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(recorded May 18, 2026)

Episode Sponsor: PowerGistics

Join Marc, Rachel, and our guests:

Josh Kesecker, ACPE Board Member and Technology Director at Wallowa County ESD

and

Chris Rowbotham, Director Of Technology at Siuslaw School District 97J

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We chat this episode about BelieveIT—the ACPE 2026 conference, recapping the fun, the quiet moments and heavy work, the laughter, activities, presentations, community, treehouses, and so much. We also welcome Chris Rowbotham to the PluggedIn mics after months of "stealth Chris" on each episode. Marc's fault.

Cory Horton is not on this episode, but is the reason we had so many beautiful stories to tell in this post-conference episode. We love you, Cory! THANK YOU

*Oh, and sometimes, you know, you just want to like chillax and crush your opponent. —Josh K

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(recorded April 7, 2026)

Episode Sponsor: IncidentIQ

Join Marc, Rachel, and our guests:

Steve Langford, ACPE Board President

Cory Horton, ACPE Event Coordinator

and

Matthew Emerzian, CEO of Every Monday Matters and ACPE 2026

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We chat this episode about BelieveIT—the ACPE 2026 conference and the theme. Matthew Emerzian joins us to preview the keynote and his journey to this work and the importance of belonging. Note, Steve's audio did not capture for this episode.

Cory joins us to talk pop culture and about all of the exciting conference elements this year!

*Oh, and Marc's hairline is **still** uneven.

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(recorded December 17, 2025)

Episode Sponsor: Securly

Join Marc, Rachel, and our guests:

Ellen Dorr, Chief of Technology and Strategic Initiatives for the Renton School District and ACPE Board Member

and

Melissa Lim, Learning Technologies Program Administrator at Portland Public Schools

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We chat this episode about leading change through generations of technology innovations, with a focus more on the people change than the technology change itself. We also remember Rob Reiner and celebrate his most quotable, memorable films.

*Oh, and Marc's hairline is uneven post-surgery, or as Nicole says, it adds character.

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(recorded December 11, 2025)

Episode Sponsor: Insight Financial Services

Join Marc, Rachel, and our guests:

Kevin Johnson, Director of Technology at Fife School District and ACPE Board Member

and

Leigh Anne Scherer, Director of Technology & Information Services in the North Clackamas School District

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We chat this episode about technology purchases, levies, long-range planning, replacement cycles, and paying for it all. We also dither on future tech K-12 shifts to the as-a-service model. What comes next?

*Oh, and Kevin and Marci look forward to seeing how many impalements per show there are on Chicago Fire. Noted. 

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(recorded December 4, 2025)

Episode Sponsor: Magic School AI

Join Marc, Rachel, and our guest Kris Hagel, CIO at Peninsula School District.

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We chat this episode about AI. We focus first on the people change that Kris has led in PSD the past four years. And then we settle into a broad-ranging tech and human-focused conversation about AI and its impacts in our lives, schools, and the world.

*Oh, and Marc is mean to Claire Danes, but we're so happy about his successful surgery that we're only slightly mean back to him. Defend Claire Danes.

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(recorded October 14, 2025)

Episode Sponsor: Advanced Classroom Technologies

Join Marc and Rachel for this Season Two opener, with guests: 

Owen Craig, Director of Technology at Nooksack Valley School District 
and 
Matthew Ross, Director of Technology at Napavine School District

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We chat this episode about Esports. Owen and Marc both end up tearing up. Owen and Matthew bring us up to speed on the esports domain, WSSEA in Washington, invisible careers, creating spaces and connection for students, and inspiring each of us to dream.

*Oh, and Matthew will know when esports has made it when the teams have cheerleaders. Brilliant, visible measure of success.

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In this B-Sides track from Plugged In S2 E1, Marc and Rachel chat with Matthew and Owen about the dystopian and utopian themes that showed up in several season one episodes. Marc has special powers. Matthew schools us. And, Owen did the wrong homework assignment, but still gets an A+. 

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(recorded October 4, 2025)

Episode Sponsor: ClassLink

Join Marc and Rachel for our twelfth episode, with guests:

The ACPE Board

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We chat this episode about ACPE, specifically the planning for BelieveIT, our 2026 annual conference. Steve Langford is this year's president and shares the meaning and his vision for the conference. We also check-in with board members from each of the committees that make the conference a success each year, discussing the importance of community engagement via session proposals and anticipation for this year's giveaways and store catalog. We also highlight our annual student scholarships and the thematic elements of the conference that will deliver us to Ted Lasso's London neighborhood each evening.

*Oh, and if you're watching this episode, we do a lot of musical chairs.

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(recorded September 29, 2025)

Episode Sponsor: BumpArmor

Join Marc and Rachel for our eleventh episode, with guests:

Emilie Nangle, Systems Analyst at Northshore SD

and 

Jeff Gibbs, Executive Director of Technology Services at Gresham-Barlow SD

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We chat this episode about ACPE Mentoring. Emilie and Jeff catch us up on the genesis of this collaboration, their hopes, plans, and how to get involved. It's an invitation for ACPE folks young and old, from early career techs to engineers who started back when Ethernet topped out at 10 Mbit/s. Marc honors his former coach who observed "If you're green you're growing, if you're ripe you're rotting." And Rachel (discovered in post production) used the word 'trope' twice. 

*Oh, and DJ Diesel (also known as Shaquille O'Neal) commands the mosh pit.

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(recorded September 24, 2025)

Episode Sponsor: Motorola Solutions

Join Marc and Rachel for our tenth episode, with guests:

Josh Kesecker, Technology Coordinator at Wallowa County ESD

and 

Dr. Joe Morelock, Superintendent at Willamette ESD

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We chat this episode about amateur (ham) radio with our two favorite ham radio aficionados and fellow ACPE board members. Joe and Josh tell stories, teach us the basics, and talk about the importance of ham radio in emergency preparedness. We also chat about the growing fox hunt tradition at ACPE!

*Oh, and the gray/grey line is the magical, liminal transition between darkness and light, dusk and dawn—the twilight zone—and used to describe distinct the related conditions.