Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators

Our special guest today:

Dr. Tony Walker serves on the executive team of The Jed Foundation (“JED”) – a national nonprofit that serves as a thought leader on school mental health and youth suicide prevention. JED works within Higher Education Institutions and PK-12 schools and districts to help leaders build systems that promote more positive mental health outcomes for youth. In his role, Dr. Walker leads JED’s Academic Programs team, supporting the implementation of JED’s programs and best practices of comprehensive school mental health and suicide prevention programming across our nation’s education landscape.

Previously, Dr. Walker worked in multiple roles in public education, including as a teacher, school counselor and most recently serving as an executive district leader over Student Support Services at Uplift Education, a high performing network of schools dedicated to providing excellent educational opportunities to more than 23,000 students in North Texas. Founding this work at Uplift in 2011, he established and supervised five large departments servicing 44 schools, including Counseling Services, Social Emotional Learning, Student Discipline and Restorative Practices, Prevention Programs, and Strategic Community Partnerships. Under his decade of leadership, Uplift developed and implemented one of the largest school-based mental health systems in Texas, allowing students and families direct access to licensed mental health clinicians in every school, robust SEL experiences, in-district family therapy services, and a full array of other wraparound programs and supports.

Further this conversation with the following links:

https://jedfoundation.org/

X (formerly Twitter) - https://twitter.com/jedfoundation

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JedFoundation

Instagram - https://instagram.com/jedfoundation/

This episode is sponsored by our partner at Money Pickle!

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Connect with them this year:

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On this week...

Dwight Gunning, a data scientist with a background in finance, discusses the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the finance industry. He emphasizes the importance of technology in finance and the need for financial institutions to stay up to date with AI to protect against fraud and build trust. Dwight shares his personal journey from economist to technology enthusiast and highlights the value of lifelong learning. He encourages individuals to develop a diverse set of skills and mindsets to adapt to the changing world.

Learn more about Dwight Gunning:

Based in Canada with Jamaican heritage, Dwight Gunning is deeply invested in integrating advanced AI technologies within the finance sector. Boasting over twenty years of expertise in FinTech, he currently works as an AI and Machine Learning Assurance Engineer at FINRA. Additionally, Dwight is the maintainer of the popular edgartools project and co-author of a book on Natural Language Processing.

www.linkedin.com/in/dwight-gunning

dgunning.com

Thank you to our amazing show sponsor for supporting our podcast:

https://www.moneypickle.com/shiftingschools

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and the Role of AI in Finance 02:07 The Importance of Technology in Finance 04:19 Transition from Economist to Technology 06:14 The Joy of Lifelong Learning 09:58 Skills and Mindsets for Future Careers 11:34 Balancing Strengths and Developing Empathy 13:46 The Benefits of Competitions and Create-a-thons 17:58 Creating a Space for Open-Mindedness and Collaboration 19:28 The Impact of AI on Finance and Trust 21:28 The Storytelling Aspect of Finance and AI 23:22 The Intersection of Finance and Human Psychology 24:05 The Future of AI in Entertainment and Storytelling 28:51 The Importance of AI Literacy in Finance 29:51 The Exciting Future of AI and Natural Language Interaction 35:29 The Role of AI in Learning and Productivity 39:39 The Future of AI in Visual Storytelling 42:03 The Importance of Human-Centered Skills in the Age of AI

Show Notes

|Introductions| Jeff and David shared their goals for doing the SOS: Shifting Our Schools podcast. The overall theme is to help individuals and schools make the shift in how they teach to expand their learning communities beyond the walls of their classrooms and schools. As international educators located in Asia and connected through the East Asia Regional Council of International Schools (EARCOS), Jeff and David designed the show for an international audience. Most folks connected to educational technology and the blogosphere know who Jeff is. So who is this David fella? David has been working as an instructional technologist, social studies teacher and counselor in international schools for the past 15 years. His most recent EARCOS school was Hong Kong International School where he taught in the Upper Primary school. He is now teaching at the very "shifted" Hsinchu International School. David's focus as an educator is to work as a learning partner with teachers in designing and crafting learning experiences for the students. His blog is entitled Lessons Learned. Jeff and David then discussed the format for the show. Each podcast will have its own Essential Question that connects to the overall theme of helping listeners make the shift. The hope is to include other educators along with a featured guest to have a discussion around the EQ. Everyone will then share his/her blog post of the week. These and other supporting online resources can be found at the SOS Podcast Del.icio.us site. Some time will also be set aside for any further discussions that come up including ideas and/or questions that come from the audience listening live via Ustream. David and Jeff will then sign off with a reminder of the next podcast date, guest and Essential Question. |Essential Question| Why shift? Both David and Jeff agreed that we need to do a better job in helping our students attain the 21st century skills they will need to be productive and adaptive citizens for a constantly changing world. Many of our schools are focused backwards on 20th century learning outcomes and teaching methods. We must transform how we teach and re-think what a school looks like, how it functions, as well as when and where learning takes place. Jeff:

• We have the technology so where is the shift in teaching?
• The world is becoming more connected, how does that shift the way we teach and the way students learn?
• It's recruiting time in the international world. How does a school with a mission to be a 21st Century school shift it's hiring practices?

David:

• The shift starts with good teaching and is enhanced by the use of technology and information literacy skills. It starts with focusing on what are the best instructional strategies that help our students construct their own meaning of the Essential Understandings that are the foundation of our concept-based curriculum.
• The technology especially with social networking and other Web 2.0 tools expands the learning of the classroom connecting students and teachers to other learners. So much of learning is about making connections and thinking laterally to new situations and being creative in applying one's new knowledge.
• For more of David's thoughts on why teachers and schools should shift, check out his blog post on the topic.

Take Away from the discussion: There is no set model for what a shifted classroom or school looks like. The shifting is a process that takes place on a continuum of learning and growth that professional educators are constantly pushing themselves to move along. Our passionate goal is to find new and improved ways to bring about true learning and understanding in our students. We work backwards via the curriculum review process in designing the assessments, instructional strategies and content/information resources that will guide our students to develop their individual understandings. We also build learning environments that continue outside the classroom with no time restraints on when learning takes place. These learning communities offer learners (students, teachers, administrators and parents) opportunities to...

Our special guest this week is Zach, the host of the incredible podcast 'We The Children'

Zachary Fox-DeVol, or Zach, is a curious 12-year-old with a passion for the environment and a mind eager to learn more about our planet. In June 2020, during a summer writing project, Zach ventured into the world of podcasting and created "Rule Of The Bark" . This unique podcast, told from a dog's perspective, provides humorous interviews and helpful tips on raising dogs.

Zooming ahead to December 2021, Zach’s interest took a serious turn toward climate change. This led to 'We The Children,' where, at 12 years old, he dives into climate discussions and solutions from a youthful viewpoint. The podcast illuminates how kids like him care deeply about Earth's future and their actions' pivotal role in shaping a sustainable planet.

In the summer of 2023, Zach was honored to join an Australian Radio Station as a US Ambassador, engaging in enlightening interviews on Funky Kids Radio. Additionally, he’s taken up speaking engagements at schools and clubs, advocating for the environment, recycling, and composting among kids.

When he's not busy pondering our planet or podcasting, he enjoys working on magic tricks, playing chess, mastering the Rubik's cube, and spending time with his pets—a dog named Ewok and a cat named Pax.

Zach's "Production Team" includes his Kindergarten/Second-grade teacher and friend, Clare Marder, making his podcasting journey a collaborative and educational experience.

https://www.instagram.com/we_the_children_podcast/

x - @WeTheChildrenP1

Ready to learn more about his show?

https://www.wethechildrenpodcast.com/

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

https://www.lebrahq.com/

https://gamestormedu.com/gamestormers/

Learn with Jeff and Tricia this Spring:

www.shiftingschools.com

Take $25 off any of our offerings with "SSPOD25" as a discount code.

Introductions

Justin Hardman and Chris Betcher joined David and Jeff.

|Essential Question|

How to expand the learning community to the parents?

Jeff> Look at your technology vision and plan to include the development of a school portal that provides the tools to make the components of your plan a reality.

David> See his recent post that focused on two themes. One being that schools should use their portal to build on current practices that are already in place to connect parents and expand the learning community. Making information access and communication digital definitely enhances communication opportunities. A second theme is to invite our corporate parents working in 21st century information-rich jobs to our schools to share their experiences and expectations what skills they want their employees to have. Their real world experiences can help in the shifting process as teachers connect what they are teaching to the real world assessments their students will be experiencing.

Take Away from the Discussion:

-The recent breakout of a virus in HK reminds us of the importance of schools having the capability to go virtual with a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

-Sharing of the myDragonnet online learning platform with three components: classroom management tool, curriculum mapping tool and electronic portfolio. Justin has many insights to share.

-Wetpaint as a very useful wiki provider.

-Value of individualization in developing VLEs by having a programmer on school staff.

|Blog Posts of the Week|

Jeff: Planning for 21st Century Technologies

David: Jonathon's Blog on VLEs

Chris: Clay's Wedding Always Learning

Justin: E-Framework Electronic School

|Sign Off|

-Next show is Thursday March 20th. Catch it live at 7:00 PMShanghai time.

-Our guest will be Jeff Nugent from the Virginia Commonwealth Univeristy. Check out his Techne blog.

-Essential Question for the show: How do adults learn?

-Don’t forget to post Web sites/blogs to the SOS Del.icio.us bookmarking site that support our upcoming EQ.