Melissa, Dan, and Mike regroup to reflect on the year that was in 2020 and how gratefulness and reflection have become key trends in our thinking. While we talk through the allure of doomscrolling and social media, we also shift our focus to think through how we're becoming more reflective and intentional about how we spend our time and those opportunities we have to share with those we're close to.

We also take a moment to thank each other and our listeners for powering through a challenging year as we try to be hopeful about the future without jinxing anything. We hope those of you who are celebrating Thanksgiving get some restorative time with those you love now and throughout the coming year.

Thanks as always for listening!

Adrian Ridner is the Co-founder and CEO of Study.com, a trusted education website used by over 30 million students and teachers each month. Adrian is committed to improving online education through personalized learning solutions that are engaging, effective, and affordable.

In this episode of Trending in Education, Adrian joins Mike to tell his origin story leading up to the founding and scaling of Study.com over the past 20 years. We dig into how a program like Study.com opens up access for learners to work at their own pace to find pathways to success. We also explore how the pandemic has driven new behavior patterns on Study.com and get Adrian's perspective on emerging trends in online learning in the coming years.

It's an episode you won't want to miss. To get more shows like this, visit us and subscribe at Trending in Education.

Mike Iskandar joins Mike on this episode to talk about how he founded Time Travel Journeys to help schools & organizations empower kids to turn self doubt, anxiety, and isolation into self compassion, confidence, & connection. Mike tells the story of how what began as a project of self-discovery in his 40th year evolved into the program he runs today that centers around getting to know yourself across the years of your life and learning to forgive yourself.

If you're interested in Social Emotional Learning (SEL), self-discovery, and perspective taking throughout our lives, this is the episode for you.

Howard Blumenthal joins Mike on this episode about reimagining school for the future. Howard's best-known work is Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, which he created and produced for PBS. Nowadays, Howard's keen interest is in growing up in the 21st century; what children and teenagers learn, and how they learn; global citizenship; social change; and human progress. We explore his big picture thinking about media/technology, behavioral change, public good, and international relationships as we dive into his founding of Reinventing School earlier this year. We also touch on his work with Kids On Earth.

Howard's lifelong interest connects play, fun and imagination with curiosity as the primary driver for learning. We hope you enjoy this conversation that explores how to foster global citizenship in kids that is enabled by personal learning, media, and technology.

Thanks as always for listening. Subscribe to Trending in Education here.

Kelly Palmer is the author of The Expertise Economy: How the smartest companies use learning to engage, compete and succeed, which focuses on the urgent need to upskill the workforce with the skills needed most for the future of work. She's been published in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management, Bloomberg, The Financial Times, Forbes, and Fast Company among others. 

Kelly joins our host, Mike Palmer, to explore how trends with workforce skills and job readiness are reshaping the professional landscape and how smart organizations and individuals are playing with their heads up to get out ahead of what's emerging through automation and digital transformation.

Listen up and enjoy! Subscribe to us at https://trendingineducation.com/subscribe or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Adam Gamwell, a Design Anthropologist and Host of This Anthro Life, returns to Trending in Education to explore the relevance of anthropology and the social sciences to the workplace and business. Adam recounts his experiences teaching anthropology, managing Missing Links Studios, and most recently working with MotivBase on blending AI and Machine Learning with Anthropology.

If you're passionate about the value of the social sciences, ethnography, and qualitative research, this is a great episode for you! Thanks as always for listening!

Amrit Ahluwalia is the Managing Editor of The EvoLLLution, the online newspaper developed by Destiny Solutions to create a conversation hub focused on non-traditional higher education and the transforming postsecondary marketplace. On this episode, Amrit joins Mike Palmer to talk about non-traditional learners in higher education, the importance of continuing education, and the need to reframe the focus of higher education to encompass the broader needs emerging in the workforce.

Amrit shares what got him to where he is in his career as we explore why the pandemic may be increasing awareness of the importance of continuing education and the wide array of learners who engage with it. We conclude with Amrit's perspectives on what's on the horizon for non-traditional higher education and beyond.

Thanks as always for listening!

Zach Silverzweig is the CEO and Founder of TinyIvy, a startup that is focused on helping children and families learn to read English. Zach joins Mike in an exploration of why learning how to read English presents unique challenges and how the TIPS system developed by Zach and team helps make things better. We begin with Zach's origin story before diving into the complexities of English language learning. By adding unique diacritical symbols to letters to clarify pronunciation rules, the team at TinyIvy has borrowed insights from other languages to help crack the code on learning to read English.

We get Zach's perspective on how this approach may transform things in the early childhood education system and how he sees things progressing in that space before shifting to get his take on new and emerging trends more broadly.

Whether you're a parent, an educator, or someone curious about how learning to read works, there's a lot to gain out of listening to this episode. Thanks for taking the time.

Nicolle Merrill joins Mike to talk about acquiring skills, shifting careers, and overcoming fear and self-doubt. Nicolle is the author of the book Punch Doubt in the Face: How to Upskill, Change Careers, and Beat the Robots. She tells her story of career growth and lessons learned along the way. Nicolle is also the host of a podcast called 50 Conversations in which she explores career shifts, skill development, and the challenges of automation and disruptions in the workplace.

Of course, there is talk of robots and some fascinating insights based on Nicolle’s recent experiences as a conversation designer who leverages her writing and creative skills to bring diverse perspectives to her teams that tend to consist of engineers with different skills, biases, and backgrounds.

It’s a fascinating conversation that you won’t want to miss. Thanks again for listening.

Dr. Mark Sanders, a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at UNC Charlotte, returns to the show to talk to Mike and Melissa about student voter engagement, the relevance of philosophy, and the importance of supporting faculty and the broader community. Mark describes the work that is being done by FacNet, the Faculty Voting Rights Engagement Network where he is on the Steering Committee.

We explore how to drive student engagement in a way that is non-partisan but doesn't shy away from politically-charged topics. We also dig into how philosophy can help us navigate these difficult times and help hone the media literacy and critical thinking skills necessary the be engaged citizens.

If you haven't voted yet, please do so. And from there, the real work of ongoing civic and student engagement can begin..