What if school districts stopped buying AI tools and started building them?

In this episode, we talk with Daniel Friedman (Director of Technology, Hicksville Public Schools) and Dr. Patrick Fogarty (Assistant Superintendent, Hewlett Woodmere Public Schools & Founder of NYSAIC) about how educators are moving beyond vendor-dependent solutions to create their own local AI infrastructure.

They discuss:

• Building local LLMs for data privacy and student research
• Creating custom Regents exam generators through practitioner collaboration
• How real AI innovation happens in group chats at 2 AM, not in procurement meetings
• The shift from "What tool should we buy?" to "What can we build ourselves?"
• Why the New York State Artificial Intelligence Consortium matters for equity and access
• Solving hyper-specific district problems through grassroots innovation

Daniel and Patrick met 15 years ago during iPad rollouts and have remained colleagues through every technology transition since. Their work proves that the future of AI in education won't be shaped by EdTech companies, it will be shaped by practitioners solving real problems together.

Subscribe for more conversations about technology, education, and what's actually possible when educators lead the way.

Parents discover their teenagers are using AI in school, but they're learning about it after decisions are already made. Jason B. Allen, National Director of Partnerships at the National Parents Union, isn't interested in fixing a communication gap. He's here to close a partnership gap.

Jason brings 21 years in education as a certified teacher, special educator, and former school and district leader. He knows what happens when schools make tech decisions without families at the table. He also knows what it looks like when they do it right, and it changes everything about how students, teachers, and parents experience innovation together.

In this conversation, we dig into why 70-84% of students are using generative AI while only 16-20% of parents believe they are. We explore the real tension between technology departments and family engagement departments—and why ego, not resources, is often the barrier. Jason shares NPU's vision for technology fairs where parents and students evaluate EdTech tools before purchase, and he walks through the questions every parent should ask their school board about AI right now.

We also play the AI Effect game, a scenario-based exercise that shows how AI can actually support human connection, not replace it. The moment: using AI to prepare for a difficult conversation with a parent. Everyone at the table agreed it works.

What You'll Learn:

• The AI awareness gap - why 70-84% of students are using generative AI while only 16-20% of parents know
• Five questions for your school board - what every parent should ask about AI adoption and student data
• Technology fairs - how open partnership can shift schools from closed decisions to shared vetting
• The department turf war - why ego between tech and family engagement slows everyone down
• "We come when we're called" - what NPU's approach means for school districts ready to listen
• 2 million members strong - how NPU and 1,800+ partners are reshaping education policy

The AI Effect Game: We use a real scenario to show how generative AI can deepen parent conversations instead of replacing them. Listen for the moment the room shifts.

Brett Roer and Rebecca Bultsma guide the conversation, Rebecca as an AI ethics researcher and voice of structural thinking, Brett as the translator between what schools are doing and what families need to understand.

Tune in, subscribe, and share if you're ready to turn up the volume on what's possible in education.

What if the data that matters most isn't grades or test scores, but the messy, beautiful process of how students actually learn?

Erin Mote, CEO of InnovateEDU, joins Brett and Rebecca for a timely conversation on National AI Literacy Day 2026. Erin founded the EdSafe AI Alliance and leads a network of educational partnerships touching thousands of school districts nationwide. Her background spans enterprise architecture, personalized learning platforms, and global education technology initiatives.

This episode tackles one of education's most pressing questions: who owns the learning process data that AI systems are quietly collecting? Erin introduces the "ground lease on the family farm" metaphor—describing how foundational models are capturing the intellectual property of teachers and students to fuel AGI development. The conversation moves from policy to practice, exploring the White House's new AI framework (released the day of recording), EdTech accountability gaps where safety features become paid add-ons, and emerging research on AI bias in grading. Punya Mishra's work at ASU reveals how student dialect and cultural references can lower AI-assigned scores, raising urgent questions about fairness and trust.

What You'll Learn:

1. AI literacy as discernment — Why the Blueprint for AI Literacy focuses on critical thinking grounded in the science of learning and development, not just tool proficiency
2. Learning process data vs. PII — How students think, correct mistakes, and sequence productive struggle—and why this data is foundational for AGI
3. EdTech accountability tensions — The pattern of features pushed open by default while safety becomes a paid upgrade, and what shared responsibility really means
4. AI bias in grading — Research showing how dialectical differences like "y'all" and cultural preferences (rap vs. classical music) affect AI scoring
5. National AI Literacy Day evolution — From its founding three years ago to 140+ supporting organizations in 2026, with statewide events, year-round curriculum, and student town halls

The episode features two rounds of The Rhythm Project's AI Effect game, exploring AI-generated apologies and the ethics of using AI to grade 140 essays, plus Ocean's 11 recommendations from Erin's dream team of education innovators.

Brett and Rebecca bring fresh perspectives from recent work: Brett shares insights from presenting with Utah's Matt Winters on six panels exploring humanity in AI policy, while Rebecca reflects on governance research at Edinburgh Futures Institute as she completes her master's in AI ethics.

Tune in, subscribe, and share if you're ready to turn up the volume on what's possible in education.

What does it mean when policy disconnects from the classroom, and AI is forcing us to finally pay attention?

Julia Fallon is the Executive Director of SETDA (State Educational Technology Directors Association) and has spent three decades navigating the intersection of education, technology, and policy. She calls it "the unglamorous middle", the space where good ideas either fail quietly or become real. After 17.5 years with Washington State's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Julia now leads a national network of state EdTech leaders working to operationalize values, not just write rules.

This conversation with Brett and co-host Rebecca Bultsma explores the gap between what we say we want in education and what our systems actually support. Julia makes the case that AI isn't creating new problems, it's exposing the ones we've been ignoring. She walks through the three divides in EdTech (access, design, and use), the difference between compliance and capacity building, and why we need to get as clear about where not to use AI as we are about where to use it.

What You'll Learn:

1. Why policy is how values get operationalized — and what happens when implementation doesn't match intent
2. The three divides in EdTech — access (nearly solved), design (teacher capacity), and use (active vs. passive tools)
3. What ethical AI really means — building systems that notice harm and respond before it scales
4. The accountability paradox — how "everyone's responsible" leads to no one being accountable
5. Responsible unadoption — when and how to put tools down that don't align with your values
6. SETDA's quality indicators for EdTech procurement — five practical filters for vetting tools

Rebecca brings her ethics lens to the conversation. Julia turns the tables and asks Brett and Rebecca: How do we keep AI leadership from becoming AI compliance? The episode wraps with shoutouts to state leaders and Brett's "jumbo cannoli" sign-off.

Tune in, subscribe, and share if you're ready to turn up the volume on what's possible in education.

Can you really love something if you're not fighting to make it better?

Harl Roehm, a 28-year veteran CTE teacher from Collierville, Tennessee, has spent his career proving that the answer is no. Raised on a fifth-generation farm in Mississippi, Harl's journey into education started with a $25 yard-sale computer, a Saturday afternoon, and enough courage to tear it apart and put it back together. That moment sparked a 28-year love affair with technology, teaching, and pushing back against systems that aren't serving students well enough.

In this episode, Brett and Rebecca sit down with Harl to explore what happens when you bring moonshot thinking to a brick-and-mortar classroom. Harl teaches AP Computer Science, Python, JavaScript, and dual enrollment Cybersecurity—but his real curriculum is agency. He's teaching students that AI isn't a substitute for thinking, it's a tool that should expand what's possible when humans stay in charge. From his Taco Bell Hot Sauce AI agent (yes, really) that generates dad-joke math problems to his daily Suno song challenges, Harl's classroom is a lab for what education could look like when we stop micromanaging innovation to death.

What You'll Learn:

1. Why the $25 computer matters — How one yard-sale find launched a 28-year career in CTE
2. Moonshot thinking vs. incremental tweaks — Why going from 30 to 300 miles per gallon means throwing the car away and starting over
3. The Taco Bell agent story — How Harl built a custom AI that generates math problems as dad jokes, ranked by hot sauce difficulty levels
4. AI as specialization, not replacement — The Henry Ford assembly line analogy that reframes teacher fears about automation
5. The social media debate — Harl and Rebecca go head-to-head on banning platforms, digital literacy, and whether kids can defend themselves against algorithms
6. "If you love something, it's your duty to make it better" — Why complacency isn't an option

This episode also features Harl's Ocean's 11 shout-outs to Shannon Kirkland-Butts, Wanda Carter, Dr. Monique Chism, Dr. Sasha Luccioni, and TikTok educators Matty McTech, Andrew Davies, Sophie AI Education, and Brittany Teacher Burnout Tips.

Harl showed up to the AI summit in Nashville wearing a cowboy hat and overalls—and walked away proving that some of the most important voices in education don't look like what people expect. Brett and Rebecca don't just listen—they learn. And so will you.

Tune in, subscribe, and share if you're ready to turn up the volume on what's possible in education.

Find Harl at redneckEdTech.com.

Two big truths can coexist: AI is powerful, and schools can absolutely make a mess of it.

In this episode of AmpED to 11, Brett Roer and Rebecca Bultsma sit down with Joseph South (Chief Innovation Officer) and Jessica Garner (Managing Director of Innovative Learning) at ISTE ASCD to talk about what it looks like to do AI properly in K-12 without turning it into a culture war.

They get into:

1. Why most “tech problems” in schools are actually pedagogy problems
2. The ISTE ASCD merger and why the pedagogy conversation and the tech conversation must become the same conversation
3. What teachers are already doing with AI that’s genuinely useful (and actually saves time)
4. The real reasons some educators resist AI (and why those concerns are not naive)
5. How to vet AI tools beyond shiny marketing, including transparency, privacy, and red-teaming
6. Why engaging parents and families early matters, and how to do it without panic
7. 
   

This is the grounded, no-drama version of AI in education: clear, human, and practical.

Listen now and join the conversation.

What happens when a K–6 school district designs learning spaces that look more like Stanford than Sesame Street—and asks students to lead the future of work?

In this AmpED to 11 episode, we're joined by the bold and visionary superintendent of Del Mar Union School District, Marisa Janicek, whose leadership journey rewrites what’s possible in public education. From building student-designed AI rubrics and leading student-run conferences to redefining space, time, and trust in elementary learning, Marisa isn’t just adapting to the new era—she’s inviting it in with a megaphone and a blueprint.

After 20 years driving innovation in El Segundo Unified, including co-leading an AI strategy that directly led to students out-innovating adult audiences at major national conferences, Marisa now leads Del Mar: an award-winning district where decentralized libraries, outdoor classrooms, and future-ready pedagogy meet real-world wellness and connection. Her approach isn’t about trends—it’s about transformation.

This episode dives deep into how student agency, ethical AI, and durable human skills (not worksheets) are becoming the benchmark for success—and what higher ed and lagging systems need to do to keep up.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

1. Bold child-first change starts with belief—not budget
2. How El Segundo students out-designed adults with an AI use rubric
3. What happens when 6th graders lead PD for teachers…and win
4. How Marisa uses AI in real life—as a thought partner, not a dictator
5. Designing trust into spaces: why decentralized libraries matter
6. What universities should learn from kindergarteners already living the future

Tune in, subscribe, and share if you’re ready to turn up the volume on what’s possible in education.

What if AI could actually make your classroom more human?

In this episode of AmpED to 11, we sit down with Jessica Paulsen, President of Innovation and Impact at LEAP Innovations, and Roberto Vargas, Managing Director of IT and Data Systems at Distinctive Schools, to unpack a provocative question: If AI can already do many of the tasks we’ve traditionally assigned in school, what new kinds of learning should we be designing—learning that only humans can shape, feel, and experience?

Jessica and Roberto are at the forefront of human-centered, AI-integrated education. From personalized learner profiles powered by NotebookLM to co-created AI handbooks designed with students, their work isn’t just about adopting technology—it’s about redesigning systems that truly serve kids. We dive deep into how educators can thoughtfully integrate AI while preserving authenticity, amplifying agency, and centering students’ stories.

And we don’t shy away from the hard stuff. We question whether “personalized learning” has gone too far. We push past easy efficiency wins to examine real transformation. And we explore how teacher prep, policy, and mindsets must evolve—fast—if we want equity and humanity to remain at the heart of schools.

What you’ll learn:

1. Bold strategies for integrating AI without losing your humanity
2. Why student co-design and voice is the missing piece in most AI policies
3. How Distinctive Schools is using NotebookLM to build living learner profiles
4. Why data transparency and digital trace ethics must be part of AI rollouts
5. Tangible ways to redesign PD around mindset shifts, not one-off tools
6. How dialogue, storytelling, and even “vibe planning” are the future of learning

Hosted by Brett Roer and Rebecca Bultsma, this episode will shift how you think about AI—not as a replacement for teachers, but as a power tool for unleashing what makes us most human in the first place.

Tune in, subscribe, and share if you’re ready to turn up the volume on what’s possible in education.

What happens when a heart-to-heart gets a digital co-pilot?

In this bold, boundary-pushing episode of AmpED to 11, Rebecca and Brett dive deep into the tangled intersection of AI and human connection with three trailblazers from the Rithm Project—a visionary effort aiming to preserve humanity in the age of artificial intelligence.

Michelle Culver (Rithm Project founder and former Reinvention Lab lead at Teach For America) is joined by Rithm Fellows Bomi Akarakiri and Cyra Alesha, both powerhouse youth advocates working at the sharp edge of policy, mental health, and emerging tech. Together, they bring passion, clarity, and a whole lot of nuance to one of the most urgent questions in education right now: If AI is becoming a co-author of our relationships, what does that mean for how we connect, collaborate, and care?

The crew doesn’t just talk about this—they play The AI Effect: a provocative card-based game that sparks unflinchingly honest discussion around AI use cases—from romantic chatbots and AI grief companions to whether students should use AI to write friendship speeches. Every round stirs disagreement, vulnerability, and even some unexpected revelations. And that’s the point.

You’ll learn:

1. Bold ways to explore AI's impact on relationships and student well-being
2. How educators and students can use tools like The AI Effect to build critical AI judgment, together
3. Why pretending to be more “human” with AI might actually cost us authenticity
4. What real trust and transparency look like in a world of synthetic friends and smart lenses
5. How to support young people in developing emotional regulation and empathy in an AI era
6. Why “it depends” is the most radical answer in education today

This isn’t your average policy talk or tool review—this is a deep, decidedly human conversation that leaves you feeling more connected, more curious, and honestly, a little more hopeful.

Tune in, subscribe, and share if you’re ready to turn up the volume on what’s possible in education.

Who says AI doesn’t belong at the holiday table?

In this festive, future-forward “11 Days of Xmas” special episode of AmpED to 11, hosts Brett Roer and Rebecca Bultsma are joined by Amplify & Elevate Innovation insiders Serena Reynolds and Versha Munshi-South for an unfiltered round of rapid-fire AI questions—plus some unexpected hot takes, tech confessions, and painfully relatable truths from parents, former principals, and teenage kids alike.

It’s part AI year-in-review, part prediction party, and part support group for educators on the front lines of the AI evolution. Buckle up.

From Versha’s candid insights on leading innovation while parenting “AI-resistant” teens, to Serena’s Notion automations that would make any productivity nerd weak in the knees, to Rebecca’s bold new use of Gmail agents that literally email her strategic summaries while she’s sleeping—this episode is for anyone thinking: How do I even keep up anymore?

(Wondering what to ditch in 2025? Rebecca serves up the ultimate poetic rant on why AI detectors must die.)

They dive into:

1. Bold visions for AI in 2026—staffing models, literacy requirements, and teen-built study agents
2. Why “the Christmas tree effect” of edtech overload has to stop
3. Rebecca’s mind-blowing automations using Google Workspace agents
4. Equity warning: How kids with access are using AI to personalize learning—and who’s being left behind
5. Why “horizontal” AI learning won’t cut it—and how to teach for vertical transformation instead
6. “When is enough enough?”—The AI spiral we’re all trapped in (and how to get out)

Plus, get the inside scoop on the game that sparked 40,000+ students to weigh in on AI—and why every school leader should be playing it in 2026.

Brett, Rebecca, Serena, and Versha bring the insight, humor, and raw honesty that make AmpED to 11 more than just a podcast. It’s a lifeline for bold educators navigating this messy, magical age of AI.

Tune in, subscribe, and share if you’re ready to turn up the volume on what’s possible in education.