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh, that's so sweet. Mic drop. Done. And, and not only that, like double mic drop. You're like, and by the way, head over to EduGuardians. 'cause we're waiting for you. What?
Farmer Faubs: you. Yes,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): What?
Farmer Faubs: is waiting for you because there's a a place for everyone, so
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Farmer Faubs: Love it.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): You're lovely. Thank you so much for this and we'll make sure all your contact info is in the show notes and like I said, we'll connect people to EduGuardians, myself included. And, thank you for what you do and for sharing. You're wonderful.
Farmer Faubs: Yeah. Thanks
Cate Tolnai (she/her): All right.
Farmer Faubs: I'll see you.
Move It! Small Shifts That Wake Up Student Brains
THE BRIDGE ISSUE 20 - NOVEMber 16, 2025 When I first transitioned out of the classroom and into my role as a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA), I...
