Author: Palmer Media

Alexis Block is a PhD Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. She’s also the creator of HuggieBot and now HuggieBot 2.0 which have allowed her to do groundbreaking research in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). Alexis joins Mike Palmer on this episode to talk through her recent paper on The Six Commandments of Robot Hugging. We explore what got Alexis to this point in her research and what she’s learned about human behavior through her research. We touch on the impact of the pandemic on her research and examine what’s next on the horizon as she studies how humans…

Dr. Timothy R. Clark is founder and CEO of LeaderFactor, a training, consulting, coaching, and assessment organization that focuses on leadership development, organizational change, strategic agility, psychological safety, and emotional intelligence. He is the developer of the EQometer assessment and The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety training program. Tim joins Mike Palmer to talk about the role psychological safety plays in developing strong cultures. He walks us through the four stages of psychological safety and helps us understand how we can begin to build vibrant cultures that model and reward vulnerability. Tim describes how ultimately psychological safety results in a…

Dr. Corey Dolgon is a Professor of Sociology at Stonehill College. He’s an expert in several areas of sociology and service learning and is the author of five books, including The End of the Hamptons: Scenes from the Class Struggle in American’s Paradise (2005) and Kill it to Save it: An Autopsy of Capitalism’s triumph Over Democracy (2017). He recently edited The Cambridge Handbook of Service Learning and Community Engagement. Corey joins Mike Palmer to talk about the history of service learning and social movements in America. In his view, for service learning to be truly effective, it must be grounded in the history of social…

Dr. Steve Joordens returns to join Mike Palmer in a conversation about the connections between growth mindset and feedback. If growth mindset is the “What,” getting good at giving and receiving feedback is the “How” of learning and personal growth. Steve draws on his experiences as a Psychology Professor and Director of the Advanced Learning Technologies Lab at the University of Toronto and as a Founder and CoDeveloper of an app called peerScholar that has students engage in collaborative, peer-to-peer feedback that can be used as a formative assessment. We give praise and respect to the great work of Carol…

Dr. Jonathan Friedman is the Director of Free Expression and Education at PEN America. He joins Mike Palmer on this episode to talk about emerging trends in K12 and Higher Ed in the US relating to Free Speech and Free Expression. You can learn more about what Jonathan and PEN are doing at pen.org After hearing Jonathan’s “origin story,” we quickly dive into the case of BL vs Mahanoy School District which is soon to go before the Supreme Court. Are a student’s snaps on Snapchat grounds for disciplinary action? Where do we draw the line around free expression among…

Mark Davis has a 20-year track record of roles of increasing responsibility in the Education field. He left Education soon after the 2016 Election to start a Cannabis company named Mozen. After a four-year run, he sold the company and now is returning to a General Management position in Education. In this 4/20 Special Edition of Trending in Education, Mark joins Mike Palmer to tell the story of his journey as a pot entrepreneur and the lessons he learned along the way. There’s much to be learned from adjacencies when trying to innovate in education, so open your ears and…

Mike welcomes Dan Carroll, the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Clever, which helps K-12 school districts, educators, and students navigate some of the complexities of the digital world. They begin by discussing Dan’s early career teaching for Teach for America, and then his move into educational technology administration. Frustrated by the speed he could launch new initiatives, with some friends he founded Clever to help teachers and students gain access to edtech easily and scalably.   Dan and Mike discuss Clever’s early days, and the “chicken and egg” problem of getting both schools and edtech companies initially to sign up. By charging only…

In this episode of Trending in Education, Mike Palmer and his AI co-host Nancy explore whether generative AI in education has entered the peak of inflated expectations or even the trough of disillusionment on the Gartner Hype Cycle. We discuss the origins of the Hype Cycle and its relevance to current AI trends. Then we dive into recent developments, including the LAUSD’s experience with an AI chatbot and Scarlett Johansson’s battle with OpenAI over the rights to her voice. These events highlight growing concerns about data privacy, cybersecurity, and intellectual property in the AI space. We also examine the concept…

Small ways to improve online teaching and learning, and a discussion on how to get learners’ attention in your courses with Flower Darby and James Lang. James M. Lang writes about higher education, literature, and travel. He is a Professor of English and Director of the D’Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption University. This episode also discusses his books Distracted, Small Teaching, and Small Teaching Online. Flower Darby is the Director of Teaching for Student Success at Northern Arizona University, where she’s taught English, Educational Technology, Leadership, Dance, and Pilates. Flower teaches face-to-face, blended and online classes and speaks, writes, presents, and…

Michael Spencer is the CEO of Global Expansion Strategies, a firm that specializes in helping EdTech companies scale through broad adoption in international schools. Michael joins Mike Palmer to talk through his experiences in the field of international educational technology. We explore the changes that have taken place since the pandemic including a seismic shift from predominantly print curricula to majority online curricula of late. This is especially true with International English Language programs which are among the primary drivers of global EdTech. We also discuss how leading English language learning (ELL) companies that deliver solutions across all four components…