Integrate This! Ed Tech Podcast

In this short conversation from ISTE, Jeremy sits down with Leonardo Ortiz Villacorta from The Pokémon Company International to learn more about why Pokémon had such a strong presence at the conference and how the company is supporting schools through play-based learning. Leonardo shares details about Pokémon’s new after-school club program, developed in partnership with ISTE, designed to bring th...

Stevie Frank, tech coach at Zionsville Community Schools, sits down at ISTE to talk about what makes her district human-centered first, her work with Adobe's Student Ambassador program, and a project where fifth graders used AI to become animated race car drivers for an Indy 500 unit. She also shares advice for educators new to big conferences and why connecting with other educators matters more t...

Minneota Public Schools, a small rural district in Minnesota, partnered with SWWC (Southwest West Central Service Cooperative) to build a comprehensive AI guidance plan from the ground up. In this episode, Superintendent Scott Monson shares how the district pulled together a task force of board members, administrators, and teachers to work through the process together, tackling policy gaps, ethica...

Jeremy reconnects with Liz Voci to hear how her work around AI literacy, student creativity, and educator learning has continued to grow. Liz shares an update on The Perfect Book Project, her Google Innovator project designed to help younger learners build a foundational understanding of AI literacy while also developing real reading and writing skills. What began as a “sneaky reading project” has...

Dr. Rachelle Dene Poth joins the podcast at ISTE to talk through her "AI and the Law" session, digging into bias, ethics, and how educators can vet AI tools before bringing them into the classroom. She also shares what she's learned from a decade of attending ISTE, advice for surviving your first conference, and what's next, including a new edition of her book on teaching AI. Check out Rachelle's...

Jeremy sits down with Debbie Tannenbaum, elementary educator, edtech leader, speaker, Google Innovator, and author. Debbie shares what makes ISTE such a powerful experience for educators: the people, the connections, and the chance to learn alongside others who are passionate about teaching, learning, and technology. She also talks about her ISTE sessions, including her work around using AI as a t...

David Berner talks with Thomas Riddle at his first ever ISTE, author of Imagineering Education and assistant director at Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Thomas is featured in the Timeless Heroes documentary and spent the days before the conference at Disney World with his sons, which sets up the whole conversation perfectly. His book asks one question: what if we desig...

Jeremy sits down with Stewart Brown, Head of Partnerships at Code4Kids, live at the ISTE + ASCD Conference. Stewart shares his first impressions of the ISTE conference, the value of connecting with educators from across the country, and how Code4Kids is helping schools rethink computer science instruction. Rather than treating coding, AI, algorithms, machine learning, and digital literacy as “one...

David Berner sits down with Becky Keene, author of AI Optimism and CEO of Phygital Labs, live at ISTE +ASCD Annual. Becky comes straight from her session, "From Shortcut to Scaffold: How AI Supports Student Thinking," where she walked through free Microsoft Education tools like Copilot, Study Guide, and Learning Activities, all built to strengthen student comprehension instead of outsourcing it. T...

In this short Integrate This! conversation from ISTE, Jeremy Mikla catches up with returning guest Carl Hooker—author, speaker, podcaster, former bar owner, and self-proclaimed “Conference Crawler Carl.” Carl shares what keeps bringing him back to ISTE, why the best learning often happens in hallway conversations, and how first-time attendees can make the most of a large conference without feeling...

In this short ISTE conversation, Jeremy Mikla sits down with returning Integrate This guest Greg Bagby to talk about what keeps educators coming back to ISTE year after year. Greg shares why the real magic of ISTE is not just the sessions, tools, or big announcements—it is the people. From hallway conversations to reconnecting with educators and thought leaders across the country, Greg highlights...

Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket joins Integrate This! for a conversation about joyful leadership, relational intelligence, and what it means to lead schools with heart. Rachel shares her journey from kindergarten teacher to principal, including the mentorship that helped her see school leadership differently. She talks with Jeremy and David about the relationships new leaders should prioritize, why slowing...

Integrate This! talks with Dr. Jorge Valenzuela at ISTE Live 26 about his empathy map framework, why frameworks matter more than ever in the age of AI, and a small moment from a workshop that stuck with him. We may have even discussed the Knicks championship run this year. Check out Jorge's work here: Elevate Your Potential with Lifelong Learning Defined Educational Coaching

Integrate This! kicks off a new interview series from ISTE Live 26 with Manuel Herrera, attending his 13th ISTE conference. Manuel breaks down everything he's got going on this year: a hands-on session with Joe Merrill blending drawing and technology, a full playground setup on the fourth floor with poster sessions and interactive stations, and a spot at the Adobe Aqua booth showing off Adobe's ne...

In this ISTE Conversation of Integrate This!, host David Berner sits down with Kimmie Fink (Senior Editor) and Dana Truby (Executive Director of Content & Partnerships) of BBC Learning Hub to explore how this free K-12 platform is bringing BBC content — from Bluey to Planet Earth — into classrooms everywhere. Topics covered: free content provided by BBC Learning Hub, BBC News Bites for media l...

chool leaders are being asked to do more with less, making efficient purchasing more important than ever. In this special ISTE 2026 conversation, Jeremy and David sit down with Ed Kozek, CEO of Share-a-Cart , to explore how districts are simplifying procurement through collaborative digital workflows that help save both time and money. Ed discusses how Share-a-Cart's free platform reduces purchasi...

What if the reason some students are struggling isn't a student problem — it's a design problem? In this episode of Integrate This EdTech, David Berner and Jeremy Mikla sit down with Dr. Katie Novak, author of 17 books and one of the leading voices on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), to unpack what it really means to design learning that works for ALL students. 📌 In this conversation you'll h...

In this episode of Integrate This! , David and Jeremy welcome Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN , for a thoughtful conversation about what’s next for school technology. Keith shares perspective from decades of work in education technology, from the early days of internet connectivity to today’s rapidly evolving conversations around artificial intelligence. Together, they explore cybersecurity, student da...

In this episode of the Integrate This EdTech Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Catlin Tucker -- teacher turned author, speaker, and professor at Pepperdine University. Catlin shares her rocky start in education, how nearly quitting the profession led to her biggest breakthrough, and why blended learning has been misunderstood long before COVID made it a dirty word. The conversation covers station rota...

In this episode of Integrate This! , Jeremy and David are joined by Stephanie Howell for a conversation about AI, instructional coaching, executive functioning, UDL, and classroom support. Stephanie shares her path from struggling student to educator, instructional coach, technology leader, author, and AI advocate. She reflects on how her own school experiences shaped the way she supports teachers...

In this episode of Integrate This! , Jeremy and David welcome Donna Roper and Jen Hegna from AI4MN for a thoughtful conversation about artificial intelligence, education, and what it means to keep human connection at the center of rapid change. Donna and Jen share the story behind the Minnesota Generative AI Alliance, now known as AI4MN , and how the group’s work has evolved from early conversatio...

In this episode of the Integrate This EdTech Podcast sits down with Dr. Nneka McGee -- math teacher turned chief academic officer, doctoral researcher, and one of the few educators who was building AI initiatives in schools before ChatGPT ever arrived on the scene. Nneka shares her journey from lugging around a 27-pound IBM computer as a kid to becoming one of the most thoughtful voices in the AI...

In this episode of the Integrate This EdTech Podcast, hosts David Berner and Jeremy Mikla sit down with Dr. Jorge Valenzuela -- educator, author, PBL Works national faculty member, and founder of his own instructional coaching practice. Jorge shares his journey from the foster care system to computer science, into the classroom, through district leadership, and eventually onto national stages as a...

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,...

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 a...