Trending In Ed with Mike Palmer

Dr. John Giordano joins Mike to explain how he founded Semester For Change to help students and families navigate the transition from High School to the right career path for them. John shares the story of his career in Fine Arts Education that bridges from high school into colleges with strong ties to the community throughout. John describes his own experiences over the past year which led to him forming an alternative to a year of traditional higher education in these chaotic times.Semester For Change builds on John and team's experiences helping a diverse cross-section of students make choices and build projects that help them find their passion and apply design thinking principles to build their post-secondary pathway to steer towards productive and meaningful careers. How would you design a program to help students and families who are choosing to hit pause to reflect before leaning into what makes sense for them next? Listen in to find out.You can learn more about what John and team are doing at https://www.semesterforchange.org/If you like what you're hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Mike welcomes Jeff Gothelf, author of Forever Employable: How to Stop looking for Work and Let Your Next Job Find You. Jeff starts by talking about his early days in rock’n’roll and Web 1.0. Leading a design team in the early days, he and his team had to find a way to match their processes to the then ascendent agile software development process. Jeff was then able to leverage this new approach into a book, Lean UX, and from there into teaching.  More recently, he has responded to his audience by expounding on a “continuous pull” model of letting clients come to you. You need to establish credibility with your audience, and then frequently and consistently provide them with what they want, adapting to the signals they send you.Jeff elaborates on finding the right focus, and how you can deal with “imposter syndrome” by just “shipping it”. Jeff also notes how you can learn from thought leaders both within your field and beyond. Mike asks about the future, and Jeff says he plans to continue deeper into the “creator economy”. He finishes explaining how Forever Employable can provide you the freedom to work when and how you want.If you like what you’re hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts.

Miles Iton joins Mike Palmer to talk about how he's incorporated Hip Hop into his EFL (English as a Foreign Language) training programs. Miles is the Founder and Program Director at Lo-Fi Language Learning.Lo-Fi Language Learning is a version of n.e.Bodied Entertainment’s Freestyle + Floetry tutorial fitted to an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) curriculum. Founded in 2019 after winning Distinguished Honors (1st Prize) at the National University of Science & Technology’s Be Young Beyond Startup Competition in Taipei, Taiwan, Lo-Fi looks to shake up the landscapes of both classroom English learning and the hip-hop scene out East.We learn what brought Miles to this point in his career and explore how Hip Hop and relevance can really make a difference when trying to get students engaged and motivated in their language learning activities. We also explore the broader cultural impact of Hip Hop and how it can make a difference in the classroom before concluding with Miles' take on where things are heading in the future.If you like what you're hearing subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you listen to podcasts and check us out at TrendingInEducation.com

Ryan Craig joins Mike to discuss his work at Achieve Partners and as a Senior Education Contributor to Forbes and other publications. He's the author of College Disrupted and A New U and is a forward-thinking voice on the future of post-secondary education. We discuss his articles about IUP and Quibi and the recent kerfuffle about Dr. Jill Biden, among other topics, as we zero in on the challenges higher education faces and how we can evolve both within and perhaps more importantly outside of it in a wide-ranging and informative conversation.Ryan and the team at Achieve Partners are focused on new and emerging models and ventures that focus on connecting high school students to their first good job. He explains how he was originally looking to find these pathways through traditional higher education but has since shifted his focus to models like apprenticeships and income share agreements that he sees as more efficient at achieving the critical outcome of landing a good first job. It's an insightful and thought-provoking conversation that you won't want to miss.If you like what you're hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts.

Mike is joined by Bryanne Leeming, CEO of Unruly Studios, and creator of Unruly Splats.  Bryanne begins by explaining the origins of Unruly Splats. Her early exposure to programming was key, as was the entrepreneurialism of her parents and her childhood involvement in sports. After graduating from college, she worked in product development. Seeing the interesting but often passive experiences offered by many Edtech products, Bryanne founded Unruly Studios.Bryanne describes Splats as “programmable floor buttons”. They’re stomped on by kids to cause interactions, and kids can program them to create new games. Originally prototyped while she was still in business school, Spats are now in hundreds of schools across the U.S. and Canada. Kids have stomped them more than 1 million timesMike asks about the impact of Covid on Splats, and Bryanne explains that even before the pandemic she and her team have been interviewing hundreds of teachers about their needs. As a result, they offer special challenges between schools and other moments of engagement.Mike then asks about the social needs, especially in our time of social unrest. Bryanne discusses how they have baked in social from the start. They then discuss Unruly’s focus on building communities of practice, and how the Splats work with instructors and across the curriculum.Mike and Bryanne then further discuss Unruly’s efforts in light of the pandemic: How the Splats can be easily cleaned. They discuss how teachers are altering their environments to allow for safe, social play, and the support that Unruly provides the teachers.Covid opened up a new market for Splats to be used for music education. And it’s not slowing their planned March Madness competition.Finally, Mike and Bryanne discuss Unruly’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.For further information:Communities of PracticeHow to Find Bryanne: unrulysplats.com Twitter: @unruly_studios How to Find Mike: Twitter: @TrendingInEd email: mike@palmer.media If you like what you’re hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts.

Michelle Weise is the author of Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs That Don't Even Exist Yet. Michelle is also a Senior Advisor at the philanthropic investment group, Imaginable Futures. On this episode, she joins Mike Palmer to discuss her new book and how we can reimagine our learning ecosystem in response to longer lifespans, automation, and rapid transformation of the 21st Century.We begin with Michelle’s origin story, how she moved from being an English professor into educational technology including stints at Clayton Christensen’s Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Southern New Hampshire University, and Strada Education Network. Michelle notes the difficulty of predicting actual future careers, and how her book focuses on the type of worker and the type of problem solver we all need to become. We need to offload much of the current tasks that AI can do better while developing both our “human-plus” skills as well as the technical expertise required to exercise judgment.Mike and Michelle discuss “T-shaped” learners, and how they develop over a long career. Michelle talks about later-life learners, and how they can profitably upskill. Pursuing a four-year degree may not appeal to 55+ learners, and even the current MOOCs may not meet their needs.Given all the challenges, Mike asks Michelle to provide some hope. She tells him how Clay Christensen helped her stay optimistic, and how the wide variety of innovators should stick to the shared agenda of creating a robust ecosystem: breaking down the walls that obtain between K-12, higher ed, and workforce learning. And how the pandemic has further exposed this need.Mike and Michelle discuss the work of Suzanne Simard regarding the surprising subterranean ecosystem of trees and how it can serve as a model of the idealized education ecosystem. They then discuss the power of such metaphors. They also note David Epstein’s Range, and the importance of the generalist in the world of specialization. “Far transfer” is also on the table.Finally, Michelle discusses “skills compasses”. Enterprises often do not know the skills their employees have, and let them go despite their potential usefulness. She notes a few innovative companies that help those laid off find the training they need to meet the skills demanded in their labor market.  There's plenty to explore in this conversation you don't want to miss!For further information: Emsi Suzanne Simard, Finding the Mother Tree SkyHive Future Fit The Americans with Disabilities Act How to Find Michelle: Twitter: @rwmichelle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rwmichelle/ riseanddesign.io How to Find Mike: Twitter: @TrendingInEd Email: mike@palmer.media If you like what you’re hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts.

Dr. Mordecai Brownlee proudly serves as the Vice President for Student Success at St. Philip’s College. St. Phillips holds the distinction of being the only institution granted both HBCU and HSI status. He also serves as adjunct faculty at Morgan State University School of Education & Urban Studies and the University of Charleston School of Business & Leadership. In addition, Mordecai is an education columnist with EdSurge and has authored recent articles on Financial Literacy and Co-Requisite Developmental Education that form the foundation of his conversation with Mike Palmer in this episode.We begin by hearing what got Mordecai to this point in his career journey and use that as the jumping off point to diving developmental education and the importance of teaching financial literacy. We explore the challenges students battling poverty face to achieve success and social mobility and warn of the challenges of taking on student debt. It's an in-depth view of the work Dr. Brownlee and team are doing in urban San Antonio and there's much to be learned from their example.For more information about Dr. Brownlee, please visit www.ItsDrMordecai.comIf you like what you're hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts. 

In this episode, we're excited to welcome Dr. Bridget Burns to Trending in Education to talk about innovation in higher education. Named one of the “Most Innovative People in Higher Education” by Washington Monthly, Bridget is the founding Executive Director of the University Innovation Alliance (UIA). The UIA is the groundbreaking national consortium of public research universities working together to test and scale innovations that close achievement gaps and improve outcomes for all students. Since its founding in 2014, the UIA campuses have increased their low-income degrees awarded by 37% (producing over 30,000 additional low-income graduates to date) and increased graduates of color by 73%. The Alliance has been featured in national outlets like 60 Minutes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Fast Company, and in the documentary "Unlikely". The UIA has inspired and supported the formation of more than 15 other university networks working to improve postsecondary success for low-income students.We begin by hearing Bridget's origin story as an education professional which takes us back to her roots in rural Montana and community college before finding her way into higher education and ultimately the UIA. We explore how the UIA was founded and their mission of understanding how universities can innovate, how they can test ideas across different university cultures and contexts, and how they can spread the word about what they're learning. Bridget shares what it was like to work with Michael Crow at ASU as the UIA was first coming together and as it's grown and evolved since. Bridget provides examples of how innovations have emerged across the 11 member institutions of the UIA and looks ahead to where she sees the organization heading in the future. She also shares her perspective on new and emerging media like Tik Tok and its relevance in reaching the rising generations. It's a fascinating conversation and we thank Dr. Burns for sharing her time and perspective to the show.If you like what you're hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts.

Abby Schneiderman and Gene Newman from Everplans join Mike to talk about their new book In Case You Get Hit By A Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later. We begin by getting the origin story of Everplans based on Abby's experiences as a tech entrepreneur and as someone who faced unexpected challenges when her brother suddenly died at age 51. We learn how Abby and Adam Seifer, her Co-founder, created Everplans and how they brought in Gene to help write the book and begin to educate folks on how to navigate the difficult and complex challenges that emerge with the loss of a loved one.We touch on emerging trends around digital estate planning, scenario-based thinking, and capturing the "softer side" of one's legacy for families and friends to hold onto after your gone. With the massive shifts of thinking due to the pandemic, we also think through how planning mindsets are shifting and how much of the work the folks at Everplans are doing was ahead of trend and is now incredibly zeitgeisty as we begin to think about what a post-COVID world might look like.If you like what you're hearing, tell a friend and share the love! Follow us at TrendingInEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts.

Dr. April Willis joins Mike to talk about the work she and team are doing at the National Virtual Teachers Association (NVTA) to help teachers manage the difficult transition to teaching online. April recounts her experiences beginning in the classroom and then moving across various roles in education before joining the NVTA to help establish best practices for virtual instruction.What began prior to the pandemic accelerated quickly in response to the tremendous spike in demand. April shares her perspective on how virtual instruction will continue to play a critical role in the learning ecosystem long beyond the pandemic and how we can ensure we can get better at teaching online in new ways.If you like what you're hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts.