edWebcasts

Presented by Kimberly Niebauer, Elementary Teacher of Gifted Education, Loretto Elementary School, Duval County Public Schools (FL); Aynul Dean, Educator, B. M. Hanson Elementary School, Harvey Public School District #38 (ND); and Kelly McNeil, Ed.D., Senior Learning Experience Designer, Digital Promise

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by HP AI Teacher Academy 2.0 and hosted by Digital Promise.

The webinar recording can be accessed here.

What happens when we move beyond using AI as a tool and begin designing with it? This edWeb podcast supports educators in shifting from using AI as a prompting tool to designing intentional, student-centered learning ecosystems that integrate AI in meaningful ways.

Listeners:

• Understand the difference between using AI and designing with AI
• Explore how AI can support agency, creativity, and deeper learning
• Identify the role of the human in the loop when integrating AI
• Learn practical strategies from educators implementing AI-supported learning experiences

The session begins by framing how teaching and learning transform when educators move beyond isolated AI use toward ecosystem design. A panel of educators share real classroom examples of AI-supported student design challenges, highlighting both successes and ongoing tensions. Discussion focuses on how AI can be leveraged to support inquiry, creativity, and problem solving while maintaining strong human guidance and intentionality.

Listeners leave with concrete ideas for integrating AI into their own contexts, a clearer understanding of how to design learning experiences that go beyond prompting, and practical insights from educators actively doing this work. Listeners also gain language and strategies to ensure AI enhances, rather than replaces, human creativity, connection, and decision making.

This edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-12 teachers, librarians, school leaders, district leaders, and education technology leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

A conversation with author Dr. Melvin J. Brown, Superintendent in Residence at Defined, moderated by Dr. Baron Davis, Former Superintendent and Founder of the Noegenesis Group

This podcast is hosted by edWeb.net.

The webinar recording can be accessed here.

This edWeb podcast is a conversation with Dr. Melvin J. Brown, author of his new book, Roaches in My Cereal: And the Moral Imperative to Reimagine School, and Dr. Baron Davis, Former Superintendent and Founder of the Noegenesis Group.

In his book, Dr. Brown blends memoir and manifesto to expose the inequity that shapes too many students’ lives—and too many schools’ failures. From a childhood marked by poverty, resilience, and the unyielding love of a mother who refused to surrender to circumstance, Dr. Brown offers a deeply human window into what it means to grow up brilliant yet burdened. His story is proof that talent and potential are universal, even when opportunity is not.

Dr. Brown and Dr. Davis discuss the need for educators, policymakers, and community leaders to confront uncomfortable truths:

• How systems built on privilege continue to punish poverty
• How schools often misread behavior as defiance instead of distress
• How empathy, access, and high expectations can transform a child’s trajectory

This conversation is of interest to any educator who wants to reimagine schools, so all students have access to equitable education and opportunities to reach their potential.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Presented by Dr. Danielle Murray, Director of K-12 Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Penn-Delco School District (PA); Marie Rodgers, K-5 Social Studies Supervisor, Hillsborough County Public Schools (FL); and Melanie Sutherland, Former Teacher, Customer Consultant, TCI

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Teachers’ Curriculum Institute (TCI). 

You can access the webinar recording here.

K–5 teachers are under constant pressure to cover every standard, often leaving social studies behind in favor of more time for literacy. But what if you didn’t have to choose? This edWeb podcast brings together district leaders to discuss how making time for social studies can boost engagement, expand content coverage, and reinforce reading and writing skills—all within your existing schedule.

Panelists share proven, practical approaches for weaving social studies concepts and standards into daily routines. Hear real examples and discover routines and resources you can use to maximize instructional time, foster student curiosity, and meet standards across subjects without increasing your workload.

This session explores questions such as:

• How can social studies content be seamlessly woven into daily literacy instruction?
• How can lesson planning and daily routines be adjusted to make time for both literacy and social studies?
• How can integrated instruction help students develop critical thinking, comprehension, and relevant content knowledge?

The edWeb podcast is ideal for K–5 teachers, instructional coaches, and curriculum leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Presented by Rebecca Israel, Director of Literacy Achievement, KIPP New Jersey (NJ); Katie Gribben, District Instructional Lead for ELA/Literacy, Upper Schools, Cambridge Public Schools (MA); and Emily Wojtusik, Experienced Educator, Senior Director of Implementation, Fishtank Learning
Moderated by Jim McVety, Managing Partner, First Step Advisors

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Fishtank Learning.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

In a world of short clips, excerpts, and isolated passages, the ability to engage with a complete, complex text is a superpower. While passages have their place in assessment, research shows that immersion in whole books is what truly transforms students into critical readers, writers, thinkers, and global citizens.

In this edWeb podcast, Emily Wojtusik from Fishtank Learning is joined by Katie Gribben, District Instructional Lead for ELA/Literacy at Cambridge Public Schools, and Rebecca Israel, Director of Literacy Achievement for KIPP New Jersey, two leaders with frontline experience building reading culture across entire school systems. Together, they explore how centering ELA instruction around whole texts serves as an act of equity: what it looks like to implement at scale, how it shifts teaching practice, and why they believe every student deserves access to the full power of a book.

Listen to this session to discover:

• The Equity of Excellence: Why providing every student, regardless of their starting point, access to complete, high-quality books is essential for closing opportunity gaps.
• Cultivating “Change Agents”: How whole texts build the background knowledge and empathy students need to solve critical problems in their communities.
• Moving from Compliance to Integrity: Strategies for using high-quality curriculum materials to plan deep, text-based discussions that shift the cognitive heavy lifting from the teacher to the student.
• Intentional Support & Scaffolding: How to navigate complex whole texts with diverse learners while maintaining the “joy of reading” and instructional rigor.

This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 school leaders and district leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Presented by Dr. Kip Glazer, School Principal, Author, Speaker, and Technology Consultant; Tom Evans, Vice President of Editorial, World Book; Mikayla Lee, Experienced Educator, Curriculum Designer, World Book; and Rebecca Earnshaw, Senior Director of Digital Products, World Book

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by ClassMate by World Book.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Only one in three eighth graders reads at grade level. As a middle school principal or district instructional leader, you see the ripple effects across science, history, math, and every classroom where many students struggle to engage meaningfully with the material in front of them. This edWeb podcast is designed to help change that.

This session brings together Rebecca Earnshaw, World Book Senior Director of Digital Products, Dr. Kip Glazer, School Principal, Author, Speaker, and Technology Consultant, Mikayla Lee, experienced educator and World Book Curriculum Designer, and Tom Evans, World Book VP of Editorial, to explore how leaders are building a schoolwide approach to literacy that goes beyond ELA. The discussion addresses the real barriers: disengaged readers, overwhelmed teachers, unreliable digital content, and the pressure to improve outcomes without disrupting what’s working.

The panelists walk through:

• Where content-area literacy gaps are costing middle schoolers the most
• How schools are embedding comprehension into everyday instruction, not treating it as an add-on
• What to look for in content and digital tools—including how to evaluate accuracy, credibility, and responsible AI—to support comprehension

You gain real strategies in one hour. This edWeb podcast is built for middle school principals and instructional leaders navigating the literacy and learning gap in the middle grades right now.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Presented by Dacia Toll, Former Educator, Principal, and School System Leader, Current Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Coursemojo; Dr. Stefani Pautz Stephenson, Former Educator, Current Senior Director, Networks and Programs, Digital Promise; and Nick Schiner, Former Educator, Current Director, Peer-to-Peer Professional Learning, Digital Promise

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Digital Promise.

The webinar recording can be accessed here.

The middle school years are critical for developing the literacy skills students will use for the rest of their lives. For some learners, the challenge isn’t just decoding words but negotiating the intense cognitive demand of managing new vocabulary and constructing meaning. By designing for learner variability—considering a whole-child framework of factors that includes learner background, social and emotional learning, cognition, and literacy—educators can ensure that all learners can unlock their true potential.

Join learner variability expert Dr. Stefani Pautz Stephenson and literacy expert Dacia Toll for an insightful edWeb podcast on how to bridge the gap between the high-quality instructional materials that districts have adopted and the diversity of student needs that exist in classrooms.

In part one of this three-part series, you learn:

• How to identify learner variability factors connected to building literacy skills and apply research-backed strategies to help middle school ELA learners thrive
• Strategies to foster high-level inferencing skills by providing each student with targeted, Socratic, one-on-one, and small-group support

This edWeb podcast is designed for grades 6-8 educators, instructional coaches, and leaders committed to creating equitable pathways for every unique learner.

Part two: Unmasking the Math Mindset: Designing for Learner Variability in Middle School
Part three: Leveling Up SEL Through Play and Games: Designing for Learner Variability in Middle School

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Presented by Chad Gestson, Ph.D., Founding Executive Director, Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy; Viki M. Young, Ph.D., Chief Innovation Research Officer, Digital Promise; John VanWagoner, Ph.D., Superintendent, Traverse City Area Public Schools; and Kimberly A. Smith, Chief Innovation Officer, Digital Promise

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Digital Promise Center for Learner Pathway Innovations.

The webinar recording can be accessed here.

Current pathway models are challenged by today’s rapidly shifting realities. Learn how your district or school can address real-world career-readiness challenges with Unbounded Pathways—pathways that are accelerated, future-forward, responsive, co-created, credentialed, and designed to reflect the needs of learners and regional workforce demand.

In this edWeb podcast, you hear how state and district leaders and Digital Promise’s Center for Learner Pathway Innovations are working in partnership with postsecondary institutions, industry, and communities to build flexible, credentialed career pathway experiences that cultivate learner agency, well-being, and economic mobility.

By listening, you:

• Learn about navigating the key roadblocks in today’s college and career pathways
• Discover opportunities to create Unbounded Pathways that are accelerated, future-forward, responsive, co-created, and credentialed
• Hear directly from leaders and educators about their Unbounded Pathways approaches

This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 teachers, school leaders, district leaders, and education technology leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Presented by Suzanne Martin, Fifth-Grade Teacher, Darnaby Elementary School (OK); Jesus Silva, Third-Grade Bilingual Teacher, Monroe Elementary School (CA); Zachary Morolda, Director of Innovative & Community Programs, Equity & Careers Technology, Monroe Township School District (NJ); and Sylvia Huff, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research, Project Lead The Way

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Project Lead The Way.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Today’s elementary classrooms are becoming a critical starting point for planting the seeds of future-ready learning. Too often, however, with all of the curricular requirements, there’s limited time for teachers to add one more thing. This edWeb podcast isn’t about adding more. It’s about unlocking more. It explores how breaking down instructional silos and expanding interdisciplinary approaches can help elementary educators strengthen core academic outcomes while building the transferable skills students need for the future.

Using an interdisciplinary lens, we look at how STEM-focused literacy and math can harness students’ attention by providing the “why,” and can become powerful entry points for problem solving, collaboration, communication, and early career awareness without overwhelming already stretched-thin teachers. Listeners see how integrated instruction helps students make meaningful connections across subjects, boosts engagement and confidence, and deepens understanding in ELA, math, and science.

By the end of this session, listeners are able to:

• Describe the benefits of interdisciplinary instruction in elementary classrooms and emphasize how interdisciplinary approaches can strengthen literacy and math outcomes while supporting the development of future-ready skills
• Identify strategies for integrating STEM-focused literacy and math that promote problem solving, collaboration, and communication without adding to teachers’ workload
• Explore examples of integrated instruction that help students make meaningful connections across ELA, math, and science
• Apply practical, time-efficient approaches that build on existing curricula to increase student engagement and confidence
• Articulate the rationale and proof points for interdisciplinary learning to support instructional decision making and schoolwide alignment

This edWeb podcast is of interest to elementary school leaders and district leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Presented by Scott Acton, Exceptional Student Services Director, Buckeye Union High School District (AZ); and Dr. Kari Nahgahgwon, VP of Arizona Behavior Programs, LEARN Academy

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by The LEARN Academy.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

For many students with significant behavioral needs, the traditional path leads out: out of the classroom, out of the district, and too often, away from a hopeful future. Buckeye Union High School District (BUHSD) in Arizona knew this wasn’t acceptable. Students placed externally rarely came back, and when they did, there was little structured system support to help them transition successfully.

In this edWeb podcast, education leaders explore how BUHSD built an in-district behavioral services model that keeps students connected to their schools, communities, and futures. Panelists, including Exceptional Student Services Director Scott Acton, share strategies grounded in 15 years of real-world implementation. You learn:

• How to shift from punitive discipline toward therapeutic, student-centered approaches that produce lasting behavior change
• How to design reintegration pathways that set students up for success when they return to home campuses
• Ways to align behavioral, academic, and social-emotional supports without a full program overhaul

BUHSD’s model produced measurable results: increased reading and math performance, reintegration rates among the highest in Arizona, and graduation rates approaching 90%.

This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 district leaders, special education directors, directors of student services, and school leaders responsible for behavioral programming.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Presented by Dr. Charles Hulme, Emeritus Professor of Psychology in Education, University of Oxford, and Founder and CEO, OxEd & Assessment; Emily Rennpage, Literacy COSA (Coach on Special Assignment), Grosse Pointe Public Schools (MI); and Karl Rectanus, CEO, Really Great Reading
Moderated by Dr. Donna Wright, Retired School Superintendent/Education Consultant

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Really Great Reading.

The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

Literacy remains one of the most urgent challenges facing districts today. While many schools are investing in curricula and intervention, the real question is not how we achieve isolated gains. The question is how we scale literacy outcomes across entire systems.

This edWeb podast examines three elements that consistently drive reading success:

• Aligned professional learning and high-quality materials
• Caring educators who support struggling readers
• Strong feedback loops that show whether instruction is working

District examples highlight how leaders align instruction, foundational skill building, like strengthening word recognition through oral language development, and use evidence to guide the purchasing and implementation decisions that drive outcomes. When literacy improves, performance across all subjects improves with it. This conversation focuses on the leadership decisions that make that possible.

This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 teachers, school leaders, district leaders, and education technology leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.