Trending In Ed with Mike Palmer

This week, we welcome Jeanne Allen, Founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, to the show to discuss school choice, innovation, and more. We dive into CER's history and goals on a national, state, and local level. Jeanne shares her views on what's wrong with our education system and how CER believes these problems can be fixed. She discusses where her organization spends its resources and time, as well as how they may find common ground they with folks on the other side of complex issues in educational policy and reform. We talk through what school choice means as CER sees it and what could help to provide all students with high quality education. As CER celebrates its 25th anniversary, how might the next 25 years play forward for this organization and for learning and education as a whole? Tune in to find out!

Our fourth episode of the final season of The Citadel breaks down, The Last of the Starks, Episode 4 of Season 8 of Game of Thrones. Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the third episode of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage. Brandon, Mike, and Dan make their way through what's been seen as a disappointing episode four of season eight. We begin in Winterfell for the victory toasts and celebrations, make our way through an uneven meeting betwen Bronn, Jaime, and Tyrion and a 'surprise' attack from Euron, and a meeting of the queens. Will Danaerys continue to be the chosen leader of those opposing Cersei or has Jon's revelation and popularity started to show cracks in her support? Have the show-runners lost their way? Rotten Tomatoes reviews continuing trend downward might answer that question for us. We talk through the coffee cup on set, Jaime and Brienne's time together, and much, much more.

First, we say thank you to all the teachers out there as we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day! Then, we dive into the latest wearable technology, hearables. As Fitbits and Apple Watches continue to flood the market, what is the latest technology available for our ears? Apple's Air pods are a popular example of the growing product area of smart, wearable audio devices known as hearables which are changing media consumption and have broad implications to learning. How can hearables be used for learning and personalization? How can clarity controls and amplification created for those suffering from hearing loss make audio lectures and learning in crowded spaces more engaging for everyone? Are our ears a pathway to tracking our brain functionality and health more closely and dynamically? Find out how a Stanford Neuroscientist describes the possibilities. How long until cochlear implants combine with hearables to further blend humans with smart tech? In sum, we get futurist with our learnholes this week. What more could you ask for? Tune in and enjoy!

Our third episode of the final season of The Citadel breaks down, The Long Night, Episode 3 of Season 8 of Game of Thrones. Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the third episode of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage. We begin by checking in with Mike and Dan to set the stage for the podcast now that everyone has had time to digest and process this epic episode. Then we share highlights from our Sunday night live stream that included Brandon, Frank Jones, and Ken Florence, in addition to Mike and Dan. Ken is the composer of all the great music you here in our theme music and on each Citadel episode. We close out the show by getting more perspective now that the dust is settling with friend of the show, Kristen Smith. We talk through the Battle of Winterfell and those who were lost, and those we did not lose, in the battle versus the Army of the Dead. Where did the over/under come in on the number of major characters who died in this episode? How did the darkness at the top of the show influence people's viewing experience? What comes next for Daenerys, Jon, Cersei, and everyone else vying for the throne? We discuss all those things along with a whole lot more on this week's episode. Listen in and enjoy!

This week we dive into the topic of Summit Learning and some of the backlash it's seen in school districts across America. We react to a recent New York Times article that explores a spate of recents cases of community opposition to this program at high schools in Kansas. How is local activism intersecting with broad educational initiatives like Summit Learning which is back by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI)? How much of the reaction is in part driven by the perceived foreignness of Silicon Valley edtech and how much is tied to a mistrust of screen-based education? What's the role of the educator and how important is buy-in at all levels to the success of advancing ed tech and personalized learning in the classroom? We engage in a spirited discussion of a topic that we're expecting to remain an important part of the broader conversation about evolving our learning and educational models. Listen in and enjoy!

Our second Episode of The Citadel breaks down Episode 2 of Season 8 of Game of Thrones, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the second episode of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage. This week we dive into the details of the episode that sets us up for the big battle of Winterfell that seems to be imminent heading into Episode 3. What was the significance of Jenny's Song? What happens now that Jon Snow revealed his news to Daenerys? Which characters are most likely to leave us next episode and what's the "over/under" on major character deaths in Episode 3? How did Episode 2 and the season overall thus far deliver against expectations? What's coming next in what is purported to be the most legendary battle sequence in television history? Have a listen to this show to find out all this and much more on this week's installment of The Citadel.

On this week's episode we tackle the topics of cryptomnesia and multiple discovery. Cryptomnesia occurs when a forgotten memory returns without it being recognized as such by the subject, who believes it is something new and original. Multiple discovery is the theory that most scientific discoveries and inventions are made independently and more or less simultaneously by multiple scientists and inventors. What does it mean to be creative if we're really just pulling from our own experiences without being consciously aware? Does intent mark the difference between plagiarism and new work? With technology available, is it incumbent on the creator to confirm their new work hasn't been done before? How does curation factor into creativity and invention? We discuss all that as well as Twitter jokes and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on a quick-paced, fun episode. Tune in!

We're back! Your friends at Trending in Education are relaunching our Game of Thrones breakdown show, aka The Citadel, to coincide with the final season of the legendary television series. Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the premiere of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage. This week, Brandon and Mike are joined by friend of the show, Frank Jones, to discuss the intricacies of Season 8, Episode 1, Winterfell. In addition, we make predictions about what will happen next as the narrative arc of the show enters into the end game. If you want to get the lowdown on the first episode and begin to flex your predictive prowess forecasting the rest of the final season, listen in and enjoy!

This week, we dive back into one of our favorite topics, robots. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have created and refined a robot who can sense and respond to human emotion in real time. While "Woody" is still being fine-tuned, his existence opens up questions of how socially and emotionally aware robots might further empower a human-led classroom? While it's easy to wax dystopic on the topic of robots, we find some positive signs in the emergence of this new age robot that senses human feelings. Why does this excite our imaginations? How else can robots like this help us relieve suffering and care for the elderly? Can therapeutic robots be used to combat an emerging loneliness epidemic? We touch on all of this and even sing a little Whitney Houston on this week's show. Listen in and enjoy.

Were you a student who was frustrated by the amount of homework you had to do? Are you a parent who continually argues with your children about getting their homework done? Is it all worth it? On this week's episode, we dive into the debate on the true importance of homework for younger students. Should homework be banned in elementary school? Is homework truly helping reinforce what's happening in the classroom? Does the National PTA and National Education Association have it right that 10 minutes of homework per grade level (ie 10 minutes for first grade, 90 minutes for ninth grade) is the right amount? We tackle this and more as we discuss a recent Salon article on the subject. We also discuss the potential that homework at an early age helps prepare students for what's to come later on in their schooling. Tune in to find out our points of view and be sure to let us know what you think about the importance of homework!

This week, we close out our 2019 Learning March Madness tournament. Over four rounds and 15 games, 16 of our favorite trends and topics were voted on by our listeners and now it’s time to dig into the results. Could JOMO make a Cinderella run from the 16-seed at the bottom of the bracket? Did Mindful Learning earn a coveted spot in the finals? How did Kidsolving fare defending its crown? We take some time to walk through some of the early-round matchups and discuss the tournament overall. How does this year's group stack up against those from years past? What topics do we see as having lasting power throughout 2019? How can we best track or "score" these predictions to see which truly comes out ahead as the year ends? We conclude by revealing the winner of this year's Championship Game with a little Moonlightesque panache. The finals pitted Interactive Everything against Human-centered STEM. Which topic won out and claimed the top trend spot in our 2019 tournament? Tune in to find out!

Dan and Mike chat with Russell Glass, co-author of Voting with a Porpoise. Voting with a Porpoise is a new children's book focused on fostering a discussion around civic engagement and voting with younger kids. The authors describe the purpose of the book as: to help change the culture around elections and voting. To that end, 100 percent of the profits for Voting With a Porpoise will be donated to 501(c)(3) non-partisan voting-related causes focused on getting more people of all backgrounds to the polls, such as Rock the Vote, Vote.org, TurboVote, and others. We talk to Russell about his own background and drive to write this children's story. He discusses his own experiences with voting and his family which helped shape his desire to join this conversation. How did he and co-author Sean Callahan decide on marine animals as the focus? How hard was it to land on a rhyming meter that worked? What are the long term goals for the book? Will Petey the Porpoise swim into our lives in a sequel? All that and a great podcast pun awaits you on this land and sea adventure.

Mike sits down with Rohit Bhargava, author and Founder of the Non-Obvious Company, to discuss the 2019 edition of the Non-Obvious guide. Rohit, as a friend and influencer of our show, always provides surprising and insightful takes on where the world is heading and this year is no exception. Mike and Rohit engage in a free-flowing conversation that covers Non-Obvious 2019 trends like Strategic Spectacle, Muddled Masculinity, and Deliberate Downgrading and attempt to assess the relevance of many of these trends to the world of learning and education. In addition, they explore how the learnability and teachability of being non-obvious. How much of it is a mindset and how much of it can be developed by adopting a more omnivorous approach to consuming inputs, collecting insights, and curating trends? Listen in to find out!

In this episode, we dive into the edutainment value of Game of Thrones as we gear up for the final season of the show which debuts in just a few weeks. We discuss how GoT provides good foundations for political science, leadership and management, language learning, and even epidemiology curricula. What are the advantages of using timely, relevant entertainment content when designing instruction? How has Bruce Craven of Columbia University incorporated the blockbuster HBO show and George RR Martin novels into a popular leadership and management course. Can we learn from the leadership styles of the characters in this story or is designing lesson plans around GoT the instructional equivalent of clickbait? Do popular narratives like this series provide learners with hooks to which they can affix new learning or do they add too much distraction and cognitive load that interfere with learning? Then we dig into a fascinating Smithsonian article about Australian epidemiologists who are predicting the outcomes of the final season using best practices in their field. What do gender, highbornness, even silk versus boiled-leather-collar jobs increase or decrease the likelihood of a character's demise on the show? How does the development of an entire world, full of culture, languages, and more, change the way we interact and learn and how is this all reminiscent of JRR Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings? Is the Song of Ice and Fire an elaborate pro-literacy vehicle? Listen in to hear all of this and get some early takes on the upcoming zeitgeisty media phenomenon that will coincide with the final season of this epic show. Is this the end of appointment television? What's next for this media and entertainment juggernaut? How should learners and educators engage or find JOMO in this phenomenon? We explore all of this and set up for our sister show, The Citadel, which will launch with the premier of Game of Thrones Season 8 in mid April. As they say in Westeros, Winter is here!

Mike Palmer is joined by Frank Jones and Kristen Smith to discuss the sprawling college admissions scandal known as Operation Varsity Blues. What does this scandal say about the current state of selective higher ed admissions in the US? How is this scandal and its coverage a reflection of broader trends we’re seeing in our society? Why are Aunt Becky from Full House and Felicity Huffman from Desperate Housewives the “poster moms” for this scandal and how does it all tie to “bulldozer parenting” and “affluenza?” We also take the time to discuss how the collective outrage in response to the scandal can be harnessed for more positive outcomes. What steps can we all take to help ensure individuals who deserve the opportunity get a fair shot at an undergraduate education? Tune in for a lively discussion on a trending educational topic that will likely remain in the zeitgeist for quite some time.

This week, we tackle the topic of "unlearning." We begin by defining what unlearning has meant across psychology, organizational change, and in the classroom and dig into the debate about whether it is truly part of the learning process. Can we truly "unlearn" something or do we build upon or reframe our understanding as new data and insights come to light? How much of a part does our own humility play in being able to learn new things? Which fields could benefit the most from the concept of "unlearning" and how might it tie to growth mindset, addiction, and related ideas? We discuss all of this and tie back to previous shows and related themes as we talk through this deep and interesting topic. Listen in to begin to figure out how, when, and whether to get your unlearn on!

Mike Palmer and Melissa Griffith sit down with Aaron Dignan to talk about his new book, Brave New Work. Aaron walks us his story of writing the book before focusing in on what isn't working in current organizational environments and how anyone within any organization can help bring about the type of change that is so desperately needed. Aaron discusses getting to the heart of organizational, department, or team issues and working on change by focusing on the people. What's the difference between complicated and complex systems? What parallels can be drawn to world of learning and education? Why is Aldous Huxley so important to all of this? Aaron, Melissa, and Mike have an engaging, entertaining, and illuminating discussion around all of this and more. Listen in to enjoy!

We take you to our live presentation of our podcast at SXSWEdu 2019. Mike and Brandon were joined on stage by Ashley Mannka-Suydam, Director, Learning Products at ACT to talk about the top trends at the conference. We also discussed through our brand new March Madness bracket. After our live show, you'll hear two interviews from the Expo floor. Dan talks to a company called In My Shoes. They are looking to use video and in-person mentors to help at-risk and minority students visualize themselves as successful in the business world. Mike then catches up with Vincent Routhier, CEO of LU Interactive, to discuss their interactive physical education technology. Can a re-imagined gymnasium help keep kids get active and reinforce classroom concepts? Tune in for a sense of what’s emerging at SXSW EDU.

We had the great pleasure of sitting down with Ron Reed, Founder and Executive Producer, and Greg Rosenbaum, General Manager, of the learning conference SXSW EDU. Ron and Greg share the origin story of SXSWEdu and explore the emerging trends they've seen over the first nine years of the conference. We talk about community building, the power of convergence zones, and the ways in which innovation in learning and education is evolving. We also touch on mindfulness, social and emotional learning, and the whole teacher movement as core parts of the emergent zeitgeist of the festival. If you made it to SXSW EDU this year, this is a wonderful capstone conversation for the experience. If you didn't make it, listening is a fantastic way to get a sense of what Greg and Ron are trying to accomplish and how it feels to be a part of it. If you like what you’re hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts!

It's time for our 2019 Learning and Education March Madness! Mike and Brandon draft eight topics each to go head to head in round one of this year's tournament. Which of our best episodes made this year's field? What didn't make the cut? Tune in to find out how we break down the field for this year's tourney! Join in the fun by entering your predictions.

After much ado, fanfare, and aplomb, it's finally time for our hosts to put forth their own predictions for trends in learning and education for 2019. What important topics do we see on the horizon that will change the way students and lifelong learners acquire knowledge and skills in the year ahead? Brandon shares his thoughts on Education2020 and how politics, the presidential race, and education will all intertwine throughout this year into next. Mike hypes the rising importance of the Whole Teacher Movement as well as Mindful Learning as the key trends he's tracking this year. And Dan shares his thoughts on the new MA (M&A) in higher education, merger and acquisitions as his key trend to track this year. All this and more on a great look forward to prognosticate what is on the horizon for the upcoming year in learning and education. Tune in to hear where we think things are heading on this week's episode!

In this week's extra, Mike catches up with new author Logan Thompson on his book Beyond the Content: Unlocking the Other Half of Test Prep with a Tailored Mindfulness Approach. Logan talks about his own path to becoming more mindful and self-aware and how good mindfulness practices have helped to shape who he is as a teacher and a person. Logan discusses how performing on a standardized test doesn't just involve understanding the content and the strategies, it also involves managing one's cognitive and emotional states. Throughout the conversation, Mike and Logan explore the analogy of consciousness as both a Driver and Passengers. Logan provides techniques to manage the presence of the interruptive, distracting, or self-limiting thoughts, aka Passengers, without giving them too much power or attention, while empowering the Driver to get to where she wants to go. We also discuss how Logan's focus on mindfulness and being present connects to social and emotional learning, cognitive and emotional empathy, and the Whole Child and Whole Teacher movements. Listen in and enjoy!

We dive into learning and education trends to watch in 2019. Using two Forbes.com articles as our jumping off point, we talk trends in STEM, K-12, and higher education. How will teacher shortages influence the learning and education landscape? Does STEM help lead the way on the whole child learning experience? Can national and local legislation help change the higher education space in the US? Are income-share agreements a viable solution to ballooning student-debt? We discuss all of these topics and more. Listen in and enjoy!

Just in time for Valentines Day, we're joined by KS Wiswell, author of Full Frontal Nerdity - Lessons on Loving and Living With Your Brain. In addition to being an author, KS is also a screenwriter, an improv performer, and also a Kaplan instructor. We dive into the thought process behind her launching a blog and how that grew into publishing her first book. How did a background in improv help her connect topics that few others see as common? What is it like to share personal stories about love and life for everyone to see? How is improv like teaching and how can we use surprise, narrative, and relevance to make instruction more entertaining and compelling. KS walks us through all this and much more with plenty of laughs along the way.

We take a look at some of the emerging media trends to watch for in 2019. Mike dives into the Gimlet and Anchor acquisitions by Spotify and how audio will continue to be a focal point for advertisers. We also take a look at how small a portion of advertising podcasts currently garner. Does the in-house content creation Spotify is paying for mirror a Netflix and it's approach to video content? Brandon dives into Super Bowl commercials and #RoboChild. How are robots, or maybe even our fear of robots, shaping the commercials and media we are consuming? It's getting Zeitgeisty, to be sure. Mike and Dan close with some late-breaking insights into the recent news around Jeff Bezos and the parent company of the National Enquirer and the recent scandal and its implications for media. We talk about all this and more media trends to keep an eye out for in the coming year. Enjoy!

We tackle a recent article from BuzzFeedNews.com that explores Millennials as the 'Burnout Generation'. Does Anne Helen Peterson's work paint with too broad a brush or do younger generations face a tougher road? How does burnout change the way we might be open to learning? Brandon discusses how every generation faces tough decisions about where their careers might go as they enter college. Mike explores how burnout and pressure around visual identity and online social comparison may be leading to new problems for teens and young people as it relates to their mental health and well-being. We close with Dan and Mike digging into the growing prevalence of mindfulness and social emotional learning as a potential way to provide coping mechanisms to counter some of the more negative aspects of these trends. It's an important discussion we hope to continue to explore in future episodes.

We take a look back at some of the hottest gadgets at CES 2019 and discuss where some potential crossover to learning may exist. Mike points out the lack of education and learning categories / focus at the trade show. Brandon focuses in on wearables and the tracking of individual data that could help shape how we understand personalized learning. We also discuss the explosion in sensors and how growth in that technology could apply to education and learning. Can sensors help track brain waves and teach us more about how we learn? What could teachers do with a better understanding of their students' engagement and mental readiness? And of course, if it's our CES show, you know we talk robots as we revisit the Uncanny Valley, robot butlers, and so much more. Join us for a fun listen for the latest and greatest from CES 2019.

The team takes a look at interactive media and interactive video with Netflix's recently released Black Mirror episode Bandersnatch as a backdrop. We talk through how interactive media has grown and developed over the years from Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books and Role Playing Games to interactive video experiences like what Netflix is now offering. We discuss the positive and negative use cases for interactive media. How does an interactive experience change the creative process? Are traditional cinematic auteurs as well-suited for interactive media as say game designers? Regarding Bandersnatch specifically, did Black Mirror and Netflix get the interactive experience right and the content wrong? We touch on our own reactions to the movie and share where we see similar content in the future growing and even recite some of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky - the genesis of the term Bandersnatch - before we’re through. Listen in and enjoy!

The crew dives into a wide range of emerging macrotrends concerning teachers at the start of 2019. We begin by taking a look at a recent Wall Street Journal report on the current 'quit rate' in the teaching profession. What could be behind the all-time high in teachers leaving the field seen in 2018? Could the gig-economy and financial pressures be leading some teachers to leave their profession? We also take a look at upcoming strikes in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Virginia and examine how these types of work stoppages can influence learning and provide opportunities to explore civic engagement among students and teachers alike.

We're back with a brand new episode and this week we talk about parenting. More specifically, we discuss proud new papa Mike's first few days on the job and how we learn to be parents. Are there enough formal education opportunities for expecting parents? Do certain societal norms keep us from studying up before we're responsible for another person? How can a parent who wants to learn seek out verified, high-end instruction and avoid the fads? We discuss that and each of our own experiences throughout this episode!

On our first show of 2019, we look back to some of the great guests we had throughout 2018 with this highlight show. Mike and Dan kick off the conversation with a big announcement from Mike and a discussion around the guests you'll hear from through this episode. We'll hear highlights from our conversations with Wendy Zukerman, Rohit Barghava, Tarlin Ray, Melissa Griffith, Debbie Berebichez, and Katie Nielson. Thank you to everyone who listened in 2018. We look forward to growing in 2019, hearing more voices, and engaging with an even broader audience.

Mike, Dan, and Brandon kick off our review by discussing our favorite episodes and topics covered throughout the year. We touch on some of the great guests we’ve had on the show and some of the predictions we made that came true (e.g., Kidsolving). We then catch up with friend of the show, Matt Cooper, CEO of Skillshare. We explore what trends might have emerged since last we spoke. Matt talks about the gig economy, his vision for digital learning, and more. Next, we bring back one of the great teachers we spoke to back in May as part of National Teachers Week. UNC Charlotte Philosophy Professor Mark Sanders discusses civic engagement around the 2018 elections and what he sees as challenges in keeping individuals active in government. Mark also touches on some trends he’s seeing in higher education and what's in store for 2019. And we round out this episode talking with Samantha Jeklinksi, our 2018 March Madness listener bracket winner! Samantha showed us she has some trendspotting mojo by picking 15/16 correct in our yearly March Madness extravaganza. Listen in to hear what's on Samantha’s radar in 2019. We wish everyone a very Happy New Year and look forward to great things to come in 2019. Here’s to continuing to get our learn on and having some fun while we do it!

Mike and Dan welcome two great guests, Dr. Bror Saxberg and Glenn Whitman, to discuss the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL), neuroscience and learning, and how a holistic approach to education applies to teaching and teacher development. Phew! Bror, Vice President, Learning Science at CZI, discusses the mission of the organization and how it recently invested in CTTL. Glenn describes the work that's been done on a local level at the St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland and how that work is being scaled across the US and globally through CZI. Can training teachers on how the brain works make them more effective in the classroom? We talk often about teaching the whole student, but can we miss out on reaching the whole teacher? CTTL has done some great work in the field and has partnered with CZI to build NeuroTeach, which is set to launch broadly in January. Tune in for a wide-ranging discussion on neuroscience, learning engineering, growth mindset, microlearning, and much more. We may even debunk a few neuromyths before we’re done. Enjoy! If you like what you’re hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts!

On this week’s episode, Mike, Brandon and Dan tackle the importance of math! How does learning math benefit a student? Has science isolated the parts of the brain most used when learning and applying math? Math, in all its forms, has long caused anxiety and fear amongst students and life-long learners. Why does math cause so many issues for some learners and how can they learn to adopt a growth mindset when it comes to math rather than a self-defeating one? Tune in for a wide ranging discussion on math and learning! Join in the conversation by leaving a comment wherever you listen to podcasts or on Twitter by following us @TrendingInEd.

Mike and Dan sit down with Dr. Susan Sanders, Vice President of Nursing at Kaplan Test Prep, to discuss health and nursing education and what’s new and emerging in the space. Susan brings a wealth of experience in the nursing field and recent work with the healthcare simulations like Kaplan iHuman product to the discussion. How do nurse educators tackle topics like the importance of self-care and burnout / compassion fatigue? Can students get as much out of simulations as they can real life interactions? Where can this sort of technology bring us in the future? Join us as we cover these and other important questions.

You've probably heard that we only use 10% of our brain. And 64% of us believe that's true, at least according to a 2014 study. Where did this myth begin and why are people so likely to believe it? How do pop culture references and science fiction movies help to perpetuate this false statement? Join us as we debunk this myth once and for all.

Mike, Brandon, and Dan discuss a recent New York Times article that points out that the digital gap between high and low socioeconomic status is not what we expected it to be. How have the leaders of Silicon Valley changed the way their children interact with screens and devices? How is the use of screen time inverting traditional expectations about use of digital products? Is screen time the learning equivalent of easy access to fast food? We explore our own personal experiences and awareness of time with screens, discuss how screens might influence empathy and social emotional learning, and look ahead to what might be next in the evolving landscape of parenting, education, and time on screens.

On this week's episode, we turn our attention to the top learning gifts to give to kids and life long learners. As the holiday gift-giving season nears, we take a look back at our discussion last year on Magna-Tiles and explore some other great ideas for the young learners in your life. For lifelong learners, our trio of hosts discuss the idea of gifting a subscription to a service like Audible or Blinkist. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday on the horizon, here's to an amazing holiday season where we all explore how the gift of learning can bring joy to those you love.

Following up on our music and learning episode, Mike and Dan sit down with Ken Florence to discuss his own personal experiences with music and learning. As a performer, a composer, and a musical educator, Ken brings multiple perspectives to the conversation. Ken shares his experiences of synesthesia and how that impacts how he interacts with words, numbers, and music. We also discuss the use of music as a study and recall aid and reference the work of Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi as it relates to music, performance, and learning. Dan shares a story of how he used vocal lessons to overcome being monotone when speaking. We hope you enjoy listening and we look forward to hearing more sound from Ken as a he continues to contribute to the show in the future.

On this week's episode, we explore the complex and multifaceted relationships between music and learning. Mike and Brandon kick off the conversation talking about their own experiences with music and learning while exploring some common myths and misconceptions relating to this topic. Then we introduce a new contributor to the pod, Ken Florence. Ken's a composer, musician, and music teacher from NYC who will be adding new sound to our pods beginning with this episode. Ken talks briefly about how learning music changed the way he learned other subjects. We'll dig in further with Ken during an extra later this week. As we add new music and sound over the course of this week and in upcoming episodes, we'd love to hear more from our listeners regarding what you like about the sound and what you'd like us to continue to improve on in future shows. With that, we'd like to welcome Ken to our crew and hope you continue to enjoy listening.

Mike and Brandon welcome Rohit Bhargava, founder of the Non-Obvious company, back to the podcast to discuss trend curation, predicting the future, and the challenge of being Non-Obvious. Rohit grades himself on his 2018 prediction by reviewing how he did with Lightspeed Learning and Data Pollution in particular. He shares some initial thoughts about new trends that are emerging for 2019 and pays special attention to how this all relates to learning and education. Listen in to get an early read on a few surprising trends that are on the horizon as we prepare to head into the new year.

More from NAB with Mike, Brandon, and Wendy Zukerman of Science Vs, a Gimlet podcast, talking Binge Learning, the Lightning Round, and more. Wendy continues to be awesome. Mike is stumped about Serial Killers (beyond the obvious) but rebounds a bit about Vegans. Maybe he learned something after all. Brandon opens us up for some audience participation. We wrap up an amazing live experience at the NAB New York Conference at the Javits Center. Thanks to Wendy, Gimlet, NAB, Tim O'Shaughnessy, Podcast Movement, and Andy Rosen for their support getting this together!

Live from the National Association of Broadcasters Trade Show in New York City, Mike and Brandon sit down with Wendy Zuckerman, host of the Science Vs podcast from Gimlet Media. The trio goes deep on the importance of science in an era of fake news and a crisis of trust while digging into the topics of many of Wendy's shows. We also explore whether you can be both educational and entertaining at the same time. Wendy shares some of the inner workings of producing an information-rich, entertaining audio experience about Science. Thanks to Wendy, Gimlet Media, Podcast Movement, and NAB for giving us the chance to drive into new formats and approaches to podcasting. Have a listen and let us know what you think. And stay tuned for more from this event which we'll release as an extra later this week!

Mike Palmer sits down with Nancy Lee Sanchez and Alex Borges, a Kaplan Foundation Scholar, to discuss the current transfer landscape for undergraduates in the United States. We talk through Alex's unique story as a US Marine Corps Reservist and get his views on where the process could be improved for transfer students with non-traditional backgrounds. We dig into the benefits of connecting veterans and other non-traditional students with university programs across the US. Nancy gives a few tips covered in Your 2019 Guide to College Transfer. You can check it out at https://yourguidetocollegetransfer.org/

Sans Forgetica is a new font/typset out of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia that was designed specifically to aid in memory and retention. The font is designed to be slightly challenging to read and that "desirable difficulty" makes it a surprisingly effective memory aid. On this episode, Dan and Mike catch up with Dr. Joanne Perryman and Dr. Janneke Blijlevens, two-thirds of the research and design team around the new font. We discuss the thought process behind designing the new font, desired outcomes, research to date, and what might be next. What's the best way to use the sans forgetica? Wait, don't tell us...Hang on, we were just talking about this... Just kidding. Listen in on this fascinating conversation to find out!

Mike and Brandon sit down to explore mnemonic tools like "Memory Palaces" and "the method of loci" which are learning performance hacks that have been shown to aid in memory. We use the book Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foerr as a backdrop to our discussion of memory, retention, and recall. How can memory techniques that have been around since ancient times help modern learners capture and retain more knowledge? What does it mean to be a "mental athlete" and what lessons can be learned from their training techniques and performative practices? Mike and Brandon conclude by digging into their own favorite mnemonics and cognitive aids as we aim to help our listeners remember better by leveraging techniques that unlock untapped cognitive potential.

On this week's episode, Mike, Brandon, and Dan take on the latest internet sensation, Gritty the new mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers introduced Gritty as their new mascot late in September and since then, he(?)'s been feagured across multiple news channels and media outlets. As Mike might say, Gritty is "Zeitgeist-y!" Our trio of hosts explore whether it's merely a coincidence that Gritty hails from the same city as Angela Duckworth, the author of the landmark positive psychology book, Grit. We also look at the cross-section of learning and mascots. Do mascots enhance memory? Why are they so prevalent in programming (and advertising) for children? How does this all tie to recent books like Sapiens by Yuval Harari, and Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer? Be sure to save room in your memory palace for Gritty. Listen in for a fun and surprisingly informative conversation.

Mike sits down with Katie Nielson, the Chief Education Officer for Voxy.com. Katie talks about what it's like to be the other kind of CEO. We talk about Voxy's approach to teaching English to non-native speakers and the challenges for both individual learners and larger groups of students. We reminisce a bit about the early days of e-learning and explore some common missteps taken in developing instruction for online learning. What trends in language learning and online education is Katie tracking? How applicable are lessons learned from her experiences teaching english to non-native speakers at Voxy to the broader space of online learning end education? Tune in to find out.

This week, Mike and Brandon are joined by David Niemi, Kaplan's VP of Measurement and Larry Rudman, Kaplan's VP of Instruction to discuss David's recently published book, Learning Analytics in Education. David explains what went into creating the book, which he Edited and Co-Authored, as the group takes a critical look at how to think about measurement and learning analytics our rapidly changing digital world. How should we think about learning analytics in a burgeoning sea of Big Data? What can be gleaned from new troves of clickstream data? We talk about how this new field has the potential to increase learner success through a deeper understanding of the academic, social-emotional, motivational, and meta-cognitive context each learner uniquely brings. In particular, we dig into the problem of persistence to explore how data and learning analytics can help inform motivational interventions and other tactics to reach learners at risk of dropping out of high school or college. Listen in to get a taste of the fascinating concepts covered in depth in David's book Learning Analytics in Education.

Mike, Brandon, and Dan welcome in Dan Gonzalez, co-founder of District C, to the show. Distric C is a non-profit focused on workforce training and real-life learning for high schoolers through partnerships with local businesses. We discuss what employers and managers say most new hires are missing and how students can get a head start on workforce preparedness. Dan Gonzalez discusses how important using real world businesses problems and teaming with diverse teammates is to the learning experience of District C scholars. What can students learn from these encounters? How can intergenerational connections help grow the students’ and their corporate partners’ perspectives? All that and more on this week's Trending in Education.