future of learning

hould ChatGPT be allowed in the classroom? Russell Rhoads is an author and clinical associate professor at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He also doesn't believe that ChatGPT should be used in the classroom due to plagiarism and cheating. However, I don't think it's that simple. The workforce will be using ChatGPT if colleges like it or not. So, shouldn't the institution of college help students prepare for the workforce? 

Who made the better point and tell me why it was Russell. 

Full disclosure, every title and description on this YouTube channel was written with the help of ChatGPT, except for this one. I reached my limit of ChatGPT 4.0 for the day so I had to write this one myself. 

If you want to be a guest on Talking with Tarashuk  please email me at will@apspodcast.com with a link to your website and let me know why! 

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Claire Doody is Founder and Principal Consultant, at Work in Motion and Ex-Global Director(How We Work), at Twitter. She led the redesign of work at Twitter to support its decentralization strategy. 

The latest episode of the Digital Adoption Show features Akshay Moza, Manager, Customer Success, Whatfix and Claire Doody on The 5 Must-Follow Hacks to Build a Future-Proof Workplace.

4:54 - Technology has become the backbone of the L&D function. How can leaders use technology more effectively while keeping the human element in mind?

• Experiences can be made more human by using technology. 20 years ago, there was a huge gap between being alone, and working through content on an LMS but today we could have a transformational learning experience
• You've got multiple touch points like Slack and Zoom throughout the employee journey and it's very powerful. Well-designed tech-enabled learning can facilitate the human-centric approach and it can create continuity outside the classroom to build a sustainable relationship across peers which is much more inclusive
• To achieve high standards in L&D, you need to focus on good learning design and facilitation to create those learning experiences. This also creates tension between scalability and the number of touchpoints a learner might have. Meanwhile, there's plenty of content, rotting away on learning management systems that would make you feel very isolated, using e-learning

14:45- How do you create a change when building an L&D strategy? What are the three things you keep in mind?

• The first one is about understanding the business and its purpose. Understand the standard L&D offerings of employee onboarding, training and whatever is vital to your business over the coming years. If your business is going to double in size over the next 18 months, you will benefit from putting in place some diverse hiring and interviewing skills if your organization wants to break into new markets
• Be ruthless about what you focus on. You can quickly become an order taker when you come under pressure from various parts of the business. If you don't have a framework for taking things on and rejecting things, you will fall short of the resources or the capacity to take it all on and you can’t go anywhere
• Expand your thinking and appreciate that very few things can be addressed by learning alone, looking at the mindset, the behaviours with culture and the systems. Ask yourself what's incentivizing people to behave in the way that we're trying to address and what's stopping them. We need to reframe L&D as a performance consultant, so that doesn't always mean that there's going to be training in the solution

Claire Doody LinkedIn

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Gale Wilkinson, founder and managing partner at Vitalize Venture Capital, shares her wisdom on building startups with entrepreneurs. Gale talks about investing in the future of work and future of learning technologies, and highlights the questions she asks founders to understand their north star.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

4:44 What investors are looking for when they ask “Why did you pick this business?” 

6:08 How the virtual experience trend is driving innovation

11:37 Themes that influence how we think about the future of work

16:39 Benefits of angel networks to investors and founders

The non-profit organization that Gale is passionate about: Chicago Blend

About Guest Speaker

Gale Wilkinson is an angel investor and the Founder and Managing Partner at Vitalize, a seed fund and angel community investing in future of work + learning software. Gale is also a startup advisor and is currently a founding Board member of Chicago Blend, an organization focused on increasing diversity in VC and startups. Previously, Gale founded IrishAngels, one of the largest angel groups in the world. She also founded two failed startups, consulted for new product launches with Nielsen, and was part of the strategy team at Orbitz.

About Vitalize Venture Capital

Vitalize Venture Capital is a Chicago-based early-stage B2B software fund and 300+ member angel community investing in the high-potential future of work and future of learning technologies. Vitalize has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Portfolio companies include: CloudEagle, NOWHERE, The Mom Project, Toucan, Zingtree, Abstract, Enklu among others.

Learn more about Vitalize Venture Capital on Vitalize’s YouTube channel and The VITALIZE Podcast.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode that will drop next Tuesday. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

Dr. Panos Siozos, LearnWorlds CEO, went from academic to high-tech CEO and raised $32M from Insight Partners to help creators monetize e-learning courses. Dr. Siozos is our first guest from Cyprus and his story about building a remote-first, global team should inspire international entrepreneurs everywhere. As Dr. Siozos says, "everyone has something to teach... that someone else wants to learn." This is a great opportunity to understand the future of learning... in 30 minutes.

Listen and learn...

1. How Dr. Siozos transitioned from being an academic and researcher to a high-tech CEO
2. Why creators need a better platform to share and monetize custom e-learning courses
3. How technology is redefining the learning experience and why "the industrial education experience" is antiquated 
4. How future innovation in the areas of AI, AR, and VR will increase engagement rates for e-learning
5. Why Dr. Siozos says "...learning is the only superpower we possess as humans."

References in this episode:

• Bryan Talebi, Ahura AI CEO, on AI and the Future of Work
• Jordan Husney, Parabol CEO, on AI and the Future of Work
• LearnWorlds

Podchaser token: 9h5nXFjBF3PXuSmfUzrE

How can parents and teachers use their experience with distance learning and working from home to create a better new normal?

Maria invited back her friend and positive psychologist, Robert Zeitlin, to share his experience guiding and supporting parents, teachers and families to get back on track amidst the pandemic. 

Robert is the author of the books “Laugh More, Yell Less: A Guide to Raising Kick-Ass Kids” and “But I’m Not a Teacher! A Parent’s Guide to Learning Under Lockdown”.  He has been helping parents to turn the challenges created during distance learning and working from home into learning opportunities for the whole family. 

In this episode, Robert and Maria dive into the learning superpowers from positive psychology that can help parents identify their children’s character’s strengths to prepare them for better livelihoods. 

They also discuss the tension between parents and teachers during distance learning and provide guidance and insights to help them rebuild trust and create a better new norm at home and in the classroom. 

Using their shared experience in the mastermind group they co-created, they explore learning in relationships and unpack the role of time and space, infinite and finite games, and so much more in learning. 

This is a special episode between two friends and lifelong learners. Enjoy!

 Listen to this episode and explore:

Introducing Robert Zeitlin and sharing highlights from today's episode (1:22)

The first time Maria interviewed Robert while learning to podcast (3:25)

Inviting Robert back to share his experience supporting parents during the pandemic (4:02)

Publishing two books in 2020 to help parents navigate distance learning and working from home (5:52)

Discussing the Learning Superpowers from Positive Psychology (8:10)

Unpacking the Love of Learning (11:00)

The challenges parents have been experiencing while navigating the pandemic uncertainty (12:20)

How parents can act as role models for their children amidst ambiguity (13:55)

Learning is Relational: the role of people, emotions, time and space (17:28)

Unpacking their shared learning journey since Robert and Maria co-created a mastermind group  (20:54)

Discussing the tension created between parents and teachers in March of 2020 (23:50)

The development of the parent-teacher relationship amid the pandemic (26:48)

How parents can rebuild trust with teachers (28:42)

The dilemma of teachers during the pandemic (30:42)

Best practices to learn how to slow down (33:43)

How Maria created a consistent slow-down practice (35:54)

Reflecting on mastering skills vs being productive all the time (37:37)

Robert’s insights on how parents responded to the pandemic (39:23)

What parents learned about themselves, each other and their children (40:54)

How parents can identify their children’s potential using the character strengths from positive psychology (42:56)

Why parents need to identify their support needs before they focus on their children (44:38)

A simple approach for parents to decide if they need coaching or therapy (46:26)

The commitment parents need to make to get back on track (48:24)

How we can all use relational learning to create our post-pandemic new norm (51:03)

The opportunity parents and teachers have to build a stronger relationship (52:58)

Maria’s childhood story: how her mother and teachers had each other’s back (54:08)

The power of trusting that parents and teachers are doing the best they can (56:02)

Maria’s request to listeners to make recommendations for future guests and support the podcast (56:58)

Where to find more about Robert Zeitlin:

LinkedIn

Twitter

His personal website

Mentioned in this episode:

Book: Laugh More, Yell Less: Stuck-at-Home Edition

Book: But I'm Not a Teacher!: A Parent's Guide to Learning Under Lockdown

Positive Psychology & Character Strengths

Episode 11 with Robert (their first episode!)

Episode 9 with their friend David from Hire Cause

The episode when Maria shares her mother's learning journey

The Episode with Seth Godin: What's School For? 

 Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

 Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

 Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Feedback or feedforward, empowerment or control, focus on skills or outcomes? All questions that Bruce Fechyr-Lippens, founder at Huapii, addresses in this podcast about shifts the C-suite need to make to futureproof their organisations.

This episode is for students, parents and educators who want to learn how to design live virtual experiences for social and emotional learning. 

Today, Maria talks with Seth Fleischauer, president and founder at Banyan Global Learning, an organization that since 2008 has been using video conferencing to connect daily with learners in classrooms in Asia. 

Seth’s work is at the intersection of technology, language, culture and social and emotional learning. By connecting students to people, places and ideas to whom they would never otherwise have access, he believes that live video conferencing is an underutilized force of revolutionary change in education. 

Seth studied psychology at Princeton University and has been leaning on his experience as a public elementary school teacher to create meaningful educational experiences and authentic human connections. 

While watching his daughter struggle in the early days of the pandemic, Seth decided to help students and parents develop social and emotional skills that are the foundation of learning. Through their virtual programs, learners practice empathy, consider the relationship between their thoughts, feelings and actions and apply social and emotional skills to real-world homework assignments.

Tune in to learn from a leader in education who wants to inspire people to start to unpack the defences they put up over the years and build a greater emotional intelligence.

Listen to this episode and explore:

Introducing Seth Fleischauer and sharing highlights from today's episode (1:20)

How Seth discovered the power of personal expression and creativity in high school (3:30)

Deciding to study psychology to understand himself and heal from personal trauma (5:06)

Discussing how Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) can be incorporated into education (8:34)

Choosing between social work and education: the decision to become a teacher (10:22)

Reflecting on his experience as a teacher and what he would do differently today (12:46)

How teaching in Taipei, Taiwan during the summer led Seth to become a founder (14:50)

Making a bet on video conferencing (VC) and partnering with an outsider in education (17:29)

Unpacking the launch of their first VC-based program in 2008 and its evolution since then (18:40)

Banyan Global Learning (BGL): the origin of the name (21:40)

Their vision: to create responsible and kind global citizens through authentic connections (22:17)

How virtual experiences can help students develop cultural resilience (24:34)

How observing his daughter during the pandemic led Seth to make SEL an essential part of the design of their programs (26:24)

How learning is a collaborative experience between learning facilitators and learners (30:05)

Creating a Digital Citizenship program to help parents and children build essential skills (31:42)

How parents can establish deeper connections with their kids by solving problems together (34:20)

Unpacking the design of live virtual experiences for their key programs (38:34)

Using music to help students practice empathy while doing their homework (43:06)

What goes into the design of SEL-based virtual experiences: identifying and sharing emotions (44:41)

How to build richer live virtual experiences (48:49)

Seth’s desire to combine student voice and choice with technology to foster authentic human connections (52:05)

How Seth envisions the future of education as an expression of our shared values (54:50)

What Seth wants to leave his mark on within his lifetime (59:03)

Connect with Seth Fleischauer on LinkedIn

 Mentioned in this episode:

Banyan Global Learning

BGL Live Virtual Programs

Digital Citizenship Programs

Social &  Emotional Learning

Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions

Todd Amstrong: Seth’s uncle who provided SEL guidance

 Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

 Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Today, Maria talks with her friend Brandi Heather, Chief Knowledge Officer at AMPED2PLAY and author of the book Return To Play: Rebuilding Resilience, Risk and Reconnection. 

Brandi is an award-winning Disability and Inclusion Educator and Therapeutic Play Specialist with over 25 years of experience. She began her career as a college and university professor in Kinesiology and Sport Studies specializing in Adapted Physical Education and has been building solutions that meet the physical, cognitive, social and emotional needs of every person. 

Brandi utilizes the power of play to navigate diversity, inclusion, change management, self-care, and mental and physical health. She reveals how play is the catalyst to igniting and developing innovation and productivity and the foundation of moving from diversity to belonging. People and organizations that can play in both times of challenge and success will flourish because they have learned how to build from the unexpected and unknown, a skill built first in play.

Can play be the answer to our most complex social challenges of the 21st century? Play is when we are most open to taking risks because we feel our most capable and confident. In these moments, we are in a state of self-discovery and expression. We are learning, reaching, and attaining new experiences and skills. Being immersed in creative change, we are adapting and developing resilience.

Tune in for a lively conversation between two women passionate about playing and learning!

Listen to this episode and explore:

Introducing Brandi Heather and highlights of today’s episode (1:24)

Learning through play and fort-building in her childhood (2:54)

How her dad inspired her creativity through art (4:10)

Her relationship with school; being the helper and caring for others (5:22)

The decision to study education in college and her experience teaching young kids (7:20)

Creating a new program for students and kids with disabilities (10:38)

Building the course The Integrated Arts Approach to Movement (11:42)

Researching play therapy and designing play-based learning (14:20)

The mission of AMPED2PLAY: the role of movement in our body and mind (17:32)

The role of play in our biological and developmental process (19:25)

How AMPED2PLAY is serving all generations (20:34)

The role of play for our cognitive development through sensory experiences (22:00)

How playing in nature enables self-discovery in children (25:40)

Building skills playing Hide and Seek (27:18)

Why children choose to play in war zones and post-traumatic experiences (28:22)

The social aspect of play: how children choose how to engage (30:50)

The underdeveloped skills in play deprivation (34:08)

Unpacking the implications on mental health in young adults (37:12)

Maria’s reflection on the role of play growing up while attending industrial education (39:04)

How teachers can engage in play-based teaching and learning in their classrooms (40:58)

How to invite adults to participate in play by creating safety and cultivating trust (43:10)

The two different types of play for adults (44:54)

How to create effective team-building activities around play: build a common ground (46:46)

Why play is more essential for employees and organizations today than ever before (49:24)

What Brandi wants to leave her mark on during her lifetime (53:22)

How we can pass on the joy of play (54:13)

Where to find more about Brandi Heather:

Brandi on LinkedIn 

AMPED2PLAY

Amped Training

Mentioned in this episode:

Brandi's NEW book: Return to Play: Rebuilding Resilience, Risk and Reconnection

 Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

 Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

 Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Today, Maria is a guest co-host on Anette on Education. Together they take the opportunity to unpack education with one of their teachers, Seth Godin.  This episode is for teachers, principals, parents, and everyone who seeks to create change in education including those responsible for education policy.  

Seth has been outspoken about Education in his manifesto Stop Stealing Dreams, his TED Talk. He also published a course on Udemy called Seth Godin on Learning and Education. He asks the BIG question - What Is School For - and explains the difference between education and learning. 

Anette and Maria prompt Seth to share his insights on the progress we've made thus far, the change we're creating today and most importantly, where we’re headed. The three of them interrogate the role of teachers and parents and everyone involved in setting up the education systems. 

Seth is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, speaker, AND teacher. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 20 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn), and This Is Marketing. His newest book is The Practice, Shipping Creative Work. Seth also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne (acquired by Yahoo!).

Tune in to learn from a teacher who never ceases to amaze us with his remarkable insights!

The original conversation was published on Anette on Education.

 Listen to this episode and explore:

Introducing Seth Godin and the purpose of today's conversation(0:00)

What is the purpose of education? (2:08)

Looking back at the evolution of learning (3:05)

How Seth envisions the future of education (4:52)

Unpacking learning & education and students & adult learners (6:24)

The TED talk Seth never gave; What if the last kid on earth would enter kindergarten? (9:52)

How can we disrupt the education system? Unpacking the critical role of teachers (10:50)

How can indoctrinated students become lifelong learners? (13:50)

How can we address custodial care issues in K12 education? (15:54)

The role of parents and how community and education systems can support them (18:53)

Seth’s Manifesto on Stop Stealing Dreams: What Is School For? (20:24)

Do we need to blow the education system up? Seth’s suggestion to learn from prison reform (21:18)

How technology is disrupting education but continues to support testing and compliance (23:23)

The role of creativity in the future of education: figuring out what to do next! (25:49)

Seth’s call-to-action for listeners: the BIG question again! (27:10)

Anette’s closing remarks (28:02)

Where to find more about Seth Godin:

Seth’s Website

Seth’s Blog

Seth on LinkedIn

 Mentioned in this episode:

Stop Stealing Dreams

Seth’s Books & Courses

Akimbo Workshops

The Podcasting Workshop (former Fellowship)

Anette on Education Podcast

Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Co-host: Anette Carlisle

Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

Today, Maria talks with Trevor Soponis, Founder and Chief Learning Officer at The Sustainable Learning Programs, an organization dedicated to transforming education for students, educators and the planet. His doctorate from New York University examined the impacts of innovative environmental education programs while proposing a unique system to better support the design and implementation of sustainable ecological learning in K-12 education.

This episode is for students, teachers, parents, and educators interested in transforming our schools to become places where students learn by working on projects that contribute to solving the biggest issues facing our planet. 

Trevor shares how he partners with teachers, schools, and districts to design innovative project-based learning experiences that allow students to make a meaningful impact on people, communities and society. We dive into two Sustainable Projects - Project Ocean Harvest and Project Student Voice -  and together, we unpack how through collaboration, connection and contribution, students learn, build skills, solve real-life problems, and create impactful work. 

We also talk about how project-based learning experiences enable teachers to become the coaches, facilitators and supporters that we want them to be so they can create the next generation of lifelong learners. We reflect on how parents, during their distance learning experience, are realizing how little we are expecting from their children at school and what boredom really looks like. 

Tune in to learn from an innovative leader who wants to change the fundamental learning experience for every learner in the world where each one of them has the authority and autonomy to direct their learning journey. 

Listen to this episode and explore:

Introducing Trevor Soponis and sharing highlights from today's episode (1:03)

Reflecting on formative classroom experiences; what he would have preferred to learn in high school (4:00)

Deciding to study English and becoming a teacher in an alternative high school in NYC (6:43)

Discussing the Small Schools Movement and reflecting on transformation in K12 (9:12)

Pursuing his Masters in Education and PhD in Learning and Teaching (11:45)

Exploring the impacts of ecological and environmental education programs during his PhD (15:10)

Deciding to found The Sustainable Learning Programs to put his research findings into practice (16:42)

Reflecting on his career experiences that led him to create The Sustainable Learning Programs (18:55)

The Ocean Harvest Project: re-designing the biology course curriculum and training students on their potential future work in Alaska (20:44)

The origin of the Ocean Harvest Project: co-designing a project for learning and impact on the community  (23:28)

Unpacking student’s learning experience and future plans for the Ocean Harvest Project (24:50)

Discussing how Trevor collaborates with teachers in co-designing the project-based learning experience that enables students to enjoy learning and prepare for their future jobs (29:05)

How Trevor creates international networks of schools where student can connect with other learners beyond the walls of their respective classrooms (30:14)

The Student Voice Project: how students create and share content based on their personal preferences (31:52)

The origin of the Student Voice Project: Trevor’s lifelong dream to connect students across time and space academically (34:44)

What students enjoy while contributing to the Student Voice Project (36:38)

How The Sustainable Learning Projects create models that lead to transformational change in K12 education (37:55)

The role that parents can play in their children’s learning, especially after their distance learning experience (39:27)

How The Sustainable Learning Projects are creating pathways to drive lifelong change in K12 education (45:17)

How teachers can start with a 3-week project-based learning unit using free resources (48:12)

What Trevor wants to leave his mark on within his lifetime; the ultimate goal he aspires to achieve for lifelong learners around the world (49:42)

Parents’ awakening during distance learning amid the pandemic (51:37)

Where to find more about Trevor Soponis:

LinkedIn

Twitter

 Mentioned in this episode:

The Sustainable Learning Projects

The Small Schools Movement 

Small Schools: The Edu-Reform Failure That Wasn't 

 Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

 Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

 Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Today, Maria brings back Julie Delich, Vice President of Retention at Wiley Education Services, which partners with academic institutions and organizations to improve our world through education. 

In this episode, they do a deep dive into the online learning advising model Julie, and her team developed using four principles: appreciative advising, proactive advising, cognitive behavioral theory and shame resilience theory. During this engaging conversation, they unpack how advisors guide and support students to complete their online learning program using the 5Cs: Connect, Create, Challenge, Collaborate and Commit.  

They also discuss how advisors partner with students to ensure that they have the support, resources, confidence and resilience to overcome challenges during their learning journey. They accomplish that by helping students develop critical thinking, set achievable goals, be accountable to others and keep their promises. 

By the end of this conversation, you will know when to use one of the most powerful questions: “what is your ideal outcome?” that works with children, students, and lifelong learners! 

This is an insightful conversation with a person who combines a clinical mental health background with engaging storytelling and contagious laughter! If you want to learn more about Julie’s learning journey and work, you can listen to episode 64 that also offers resources and insights to help guide lifelong learners on their higher education journey.

 Listen to this episode and explore:

Welcoming Julie Delich back and highlights from today's episode (1:10)

Developing the Online Learning Advising Model (OLAM) to address students who were dropping out despite receiving proactive advising (4:01)

The methodology Julie and her team used to design OLAM (7:12)

How students start receiving online learning advising support; introducing the 5Cs approach (9:21)

Advisors: who they are and how they get trained to serve the students (11:40)

How advisors establish a quick connection with students using follow-up questions (13:50)

How advisors guide students to create their vision of the future, define their ideal outcome and their “why” (17:07)

How advisors challenge students’ misconceptions by guiding them to examine the truth (19:42)

How advisors help students overcome challenges by asking them strength-based questions (23:12)

How advisors and students commit to their next steps and follow-up actions (25:05)

The five planned connection points between advisors and students ( 27:26)

How advisors use a simple engagement question to stay connected and uncover potential challenges (29:20)

How advisors Identify students who need individualized support to overcome challenges (30:22)

How advisors provide resources to students who need help with their mental well-being (33:03)

How advisors help students stay focused on what they have control over when they get overwhelmed (35:05)

The more challenging part for advisors and their core competencies and skills (38:40)

Introducing the shame resilience theory and how advisors use empathy to help students get out of their darkness (42:30)

How students embrace their personal power to seek support and use resources (45:10)

How Wiley Education Services assess students’ progress and retention (46:14)

Julie’s plans to study the effectiveness of OLAM for underserved students and clinical placement experience (49:19)

How advisors update educators and faculty on students’ progress and challenges and how they prompt needed actions (50:35)

Closing remarks on the timely need of the online learning advising model (52:10)

 Where to find more about Julie Delich:

On LinkedIn

Leadership Team of Wiley Education Services

Mentioned in this episode:

Wiley Education Services

Episode 64: Julie Delich on Impact Learning

The Online Learning Advising Model (OLAM)

Student Retention

The 5Cs Process: Advising in Times of Uncertainty

The Shame Resilience Theory & Brene Brown’s TED talk

Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

 Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

For educators who feel that everything they love about teaching has been thrown away, this conversation offers insights to help navigate the current turmoil in higher education by learning how universities can co-design a more equitable future of digital education to continue to serve teachers, students, staff and the local community. 

Our guest today is Michael Gallagher, lecturer in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh, co-programme director of the MSc in Digital Education and a member of the Centre of Research in Digital Education. Previously, Michael was an Assistant Professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, Korea. 

Today he works on digital education projects in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda) and often collaborates with INGOs, including the World Bank’s Open Learning Campus and UN-Habitat. He currently works on Foundations for All, a Mastercard Foundation project exploring blended learning pathways for refugees into higher education in Uganda and Lebanon.

Michael was a researcher on the Near Future Teaching project, a project that explored how teaching at The University of Edinburgh unfolds over the coming decades, as technology, social trends, patterns of mobility, and new media continue to shift what it means to be at the university. 

Michael has been awarded The University of Edinburgh Principal's Medal for 2020 for his outstanding contribution to support the university during 2020. In this episode, you will learn how Michael helped his colleagues and students move their courses online by leveraging his experience teaching the online MSc in Digital Education years before the pandemic. 

Maria and Michael also unpack the role of mobile learning in creating a more inclusive education, especially for underserved and marginalized communities. They also share their thoughts and experience related to the pedagogy of simultaneity and serendipity in learning as they discover their shared passion for audio and natural sounds.

This is a rare conversation with a researcher and a teacher who wants to positively influence people’s view of what teaching can be, what teachers are and what role they serve in digital education.

Listen to this episode and explore:

Introducing Michael Gallagher and key highlights from today’s episode (1:20)

Michael’s desire to become a teacher and be involved in education (6:32)

Studying education, information science and digital education: an international, on-campus and online learning experience (8:20)

Michael’s current role at the University of Edinburgh in the UK and his thoughts on how digital education is empowering the teacher (12:54)

The Near Future Teaching project at the University of Edinburgh; the project's scope and lessons shared with other institutions (15:40)

Comparing the outcomes of the Near Future Teaching project with the higher education trends in the UK and beyond (19:43)

How higher education institutions can identify their probable new futures and co-create their preferred future using agency, and participation (22:05)

Resources and insights to help teachers navigate the current uncertainty in higher education individually and at their institutions (24:40)

How to anticipate the future of higher education by learning to interrogate the present through the lens of the future (28:05)

The Centre of Research in Digital Education: key areas of focus (30:55)

The importance of internet connectivity and mobile-first approach to enhance access to online learning in developed and emerging countries (33:38)

What Michael learned while supporting sub-Saharan Africa universities to teach online during the pandemic and how he leveraged this experience to help the University of Edinburgh (38:05)

Michael and Maria share their gratitude and appreciation for the impact of education in their lives and careers (40:34)

A discussion about global education and local, community-led education practices (42:20)

The evolution of mobile technology in online learning and the role of mobility in society (47:10)

How mobile learning offers flexibility and enables alternative ways in online learning (52:04)

How Michael experienced the implications of the pandemic through the projects of his MSc students who, as education professionals, were transitioning their courses online (54:10)

What Michael wants his MSc students to learn to be able to shape a more equitable future of digital education (57:10)

How a project exploring automation in teaching helped teachers interrogate what they believed their teaching practices to be and what they could be (59:20)

The pedagogy of simultaneity: learning in a non-linear fashion, allowing subconscious learning to occur over time and the role of serendipity in learning (1:02:30)

Maria and Michael discuss their shared passion for audio content and how recording natural sounds is a form of active learning (1:07:05)

What Michael wants to leave his mark on during his lifetime (1:09:40)

 Where to find more about Michael Gallagher:

At the University of Edinburgh

At the Centre of Digital Education

At the Near Future Teaching Project

Michael’s Personal Website

Michael on Twitter

Michael on LinkedIn

Mentioned in this episode:

Near Future Teaching Project

Prof. Sian Bayne at  the University of Edinburgh

Near Future Teaching Project Team

Michael’s Research Projects

Michael’s Audio Recordings

Michael’s Video Content

Pedagogy of Simultaneity: multiple references on the work of Michael with Pekka Ihanainen

 Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

 Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

 Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Today, Maria talks with Jethro Jones, founder of Transformative Principal and author of the book SchoolX. Since he launched his podcast Transformative Principal in 2013, Jethro has been interviewing thought leaders in education and business to learn how to transform schools. After helping other principals, he realized that he could have the impact he always desired if he coached many more principals to transform their own schools. 

Jethro wanted all his students to know that he cared for them as individual human beings, independently of their grades and where they came from. He became a principal to create systemic change in schools with one simple goal in mind: to create schools that children love going to. 

He wrote the book SchoolX describing exactly how school leaders can do that themselves. SchoolX helps principals redesign their schools (even in the midst of the pandemic) to better serve their teachers, students, parents, community, and themselves. 

During our conversation, Jethro shares powerful stories about empowering a 7th-grade student to design her curriculum aligned with her passion and level, guiding unmotivated middle-school boys to discover their interests, using goal-setting to help a student who was getting into fights develop self-control, and many more. 

If you are a parent tired of feeling frustrated with your children, Jethro, who decided to homeschool his own children during the pandemic, offers simple recommendations you can use to guide your children to learn how to set goals, make their own decisions, and trust themselves. 

This is an inspiring conversation with a patient and empathetic educator who is helping schools create a transformative learning experience for all. 

Listen to this episode and explore:

Introducing Jethro Jones and what we talk about in this episode (1:04)

Jethro’s childhood memory learning to do woodworking (4:20)

Experiencing a school system not designed for Jethro as an individual student (5:00)

Becoming a teacher and learning to navigate school while creating a change (6:20)

His passion for helping students get a glimpse of their potential (9:10)

How Jethro empowered a 7th-grade student to design her curriculum aligned with her interest and level (9:50)

How Jethro guided middle-school boys to discover their interests and passions (12:55)

Jethro’s perspectives on the non-linear learning of children during the pandemic (15:35)

How teachers can build trust with students by creating agreements with them and being patient (16:55)

What Jethro’s kids learned being homeschooled during the pandemic: how to make their own decisions, plan their own time, and trust themselves (18:40)

How Jethro learned to adapt by watching what was working with his most challenging students plus an inspiring story about learning poetry (22:22)

Jethro’s decision to become a principal to make changes at a systemic level in the school (26:32)

How his Transformative Principal podcast and experience coaching other principals transform their schools led Jethro to found Transformative Principal (28:06)

Jethro’s book SchoolX: How principals can design a transformative school experience for students, teachers, parents – and themselves (29.35)

Maria’s insights on SchoolX and how Jethro wants principals to use the book to transform their schools (32:55)

The 5 stages of school transformation from traditional teaching to student-driven learning (37:02)

How student-driven learning is fun for both students and teachers (41:10)

Involving parents in every step of the way of transforming the school (43:23)

How schools can design project-based learning to solve specific problems while teaching English, math, science and history (44:28)

The importance of developing empathy for other people in K12 education (48:10)

How Jethro has used goal-setting to help his children develop self-control (49:25)

A glorious story about one of his students who set a goal to get to the end of the school year without getting into a fight and what happened when he did (53:18)

Jethro’s simple recommendations to help principals and teachers build trust with their students (55:54)

How to reach out to Jethro to talk about making your school better (58:01)

What Jethro wants to leave his mark on during his lifetime (58:34)

 Where to find more about Jethro Jones:

Connect with Jethro at JethroJones.com

The Podcast: Transformative Principal with Jethro Jones

Jethro on LinkedIn

 Mentioned in this episode:

The FREE first chapter of the book ScoolX

What Learning Looks Like (related to learning gaps or learning loss)

Student-Driven Learning

Learning to Choose, Choosing to Learn by Mike Anderson

Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Can learning drive organisational growth? We believe it can. And so does James Hampton, Head of Development and Engagement at SeaSalt Cornwall. In this podcast James shares his experience with and research on how learning can impact organisational growth, boosting financial, human capital and social capital success.

Today, Maria talks with Yonat Sharon, a freelance iOS developer, writer, and speaker. Her learning journey, and that of her four children, is one of a kind and might change your mind about education as we know it. 

Yonat learned to code at home at a very young age after her father bought a computer for her older brother. And for over twenty years, she has been unschooling her four children. When digital communities were not a thing, she built a virtual place for the unschooling community in Israel to connect families across the country and enable them to learn and grow together. 

If you are a parent considering unschooling your children, this conversation provides actionable insights to help you get started and ease your way on a learning journey where life is the curriculum. Even if unschooling is not for you, this episode offers specific recommendations on what schools can learn from unschooling to help them develop independent, lifelong learners who own their learning journey and create the life they want. 

If you are a parent with your children at home struggling with distance learning, Yonat’s unique experience and perspectives will help you identify opportunities to make your children’s learning enjoyable for them and you. 

This was an eye-opening conversation for Maria. Not only did it help her change her mind about a few aspects of conventional education, but it also guided her to think about learning as a beautiful tool to build stronger connections with our families, friends and communities. 

I hope you will enjoy this conversation that turns traditional education on its head and provides specific and actionable insights to help you build better relationships with your children while learning at home.

 Listen to this episode and explore:

Introduction to Yonat Sharon (1:28)

Yonat’s favorite childhood memory playing in nature (4:25)

How Yonat learned to code at home at a young age when her older brother got a computer (5:26)

Studying science and math and wanting to have a family (8:40)

How Yonat and her husband decided to start unschooling their children (9:33)

The difference between homeschooling and unschooling (11:40)

How Yonat supports her children with their learning interests and how the children find what they want to learn (12:34)

Learning in physical and social places through real-life experiences (15:05)

Yonat’s insights about supporting her four children’s needs on a given day (15:55)

The learning preferences of her children driven by their interests and passions (17:28)

How children can be self-directed learners, but they don’t have to be (19:42)

How to create an effective learning environment at home using short-feedback loops (20:46)

How to improvise when children’s interests change over time (23:25)

Yonat’s approach to unschooling her children through trial and error and the skills she developed along the way (24:00)

One thing that Yonat would do differently if she started unschooling her children today: joining the unschooling community and meeting other parents and children from the start (26:26)

How Yonat created a virtual community for the unschooling families driven by her interest in the wiki and world-wide-web (28:00)

Why the children wanted to have their own wiki and how they learned to read and write while building lifelong friendships (29:26)

Maria and Yonat discuss how children develop independence by parents and teachers getting out of their way (31:05)

What school can learn from unschooling to help them develop lifelong independent learners: student-driven learning and short-feedback loops (33:34)

Yonat’s unique insights on the role of control, neglect, involvement and connection in unschooling and parenting (36:00)

The greatest gift of unschooling: Time. And how time helps children to immerse in deep learning (38:38)

Why children like to learn difficult things as long as they relate to them (41:06)

Maria and Yonat discuss the role of fantasy play and storytelling in learning and planning  (43:38)

How Yonat guided her children to learn through play and storytelling to (47:47)

Yonat’s family experience during the pandemic: How knowing how to be with each other made things easier during the stay-at-home restrictions (49:24)

Maria and Yonat discuss the role of community in unschooling and homeschooling and how physical communities have evolved over the years (51:16)

What Yonat wants to leave her mark on during her lifetime. It might surprise you! (56:20)

Where to find more about Yonat Sharon:

LinkedIn

Professional Experience 

Learn more about curriculum-based Homeschooling

Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

 Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Today, Maria shines the light on the change in education that often occurs unnoticed through initiatives teachers lead in their classrooms. She shares the stories of three high school teachers who teach different subjects from history to English, physics and chemistry but do have one thing in common: They want to help their students build skills that are rarely developed through the traditional curriculum, or they are developed in ways that students don’t find engaging. Under their respective circumstances and in their own ways, these three teachers decided to lead initiatives and create new experiences for their students. In doing so, they expanded or replaced the standard curriculum in their classrooms. Listen to these inspiring stories and Maria’s reflections to help you make education better, one classroom at a time. 

 Listen to this episode and explore:

How teachers’ initiatives help high school students build skills rarely developed in the classroom (0:30)

How Matt identified a different approach to motivate students to learn to write by becoming bloggers (2:20)

How Howard taught his students financial skills to help them avoid making the mistakes he did  (7:20)

How Dennis started a school newspaper to help his students develop media literacy skills and find their voice. (13:45)

Maria’s closing reflections and call-to-action (20:05)

 Where to find more about Matt, Howard and Dennis:

Matt Neil on LinkedIn

Matt Neil on Twitter

Matt’s Podcast: The Good Humans Show 

Howard Malitz on LinkedIn

Dennis Mihalsky on Linkedin

Students Disrupting

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode 57 - Creating Good Humans by Teaching Students & Training Teachers with Matt Neil

Episode 63 - Becoming a Teacher: The Long Road to True Belonging with Howard Malitz

Episode 37 - Empowering Students to Find their Voice with Dennis Mihalsky

Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

 Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Today, Maria talks with Sonia Tiwari, a learning scientist and PhD candidate in Learning, Design, and Technology at Penn State University. Through her research, Sonia explores how children learn in informal environments using educational media and maker activities. She uses these insights to inform the design of creative learning environments, be it a classroom, a summer camp or a maker workshop.

Trained in electronic media, design and animation, she worked as a visual, game & user experience designer in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through her experience in educational games, she discovered the beauty of learning science and found her calling in early childhood education research. 

If you are a parent, you will learn a plethora of educational media resources to help you design the best learning activities for your children at home. 

If you are an industry designer, you will be inspired by Sonia’s journey that will offer you insights on how to explore and design a career path in game-based learning both in formal and informal environments. 

And if you are a professor in higher education, Sonia has a request and a call-to-action for you: when you are looking for a grad student, please be open-minded and welcome people with different backgrounds. 

This is a wonderful conversation with a visual designer and learning scientist who wants to put a smile on the face of learners by designing resources that are useful, beautiful, playful and funny!

 Where to find more about Sonia Tiwari:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Visual Design Portfolio

Mentioned in this episode:

PBS KIDS

Curious George on PBS KIDS

Peg + Cat on PBS KIDS

Resources for Parents on PBS KIDS

iNaturalist by National Geographic

Why Game Designers & Game Researchers Should Meet More Often

Can Color Influence Learning?

Yasmin Kafai

 Listen to this episode and explore:

How Sonia embraced her curiosity and creativity in high school (4:10)

Studying electronic media in India and character animation at the Academy of Art in San Francisco (6:32)

Being supported by her family to pursue her creative endeavors to (8:07)

Coming to the US to specialize in animation before working in the game industry (9:26)

Reflecting on the skills, Sonia developed as a visual and game designer (11:45)

How Sonia describes herself in one word (14:00)

Her decision to pursue her PhD in Learning, Design and Technology at Penn State University (14:42)

Sonia’s research in exploring children’s learning experiences using educational media (16:06)

How to assess that their children are learning through media engagement (19:21)

Examples of learning environments that Sonia designed in classroom and summer camp (21:42)

How Sonia incorporates her creative skills into the design of informal learning environments (25:24)  

The challenges that academic researchers face while designing educational games (27:07)

How traditional instructional designers can leverage the wealth of creative designers in the industry (30:22) 

Insights and resources for parents to help them design a learning environment at home (33:13)

Sonia’s ideas for designers who want to innovate in the future of learning from home (35:04)

How to design engaging maker activities online plus one example from Sonia  (36:51)

How to embrace storytelling in the design of learning experiences (39:25)

The role of age and culture in how children engage with educational media (41:48)

How Sonia’s son brings new meaning and contributes to her research (44:37)

Challenges and opportunities in the future of early childhood education; the role of practitioners and researchers (46:08)

The need to create opportunities for industry designers who want to build a career in Education (51:38)

What Sonia wants to leave her mark on within her lifetime (55:31)

Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

 Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

 Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks