Trending In Ed with Mike Palmer

We take a look at some of the emerging media trends to watch for in 2019. Mike dives into the Gimlet and Anchor acquisitions by Spotify and how audio will continue to be a focal point for advertisers. We also take a look at how small a portion of advertising podcasts currently garner. Does the in-house content creation Spotify is paying for mirror a Netflix and it's approach to video content? Brandon dives into Super Bowl commercials and #RoboChild. How are robots, or maybe even our fear of robots, shaping the commercials and media we are consuming? It's getting Zeitgeisty, to be sure. Mike and Dan close with some late-breaking insights into the recent news around Jeff Bezos and the parent company of the National Enquirer and the recent scandal and its implications for media. We talk about all this and more media trends to keep an eye out for in the coming year. Enjoy! 

We tackle a recent article from BuzzFeedNews.com that explores Millennials as the 'Burnout Generation'. Does Anne Helen Peterson's work paint with too broad a brush or do younger generations face a tougher road? How does burnout change the way we might be open to learning? Brandon discusses how every generation faces tough decisions about where their careers might go as they enter college. Mike explores how burnout and pressure around visual identity and online social comparison may be leading to new problems for teens and young people as it relates to their mental health and well-being. We close with Dan and Mike digging into the growing prevalence of mindfulness and social emotional learning as a potential way to provide coping mechanisms to counter some of the more negative aspects of these trends. It's an important discussion we hope to continue to explore in future episodes.

We take a look back at some of the hottest gadgets at CES 2019 and discuss where some potential crossover to learning may exist. Mike points out the lack of education and learning categories / focus at the trade show. Brandon focuses in on wearables and the tracking of individual data that could help shape how we understand personalized learning. We also discuss the explosion in sensors and how growth in that technology could apply to education and learning. Can sensors help track brain waves and teach us more about how we learn? What could teachers do with a better understanding of their students' engagement and mental readiness? And of course, if it's our CES show, you know we talk robots as we revisit the Uncanny Valley, robot butlers, and so much more. Join us for a fun listen for the latest and greatest from CES 2019.

The team takes a look at interactive media and interactive video with Netflix's recently released Black Mirror episode Bandersnatch as a backdrop. We talk through how interactive media has grown and developed over the years from Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books and Role Playing Games to interactive video experiences like what Netflix is now offering. We discuss the positive and negative use cases for interactive media. How does an interactive experience change the creative process? Are traditional cinematic auteurs as well-suited for interactive media as say game designers? Regarding Bandersnatch specifically, did Black Mirror and Netflix get the interactive experience right and the content wrong? We touch on our own reactions to the movie and share where we see similar content in the future growing and even recite some of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky - the genesis of the term Bandersnatch - before we’re through. Listen in and enjoy!

The crew dives into a wide range of emerging macrotrends concerning teachers at the start of 2019. We begin by taking a look at a recent Wall Street Journal report on the current 'quit rate' in the teaching profession. What could be behind the all-time high in teachers leaving the field seen in 2018? Could the gig-economy and financial pressures be leading some teachers to leave their profession? We also take a look at upcoming strikes in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Virginia and examine how these types of work stoppages can influence learning and provide opportunities to explore civic engagement among students and teachers alike. 

We're back with a brand new episode and this week we talk about parenting. More specifically, we discuss proud new papa Mike's first few days on the job and how we learn to be parents. Are there enough formal education opportunities for expecting parents? Do certain societal norms keep us from studying up before we're responsible for another person? How can a parent who wants to learn seek out verified, high-end instruction and avoid the fads? We discuss that and each of our own experiences throughout this episode!

On our first show of 2019, we look back to some of the great guests we had throughout 2018 with this highlight show. Mike and Dan kick off the conversation with a big announcement from Mike and a discussion around the guests you'll hear from through this episode. We'll hear highlights from our conversations with Wendy Zukerman, Rohit Barghava, Tarlin Ray, Melissa Griffith, Debbie Berebichez, and Katie Nielson. Thank you to everyone who listened in 2018. We look forward to growing in 2019, hearing more voices, and engaging with an even broader audience.

Mike, Dan, and Brandon kick off our review by discussing our favorite episodes and topics covered throughout the year. We touch on some of the great guests we’ve had on the show and some of the predictions we made that came true (e.g., Kidsolving). We then catch up with friend of the show, Matt Cooper, CEO of Skillshare. We explore what trends might have emerged since last we spoke. Matt talks about the gig economy, his vision for digital learning, and more. Next, we bring back one of the great teachers we spoke to back in May as part of National Teachers Week. UNC Charlotte Philosophy Professor Mark Sanders discusses civic engagement around the 2018 elections and what he sees as challenges in keeping individuals active in government. Mark also touches on some trends he’s seeing in higher education and what's in store for 2019. And we round out this episode talking with Samantha Jeklinksi, our 2018 March Madness listener bracket winner! Samantha showed us she has some trendspotting mojo by picking 15/16 correct in our yearly March Madness extravaganza. Listen in to hear what's on Samantha’s radar in 2019. We wish everyone a very Happy New Year and look forward to great things to come in 2019. Here’s to continuing to get our learn on and having some fun while we do it!

Mike and Dan welcome two great guests, Dr. Bror Saxberg and Glenn Whitman, to discuss the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL), neuroscience and learning, and how a holistic approach to education applies to teaching and teacher development. Phew! Bror, Vice President, Learning Science at CZI, discusses the mission of the organization and how it recently invested in CTTL. Glenn describes the work that's been done on a local level at the St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland and how that work is being scaled across the US and globally through CZI. Can training teachers on how the brain works make them more effective in the classroom? We talk often about teaching the whole student, but can we miss out on reaching the whole teacher? CTTL has done some great work in the field and has partnered with CZI to build NeuroTeach, which is set to launch broadly in January. Tune in for a wide-ranging discussion on neuroscience, learning engineering, growth mindset, microlearning, and much more. We may even debunk a few neuromyths before we’re done. Enjoy!If you like what you’re hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts!

On this week’s episode, Mike, Brandon and Dan tackle the importance of math! How does learning math benefit a student? Has science isolated the parts of the brain most used when learning and applying math? Math, in all its forms, has long caused anxiety and fear amongst students and life-long learners. Why does math cause so many issues for some learners and how can they learn to adopt a growth mindset when it comes to math rather than a self-defeating one? Tune in for a wide ranging discussion on math and learning! Join in the conversation by leaving a comment wherever you listen to podcasts or on Twitter by following us @TrendingInEd.