DisruptED

Digital learning was a tool prior to Covid-19, a life saver during the pandemic, and through AI, ChatGPT, and other innovative education technology, it’s becoming a powerful resource in the education space.

Tech-driven personalized learning is helping reduce educational inequality by giving students, regardless of geographical location or income status, the additional support they need to thrive in a post-pandemic landscape.

Language teachers and students worldwide get a recent boost from today’s EdTech solutions through a partnership between Digilangua, a New York-based provider of a digital library of comprehensible novels, and Magic EdTech, a digital learning platform providing digital learning solutions for everyone.

This partnership caught the attention of DisruptED’s Ron J. Stefanski. He spoke with Magic EdTech’s Vice President, Dipesh Jain, to learn more about the positive disruptions happening in the EdTech space.

Jain helms from India, where he started his career in physical therapy. He shifted gears, getting his MBA in sales in marketing, before moving to the U.S. with his new wife. Jain’s upbringing in a middle-class family in India shaped his passion for learning and understanding the value and opportunities education brings.

“A lot of my relatives and folks were into business,” Jain said. “My father had a small shop, and the business wasn’t doing well. Because he had a shop, he couldn’t further his education. My parents knew the limitations they faced, and they wanted to make sure me and my sister never had to face something like that.”

Stefanski and Jain’s conversation about digital learning includes the following:

• Educating people on how to utilize EdTech better to increase learning

• Creating a satisfying and engaging user experience through EdTech to enhance digital learning

• Using EdTech to augment, not replace, the teaching experience

“Technology can be a force to improve a teacher’s effectiveness,” Jain said. “The fears of the technology replacing teachers, or any of the professionals, there are fears of that, but I think, by and large, as we evolve to this new reality, teachers will learn to adopt technology to improve themselves.”

About Dipesh

Dipesh Jain is a revenue professional with experience in Sales, Marketing, Presales, & Inside Sales. He leads teams that help generate and sustain growth for organizations. At Magic EdTech, Jain heads the revenue teams to acquire and grow its customer base. Jain received his MBA in sales & marketing from SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.

It’s no secret that working in education can be very mentally taxing, and students themselves can struggle mentally, too. Attention on mental health can sometimes be overlooked and we may not realize how educators and students are feeling or how their mental health can affect what they do in and out of the classroom. So how is mental health being tackled in schools now and how can educators make the most of the funds they receive?

On this episode of DistruptED, host Ron Stefanski spoke with Will McCoy, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Invo Healthcare, about the “mental health and wellness of our kids out there in our schools.” Stefanski and McCoy discuss the importance of mental health, both how it is affected in school and away from school. Students lead busy lives and how they engage with each other greatly impacts their mental health. Specifically, social media spaces can have a very damaging effect on a student’s mental health, especially with the prevalence of false narratives which are commonly seen on these platforms.

To address this, federal funding is being directed to schools with the aim of assisting educators and the students they teach. “On the funding side, I think what’s important is, yes, we’re seeing...unprecedented levels of investment in education. I appreciate that, and I know my colleagues nationwide appreciate that,” said McCoy. “The challenge with it currently is that it is one-time money or short-term money. It is not on-going funding increases, which, at a very fundamental level, I think education needs”

This episode also covers...

1. The best ways to take advantage of federal funding

2. How everyone can take part in helping student’s mental health

3. Investing in faculty upscaling and training

“If you live in California, you are funded at one rate. If you live in Connecticut...students are funded at a very different rate,” said McCoy. “And so, to expect everyone to perform at the same level is a little unreasonable.”

Will McCoy is currently Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Invo Healthcare. He has previously been the Vice President of Business Development at Sonoma Technology, Inc., as well as its Senior Business Strategist and Program Lead for Education and Outreach. He is also the Co-Founder of DistruptED and Founder of Ed Tech Authority.

Almost one in four students between the ages of 12 and 18 reported in 2019 that they experienced bullying. Addressing this disproportionate impact on students is critical because bullying increases the likelihood of developing mental health needs such as depression and anxiety. 

Today’s episode addresses a fundamental question: How can we tackle the behavioral health needs of young students to ensure they receive the proper attention and have opportunities for the most growth? 

DisruptED's host Ron J. Stefanski speaks with Will McCoy, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Invo Healthcare, to talk about:

The prevalence of bullying in K-12 classrooms

Changes to how educators address bullying due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Invo Healthcare’s approach to address their student’s behavioral and mental health needs

Will discovered that the pandemic didn’t just adversely impact student learning—it also affected student behavior. And he’s right. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “Eighty-seven percent of public schools agreed or strongly agreed that the pandemic has negatively impacted student socio-emotional development.”

McCoy explains to our listeners that “what we see coming out of it are the impacts of kindergarten through second graders that weren’t in a classroom, that didn’t have that fundamental behavioral training--because that’s what kindergarten is.”

Join the conversation as Stefanski and McCoy discuss:

How McCoy’s career path led to his position at Invo Healthcare.

How the pandemic and view of the teaching profession influenced how bullying is addressed by educators.

How Invo Healthcare is tackling teacher and school training to help address school bullying

McCoy states that his organizations work is “about empowering those [who are] bullied with the right tools but also wrapping [our arms] around those people that are bullying others and saying, ‘This is not the normal way that humans engage with each other on a very fundamental level and also to be able to empower staff to have those conversations, to set up the school and to reduce it in society in general.”

Will McCoy is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Invo Healthcare. His experience is in the education, technology, marketing, and sales sectors. Some of his previous positions include Vice President of Business Development and Senior Business Strategist and Program Lead for Education and Outreach at Sonoma Technology, Inc. as well as Founder of Ed Tech Authority. McCoy has a BA in Fine and Studio Arts from California State University, Chico, and an MS in Education Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology from Nova Southeastern University.