Young changemaker and seasoned keynote speaker, Olivia Van Ledtje (@thelivbits) offers listeners ideas to “spark change” and make their mark in the digital world. Liv’s book, Spark Change: Making Your Mark in a Digital World, co-authored with her mom, Cynthia Merrill (@cyndisueboo), helps listeners envision how they can use technology to see the power of their thinking, perspective, and voices online.
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Young changemaker and seasoned keynote speaker, Olivia Van Ledtje (@thelivbits) offers listeners ideas to “spark change” and make their mark in the digital world. Liv’s book, Spark Change: Making Your Mark in a Digital World, co-authored with her mom, Cynthia Merrill (@cyndisueboo), helps listeners envision how they can use technology to see the power of their thinking, perspective, and voices online.
Episode Mentions:
Connect with Liv:
Get solutions from Schoolutions!
#solutionsfromschoolutions #schoolutionsinspires #schoolutionspodcast
Schoolutions - S2 E17: Spark Change & Make Your Mark in 2023 with the Refulgent Olivia Van Ledtje (@theLivBits)
[00:00:00] Olivia: I am Olivia Wahl, and I am thrilled to welcome Olivia Van Ledtje. In her own words, Olivia is a reader, thinker, and kids' voice believer. Olivia uses technology to inspire empathy, equity, and activism. Her mission is to share messages with the world that are hopeful, kind, and true. Liv is the creator of Liv Bits. Short videos for kids and teachers about reading, thinking, and life.
[00:00:41] Olivia: Her work is featured internationally as a model for digital citizenship and kid creation. Olivia is a much sought-after award-winning international keynote speaker with her own podcast in the Pinna audio app, the Kid Lit Show, and she's the co-author of Spark Change: Make Your Mark on the Digital World with her mom, Cynthia Merrill.
[00:01:04] Olivia: I first had the gift of hearing Liv speak during a session at the National Council of Teachers of English conference, also known as NCTE, in November of 2019. She was co-presenting a session with Cornelius Minor called Gamers Gotta Play: Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite Inquiry, Imagination, and Literacy. I felt fortunate to snag a front-row seat and waited for the presentation to begin. As the room filled beyond capacity, Liv stood composed behind the podium.
[00:01:37] Olivia: But Cornelius was nowhere to be found. As we nervously waited for his arrival. Liv launched their presentation as a seasoned speaker. We were all so captivated by Liv that when Cornelius entered the space, no one noticed at first, which is pretty impossible for him. I left that session totally rethinking my stance on gaming and its benefits for children, thanks to Liv and Cornelius. I need to just say as well among her many, many, many awards and honors, Olivia has been named 30 under 30 by the International Literacy Association. This award recognizes leaders and change agents who have a global vision for literacy initiatives, and that is why I needed to have Liv as a guest.
[00:02:24] Olivia: This is a dream come true. She defines what a change maker is at the young age of 15 years old. Welcome, Olivia.
[00:02:33] Liv: Wow. Can I just say you have the most amazing podcaster voice?
[00:02:39] Olivia: Thank you so much. It is an honor to have you, and I always ask guests to kick off the episode with an inspiring educator from their life. Can you share someone from your life for listeners?
[00:02:53] Liv: Okay, so I have a tie of three people. I have my eighth-grade science teacher, my freshman-year biology teacher, and my freshman math teacher. So the reason I chose my eighth-grade science teacher is because when COVID hit, I was in seventh grade, and I made the choice to stay a remote learner throughout the rest of seventh grade and then all of eighth grade.
[00:03:13] Liv: So I never went back into the physical school building until my freshman year. Ms. Martin being a science teacher trying to do labs and investigations, and one thing about sciences is that it's incredibly hands-on, and so you can imagine being a science teacher through a computer can be really difficult sometimes.
[00:03:32] Liv: But the thing that I loved about Ms. Martin was that her enthusiasm, the way that she was engaging when she talked to us, how she was able to have us be connected like there was no screen. It was like we were sitting right there in her classroom with the rest of her students doing the labs and talking with one another, and that's one of the reasons why I loved her the most.
[00:03:51] Liv: She helped me grow my love of science, even though we were in completely different rooms. We were just talking through a school laptop. And yet, if I looked back, I barely even remember the computer being there because of how engaging and amazing she was as a teacher.
[00:04:06] Liv: The second person I chose was my freshman-year biology. The reason I chose him was because he really helped me grow my love of sharks. One thing you should know about me is that I'm a shark enthusiast. I want to be an ichthyologist when I grow up. I have loved sharks ever since the second grade when I read my first shark book, and Mr. Spears was able to connect me with so many shark scientists that he's met in his science days.
[00:04:31] Liv: And I thought that was so amazing that a teacher was able to connect with a student through their passion.
[00:04:35] Olivia: Yes.
[00:04:36] Liv: The third person that I chose was my freshman-year math teacher. The reason I chose her is because one of the things that I value the most as a student is one-to-one time. It's one of my most favorite parts about school is being able to go in early and talk with my teacher and ask questions and be able to look at my mistakes through my work.
[00:04:55] Liv: And math is definitely one of those classes where you're going to make a lot of mistakes, and so it's important that you have that one-to-one time. In the past, I haven't gotten to have that really nice one-to-one conversation with my math teacher. But Mr. Blonsky, my math teacher, was different. I'm a morning person, so I would always give the 30 minutes early, and me and her would hang out.
[00:05:14] Liv: I'd get to write in the expo markers on the board all of my problems, and we were able to go over them, and it would help me understand them so much better. And that was my most favorite experience I've ever had in a math class where I was able to work one-to-one with my teacher. And I think that that goes for a lot of other students as. All of us are yearning for that one-to-one time with our teacher, where we're able to communicate with them without maybe being with all of the students in the classroom at one time.
[00:05:40] Olivia: Liv, that's something I think that's so special about you as a person as well. The way you are a connector, and I'm going to call you a global connector if that's okay. You care so much about the world around you and making it a better space and place for others that to find adults that share that passion and want to instill that love for you. I can only imagine how special that is.
[00:06:09] Liv: I think that a lot of students, when they have a teacher or someone that inspires them, take an interest in them and show that like, wow, this is actually, this is really cool. I never knew that you loved sharks. I never knew that you were so interested in gaming. Like, why don't you talk to me about it?
[00:06:23] Liv: You share some of your ideas with me like that to a kid, no matter what age they're, whether they're a senior or a kindergartner, means so much to us because it shows that the teacher really does care about our voices and they want to hear from us, and they want to connect with us.
[00:06:37] Olivia: Well, and right now, you're a sophomore in high school. Often that notion of connecting, we think of it more with younger children, but it's even more critical as students get older that teachers find one or two interests that really drive that child. So a main reason I wanted to have you as a guest is because there's such an emphasis put on fear and limits when it comes to social media that it is totally causing a missed opportunity, I guess you could say. Right. I have quotes from your book that I have read and reread. "Age doesn't imply maturity and good decision-making."
[00:07:15] Olivia: It's so true. "A teacher's attitude toward tech can make or break student access."
[00:07:22] Olivia: Wow.
[00:07:23] Liv: Yes.
[00:07:24] Olivia: And then here, "Since so often the conversation around connectedness centers around safety, kids develop a mindset of fear. And maybe that fear develops into a secretiveness as they grow older." Caution, caution, adults.
[00:07:39] Liv: Beep, beep, beep, beep. It's red, red, like alert, alert.
[00:07:44] Olivia: Alert! And so these are issues, yet you are a beacon of light. You shine, you spark the change because these are your mom's words, "She's using technology as a tool for empathy, equity, and activism. Social media is a tool that can make the world a better place."
[00:08:03] Olivia: That's a huge part of who you are as a change agent, a change maker. I think it's impossible, Liv, that listeners wouldn't know who you are. But if, on the off chance, they do not, I wanted them to hear a little bit from you about your journey, from the creation of Liv Bits to the podcast, to your lists and where you are now.
[00:08:24] Olivia: Share with listeners how did this journey all begin for you?
[00:08:28] Liv: So Liv Bits started when I was in the third grade. Throughout second and third grade, I was really badly bullied by a group of girls in my class, and my mom and I created Liv Bits because, at the time, my confidence was incredibly low, and I did not have that much self-esteem. One of the things I absolutely loved the most, though, was to read.
[00:08:46] Liv: So my mom and I came up with Liv Bits as a way for me to not only gain more confidence but also as a way for me to share my passions and talk about something that I loved. I made my first ever Liv Bit video, and then my mom posted it on her Facebook and on her Instagram, and it went viral. And all of a sudden, I saw all these people that were hitting the heart button, that were liking it, that were commenting below.
[00:09:06] Liv: This is amazing. When are you going to do another one? And I was like, mom, people actually like me. And so then from then on, I was inspired by my audience to create more content. That's kind of how my podcast and my Liv's lists, how my blog, how all of those came about, is because my audience inspired me to create more content as I grew.
[00:09:26] Liv: One of the things I've been saying about Liv Bits is that when you have a project like this, it's going to grow as you grow. It's not always going to stay the same forever. So even though the project has been going on for six or seven years, it's not just talking about books anymore. Maybe for the first year, I was talking about books that I love because my main persona was talking about books.
[00:09:44] Liv: But then, as I got a little older, I started realizing other passions that I have. I'm a very serious ballerina, and so part of my Liv Bit journey now has become posting about my ballet experiences, the competitions, the people that I've met, the discipline, and the hard work that goes into it. I've mentioned that I love sharks.
[00:10:01] Liv: My videos can be about sharks. I can connect with other shark scientists and other kids online that love sharks. I love gaming. Maybe my videos will be about gaming, or maybe I'll post something about gaming. So that's one of the things I say the most is that your work will grow as you grow. It doesn't always have to be pigeonholed into one thing.
[00:10:17] Olivia: I love it. I love it. And when I was rereading your book this go around, I actually read it through the lens of all of the beautiful terminology. Some are created by you…heart beep, for example. Can you share with listeners what a heart beep is?
[00:10:34] Liv: A heartbeat is a very special feeling that you have. You know when you get that feeling when you're incredibly happy, like I've had this today when you were talking about how you called your son right after Cornelius, and I's Minecraft presentation. You're like, I was wrong. I didn't realize all these incredible things that can come from Fortnite and Roblox, and Minecraft.
[00:10:53] Liv: That gave me a heart beep. It's almost like a little flutter. It's when you feel really especially connected and joy. That's what a heart beep is. It's a very special.
[00:11:04] Olivia: For listeners to really make sure they get the visual heart beep. H e a r t b e e p.
[00:11:12] Liv: That's one thing that is misinterpreted sometimes is that it's a heartbeat.
[00:11:17] Olivia: Yeah.
[00:11:17] Liv: No, no, no... It's a heart beep. Beep, beep,
[00:11:19] Olivia: Yes.
[00:11:20] Liv: beep. When I'm reading books, I like to create my own visuals. That's one of the reasons I love science so much. Science is very hands-on, it's very visual, and so, the heartbeat term comes from kind of like a visual of your heart beating out of your chest and kind of going, beep, beep, beep. Because it's something so powerful that you feel
[00:11:39] Olivia: You can hear it. Right? And the other terms I think you embody are humanity and activism. And this is something you said in your book. "Paying attention to people, discovering new things about them realizing how important everyone is to this world
[00:11:59] Liv: (helps our humanity)
[00:12:01] Olivia: and when we begin to share words to describe all this, we have the power to deepen, change, and grow ideas that matter to the world. That is activism."
[00:12:12] Olivia: And Liv, I just want to pause because I know you've had folks say that your mom is pushing your post and that you are not the catalyst behind all the change. That could not be more false. You are an anomaly in a lot of ways. Yet I think you are an example of why grownups need to listen to our children so much more closely than we do.
[00:12:39] Olivia: And so when we talk about humanity and activism and the idea of the Kid Lit Show, you interviewed some pretty amazing authors for that. How did that notion of humanity come from that Kid Lit Show?
[00:12:54] Liv: So every single keynote that I do, I always share a little clip of my interview with Kate DiCamillo because I asked her about how do you create your characters, and she told me that this is a question that she gets very often because being the amazing author that she is who has created so many stories, I feel like that's a question that just a lot of people are going to wonder about, like how do you come up with these characters?
[00:13:14] Liv: And she said that she really doesn't have a specific method. One thing that she does is she actually eavesdrops a lot, and she's like, I'm not promoting eavesdropping, but sometimes listening in to people's conversations and discovering new things about them. She says it's not only helped her create her characters but it's also helped her grow her understanding of humanity.
[00:13:33] Liv: Because when you listen to people, you discover new things about them, and you realize how important everyone is to this world. That's what's helped her see humanity. And that, that moment when she said that, that was a heart beep moment for me. I was in awe of her. I, I think they had to edit it because I sat there silent for like a good 10 seconds.
[00:13:54] Liv: I was just like, I was like, okay. And then, I went to like a follow-up question because I was so intrigued by what she had just mentioned. I had never really heard of the word humanity before. I was listening to her talk about it and taking it from a, just like, how do you create your book characters to how she could take this? And then she could say humanity and how she could connect the two things.
[00:14:15] Liv: And that just blew my mind. I still remember it word for word, and that's why I made sure to put it in our book because I thought that's something that everybody needs to know.
[00:14:25] Olivia: Yes. Well, I'm an over-highlighter. It's a problem, but I...
[00:14:29] Liv: Me too. Me too. That's exactly how I'm, so this year, my English class is called Voices and Visions in Literature, and we're already in our third book this year, and all the kids in my class make fun of me because I annotate so much because every single page, it's like I find something new that I have to write down.
[00:14:46] Liv: I'm like, I have to remember this. Like there are so many sticky notes in the book. There's almost one on every single page because I can never choose what to do because there's so many critical things that I need to remember.
[00:14:54] Olivia: I had to go back through all of the different quotes. I think I had 20 different quotes from your book, and I had to sift and sort like, oh, what do I need listeners to really hear and to leave with? You are so seasoned and well-traveled. I'd love for listeners to hear some of your favorite keynote experiences around the world.
[00:15:15] Liv: I think some of my favorite keynote speeches have been to students. Absolutely. My favorite conference was NCTE, where I was able to give presentations on gaming. I mean, come on. There was no other presentation there that was about Minecraft.
[00:15:29] Olivia: It was amazing. Absolutely.
[00:15:31] Liv: I genuinely had so much fun doing that with Cornelius because a passion of mine.
[00:15:37] Liv: I do lots of school visits where I'm able to work with students, and one obstacle that we come across so often is kids not knowing what to talk about. I think, should I talk about math? Should I talk about what we're doing in school today? I'm like, no. I always say start out with something that you love. Find something with the student that they could go on and on about.
[00:15:59] Liv: They could talk about it for ages. That's what you make your video about. And to answer your question, my favorite keynote speeches have 100% been to students. One of my all-time favorites was when I was in Marion, Ohio. And after I was finished giving my keynote to the 500 students, the principal there told me that they had a surprise for me.
[00:16:19] Liv: And I don't know if you know this about me, but Pop-Tarts are some of my favorite food ever.
[00:16:26] Olivia: I do know this, so we just need to pause. My favorite are strawberry and brown sugar cinnamon. What are at the top of your list?
[00:16:34] Liv: Strawberry Frosted is number one, brown sugar, and then probably some of the ones I really don't like is I don't like any of the Oreo ones. I remember I had those at a conference one time. I was like, mmmmm....mm, mm, no thank you.
[00:16:46] Olivia: No, Liv, we need to pretend they're still somewhat breakfasty. And when you cross over into Oreo, that's dessertish.
[00:16:52] Liv: Exactly! It's like this isn't; this isn't what I'm feeling at seven in the morning to eat an Oreo. That's it's not my vibe.
[00:16:59] Olivia: And are Pop-Tart bites acceptable to you, or does it need to be full-fledged? OG (original).
[00:17:04] Liv: Well, I just recently found a new brand of toaster pastries, they're called Bobo's, and they're like a whole grain version, and they're not frosted. So they're significantly more healthy than Pop-Tarts, and they're incredibly good. But I kind of feel like I'm cheating on Pop-Tarts because, like, Pop-Tarts have always been there for me.
[00:17:22] Liv: They've been there for me since I was like nine. Like they've stood behind me through everything, and then I'm just kind of ditching them for another brand. So I'm currently in the breakup phase with Pop-Tarts because I found another brand that I actually really like.
[00:17:35] Olivia: Oh, you kill me. I interrupted you. I digress with our Pop-Tart convo.
[00:17:40] Liv: When the principal said that they had a surprise for me, I 100% thought that it was a box Pop-Tarts because lots of teachers give me Pop-Tarts as like a gift because they know that I love it so much. But it was not Pop-Tarts. All of the students sang one of my favorite songs. This is Me from The Greatest Showman, and I wish I had a video here to show you, but in the back, there's one girl; she's wearing a pink shirt, and the entire song, she was up on her knees, and she was doing it with her body. She was, she was doing all the moves, and they said march she would march. She was singing it like she was singing at the top of her lungs. And when all the kids, and it's one of my favorite videos to show people and to watch myself because it shows the message that you have to let your body show your story too.
[00:18:22] Liv: It's not just your voice; it's also your body language. It's how you're talking to a person. If you're in your video and you're hunched over. You look really tired, and your voice isn't really talking in interesting ways. Your audience isn't going to be engaged. But if you use your hands and you do things with your shoulders, that's what's also going to help your audience be engaged to your message is when you're using your body to tell your story too.
[00:18:44] Liv: And that's what the girl in the pink shirt taught me. But that was probably one of my all-time favorite keynote moments.
[00:18:50] Olivia: Awesome. And I think, too, that's what makes you such a captivating speaker as well, just watching you and being mesmerized by this teenager that's up in front of a room of hundreds or thousands of people, and you have them in the palm of your hand. It's absolutely phenomenal. I know a huge part of your mission is to make sure that digital literacy is accessible.
[00:19:13] Olivia: It's a critical need for students. A quote from your book, "Children need digital experiences connected to the ideas they care about because digital platforms are where their future resides." These are your mom's words, "This entire book is about the meaning Liv has constructed from her Liv Bit content. Without the platforms to lift her story, Liv's work might sit in her backpack on our mudroom floor. Instead, her story is in the world, and that's because, as Liv always says, it's for the world."
[00:19:46] Olivia: So Liv, I'm going to need some schooling because I am not as smart as you are when it comes to hashtags, but boy, you can rock hashtags, my friend. Talk to listeners.
[00:19:59] Olivia: Why are hashtags critical to getting the messages across the world?
[00:20:03] Liv: So whenever I'm helping students in schools make videos, I always say to come up with a catchphrase that adds to your brand. My catchphrase is keep reading, keep thinking, and keep watching Liv Bits for more ideas about your books. And this catchphrase, I've said at the end of every single one of my videos I've ever created, because it's something that says constant.
[00:20:20] Liv: It's something that your audience can listen to. They always know it's you. And so, I obviously have keep reading, keep thinking, keep watching Liv Bits as some of my hashtags. One of the things that's very important when you're using social media is that you're able to curate your hashtags. When you are on any social media platform, and you click on the hashtag, up pops up all of the posts that have ever used that hashtag. And so if you can find one or two hashtags that can just be for you that are connected to you. So when someone clicks on, keep reading, all the posts that show up are yours, are people's that are using to connect to yours. And so that's one thing that's really important when you're using social media and adding to your story, helping your audience, adding to your brand, is being able to curate your own hashtags.
[00:21:05] Liv: That way, you have things that are your own.
[00:21:07] Olivia: Okay. So you just totally helped me with my hashtag journey, or lack thereof. And so Liv, I, I'm going to need some help. I need a hashtag or two. So the podcast is Schoolutions. Solutions from Schoolutions?
[00:21:25] Liv: That was good. What you just came up with was!
[00:21:27] Olivia: You like it?
[00:21:28] Liv: We want to do something that's going to have like a ring to it. Cause then that's going to help people remember it. And it has rhyme, and it has repetition, and so that's one of the reasons why I chose that, is because I knew it was going to be something people could remember easily.
[00:21:40] Olivia: Well, in the name of the podcast, one of my best friends, Eleanor, said, well, it's school solutions and so let's squish it together. Schoolutions. There you go. So, all right, you've got me thinking I may consult with you further about possible hashtags that you think will vibe, but I honestly had no idea that that's the purpose of a hashtag, and I'm not embarrassed to say it.
[00:22:01] Olivia: I'm learning from you endlessly.
[00:22:03] Liv: It's kind of hidden. A lot of people don't realize that when you click on the hashtag, all of the posts that use it pop up. And you can follow a hashtag. It's like a whole other little, little corner of social media is hashtags. And that's why it's so important that we're able to use them. That way, they can connect to our message, and they can connect to our story
[00:22:20] Olivia: It's amazing, and I know you even create hashtags for teachers that you connect with around the world as well.
[00:22:27] Liv: That way, you can remember moments, you can remember trips. You can remember visits. You can make a hashtag for it.
[00:22:32] Olivia: Yeah. Oh, you're amazing. So I need to say something because you mentioned the bullying that was a catalyst for starting Liv Bits, and I cannot fathom what that would be like for a teenager to not always receive that positive energy back from the world when that's all you're trying to put out there. My other huge learning that I'm gaining from you is you need to make sure that you have a digital crew, right?
[00:23:01] Olivia: Talk to listeners. What does it mean to have a digital crew as a group of people in the world that got your back?
[00:23:07] Liv: Well, really, a digital crew can start out with just one person, one adult that you trust. It can grow to two people, three people. It can be from one to a bazillion. It can be as many people as you want, or as many people as you have. And it's a group of people that are able to circle around the social media waters and help keep you be safe online.
[00:23:25] Liv: So if you ever do get into a situation, you never engage. You don't feed into their negativeness. You let the digital crew handle it. And that way, when you're older, you can learn from the way that your digital crew does it. You can one day do it for yourself. And I think no matter how old you are, it's important that you have a digital crew, people there that are ready to help you if you need it.
[00:23:44] Liv: That's one of the things that has helped me be so savvy on social media is having mentors, people that I'm able to watch and people that I'm able to learn from. My first mentor started out as just my mom. I'm very lucky that as my platform grew and as my audience grew, I was able to have more people come into my digital crew and more people that I can watch and learn from.
[00:24:03] Olivia: Can you give an example for listeners of when your digital crew had to circle up to protect you or to quell something that you stepped away from? I think the terms you use are block and bloom.
[00:24:14] Liv: One of the things that, as part of my Liv Bit message, is I always like to wear message shirts. I'm not wearing one today cause it's cold, but I always wear a shirt that has a different message on it, corresponding to what I'm talking about or what's going on in the world. And there have been a couple times where I have worn shirts that have caused a couple people to not be so happy and to think, why is she wearing that shirt? And so, of course, you can get negative comments on social media about the shirts that you're wearing, saying they're wrong or you're too young to be wearing that, and you don't understand what that means. And just a lot of adults underestimating kids and the power of what kids know and how they can use social media in good ways.
[00:24:52] Liv: Those have been just a couple times where my digital crew has swooped in and just shut down the bully. Put it to rest, and that's one of the things that you have to learn when you use social media is that it's not about making everybody happy. It's about sharing your message and your story.
[00:25:06] Olivia: And when you say they've shut it down, do you delete the post, or do they respond? What does shut it down mean?
[00:25:13] Liv: Um, so the first thing that you do is you mention in the book how we mentioned block and bloom. First thing that you do is you block the person. You get them off of your platform. That way, you don't have to see them, you don't have to hear them. They're just blocked. And then from there, you can bloom, you can grow, you can grow because you learn more.
[00:25:29] Liv: You learn from those experiences that you have about things. Maybe you can do it differently next time. Better ways that you can navigate social media platforms because one of the things that you said earlier is that a lot of kids when they turn 13, they just get social media, they get Instagram, they get Snapchat regardless of their maturity when they turn 13, that's the age. It's the purposeful age of you are now mature to be able to post all over the world. But one of the things that I find actually most meaningful is when you start them young, because would you think that an eight-year-old would listen to you more? Or a 13 or 14-year-old would listen to you more as an adult?
[00:26:02] Liv: And more often than not, it's when you're younger, you're more open to getting feedback from adults and then learning from them and kind of following in their footsteps a little bit on learning how you can be savvy and how you can navigate social media in positive ways. And one of the things that's very common with a lot of kids my age is that when they get social media, they follow a lot of celebrities, and those are their main mentors.
[00:26:23] Liv: They follow these people, and then they like to recreate the photos that they're taking and try to dress like they do. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with having a mentor. It's just sometimes certain celebrities aren't the best ones. And so that's why it's really important that in schools it's, it's not just about the fear and about the be safe online.
[00:26:40] Liv: It's so many bad things can happen to. Of course, being safe online is important, but if you can learn how to navigate it in positive ways by curating hashtags and creating a message, and creating a story, that's what's going to really help all of us thrive on social media and be able to use it in a way that we can collaborate with others, grow our passions, and make our mark on the world in a positive way.
[00:27:03] Olivia: Yeah, and I think, too, when we're talking about block and bloom, it's not blocking out other people's perspectives. It's blocking out unproductive conversation points where people are coming to social for the spectacle of it instead of the change-making.
[00:27:17] Liv: Just there to lead the negative, to give the thumbs down. It's like sometimes, of course, it's important that you get constructive feedback, but there's a difference between constructive feedback and mean and negative feedback.
[00:27:29] Olivia: Let's just talk feedback, Liv, because a huge part of getting your voice out in the world, and you even mentioned it at the age of eight, you're in third grade, and you're starting Liv Bits. It was the feedback; it was the likes that kept you going.
[00:27:44] Liv: It was the heart. It was the smiley face emoji.
[00:27:47] Olivia: Right. And so if we think of the idea of feedback, it's continuous, it's co-constructed. And why is feedback a critical aspect for you when it comes to digital activism and creating in general?
[00:28:02] Liv: So feedback directly applies to your audience, and the only way that you're going to be able to connect with others is if that, if you have an audience that's engaged in what you're talking about if you aren't taking their feedback in positive ways, whether it's constructive, whether it's positive, and then you're growing your message from that, then your project or your brand is just going to stay the same.
[00:28:24] Liv: It's never going to grow. And eventually, your audience is just going to become uninterested. They're not going to want to watch someone that keeps doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over again. And some of my favorite things to do when I have school visits is use platforms like Padlet, Flipgrid, Seesaw platforms that are kind of like the training wheels for social media because they give students ways to comment and leave constructive feedback on each other's videos, and then they give emojis, and they give likes.
[00:28:49] Liv: So students, if they create a video, a student can like their video, and they can give it a heart, and they can comment how much they loved their body language and things like that. That's why it's so important that we have platforms like I use those so much in schools, whether they're in kindergarten, they're in fifth grade. Those platforms are so important because it's kind of a model that then can be used to mentor the students. So when they get onto Instagram or Twitter, they're able to use those platforms exactly like how they use them, just on a larger scale. Because sometimes schools, they think, well, is there any way we can do this on a smaller scale?
[00:29:23] Liv: And that's why it's important that you have those platforms that are kind of like the practice. So when you actually get onto the ones that are opened up to the entire world and not just your classroom or your school or your district, you're able to navigate them.
[00:29:35] Olivia: Well, and I think of the term that you and Cornelius spoke to in 2019 in your session around gaming. It's low risk, high reward. Right? And so it's that practice in a very, I'll call it a safe forum of where the teacher or a grownup is usually giving approval on those platforms before it goes out there into the world.
[00:29:56] Olivia: Both of my boys have had the privilege of experimenting with those platforms, and something I adore from your book. It's the spotlights that you do. And I was having a conversation with a colleague, Melanie Meehan, recently, and she said something to me; the saying is, high tide raises all ships. And what it meant to me is that we all need to lift each other up to grow each other's work for the betterment of the world.
[00:30:26] Olivia: And when I was reading the spotlight sections in your book, you reminded me of that. You are high tide, and you're raising all of the ships. Why did you include the spotlights on other activists?
[00:30:40] Liv: I think that it's really important that kids can realize that it's not just me that can do this work, that they can do it too. And that's why I think having the students spotlights is so incredibly important. We have students that are really young; we have students that are older. We have students that are from different parts of the world, from different countries, and it shows that no matter who you are, you are able to do this kind of work.
[00:31:02] Liv: If you can find a passion and something that you love, and you can talk about it in any way, then you can do important work for the world. And I think that's what a lot of kids need to know. Like, even sometimes when they create videos, they don't like to see their face like, oh, I don't want to see my face.
[00:31:17] Liv: No. It's like, well, that's one of the things that you have to learn is that you're able to learn from yourself, and you're able to watch your video and give yourself feedback. And then that's why I chose to include the student spotlights is because I wanted to show whether you were an adult reading it, whether you were a student reading it, a teacher, a librarian, a podcaster that you can do this work too, just like they can.
[00:31:40] Olivia: In the back of the book. It's fabulous. There are all different lesson ideas to try. My work with Cris Tovani and Sam Bennett and middle and high school teachers... we're trying to create big makes or summative assessments for the end of units that we're creating that are very captivating, have authentic audiences, and I cannot wait to bring your book with me just to have more amazing ideas to experiment with that we'll be right there and drive the passion for the students.
[00:32:10] Olivia: So, thank you for those lessons. They're amazing.
[00:32:13] Liv: Technology doesn't have to just be used to write an essay. It can be used in so many other ways to create and not just to assess.
[00:32:20] Olivia: What really resonates with me is your call to action, spark hope, story, and action. I want to read a quote from your book, " Liv's work provides a model for global understanding how this can lead to social action and how students develop a deeper sense of empathy and kindness for interacting with the world.
[00:32:41] Olivia: Children can't become change-makers if they aren't empowered to think beyond their own community. Well, that says it right.
[00:32:50] Liv: When you talked to me earlier about some of the educators that have inspired me in school, that's why I feel like it's so important for all teachers to be that for a student, if you're a teacher or if you are working with kids, be that person that they're going to think about later on as the person that inspired them and as the person that grew their message and grew their love for learning.
[00:33:08] Liv: Because I think that's something that's really important for teachers and students to know... is that you can't be passive. You really have to engage them, and you have to make them love learning. I always say I want other kids to love learning just as much as I do. So no matter what kind of access you have to technology, it really does start with the teacher.
[00:33:27] Olivia: You're very passionate about sharks, and I can picture as a first-grade teacher at PS one 16 in New York City, a child I had in my class. Her name is Isabella, and she was obsessed with her bunny named Oreo. Every piece of writing that she created was about Oreo. Poems about Oreo. All about books about Oreo, narratives about Oreo, opinion pieces around why bunnies are the best, right?
[00:33:55] Olivia: And so here's the thing. If we as adults drive and instill a passion for just loving life, I think that's what keeps us going. It's that positive feedback that's not extrinsic. It's totally intrinsic, and it generates the motivation to keep going and going because it's fueled by what we love. You also did say that as you get older, things evolve, right?
[00:34:22] Olivia: Your projects evolve. So I think it's important for listeners to know what to be on the lookout for from you. Is there a call to action that you need listeners to hear at this moment in time?
[00:34:37] Liv: I would say that, as I said earlier, that your project grows as you grow. Like right now, I'm very much in my ballet world. I do a lot of ballet competitions, I do a lot of dance competitions, and it's important that if you have anything that you want to say and you want to teach other people something that you've learned, that you share it.
[00:34:54] Liv: Like, I have a lot of advice that I can give. I have a younger sister who very much has taught me how to be a mentor because I have someone every single day that wants to follow in my footsteps, and that's watching my every move. I also student-teach, so I volunteer to teach younger students at my dance studio for four hours a week.
[00:35:13] Liv: I teach two to three to four-year-olds how to do ballet, and it's really opened up my eyes these past two years about how important it's to inspire the youngest kids and that no matter how young you are, you can always share your message with the world. I have three-year-olds chatting in my ear. About how much they want to study tigers when they grow up and how they have a stuffed animal tiger.
[00:35:33] Liv: And how they read a book about tigers in school today. And you never want to shove that off. You always want to make sure because even if you're just like my age, when you take an interest in anything that they are talking to you about or anything that they're working on, that means the world to them.
[00:35:47] Liv: Because I was in that spot. I was a younger kid in the conference listening to people talk ...and then being able to ask questions and having them talk to me or on social media. From one tweet that I made, I was able to connect with a shark scientist, and when she talked back to me, I was like, oh my gosh, she responded.
[00:36:03] Liv: And so I say that if you're my age or any age, it's important that you are that person for younger kids, that you're the person that's going to help them love the world more.
[00:36:14] Olivia: Yeah. And I know you're working on a couple of new projects. The Future Women in STEAM Club at your high school is something you have on the docket, as well as the launch of your nonprofit Long Liv Books. Would you share with listeners about the STEAM Club and Long Liv Books? What do we have to be excited about coming from you in the future?
[00:36:34] Liv: So the STEAM Club was a club that I had the idea to start at my school this summer because science is a hundred percent my favorite class, and I want to go into the sciences when I grow up. And I wanted there to be a club that could be somewhere where other girls in my school who want to go into similar fields as me are able to connect with established women that are already doing that.
[00:36:52] Liv: And that way, they can learn from them and hear from their experiences. My club has ten people in it.
[00:36:58] Liv: Whoa.
[00:36:59] Olivia: It's a start!
[00:36:59] Liv: Ten people. And we just had our first guest speaker. Her name is Rebecca Woods, and she runs her own company, and she's in Health IT. And we were able to hear a presentation from her about her journey, starting all the way back from when she was a sophomore in high school to where she is now, a mom and a business owner.
[00:37:17] Liv: And I almost burst into tears that day when I saw that I had ten people, not including me! So technically, that's 11 people, and I was like, I never even dreamed that we would make it into the double digits because the first club meeting was in October, and it's just so incredible to see that from just a couple posters and announcements and sharing it with other people that I was able to find other girls in the school that I'd never even talked to that are in my " friend group" that I would've never been able to connect with, but hadn't been for.
[00:37:46] Olivia: Liv, I just interviewed Helen Corveleyn. She's a STEM facilitator, and she is also part of Project Dragonfly. She would be an absolutely magnificent guest for you and a huge supporter and advocate; I'll have to connect both of you.
[00:37:59] Liv: I would absolutely love that. I already have a ton of guest speakers that I've been able to connect with that hopefully will be able to come in and speak for my club, but also a huge part of the club that I hope. It's not going to probably happen in the first year, but that it can gain some outreach that will be able to connect with other girls at other high schools and that are similar to me in the way that they want to be able to start a club at their school that's going to gather all the girls and make a little community of people that want to go into STEAM fields because there is a severe lack of women in a lot of science in math fields, and I want to make sure that girls that feel inspired are able to hear from other women who are already doing that so they can hear about how they got there. And so, hopefully, it'll be able to start popping up at other high schools no matter how close or far away they are.
[00:38:43] Olivia: I think it's amazing.
[00:38:43] Liv: And that's one of the hopes, like, in the long term that I have for my club. But in the short term, originally, I wanted to get to 10 members, and I did. And I was so incredibly happy. I had to ask my chemistry teacher this year, who's a female. Will you be my advisor for this club? Will you help me out with it? And she said yes. And I'm so happy that she did.
[00:39:01] Olivia: Yeah, it's brilliant, and I think celebrating every little step that you make is part of a bigger goal. Talk to listeners. What is the mission and goal of the nonprofit Long Liv Books?
[00:39:15] Liv: I'm currently just getting this started, but I really want to make sure that kids everywhere have access to books, and I think that that is incredibly important for kids that love learning and kids that maybe are in areas that don't have a lot of access to books. And so that's why the whole purpose of this nonprofit would be to get books where kids really need them.
[00:39:36] Liv: And I'm currently still working it out a little bit, so it's not as established as my Women in STEAM Club, but I'm hoping that in the near future, it will be able to grow, and it will be able to gain its legs.
[00:39:47] Olivia: I know right now you're currently doing a major website redo for the New Year. Listeners need to know to look out for the new website launch in 2023. Better than ever. Your website now is absolutely amazing, so I can't even imagine how awesome it's going to be. I want to leave listeners with a word that I learned from reading your book refulgent.
[00:40:10] Olivia: R E F U L G E N T. It inspired the title of your book. Would you please, please share with listeners where this word derived from and how it was the catalyst for the title of your book?
[00:40:28] Liv: Okay, so this word comes with a story. So, are you ready?
[00:40:31] Olivia: I'm ready.
[00:40:31] Liv: So my mom and I, a couple years ago, were at the METC Conference in St. Louis. And we met Michael. He was our Uber driver from our airport to the hotel. And while we were with Michael on the way to the hotel, I was talking to him about how I was the keynote speaker at this conference and what I do, and how excited I was.
[00:40:49] Liv: And he was like, wow, this is so incredible. And when he got out, he gave us a big hug. Then three days later, I'm about to give my keynote, and I felt a small tap on my shoulder, and I turn around, and it was Michael. He volunteered for the whole day at the conference just so he could hear me speak. And he wore his own message shirt, which I thought was absolutely amazing.
[00:41:10] Liv: And after I was finished with my keynote, he came up to me, and he called me refulgent. . He said it means to shine brightly. And I thought that that was the most perfect word to describe my spirit, to describe my message, and to describe what I hope to give to the world. And if it hadn't been for Michael, then we may have not been able to come up with our title. That word is definitely one of my favorite words ever because not only was it given to me in such a meaningful way, but it also sparked so much hope in me. It made me think; I was like, wow, this is such a perfect word to describe what I hope to give to the world. So I really hope I can.
[00:41:43] Olivia: Liv refulgent is a perfect word to describe you, and I feel so lucky to have had the chance to be in conversation with you and to share with Schoolutions listeners all of the possibilities that are out there in the world if we listen to our children. Kids can teach us. We need to just pause and be present. You are a light, and thank you so, so much for being a guest.
[00:42:10] Liv: Thank you. I'm so happy I was able to talk with you. It was so much fun.
[00:42:15] Olivia: It was, and I love our common love of Pop-Tarts, just saying. Thanks, Liv.