From 2018 - 2020, I produced a podcast focusing on education, art/design, and technology. Archived episodes can be found below, as well as on these platforms: Apple iTunes/Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify
#30: What's It Like to Be Teaching in Sweden Right Now?
If you're teaching in the United States during the pandemic right now, you're likely having the most challenging year of your career--regardless of whether you're teaching in person, remotely, or a hybrid of the two. Without a coordinated federal response to the Covid19 pandemic in the United States, states are largely on their own to figure out how to send students, teachers, and staff back to school safely. But what's it like teaching in other countries? Sandy Bansal, lead computer science teacher at Amerikanska Gymnasiet in Gothenburg, Sweden returns to the podcast.
#29 The Lost Episode: Thomas Kearns
Back in March 2020, I sat down with Thomas Kearns to record this episode. While the pandemic was raging through Washington and New York state, it still hadn’t reached the Midwest. A few days after we recorded this episode, the pandemic reached the Midwest and everything changed. This episode got lost in the chaos and stress of that time, but I am thrilled to finally release it.
Thomas Kearns (LinkedIn) is founder of Space to Play, Tortus, and Bitspace. He was a professor and Director fo Design Communication at Illinois Institute of Technology and is currently a Digital Innovation Strategist at Perkins&Will.
#28: Kelley Huxatble
As we approach Fall in the United States, teachers are facing a difficult choice: teach in person during the Covid-19 pandemic or leave their jobs. In this episode, we sit down with Kelley Huxtable to hear what it's like to make this gut-wrenching decision.
#27: Nora Flanagan
In September, Nora Flanagan will begin her 23rd year as an educator in Chicago amid the challenging pedagogical circumstances of the covid-19 pandemic and the immense struggle Chicago Public School teachers have faced getting the support and resources they need from the community.
Nora (@noraflanagan) is co-author of Confronting White Nationalism in School—A Toolkit (westernstatescenter.org/schools). She teachers English at Northside College Prep, a selective enrollment public high school in Chicago's North Park neighborhood. Nora also serves as a delegate to the Chicago Teacher's Union.
#26: Liz Gallo
In this episode, we talk a bit about what's coming up in season two of the podcast and have a conversation with Liz Gallo, CEO of WhyMaker. More info about Liz and WhyMaker can be found here whymaker.co. Follow Liz on Twitter @whymaker.
#25: The Educators and Makers Creating PPE: Part Two
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, shortages in Personal Protective Equipment or PPE for medical professionals have been an ongoing issue. Two key types of PPE in desperate need are face shields and surgical masks. To mitigate this shortage, educators, makers, and everyday people have been sewing, laser cutting, and 3D printing PPE and then donating them to medical professionals, neighbors, friends, and family members.
In this new podcast series, we’ll be talking to the amazing people volunteering their time, materials, and expertise to mitigate the shortage of PPE.
Our guest today is Courtney Lyons. Courtney is a pattern maker, fashion designer, and educator. Courtney describes her journey sewing masks and related issues of design, accessibility, fit, and distribution. Courtney also talks about parenting, teaching, and being enrolled in a nursing program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
#24: The Educators and Makers Creating PPE: Part One
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, shortages in Personal Protective Equipment or PPE for medical professionals have been an ongoing issue. Two key types of PPE in desperate need are face shields and surgical masks. To mitigate this shortage, educators, makers, and everyday people have been sewing, laser cutting, and 3D printing PPE and then donating them to medical professionals, neighbors, friends, and family members.
In this new podcast series, we’ll be talking to the amazing people volunteering their time, materials, and expertise to mitigate the shortage of PPE.
In this episode, we talk to Jeff Solin (@JeffSolin), Computer Science teacher at Lane Tech College Prep High School here in Chicago about his efforts to design, make, and distribute PPE.
Solin Flatpack Face Shield bit.ly/solinflatpack
Illinois PPE Network illinoisppe.org
#23: Teaching During COVID-19: Part Six
As humanity takes measures to slow the spread and effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19, businesses, schools, and many public gathering places are shutting down or being restricted. This is very worrisome for all of us, and as of now, there are many unknowns. Educators of all types are facing the many challenges of online and distance learning. In this ongoing series, we will be talking to educators each week about the difficulties, surprises, and discoveries they are meeting as they continue to teach during this unprecedented world event.
Our guest today is Anna Delia, Director of the Innovation Lab at Hawken School.
Resources Anna references in our conversation are sites.google.com/view/fabplayhome/home and instagram.com/hawkenfabplay
If you are an educator and would like to take part in a future conversation, please email us at info@depthandlight.com
#22: Teaching During COVID-19: Part Five
As humanity takes measures to slow the spread and effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19, businesses, schools, and many public gathering places are shutting down or being restricted. This is very worrisome for all of us, and as of now, there are many unknowns. Educators of all types are facing the many challenges of online and distance learning. In this ongoing series, we will be talking to educators each week about the difficulties, surprises, and discoveries they are meeting as they continue to teach during this unprecedented world event.
• Our guest today is Merrilynn Martin, Case Manager and Special Education Teacher at Sayre Language Academy (Chicago Public Schools).
If you are an educator and would like to take part in a future conversation, please email us at info@depthandlight.com
#21: Teaching During COVID-19: Part Four
As humanity takes measures to slow the spread and effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19, businesses, schools, and many public gathering places are shutting down or being restricted. This is very worrisome for all of us, and as of now, there are many unknowns. Educators of all types are facing the many challenges of online and distance learning. In this ongoing series, we will be talking to educators each week about the difficulties, surprises, and discoveries they are meeting as they continue to teach during this unprecedented world event.
• In part four, we speak to Kelley Huxtable, Library, Co-curriculars Technology Integrationist at Inly School in Scituate, MA--and Joan Horvath, an educator, consultant, and co-founder of Nonscriptum LLC (nonscriptum.com).
If you are an educator and would like to take part in a future conversation, please email us at info@depthandlight.com
#20: Teaching During COVID-19: Part Three
As humanity takes measures to slow the spread and effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19, businesses, schools, and many public gathering places are shutting down or being restricted. This is very worrisome for all of us, and as of now, there are many unknowns. Educators of all types are facing the many challenges of online and distance learning. In this ongoing series, we will be talking to educators each week about the difficulties, surprises, and discoveries they are meeting as they continue to teach during this unprecedented world event.
• In part three, we speak to Mimi Liu-Leyco, Head of Technology and Technology Integration Coordinator at The British International School of New York, NY--and Colin Reynolds, a Learning Curator, School Designer, and Education Consultant based in Boulder, CO.
If you are an educator and would like to take part in a future conversation, please email us at info@depthandlight.com
#19: Teaching During COVID-19: Part Two
As humanity takes measures to slow the spread and effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19, businesses, schools, and many public gathering places are shutting down or being restricted. This is very worrisome for all of us, and as of now, there are many unknowns. Educators of all types are facing the many challenges of online and distance learning. In this ongoing series, we will be talking to educators each week about the difficulties, surprises, and discoveries they are meeting as they continue to teach during this unprecedented world event.
• In part two, we speak to Sandy Bansal at the International School of Bergamo, Italy and John Baglio of Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York, NY USA.
If you are an educator and would like to take part in a future conversation, please email us at info@depthandlight.com
#18: Teaching During COVID-19: Part One
As humanity takes measures to slow the spread and effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19, businesses, schools, and many public gathering places are shutting down or being restricted. This is very worrisome for all of us, and as of now, there are many unknowns. Educators of all types are facing the many challenges of online and distance learning. In this ongoing series, we will be talking to educators each week about the difficulties, surprises, and discoveries they are meeting as they continue to teach during this unprecedented world event.
In part one, we speak to Diane Brancazio of the MIT Edgerton Center and Dr. Ronah Harris of Play Pattern. Here is a link to the resources mentioned in this episode. This list will be updated weekly.
If you are an educator and would like to take part in a future conversation, please email us at info@depthandlight.com
#17: Annette Diefenthaler
What exactly is Design Thinking? What are its origins and how can it be best applied in a classroom or in any school setting? How can educators use it in all aspects of teaching, from classroom layout to curriculum design? Our guest today is Annette Diefenthaler. Annette is a portfolio director at IDEO, where she works to bring human-centered design to systemic challenges in learning and education. She is co-author of IDEO's Design Thinking Toolkit for Educators.
More info about Annette and her work at IDEO can be here. ideo.com/people/annette-diefenthaler
Get a copy of the Design Thinking Toolkit for Educators: designthinkingforeducators.com/toolkit/
Follow Annette on Twitter: twitter.com/annette_di
#16: Noah Geisel
How can educators recognize learning which happens between report cards? How can they acknowledge student achievement which may be difficult to assess with traditional means? Digital badging and micro-credentials offer an alternative to traditional assessment and an emerging method teachers can use to appreciate what their students are doing in any content area. Our guest today is Noah Geisel. Noah is an educator, coach, consultant, and author. He was honored as the 2013 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages National language teacher of the year. Noah also founded BadgeSummit, a yearly conference focused on using badging and micro-credentials in education.
Follow Noah on Twitter and Medium (@SenorG).
Register and attend BadgeSummit thebadgesummit.com
#15: Ryan Banks Academy
Ryan Banks Academy is Chicago's first tuition-free independent school—and will soon be a boarding school. Founded in 2018 by former Chicago Public Schools (CPS) social worker Valerie Groth, Ryan Banks Academy's mission is "to transform urban education by cultivating the talents and potential of at-risk students in Chicago through an immersive and innovative educational experience."
In this episode, we have a chance to speak to Valerie, some current Ryan Banks Academy students and teachers, and the founding head of school, Audrey Hampton.
To find out more about the school, visit their website ryanbanksacademy.org.
For more information about how to get involved, donate, or volunteer, reach out to founder and CEO Valerie Groth valerie@ryanbanksacademy.org.
#14: Brandy Agerbeck
What's the best way to document your ideas? Or communicate those ideas to others? For some people, writing is the most effective method. Others communicate best through drawing. For some, it's both. Visual thinkers like Brandy Agerbeck work to empower others to draw what they are thinking and feeling, and through graphic facilitation, help organizations see trends, make sense of many ideas in one place, and plan for the future. Brandy and I discuss various techniques for Visual Thinking, why everyone can and should draw, and how drawing helps combat our "Inner Critic".
Follow Brandy on Twitter: @loosetooth
Find out more about Brandy's work: loosetooth.com
#13: Devorah Heitner
How much screen time should my child have? Should my students have? How do we know what's safe and what isn't on the internet? Dr. Devorah Heitner is an educator and researcher who explores these questions and many more. As founder of Raising Digital Natives, she advises schools, parents, and organizations on how best to mentor children and adolescents as they navigate an increasingly complex computational world. In this episode, we talk with Devorah about all of this, about new technologies like Deepfakes, and what it means if each of us--and our children--are amassing a digital permanent record.
Raising Digital Natives: raisingdigitalnatives.com
Follow Devorah on Twitter: @DevorahHeitner
#12: Alfie Kohn
This episode features author and educator Alfie Kohn. Alfie has written and lectured extensively in the areas of education, parenting, and human behavior. His work has challenged the status quo in education for over four decades. In our conversation, Alfie details his thoughts on popular education topics like Grit, Growth Mindset, and EdTech.
Articles referenced in this episode can be found on Alfie's website alfiekohn.org.
Follow Alfie on Twitter twitter.com/alfiekohn.
#11: Bob Clagett
Our guest in this episode is Bob Clagett. Bob is the founder of I Like to Make Stuff, a Youtube channel with 2.75 million subscribers and a website that features a multitude of free project how-to videos and step-by-step instructions. Viewers get in-depth and easy to follow instructions on how to make just about anything, from a full-scale, interactive R2-D2 of Star Wars fame to bunk beds and much more. Bob is the author of the book Making Time and is also the host of two podcasts, BrainPick and No Instructions.
I Like to Make Stuff website.
I Like to Make Stuff on Youtube.
Follow Bob on Twitter.
Support Bob and I Like to Make Stuff on Patreon.
#10: Dale Dougherty
This episode features a conversation with Dale Dougherty. Dale is the co-founder of O'Reilly Media and the founder of Maker Media, which publishes Make Magazine and initiated the wildly popular worldwide Maker Faires. Dale is widely considered to be the godfather of the Maker Movement and is one of its greatest champions. We talk to Dale about his partnership with Tim O'Reilly, developing the first-ever commercial website, the dawn of the World Wide Web, and the past-present-future of the Maker Movement. Dale also goes into detail about best practices for empowering Makers and DIYers in schools and everywhere.
Follow Dale on Twitter: @dalepd
#9: Cas Holman
We have a conversation with designer and educator Cas Holman in this episode. Cas is the founder and principal designer at Heroes Will Rise, an independent toy company focusing on products designed in the spirit of invention and creativity. She is also full-time faculty at Rhode Island School of Design in the Industrial Design Department. Her work has recently been featured in the New Yorker, Dwell, and an episode of Abstract (season two) on Netflix.
More about Cas' work can be found at casholman.com and rigamajig.com.
#8: Erin Riley and The Art of Digital Fabrication
This episode features artist, educator, and author Erin Riley. Erin is the director of Greenwich Academy's state of the art Engineering & Design Lab. She is also the author of a new book The Art of Digital Fabrication: STEAM Projects for the Makerspace and Art Studio.
Follow Erin on Twitter: twitter.com/eeriley99
#7: Electronic Visualization Lab Part Two
This episode is the second part of our story about the Electronic Visualization Lab (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. First, we talk to Maxine Brown, director of EVL, about her background and her 30+ years at EVL. We learn about CAVE2, the latest large scale virtual reality environment invented at EVL. Ph.D. graduate Victor Mateevitsi describes his experiences as a student at EVL, working on major systems like CAVE2. Victor then tells the story of his invention SpiderSense, a wearable jacket that lets users navigate and experience the world around them--without sight.
#6: Ben Fry, Processing, and Computational Information Design
In this episode, we have a conversation with computational information designer Ben Fry, co-creator of the Processing programming language and principal of Fathom Information Design.
Along with Casey Reas, with whom he created Processing, Ben is the author of Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists and Getting Started with Processing. Ben is also the author of Visualizing Data.
Ben and Casey won a Golden Nica from Ars Electronica in 2005 for their work with Processing, and Ben was the 2011 recipient of the National Design Award for Interaction Design.
#5: April Welch, IIT, and Esports
In this episode we talk to April Welch. She's the Associate Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Director of Esports at the Illinois Institute of Technology, or IIT. April details a range of projects she's initiated and directed in her role at IIT, especially how she built an early Maker Space and launched an award winning Esports program. Before the interview, we go over exactly what Esports are and why they are one of the fastest growing sports worldwide. We also discuss the positive impact Esports are having in both K-12 schools and higher ed.
• More info about IIT can be found here: web.iit.edu.
• More info about the IIT Idea Shop can be found here: wiki.ideashop.iit.edu
• More info about Esports at IIT can be found here: web.iit.edu/esports
#4: Electronic Visualization Lab Part One
This is our first two-part story. We'll be exploring the Electronic Visualization Lab (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. EVL has been a hub of innovation in arts and technology for 46 years. EVL has a tremendous history filled with ground breaking inventions and connections to culturally significant things like Star Wars, the dawn of personal computing, and early video gaming. We'll be talking to several people associated with EVL. In the first part, we'll go over the early days of EVL and their groundbreaking work in experimental video, computer graphics, and virtual reality. We'll talk to pioneering artist and technologist, Dan Sandin, one of the co-founders of EVL.
More information about EVL can be found at evl.uic.edu.
#3: Sylvia Libow Martinez and The Maker Movement
In this episode, we talk to engineer, author, and educator Sylvia Libow Martinez. She is the author of Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, which has been called the bible of the Maker Movement in schools. First, we detail the origin and current state of the Maker Movement in Schools, and then Sylvia and I discuss the state of the art in Maker education. She offers advice on a variety of pedagogical issues educators face when teaching with technology, including her approaches to three of the biggest: time, space, and assessment.
Sylvia’s website: sylviamartinez.com
Website for Invent to Learn: inventtolearn.com
Purchase Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom and other CMK Press books: cmkpress.com
Learn more about Constructing Modern Knowledge: constructingmodernknowledge.com
Follow Sylvia on Twitter: twitter.com/smartinez
#2: Jeff Solin and the LT Makers Lab
The LT Makers Lab at Lane Tech College Prep high school in Chicago is an amazing innovation and digital fabrication classroom. We’re heading to Lane Tech for a conversation with educator and technologist Jeff Solin. Jeff is the mind behind the LT Makers Lab and an award-winning National Board Certified Teacher. We'll also delve into Lane Tech's history and transition from a vocational training school for boys to a coeducational selective enrollment college prep high school.
Follow Jeff on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow the LT Makers Lab on Twitter.
For information about the LT Makers Lab can be found here.
Learn more about Lane Tech here.
#1: Gabrielle Lyon
In this episode, we sit down with nonprofit leader, educator, and author Dr. Gabrielle (Gabe) Lyon. Gabe is the author of the graphic novel No Small Plans, the forthcoming graphic novel Washington, By and By, numerous curricular tools and was recently appointed executive director of Illinois Humanities. Gabe details her process for creating graphic novels and how they can be used as effective curricular tools, design as a "hidden curriculum", and her work as a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion in STEM, civic education, and urban planning.
Follow Dr. Lyon on Twitter @LyonGabrielle
Illinois Humanities:
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: @ILHumanities
No Small Plans is available here.
Check out Washington, By and By on Kickstarter.