Trending In Education

Mike and Dan break down the first round matchups in Trending in Education's 4th Annual March Madness Brackets. Beyond listening, we'd love to get your perspective on these trends. You can vote on these trends by going to the polls you can find in the pinned tweet at our Twitter account @TrendinginEd where we'll be tracking the tourney to its conclusion throughout the month. This year, we've expanded the field and are beginning with 12 first round matchups which we'll describe and analyze on this episode. You gotta be in it to win it and we'd love to get your input as we try to make sense of where the world of learning, media, and education is heading as we enter the 2020s.

It's March and that means it's time for Trending in Education's Fourth Annual Learning Trends March Madness Brackets. And to help kick off the festivities, we spend time with Dan, Melissa, Brandon, and Mike as they remember tourneys past and gear up for an amazing March Madness for 2020. Plus, we hype our upcoming live show at SXSW EDU later this month and give some insider's takes on smart picks to take the prize this year. Be sure to follow us on Twitter at @trendingined throughout March to vote in polls and make predictions in the pursuit of excellence in learning prognostication. Lots of stuff happening and we'd love to hear more from our listeners about where we see the world of learning and education heading in 2020.

Mike welcomes old friend, Brandon Jones, back to the show to talk about Steve Brown's prediction that we'll see more disruptive innovation in the next 10 years than we've seen in the previous forty. Layering in the likelihood that human creativity and lateral thinking will outstrip AI's capabilities in that regard for the next 10 years, how should we take a longer view when making plans for the future everything? Mike and Brandon aim to bring some 2030 Farsight to bear as we peer into possible futures for the 2020s on this week's show. Play with your head up, avoid stagnating danger zones, and have a listen!

Mike and Melissa talk about the idea espoused by futurist, Steve Brown, that the next ten years will see more innovation and disruption than the previous forty. This is driven in part by advances in artificial intelligence and sensors which will allow for a transformation in healthcare that we dig into a bit. The pair also explore a recent Fast Company article by Tim Schwiesfurth and Rene Chester Goduscheit that purports that human intelligence will likely continue to be more creative than AI for the foreseeable future. What are the potential implication of all of this to the future of work, the world, and everything? Listen in to find out how to stay sharp and frisky in the transformative decade that is just beginning.

Mike connects with Andrea Samadi, the host of the Neuroscience Meets Social Emotional Learning podcast and the two talk about the brain, how it connects to social and emotional aspects of human behavior, learning, and cognition. Andrea recounts her background as an educator who formed a consultancy, AchieveIT360.com, and has recently launched a podcast on this fascinating intersection between the latest research in neuroscience and its potential application in the classroom. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Following up on our previous show on Kobe, The Impeachment Trial, and Everything, today we explore the ins and outs of the Coronavirus which is receiving tremendous media attention. Mike works through his version of Michael Jordan's "Flu Game" as we once again explore how to engage and/or turn off the Mass Hysteria Spectacle Machine when things like the new variant of the coronavirus happen. What do we need to know about the new coronavirus? How do we stay engaged enough without falling prey to all the hype? You can start by listening to this episode.

This week Mike engages with noted author, speaker, and futurist, Bryan Alexander to discuss the challenges and potential futures emerging for higher education focusing on the US. Bryan has recently authored a book called Academia Next in which he explores trends and describes multiple possible futures for the higher ed ecosystem. What are the threats that are emerging to the traditional model of higher education in the US? How do adjuncts fit into the picture? Is Clayton Christensen's concept of the Innovator's Dilemma relevant to the future of higher education or are there reasons why it doesn't apply? We explore all of these questions and get Bryan to describe several of his possible futures during a free-flowing and imaginative conversation about where the world of higher education is heading. And we also talk a bit about science fiction for good measure. In all, we got a lot out of the conversation and hope you find value in listening.

Dan and Mike regroup to reflect on the relentless media barrage that is life in 2020. We take time to talk about the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven others in a helicopter crash. Despite the tragic nature of the story, was it somehow a wake up call for the importance of family? Our leading #girldad weighs in. At the same time, the Impeachment Trial approaches its conclusion as global fears of the coronavirus pick up, how does one find balance and focus amid all of this? Needless to say, the collective zeitgeist is fraught these days, but we have some recommendations based on learning science that steer us towards quiet time to reflect and consolidate things into long term memory. Yes, we’re living in interesting times in 2020, The key is to control what you tune in and tune out amid the spectacle. Embracing a little JOMO can help. Thanks for listening.

Melissa, Dan, and Mike dive into the complicated topic of implicit bias and the spate of recent training programs based on the concept. Does raising awareness of unconscious biases drive positive change or is it a necessary, but not sufficient, component in a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging program. A lot comes down to how you measure success and how much the program is integrated into the broader organizational culture. So it turns out, it’s complicated. We hope you enjoy joining us as we begin the conversation.

Following up on our recent show covering the educational research highlights of 2019, Mike sits down with Youki Terada from Edutopia who authored the article. Youki is the Research and Standards editor for Edutopia which means he reviews and edits contributions from Edutopia's writing staff to ensure it's evidence-based, well-designed, and relevant to Edutopia's target audience of K12 Educators. We talk about areas of research that Youki has found particularly interesting and explore several examples with an eye towards practical application for educators. We also talk about the importance of curation and the risks of fast or sloppy research when looking for good applications of emerging learning research.

This week, Mike sits down with Frank Britt, CEO of Penn Foster, to talk about the future of work from the perspective of "middle-skilled" employees. Middle skill jobs require a high school degree and some additional training, but do not require a bachelors degree. Middle skill jobs account for roughly half of the jobs in the US, and that figure is not expected to change much in the 2020s. Frank explains the impact of automation on middle skill jobs and the importance of empathizing with this part of the workforce and the social impact of providing training to this workforce to protect their ability earn. We also touch on "outskilling," "first-mile" services, and some forward thinking about how the middile skills educational marketplace will transform in the next decade.

This week, Mike, Dan, and Melissa explore what’s new and noteworthy coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show 2020 which recently concluded in Las Vegas. We discuss the highlights from the show itself and also take time to dive into a recent critique by Cindy Gallop of Cosmopolitan magazine that focuses on the patterns of sexism and “bro culture” that have pervaded CES since it’s inception in the late 1960s. CES is trying to respond but is it enough? And of course, we explore the pros and cons of a new wave of cute, therapeutic, SEL-friendly robots. What’s good and what might be the first steps on the road to dystopia? Listen in to catch up on the tech and some varied perspectives. Enjoy!

In this cybersecurity extra, Mike dives into a fascinating conversation about the skills gap and workforce development with Simone Petrella, Jung Lee, and Sam Meisenberg from the cybersecurity training company, CyberVista. How does the field of cybersecurity understand the skills needed to be an effective professional? Are there basic competencies that are foundational to advancing in cybersecurity? How should we think about developing the right mix of technical capabilities combined with the communication skills and domain expertise needed to thrive in cyber in the 2020s? We dig into all of this and begin to brainstorm ideas for a cybersecurity screenplay on this week's extra. Hope you enjoy!

This week, Mike sits down with best-selling author Rohit Bhargava to talk about Rohit's new book Non-Obvious Megatrends which launches this week. We discuss what it's been like to put together a trendspotting book each year for the past ten years and how shifting the focus to Megatrends this year has provided new perspective heading into the 2020s. Then we dig into a few of Rohit's Megatrends from the book to talk about how Instant Knowledge and Attention Wealth, among others, relate to learning and education in 2020. We hope you enjoy the conversation about where the world of learning may be heading in the near and further distant future.

We ring in the new year with a fascinating conversation with world renowned author and speaker David Meermam Scott heading into the release of his new book, Fanocracy, which launches this week. What can we learn from our shared experience of fandom? How do concepts like mirror cells and our understanding of physical space provide clues into become a more effective instructor or presenter? How is being a fan part of what it means to be human? And can all of this help us to be optimistic heading into the new decade? We cover all of this and explore the power of releasing true ownership to the fans in a fascinating conversation to kick off 2020. We hope you enjoy!

Mike and Dan welcome Brandon Jones back to Trending in Education to get his quick takes on trends to be on the lookout for in 2020. Mike and Dan gear up for prediction season which will cover both 2020 Vision and 2030 Farsight! Welcome to the conversation. Here’s to an amazing year and an even better decade! Let the prognostication commence!!

Dan and Mike dig into an Edutopia article by Yuroki Terada outlining the key findings in educational research in 2019. What sorts of findings jump out and which stories did we cover on Trending in Education? We take some time to look back as we gear up to peer forward into 2020 and the decade to come on this week’s episode. We hope you enjoy!

Dan and Mike welcome Brandon Jones back to the show to talk through the best gifts for kids and lifelong learners this holiday season. What toys and games make sense for kids and what sorts of gifts might work for adults who want to stay sharp and fresh in this modern day and age? We also take some time to step back from the commercialism of the shopping season to explore how to model generosity and empathy as we engage with those we love this holiday season. We hope you have a wonderful season and we’re very grateful that you are listening.

Mike, Dan, and Melissa discuss the work of Dr Douglas Belshaw on “digital literacies” based on a recent talk Mike attended at the Ithaka The Next Wave Conference on the future of Higher Education in New York Is “digital literacy” a monolithic, binary thing or is it a set of mindsets and skillsets that are best understood on continua? How does this relate to “surveillance capitalism” and the pervasive revenue models of many of the dominant digital platforms of the 21st Century? How much of this is learnable and teachable and who is best-positioned to provide education about all of this? We dig all of this on this week’s show and look forward to diving back in more in the future.

For this week’s extra, Mike is joined by Design Anthropologist and Podcaster, Dr Adam Gamwell, to explore how robots, science fiction, and anthropology are interrelated. In a free flowing and imaginative conversation, we explore how the narratives and secular myths of pop culture and our collective consciousness provide insights into how we understand what it means to be human, how we engage with the Other, and how we grapple to understand how new technologies are driving profound changes to the world around us. Listen in for an illuminating conversation. We hope you enjoy!