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 Ed...
Feb 27, 2018•1 hr 24 min
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 Vi...
Feb 14, 2018•1 hr 29 min
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...
Feb 07, 2018•1 hr 3 min
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 re...
Jan 29, 2018•1 hr 49 min
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...
Jan 24, 2018•1 hr 42 min
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...
Jan 12, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Max Salomon is an Emmy Award winning documentarian and founder of Black Dot Films , specializing in VR and 360 immersive film and video. He talks about his experiences becoming a storyteller with 19-year-old Christin (Chris) Velazquez, a Production Assistant and aspiring media professional, who shares his experience with the Made In NY PA Training Program . Max shares his early journey with Chris, as they wonder together about the right steps for a young person interested in making a career out ...
Jan 03, 2018•1 hr 37 min
Marc talks with four educators, also students of the MA in Youth Studies at City University of New York's School of Professional Studies, who share findings from their final case study for the course, Youth Identity & Digital Environments. Learn more about the eight practices that they found promising across four youth programs for addressing the issue of equity in STEM, and lowering barriers to academic and professional life in these fields. Cassie Broadus-Foote, Olivia Gregorius, Amanda Eb...
Dec 20, 2017•1 hr 17 min
Friend to No Such Thing and recent NYC high school applicant, Dov Alperin, roves the 2017 World Makerfaire for weird, wonderful, and next-best things, reporting back and sharing his finds. Listeners met Dov in Episodes 2 & 3 at Brooklyn's Beam Center. This is a great episode if you missed World Makerfaire 2017, have never been, or never miss it, all the same. Prosthetic mermaid tails and battle-ready light sabers both make an appearance in this episode, and Dov asks makers, "how do I get my ...
Dec 13, 2017•1 hr 1 min
Marc is joined by Temitayo Fagbenle, an award-winning Rookie Reporter, and Kaari Pitkin, Senior Producer for WNYC. Radio Rookies is the product of veteran radio producers, Marianne McCune and Kaari Pitkin, who have shepherded hundreds of youth in NYC schools through their first experiences as young reporters and storytellers. Youth-led stories have garnered numerous prestigious journalism awards and accolades. Young reporters like Temi cover big and sometimes thorny topics--drugs, race, sexual a...
Dec 07, 2017•1 hr 2 min
Marc is joined by designer / developer and *renowned technoculturalist*, Joe Saavedra of Planeta, a NY-based R&D company working across digital platforms. And Chelien Brown , Learning Design Coordinator at Mouse, and NY-based STEM educator, content creator, and youth developer. From Chelien: how does he experiment with VR as a creative tool for learners in middle and high school? Learn about Joe's pathway from Alto Sax to leading large-scale hardware and software projects in VR and beyond. T...
Nov 29, 2017•1 hr 20 min
Marc's guest, Kate Rosenbloom , is the Senior Manager for Learning Design at Mouse, an alum of Teacher's College At Columbia University, and curriculum developer working in STEM, Design, and Computing education. After a recent retreat to attend CAST 's Universal Design for Learning Institute , Kate fills us in on what she learned, the value of the Institute for professional development, and where these things fit into her practice. Universal Design for Learning is a research-based approach to le...
Nov 21, 2017•45 min
After decades of experience in the NYC public school system, these three educators are hopeful that "Maker Education," the field's instantiation of the popular tinker movement re-constituted by the commercial Make Magazine and Maker Faire, holds promise for reforming aspects of how we teach and learn. Dr. Lou Lahana, Lori Stahl-VanBrackle, and Iliana Villegas don't agree on every aspect of the present or future of Maker Ed, but together with thousands of educators nationally, are writing the pla...
Nov 15, 2017•1 hr 30 min
Erik Martin revisits a story he told in 2013 at TedX, Redmond WA, titled "How World of Warcraft Saved Me and My Education." Erik has since held posts at the US Department of Education, the Whitehouse Office of Science and Technology (OST) and is now Senior Manager for Education Programs at game engine, Unity. He credits much of his success to experiences he had working his way up to leading an 800 member guild in the popular massively multiplayer online roleplaying game, World of Warcraft. This ...
Nov 09, 2017•57 min
I'm joined in this episode by Jessy Jo Gomez -- a fantastic partner to help me peel back the layers of Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality for learning. Jessy Jo and I chat with Barry Joseph of the American Museum of Natural History, who helps us to navigate definitions, explore new examples incorporating the technology, and by sharing his experience in the design and development of AR and VR in his role at the museum. Stick around until the end for a NST first: a live shootout of Grow-A-Game ...
Nov 01, 2017•1 hr 20 min
Dr. Elizabeth Bishop is a cultural and queer theorist, a researcher, youth practitioner, and author of Becoming Activist. Bishop explores critical literacy through her research and work with youth based at New York's Global Kids, a youth serving organization focused on global literacies and the empowerment of young people with a nearly 30-year history of impact. Bishop and I discuss her book, the relationship between research and practice, and how digital and activist identities are woven togeth...
Oct 25, 2017•43 min
Chris Lawrence is the Vice President of Mozilla Foundation's Leadership Network, and he's joined by fellow web citizens, Iliana Lugo and Charles Canario, to discuss "Internet Health" and a host of issues related to learning and literacy in the digital age. Is information on the internet a public resource? Why should we care about issues of privacy on the web? What are the skills that all of us can support as learners of all ages grow with the culture of the web? Charles and Iliana share their pe...
Oct 24, 2017•1 hr 21 min
Yamilée Toussaint is the founder of Brooklyn's STEM From Dance. She's joined by alum Daneilla McEwan to talk about how dance works as an entry point for young women learning computer science. Yamilée grew up with dance from a young age and after graduating from MIT with a degree in Mechanical Engineering she surprised her family by turning to the field of education to start her career. Years later she founded an organization that engages young women in STEM by leveraging their excitement for the...
Oct 17, 2017•1 hr 1 min
Steve Goodman talks about Educational Video Center's (EVC) incredible origin story, and what has kept their youth media programs true to the vision that sparked the organization more than 30 years ago. Serenah Vaughan is a budding filmmaker, alum of EVC's documentary production program, who now, as she finishes up high school, is working on a production that characterizes the problem of opioid addiction across rural and urban environments. This episode will take you on a ride from the gangs of t...
Oct 12, 2017•1 hr 21 min
Matthew Farber and Alex Fleming, two of the curriculum guide's authors talk about the vision and history for this open resource now available through Carnegie Mellon University Press. Matthew Farber is Assistant Professor of Technology, Innovation, and Pedagogy at the University of Northern Colorado, and Alex Fleming is a Learning Design Manager at Mouse (Mouse.org). From the CMU ETC Press Website: How can designing games about real world issues teach students empathy, systems thinking, and desi...
Oct 05, 2017•26 min
Naomi Clark takes me to school on a few questions that emerged from episode 5. Is the "gamer" identity inclusive? Is gamification good for education? Is there purpose in gender-specific games? You might be surprised by some of her answers. Naomi Clark teaches at NYU's Game Center, and has contributed to more than three dozen game titles. This episode is perfect if you're already contemplating some of these issues, or even if you're brand new to the conversation. If you're enjoying No Such Thing ...
Oct 03, 2017•42 min
Geneva and Mickell are products of NYC Public Schools, a handful of key programs for aspiring young digital creators, and (eventually) some supportive families. We cover lots of territory in this episode. Mickell takes us to school on game genres, and together they reflect on what key supports helped them pursue their passion. We also scratch the surface on gaming and gender, and Naomi Clark pops by to offer some ideas about why boys might be quicker to identify as a "gamer" than girls. In this ...
Sep 29, 2017•58 min•Ep. 5
I journeyed to the first Games 4 Change Festival VR Summit Reception in NYC to gather responses from industry, educators, student designers, and more, about how they see the potential of VR for influencing learning environments. We discuss VR games, using the technology for impact, and where VR might fall short. Hear from Games 4 Change's Sara Cornish about the Summit's inception, and how you can stay connected to G4C as their work continues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...
Sep 21, 2017•39 min
Why is it so hard to sort the signal from the noise when what we're working for is so fundamental? In this conversation, Brian Cohen, Co-Founder of Beam -- a Brooklyn space for making and learning, and a New Hampshire Summer Camp -- talks about the inspiration for founding the organization, and why he thinks that the challenges we face in education can only have collaborative solutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 15, 2017•34 min
Allen and Dov team up to offer an unscripted tour of Beam Center's space in Brooklyn, NY. If you're a maker, a curious educator, or a veteran of the making and learning scene, you'll have a lot of fun learning more about the tools and materials that make this incredible multidisciplinary project space. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 14, 2017•14 min
In this episode I interview a talented educator, Allen Reilley, who, like so many practitioners in this space, loves designing experiences that help others discover the world the way does through his own art. And Dov Alperin, a wise and deeply reflective 13-year old coming up at MS442. I talk more with Beam Center's co-founder, Brian Cohen, in a future episode, and Dov and Allen graciously offer a tour of the center in a short episode that I will release between the two. Meanwhile, I hope you en...
Sep 12, 2017•1 hr 8 min
In this episode, three young people--alumni of NYC public schools and digital programs that supported their journey-- share their ideas and experiences about digital life and learning. Through their dialogue, the group explores how race, gender, learning context, and access have all influenced their experience. Notes from this episode: Eyebeam and Playable Fashion New York Hall of Science Mouse 1:1 Schools Columbia University S-Prep Step program at Barnard NYU Poly / Tandon student enrollment da...
Aug 05, 2017•1 hr 3 min
