Mike, Brandon, and Dan discuss a recent New York Times article that points out that the digital gap between high and low socioeconomic status is not what we expected it to be. How have the leaders of Silicon Valley changed the way their children interact with screens and devices? How is the use of screen time inverting traditional expectations about use of digital products? Is screen time the learning equivalent of easy access to fast food? We explore our own personal experiences and awareness o...
Nov 27, 2018•25 min•Season 3Ep. 149
On this week's episode, we turn our attention to the top learning gifts to give to kids and life long learners. As the holiday gift-giving season nears, we take a look back at our discussion last year on Magna-Tiles and explore some other great ideas for the young learners in your life. For lifelong learners, our trio of hosts discuss the idea of gifting a subscription to a service like Audible or Blinkist. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday on the horizon, here's to an amazing holiday season wh...
Nov 20, 2018•39 min•Season 3Ep. 148
Following up on our music and learning episode, Mike and Dan sit down with Ken Florence to discuss his own personal experiences with music and learning. As a performer, a composer, and a musical educator, Ken brings multiple perspectives to the conversation. Ken shares his experiences of synesthesia and how that impacts how he interacts with words, numbers, and music. We also discuss the use of music as a study and recall aid and reference the work of Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi as it relates to mu...
Nov 16, 2018•29 min•Season 3Ep. 147
On this week's episode, we explore the complex and multifaceted relationships between music and learning. Mike and Brandon kick off the conversation talking about their own experiences with music and learning while exploring some common myths and misconceptions relating to this topic. Then we introduce a new contributor to the pod, Ken Florence. Ken's a composer, musician, and music teacher from NYC who will be adding new sound to our pods beginning with this episode. Ken talks briefly about how...
Nov 13, 2018•27 min•Season 3Ep. 146
Mike and Brandon welcome Rohit Bhargava, founder of the Non-Obvious company, back to the podcast to discuss trend curation, predicting the future, and the challenge of being Non-Obvious. Rohit grades himself on his 2018 prediction by reviewing how he did with Lightspeed Learning and Data Pollution in particular. He shares some initial thoughts about new trends that are emerging for 2019 and pays special attention to how this all relates to learning and education. Listen in to get an early read o...
Nov 06, 2018•42 min•Season 3Ep. 145
More from NAB with Mike, Brandon, and Wendy Zukerman of Science Vs, a Gimlet podcast, talking Binge Learning, the Lightning Round, and more. Wendy continues to be awesome. Mike is stumped about Serial Killers (beyond the obvious) but rebounds a bit about Vegans. Maybe he learned something after all. Brandon opens us up for some audience participation. We wrap up an amazing live experience at the NAB New York Conference at the Javits Center. Thanks to Wendy, Gimlet, NAB, Tim O'Shaughnessy, Podcas...
Nov 02, 2018•20 min•Season 3Ep. 144
Live from the National Association of Broadcasters Trade Show in New York City, Mike and Brandon sit down with Wendy Zuckerman, host of the Science Vs podcast from Gimlet Media. The trio goes deep on the importance of science in an era of fake news and a crisis of trust while digging into the topics of many of Wendy's shows. We also explore whether you can be both educational and entertaining at the same time. Wendy shares some of the inner workings of producing an information-rich, entertaining...
Oct 30, 2018•33 min•Season 3Ep. 143
Mike Palmer sits down with Nancy Lee Sanchez and Alex Borges, a Kaplan Foundation Scholar, to discuss the current transfer landscape for undergraduates in the United States. We talk through Alex's unique story as a US Marine Corps Reservist and get his views on where the process could be improved for transfer students with non-traditional backgrounds. We dig into the benefits of connecting veterans and other non-traditional students with university programs across the US. Nancy gives a few tips ...
Oct 23, 2018•27 min•Season 3Ep. 142
Sans Forgetica is a new font/typset out of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia that was designed specifically to aid in memory and retention. The font is designed to be slightly challenging to read and that "desirable difficulty" makes it a surprisingly effective memory aid. On this episode, Dan and Mike catch up with Dr. Joanne Perryman and Dr. Janneke Blijlevens, two-thirds of the research and design team around the new font. We discuss the thought process behind designing...
Oct 18, 2018•22 min•Season 3Ep. 141
Mike and Brandon sit down to explore mnemonic tools like "Memory Palaces" and "the method of loci" which are learning performance hacks that have been shown to aid in memory. We use the book Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foerr as a backdrop to our discussion of memory, retention, and recall. How can memory techniques that have been around since ancient times help modern learners capture and retain more knowledge? What does it mean to be a "mental athlete" and what lessons can be learned fr...
Oct 16, 2018•27 min•Season 3Ep. 140
On this week's episode, Mike, Brandon, and Dan take on the latest internet sensation, Gritty the new mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers introduced Gritty as their new mascot late in September and since then, he(?)'s been feagured across multiple news channels and media outlets. As Mike might say, Gritty is "Zeitgeist-y!" Our trio of hosts explore whether it's merely a coincidence that Gritty hails from the same city as Angela Duckworth, the author of the landmark positive psychology ...
Oct 09, 2018•32 min•Season 3Ep. 139
Mike sits down with Katie Nielson, the Chief Education Officer for Voxy.com. Katie talks about what it's like to be the other kind of CEO. We talk about Voxy's approach to teaching English to non-native speakers and the challenges for both individual learners and larger groups of students. We reminisce a bit about the early days of e-learning and explore some common missteps taken in developing instruction for online learning. What trends in language learning and online education is Katie tracki...
Oct 05, 2018•31 min•Season 3Ep. 138
This week, Mike and Brandon are joined by David Niemi, Kaplan's VP of Measurement and Larry Rudman, Kaplan's VP of Instruction to discuss David's recently published book, Learning Analytics in Education. David explains what went into creating the book, which he Edited and Co-Authored, as the group takes a critical look at how to think about measurement and learning analytics our rapidly changing digital world. How should we think about learning analytics in a burgeoning sea of Big Data? What can...
Oct 02, 2018•40 min•Season 3Ep. 137
Mike, Brandon, and Dan welcome in Dan Gonzalez, co-founder of District C, to the show. Distric C is a non-profit focused on workforce training and real-life learning for high schoolers through partnerships with local businesses. We discuss what employers and managers say most new hires are missing and how students can get a head start on workforce preparedness. Dan Gonzalez discusses how important using real world businesses problems and teaming with diverse teammates is to the learning experien...
Sep 25, 2018•42 min•Season 3Ep. 136
On this extra, Mike and Dan dig into a few recent articles on GenZ and their preferred learning modes and platforms. Spoiler alert: research is showing GenZ prefers visual, video content and Youtube. How does this differ from Millennials and older generations? Along similar lines, we explore the decision by the New York Times Magazine to go audio and visual (text free) for this weekend's Sunday Magazine. Are new media trends unique to the younger generations or are they part of broader trends? H...
Sep 21, 2018•31 min•Season 3Ep. 135
The squad sits down with Jean Ellen Cowgill, the GM of Tic Toc Media, the social arm of Bloomberg Media, to explore how media consumption patterns are changing and how media (and learning) companies are evolving to meet the change. Jean Ellen explains how Tic Toc was formed and how they think about creating "nutirent-rich" short-form videos to share on Twitter and the inherent challenges therein. The group explores the complexities around fake news and problems of trust which apply to both news ...
Sep 18, 2018•47 min•Season 3Ep. 134
Mike and Brandon sit down with Professor Nicholas Tampio of Fordham University to discuss his recent Aeon article on "looking up from your screens." Professor Tampio argues in favor of limiting screen time amongst school age children and getting out in nature more. The conversation covers the drawbacks to too much screen time, how parents can manage devices and more, and how schools are utilizing computers and tablets. Can screen time be limited, or all together restricted or do instructors and ...
Sep 13, 2018•46 min•Season 3Ep. 133
On this week's episode, we discuss a recent article from Dr. Maryanne Wolf, Director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. The article breaks down the changes Dr. Wolf has seen in how technology has lead to further skimming from readers. She discusses the changes happening to our brains as well as the differences in comprehension and retention of information. How does skimming compare to audio books a...
Sep 11, 2018•37 min•Season 3Ep. 132
Mike, Brandon, and Dan welcome Scott Jaschik, Co-Founder and Editor of Insidehighered.com, to the show. The group walks through a wide variety of topics concerning colleges and universities, from discuss dwindling enrollments and population changes in the Northeast to challenges emerging around international students. What are some of the biggest issues emerging on campuses today? Listen in to find out.
Sep 04, 2018•41 min•Season 3Ep. 131
It's that time of year again! Mike, Brandon, and Dan take a look at the newly released Gartner Hype Cycle. Our trio of hosts breaks down how the cycle works, some of their favorite technologies featured this year, and some of the year over year changes. They also discuss what an education and EdTech hype cycle might look like. What do you think should make it on? Get hyped!
Aug 28, 2018•37 min•Season 3Ep. 130
Mike sits down with Larry Rudman, VP of Learning Science and Instructional Design at Kaplan, to engage in a free-flowing discussion about the problems inherent in applying learning science findings in real life contexts in the modern world. Larry shares his personal experiences from a long and varied career in the field while summoning up fascinating examples of researchers, educators, and learning engineers grappling with the thorny problems we're all wrestling with in learning and education to...
Aug 23, 2018•40 min•Season 2Ep. 129
Mike, Brandon and Dan dive into a recent article by Eli Sheldon of Edsurge titled "How Data Science Adds Computational Thinking - and Fun - To Gym Class." The trio walks through the use of statistical analysis and data science to expand gym class beyond the physical and explore the concept of SABRLearning, one of Mike's predictions for 2018. Can sports bridge into math through real life applications of next level computational analytics? There's reminiscences of middle school sports careers, dis...
Aug 21, 2018•25 min•Season 2Ep. 128
Mike Palmer sits down with Matt Cooper, CEO of Skillshare, to talk about subscription-based education, curating learning content, the need for creative skills, and how Skillshare stays on top of new education trends. The discussion covers the Netflix model and things to learn from other subscription models, as well as how often their best students often turn into their best teachers. Matt also discusses what he calls "forced serependity.” Tune in to find out what he means and so much more....
Aug 17, 2018•41 min•Season 2Ep. 127
In Part 2 of our Learning from Netflix series, Brandon, Dan, and Mike take a look at subscription-based educational platforms. Skillshare, for example, just received 28 million dollars in funding and provides an "all you can eat" approach to education with a monthly or yearly subscription fee. What challenges might subscription-based educational platforms face? What benefits will learners gain from having access to curated collections of learning content? And how does all of this relate to the e...
Aug 14, 2018•26 min•Season 2Ep. 126
On this extra, we welcome back Tarlin Ray, co-founder of Kaplan Labs, to discuss what lessons we might learn from how the NBA engages their millennial workforce. What can we learn from the Golden State Warriors structure and engagement? How did a simple moment of listening by Steve Kerr work to his advantage? All that and more on the latest extra from Trending In Education
Aug 10, 2018•30 min•Season 2Ep. 125
On this week's episode of Trending In Education, Brandon, Mike, and Dan take a look at the recent announcement from LeBron James about the creation of the I Promise school within the city of Akron. What life experiences of the former Cleveland Cavalier influenced the school? How will students and families alike benefit from availability of training, food pantries, bicycles, and technology? How do our trio of hosts see this influencing other school districts? Can any of the hosts find anything ba...
Aug 07, 2018•22 min•Season 2Ep. 124
Dan and Mike are joined by Kristen Smith, who leads a team of Student Brand Ambassadors at Kaplan Test Prep, to talk about the concept of "ghosting" and how it relates to the hiring lifecycle. We discuss the evolution of the term and how hiring managers are encountering it as a growing trend. Along similar generational lines, the trio takes a look at a recent New York Times article on how higher education is shifting to meet the changing needs of Generation Z (or iGen).
Aug 03, 2018•33 min•Season 2Ep. 123
In the first of a two-part episode, Mike, Brandon, and Dan discuss a recent Harvard Business Review article by Bill Taylor focused on the Netflix business model. They discuss the power of data and big ideas, the need to continually disrupt yourself, and how important culture is to a successful business model.
Jul 31, 2018•22 min•Season 2Ep. 122
Mike sits down with Michael Fitzpatrick, President and COO of Pullstring to discuss Voice Assistant technology and it's applications in education and in life. They walk through the history of interactive audio and related simulation and explore the balance between data privacy and convenience. HAL 9000 would be so proud!
Jul 27, 2018•37 min•Season 2Ep. 106
Mike, Brandon, and Dan discuss the growth of the voice assistant in every day life. How do we interact with Alexa, Siri, and other voice assistants? What amount of privacy are we willing to give up for the ease of use with voice? What are the applications of this emerging technology in learning and education? We dive into all that and discuss the Uncanny Valley, the Turing Test, and much, much more on this week's episode.
Jul 24, 2018•25 min•Season 2Ep. 121
