Digical Education

What's Next: Engagement, Feedback, & Relationships w/ Jon Eckert

In the course of the coming weeks I'm sharing short 5-10 minute conversations with friends about "What's Next?" as we prepare for what happens after this period of quarantine and emergency remote learning.
Jon Eckert is a friend that I've been having education conversations with for 18 years, and he is a professor of Education at Baylor University and author of Leading Together and Novice Advantage.

What's Next: Double Down on Learning w/ Mitch Salerno

I've been having a number of conversations and reading many articles about the future of Education and schooling in this time of "emergency remote learning" and shelter in place. Therefore, I thought I would ask my friends in innovation a single question, What's Next, to get their reflections and spur our thinking as we look ahead. So look for a short podcast coming on Tuesdays and Thursdays for April and May.
In this 8-minute conversation with Mitch Salerno of Monte Vista Christian School he shares his initial thoughts about how Nothing and Everything will change, but upon further reflection he is going to double down on "What does it mean to be a learner?".

Lyfta and Leaning into Surprises: Conversation w/ Serdar Ferit

I had the opportunity to meet Serdar Ferit during a recent trip to London where he shared more about his work as a former teacher, creator of documentaries, and how that all came together in his new company, Lyfta (www.lyfta.com). Lyfta is a subscription based digital platform where teachers and pupils can access immersive storyworlds and curriculum-based lesson and assembly plans.
I had the opportunity to experience Awra Amba in Ethiopia, which I asked Serdar about in this podcast. However, the most striking thing to me about this conversation were Serdar's comments at the end about "leaning into the surprises."

"Whole: What Teachers Need to Help Students Thrive" book conversation w/ Rex Miller

This is the third podcast I've had the opportunity to do with Rex Miller (https://rexmiller.com/) who is the principal for MindShift, a leading futures consultancy, human performance, coaching, and organizational strategy company. Rex is also the co-author of "Humanizing the Education Machine" and was a guide for a recent MindShift project I had the opportunity to help develop (https://mindshift.school/). 
This conversation is the third podcast I've had the opportunity to do with Rex and is about his recent MindShift project and new book "Whole: What Teachers Need to Help Students Thrive." See this website for more information on the book: https://hope.school/.
At the end of the conversation I get Rex's encouragement and prediction on what happens to "the system" after the coronavirus quarantine. I especially appreciated his comment that "there will be no going back."

College: Is it Worth It? Conversation w/ Albert Cheng

The value of College has been brought into question over the past few years, and I get to do College Counseling for a profession. Therefore, I found the research that Albert Cheng, David Sikkink, and Cardus (https://www.cardus.ca/research/education/reports/what-do-they-deliver/) has been quite beneficial to me in thinking through the purpose, value, and outcomes of Higher Education. I specifically appreciate the conversation with Albert on the importance of gaining discernment for the opportunities in seeking a vocation and developing relationships.
Bio: Albert Cheng is an assistant professor at the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, where he received his PhD in education policy. He teaches courses on the history and philosophy of education as well as education policy analysis. He is known for his research on character formation, school choice policy, faith-based schooling, and homeschooling. He also serves on the editorial board for the International Journal of Christianity and Education. In addition to being a Cardus Senior Fellow, he is an research affiliate with Charassein: The Character Assessment Initiative at the University of Arkansas and the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University. He has a master's degree in education from Biola University and was a high school math teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area after completing a mathematics degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ed Policy Reflections and Predictions w/ Corey DeAngelis

Happy New Year and welcome to the 2020s! In this podcast, Corey shares a bit about the Ed Policy scrum that he found himself toward the end of 2019, but most significantly we talk about what we've discovered in the past decade about School Choice, what he is researching and wondering about as we head into the 2020s, and a couple prognostications about the future along the way.
Bio: Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) is the director of school choice at Reason Foundation. He is also an adjunct scholar at Cato Institute.
DeAngelis' research primarily focuses on the effects of school choice programs on non-academic outcomes such as criminal activity, character skills, mental health, political participation, and schooling supply. He has authored or co-authored over 40 journal articles, book chapters, and reports on education policy. 
 

Grit Leadership & Coaching Development: Conversation w/ Kevin Broene

This is a fun conversation for me as Kevin Broene is a very good friend, and I had the opportunity to work with him during our time together at Chicago Christian High School. It is exciting for me to share with you the thoughtful and innovative work that Kevin is doing with coaches and athletic departments around the United States.
Bio: Kevin Broene has innovated a new way of thinking about coaching evaluation and development as he leads Grit Leadership for Educational Athletics (www.gritleadershipea.com). He also currently serves as an Athletic Director at Grand Rapids Christian Schools, and has been an educator for fifteen years as a teacher, coach, and admissions director.

Economic Modeling for Ed Policy: Conversation with Derek Neal

"Policy makers must combine efforts to promote competition among schools with well-designed accountability systems," states Dr. Derek Neal.
This is one of the longer conversations I've had for this podcast as it is economic modeling to better understand the effectiveness of Education Policy is new to me. The conversation is based upon the work that Dr. Derek Neal does in his class through the lessons in his book Information, Incentives, and Education Policy. I enjoy challenging my own beliefs, and in particular enjoyed the second half of the conversation about the combination of Accountability and Choice as the key cornerstones to effective policy.
Bio: Dr. Derek Neal is William C. Norby Professor in Economics in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Neal studies labor, black-white wage inequality, economics of crime, and education policy. He is the recipient of Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2016), a fellow with the Society of Labor Economists (2008), President of the Midwest Economics Association (2009-10), former Co-Editor, Journal of Human Resources, former Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Labor Economics, and former Editor, Journal of Political Economy. He is also the author of Information, Incentives, and Education Policy.

A Voice for Choice: Conversation with Walter Blanks

This conversation is with Walter Blanks who shares his school choice story that started in Columbus, Ohio and has allowed him to become an advocate for students and families throughout the United States. Likewise, it has provided him the opportunity to engage in the broader policy conversations even with a round table conversation with the president at the White House yesterday.
Bio: Walter Blanks Jr. is a Communications Associate at the American Federation for Children. Before joining AFC full-time, Walter was chosen for the first cohort of the AFC Future Leaders Fellowship, which is a year-long advocacy and professional development program for graduates of private school choice programs. Before moving to Washington, D.C. to join the national team, Walter championed educational freedom and shared his story across the country serving as a 2018 50CAN National Voices Fellow, an advocacy fellowship that aims to find, connect and support young leaders in education.
To learn more about his work: https://www.federationforchildren.org/voices-archive/walter-blanks/

Faith, Rwanda, & Global Education: Conversation w/ Ben Thomas

Benjamin Thomas is Founder and CEO of B2TheWorld (www.b2theworld.com) and the leader of Kigali International Community School in Rwanda. He is a New Yorker, the son of Indian immigrants to the U.S., and is a husband and raising 4 kids in Rwanda.
In this podcast, Ben shares about his journey that led him to Rwanda, the founding of B2TheWorld, the desire for educational opportunities in the most difficult parts of the world, and his work with educational leaders.