SuperSpeaks

In this episode, we explore the transformative impact of AI on education, leadership, and human agency. Dr. Michael J. Jabor discusses how AI reshapes thinking, the importance of maintaining agency, and the future of learning in an age of abundance.

Resources: Learning by design- Learning Science foundation of the Study and Learn Agent | AI and Humany Agency

Dr. Michael J. Jabbour serves as Microsoft’s AI Innovation Officer in the Office of the CTO, where he focuses on human-centered organizational transformation in the age of artificial intelligence. With over two decades of experience across AI, agile development, and healthcare sectors, he has led innovative digital initiatives that prioritize human needs alongside technological advancement. His career includes serving as CIO/CTO for several New York City agencies—including the NYC Department of Education—where he helped implement solutions affecting millions of people across government, corporate, and academic environments. At Microsoft, Dr. Jabbour combines this operational experience with a commitment to ensuring AI serves humanity’s essential needs. His current work explores the practical intersection of human and artificial intelligence, including biologically inspired AI models, distributed agency, and the evolving nature of education and work. Through research and innovation programs, he advocates for approaches that help individuals and organizations navigate technological change while preserving human agency and purpose in an increasingly AI-centered world.

In this episode, we discuss the evolving landscape of AI in education, emphasizing what is changing, how, and why. The conversation clarifies the confusion around AI literacy, system readiness, and strategic integration to prepare education systems for the future. Listen in as we map the evolution of artificial intelligence from a novel curiosity to systemic transformation in schools, and identify what’s working.

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Related Resource: 5 foundations for reshaping the future of education and AI

Pat Yongpradit is General Manager of Global Education and Workforce Policy at Microsoft. He leads Microsoft's global strategy to put people first in an age of AI by shaping education and workforce policy. Youngpradit oversees and collaborates with a team of policy experts; engages governments, NGOs, and industry partners worldwide; and serves as a trusted thought leader on AI literacy, safe and responsible AI in education, and the future of work.

What happens when a school leader doesn’t just adopt AI, but invites students and teachers to help shape how it’s used? In this conversation, Dr. Paul Turnbull, President of Mid-Pacific Institute, shares how his school is approaching AI as a collaborative effort—one that balances innovation with intention. He walks through the creation of an AI advisory council, why student voice matters in policy decisions, and how to navigate the tension between experimentation and “AI sprawl.” Along the way, he offers a candid look at what’s working, what’s challenging, and what’s next—both in the classroom and behind the scenes in school leadership.

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Related Resources: The AI Toolkit | Meet Mid- Pacific Mike | AI Literacy at Scale: K-to-Career Access That Delivers Real Student Outcomes |

Paul Turnbull is the CEO of Mid-Pacific Institute, an independent, college-preparatory school from Preschool through 12th grade, known for helping students become innovators, artists, and individuals. Turnbull is a former public school principal and superintendent who has been recognized as a top 100 ed tech influencer for creating the Immersive Technology Program at Mid-Pacific Institute, which EdTech Digest named a trend-setter in immersive technology education in the United States.

In this conversation, Keith Kruger, CEO of CoSN, speaks directly to the questions many school leaders and education technologists are asking right now: How do we adopt AI without rushing into it? Kruger emphasizes thoughtful implementation over a race to be first. Topics include looking beyond the classroom, using AI to solve educator retention and recruitment, and using Agentic AI to solve school administrative challenges. The discussion covers the speed bumps small and mid-size districts face, and why thoughtful implementation matters more than being first. The conversation offers practical guidance for district leaders trying to balance innovation, ethics, and real classroom impact as AI reshapes education.

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Related Resources: GAI Ready Checklist | AI for education | Microsoft Learn

Keith R. Krueger is CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), a nonprofit professional association organization that serves as the voice of K-12 EdTech leaders in North America. CoSN’s mission is to empower educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging learning environments. He was selected by EdTech magazine for its 2021 K-12 IT Influencers list. In 2016, Technology & Learning selected him as one of the “big 10” most influential people in ed tech, and the Center for Digital Education identified him as a Top 30 Technologist/Transformer/Trailblazer. In 2008, he was selected by eSchool News as one of ten people who have had a profound impact on educational technology over the last decade. In 2016, he received a Special Recognition award from the Council of Great City Schools.

This AI-powered 2025 review of SuperSpeaks with Mark Sparvell recaps the evolution of a new genre of blended learning, marrying artificial intelligence with our uniquely human needs. The conversations covered a range of this year’s relevant topics. AI’s impact on cognitive skills, the importance of emotional intelligence, and how school leaders can leverage AI as a tool while navigating budget constraints. The discussion highlights AI’s dual nature as both a potential crutch and a means to enhance human skills, underscoring the need for responsible use and innovative thinking in educational settings. Mic Drop is a pilot project from BRN’s Gen AI Podcast Labs. The first iteration is promising, and we look forward to improving the channel as the technology evolves. See an error or have a suggestion? Leave your comments below.

Related Channel: Listen to SuperSpeaks

Listen to all 2025 Mic Drop Episodes

Related Resources: AI for education: Resources and learning opportunities | The Confidence Trap: Why AI makes us feel smarter, act faster, and think less | Microsoft Education AI Toolkit | The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking | Dealing with Feeling – Marc Brackett | http://aka.ms/SEL |Thinking about Thinking | Lost in Automatic Translation | More examples of what’s working

As public school systems face growing budget shortfalls, we speak with the CIO of Broward County Schools about how the district found ways to say yes to innovation when the budget said no. Trey Davis shares the unique challenges of leading technology in one of the nation’s largest school districts and offers insights on adopting AI, designing effective organizational structures, and leveraging partnerships to drive efficiency. The conversation also explores how technology is reshaping learning environments and financial management.

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Related Resources: More examples of what's working

Trey Davis is the CIO of Broward County Schools  in Florida, and a transformative, business-centered technology leader with extensive global experience aligning information systems with organizational strategy. He has held multiple international residencies across APAC, EMEA, LATAM, and North America, helping public- and private-sector organizations achieve measurable value from their IT investments. Trey’s expertise spans global IS strategy and governance, portfolio management, strategic sourcing, infrastructure and application management, and information security. He has served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Information Security Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and trusted advisor to C-suite leaders and boards, bringing a pragmatic, outcomes-driven approach to large, complex organizations.

In this conversation, we talk about what it actually feels like to teach, learn, and communicate in a world where humans and AI are increasingly talking to each other. The speaker shares personal experiences with language technologies and the unexpected ways AI can stumble over figurative language—the same kinds of misunderstandings we see with students every day. We dig into how culture and bias shape the way AI “understands” language, and what that means in real classrooms. Most importantly, the discussion helps educators see where AI can support learning—and where human judgment, and context matter most. The conversation emphasizes the importance of understanding AI’s limitations and using it as a tool for enhancing learning rather than replacing essential skills.

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Dr. Vered Shwartz is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia and a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) AI chair at the Vector Institute. She specializes in natural language processing and artificial intelligence (AI), and conducts research towards the fundamental goal of building AI models capable of human-level understanding of natural language.

How Ccan AI help make reflecting on our teaching practices more visible and meaningful? How can AI help us identify pedagogical gaps, blind spots, or determine when it’s time to change directions and try another approach? Listen in as we discuss how engaging in meta-discussions with generative AI can help sharpen our teaching practices and identify pitfalls to achieve the best results.

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Related Resources: Thinking about Thinking

Dr. Vanessa Peters Hinton is a senior learning scientist at Digital Promise, where she explores how generative AI and digital tools can support deeper, more meaningful learning. She holds a Ph.D. in Knowledge Media Design and an M.A. in Technology and Learning from the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Her work blends UX design and learning sciences to design technology-driven learning experiences that foster engagement, motivation, and agency from K-12 through higher education.

Professor Mark Brackett discusses a new framework for helping students manage their emotions. He explores the roles of emotional regulation and intelligence, showing how educators benefit from understanding and teaching these concepts. He explains the difference between emotions, feelings, and moods, and how personality traits influence emotional responses. The discussion also touches on the impact of AI on emotional skills, the importance of early education in developing emotional intelligence, and practical strategies for emotional regulation.

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Resources: Dealing with Feeling – Marc Brackett | http://aka.ms/SEL

Marc Brackett, Ph.D., is the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University. His research focuses on the role of emotional intelligence in learning, decision making, creativity, relationships, health, and performance. He has published over 150 scholarly articles, received numerous awards, and is featured regularly in popular media outlets such as the New York Times, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, and The Today Show. Marc serves on a number of boards, including the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the nonprofit that founded the field of social and emotional learning (SEL). Marc also consults regularly with corporations, including Facebook, General Electric, Google, Microsoft, and Pinterest, on integrating emotional intelligence principles into employee training and product design, and is co-founder of Oji Life Lab, a digital emotional intelligence learning system for businesses. Marc is the author of Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help our Kids, Ourselves, and our Society Thrive, published by Celadon (Macmillan), which is being translated into 15 languages. His new book is Dealing with Feeling.

In this conversation, Mark Sparvelle and Professor Dr. Michael Gerlich discuss the impact of AI on critical thinking and cognitive processes. They explore the concept of cognitive offloading, where individuals rely on AI for decision-making, potentially diminishing their ability to think critically. The discussion highlights the importance of fostering critical thinking in education, the convenience of generative AI, and the need for a balance between efficiency and human skills in the age of AI. Gerlich emphasizes the necessity of training future generations to avoid the confidence trap, where individuals with lower self-confidence are more likely to trust AI outputs without scrutiny.

Prof. Dr. Michael Gerlich, Ph.D., MBA (University of Cambridge) is the Head of Center for Strategic Corporate Foresight and Sustainability / Head of Executive Education and Senior Faculty at SBS Swiss Business School. Besides, his responsibility as Head of Center for Strategic Corporate Foresight and Sustainability he leads the Executive Education Program of SBS. In addition, Prof. Dr. Gerlich teaches several business and management courses in our MBA, Master and Bachelor programs. Besides his teaching activities he supervises DBA students. For more than 25 years, he has worked as an adviser to the President and the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, the Cabinet of Ministers in Uzbekistan and various Ministers for economic affairs in Azerbaijan, in addition to holding leading positions within GIZ / KfW (the German Development Bank) ,the International Finance Corporation and the private sector.