Knowledge graphs and neural networks – reimagining AI-powered math tutoring This episode is a relatively technical discussion with a brilliant researcher about the potential of a hybrid AI solution to be used to develop an accurate and adaptive AI-powered math tutor. Haihao Liu is currently serving as the Education Director for the Asian Community Development Center, a growing US-based nonprofit with a mission to empower the Asian American community. He is passionate about education equity and r...
Jul 10, 2025•58 min•Season 3Ep. 60
AI Characters – Friend or Foe? In this episode I talk with Sonia Tiwari who has a unique expertise in the design and development of characters that enhance learning experiences. Sonia Tiwari holds a PhD in Learning, Design, and Technology from Penn State University where she also was an Adjunct Professor of Learning Experience Design. She has been a children’s media research consultant for almost 9 years and has developed a framework for designing AI-powered characters as facilitators of learnin...
Jun 14, 2025•52 min•Season 3Ep. 59
Beyond AI: Student Centric Education This episode is a follow up to my solo episode about the Alpha School, “A School with no Teachers”. My guest is here to cut through the hype and tell us the real story. Jon Stewart is a creative strategist and leader in the education technology space, currently serving as Head of Engagement at Alpha School in Austin, TX. In this role, he crafts compelling educational narratives that reshape how families engage with Alpha’s innovative K–12 model. He leads cros...
May 20, 2025•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 58
Lead with Purpose Dr. Roger A. Gerard is the owner of Sloan & Gerard Consulting, a private consulting practice serving executives and boards in strategic planning, operational planning, executive coaching, and management development. He also specializes in process improvement, and the use of lean methodologies in bringing about significant and measurable organizational improvement. He is the former Chief Learning Officer for ThedaCare, an integrated healthcare delivery system, retiring from ...
May 06, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 57
AI-Powered Pedagogy Dr. Jennifer Chang-Wathall is an independent educational consultant, author, and part-time instructor at the University of Hong Kong. With a rich background spanning over 30 years in international education, she has worked at various international schools, such as South Island School and Island School in Hong Kong, and The United Nations International School in New York. In the international arena, she has presented numerous keynote addresses and workshops about concept-based...
Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 56
Tech-Intentional Education A former middle school English teacher and parent of two, Emily Cherkin, MEd., Emily Cherkin, MEd., The Screentime Consultant , witnessed the simultaneous rise of technology use for school, and smartphone and social media use for kids. Today, Emily consults with parents, offers school presentations and professional development training, and writes about parenting, education, and screentime to bring her tech-intentional™ approach to as many people as possible. Emily’s w...
Mar 13, 2025•57 min•Season 3Ep. 55
Beyond Academics – Life Skills Nitin Gour is the Founder and CEO of Bloomster. He is passionate about transforming education to focus on holistic student development. Bloomster is a dynamic platform that empowers students by teaching over 25 essential life skills, helping them thrive in five key areas critical to navigating today’s ever-changing world. With nearly two decades of experience in the corporate world, spanning technology and finance, Nitin came to recognize that academic success alon...
Mar 06, 2025•59 min•Season 3Ep. 54
Sharon Gal-Or: Regenaissance – The Call to Heal Sharon Gal-Or is a regenerative consultant, public speaker, and author. He caught my attention with his latest book “Regenaissance: The Call to Heal”, and with his passion for innovation in education and his transformative works that explore the intersections of spirituality, ecology, future of humanity, and regenerative movements. In this episode he takes us on a philosophical, yet practical journey to evolve from caterpillars to butterflies. The ...
Feb 21, 2025•57 min•Season 3Ep. 53
Mila Devenport – A Vision for Digital Wellbeing Mila is an AI ethicist and the Founder and Chief Education Officer of the Kigumi Group, a social enterprise here in Hong Kong doing digital well-being for digital natives, including teaching them about AI ethics, cybersafety, and metacognitive skills. She is a certified AI ethics assessor by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a character educator who focuses on integrating ethical reasoning and social emotional learning (SEL)...
Feb 11, 2025•59 min•Season 3Ep. 52
Laura Jacob is the Superintendent of the California Area School District and founder and CEO of California Academy of Learning Charter School. In her current capacity as Superintendent of Schools, she maintains a focus on creating schools where all children love learning, with a focus on teaching environmental sustainability. The Moonshot Program eliminates grades, and grade levels and establishes an individualized learning plan for each learner. The Outdoor Science School program provides stude...
Feb 02, 2025•58 min•Season 3Ep. 51
Zone of Proximal Development – In this episode, Chris Hess, from Pearson, helps connect the dots between training for a triathlon and preparing to take an exam. By targeting the zone of proximal development, he is helping Pearson develop AI tools for education that optimize learning experiences to achieve this state of higher performance. Chris Hess currently serves as the director of AI product management for higher education at Pearson, where he combines his rich experience as a former univers...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 50
Bedales – Head Hand and Heart This episode is about a school with over 130 years of history as a progressive and innovative educational institution. An exclusive school with old world charm and new world perspectives on teaching and learning. I am joined by Will Goldsmith who is the Head of Bedales School in Petersfield England. Founded by John Badley in 1893, it is a private school offering an alternative to GCSE courses and assessments. The school has been described as “disciplined but not rul...
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 49
Phillip Alcock is the founder of AIxPBL, a startup focused on AI-powered project-based learning. He is experienced in STEM/STEAM education, Project-Based Learning (PBL) research and implementation, Game-Based Learning, Sustainability education, AI-enhanced curriculum design, and learner-centric pedagogies. Phillip publishes a very popular and powerful newsletter on LinkedIn (link below). Phil’s writing is both informative and very practical. Often including example prompts for AI and practical g...
Sep 19, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 48
Season 3 Trailer This is a quick recap of some highlights from season 2 and a look forward at our aspirations for season 3. The Education Innovators Podcast is a set of conversations between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else ...
Sep 17, 2024•5 min
Dr Michelle Ament is an educational pioneer renowned for creating the Learning, Experienced (LXP) model. She leads educational systems to develop Human Intelligence, the essential human-centered skills needed to be career-ready in an AI world. An architect of the groundbreaking approach to teaching and assessing social-emotional wellness with experiential learning through a build, apply and transfer instructional model. Her commitment to equitable outcomes is unwavering. Dr Michelle Ament champi...
Jul 16, 2024•58 min•Season 2Ep. 46
Romy Alexandra is a learning experience designer and experiential learning trainer on a mission to humanize learning spaces (in-person, online, and hybrid). She is passionate about designing and delivering transformative learning experiences that integrate experiential learning, psychological safety, emotional intelligence, the neuroscience of learning, and behavior change. Romy brings over a decade of international facilitation experience in more than 40 countries across 4 continents. She suppo...
Jul 09, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 45
Joel Birch is a longtime K-12 educator and instructional coach. He is also a Certified Facilitator and Pro Trainer of LEGO Serious Play. He relies on the power of play, stories, and solving problems by thinking with our hands. Joel works with school leaders to help them conduct the big, important conversations that help them to steer their schools towards their preferred vision of the future. In this episode Joel and Eric talk about Joel’s journey from classroom educator to consultant and how he...
Jul 02, 2024•54 min•Season 2Ep. 44
This episode was filmed on location at The Hong Kong Developmental Paediatrics and Child Neurology Centre where I got the chance to meet Moxie the Compassionate Robot and to talk with Dr. Fanny Lam and Dr Cecelia Lam. Dr Fanny Wai Fan Lam - Specialist in Developmental Behaviour Paediatrics at Blue Sky Precision Medicine Dr Fanny Wai Fan Lam is a Specialist in Developmental-Behavioural Paediatrics with three decades of clinical experience in Hong Kong, Canada, and Australia. Currently, Dr Lam ser...
Jun 25, 2024•44 min•Season 2Ep. 43
Hayes Greenfield is founder of Creative Sound Play (CSP), a sound-based, generative learning system for Pre-K, as well as an award-winning jazz musician, notable film composer, and innovative educator. His book, Creative Sound Play for Young Learners (Routledge, Eye on Education Series, 2024), invites educators to use sound-making as collaborative educational play. Hayes began working as a teaching artist in public and private K-12 schools. He created and implemented curricula for K-12 students,...
Jun 19, 2024•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 42
Alan Tang believes education can make the world a better place. He is the founder and CEO of CoLab an online program that uses games, discussions and escape rooms to teach kids skills for the modern world. He found his way here through a path that included 6 years in corporate finance in the renewable energy field and spent some time as a chef at some of London’s top restaurants. He has worked with startups as a “fractional chief of staff” and then made a transition into the education industry w...
Jun 11, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 41
This episode is a book review of Salman Khan’s new book – “Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (And Why That's a Good Thing)”. Sal is the Founder and CEO of Khan Academy, and his book is a brave and visionary look at the impact of generative AI on education. This is a solo episode, no guests, just me sharing my thoughts about the book. The Education Innovators Podcast is a weekly conversation between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look f...
Jun 05, 2024•22 min•Season 2Ep. 40
This is part 1 of my conversation with Mark DeLoura, who spent almost 2 years as a Senior Advisor on Digital Media at the White House. A great storyteller with amazing insights into the educational games industry and the business of making games. Mark DeLoura is a games and education technology leader, and he believes in their power to transform the world. He has been a game maker, a game leader, and a game changer, in various roles from Silicon Valley to the White House. He has shared his knowl...
May 28, 2024•32 min•Season 2Ep. 39
This is part 2 of my conversation with Mark DeLoura. Mark is a collaborator, a connector of people and teams. In this part we really dive into the challenges of making educational games and how we can bring the right people together. Mark DeLoura is a games and education technology leader, and he believes in their power to transform the world. He has been a game maker, a game leader, and a game changer, in various roles from Silicon Valley to the White House. He has shared his knowledge and insi...
May 28, 2024•42 min•Season 2Ep. 38
Adam Sparks was an English and Social Studies teacher for 7 years before recently completing his masters in Learning Design and Technology at Stanford. At Stanford, Adam's work focused on formative assessment, peer feedback, and writing instruction. He now works full-time on Short Answer, a gamified K12 writing tool that began as his master's capstone project. Through his work with Short Answer, Adam works with schools across the United States to adjust writing instruction and assessment in the ...
May 21, 2024•57 min•Season 2Ep. 37
Alicia Hughes has over 20 years of experience in the world of education. She began her journey as a Middle School Social Studies teacher in Charleston, South Carolina. After leaving the profession for a few years to raise her children, she returned as a High School Social Studies teacher in the virtual education space and from there assumed leadership roles--first as a teacher manager, then Assistant Principal, followed by Principal and ended her 14-year career at the school as the Executive Dir...
May 14, 2024•53 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Jason Gulya is an English professor and Chair of the Artificial Intelligence Council at Berkeley College in New York. He is also an AI consultant and Keynote speaker. A prolific content creator and social media influencer, Jason is vocal about the use of AI in education. He has earned a significant following through his practical and balanced advice. He is both an advocate and a skeptic and we love his honesty and down to earth, on the ground teacher perspective. The Education Innovators Podcast...
May 07, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Maia Wiest studied at the Music University of Berlin where she wrote 2 Music Theatre Shows and managed their production. One of them was produced with artists in and from Havanna, Cuba. After this she relocated to Hong Kong and built her own piano academy for kids using her music learning method. During that time Maia also took on the job at a music publisher to create products (music gift sets) for them to sell internationally. This opened a new path where she worked for companies coming up wit...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 34
Ben Edmonds is an inventor and entrepreneur with a 20 year career in product design and innovation. Ben is now teaching kids design engineering and problem solving through what he describes as his greatest ever invention – the #InventorClub, which offers both in person workshops and online programs for kids 7 – 16 years old. The premise of the inventors club is simple – give kids a problem and let them solve it. They provide a variety of materials and tools and then supervise them as they come u...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Nolan Bushnell, the “Father of Video Games”, created the Pong game and founded Atari. An electrical engineer by trade, he was inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame and was named one of Newsweek’s “50 Men Who Changed America”. He has started more than 20 companies, including the Chuck E Cheese’s Pizza Time Theater franchise, and is also known for hiring Steve Jobs. Dr Leah Hanes PhD is the CEO of Two Bit Circus Foundation and co-author of “Shaping the...
Apr 16, 2024•58 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Paul Darvasi, PhD, is a game developer, educator, speaker, and writer who works at the intersection of games, culture, and learning. He is the CEO and co-founder of Gold Bug Interactive, the Executive Director of the Serious Play Conference, and is a founding member of the PlayLab at the University of Toronto, where he lectures on social media and education, and games and learning. He is a passionate advocate of serious games, digital games for learning, media and digital literacy, design thinki...
Apr 10, 2024•57 min•Season 2Ep. 31
