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For nearly 30 years, E-Rate has been what one might call the most boring of utility programs — a broadband subsidy that quietly connects America's schools and libraries. Now the FCC is asking whether it should exist at all.

Reg Leichty, founding partner of Foresight Law + Policy and a longtime E-Rate advocate, joined the Tech & Learning podcast to break down the commission's newly opened review of the program. His first message: don't panic. His second: take this seriously.

"Sunsetting," he notes, is the polite framing — the proceeding is an inquiry into whether the investment should be terminated.

Leichty pushes back on the review's central premise, which ties E-Rate to concerns about student screen time. Questions about how much time kids spend online are worth asking, he says, but these fall outside the scope of the program and the FCC's telecommunications mandate — an inappropriate merger of two different streams of work.

The stakes are concrete. E-Rate is a need-based subsidy, scaled to community poverty levels, that supports everything from dark fiber projects to wireless access points. Remove it, and those costs fall on local communities — hitting hardest in low-income districts and expensive-to-connect rural areas such as the Nebraska town where Leichty grew up. He also sees a contradiction in questioning school connectivity at the very moment the administration is championing AI readiness.

Still, Leichty argues periodic review is healthy, and this proceeding is a chance to modernize the program's badly dated cybersecurity provisions using early learnings from the FCC's cybersecurity pilot.

The timeline offers breathing room: a 60-day comment period once the notice hits the Federal Register, 30 more days for replies, and likely no implementation before 2028.

Leichty's advice for district leaders: contact your members of Congress this month to educate them about what E-Rate does in their district, and file comments through the FCC's electronic filing system when the window opens.

Take action: The FCC's comment window opens once the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is published in the Federal Register, and as Leichty notes, the commission is obligated to review every comment it receives.

- District leaders can file directly through the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System — reference WC Docket No. 26-133 — using either a written document or the express comment field.

- The full NPRM and commissioner statements are available on the FCC's website.

- For advocacy resources and updates on the proceeding, CoSN has issued a statement on the review and maintains ongoing E-Rate advocacy tools for members.

- And per Leichty's two-part strategy: don't wait for the comment window — contact your House member and senators this month and tell them what E-Rate funds in your district.

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Most conversations about education equity focus on helping students who are struggling. AJ Gutierrez wants to talk about those who are achieving yet are still being overlooked.

As the new CEO of Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), Gutierrez is leading a national nonprofit that partners with more than 900 middle and high schools across 35 states to identify students who are prepared for advanced coursework but aren't getting access to it. In this conversation with Tech & Learning, he offers insights for district leaders on how to do more for students that may be off the radar.

A recent Mathematica study found that EOS partner schools identify more than 2.5 times as many underrepresented students ready for AP, IB, or dual enrollment compared to traditional methods — and that those students, once placed, perform just as well as their peers.

"There's a huge subset of students who are ready for advanced coursework who were, for many reasons, being overlooked," Gutierrez says. "If you look at things like the PSAT, there was a large study EOS conducted with EdTrust where they were missing on 80% of students who would have qualified."

What makes the EOS approach distinct is what it measures. Beyond grades and test scores, EOS collects student survey data on factors such as whether a student feels connected to a trusted adult at school, their future aspirations, and their sense of belonging. When those insights are combined with academic data — and increasingly, with AI-driven predictive analytics — patterns emerge that no dashboard alone would surface.

"Education is always going to be human-led, but technology-augmented," Gutierrez says. "You can't just share a dashboard or a widget and expect big change. You're talking about shifting mindsets and shifting human behavior."

Gutierrez brings a personal dimension to the work. A product of Boston's Match Education program, he credits rigorous coursework and personalized support as pivotal in his own trajectory. He went on to co-found Saga Education, which helped catalyze a national high-impact tutoring movement and secure more than $7 billion in public investment between 2020 and today.

At EOS, his next focus is chronic absenteeism — using the organization's survey data and emerging AI tools to identify students at risk of disengaging before it's too late.

"If we focus on individual students," he says, "we can increase the odds of improving average daily attendance."

Watch above or listen/download below.

For years, the promise of AI in education has outpaced the evidence. But a new research project—funded by the Gates Foundation and anchored by researchers at the University of Virginia and the University at Albany, SUNY—is working to change that equation.

The AI for Advancing Instruction at Scale (AI2S) project, developed in partnership with edtech company Edthena, uses a multimodal neural network trained on thousands of hand-coded classroom videos to analyze both the audio and visual dimensions of math instruction. The result is a system that can classify teacher questioning patterns, assess cognitive demand, and detect student engagement—with an accuracy that rivals trained human observers.

Rather than generating a dashboard of metrics, the system guides teachers through a structured coaching cycle—helping them identify a focus area, review their classroom data in context, and build a concrete action plan. Edthena CEO Adam Geller frames the distinction plainly: "We're not trying to build teachers a Fitbit. We're trying to build them a coach."

Critically, all teacher video and feedback remains private to the teacher. The system does not use classroom data to train its models—an assurance that researchers say has been central to teacher trust and adoption.

Peter Youngs, professor at UVA's School of Education and Human Development, sees broader implications for district leaders who have long struggled with the cost and scale of instructional coaching. "If we can show that certain patterns of machine learning output are consistent with how a human would have rated an entire lesson, that could be a game changer—making the process more efficient for principals, teacher educators, and researchers alike," he says.

With districts in Texas, New York, and Virginia currently piloting the tool, the research team is collecting data on feedback quality, changes in teaching practice, and teacher trust. Plans are already underway to expand the methodology to reading and language arts instruction.

To learn more about the AI2S project and the research behind it, visit the University of Virginia's School of Education and Human Development, where Peter Youngs leads work on teacher learning and instructional improvement. To explore Edthena's AI Coach platform — the production tool built on the AI2S research — visit edthena.com. Districts interested in participating in the ongoing pilot can reach out directly through the Edthena site.

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Cybersecurity has topped CoSN’s annual State of EdTech report for at least eight consecutive years. For Jeff Carlson, Head of Education Strategy and Advocacy at Clever, that streak is not a failure of imagination — it’s an honest reflection of how hard the problem actually is.

“Even if you’ve solved one thing, there’s another thing,” Carlson said during this week’s Tech & Learning podcast conversation. “K-12 has become one of the most targeted industries for cyberattacks, and the threats keep evolving.”

Clever, which provides single sign-on and rostering services to between 75 and 80 percent of U.S. schools — both public and private — has watched that threat landscape shift in real time. What once centered on credential theft and unauthorized access has expanded to include third-party vendor vulnerabilities, with Carlson citing an eightfold increase in two years of districts worrying about attacks on vendors that then cascade into school systems. The data at risk is not just administrative: it includes student health records, special education documentation, and mental health communications.

“The biggest concern we hear from tech teams is that student data is going to be released,” said Carlson, who spent time as a special education teacher before moving into ed-tech strategy. “You’ve got health data, comments going back and forth about mental health challenges. That’s not just a technical problem.”

The arrival of AI has added a new layer of complexity. Carlson described a moment that has become familiar to many district leaders: waking up to find that an app updated overnight and now includes student-facing AI features no one vetted or approved. His advice is pointed — focus on enabling AI for educators before enabling it for students, prioritize tools built specifically for K-12 over consumer products retrofitted for classrooms, and establish clear data minimization standards that apply whether or not a vendor calls itself an AI company.

“We’re pretty quickly moving from having AI companies to just companies that are using AI,” Carlson said. “We used to have internet companies. Everybody has a website now. We can’t assume that just because somebody hasn’t told you they’re using AI that they’re not.”

For district leaders feeling overwhelmed, Carlson’s closing message was direct: take a breath, communicate openly with families and staff before a crisis forces the conversation, and treat AI governance as an ongoing dialogue rather than a policy set once and forgotten.

“The best thing you can do with fear is try to understand where it’s coming from,” he said. “And see how you can get over it one step at a time.”

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About two-thirds of U.S. districts and states have some form of AI policy in place. The other third is, as Sasha Luks-Morgan puts it, the wild west. And even many of the policies that do exist, she argues, aren't doing what they're supposed to do.

Luks-Morgan is a policy analyst at SchoolAI, a K-12 AI platform they say is built around teacher visibility and student engagement, and she spends her days meeting with districts across the country helping them figure all this out.

In this conversation with Tech & Learning, she offers a clear-eyed framework for where AI policy in schools stands — and what it's going to take to move it forward.

Her three-pillar framework for any district starting from scratch: understand how your students and teachers are actually using AI right now; lock down student data privacy and personally identifiable information; and address academic integrity in a way that keeps students in the driver's seat of their own learning rather than offloading cognition to a machine.

"Systems only move as fast as the humans in them," she says. "That's the starting point."

She also draws a sharp distinction between two policy philosophies that often get conflated. Acceptable use policies, she says, are essentially lists of prohibitions. Responsible use policies are something different — these model good behavior, explain the reasoning behind expectations, and treat students as participants in the process rather than subjects of it.

On the vendor side, she is equally direct: the edtech industry has not taken enough responsibility for making tools work in ways that support good policy. SchoolAI's response is a free policy-writing service — available to any district, partner or not — in which a member of the team will sit with administrators, hear their concerns, and draft or revise a policy document they can take to legal counsel and implement.

"Bad policy is worse than no policy," she says. "We really want to see districts succeeding."

She also addresses district scale: the fundamentals — student privacy, ethical use, data governance — apply universally, from a 108-student K-8 district in the Mid-Atlantic to New York City Public Schools. What changes is implementation, committee structure, and who carries the weight. In small districts, that often means one superintendent or tech director holding the entire AI portfolio alone.

Her advice for the path forward: review your policy annually, build teacher expertise so your bench runs deep, and accept that the technology will always outpace the paperwork. The goal isn't to catch up but to stay close enough to matter.

Due to a technical issue, this podcast is only available in audio format, which you can "watch" above or listen to/download below.

Kris Hagel has a blunt take on the state of educational technology in his district — and probably yours. "Ed Tech Got Away From Us—and It's Kind of Our Fault" is the title of a talk he delivered at a conference the same afternoon he sat down with Tech & Learning. It's also a pretty accurate summary of where a lot of districts find themselves right now.

Hagel—a K-12 CIO with 25-plus years in education and CoSN Board Member— returned from this year’s convention energized by two conversations dominating the hallways: the screen time debate and the growing interest in districts using AI to build their own edtech tools. Both, he says, are wrapped in fear—from parents, from teachers, and from edtech vendors watching their clients start to build around them.

His prescription for the fear? Communication, transparency, and a hard look in the mirror. Hagel's Washington State district of nearly 10,000 students is in the middle of a deliberate pullback from what he describes as a pandemic-era "whatever works" posture toward technology—one that left his team with thousands of approved apps and no clear rationale for most of them.

"I look at our catalog of approved edtech apps and I'm like, 'oh my gosh, that is way too many things,'" he says.

Working alongside his chief academic officer, Hagel has begun re-establishing what purposeful technology use actually looks like in a classroom. He is also planning a district-wide transparency report, using AI to aggregate and synthesize usage data across grade levels and share it publicly with families.

On the parent communication front, Hagel credits ParentSquare as a key partner, citing its ability to route messages to different constituent groups in whatever format they prefer — app, text, phone, or push notification.

"You've got to get out there in front of it and tell the story," he says. "Once you tell those stories, parents get behind it."

He also draws a distinction that more district leaders would do well to internalize: consumer technology and education technology are not the same conversation. Conflating them, he argues, is a big part of how fear takes root — and how trust erodes. The average student, he noted, spends roughly 70 minutes per day on a device in school. Not six hours! Seventy minutes — mostly purposeful.

That number alone, he says, changes the tenor of almost every parent conversation.

Watch above or download/listen below.

Karl Rectanus has a new mission: change the trajectory of U.S. literacy. The edtech veteran — best known for founding Learn Platform, the evidence and edtech management company — has taken the helm as CEO of Really Great Reading (RGR), one of the country's oldest and most established science of reading organizations.

I was lucky enough to catch Karl for a few minutes. He made it clear that his arrival at RGR is not simply a leadership transition — it's a strategic pivot toward accountability. "Two-thirds of our kids cannot read by the end of third grade," he says. "And they're not reading at grade level by the time they graduate."

RGR was doing science of reading before it became a buzzword, Rectanus notes, tracing its roots to Learning Without Tears around 2005–2006. The organization has evolved from print-first materials — letter blocks, syllable boards, classroom posters — into a full suite of digital tools, professional learning, and coaching. Now, under Rectanus, the organization is going further: positioning itself as the first literacy outcomes company in the space.

Central to that ambition is outcomes-based contracting, a model Rectanus says has never been applied to literacy at scale. Rather than selling books or apps and hoping for the best, RGR will tie its agreements to measurable student progress. "We will be holding ourselves accountable," he says, pointing to more than 5 million foundational skills learned by students using RGR tools in the current school year alone.

Rectanus cites Mississippi's dramatic rise in reading scores — from 49th to 18th nationally — as proof that the model works when implemented with fidelity. "It's not a miracle," he says. "It's a Southern surge. They focused on three things: aligned curriculum, a caring adult, and a feedback loop."

He also addresses the pending federal Read Act, cautioning that legislation alone won't move the needle. "Unless states and districts do something with whatever happens there, it will not mean anything," he says.

His prescription for tech directors and curriculum leaders: stop asking for content, start asking for outcomes.

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Andrew Marcinek remembers the moment social media stopped feeling like a community. It was around 2015 and 2016, when he was finishing a stint at the U.S. Department of Education and coming back into schools. He was also headlining Tech & Learning events. I’ve been lucky enough to keep in touch with Andrew since then. He continues to keep a keen eye on this incredibly complicated and harrowing landscape.

His personal reckonings from that time became the foundation for his book Teaching Digital Kindness, and it's the lens through which he's watching the current wave of lawsuits against Meta and other social media companies. For Marcinek, these cases aren't a surprise — they're a long-overdue reckoning. The comparison to Big Tobacco, he argues, is apt: years of denial, a product engineered to be addictive, and mounting evidence of harm to the most vulnerable users.

The burden of dealing with that harm, he notes, has fallen almost entirely on schools — institutions that were themselves manipulated by the same algorithms and given no roadmap for what to do.

Marcinek's prescription isn't a phone ban or a screen purge. It's intentionality — building technology programs in schools with deliberate purpose, communicating transparently with parents about how and when devices are used, and treating the current AI moment as a second chance to get the foundational work right.

"Schools need to lean in and have conversations around AI," he says. "If you're not, you are doing your school community a disservice — sending kids out into the world without knowledge of probably one of the most powerful technologies in anyone's lifetime."

He points to employer signals as the clearest argument for AI literacy: companies, including Microsoft and Anthropic, are explicitly looking for workers who understand how to use AI alongside strong soft skills. Schools that treat AI primarily as a cheating threat, Marcinek contends, are asking the wrong question — and risking the same institutional failure that defined the social media era.

A second book, tentatively titled Untangled, is in progress — it focuses on how individuals and institutions can find their way out of the algorithmic knots of the last two decades. I’m looking forward to it.

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For school districts weighing whether to invest in esports, the conversation often stalls at cost. But according to Jason Bond, who has spent more than 20 years focused on K-12 AV at Extron, the real question administrators should be asking is simpler: what else can that space do?

"It's dual purpose, and that's the key to the return on that investment," Bond explained to me—in person!—at an Extron open house. "You're going to use that esports space for something like graphics design or cybersecurity training during the day, and then in the evening or after school hours, it becomes the esports playing facility."

Bond, who has tracked K-12 AV trends since the early days of classroom projectors, sees esports as the latest inflection point in how schools think about technology spaces. Where AV was once primarily about equipping individual classrooms, districts are now investing in large gathering spaces, media centers, and purpose-built esports facilities — all of which require more sophisticated infrastructure including AV over IP, multi-graphic processing, and specialized audio routing.

The engagement returns, Bond argues, are measurable. Esports programs have been linked to improved attendance, better grades, and stronger community involvement. "It keeps kids in school. It keeps kids getting better grades," he says. "And it's not just a bunch of kids sitting around playing video games — there's a lot of team coordination that promotes communication and engagement."

For districts just starting, Bond's advice is to resist the urge to go big immediately. A computer lab retrofit using existing data and power infrastructure can serve as a functional first step. From there, districts can grow incrementally, layering on technology as budgets allow. AV over IP, he notes, is the foundation worth investing in early — it provides the flexibility to scale in directions a district may not yet have anticipated.

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There are few things more chaotic in the life of a school administrator than tracking who paid for the field trip. Cash in envelopes, multiple payment portals, different logins for every system — and somewhere in the middle of it all, a kid who shouldn't be left behind because her family doesn't have a bank account.

ClassDojo is betting it can fix all of that. ClassDojo Payments is promising to enable schools to collect field trip fees, manage fundraisers, process technology fees, and accept payments from every family, all on the platform that tens of millions of school leaders, teachers, and parents already use already. Powered by Pay Theory’s payment facilitation infrastructure, the technology aims to eliminate the friction of offline payment collections and disconnected third-party portals while ensuring every family can participate—including through cash-to-digital acceptance at thousands of retail locations nationwide.

It’s a big leap, but Chad Stevens, Head of Growth & Partnerships at ClassDojo for Districts, sounds confident. I had the pleasure of chatting with him about their progress.

The vision, according to Chad, is simple: a teacher sends a field trip message through ClassDojo, there's a payment button right in the post, a parent taps it, uses Apple Pay or face ID, and it's done. No envelope, no separate portal, no morning scramble to figure out who still owes money.

But the feature Chad is most excited about is less flashy and arguably more important. An estimated one in six U.S. households are unbanked — families that operate entirely in cash and can't use digital payment systems. Through the PayTheory partnership, ClassDojo plans to let those families pay for school activities by scanning a barcode at CVS, Walgreens, 7-Eleven, or Family Dollar, with the payment routing digitally back to the school district.

"Just because a kid doesn't have a bank doesn't mean they struggle to get to go on a field trip," Chad says. "To me as a former teacher, that was just one of the really exciting things about what we plan to build."

A full launch is targeted for late 2026, with the company signaling it wants to get the back-end accounting and compliance architecture right before flipping the switch.

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When the school year began last fall, Kenzo Vanhaesebroeck knew something had shifted. Students at Pineville ISD returned from summer break already fluent in AI tools—using these faster and, in some cases, more efficiently than the adults in the building. But instead of just reacting, the administration has taken a proactive stance to work with the technology not obstruct it. I had a chance to talk to Kenzo about the details.

For a small district that had barely finished digesting the implications of the technology, it was a wake-up call. "With every other platform, we had a little bit of a heads up," Vanhaesebroeck says. "With AI, we didn't even have a chance to really put policy in place before Google, Meta, all these big companies just said, 'Hey, it's here, it's integrated.'"

That speed is what makes this moment categorically different, he argues. Social media crept in gradually. AI arrived overnight—embedded in platforms students were already using, accessible on devices already in their pockets. And new platforms keep appearing daily, often discovered by students before their teachers have even heard about it.

Vanhaesebroeck's response has been a philosophy shift: out with "acceptable use," in with "responsible use." The distinction matters because a named-platform policy is obsolete before the ink dries. A responsible use framework, intentionally written to be somewhat vague, can flex as the landscape changes.

The practical centerpiece of that framework is what he calls a "grading scale" for AI on assignments—a spectrum that runs from no AI permitted to AI-focused projects in which students actually produce content using generative tools. Teachers set the dial for each assignment. The policy backstops them either way.

On the faculty side, Vanhaesebroeck relies less on mandates and more on peer modeling. When a teacher is doing something innovative with AI, he puts that teacher in front of the skeptics. "It's not just cheating," he tells reluctant colleagues. "There's also good sides to this."

His advice to administrators watching from the sidelines: stay open, experiment carefully, and don't wait for a perfect policy before engaging. "Almost being a little too restrictive by being vague," he says, "is better than falling behind and not having policy at all."

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When Charles Franklin thinks about his role as a technology leader in one of Texas's largest school districts, everything starts with security. Not because it's the most exciting topic in edtech — he'd readily admit it isn't — but because it underpins everything else the district tries to accomplish.

"Security is widespread around everything that we do," Franklin says. "Even if it's not directly related, there's always some interdependency."

His district is one of only nine in Texas to earn the Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) certification from CoSN, a rigorous credential that requires districts to document and provide evidence of their cybersecurity controls — and then recertify every two years.

The process, Franklin explains, is less about impressing a review board and more about creating institutional discipline. "It's not just that we're saying we're doing something," he says. "We're showing that we're doing it and somebody is reviewing it." That accountability structure also communicates something important to the community: the district takes student data seriously.

On the data privacy side, Franklin's team maintains a dedicated staff member focused exclusively on vendor agreements — a significant investment, but one that pays dividends. Every vendor relationship is governed by a formal data privacy agreement that scopes what data can be collected, how long it's retained, and who bears liability in the event of a breach. The district also leverages the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) and One EdTech to vet products and adopt existing agreements rather than negotiating from scratch each time.

For smaller districts without those resources, Franklin points to state-level organizations such as TETL — Texas Education Technology Leaders — as a starting point. Through those networks, districts can access templates, share best practices, and connect with peers who have already done the hard work.

Looking ahead, the district is launching a Virtual Pathways program to attract and retain students in a competitive enrollment environment, and a major data lake project designed to help administrators make smarter, evidence-based decisions across curriculum, finance, and student outcomes.

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While Zoom calls are great and usually get the job done for our podcasts, nothing beats conversations in person. Recently I got the chance to do just that at the Kira 2.0 launch event held March 3rd in New York City. Company founders introduced what they call an AI operating system for education — a platform designed not to add to the growing list of tools teachers manage, but to replace the need for most of them.

Founded nearly five years ago, Kira has operated largely out of public view, working directly with teachers, students, and administrators to build and refine its platform. The launch marked the first time the company gathered customers, partners, and education leaders to publicly demonstrate what that work has produced.

The centerpiece of the announcement was the Student Atlas, a longitudinal data tool that gives teachers deep, real-time insight into individual student performance — mapping skills, identifying gaps, and generating personalized interventions automatically. The demo showed how a teacher could move from identifying a struggling student to generating a tiered intervention plan, a personalized lesson, and an IEP draft in a matter of minutes.

For Harl Roehm, a computer science teacher from Tennessee who came to Kira through a state-required CS endorsement program, the Student Atlas was the moment that stood out. "I started right about the time they put up the Student Atlas, and I don't think I quit for two hours," he said. Previously, Harl had to manually review student responses to identify patterns. "With the Student Atlas, tagging everything through the standards and allowing me to personalize that to each student — that's going to completely flip the script."

Brandon Chitty, an administrator from Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma, was enthusiastic but measured. He sees real promise in the platform's potential to centralize instruction, but noted that deployment will require strong leadership.

"You have to have powerful leadership of instruction to roll something out like this — one that gives teachers the right amount of agency, but also makes sure that students in Algebra I with one teacher are learning the same thing as students in Algebra I with another," he said. He also raised the stakes of getting AI literacy right across the board, noting that alternatively certified teachers in particular need structured guidance rather than an open-ended tool.

The platform also includes a Course Studio that uses AI to build full, standards-aligned courses from scratch. During the event, the Kira team showed how eight CTE and AP courses were developed in approximately 30 minutes — a process that one curriculum professional in attendance estimated would traditionally require a team of three people working over three years.

Both educators drew a sharp contrast between Kira and the wave of AI-enhanced tools that have flooded the market in recent years.

"A lot of other companies are an inch wide and a mile deep," Harl said. "When Kira came on board, it was like, 'We integrate everything from the beginning.' For a lot of these other companies, AI was an add-on. With Kira, it's fundamental to the design."

Chitty agreed, pointing to the consolidation potential as a long-term differentiator: "In its 3.0 or 5.0 stage, this could eliminate the need for an LMS, eliminate the need for a separate MTSS platform. I'm not tied to any company. I'm tied to student learning."

Kira also debuted an AI-powered assessment builder with built-in proctoring, grading, and real-time feedback tools that feed directly back into the Student Atlas. The company indicated that a class and school-level rollup of student data, as well as an updated AI tutor, are expected to launch within the coming months.

Watch this conversation above or listen/download it below.

A $9.99 million Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant is bringing together three partners to tackle one of education's most persistent challenges: helping young readers build the skills they need to succeed, especially in rural communities where specialized support is hardest to access. I had a chance to chat with two of the program's architects about their efforts, Allison Zimmermann, CEO of Foundations in Learning, and Dr. Seth King, Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Iowa.

WordFlight, developed by Foundations in Learning, has partnered with the University of Iowa Reading Research Center and Wyoming State to conduct a five-year study involving 80 to 100 schools. The project builds on previous success—a randomized controlled trial with middle school students that showed the intervention was "extremely successful" in moving students forward on foundational skills and fluency.

The study uses a wait-listed design in which half the schools implement WordFlight in year one while the other half serves as a control group, with all schools receiving the intervention by year two. Independent evaluators from Iowa's Center for Evaluation and Assessment will measure outcomes using assessments not directly aligned with the curriculum.

"We have to stop the bleeding," Alli emphasizes about older struggling readers. "We have to give them the foundation that they need to be successful."

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

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Despite being a self-proclaimed "technology dork," Marlon Styles Jr. is also an educator, an author, and an influencer who insists technology should never lead educational initiatives.

"I love immersive reality. I love virtual reality. It's cool. It's fantastic," he says. "But I need a purpose for that to show up inside of a classroom and have that technology really influence the kids' experience."

Marlon will be keynoting next month’s Tech & Learning Leadership Summit at NCCE 26 in Seattle, WA. During our conversation, I was able to pull some exclusive insights into what he has in store.

Marlon will propose something many leaders might find uncomfortable: breaking the habit of relying on the same "inner circles" to make strategic decisions. "We break the habit of engaging the same inner circles to make strategic decisions in our systems. Inner circles mean the same people show up to the table to make decisions," he explains. "What I'm proposing is that we really leverage expertise in a unique way and bring specific intentional expertise from our employee base to the table to help us engage in strategic decision-making."

Marlon also challenges another education buzzword: data-driven decision-making. "I'm no longer saying that we need to be data-driven decision-makers," he suggests. "I'm saying that we need to be really strategic about how we collect and interact with intelligence from across our system to better inform the kind of decisions that we might make."

Finally, Marlon advocates for what he calls "agentic AI" — artificial intelligence that acts as a partner in decision-making rather than just a productivity tool. "How might we uniquely engage agentic AI with a specific set of expertise that we've convened to help us really make better strategic decisions?"

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

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While talking about BETT 2026 on Zoom is not half as much fun as in a pub or London Heathrow’s Terminal 5, it’s always great to get the skinny from players in the edtech field. And who better than Liz Crawford to lay out the details.

Unlike previous years when companies rushed to rebrand themselves as "AI companies," BETT 2026 featured more substantive discussions about practical integration. Says Liz: "AI was definitely a hot topic. It was everywhere as part of every conversation. But I think the conversations are getting a little bit more thoughtful about AI and how we support teaching and learning with AI, and keep some of the fundamentals like reading and math and obviously the teacher-student relationships intact."

The conference drew ministerial delegations from around the world, creating what Liz describes as a "high energy" atmosphere with "people speaking multiple languages, cultures," and booths "packed pretty much all day, every day, three people deep trying to get demos."

One notable difference from U.S.-centric conferences such as ISTE: LMS adoption patterns vary significantly by region. "I hosted some sessions in the booth and asked if the educators were using LMS as an example, and sometimes they weren't really," Liz observes. "So I think from that perspective, the U.S. is a little bit ahead on the LMS usage."

However, Kahoot is experiencing "viral growth" in markets including Germany, France, Indonesia, and Japan—driven not by top-down government mandates but by teacher adoption. "I think it's just driven by teacher adoption of tools that are a good user experience, that provide value, that impact learning outcomes," Liz explains.

Two other topics generating significant buzz at BETT: future-ready skills (formerly called "21st century skills") and formative assessment. The latter received particular attention, appearing in stage keynotes, concurrent sessions, and booth demonstrations.

Discussions also centered on how technology supports soft skill development and how edtech platforms can work together more seamlessly. "Partnerships is still a big conversation around amongst edtech tools and amongst the platforms that are used every day in education, and how do we work together to make sure that we're trying to be seamless and help educators connect the dots across all the platforms they're using," she says.

In the snippet below, Liz discusses the evolution of AI in education:

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

Watch this week's conversation above or listen/download the audio only below.

Superintendent Tom Livezey of Oakridge Public Schools in Muskegon, Michigan, wanted to be heard. So when he discovered that nobody noticed when he stopped sending the district's printed quarterly newsletter, he began to implement a deliberate approach to communication.

His progress wasn't part of a grand strategic plan but rather a series of "course corrections" responding to parent needs and changing technology.

The key innovation was unifying staff communication around a single rostered platform that allows teachers to send messages, photos, and updates to entire classes or individual students while receiving responses—all translated into multiple languages. Previously, only the superintendent had access to sophisticated communication tools, while teachers used various free internet platforms, creating a fragmented experience for parents. The district now has approximately 1,000 TikTok followers and receives unsolicited praise from teachers and parents alike.

Tom's advice to other districts: focus on strategy, message, frequency, and listening rather than obsessing over which specific tool to use. Match solutions to actual problems rather than implementing technology for technology's sake.

In this snippet, Tom talks about unifying communications for parents.

In this snippet, Tom offers advice to other districts looking to simplify their communications strategy:

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

Watch this week's conversation above or listen/download the audio-only below.

The statistics are sobering: About 130 million U.S. adults read below a sixth-grade level; approximately 45 million U.S. adults are functionally illiterate, reading below a fifth-grade level; and 21% of U.S. adults are classified as functionally illiterate, unable to complete basic reading tasks, according to the OECD.

Matt Bardin, a former New York City public school teacher who transitioned into ed-tech with Zinc Learning Labs, has developed a platform aimed at addressing America's reading crisis. He argues that teachers shouldn't try to compete with TikTok's dopamine hits, but instead offer the deeper satisfaction of meaningful reading experiences.

His platform is currently offering free student licenses to teachers who complete training modules, as part of a mission to transform reading culture in American schools.

In the snippet below, Bardin talks about the state of reading in the United States:

In this next snippet, Bardin talks about how teachers shouldn't try to compete with TikTok but to engage them in different ways.

And in this final clip, Bardin discusses reaching peak dopamine levels and what comes next for education:

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

Watch the video or download/listen to the audio below.

In an era dominated by discussions about AI and every other flavor of edtech, a new study delivers a surprisingly analog message: what makes teachers feel successful hasn't changed. It's human connection.

The 2025 Global Teacher Insights Report from Vivi reveals that 85% of nearly 2,000 teachers worldwide identified strong teacher-student relationships and active engagement as the two most influential factors in their sense of success.

I had the chance to dig into the report’s weeds with Peter Emmel, Director of Technology at Randolph Township Schools (NJ), and Juliana Finegan, VP of Educator Experience at Vivi. Juliana details the whys and hows of the report while Peter is able to apply the data to his insights on managing the tech in schools on a day-to-day basis.

The full 2025 Global Teacher Insights Report from Vivi is available for free download. Whether you're a district technology director evaluating new tools, a principal working to improve teacher retention, or an instructional coach looking to understand what makes teachers feel successful in their roles, the report offers data-driven guidance for creating the conditions in which both teachers and students can thrive.

In this snippet, Peter Emmel, Director of Technology at Randolph Township Schools, talks about the first step that district technology leaders need to take to help support student success:

Either watch the video above or listen/download to audio only below.

There are few educators better suited to discuss the state of play in education and technology than Alana Winnick, author and creator of The Generative Age, a book and podcast that explores the rapidly evolving world of generative artificial intelligence and its impact on education.

Winnick is also the founder of Students for Innovation, an organization that empowers students to advocate for change within their schools. Oh, she also serves as the Educational Technology Director and Data Protection Officer for Pocantico Hills CSD in Sleepy Hollow, NY, and as a Director for the New York State Association for Computers and Technology in Education (NYSCATE). Oh, and she is ALSO the FETC 2026 keynote speaker. Whew!

Listen for exclusive insights into her presentations in Florida next month.

In this snipped, Winnick talks about the importance of explaining the why behind phone bans.

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

Either watch the full video above or download listen to the audio-only below.

Anyone who has been around the block in edtech has heard the phrase “Digital Divide.” But how about the “Digital Design Divide?”

According to a report released this month by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), teachers increasingly have access to technology but lack the time, resources, and training to integrate it effectively into their instruction.

In this week's conversation, Julia and Ji Soo break down the challenge succinctly, and offer advice.

The timing of Improving Professional Learning Systems to Better Support Today’s Educators: How Title II, Part A Offers a Model for State and Local Leadership is particularly critical as AI tools flood into classrooms. According to Gallup, a majority of U.S. educators have used AI to some degree in their daily work. However, a RAND study found that half of districts have not provided any professional learning on artificial intelligence — despite teachers asking for it.

This from the SETDA release:

The guide, developed in partnership with FullScale, ISTE+ASCD, and Learning Forward, and supported by Google.org, draws on national research with 24 state education agencies and 76 local education agencies. It provides evidence-based strategies for leveraging Title II-A and other funding streams to support sustained, high-quality professional learning focused on technology and AI integration.

The research reveals significant gaps in current practice. In 2022-23, while more than 60% of Title II-A funds were spent on professional development, much of it took the form of short-term workshops rather than sustained strategies. Only nine states prioritized these funds for technology training, and fewer than 40% of local education agencies used them to advance technology-related professional learning.

Key research findings from this report include:

• Definitions of quality are inconsistent and incomplete. Few state and local agencies have a formal definition of student-centered instruction enabled through technology, and even fewer have a clear picture of how professional learning can support this instruction.
• Funding patterns default to tool training over instructional strategy. Many state and local leaders described using Title II-A dollars for short-term training on specific platforms rather than building durable educator capacity through frameworks such as the ISTE Standards for Educators or Universal Design for Learning.
• Evaluation focuses on compliance rather than improvement. While state and local agencies track fund usage, monitoring often emphasizes compliance with laws and regulations rather than using evidence to understand impact and refine practices.
• The field lacks well-documented models. State and local leaders can point to broad categories of effective work–coaching, professional learning communities, inquiry cycles–but struggle to name specific, well-documented programs with evidence of success.

With billions in federal education dollars already flowing to states and districts annually through Title II-A, SETDA's message is clear: the money is there. The question is whether educational leaders will look at it with fresh eyes and deploy it to meet the urgent professional learning needs of today's educators.

In this snippet, the digital design divide is defined:

In this snippet, the conversation delves into busting allowable use myths and fresh approaches:

And in this final snippet, the discussion is around measuring beyond compliance and building human relationships.

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

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Alabama has achieved what many thought impossible: climbing from dead last to the middle of the pack in national math rankings. The state, which historically jockeyed with Mississippi for 52nd place on NAEP assessments, now ranks 32nd — a dramatic improvement driven in part by the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI).

"We are in the middle of the pack," says Rachel Broadhead, who works with the statewide initiative. "That's a big deal for a state that's been at the bottom for as long as anyone can remember."

AMSTI operates on what Rachel describes as a "three-legged stool" approach: professional learning opportunities, physical resources, and job-embedded on-site support. The initiative benefits from regional hubs that place staff closer to classrooms than most statewide programs can achieve.

AMSTI recently extended its partnership with BW Walch to continue scaling the implementation of the Ongoing Assessment Project (OGAP) professional learning program statewide.

Through AMSTI, thousands of Alabama teachers have already been trained in OGAP’s systematic, research-based frameworks—helping them identify student misconceptions early and respond with targeted instruction.

“This partnership with AMSTI has demonstrated what’s possible when teachers are empowered with evidence-based professional learning that deepens their understanding of how students learn math,” said Al Noyes, CEO of BW Walch. “OGAP enables educators to look beyond right or wrong answers—to see inside students’ reasoning, address misconceptions, and help every learner build lasting mathematical understanding.”

The multi-year extension will expand professional learning opportunities, deepen district-level support, and introduce new online tools to strengthen ongoing coaching and collaboration.

This snippet of the conversation features advice to district administrators about making time for PD.

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

Watch the video above or listen/download the audio below.

The debate over whether schools should allow AI in classrooms is over — students are already using it, and the data proves it. According to recent College Board findings, 84% of high school students are now using generative AI for schoolwork, a reality that this week’s guest Carl Hooker says schools can no longer ignore.

Despite widespread student adoption, schools remain divided on how to respond. While 85% of administrators recognize value in teaching students to use AI tools, and 55% of schools no longer block them on networks, many institutions still restrict access — often at teachers' request.

Carl attributes this resistance to fear and tradition. "Traditional lecture-based information disseminated learning needed to die decades ago, but we're still holding on," he says. He notes that teachers who initially approach his presentations with "arms folded, their lips pursed" often become converts by the end, realizing they need to teach students the right way to use AI rather than ban it entirely.

You can download the College Board report here. Also, click through to Tech and Learning events if you want to interact with Carl in person!

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

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In a Houston-area district serving 60,000 students, career and technical education (CTE) has evolved far beyond the traditional "vocational ed" model. Executive director Brooke Martin oversees programs serving 19,000 students across multiple career pathways, focusing on preparing them for high-paying, high-demand jobs rather than just minimum wage opportunities.

The district's approach relies heavily on data analytics through platforms such as Eduthings, which helps administrators track labor market demands, enrollment patterns, and program completion rates. This data-driven strategy ensures students aren't being trained for outdated or oversaturated fields.

Of course, the cliche holds true—they always do things bigger in Texas. When analysis revealed overwhelming demand for healthcare programs across all five high schools, the district partnered with the Memorial Hermann hospital system to open a $32 million healthcare high school offering five unique pathways not available elsewhere in the district.

Beyond traditional metrics, the district tracks comprehensive work-based learning experiences, including internship hours, job shadowing, and mentoring sessions. The goal is for every student to leave with a detailed resume that tells their complete story — not just grades and certifications, but documented real-world experience that demonstrates coachability and readiness to employers.

Looking ahead, the district aims to ensure every student graduates with an industry credential aligned to their interests — meaningful certifications that open doors, not watered-down credentials that lack market value.

To see and hear more about Aldine’s strategies, click here.

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

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Discovery Education recently released its second annual Education Insights report, this time focusing on student engagement—a theme I keep hearing increasingly in edtech circles. While the findings reveal universal agreement that engagement is a top predictor of student success—90% of educators, superintendents, and principals recognize its importance—there appears to be significant disconnects on what “engagement” even means.

I had the chance to dig into the details of the report with Brian Shaw, CEO of Discovery Education. He cites several critical gaps: Teachers point to thoughtful questioning as a key engagement indicator, while administrators focus on assessment performance.

Perhaps most striking is the measurement divide: overwhelming majorities of superintendents and principals believe they have the right tools to measure engagement, while only about half of teachers agree.

Some more statistics from the report:

• Engagement is broadly recognized as a key driver of learning and success. 93% of educators surveyed agreed that student engagement is a critical metric for understanding overall achievement, and 99% of superintendents polled believe student engagement is one of the top predictors of success at school. Finally, 92% of students said that engaging lessons make school more enjoyable.
• Educators disagree on the top indicators of engagement. 72% of teachers rated asking thoughtful questions as the strongest indicator of student engagement. However, 54% of superintendents identified performing well on assessments as a top engagement indicator. This is nearly twice as high as teachers, who rank assessments among the lowest indicators of engagement.
• School leaders and teachers disagree on if their schools have systems for measuring engagement. While 99% of superintendents and 88% of principals said their district has an intentional approach for measuring engagement, only 60% of teachers agreed. Further, nearly 1/3 of teachers said that a lack of clear, shared definitions of student engagement is a top challenge to measuring engagement effectively.
• Educators and students differ on their perceptions of engagement levels. While 63% of students agreed with the statement “Students are highly engaged in school,” only 45% of teachers and 51% of principals surveyed agreed with the same statement.
• Students rate their own engagement much higher than their peers. 70% of elementary students perceived themselves as engaged, but only 42% perceived their peers as engaged. 59% of middle school students perceived themselves engaged in learning, but only 36% perceived their peers as engaged. Finally, 61% of high school students perceived themselves as engaged, but only 39% described their peers as engaged.
• Proximity to learning changes impressions of AI. Two-thirds of students believe AI could help them learn faster, yet fewer than half of teachers report using AI themselves to complete tasks. Only 57% of teachers agreed with the statement “I frequently learn about positive ways students are using AI,” while 87% of principals and 98% of superintendents agree. Likewise, only 53% of teachers agreed with the statement “I am excited about the potential for AI to support teaching and learning,” while 83% of principals and 94% of superintendents agreed.

A copy of Education Insights 2025–2026: Fueling Learning Through Engagement can be downloaded here.

Tech & Learning's new weekly article/podcast series, “Tech & Learning Conversations,” is hosted by veteran edtech reporter Kevin Hogan, who digs beyond the prompts to get to the human side of every story.

Each week, Kevin will interview innovative edtech leaders from school districts, industry, researchers, and more to discuss:

• Industry Trends: Not the clickbait headlines, but the real trends that are impacting student success.
• Overcoming Challenges: Real educators share their solutions to the challenges they’ve encountered, from the classroom to the board room.
• A Look Ahead Beyond the Bells & Whistles: What technology is likely to make a real impact in teaching and learning – and what is more likely hot air.

KEVIN'S LATEST CONVERSATIONS

Data Dashboards Aren’t Enough—AI Makes PD Smarter
The AI for Advancing Instruction at Scale (AI2S) project, developed in partnership with edtech company Edthena, uses a multimodal neural network trained on thousands of hand-coded classroom videos to analyze both the audio and visual dimensions of math instruction. Rather than generating a dashboard of metrics, the system guides teachers through a structured coaching cycle—helping them identify a focus area, review their classroom data in context, and build a concrete action plan.

How Schools Can Stay Safe
In an age of K-12 school-targeting cyberattacks, how can district administrators protect vital systems and private information? Kevin speaks with Clever’s Head of Education Strategy Jeff Carlson on the state of school district security, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence-generated wrinkles.

Bad AI Policy Is Worse Than No Policy at All. How to Build One That Works
SchoolAI policy analyst Sasha Luks-Morgan offers a clear-eyed framework for where AI policy in schools stands — and what it's going to take to move it forward. In the process she clarifies the difference between acceptable use policies and responsible use policies. "Bad policy is worse than no policy," she says. "We really want to see districts succeeding."

How KidWind Turns Clean Energy Into A Classroom Without Walls
The 2026 World KidWind Challenge drew 125 teams of 4th–12th graders competing across wind turbine and solar home design categories. Kevin spoke with KidWind founder Michael Arquin and veteran coach Morgan Berkgren about the structure of the challenge, funded virtual workshops, as well as the appeal to students of varied majors.

Time to Clean House
How does a K12 CIO determine which tech tools are providing real value to students' education? Kris Hagel's Washington State district of nearly 10,000 students is in the middle of a pullback from what he describes as a pandemic-era "whatever works" posture toward technology—one that left his team with thousands of approved apps and no clear rationale for most of them.

The Southern Surge Proves Science of Reading Works. Why Aren't More Districts Listening?
Kevin's interview with the founder of Learn Platform and CEO of Really Great Reading (RGR) delves into Mississippi's dramatic rise in reading scores, which he credits to evidence-based instruction. They also touch on outcomes-based contracting as a model for accountability within the literacy platform field.

Edtech's Big Tobacco Moment Is Here. Schools Can't Afford to Miss the AI Reckoning That Follows
Author and educator Andrew Marcinek argues that the Meta lawsuit is the inevitable outcome of 20 years of algorithmic manipulation — and that schools have a narrow window to get AI right before history repeats itself.

Beyond the Classroom: How Esports Spaces Double as Learning Hubs
Extron's Jason Bond explains how districts can start small with esports AV infrastructure, leverage dual-purpose spaces, and use AV over IP to build a scalable foundation for student engagement.

Get Cash Out of the Backpack: Adopting Digital Communication And Payments
Chad Stevens, Head of Growth & Partnerships at ClassDojo for Districts on digital payments, family engagement, and the future of school-to-home communication

Responsible Use Is The New Acceptable Use: One District's Pragmatic Playbook for the AI Era
Pineville ISD (TX) technology coordinator Kenzo Vanhaesebroeck explains why vague-on-purpose policy, a grading scale for AI use, and teacher-to-teacher modeling are the best defenses a small district has against an overnight technological revolution

Better Safe Than Sorry: A Gold-Standard Approach To Cybersecurity
Charles Franklin, Assistant Superintendent of Technology & Information Services at Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Texas, shares his district's approach to cybersecurity and data privacy.

Take Teaching To The Next Level: Live From The Kira Event
Kira execs and beta-users explore new ways to use AI in schools.

How The West May Win When It Comes To Improving Literacy
Allison Zimmermann, CEO of Foundations in Learning, and Dr. Seth King, Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Iowa, on their initiative to help struggling readers across rural Wyoming, Iowa, and other states—with lessons for schools everywhere.

From Compliance to Companion: How One District Built an AI Culture That Puts Students First
Franklin Township Schools (IN) Director of Technology Integration Nadine Gilkison and Superintendent Dr. Chase Huotari share their three-year journey moving beyond AI policy debates to create authentic learning experiences.

A Different Way to Lead
Marlon Styles Jr., Award-winning superintendent and upcoming keynote for the Tech & Learning Leadership Summit at NCCE 26, delivers new techniques to manage today’s school districts.

The Scoop on BETT 2026
Elizabeth Crawford, Senior Director, Global Education at Kahoot! breaks down BETT, this year’s largest edtech conference.

Let’s Make Some Things Clear: One District's Communications Evolution
Superintendent Tom Livezey of Oakridge Public Schools in Muskegon, Michigan, discusses how he implemented a deliberate approach to communication, that wasn't a grand strategic plan but rather a series of "course corrections" responding to parent needs and changing technology.

How Teachers Can Kick TikTok's Butt (Kind Of)
Matt Bardin, former educator and Zinc Learning Labs Founder, argues that teachers shouldn't try to compete with TikTok's dopamine hits, but instead offer the deeper satisfaction of meaningful reading experiences.

Survey Says: The Human Touch Defines Student Success
Peter Emmel, Director of Technology at Randolph Township Schools (NJ), and Juliana Finegan, VP of Educator Experience at Vivi break down the 2025 Global Teacher Insights Report, in which 85% of nearly 2,000 teachers worldwide identified strong teacher-student relationships and active engagement as the two most influential factors in their sense of success.

Beyond the Ban: Why Taking Away Phones Isn't Enough
FETC 2026 keynote speaker Alana Winnick argues schools must explain the "why" behind cell phone bans and teach students self-regulation for the real world.

Addressing The Digital Design Divide
The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) reports that teachers increasingly have access to technology but lack the time, resources, and training to integrate it effectively into their instruction. Kevin unpacks the issue and explores solutions with Julia Fallon, Executive Director, and Ji Soo Song, Director of Projects and Initiatives at SETDA.

AI Gets Real
How should schools respond to students' increasing use of artificial intelligence tools? Is a total ban the best answer, or is there a legitimate place for generative AI in the classroom? Join Kevin and educator and edtech innovator Carl Hooker as they answer these questions and discuss the options.

How Next-Generation CTE Programs Prepare Students for High-Wage, High-Demand Careers
Career and technical education (CTE) has evolved far beyond the traditional "vocational ed" model. Aldine Independent School District executive director Brooke Martin oversees programs serving 19,000 students across multiple career pathways, preparing them for high-paying, high-demand jobs rather than just minimum wage opportunities.

Things We Talk About When We Talk About Student Engagement
90% of educators, superintendents, and principals recognize the importance of student engagement—yet they disagree on what engagement means. In fact, while majorities of superintendents and principals believe they have the right tools to measure engagement, only about half of teachers agree. Kevin explores this dichotomy in his conversation with Brian Shaw, CEO of Discovery Education.

Exploring the Dynamics of Online Gaming Behavior
Within the gaming ecosystem, there's an underworld—anonymous chat rooms where 83 million American players have faced harassment, where extremist recruitment happens, and where hate speech thrives unchecked. Kevin's conversation highlights the gap facing parents and educators who struggle to understand gaming's hidden dangers.

Back to Basics: Why Student Engagement Remains a Core Priority
Has all the buzz about AI, VR, and other emerging technologies changed the way education leaders measure success in their schools? Perhaps not. According to a recent study by Logitech, educators and IT decisions makers still prioritize student engagement and participation.

Warning: Social Media Hurts
Is social media as dangerous as alcohol and tobacco? If so, will annoying and intrusive caution banners have any effect on kids' social media use? As California prepares to become the first state to require warning labels on social media platforms, Kevin talks with Mikey Hothy from Common Sense Media about California's groundbreaking Assembly Bill 56.

Watch by clicking the link above and listen by clicking the link below

Despite the noise surrounding AI, VR, and other emerging technologies, research shows that district leaders remain focused on the same fundamental priorities they've emphasized for years: student engagement and participation. According to a recent study by Logitech in collaboration with THE Journal involving more than 100 educators and IT decision makers, 81% measure edtech success through student engagement levels, while 91% expect interactive tools to boost participation.

Madeleine Mortimore, Global Education Innovation and Research Lead for Logitech, breaks it down above in this conversation with Kevin Hogan:

The key to effective technology integration, Maddie says, lies in three essential pillars: students' ability to hear accurately, see clearly, and interact meaningfully with content. More of their research reveals that 97% of educators stop instruction at least twice daily because students didn't hear information, while 89% pause to repeat visual demonstrations students missed—which significantly disrupting lesson flow.

Maddie offers practical guidance on selecting the right tools, shares more eye-opening statistics about the dramatic difference age-appropriate technology makes in student performance, and explains why professional development remains crucial even for "plug and play" devices. Have a listen.

Building a technological foundation for your students can be a tall task if you don’t know where to start. In some cases, educators may assume that students have more knowledge about technology than they actually have. However, it can be very beneficial to introduce students to the more social aspects of tech at an early age. In this case, podcasting can help to bridge the gap between in-class curriculum, technology education, and real-world applications.

Tequilla Richardson, technology coach at Annistown Elementary School of Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia, and Lorna Elizabeth Baldwin, also a technology coach and teacher at Annistown Elementary, discuss how they put together their podcast programs for their students, the obstacles they faced in doing so, and how the podcast program has impacted the students overall.

Elementary Students to Podcast Hosts

Creating a podcast at any stage can be a tough task. Coming up with the format of the show, knowing what your topics will be, understanding pacing and cadence, lining up guests, production and publishing…the list can go on and on.

Doing this with elementary students can then seem almost impossible. However, given the right coaching, they can become podcast hosts with a lot to say. As Baldwin points out, dividing a podcast format into simpler parts can help ease the process, leading to great conversations.

“It’s hard as an elementary school to have kids talk like they’re radio personalities,” says Baldwin. “They have no clue what’s going on. So I had to break it down into three separate entities at my school. We talk about social studies, events happening in the community with our school, and then we have this thing called ‘portrait of a graduate.’ It’s our theme for this year. [We talk about that and] how it impacts our school.”

What does an actual podcast episode look like?

“[We would say] let’s do a three- or four-minute podcast talking about what it means to be a leader, and they would talk about it,” says Baldwin. “Then [Tequilla and I] did one cross schools on empathy, what it means to be empathetic. We took about six of our third-grade students and they spoke to each other. We had the webcam up, it was being recorded for the podcast.”

Not all topics are predetermined. Students are encouraged to present their own as well.

“I tell the kids that if they have an idea they want to talk about, turn it in,” says Baldwin. “We’ll write a script for you, and then we’ll go ahead and produce it.”

Students and teachers collaborate on an impactful project that helps students talk about what they know in a relatively stress-free environment and under the guidance of their educators. In this way, they are being introduced to the finer points of technology while also enhancing their communication skills and learning more about themselves, one another, and the world around them.

How You Can Create a Podcast Program

Putting together a podcast program can sound daunting, with equipment to purchase (if you don’t already have it available), a time element to figure out (when to rehearse, when to edit), and the question of how to get students on board and involved. If you’re interested in creating a podcast program that will engage your students, Richardson advises that you seek someone who has already started one.

“I actually had another IT coach come and visit me,” she says. ‘She knows I have a podcast. She’s heard Lorna’s, and she [wanted to do this]. She came to see me and pick my brain in terms of things to think about, the purpose of [the podcast], the equipment to use, that sort of thing. So I think it really just starts with reaching out to someone that’s already doing it successfully and seeing what it entails.”

Baldwin also points out that in making a podcast, helping students get a grasp on the format can make a world of difference.

“From the student perspective, learning that it’s a conversation and not a [rapid fire summary is important],” says Baldwin. “What Tequilla and I strive to have the students understand is to forget the microphones are there and to talk to each other as if you’re talking to your friend. I think the kids get stuck on [coming with their scripts] and they just want to read their part.”

It can be difficult to get an organic reaction from an elementary school student when put into an unfamiliar situation (or that they get a lot of coaching through). With the right approach, students can better understand how to be in the moment and embrace conversation.

In regard to the programs used, Richardson and Baldwin keep it relatively simple.

“Riverside is the editing piece where you put the episode together with your music and all the things,” says Richardson. “Then it gets published on Spotify. So it’s a real deal live thing, just like a Spotify radio station, you could search it up and follow us and the kids get a chance to leave their mark on the real world.”

• Podcasting for Educators
• Google’s NotebookLM: An Innovative Educator’s New Best Friend (and Podcasting Powerhouse!)

Google NotebookLM isn't just another note-taking app, folks. Well, it is, but it’s also an AI powerhouse that can supercharge your lessons, engage students in exciting new ways, and – wait for it – help you create amazing podcasts!

Beyond the Notes: Why NotebookLM is a Game-Changer

Okay, before we get to the podcasting magic, let's touch on what makes NotebookLM so special. Think of it as your own personal research assistant. You can upload documents, slide decks, articles, books, and even videos, and NotebookLM will:

• Summarize key information: No more spending hours sifting through dense texts.
• Generate useful text formats: FAQs, study guides, briefings, timelines.
• Answer your questions: Have a conversation with the content and get instant insights from your uploaded materials.

But the showstopper is this: The built-in podcasting feature!

Imagine This!

• Turning historical documents with different perspectives into engaging audio dramas.
• Uploading a student assignment into NotebookLM and generating a podcast that gives students a deep dive into their work.
• Creating a podcast from a slide deck lesson to help reinforce student learning.
• Enabling students to better understand the books they are reading by providing a deep dive podcast.
• Providing students with an analysis of a learning portfolio they’ve created.

NotebookLM can take any text and transform it into a high-quality podcast. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for student learning, including:

• Boost comprehension: Auditory learning is especially important for students who struggle with traditional reading.
• Spark engagement: Podcasts are fun, dynamic, and perfect for today's media-savvy learners.
• Evaluate Information: Students develop critical thinking skills and learn to evaluate information effectively by listening to different perspectives and interpretations in podcasts.
• Synthesize Ideas: NotebookLM can generate podcasts that synthesize information from multiple sources, helping students connect ideas and develop a deeper understanding of complex topics.

Want to Hear a Sample?

I created several podcasts to check this tool out and have shared some below. One of my favorite podcasts was made from sharing my yearly credit card statement. The podcasters took a deep dive into my spending habits, but I’ll keep that one private.

Note that you must be logged into a Google Account to listen. Some schools, districts, and businesses do not have this feature turned on, so you may need to use your personal account. Currently, there is no cost to use this product.

• Podcast created from my article on banning cell phones
• Podcast created from my LinkedIn profile
• Podcast created from my book about the history of schooling in America

Ready To Get Started?

I know. You're already juggling a million things. But NotebookLM is worth exploring. Head over to https://notebooklm.google.com and start experimenting! Not sure how to use it? No worries. I created this easy step-by-step guide.

• Podcast Praise: Connecting Teachers and Community
• Podcasting for Educators

In this challenging era of education, any opportunity to shine a light on the positive side of life in the classroom should be seized. 

Dr. Laurie Fiorenza, Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning at Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRFHS) in Illinois, recently was recognized for using her podcast to highlight the great work of her district’s teachers with a Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Award for Innovative Superintendent during the recent Midwest Regional Live Summit.  

Podcast Praise is Music to a Teacher’s Ear 

Podcasts on every imaginable topic abound, offering listeners a way to learn something new, connect with others, or discover unexpected joys that would otherwise fly under the radar. Fiorenza’s program does all three. 

“I was hearing from our teachers that they felt disconnected from teachers in other departments, especially after the pandemic,” says Fiorenza. “I was thinking of ways to connect them without creating meetings or something that would drain them of time and energy. I thought a podcast would allow teachers to simply talk to me about the unique things they are doing throughout our building. I could then share the podcast with everyone, including our community members.” 

Fiorenza sent an email request to the staff, explaining the program and asking for anyone doing really unique things to participate and share their stories with others. She soon had a robust roster of volunteers.

“Teachers like to talk about their actions and how they impact kids,” says Fiorenza. “I wanted to celebrate their passion, creativity, and ingenuity.”

District Support Helps Pro-Teacher Podcast of Positivity 

“The leaders I work with understand the importance of celebrating and honoring our teachers and staff who work directly with our students daily, supporting their learning and growth,” says Fiorenza. 

Leaders were encouraging, however Fiorenza still added a layer of review to make sure no school policies or boundaries were inadvertently crossed. 

“After each podcast is recorded and prepared, I partner with the Director of Communication,” Fiorenza says. “She reviews and helps me get the podcast on various social media platforms. This additional person listening to the podcast is a means to ensure there are no concerns or issues with the content.”

In an age when parents pore over online reviews and comments, district-shopping for the best fit for their families, such an organic and authentic representation of the school offerings can be an impactful tool. Although this was not Fiorenza’s goal, she has noted an increase in connection with the greater school community.

“Parents always comment about how much they enjoy learning about all that is happening in our district,” she says. “I believe it helps parents confirm what the data, our website, and community input indicate: OPRFHS is an outstanding school with dedicated, passionate, and highly qualified educators.”

The Nuts and Bolts of Creating a Podcast 

Once Fiorenza realized this would be an ongoing program, she needed an appropriate space to record.  

“Oak Park and River Forest High School has a makerspace with a media room and a special sound booth,” she says. “We have dedicated resources toward enhancing the makerspace, and specifically the media room, over the past several years. This included purchasing higher-quality recording equipment, microphones, and even technology to support the production process from start to finish.”

The district worked these items into the budget. Since the space was designed for student use, the investment in high-quality equipment and technology was essential and has since been well used and appreciated.

“The studio is used daily by individuals, groups, and classes to create podcasts, write and record music, and learn about audio and media technology,” she says.

Being seen and celebrated is a powerful antidote to some of the more challenging aspects of today’s climate. The response from fellow teachers, parents and even students has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I think it is imperative to showcase the work of our educators,” says Fiorenza. “This celebrates and honors their work and dedication and provides community members an inside look at all public education has to offer our students. Hear It From A Huskie is not about self-promotion, but about seeing, hearing, and valuing all the teachers making an impact.” 

5 Steps to Create a School Podcast 

1. Prepare for the podcast. Determine a quiet place to record. This will ensure background noise is eliminated as much as possible. Find a person, preferably with audio experience, who can record the podcast so you can focus on the conversation with the staff member.
2. Solicit participation among your staff. Encourage those you know who are doing amazing things in the classroom.
3. Set up 5-minute sessions. Identify three questions you want the participant to discuss during your conversation. Send the questions to the participant in advance so they can be prepared to talk with you.
4. Record the discussion. Try recording audio-only interviews if subjects are uncomfortable with video.
5. Celebrate on social media. Honor your amazing staff by sharing the podcast on social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube, etc.). Send internal employees an email to share the podcast and encourage others to participate.

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Descript is a do-it-all video and audio editor that wants to make the whole process as easy as possible. As such, it's a useful place for students and educators to begin, or to use ongoing as a helpful tool to create.

Crucially, this platform also offers quick tutorials that allow even novice users to get the hang of how it works. That does make it suitable for students, and also helps to make it accessible for educators as part of their teaching toolkit.

Descript, as the name alludes, also offers automatic transcription of audio. This can be very helpful if creating audio recordings or podcasts that are going out to those who may not be able to hear and could benefit from reading the transcript.

The features of this tool go far deeper, with a special skill when it comes to group podcasting and screen recording, so read on to see if Descript could be for you.

What is Descript?

Descript is an audio and video production and editing platform that specializes in podcast creation, specifically for groups.

Descript crams in a host of helpful features, including screen recording, audio recording, multitrack editing and mixing, publishing, and even some AI tools for text-to-speech creation.

Coming in both web-based and desktop versions, this is easy to access across a host of devices. It also offers several tiers of pricing so it can be used for free but also with more complexity for a premium.

The screen recording feature, which records from the screen as well as webcams, is a particularly useful tool for teachers looking to create guidance resources for students. The ability to partially add automated speech from text, in your own voice, is a really powerful way to stay personal and engaging while saving time on recording audio perfectly.

How does Descript work?

Descript requires you to sign-up before downloading the software to get started. You are then also required to complete a short survey on how you will be using the tool, before moving forward. It's a pretty swift process and is, initially at least, free.

Once up and running you are able to record audio, for podcasts specifically, as an individual or as part of a group. The ability to collaborate, remotely, is a really powerful feature that students working on a project across locations outside of school hours could find very useful.

Students can easily record audio or screen record right away. It is then possible to layer the audio and video to edit in a timeline style that is very professional yet straightforward to use. As mentioned, there are some helpful guidance tutorials to make sure even less confident users can get going with relative ease. 

It is then possible to output to various formats for sharing as needed. You can also use the tool to publish, making it helpful for those looking to share to social media directly, for example, or for anyone publishing a regular podcast.

What are the best Descript features?

Descript is easy to use, offering deep and intuitive levels of control without getting too complicated in the process. 

One of the best features has to be the transcription, which is done via AI. You can record an audio recording and the written transcription is automatically available -- ideal if students are watching in public and want to follow along without audio playing, or if they are unable to hear.

Another smart feature is the premium overdub voice cloning. This allows you to offer quality voice over corrections to podcasts or audio recordings simply by typing the correction. A very clever way to edit without spending lots of time re-recording. Although for this to work you must read a 10-minute script out, just once, so the system can learn and clone your voice.

You can also easily remove noises and enhance audio with a single click. This makes for near professional level audio quality with just a laptop mic. A great way to cut out any "ums" or "ers" from a recording to give it a more polished finish.

Live collaboration is helpful for students working on a project together, however, it's worth noting this data is stored in the cloud so any recordings are exposed as far as the protection of the platform offers with its own server security. 

A helpful option to add in-line notes to audio recordings and videos is available -- ideal when offering feedback on a collaborative project or for educators giving students direct responses. 

How much does Descript cost?

Descript offers several tiers of pricing, which can be paid for either monthly or annually which are: free, creator, pro and enterprise.

The free plan gets you one transcription per month in 23 languages, detection of 8+ speakers, one watermark-free export, 720p resolution, dynamic captions, unlimited projects, animation and transitions, filler word removal of "um and "uh," overdub voice to 1,000 word limit, studio sound to a 10-minute fill limit, background sound removal to 10-minute limit, stock media library of first five search results, stock template library, collaboration and commenting, plus 5GB of cloud storage.

Go for the Creator plan, at $12/month, and you get all the above plus 10 hours of transcription per month, unlimited exports, 4K resolution, one hour of studio sound, one hour of AI background removal, first 12 search results of the stock media library, creation and sharing of templates, plus 100GB of cloud storage.

Up that to the Pro level, at $24/month, and you get the above plus 30 hours of transcription per month, unlimited studio sound and AI background removal, removal of 18 filler and repeated words, unlimited overdub and stock media library access, custom drive and page branding, plus 300GB of cloud storage.

A custom plan with bespoke pricing is available, which gets you all the Pro features plus a dedicated account representative, single sign on, overdub enterprise, Descript service agreement, security review, invoicing, onboarding, and training.

Descript best tips and tricks

Group cast
Set a podcast creation project in groups so that students can learn to work collaboratively, outside of class hours.

Publish
Show the class how publishing works so they have the ability to create and share their own podcasts in their own time.

Overdub your own
Educators can use overdub to help create audio to go with guidance videos without actually spending lots of time audio recording everything perfectly.

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Tech & Learning presents the Honor Role podcast (#TLHonorRole) celebrating fierce and formidable women in education. Education veterans Drs. Kecia Ray and Frances Gipson talk with inspiring role models who have shaped the educational landscape by overcoming obstacles, connecting with mentors to guide them through their journey, and leading future generations of women through the glass ceiling and beyond. 

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LIVE PODCASTS

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Listen to the podcast here. 

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Listen to the episode here.

Marie Izquierdo 

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Listen to the episode here.

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Listen to the episode here.

Kendra Wallace

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Listen to the episode here.

Margo Day

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Listen to the episode here.

Jennie Magiera

Be inspired to create your own edventure after hearing our latest Honor Role member, Jennie Mageira. Jennie shares her career journey that landed her an esteemed role at Google and her personal journey that inspires her to be an incredible mother to her adorable toddler. Juggle life through Jennie's world by setting standards for mothering at the workplace. Listen today and use her strategies tomorrow.

Listen to the episode here.

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Listen to the episode here.

Nzingha Sonya Dugas 

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Listen to the episode here.

Dannelle Walker Whiteside

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Listen to the episode here.

Christi Barrett 

Pushing boundaries, Dr. Christi Barrett is graceful, strong, and determined as a superintendent. Christi chronicles stories from her own childhood, to stories that she learns from her children today. Mentors have shaped her to find her WHY and she challenges our listeners to own their why, or what if’s, in service to others.

Listen to the episode here.

Torie Weiston-Serdan

Are you a critical mentor, if not it is TIME!  This is a journey not to be missed with Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan. Torie helps us realize our inner “queen” while gaining an understanding, and amplified appreciation, for liberatory practices that change mindsets-- with action! Her research and practice will leave you inspired to do more for yourself and community. SHE is the change! How might you be a critical mentor to youth in your role? 

Listen to the episode here.

Carol Jago 

Thirty-two years of inspirational teaching in the classroom may say it all, but there is even more when it comes to the love of education for Carol Jago.  A treasured author, she wrote a weekly column where we all agree she walked the talk, and now she leads across the nation in any capacity she can to make a difference for youth, community, leaders, and extraordinary educators. Enjoy the “chapters” Jago unfolds as this fierce (and what she calls “bossy”) female creates new headlines for us to consider. 

Listen to the episode here.

Maria Armstrong

From the boardroom to the classroom, Dr. Maria Armstrong inspires hearts and minds. Maria started her education career at the age of 7 when she gathered neighborhood kids and “taught” them reading and math after school. Today, Maria is a highly sought-after consultant and speaker, sharing her experiences of assessing education programs and student progress to recommend curriculum advancement from Puerto Rico to Sacramento, California. Her work is now leading the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents at a national level. She shares her journey and reflections during our time together!

Listen to the episode here.

Mónica García

Mónica García proudly represents Board District 2 in the Los Angeles Unified School District. This shero LEADS through and through with every inspirational word and accompanying action. Honorable Board Member Garcia is an equity champion for the largest district in the nation with an elected Board of Education—Los Angeles Unified. With deep childhood roots in community and a transformative education experience at Berkeley, she “changes conversations” inspired by family wisdom. Learn how to motivate ALL to read, write, think, believe, and graduate with Monica!

Listen to the episode here.

Cheryl Ney 

A brilliant mind, a brilliant STEM story: Cheryl Ney, is a social justice leader in higher education who is changing the trajectory of students, educators, and leaders on the eastside of Los Angeles. Her passion and experience as Dean at California State University, Los Angeles is influenced by pioneering women in the sciences. 

Hear how Dr. Ney's work to reform education is working to prepare high school graduates with college and career ready outcomes in the episode here

Debra Duardo

Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Debra Duardo is a lifelong social worker and educator. Her life-altering message drives the importance of reaching all “at promise” learners and inspires all listeners. Debra shares her journey from dropout to superintendent of one of the most diverse counties in America;  in doing so, it reflects her very personal and professional mission. 

Listen to the episode here

Angela Maiers 

In the inaugural Tech & Learning Honor Role podcast, Drs. Kecia Ray and Frances Gipson talk with Angela Maiers, a world-renowned author, entrepreneur, international keynote speaker, and educator, whose transformative message of the importance of mattering has the power to unleash the genius in us all. In this episode, Ms. Maiers shares her passion to inspire others. 

Listen to the episode here. 

COMING UP!

 Patricia Trejo

Patricia Trejo earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science with a Minor in Mass Communications from The University of Florida. Her Master’s Degree is in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University, where she is also currently pursuing her doctoral degree. Mrs. Trejo has been in public education for 24 years serving as a Teacher, Learning Team Facilitator, Assistant Principal, and Principal. Currently, she serves as a Program Planner for Hispanic/Latino Studies, where she helps to infuse Hispanic contributions to the United States within the curriculum and instruction per Florida State Statute 1003.42 (p).

Mrs. Trejo serves as the President for the Florida Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, a graduate of the ALAS Superintendents Leadership Academy (Cohort X), the Co-Facilitator for the National ALAS Linking Latina Leaders Network and presents at the state and national level. Last year, she was the recipient of the 2021 the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) Scholarship, sponsored by Curriculum Associates. Recently, Mrs. Trejo was honored with receiving the 2022 Hispanic Women of Distinction Award. This award recognizes the positive influence Latinas have in the South Florida community.