Episode description

Life is about change. It can be hard and uncomfortable, but it’s necessary to improve and realize opportunities. The world of education knows this, too, and taking those steps toward change can be slow but steady. Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall welcomed his long-time friend and fellow podcast host Dustin Odham to talk about change and his work at FranklinCovey Education, where he serves as Managing Director. The organization services K-12 and higher ed with training, coaching, and culture transformation strategies, striving to build better leaders.

Odham described himself and FranklinCovey as on a mission to unleash human potential. “We want to create systems for predictable outcomes for students and districts.”

To do that, technology innovation is a big part. From that lens, Odham said, “Schools are yearning for multiple modalities. There was a bias toward in-person learning, but the pandemic changed the focus to high-end, high impact learning.”

Odham also noted the importance of mental health, which has been called the second pandemic. “It’s important that schools are thinking about adults and taking care of them so they can help others.”

Odham explained that implementing social-emotional learning has long been a “check the box curriculum.” He added, “You can change anybody but yourself, so programs that support being reflective work.”

Marshall and Odham also discussed the latter’s podcast, The Change Starts Here. “The company’s been on the front lines of solving human issues, and we wanted to demonstrate thought leadership in the education space to promote change and impact.”

Odham’s guests have been from all areas of education and sharing stories of success and failure. “We have topics and guests that speak to heart and head issues with takeaways and nuggets of practical advice.”