Seeds

John is Director of Educational Engagement at Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Centre. In this interview we talk about his early years and his background that has led to a career looking at how entertainment can intersect with education. We also talk about John's childhood and experience in France, what he studied, why he loves lego so much, what it was like to compete at lego and the role it plays in this life today.

John's website: http://www.johnbalash.com/wordpress/

Future of Learning Conference: https://www.futureoflearning.nz

A big thanks to the team who organised the conference as it allowed us to sit down with him, in particular Louisa as well as:

Hamish Duff from Recalibrate: https://www.recalibrate.co.nz

Cheryl Doig (a former Seeds Guest) from Think Beyond: https://www.thinkbeyond.co.nz

Cheryl's earlier interview on seeds: http://seeds.libsyn.com/cheryl-doig-on-the-future-of-learning

This is a panel discussion held as part of Impact Week at the end of September 2019 where we looked at what makes Christchurch unique today, how the earthquakes, shootings and fires have shaped that identity and given it an international profile, what we love about living here and what potential there to really embrace being a true City of Impact.

The panellists were:

Bridget Williams, of Bead & Proceed (a former Seeds guest)

Tim Loftus, of ChristchurchNZ

Abdigani Ali, of Canterbury Resilience Foundation (a former Seeds guest)

Steven Moe, Partner at Parry Field Lawyers and Seeds Podcast host

This is the 137th episode. For more visit www.theseeds.nz

Thanks to Parry Field for the use of the venue and for the photo Safe Wongsunopparat and for recording video of the session too. And a shout out to the many people who contributed their views during the panel Q&A period.

Alex grew up in Norway and dreamed of being a professional snowboarder. In this interview we learn about her childhood in that country and what led her to study Chiropractic care. We also discover what she has learned through that study and get a few tips to care for our spines. We then turn to focus on the business of Connect Chiropractic which takes an unusual approach in its business model having a Koha system of paying as you choose. I really enjoyed my discussion with Alex and know you will as well.

"About Connect Chiropractic": Drs Alex & Matt Wild started Connect Chiropractic in November 2018. With a mission to make Chiropractic care accessible and affordable to anyone in Christchurch, they offer a Koha (Pay as you choose) fee system. Regardless of ones financial situation they ensure that chiropractic care is always achievable, to facilitate a healthier, sustainable and more connected community. Since Connect's conception they have subsidised over $50,000 worth of chiropractic care; and through their Community Connect Program have donated over $2,400 to local community organisations and programs.

Link to Website: https://connectchiro.co.nz/ Link to Community Connect Program: https://connectchiro.co.nz/community-connect/ Link to TV1 News Segment: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/christchurch-chiropractor-wants-make-care-available-everyone-regardless-financial-situation Link to Instagram: @connectchironz

This is one of dozens of interviews - for more visit www.theseeds.nz

The Future of Learning Conference took place over two days on 30 September and 1 October 2019 and this audio captures the main stage sessions. If you enjoy this check out other interviews at www.theseeds.nz

This is an extremely long episode of almost 8 hours but you can navigate to relevant parts by using this index:

• 2:38 - Welcome from Eruera Tarena

• 6:29 - Introduction and setting the scene by Cheryl Doig and Hamish Duff

• 17:09 - Cheryl Doig on patterns emerging in learning and X shaped learners

• 27:29 - Hamish Duff on skills of the future

• 37:11 - Panel of Kendall Flutey, Sam Johnson and Mia Sutherland - Panel on the change of the career path

• 1:10:24 - John Balash - Small Bets: 20 years later

• 1:48:54 - BOMA NZ Education Fellows (ten secondary teachers sharing the future focussed projects they have worked on)

• 2:22:54 - Jody Boshoff - Why emotionally intelligent conversational artificial intelligence is a game changer for learning

• 2:53:50 - Eruera Tarena - Future flows: Transforming our education system for an equitable future

END OF DAY ONE

• 3:43:42 - Provocation by Cheryl Doig and on Learning City Christchurch

• 3:47:05 - Mahsa Mohaghegh - The impact of artificial intelligence on education

• 4:15:11 - Jessica Trybus - Cool technology, solving real problems and 21st Century Skills

• 4:59:27 - Panel of Shailan Patel, Margaret Pickering and David Glover - How can we personalise learning to meet diverse needs

• 5:40:06 - Jason Swanson - Navigating the future of learning - Forecast 5.0

• 6:15:12 - Daisy Laveo Timo - Poetry to set the scene

• 6:23:37 - James Hayes - Changing the baby in the bathwater

• 7:06:23 - The J Team Panel - John Balash, Jason Swanson and Jessica Trybus reflecting on the conference and "Where now"?

• 7:30:22 - Conclusion with Hamish Duff and Cheryl Doig

• 7:43:55 - End

END OF DAY TWO

Future of Learning Conference: https://www.futureoflearning.nz

A big thanks to the team who organised the conference as it allowed us to sit down with him, in particular Louisa as well as:

Hamish Duff from Recalibrate: https://www.recalibrate.co.nz

Cheryl Doig (a former Seeds Guest) from Think Beyond: https://www.thinkbeyond.co.nz

Cheryl's earlier interview on seeds: http://seeds.libsyn.com/cheryl-doig-on-the-future-of-learning

Mahsa's interview: http://seeds.libsyn.com/dr-mahsa-mohaghegh-on-founding-she-and-connecting-women-in-tech

Jason Swanson's interview: http://seeds.libsyn.com/jason-swanson-on-being-a-futurist

This is a short reflection on the power of "no" to free us up to say "yes" to what really matters.

It is transcribed in full below and here: https://theseeds.nz/say-no-to-say-yes/

You are walking along with a dog in a field and a rabbit springs out of nowhere – the dog immediately chases after it. The dog is fast and is about to catch it when a second rabbit jumps up. The dog stops chasing the first rabbit to run after the second. As a result it doesn't catch either.

This is Steven Moe – welcome to Seeds Podcast.

How we use our days

The story I told at the start is based on a Chinese proverb which says, "The man who chases two rabbits catches none".

This episode is as much a form of self talk as anything – you see, sometimes I feel like I am that dog in the story and I confess to being distracted by chasing too many rabbits, otherwise known as opportunities.

Each of us have 24 hours today, tomorrow, the next day. Until we don't have any days left. What do we want to do with that time? What do we say "yes" to, and what do we say "no" to. You see by saying "yes" to one thing – and chasing it like a rabbit – you are also saying "no" to something else.

So what is the bigger 'Yes'

Too often I am given opportunities – attending an event, a dinner, taking up a position. My natural reaction is to say "yes" but I actually think the wisdom is to learn when it is the right thing to say "no".

What I mean is that every time we say "yes" to some new commitment or event of some kind we are in effect saying "no" to something else, because our time is valuable and how we use it matters. Sometimes it is important to say "no" to one thing so that you can say "yes" to something that is even more strategic or important.

If we know what the bigger "yes" is, then saying "no" can make sense. As an example, if you know that your family is the bigger "yes" then that will justify saying "no" to an opportunity that would take you away from them. For example, I'm on a board of directors which meets in Auckland – dinner was planned for after a day long meeting – it would have been easy to say "Yes" to that opportunity – and there would have been real benefits in doing so too. But being home overnight was more important – the bigger "Yes" – so, I said "No".

Of course, I find it easiest to say yes to requests.

I like to say 'yes' if I can help someone. It's a delicate line. But the reality is that people will ask you to focus on their top priority, not on your top priority. And that's when you end up running after too many rabbits. By saying "no" to one thing, you are able to say "yes" to that bigger picture. This principle is an echo of something else that is worth highlighting: focusing on the urgent instead of the important. How often does an email or a message come in that distracts you from doing something that is really important – inviting you to say "yes" to that distraction. The urgent – particularly in our instant age – often takes precedence over the truly important.

You can't be everything

Kendall Flutey from Banqerhad some great advice at the Impact Summitrecently which is part of a 5 hour episode on seeds. It kind of sparked my own thinking on this topic. What she said was this: "You can be anything you want - you are poised perfectly right now to achieve absolutely anything. But I don't believe we can be everything. You can't be everything at once. So I just want to be something, and do that really well." For Seeds Podcastthere is now a great community and I put out the question to get input from some of you on the Linked In page, Facebook page and Twitter and got a few responses: Leigh Kennedy wrote the following: "What an interesting subject. Certainly not an earth shattering example, but I said no to several teaching opportunities when I was transitioning into my business. Turning down the familiar / known and its guaranteed income was pretty scary at the time. I was working with a client this week who had just gone through a similar experience. Quite empowering to recognise the 'no thanks' moments and realise how committed you are to the new direction." Zoë Hector (whose a former guest) with the start-up Talk Town, noted: Yup - very easy to get caught up in the 'hype' of being a startup… and forget to actually start up… Banqer are some of my role models for focusing on their mission.

So, how do we say no?

Steve Jobs once said the following and you can see where it would apply to really becoming great at what you do:

"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying 'no' to 1,000 things." It's one thing to decide you will say 'no' but how do you do so with grace and in a way that does not hurt another person? Probably practice will help, but "I can't take that on right now", is one gracious way to acknowledge the honour of being asked but admit that it cannot fit in.

Who is asking?

Of course, the request may not come from someone else. It might come from yourself. The key question is, does what you think needs to be done actually need to be done? Peter Drucker put this really well:

"There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all."

Some final thoughts

So to round this out, a few things to think about:

• Focus on what you want to achieve and don't try to do everything. • Give yourself permission to say no to things that will drain you. • Look to say yes to the activities and people who will fill your cup. • Realise that in saying no you are looking to answer yes to something even bigger and more important.

Say 'no' to feel empowered, and say 'yes' to what is really important. Don't try to chase down every opportunity that may present itself.

Instead, let's let some of those rabbits get away.

Lord Thomas was called to the bar in 1969 and after a long and distinguished career became Chief Justice of England and Wales between 2013 and 2017. In this interview we talk about his early career and what led him to that role and what he is involved in today and what it is like being a peer in the House of Lords. We also talk about the place of the Judiciary and role of the Judge. He was the New Zealand Law Foundation's 2019 Distinguished Visiting Fellow and visited New Zealand in September 2019 where he spoke at the Canterbury University Law School.

In this interview we talk about a variety of topics including constitutional reform, being somewhere where something happens, having a young family and a busy career, changes to the practise of law since he began working, being in Chicago in the late 1960s, what it is like to be a Judge, digitising of the Courts and being involved in Constitutional changes, the role of law schools of the future, as well as joining the House of Lords.

Seeds is all about hearing diverse and varying perspectives and life journeys, which is why this interview fits so well with others even if they cover the life story of a Nun, someone who has been trafficked or someone who is 6 years old. There are many dozens of interviews in the back catalogue now at www.theseeds.nz

A very big thanks to The Law Foundation as well as Canterbury University Law School for arranging this interview (in particular, Stephen Todd, Ursula Cheer, Elizabeth Toomey and Julie Scott).

Full Bio: https://arbitratorsinternational.com/arbitrator/lord-thomas-of-cwmgiedd/

Information about the trip: https://www.lawfoundation.org.nz/?p=9731&e=1

From The Law Foundation description:

"Lord Thomas read law at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and the University of Chicago Law School and was called to the bar by Gray's Inn. He practiced at the Commercial Bar in London from 1972 to 1996, becoming a QC in 1984. He was appointed to the High Court of England and Wales in 1996.

He was successively a Presiding Judge in Wales, Judge

in Charge of the Commercial Court, the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales, a Lord Justice of Appeal, President of the

Queen's Bench Division and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (2013 - 2017). He was a founder of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary and its President from 2008-2010.

He is currently Chairman of the Commission on Justice in Wales, Chairman of the London Financial Markets Law Committee and President of the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre. He also sits in the House of Lords.

He has returned to Essex Court Chambers where he practices as an arbitrator. He is Chancellor of the Aberystwyth University and is an honorary fellow of several universities. He is a founder member of the European Law Institute and is currently a member of its Executive Committee."

Mahsa is an expert in Artificial Intelligence working as a senior lecturer at AUT. In this interview we talk about her background and childhood in Iran and what first got her interested in computers (at age 7) as well as machine translation and AI. We also discuss how she ended up in New Zealand (by chance), what her first impressions were, why she founded She# as a networking platform for women in tech to connect professionals with high school and tertiary students. We also discuss what it would take to encourage more diversity in tech and the plans for the future (anyone want to help She# expand outside of Auckland?). I really enjoyed this interview and the diverse topics we were able to cover. If you enjoy this you might like some of the other interviews in the back catalogue.

We also discuss this Benjamin Franklin quote:

"Tell me and I forget,

Teach me and I remember,

Involve me and I learn"

From She# Facebook page: "We aim to encourage women in Computer science, computer engineering, IT, and tech-related fields to develop academically and professionally, to network and learn with each other and to foster the advancement of women in high-school, university and industry."

She Sharp: https://www.shesharp.co.nz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/shesharp/

AUT page: https://www.aut.ac.nz/profiles?id=em9073

About Anita Borg: https://anitab.org

About Margaret Hamilton (Apollo missions software engineer): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Hamilton_(software_engineer)

Future of Learning Conference: https://www.futureoflearning.nz

A big thanks to the team who organised the conference as it allowed us to sit down with him, in particular Louisa as well as:

Hamish Duff from Recalibrate: https://www.recalibrate.co.nz

Cheryl Doig (a former Seeds Guest) from Think Beyond: https://www.thinkbeyond.co.nz

Cheryl's earlier interview on seeds: http://seeds.libsyn.com/cheryl-doig-on-the-future-of-learning

Jason is Director of Strategic Foresight at KnowledgeWorks where he works as a futurist. He visited New Zealand for The Future of Learning Conference held 30 September - 1 October 2019. In this interview we talk about Jason's childhood, the role of his Grandmother in his life, falling in love with education, his first job as a tattoo artist, the role of serendipity and luck, and his becoming a futurist focused on what it will be like decades from now. We also talk about the future of education and what that will hold with new technologies becoming more available. Finally, we turn to Knowledge Works and learn in detail about what they are doing - see link below for more on that.

Website: https://knowledgeworks.org/resources/meet-jason-swanson/

Future of Learning Conference: https://www.futureoflearning.nz

A big thanks to the team who organised the conference as it allowed us to sit down with him, in particular Louisa as well as:

Hamish Duff from Recalibrate: https://www.recalibrate.co.nz

Cheryl Doig (a former Seeds Guest) from Think Beyond: https://www.thinkbeyond.co.nz

Cheryl's earlier interview on seeds: http://seeds.libsyn.com/cheryl-doig-on-the-future-of-learning

Audio of entire day held on 21 September 2019 of the main stage speakers at Impact Summit 2019 hosted by UCE (University of Canterbury Centre for Entrepreneurship). The speakers were fantastic and it was a great day of insight and learning.

This is an extremely long episode so how can you listen to what you want to hear? You can jump to hear the session you want by navigating to the following points using this index:

1:41 - Speaker Session 1: Tori McNoe with a Karakia (UCSA) Jason Pemberton MC with an intro to the day (link to his site), then: 13:09 - Alanna Chapmann (27 Seconds) (some audio issues at start, keep persisting with it) 26:59 - Shannon Thompson (Out of Comfort) 40:51 - Bariz and Saba (Honouring 51 Lives) 45:21 - Q&A with the speakers

58:28 - Panel Session A: Demystifying Commercialisation hosted by Xstart with Mads Moller (Tech Entrepreneur), Matthew Jones (CertusBio Ltd), Chelsea Aitkin (New Zealand and Beyond) and facilitated by Olivia Theyers-Collins (Xstart)

1:55:31 - Speaker Session 2: Intro 1:56:26 - Brad Lake (Brothers Green) 2:09:21 - Kendall Flutey (Banqer) 2:21:02 - Q&A with the speakers

2:30:47 - Panel Session B: Harnessing Creativity with Jason Pemberton (Felt), Preston Hegel (XCHC), Rosie Carroll (Nifty Markets, Thrifty Nifty, Rosie Threads & Slo-mo) and Bridget Williams (Bead & Proceed)

3:30:11 - Panel Session C: Entrepreneurship for Impact hosted by Xero with Elizabeth Ü (Xero), Cecilia Clavijo (My Vita Bag), Anthony Rohan (Fairground Accounting), John Jo Ritson (Flashworks Media), Jeff Ward (Liminal and Addington Coffee Co-op)

4:21:15 - Speaker Session 3: Intro 4:22:30 - Tim Bateman (Cloud 9 Float Club and O-Studio, part of The Welder) 4:33:55 - Brianne West (Ethique) 4:45:41 - Q&A with the speakers 4:59:42 - Final thoughts and thanks 5:07:56 - Close

Thanks to UCE for arranging the day and allowing the audio to be recorded and shared in this way to empower those who could not be in the room as well. In particular Hannah, Jessica, Jess, James and Rachel. Well done Jason, a really great job as MC. Big shout out to all the volunteers who made the day run smoothly.

Two of the people who spoke have been on seeds podcast before so check out:

Bridget Williams https://seeds.libsyn.com/bridget-williams-on-the-sdgs-and-founding-bead-and-proceed

Alanna Chapman https://seeds.libsyn.com/alanna-chapman-on-27-seconds-a-social-enterprise-winery-focused-on-ending-modern-day-slavery

There are many other episodes - this is the 130th one - at www.theseeds.nz

UCE Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/impactsummit.nz/

Website: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/business/uce/impact-summit/

Website description of the event:

Want to stand out in tomorrow's world? The UCE Impact Summit is designed to get you where you want to be -- whether your goals are personal, community-focused or worldwide.

The Impact Summit is back! We'll be in the brand new Haere-roa building for a full day of change-making on the 21st September 2019.

Whether you want to stand out in the crowd, learn some tips and tricks for creating impact or just spend some time hanging out with like-minded people, the Impact Summit will take you through a journey of interactive workshops, world-class speakers, networking and activities that will fill you with the inspiration and energy you need to take your next steps.

Longdy was trafficked age 8 from Cambodia to Thailand and forced to beg on the streets. He had contracted polio as a young child and lost the use of his legs which was the reason he was targeted for trafficking to earn money as a beggar.

In this interview we hear Longdy's unique perspective on life which results from the circumstances of a childhood that none of us can imagine. Modern day slavery and trafficking is happening today and this interview opens up an understanding of how that happens. Eventually he ended up being cared for by Hagar and so we also hear about the work that they do for people like Longdy. We also hear about what his life has changed to become as a result of being looked after.

Thanks to the Hagar team for arranging the logistics for this interview and in particular Don and Anna.

Hagar site: https://hagar.org.nz

Longdy's story: https://www.flamecambodia.org/longdy

Reuter's story on Longdy https://www.reuters.com/article/cambodia-humantrafficking-childbeggar/former-cambodian-child-beggar-triumphs-over-trafficked-past-to-help-others-idINKCN0XX02S

This is the 129th episode - there are other stories at www.theseeds.nz