Anurupa Ganguly, the Founder and CEO of Prisms VR, returns to Trending in Ed to catch us up on her journey as Prisms begins to implement VR Math interventions at scale. We hear what it's been like since February of 2021 when we first spoke with her.We hear how Anurapa and the team at Prisms are designing rich narrative-based simulations couched in real-world examples of simulations that require math for problem-solving. We learn where Prisms is headed next and get an expert's take on how virtual reality simulations can allow a deeper foundational understanding of mathematical concepts. This aids greatly in improving performance and accelerating comprehension.It's a forward-looking examination of an emerging space that you won't want to miss.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of education.

Mike reports from the midst of a big week of Education and Innovation conference he's attending in New York. In addition to showcasing his favorite sessions from Fast Company Innovation Festival and EdTech Week, we continue our storied tradition of breaking down the recently released Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies 2022 while making connections to the world of learning and the future of work along the way.Gartner highlights 25 emerging technologies grouped into three categories: Evolving and Expanding Immersive Experiences, Accelerating AI Automation, and Optimized Technologist Delivery. We quickly rattle them off before showcasing two sessions Mike attended this week: Wayne Brady's session on Improv from the FC Innovation Fest and Angela Duckworth and Esther Wojcicki's conversation from EdTech Week. There's plenty to chew on as we return to the conference scene and try to get out ahead of trends in search of the new hotness while steering clear of the hype.You can find out more about what Wayne's doing here. Angela's Character Lab is here. And Susan's Tract App is here. Thanks as always for listening.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of education, investment, and innovation in these transformative times.

Celine Coggins is a social entrepreneur passionate about building networks and collective action to reduce inequity. She founded Teach Plus in 2007 to address the growing need for authentic teacher leadership to transform the nation’s schools and our education system. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Grantmakers for Education.Celine joins host Mike Palmer in a conversation about her new endeavor The Legacy Years Project, an initiative looking to activate members of Generation X to establish a positive collective legacy. She looks for lessons learned from how the Millennial and Gen Z generations successfully organized around student loan debt as highlighted in her recent LinkedIn article. Celine points to issues like securing Social Security and reining in social media and polarization as potential signature issues for the oft-forgotten generation to organize around.It's a thought-provoking exploration of generational zeitgeists you won't want to miss!Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of learning.

Kathryn Patricia Cobbler is a musician, composer, and educator. She joins host Mike Palmer in a conversation about the role of music and the arts in education. As a special treat we include some of Kathryn’s original composition, When Mountains Speak, as part of the episode.Kathryn emphasizes the reflective nature of our transformative times as she makes a persuasive case for the importance of incorporating music into our educational experiences. She also talks about the importance of engagement with learners through music and thoughtful lesson design. We also touch on music’s transcendent qualities in a creative exploration of the critical role of music and the arts in the future of education.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more insightful perspectives on the world of learning.

Dr. Sameer Maskey is the Founder and CEO of Fusemachines, an AI Education and Services Company. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University. He joins host Mike Palmer in a conversation about his mission to democratize AI by making high-quality AI education affordable and accessible to everyone.We begin by hearing Sameer's origin story, beginning in Nepal before studying engineering and AI in the States. He joined the IBM Watson team before founding Fusemachines in 2013. Sameer shares what it's been like leading an AI company through transformative times. He shares his takes on how to build strong foundations to become an AI developer and learn where he sees the most promise in the application of machine learning and AI in the coming years.It's an insightful conversation with an expert in a critical emerging skill space that you won't want to miss.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on what's new and emerging in the world of learning.

Mike Palmer is back to kick off the 7th season of Trending in Education with our 493rd episode! Coming off a great run that showcased many of our best episodes throughout the summer, we're back with fresh content as Mike looks ahead at the upcoming conversations we have in store as our new season begins.We start previewing Mike's conversation with Sameer Maskey from Fusemachines talking about how he's democratizing AI. From there, we talk music education and the arts with Kathryn Patricia Cobbler in an episode that features a sampling of Kathryn's music. Then we talk Gen X and get zeitgeisty with Celine Coggins who talks about why she is founding The Legacy Years to activate collective action among the oft-forgotten generation. From Gen X to Gen Z, Mike then previews his conversation with Rebecca Mendoza about teaching Accounting and launching her career at 28. We conclude with reflections on conversations with Miriam Plotinsky about her book Teach More, Hover Less and with Anurupa Ganguly, the Founder and CEO of PrismsVR, about using VR to unlock a deeper conceptual understanding of math.All of these conversations are on the horizon as we look forward to celebrating our 500th episode this Fall. We're very happy to have you along for the ride.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of learning.

Our final Best of Trending in Ed for the summer showcases a conversation with Dr. Leo Casey about his book, The Teacher Insurgency.Mike welcomes Dr. Leo Casey, the Executive Director of the Albert Shanker Institute who has written a book called The Teacher Insurgency: A Strategic and Organizing Perspective. They begin with Leo’s upbringing by two New York City teachers, how he abandoned his dissertation to teach in Crown Heights, and how he began working with the union when his school shut down.Leo then began to head the Albert Shanker Institute, a strategic think tank within the American Federation of Teachers which examines labor history, especially for teachers. Leo explains the origins of the 2018 and 2019 teacher strikes: the Janus case, post-2008 austerity, deprofessionalization, and movements like the Women's March on Washington. Teachers saw both their compensation as well as their position in the classroom undergoing rapid decline.The first teacher’s strikes were held in West Virginia, which had a history of the labor movement--both within education and beyond. From here the strikes spread, and ultimately the movement was successful in protecting teachers during COVID-19 times (in this context, MIke briefly mentions Leo’s article on Black Lives Matter and the NBA.)  Leo notes his concern about both the early retirement of teachers and the paucity in the pipeline for new teachers. Leo also expresses optimism for the Biden-Harris administration, notably President Biden’s support of unions. Leo finishes up by discussing the discourses around how teachers see themselves, and the need for true civics teaching.If you like what you're hearing, tell a friend and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEducation.com

For this installment of the Best of Trending in Ed, we return to Mike Palmer's conversation with Adi Hanash about what makes great live online teaching recorded in the early days of the first wave of Covid-19. While 2+ pandemic years have passed since the first recording, there's still plenty of insight in one of our most listened-to episodes. We hope you enjoy!Adi Hanash is a virtuoso online instructor with deep experience in teaching, training teachers, and managing online programs for large organizations like General Assembly and Kaplan. In light of the rapid shift to remote learning (and teaching) driven by the covid-19 pandemic, Adi is running a series of webinars to provide teachers and learning leaders with insights from over 12+ years of experience providing amazing online experiences. We dive into much of this in today's show.While lamenting how the traditional conception of "webinars" is limiting, we explore how teaching online unlocks new opportunities to drive accountability and engagement. We also talk about the transformative power of taking a platform-agnostic and decidedly non-technical approach to innovating around synchronous learning.We close by exploring how the response to the coronavirus is a forcing function and potentially a watershed moment in the understanding of what can be done online. In the process, Adi shares some tips and tricks on how to make the most of the rapid global shift to teaching online.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on amazing learning experiences.

As we wrap up the Summer with more from our Best of Trending in Ed series, we respond to the recent student loan forgiveness news by returning to a conversation with Dr. Michelle Miller-Adams about her book The Path to Free College. We hope you find it relevant and enjoy.Dr. Michelle Miller-Adams is a professor of political science at Grand Valley State University where she teaches courses on international relations, poverty and inequality. She's also a Senior Researcher with the W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.Michelle joins Mike Palmer on this episode to talk about her new book, The Path to Free College: In Pursuit of Access, Equity, and Prosperity. We begin by getting Michelle's origin story to understand how tuition-free higher education has had a profound effect on her and her family. From there, we briefly explore the history of free public high school and free higher education through the examples from the University of California system and the City College of New York before picking up on the recent movement for tuition-free higher education beginning in 2005 with the Kalamazoo Promise.From there, Michelle outlines the emergence of numerous grassroots efforts as well as those founded by institutions and states as we try to get our arms around an important movement in America in the 21st century that has gained broader support and awareness in recent years. We conclude with suggestions from Michelle on how to learn more through programs before ending with some reasons for hope.Here are some resources to check out if you'd like to learn more:: College Promise Free College Now Rise Free Promise Net Conference Michelle on Twitter It's an informative and inspirational conversation about a zeitgeisty topic that you won't want to miss!If you like what you're hearing subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts and visit us at TrendinginEd.com.

For this installment of the Best of Trending in Ed, we're returning to an episode we recorded live at the Javits Center for NAB New York in the Fall of 2018. Wendy Zukerman joins hosts Mike Palmer and Brandon Jones in a conversation about science, media, podcasting, and the work she is doing at the Science Vs which is still going strong at Gimlet to this day.Wendy is the Host and Executive Producer of Science Vs. She shares the origin story of the podcast from its humble roots in science reporting in Australia to getting picked up by Gimlet to continuing to represent science, fact-checking, and good critical thinking. We hear some early takes on the anti-science and anti-vaccine movements from the time that foreshadows many of the challenges we have faced in recent years. We also take time to explore how humor and entertaining content can coexist with science content, even making the conversation more relevant and sticky through the use of storytelling, sound design, and great fact-checking. It's a conversation that remains relevant and zeitgeisty to this day. Don't miss it!Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the world of learning and media.