Episodios

  • Beyond Cheating: What AI Is Really Teaching Us About Students and Schools

    Beyond Cheating: What AI Is Really Teaching Us About Students and Schools
    Oct 20 2025

    The conversation about AI in education often starts—and stops—with cheating. But what if that’s the least interesting part of the story? In this episode, Tricia Friedman speaks with the team behind the new show: The Homework Machine, MIT’s Justin Reich and journalist Jesse Dukes. They unpack how generative AI is reshaping what we mean by integrity, creativity, and student voice. Together they explore how teachers can balance innovation with empathy, and what schools might learn from students already living in the AI age.

    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction to The Homework Machine
    02:47 The Importance of Listening to Students
    05:45 AI and Academic Integrity: A Deeper Look
    08:23 The Role of Relationships in Education
    10:59 Challenges in Teacher-Student Relationships
    13:46 Navigating AI in Education
    16:38 The Need for Empathy in Educational Policy
    19:15 The Impact of the Pandemic on Education
    22:17 Engaging Skeptics in AI Discussions
    24:41 Finding Balance in Educational Priorities
    27:45 Creating Safe Spaces for Student Voices
    30:27 Looking Ahead: Future of The Homework Machine

    The Homework Machine is a mini series from TeachLab, a podcast that investigates the art and craft of teaching. Hosted by Justin Reich, MIT Professor and director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab.

    https://www.teachlabpodcast.com/

    Jesse Dukes is a journalist and comedian who has done (nearly) all the jobs in podcasting and audio including producer, editor, executive producer, reporter, mix engineer, and teacher. Along with other projects, He’s currently working with the Teaching System’s Lab at MIT on The Homework Machine, a research and podcasting project about the arrival of generative AI in schools. He has taught audio storytelling at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke and Denison University.

    Justin Reich is an associate professor of digital media in the Comparative Media Studies/Writing department at MIT and the director of the Teaching Systems Lab. He is the author of Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education, and the host of the TeachLab Podcast. He earned his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was the Richard L. Menschel HarvardX Research Fellow. He is a past Fellow at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society. His writings have been published in Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington Post, The Atlantic, and other scholarly journals and public venues. He started his career as a high school history teacher, and coach of wrestling and outdoor adventure activities.

    We are grateful to our sponsors:

    Poll Everywhere for supporting us this season, learn more:

    https://www.polleverywhere.com/plans/education?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=shiftingschools&utm_campaign=shiftingschools
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    47 m
  • Why vibe coding is such a vibe

    Why vibe coding is such a vibe
    Oct 13 2025

    In this episode Tricia Friedman talks listeners through an example of how she vibe coding an app from start to finish.

    Her vibe coding process of building an app blends AI literacy, digital humanities, and leadership design thinking.

    What does this tell us about the future of using generative AI for projects in K12?

    This episode is sponsored by our amazing friends at Poll Everywhere.

    Join over 1 million educators using Poll Everywhere. Try it risk free for 30 days—we'll refund you if it's not a good fit.

    Listeners will gain insight into:

    • how AI-assisted app design reshapes collaboration and imagination in schools

    • what happens when storytelling meets software in project-based learning

    • why ethical AI, digital well-being, and student agency must anchor innovation

    Ultimately, this episode challenges educators to think differently about what it means to “build.” Tricia frames vibe coding as an invitation to design with empathy — where app creation, futures literacy, and educator creativity merge to model a more human-centered approach to technology in learning.

    If you’re curious about AI in education, digital storytelling, women in edtech, or the future of creative leadership, this episode offers a front-row seat to the evolving intersection of art, code, and compassion.
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    14 m
  • The Future of Higher Education in America

    The Future of Higher Education in America
    Oct 6 2025
    Today, a college diploma is no guarantee that graduates have the competencies that businesses need, including using emerging technologies, communicating, working in teams, and other necessary skills. So, it’s fair to ask, “Do students really need a college degree”? Brandeis University President, and nationally respected higher education leader and researcher, Arthur Levine has been at the forefront of the changing role of higher education. Co-author of THE GREAT UPHEAVAL, HIGHER EDUCATIONS PAST PRESENT AND UNCERTAIN FUTURE, Levine argues that in the next 20 years, consumers of higher education will determine what higher education will be, and that every institution will have to change. Today, the United States is undergoing change of even greater magnitude and speed than it did during the Industrial Revolution as it shifts from a national, analog, industrial economy to a global, digital, knowledge economy. At the same time, public confidence in higher education has declined. Threatened by a demographic cliff in most states where fewer students will be graduating from high school over the next 20 years, the increased competition for students means that a larger number of higher education institutions will be closing or merging with other institutions. It is expected that as many as 20 to 25 percent of colleges, particularly liberal arts colleges and comprehensive regional colleges, will close in the coming years. Learn more about The Great Upheaval: The book reveals that five new realities, none of higher education’s own making, will characterize the coming transformation: Institutional control of higher education will decrease, and the power of higher education consumers will increase. In a range of knowledge industries, the advent of the global, digital, knowledge economy multiplied the number of content providers and disseminators and gave consumers choice over what, where, when, and how of the content they consumed. The same will be true of higher education. The digital revolution will put more power in the hands of the learner who will have greater choice about all aspects of their own education.With near universal access to digital devices and the Internet, students will seek from higher education the same things they are getting from the music, movie and newspaper industries. Given the choice, consumers of the three industries chose round-the-clock over fixed-time access, consumer- rather than producer-determined content, personalized over uniform content, and low prices over high. In the emerging higher education environment, students are placing a premium on convenience—anytime, anyplace accessibility; personalized education that fits their circumstances and unbundling, only purchasing what they need or want to buy at affordable prices. For instance, during the pandemic, while college enrollments were declining, enrollment in institutions with these attributes, such as Coursera, an online learning platform, saw the number of students they serve jump. In the United States and abroad, Coursera enrollments jumped from 53 to 78 million. That 25 million student increase is more than the entire enrollment in U.S. higher education.New content producers and distributors will enter the higher education marketplace, driving up institutional competition and consumer choice and driving down prices. We are already seeing a proliferation of new postsecondary institutions, organizations and programs that have abandoned key elements of mainstream higher education. These emphasize digital technologies, reject time and place-based education, create low-cost degrees, adopt competency or outcome-based education, and award nontraditional credentials. Increasingly, libraries, museums, media companies and software makers have entered the marketplace, offering content, instruction and certification. Google offers 80 certificate programs and Microsoft has 77. The American Museum of Natural History has its own graduate school, which offers a Ph.D. in comparative biology, a Master of Arts degree in teaching, and short-term online courses that teachers can use for graduate study or professional development credit. The new providers are not only more accessible and convenient, offering a combination of competency- and course-based programs, they are also cheaper and more agile than traditional colleges and universities which will lead to more contraction and closings?The industrial era model of higher education focusing on time, process and teaching will be eclipsed by a knowledge economy successor rooted in outcomes and learning. In the future, higher education will focus on the outcomes we want students to achieve, what we want them to learn, not how long we want them to be taught. This is because students don’t learn at the same rate and because the explosion of new content being produced by employers, museums,...
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    34 m
  • Collaboration: The Heart of Innovation

    Collaboration: The Heart of Innovation
    Sep 29 2025

    In this conversation, Tricia Friedman speaks with authors Dylan Thuras and Jennifer Swanson about their ambitious book that explores the evolution of invention and technology. They discuss the importance of collaboration in science, the interdisciplinary nature of learning, and how curiosity drives innovation. The conversation also highlights the role of play in the invention process and how everyday objects can inspire new perspectives.

    Dylan Thuras is the cofounder and creative director of Atlas Obscura. He lives in Rosendale, NY

    Jennifer Swanson is an award-winning children’s author of more than forty-five nonfiction and fiction books, including National Geographic Kids Brain Games and Outdoor School: Rocks, Fossils, and Shells. She is also the creator and co-host of the award-winning podcast Solve It for Kids. Visit her online at jenniferswansonbooks.com and @jenswanbooks.

    Chapters

    00:00 The Ambitious Project Begins
    02:52 Exploring the Evolution of Invention
    05:56 The Power of Collaboration in Science
    08:38 Interdisciplinary Learning and Curiosity
    11:30 The Role of Play in Invention
    14:23 A New Perspective on Everyday Objects
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    23 m
  • I know what you did last summer: Jeff and Tricia edition

    I know what you did last summer: Jeff and Tricia edition
    Sep 22 2025

    On this episode Jeff and Tricia catch up on all the learning they did last summer.

    Hear them talk about gardening...and of course generative AI

    Learn more about how to catch them this year:

    https://www.shiftingschools.com/
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    18 m
  • Where is the current taking K12?

    Where is the current taking K12?
    Sep 15 2025

    In this episode of Shifting Schools, Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman discuss their upcoming training sessions focused on integrating AI into education. They emphasize the importance of understanding AI's impact on the job market, the necessity of prompt engineering as a new skill for educators, and the need for AI literacy among students. The conversation also touches on the evolving nature of AI tools and the importance of addressing mental health concerns related to technology use among students.

    You can learn more about the five part series:

    https://web.cvent.com/event/19d647db-557e-4502-8a0c-17bd3325fe0b/summary

    Takeaways

    AI is reshaping the educational landscape and job market.
    Understanding AI's impact is crucial for educators and students.
    Prompt engineering is a vital skill for effective AI use.
    Generative AI can enhance learning and career exploration.
    Educators must engage with students about AI and its implications.
    AI literacy is essential for preparing students for future careers.
    The evolution of AI tools requires ongoing adaptation in teaching.
    Interdisciplinary approaches can enrich AI education.
    Mental health concerns related to technology must be addressed.
    Local context is important in AI training for educators.

    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction to AI in Education
    02:51 The Driftwood: Navigating AI's Impact
    08:38 Understanding Job Market Changes
    14:19 Prompt Engineering: The New Skill
    20:05 AI Literacy and Its Importance
    25:57 Engaging with Students on AI and Mental Health
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    31 m
  • Step up for Second Chance for Students around the world

    Step up for Second Chance for Students around the world
    Sep 8 2025
    On April 13th, 2018, Nepali New Year's Eve, the University of Texas at Tyler revoked full-ride scholarships it had previously awarded to 60 Nepali students. The university described it as "an administrative oversight." But the global education community knew that it was an unprecedented admissions crisis. The scholarships, which included tuition as well as room and board, were revoked well after most other US university application deadlines had passed. Thus, Nepali students had already declined offers from other institutions they had previously applied to. The moment UT Tyler's mass email hit the inboxes of these high-need, high-performing students, some were already midway through the visa process to attend UT Tyler, and all had celebrated the momentous feat of a hard-earned Presidential Scholarship. In the days following, Selena Malla at USEF-Nepal, Kathmandu, issued a call on social media for help. After seeing a call for support from Selena, Joan Liu, a university advisor at the United World College of South East Asia, Singapore, stepped forward to help. Joan assembled a group of counselors from several corners of the world to form a volunteer crisis management team.

    Joan Liu is on the show to explain how we can step up this September to support Second Chance.

    Ready to learn more?

    https://www.secondchance.global/
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    40 m
  • Data Literacy: The Key to Future Problem Solving

    Data Literacy: The Key to Future Problem Solving
    Sep 1 2025

    In this episode, Jeff Utecht, Tricia Friedman, and Dr. Curt Merlau discuss the transformative role of AI and data literacy in education and employment. They explore how Pivot, an AI-powered tool, helps unemployed individuals find better job opportunities and training. The conversation emphasizes the importance of data literacy for educators and the potential of AI to personalize learning and improve educational outcomes. They also highlight real-world applications of data in education and the need for teachers to embrace AI responsibly to prepare students for the future.

    Connect with our guest on LinkedIN:

    Vice President @ Resultant | EdD, Organizational Leadership and Learning Former Educator, Administrator, and now Consultant. Interoperability Nerd. AI Enthusiast

    Connect with the work Dr. Curt does.

    Chapters

    00:00Introduction to Pivot and AI in Employment 02:15The Importance of Data and AI Literacy 06:27AI's Role in Education and Personalized Learning 10:08The Power of Data in Student Success 12:42Emerging Pathways and Career Opportunities 19:36Preparing Teachers for an AI-Driven Future Connect with Jeff and Tricia on LinkedIN Jeff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffutecht/ Tricia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tricia-friedman/
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    25 m