In this episode of the Integrate This EdTech Podcast, hosts David Berner and Jeremy Mikla sit down with Thomas Riddle — award-winning educator, author of Imagineering Education, assistant director at Roper Mountain Science Center, and a man who once got a letter read by George Lucas. Thomas shares his 35-year journey through classroom teaching, school leadership, district curriculum coordination, and college instruction, and makes a compelling case that the principles Disney Imagineers use to design theme parks can — and should — be applied to schools. The conversation covers the power of storytelling in the classroom, designing learning spaces around curriculum (not the other way around), immersive student experiences, and what it looks like to run what some call "the educational Disneyland." Plus, the Indiana Jones connection you didn't see coming.

Watch the YouTube Interview Here: https://youtu.be/2VH5jJcc2vk

Check out the Timeless Heroes Documentary featuring Thomas on Disney+

Follow Thomas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasriddle21/

Check out the Website: https://www.imagineeringedu.com/

Order the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FP43S9WZ?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_YBY07DSYF8KZAMHDFRT9&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_YBY07DSYF8KZAMHDFRT9&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_YBY07DSYF8KZAMHDFRT9&bestFormat=true

In this episode of Integrate This, Jeremy and David welcome back Matt Miller, creator of Ditch That Textbook and author of the new book AI Literacy in Any Class. Matt shares what he’s seeing from inside the classroom as he teaches high school Spanish while continuing his work as an author, speaker, blogger, and edtech leader.

The conversation explores how teachers can build AI literacy without adding “one more thing” to an already full plate. Matt discusses the value of “by-the-way” AI literacy moments, why students need to practice critiquing AI outputs, and how teacher-led AI activities can help students understand AI’s role, usefulness, and limits. The group also digs into responsible use, the tension between preparing students for an AI-shaped future and maintaining academic integrity, and why human thinking should come before AI assistance.

They also discuss practical classroom ideas from Matt’s book, including the “Be the Bot” activity, the “Always Be Critiquing” mindset, and the Prompt & Ponder sections that help teachers personalize AI literacy for their own classrooms.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Matt’s book, AI Literacy in Any Class: https://ditchthattextbook.com/alac/

Ditch That Textbook newsletter: https://ditchthattextbook.com/join/

Ditch That Textbook: https://ditchthattextbook.com/

Matt Miller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ditchthattextbook/

In this episode of Integrate This EdTech Podcast, Jeremy and David talk with Hattie Strong from SchoolAI about what it really looks like to bring AI into schools in ways that are safe, practical, and genuinely helpful for teachers and students.

Hattie shares her journey from the elementary classroom to supporting schools through SchoolAI, and the conversation digs into what makes an AI platform truly pedagogy first. You’ll hear about safe student-facing AI, built-in guardrails, teacher oversight, differentiated learning spaces, AI literacy, and why the human element in teaching still matters most.

The episode also explores how schools can help teachers move from AI skepticism to confident classroom use, how SchoolAI supports implementation and professional learning, and why the best AI tools should act more like a thought partner or teammate than just another tool on the menu.

If you’ve been wondering how to approach AI in education without losing sight of good teaching, this conversation is a great place to start.

Links:

SchoolAI website: https://schoolai.com/

School AI Champions Community: https://schoolai.com/champions

Hattie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hattie-strong/