The Education Innovators Podcast
The Education Innovators Podcast is hosted by Eric Byron. Our purpose is to provide a platform for folks to share their stories of innovation in education. Practical, inspirational tales of things they have tried or are doing that others may be able to learn from. We will not dwell on what is wrong but focus on what is good and improving.
Listen on:
Episodes
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Barbara Tsui is a mother of two boys, aged 11 and 16. She studied many different ways to raise her children before the first boy was born, but most of the ways didn't work as planned, so she thought she was a mother who failed, until she found the Montessori teaching and learning approach. She enrolled her children and then she pursued Montessori teacher training and practicum in Beijing and Singapore beginning 2009. She founded Rainbow Tree Children Education in 2016, which has provided parent workshops to over 500 parents and they offer playgroups to 0-6 years old children. Barbara has also conducted teacher training for kindergartens in HK and assisted in teacher training in China. She believes that when we nurture children with love, respect and trust, the children will blossom beyond adults' expectations.
Qualifications:
AMS 0-3 Infant and Toddler teacher credential
CMI 3-6 Early Childhood teacher credential
Pikler Institute certificates: “Respectful Care and the Relationship with Adult”, “The Autonomous Play Activities”, “Free Motor Movement”, “In Peace with Oneself – In peace with Others, the beginning of social learning”
Non-violent Communication and mindfulness trainer.
In this episode we take a close look at the Montessori principles and how their use in schools has slowly expanded over the past nearly 100 years. An education disruption happening in slow motion. Does an idea have to be new to be innovative? I think that when we look at an old idea in a new context or with new perspective it can be very innovative.
The Education Innovators Podcast is a weekly conversation between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.
Links:
Rainbow Tree Children Education
https://rainbowtreehk.com/
AMI – Association Montessori Internationale
https://montessori-nw.org/about-montessori-education
Jeff Bezos philanthropic support for new Montessori schools
https://www.livingmontessori.com/jeff-bezos-philanthropic-support-for-new-montessori-schools/
The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742
The Education Innovators Podcast on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3
This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.
You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
This episode is an insightful conversation with Laurie Forcier, recorded shortly after she attended the Bett Conference in London. Laurie is a thought leader in EdTech with over 25 years of experience in education. She shares insights from the conference and her personal take on current trends and the impact of AI on the future of education.
Currently an ISTE Consultant, Laurie Forcier, also works with EDT Partners and Educate Ventures Research. She holds a Master in Higher Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she worked for 10 years. Laurie also worked for Pearson for almost 7 years, and was the Director, Global Thought Leadership, focusing on the future of education, skills and work, and how technology, including AI, can augment learning and teaching. Laurie was also the Chief Global Content Officer for Learnit, a 70k-strong education leader’s network focused on change.
The Education Innovators Podcast is a weekly conversation between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.
Links:
Laurie Forcier
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurieforcier/
ISTE
https://iste.org/
Bett
https://www.bettshow.com/
4 Biggest EdTech Trends in 2024
https://www.bettshow.com/bett-articles/4-biggest-edtech-trends-2024
The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742
The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3
This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.
You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Vince Siu is the Founder and CEO of Press Start Academy, a Hong Kong-based education start-up that designs award-winning educational games and game-based academic curricula for ages 6 and above.
He enjoys thinking about gamification, 21st-century skills, design thinking, and generative AI and the future of education, and has spoken and conducted workshops for 1,000+ educators and school leaders in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, and the United States.
For his work in education, Vince has been recognized as an Asia-Pacific Leader by the Obama Foundation, a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum, and a Gen.T Leader of Tomorrow by Tatler Asia.
The Education Innovators Podcast is a weekly conversation between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.
Links:
Vince Siu
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincentsiu/
Press Start Academy
https://www.pressstartacademy.com/en/
Obama Foundation – Asia Pacific Leaders 2022
https://www.obama.org/programs/leaders/asia-pacific/2022/vincent-siu/
The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742
The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3
This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.
You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
Colleen Kelley, Ph.D. is the Creator and Founder of Kids’ Chemical Solutions
(www.kidschemicalsolutions.com) which is a comic-book based curriculum for students of all
ages. Dr. Kelley has demonstrated the ability to teach 4th grade students college level chemistry using storytelling through her comic books.
Colleen’s achievements are so impressive and innovative that a documentary done about her work received an Emmy. I’ve linked the video below. Please watch it. It is incredibly inspiring.
There is a significant challenge with many aspiring medical school students not being able to continue to medical school because they can’t pass the required undergraduate chemistry course. In this podcast episode, Colleen describes her efforts to address this issue and how she has developed her characters and stories over about 25 years of teaching chemistry at the University of Arizona.
The Education Innovators Podcast is a weekly conversation between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.
Links:
Colleen Kelley Ph.D.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-kelley-ph-d-049aa91ab/
Kid’s Chemical Solutions
https://kidschemicalsolutions.com/
Emmy winning documentary about Kid’s Chemical Solutions comic books:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDmkJzcm4Pc&ab_channel=AZPM
The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742
This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.
You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com
Saturday Mar 02, 2024
Saturday Mar 02, 2024
The Education Innovators Podcast is a weekly conversation between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.
This is a special episode to kick off Season Two. I’m joined by a panel of 4 members of the faculty from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to talk about the Hybrid Immersive Virtual Environment (HiVE) that they built on campus. It is a revolutionary and ground breaking innovation in education and they share some amazing stories of how this full-sized classroom, converted into a completely immersive virtual environment with X-Reality, can be used to created engaging and unique learning experiences.
This episode is so impactful that is also being published through the Startup Grind global community and the video of the panel discussion will be available on YouTube under their channel.
Links:
Shara Lee
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/hti/people/academic-staff/dr-lee-shara-wy/
Dr Kai Pan Mark
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/edc/about-edc/people/dr-kai-pan-mark/
Dr Jack K. H. Chung
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/ic/people/engineering-staff/bcs_jackychung/
Dr Rodney Chu
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/apss/people/academic-staff/dr-chu-wai-chi-rodney/
HiVE Introduction Video
https://youtu.be/xG27bKIfTZA
CAVE – Cave Automatic Virtual Environment
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/CAVE-Cave-Automatic-Virtual-Environment
PolyU Team’s Immersive Learning Project wins silver at the QS Reimagine Education Awards
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/publications/excelximpact/en/issue/202401/education/polyu-team-s-immersive-learning-project-wins-silver-at-qs-reimagine-education-awards
The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742
This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.
You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com
Saturday Mar 02, 2024
Saturday Mar 02, 2024
Welcome to Season Two of the Education Innovators Podcast. I’m Eric Byron and it is my privilege to be able to share stories from some of the most inspiring innovators in education from around the globe. I’m based in Hong Kong, but the show is International. In season one, we had guests from Asia, North America, and Europe and listeners from over 20 countries.
I took a little break during the last couple of months to regroup and line up dynamic guests for Season Two and I believe I have an incredible line up. The season starts with an wonderful panel discussion with a team from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University talking about their Hybrid Immersive Virtual Environment or HiVE that I had the opportunity to experience in person. This is an awesome example of both high-tech innovation and, more importantly, cross discipline, cross department collaboration that is enabling unique learning experiences for students on the campus.
I’ve also got an episode coming with Dr Colleen Kelley, whose work creating comic books that teach chemistry is so impressive a PBS documentary about it won an Emmy. Really, an Emmy! There’s so much more great content coming in this season, like my conversations with Laurie Fortier, a consultant with ISTE, and Vincent Siu, Founder of Press Start Academy.
Yes, there will be some emphasis on serious games or games for learning, but we will also cover other areas of exciting innovations in education. I hope you will subscribe and share and I look forward to meeting more of you online or in person as we work together to bring education into the 21st century.
I’m Eric Byron. Thanks for listening to the Education Innovators Podcast and thanks to all those education innovators out there. You are making a difference!
The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742
This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.
You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
This is a special episode, another solo edition, where instead of having a guest I’ve taken some time to reflect on what I’ve learned since I started the podcast about 3 months ago.
There are many lessons learned through the conversations I’ve recorded and shared through this podcast. Today I’m going to focus on 5 specific areas that I think are most important and reflect the purpose of doing the podcast. My big take aways from season 1:
What it takes to innovate in education
Why we need to innovate in education
Who are the people driving innovation in education
Why change happens so slowly in education
What brings us hope that innovation in education will accelerate
Links:
Fight Song by Rachel Platten
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo1VInw-SKc&t=203s&ab_channel=SoftRockLegends
The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742
This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.
You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
Clayton Whittle holds a Ph.D. in Learning Design from Penn State University, demonstrating a deep understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of learning. His research has a particular emphasis on serious games design and interactive learning for persuasive messaging. He is committed to environmental education, climate action, and outdoor learning. His passion is not just a personal interest but a driving force in shaping educational strategies for a sustainable future.
Clayton has 10 years in classroom teaching experiences supplemented with invaluable time as a learning design consultant. His interest in games and learning began with exploring games as ethical analysis devices in 2010. He continued his work at Dankook University, where he designed and developed DELRE, a digital role-playing game that replaced the textbook for introductory language classes.
The Education Innovators Podcast is a weekly conversation between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.
Links:
Clayton Whittle
https://www.linkedin.com/in/claytonwhittle/
“Empowering Voices with Gamified Climate Action”
https://youtu.be/QO-zcwfvtKE
Valheim Early Access Launch Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mHRJ1KFe20&t=88s&ab_channel=CoffeeStainStudios
What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee
https://www.amazon.com/Video-Games-Learning-Literacy-Second/dp/1403984530
Sasha Barab – Transformational Play
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPty548FCQU&t=147s&ab_channel=AmericanEducationalResearchAssociation
Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age by Kurt Squire
https://www.amazon.com/Video-Games-Learning-Participatory-Education-Connections/dp/0807751987
Imagine Earth – Game by Serious Bros
https://www.imagineearth.info/
“Manifest” by Andrew Bird
International Game Developers Association – Climate - Special Interest Group
https://igda.org/sigs/climate/
The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742
This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.
You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
Edmund Lim is the Vice President involved in Strategic Partnerships at ClassIn. He was previously the Asia Pacific Executive Director of University Partnerships at ThriveDX, a global cyber education company.
Edmund was a Senior Vice President of a Singapore company involved in the establishment and management of international schools in Asia. He has also provided consultancy for international schools, EdTech companies, overseas ministries of education and organisations such as the World Bank.
Edmund has experience as a group academic director of 5 international school campuses in Thailand. He also worked as the education director in one of the world’s largest aquariums. He was a former principal and vice-principal in primary and secondary schools in Singapore. In addition to conducting professional development courses for educators, he has taught in the National Institute of Education, the Gifted Education Programme and various schools. He is a founding council member and former treasurer of the World Association of Lesson Studies.
In this episode we explore the evolution of Singapore’s highly successful public education system over the last several decades and Edmund, who has been right there in the trenches, shares incredible insights into the wisdom and commitment shown by the government to promote innovation in education.
The Education Innovators Podcast is a weekly conversation between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.
Links:
Edmund Lim
https://www.linkedin.com/in/edmund-lim-wk-192b41a9/
ClassIn
https://www.classin.com/
Singapore’s EdTech Master Plan
https://www.moe.gov.sg/education-in-sg/educational-technology-journey/edtech-masterplan
We Wish You a Merry Christmas Instrumental
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vdXR_igALU&ab_channel=PuddingTV-NurseryRhymes
Jingle Bell Rock Instrumental Jazz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0hhl5XT11c&ab_channel=genyinalamp
The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742
This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.
You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com
Sunday Dec 03, 2023
Sunday Dec 03, 2023
The Education Innovators Podcast is a weekly conversation between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.
This episode features John Hii, who joined me on stage at the EDUtech Asia 2023 conference in Singapore for our panel discussion on learning in the metaverse.
John Hii is a lecturer in Multimedia Design & XR Consultant, Swinburne University (Sarawak Campus), Malaysia. He actively participates in developing XR content and collaborates with educators and industry professionals. John is a distinguished influencer for Microsoft, leading the development of Mixed Reality content for Hololens. He also provides training for Google (GEG) and Apple technologies (Apple Certified). John holds a Mbot certification as a Professional Technologist and is a mentor for FutureLab, SDEC, and Forest Interactive Foundation.
John is a Committee Member of the Game Development Council of Malaysia, which reports to the Academic Development Management Division of the Ministry of Education.
Links:
John Hii
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ts-john-hii-7a9654118/
Swinburne University
http://www.swinburne.edu.my/
Soul of Borneo: the Music of Uyau Morris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO7RfV4KZU0&ab_channel=NathanMyers
Sabah Traditional Music
https://youtu.be/LrWF3YPJXJU
Don’t Cast Me Away by ATOM EAST
https://youtu.be/HOjiSTmBPWM
The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742
This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.
You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com