This is Part 1 of a 2-Part Episode. Akbar Cooke is a vice principal at West Side High School in Newark NJ, he's one in nearly 1mm K12 administrators in the country, but at West Side he's a giant. Kids call him "coach" or "Cooke" and straighten up when they see him. Not out of fear, but respect - the kind that if you've ever worked with teens, you know only comes when things are reciprocal, mutual - it's clear that his heart is as intimidating, in a way, as his physical presence. Everyone should walk the halls with Akbar, if you don't ask yourself "do I have the courage to love this much - to work this hard for the people around me?" then you're not human. Matt Greenfield is an venture capitalist. If you ask anyone who invests in technology for education, they know his name, and his company Rethink Education. Proper disclosure, Matt is a board member at Mouse, and he's a writer - he's one of the only people I know who's worked as a publishing poet who now manages investments. His intellect is enormous, and among the things he shares with Akbar, is heart. When a national EdTech publication, EdSurge asked Matt to write an editorial about the exciting prospects for EdTech in 2018 from an Investors Perspective, Matt too the opportunity to write about other technologies. He wrote "I find myself without strong enthusiasm for the task of writing a conventional set of predictions about education technology in 2018. The most urgent needs of the most vulnerable children in this nation involve other technologies. M: This nation is failing its most fundamental duty to children."A lot is covered in these two episodes, but all of the topics revolve around one single truth: that the prospects for how tech innovation in the US illuminates a path to meaning, and success and wealth is not the same for everyone. Marc is also joined by Tywan Jones - a senior at West Side and one of the wise-beyond-their-years and courageous teens who gives me hope for our future. We get into the failures of our current system, and the successes of a local leader, who along with an amazing team at West Side, is battling for every strategic position on the chess board. In episode two we get into the national walkout and gun violence, and whether kids in Newark NJ can safely "walk out" even if they chose to. A quick disclaimer, there are some disturbing images that come up in our conversation in these two episodes - so if there are sensitive ears nearby - you might save this one for your headphones. If you like this episode, subscribe to No Such Thing on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. If it's not available on your favorite player, let me know through our shownotes site, nosuchthingpodcast[dot]org. Already a subscriber? Please rate and review us, and tweet the showpage to your network with #nosuchthingpodcast to enter to win a brand new 1st Gen Google Pixel phone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dov is back, chatting with Marc about the process of "school choice" in NYC, and how he's dealing with the prospect of his non-high-tech options. Joining with her sage advice is Geneva Hayward, recently admitted to NYU's Game Center for a BFA, Geneva offers her ideas about how to blaze your own high tech path when school doesn't offer it. Both students are generally happy with their schooling, but weigh in on where to find ways to supplement the experience, and what's lacking about the process of high school enrollment. If you like this episode, subscribe to No Such Thing on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. If it's not available on your favorite player, let me know through our shownotes site, nosuchthingpodcast[dot]org. Already a subscriber? Please rate and review us, and tweet the showpage to your network with #nosuchthingpodcast to enter to win a brand new 1st Gen Google Pixel phone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three members of the Emoti-Con, NYC, Steering Committee join the show to talk about the event's anniversary. Amanda Perales, Christin Velasquez, and Meredith Summs talk about NYC's biggest showcase for young designers, makers, technologists, and tinkerers who believe in digital innovation as a tool for positive change in the world around them. 2018 will be Emoti-Con's 10th year! If you like this episode, subscribe to No Such Thing on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. If it's not available on your favorite player, let me know through our shownotes site, nosuchthingpodcast[dot]org. Already a subscriber? Please rate and review us, and tweet the showpage--https://shows.pippa.io/nosuchthing--to your network with #nosuchthingpodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kalani Leifer is a former high school history teacher and the founder of COOP, a fast-growing non-profit that supports cohorts of 1st generation undergrads entering the workforce. Together, he and Monica Guzman, Program Manager and alum of Cohort 1, are evolving a model aimed at supplementing skills that prepare students for high tech jobs. Who knew that basic software remediation might be what stands in the way for many. But the biggest difference for 1st gen students they say? "Literacies" that are social above all else. If you like this episode, subscribe to No Such Thing on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. If it's not available on your favorite player, let me know through our shownotes site, nosuchthingpodcast[dot]org. Already a subscriber? Please rate and review us, and tweet the showpage--https://shows.pippa.io/nosuchthing--to your network with #nosuchthingpodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, members of Pittsburgh's Remake Learning Network share what challenges unite them with other cities who rally for broadening STEM participation, and what challenges set them apart. Remake's own Ani Martinez, Community Manager and operations lead, is joined by members Alaine Allen, Univ. of Pittsburgh, Megan Cicconi, Executive Director of Instructional and Innovative Leadership at Fox Chapel School District, and Liz Whitewolf, Carnegie Science Center's Fab Lab and Technical Education Manager. What does it mean to "build the learning ecosystem" in Pittsburgh? What attempts are being made to add balance to "deserts" of learning opportunity, and how does "access" change when a city is hub for residents in three states?If you like this episode, subscribe to No Such Thing on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. If it's not available on your favorite player, let me know through our shownotes site, nosuchthingpodcast[dot]org. Already a subscriber? Please rate and review us, and tweet the showpage--https://shows.pippa.io/nosuchthing--to your network with #nosuchthingpodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spectrum 360 educator, David Di Ianni, has founded a youth media program for learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder. With help from former student, Vincent Lissandrello, now a budding media professional himself, the pair are spreading the tools and know-how to shoot and edit video among a population in need of every tool possible that might help them express themselves and make meaning of their world.In this episode, Marc tours the Spectrum 360 upper school before sitting down with David and Vincent to learn more about the program. Learn more about the benefits of youth media programming for learners on the spectrum beyond storytelling itself, and hear how one school makes it all work.If you like this episode, subscribe to No Such Thing on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. If it's not available on your favorite player, let me know through our shownotes site, nosuchthingpodcast[dot]org. Already a subscriber? Please rate and review us, and tweet the showpage--https://shows.pippa.io/nosuchthing--to your network with #nosuchthingpodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A chemist and a biologist walk into a computer lab...Dr. Tessa Durham Brooks, a biologist from Doane University, and Dr. Raychelle Burks, analytical chemist from St. Edwards University, are working to help train the young scientists coming up through their institutions to embrace the competencies of computer science. Their reasoning: computation changes what impact a scientist can have through their work. If you think your students or your own kids are on a "STEM path" without embracing computer science, this conversation might offer new insights. If you like this episode, subscribe to No Such Thing on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. If it's not available on your favorite player, let me know through our shownotes site, nosuchthingpodcast[dot]org. Already a subscriber? Please rate and review us, and tweet the showpage to your network with #nosuchthingpodcast to enter to win a brand new 1st Gen Google Pixel phone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My thanks to CUNY SPS and CUNY Tech Meetup for playing such wonderful hosts to this event, a live interview with Professor Cathy N. Davidson, Director of The Futures Initiative at City University of New York, and one of the country's most respected scholars on the topic of higher education reform. We're joined by Temitayo Fagbenle, a Queens College student and award winning youth journalist with WNYC's Radio Rookies. In The New Education, Cathy N. Davidson reveals that we desperately need a revolution in higher learning if we want our students to succeed in our age of precarious work and technological disruption. Journeying from elite private schools to massive public universities to innovative community colleges, she profiles iconoclastic educators who are remaking their classrooms by emphasizing creativity, collaboration, and adaptability over expertise in a single, often abstract discipline. Working at the margins of the establishment, these innovators are breaking down barriers between ossified fields of study, presenting their students with multidisciplinary, real-world problems, and teaching them not just how to think, but how to learn. The New Education ultimately shows how we can educate students not only to survive but to thrive amid the challenges to come.If you like this episode, subscribe to No Such Thing on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. If it's not available on your favorite player, let me know through our shownotes site, nosuchthingpodcast[dot]org. Already a subscriber? Please rate and review us, and tweet the showpage to your network with #nosuchthingpodcast to enter to win a brand new 1st Gen Google Pixel phone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marc sits with Dr. Stephanie Rodriguez, Director of STEM Policy at the Afterschool Alliance, and Michael Preston, Executive Director of Computer Science, NYC (CSNYC), and Co-founder of the National CSForAll Consortium, to dig in on the momentum to build support for Computer Science Education. What is 'the movement'? Is there new relevance, or more urgency now than ever? What outcomes do we hope to influence in the years to come? Who do we think will benefit?If you like this episode, subscribe to No Such Thing on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. If it's not available on your favorite player, let me know through our shownotes site, nosuchthingpodcast[dot]org. Already a subscriber? Please rate and review us, and tweet the showpage to your network with #nosuchthingpodcast to enter to win a brand new 1st Gen Google Pixel phone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you don't believe that social consciousness starts early in human development, you'll assume Armando and Lynda--middle schoolers in Manhattan--are paid actors. But they're not, and in this episode they describe some of the projects that their teacher, Dr. Lou Lahana, supports with help from a holistic Community Schools approach at the Lower East Side's Island School in Manhattan. Guest Steve Heath joins the group from Rhode Island's Fab Newport, and together the group explores the highs and lows of Maker Education. This is a great episode for those working to glean the essence and values of Maker Ed, or to join veteran educators as they riff on the thornier details.If you like this episode, subscribe to No Such Thing on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. If it's not available on your favorite player, let me know through our shownotes site, nosuchthingpodcast[dot]org. Already a subscriber? Please rate and review us, and tweet the showpage to your network with #nosuchthingpodcast to enter to win a brand new 1st Gen Google Pixel phone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.