Tech in EdTech

Building AI literacy into a school system or a curriculum is a lot to carry. The tools keep changing, and every plan you write has to account for technology that will look different by next year. So it’s natural to wonder which parts of that plan will last, from the concepts students learn to the examples in each lesson and the policies behind them. Chuck Melley, Senior VP of Policy, Advocacy and...

How can core curriculum support personalized learning without creating more work for teachers? In this episode of Tech in EdTech, Olivia Lara-Gresty is joined by Kelly Philbin, PhD, Director of Core Adoptions at IXL Learning, to discuss how to connect instruction, assessment, differentiation, and practice. They explore how assessment can help teachers understand student needs and decide what to do...

Textbooks have always been static, with the same page providing the explanation. It never takes into account who's reading. Dakshay Mehta, Head of Technical Staff, Stealth AI, joins Eric Stano to talk about what happens when a book becomes a conversation instead. They dig into how AI tutors can adapt to different learning styles and how sequential curricula need to take a step back in modern...

What should a healthcare simulation program build before investing in more technology? Francisco Castelblanco, DNP, RN, Chair, Continuing Professional Development & Area Health Education Center Director at MAHEC, explains why educator capability should shape modality choices, scenario design, simulation debriefing, and the measurement of patient outcomes.

Somewhere between the hype and the skepticism around XR lies a clear-eyed view of where it fits within workforce learning. Bharani Rajakumar, Founder, Transfr, joins Zahra to talk through where XR earns its place, where it doesn't, and what every workforce and education leader should consider before their next investment. 

Before your next AI strategy conversation, ask yourself this: Are you starting with implementation, or readiness? Stephen Jull, Global Head of AI and EdTech at Teach For All, argues that schools may be starting in the wrong place. The real question is not just how to roll out AI, but whether the institution is ready for it. In this Tech in EdTech episode, Stephen joins Sean Strathy to discuss why...

Enrollment trends may look like they’re improving, but the bigger challenges in higher ed haven’t changed. David Brunner speaks with Phil Hill about the realities behind enrollment shifts, evolving student expectations, and how institutions should rethink technology, strategy, and partnerships. 

Some students log in, submit assignments, and still drop out. So what are we really measuring? In this episode, Shaunak Roy explains why most engagement metrics fail to predict retention and what institutions should be looking at instead. From early risk signals to faculty workload and AI hype, this conversation challenges how higher ed thinks about engagement and what it takes to keep students on...

Most career readiness programs start in senior year. By then, it’s already late. Hiring is shifting toward demonstrated skills, work samples, and real evidence of capability, while schools still rely heavily on GPA and transcripts. So where is the disconnect? In this episode, Zahra sits down with Allison Danielsen, CEO of Tallo, to talk about skills-based hiring, early career exposure, and why mak...

Thomas Cavanagh, Vice Provost for Digital Learning at the University of Central Florida, breaks down how analytics should drive retention, graduation rates, and student success. He explains why adoption metrics miss the point and how LMS data can act as an early warning system for timely student support. This episode offers practical insight on using data and AI responsibly while keeping decisions...

Clicks and completions are easy to report and mistake for an impact. In this Tech in EdTech episode, Sylvie Milverton, CEO & Co-founder of Lynx Educate, shares how companies use education to meet community and business goals and why the real scorecard must track the use of skills in work and life outcomes. The conversation covers: aligning measurements with the original objective, a simple com...

AI makes it dangerously easy to stop at one confident answer. For education publishers and learning platforms, that’s a product risk: teachers need sources they can trust, students need research support (not shortcuts), and credibility doesn’t survive black-box answers. In this episode, Jan van der Crabben of World History Encyclopedia explains how they built the platform on one core idea: history...

Parents want to help their kids. Most don’t know where to start. In this episode of Tech in EdTech, Zahra speaks with Stephanie Parra, M. Ed., CEO of ALL In Education, about making proficiency, communication, and learning tools easier for families to understand and act on. 

Dan Sandhu, CEO, EDT, lays out a practical, evidence‑first view of AI in education. He argues that AI must be anchored to shared educational outcomes, owned by local systems, and guided by living policies for ethics, safety, training, and leadership. Equity remains the strategic lens. AI can widen gaps when bandwidth, devices, and power are scarce, yet it can also narrow them by enabling access to...

Dr. Andrea Gregg, Associate Research Professor and Director of Learning Experience Design at Penn State University, outlines a practical approach to building strong online learning in the AI era. She explains why simple, “don’t make me think” design protects real learning, and why every choice should tie back to outcomes and assessment. She covers what makes micro-credentials credible, how to avoi...

Student engagement is a top priority in K12, yet teachers, students, and district leaders rarely agree on what it actually looks like or how to measure it. Brian Shaw, CEO of Discovery Education, shares new findings from their Education Insights Report, including a striking gap between how students and adults perceive engagement. We explore the signals that matter, how AI can free teachers to focu...

Joel Kupperstein, Chief Product Officer at Project Lead The Way, shares field‑tested product principles for K–12. He explains why “easier before better” should be every product leader’s mantra, how empathy beats features, and what decades of experience have taught him about building tools teachers actually adopt. The conversation tackles AI’s rapid spread, with practical uses in teacher support, s...

What does it take to shift from degrees to skills-based hiring while tackling the AI skills gap? Lydia Logan, VP of Global Education and Workforce Development at IBM, joins host Laura Hakala to discuss how IBM’s SkillsBuild program and its culture of lifelong learning are helping close global skills gaps. She shares what it takes to build responsible AI guardrails, maintain meaningful digital cred...

What turns “edutainment” into real learning that lasts? Clarence Tan, co-founder of Boddle Learning, shares how thoughtful game design can keep students engaged without losing instructional focus. He unpacks strategies to reduce cognitive load, signals districts should track to judge impact, and the AI guardrails that keep student data safe. The conversation also explores what makes rollouts smoot...

What does it take to put career services at the center of the college experience? Christine Cruz‑Vergara, Chief Education Strategy Officer at Handshake, joins Eric Stano to unpack why higher ed’s value is under pressure, what today’s students expect, and how campuses can respond to close the trust‑usage gap. Christine shares what Handshake is seeing in student behavior and pragmatic ways to integr...

Students with ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences are often underserved by traditional school systems. Diana Heldfond, Founder and CEO of Parallel Learning, joins Tech In EdTech to unpack how edtech can help close that gap. Drawing from both personal and professional expertise, Diana shares how districts can deliver precision interventions, measure real outcomes, and use AI responsibly...

As AI, automation, and talent shortages reshape the future of work, Bijal Shah, CEO of Guild, offers a clear, practical roadmap for building teams that bend, but don’t break. In this episode, she shares how to support frontline talent, track the real ROI of learning programs, and build a workforce that adapts, evolves, and drives business forward. If you're focused on aligning learning pathwa...

Vadim Polikov, CEO of Legends of Learning, joins Dipesh Jain to explore what it takes to make game-based learning effective in K–12. He breaks down the difference between gamification and true game-based learning, the importance of curriculum alignment, and how AI is driving personalization and collaboration across edtech tools.

In this episode, Adam Reid, Online CTE Teacher at Anchorage School District, joins Sean Strathy and talks about what it takes to run effective virtual Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. He shares insights from his  unique approach at his school district in Alaska, balancing course breadth with access, using industry partnerships to enrich learning, and why sparking student curiosity of...

In this episode, Brainscape CEO Andrew Cohen joins Olivia Lara-Gresty and talks about how edtech products can better support serious learners preparing for high-stakes exams and certifications. Find out why active recall and spaced repetition still outperform AI shortcuts, how to design study tools that reduce learning fatigue, and what truly motivates learners without relying on gamified features...