Signals From The Stack

Is AI in education a threat to manage, or a chance to finally rethink what learning can look like?

In this episode of “Signals from the Stack,” Kim brings AI Optimism: A Guide to Redefining Artificial Intelligence in Education by Becky Keen to the table. Kim first heard the author speak at NCCE in Seattle, and the book has been in her reading stack ever since. It’s less a how-to manual than a buffet of ideas for finding your own comfort level with AI.

Together, Kim and Stefan unpack why “AI pragmatism” might be the more accurate title, and how the book is organized around the SAMR model (substitution, augmentation, modification, redefinition) across the work educators already do: designing learning, creating materials, supporting students, analyzing data, evaluating, and managing the classroom. 

So where does AI Optimism land on the stack? There’s only one way to find out...

Link to SAMR Model Image

Interested in learning more about AI? Register for the upcoming AI Summit: https://www.waesd.org/ai-summit/

Is a grade a measure of learning, or a measure of how quiet your kitchen table is?

In this episode of “Signals from the Stack,” Stefan brings Grading Smarter Not Harder: Assessment Strategies That Motivate Kids and Help Them Learn by Myron Dueck to the table. The book is over a decade old, and grading conversations are still just as emotionally charged.

Along the way, Kim and Stefan walk through the book’s five big problems of practice: grading (and the trouble with zeros and late penalties), homework, unit plans, retesting, and creativity. 

They look at what the book means for secondary teachers, principals, and elementary teachers, how 24/7 online gradebooks have changed the conversation since 2014, and why Dueck’s advice to pick one thing and change it slowly might be the most useful takeaway of all.

So where does Grading Smarter Not Harder land on the stack? There’s only one way to find out...

Interested in learning more about AI? Register for the upcoming AI Summit: https://www.waesd.org/ai-summit/

Is data just for math... enthusiasts and spreadsheet wizards? Or is a "data mind" something every single one of us is already walking around with; arguing with toothpaste commercials, obsessing over sports stats, or building a spreadsheet just for the love of the game.

In the second episode of "Signals from the Stack," Kim brings Data Minds: How Today's Teachers Can Prepare Students for Tomorrow's World by Jo Boaler and Kathy Bay-Williams to the table.

Together, Kim and Stefan dig into the book's four-part data literacy process, what it actually means to teach with "data flair," and why this isn't a curriculum or a stack of lesson plans so much as a lens for noticing the data opportunities already sitting in your classroom. They also talk about what this book means for every role in a building, not just math teachers, and how it lines up with Washington State's new K-12 data science standards.

So where does Data Minds land on the stack? There's only one way to find out...

Interested in learning more about AI? Register for the upcoming AI Summit: https://www.waesd.org/ai-summit/

Is screen time destroying our brains? Saving education? Turning an entire generation into zombies? Or, and we know this is terrible for clicks, is it a little more complicated than that?

In the first episode of "Signals from the Stack", Stefan brings *Unlocked: The Real Science of Screen Time and How to Spend It Better* by Pete Etchells to the table.

Together, we dig into what the research really says about screens, mental health, attention, addiction, sleep, and the way fear-filled headlines can shape what we think we know. Along the way, we talk about *The Anxious Generation*, confirmation bias, intentional technology use, Brandolini’s Law, blue-light glasses that may or may not be doing anything, and why “screen time” might not be a very useful phrase in the first place.

So where does *Unlocked* land on the stack? There's only one way to find out...

Interested in learning more about AI? Register for the upcoming AI Summit: https://www.waesd.org/ai-summit/