Podcast
Education Talk Radio
Hosted by EDUCATION TALK RADIO PRE K -20 · EN
The voice of the American Consortium for Equity in Education at ace-ed.org | Host Larry Jacobs facilitates rich discussions with innovative educators, thought leaders, authors and the leaders within the education industry to promote equity, access and opportunity for every student in every school.
30episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
When People Struggle, the System Is Speaking with Eric Rowe and Locha Brooks
3d ago00:39:25Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Eric Rowe and Locha Brooks explore why many of the challenges schools attribute to students, teachers, or leaders may actually originate within the systems that shape their experiences. Rather than focusing on fixing people, the conversation examines how assumptions, structures, and processes influence behavior, decision-making, and organizational outcomes.Together, they discuss why meaningful improvement begins by understanding the system behind a problem, how leaders can become better listeners before becoming problem solvers, and why asking better questions may be the most important step toward lasting change. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
Transcribe →EdTech Isn't the Innovation with Chris Dede
1w ago00:34:54Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dr. Chris Dede, Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, challenges one of the most common assumptions schools make when evaluating educational technology. Rather than starting with AI or the latest product, he argues that leaders should first identify the learning experiences they want students to have—and only then determine whether technology has a meaningful role to play. The conversation explores why so many edtech implementations fall short, how learning science should guide technology decisions, what it means to use technology to "do better things" rather than simply do existing things more efficiently, and how school leaders can build a more thoughtful framework for choosing and implementing educational technology. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
Transcribe →Beyond Vape Detection with Tom McDermott
2w ago00:37:07Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Tom McDermott, K–12 Safety and Security Coach for CEIA USA, discusses why student vaping has evolved from a discipline issue into a broader leadership challenge for schools. Rather than focusing solely on detection technologies, the conversation explores how school leaders can shift from reacting to incidents toward building a comprehensive prevention strategy grounded in school culture, behavioral health, and student well-being.Together, they examine the hidden operational costs of vaping, why understanding the root causes matters more than simply catching students, and how schools can balance prevention, intervention, and detection to create safer, healthier learning environments. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
Transcribe →When the Community Becomes the Classroom with Dr. Carol Birks & Rebecca Bodnar
3w ago00:32:47Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dr. Carol Birks, Superintendent of the Allentown School District, and Rebecca Bodnar, Principal of Central Elementary STREAM Academy, share how a partnership with the Da Vinci Science Center has transformed the learning experience for elementary students. By making the Science Center an official secondary campus, students regularly move beyond the classroom to apply their learning through hands-on investigations, engineering challenges, media production, and real-world exploration.The conversation explores how interdisciplinary learning can help more students see themselves in science, why authentic application deepens understanding, and what happens when schools intentionally connect learning to careers, community, and student interests. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
Transcribe →Future 2: Building Human Advantage in an AI-Enabled World with Mike Miles
Jul 1000:37:48Tap to summarizeArtificial intelligence is changing how we think about teaching, learning, and the future of work. As schools begin introducing AI literacy and new technologies, a deeper question is emerging: What human qualities become even more valuable in an AI-enabled world?In this conversation, Mike Miles, Superintendent of Houston ISD, shares the thinking behind Future 2—an initiative that responds to AI not by centering technology, but by intentionally building the human competencies students will need to thrive alongside it.Rather than focusing solely on AI tools, Future2 expands opportunities for critical thinking, communication, collaboration, design thinking, emotional intelligence, and real-world experiences, while continuing to strengthen core academics. Mike explains why these competencies are becoming central to the curriculum, how Houston is embedding them into the school day, and why he believes schools must prepare students not simply to use AI, but to work, create, and lead in a world where AI is everywhere. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
Transcribe →UDL: Accessibility by Design with CAST's Christine Fox & Niel Albero
Jul 300:37:27Tap to summarizeEvery classroom is filled with learner variability, yet many educational systems are still designed around the idea of an "average" student. What if we approached learning differently? What if accessibility wasn't something we added after students struggled, but something we designed for from the very beginning?In this episode, David sits down with Christine Fox, Chief Growth & Innovation Officer at CAST, and Niel Albero, Professional Learning Specialist at CAST, to explore Universal Design for Learning (UDL)—a framework that encourages educators to proactively design learning environments that embrace learner variability, reduce barriers, and build student agency.Christine and Niel also share details about UDL-Con Live Online, taking place July 21–22, where educators, leaders, researchers, and innovators from around the world will come together to explore Universal Design for Learning in practice.🎟️ Education Talk Radio listeners can save 10% on registration using promo code: PL10Learn more and register at udlcon.cast.org. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
Transcribe →Chronic Absenteeism: The Relationship Behind the Absence with Jen Perry
Jun 2600:35:23Tap to summarizeChronic absenteeism is often treated as an attendance problem, but is often a signal of something deeper.In this conversation, strategic learning and leadership advisor Jen Perry explores the relationship between student connection and attendance, why schools often miss the early warning signs of disengagement, and how relationship-centered approaches can help educators identify and support students before absence becomes chronic. Together, we examine what attendance data can—and cannot—tell us, and why improving attendance may begin with helping every student feel seen, known, and connected. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
Transcribe →Teaching What Matters Most in the Age of AI with Troy Jollimore
Jun 1900:34:31Tap to summarizeArtificial intelligence is rapidly changing how we access information, complete tasks, and even create work. But what happens when the things technology can do begin to overlap with the things we once believed were essential to learning?In this conversation, Professor Troy Jollimore explores the difference between knowing and understanding, how learning alongside other human beings shapes not only what students know but what they come to value, and why education may be about far more than acquiring information or producing outcomes. Together, we examine what becomes most important to teach—and most important to preserve—as education enters the age of AI. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
Transcribe →Seeing the Child Behind the Outcome with Alexander Kopelman
Jun 1200:34:04Tap to summarizeSchools are under enormous pressure to produce outcomes—test scores, graduation rates, and college readiness indicators. But what happens when those outcomes become the primary lens through which we see young people?In this conversation, Alexander Kopelman, founder of the Children's Art Guild and author of For Real: Helping Children Remain Their Authentic Selves in a Limiting World, explores the messages children receive about who they're supposed to be, why authenticity matters in learning, and how educators can create spaces where students are valued not just for what they achieve, but for who they are becoming. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
Transcribe →EduTalk Radio — Meet the New Host, David Cicero
Jun 500:06:49Tap to summarizeJethro Jones introduces David Cicero as the new host of EduTalk Radio, taking over from the legendary Larry Jacobs and his 4,000+ episode archive. EduTalk is open for guests! Contact David at dciceroedutalk@gmail.com or edutalk@bpodcast.network. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
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