In this episode, Ed and Jentre visit with Kathy Curry and Daniel Hamlin of the Oklahoma Education Impact Initiative (OKEII). The Oklahoma Education Impact Initiative is a non-profit initiative dedicated to rapidly transforming Oklahoma's public education system. The initiative is undertaking a comprehensive research effort conducted by an independent team of leading scholars from Oklahoma.

This research team is surveying representative samples of Oklahomans, including: school principals and superintendents, school board members, teachers, staff, parents and family of students, and the general public. OKEII’s primary research objective is to understand what the groups above consider to be the main problems – and solutions – affecting the K-12 public education in the state. The secondary objective is to elicit information on potential solutions (i.e., resources, practices, and policies) to these problems. These data will result in the creation and formulation of OKEII’s comprehensive education initiative.

To learn more about the Oklahoma Education Impact Initiative, please check out the links below.

Links:

https://www.okeii.org/

To learn more about the Innovating Education Podcast and work of the Brock Institute, click here.

In this episode, Ed and Jentre visit with Evan Rahman and Renee Venagas from Khan Academy. We discuss Khan Academy’s latest project, Khanmigo–an AI-powered personal tutor and teaching assistant. As a globally trusted education nonprofit, Khan Academy has reached hundreds of millions of users with their mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Note our December episode featuring Sal Khan.

In the past year, AI has taken the world by storm. Together we consider the role of AI in the future of education, addressing the compelling possibilities for educators to integrate AI into their practice as well as the reservations commonly held in the educational community.

More than a plug and play tool, Khanmigo offers engaging, on-topic, and effective learning for students, and is ethically designed with safety and learning as a top priority. Unlike other AI tools such as ChatGPT, Khanmigo doesn’t just give answers. Instead, with limitless patience, it guides learners to find the answer themselves. Khanmigo helps teachers with lesson planning, assigning content, and (if needed) refreshing teachers' own knowledge. Khanmigo can also integrate state standards in the teaching and learning process. These features are helpful to all educators and can be particularly helpful for emergency certified teachers and those who sometimes must teach classes outside their subject area expertise.

To learn more about Khanmigo, please check out the links below.

Links:

https://www.ted.com/Sal Khan/How AI Could Save Not Destroy Education?

https://blog.khanacademy.org/how-we-built-ai-tutoring-tools/

To learn more about the Innovating Education Podcast and work of the Brock Institute, click here.

In this episode, Ed and Jentre visit with Dr. La Verne Ford Wimberly. Dr. Wimberly is a veteran career educator who played a role in desegregating the Tulsa Public school system. She later became the first interim African American female superintendent of TPS and has a trail of honors in her wake, including her latest honor as the inaugural recipient of the Ellis Walker Woods Award given by the Brock Institute in partnership with OSU-Tulsa.

Dr. Wimberly was most recently the chairperson of the Greenwood Cultural Center Board of Directors and the chair of the Board of Trustees at her beloved Metropolitan Baptist Church. The library at her alma mater, Booker T. Washington High School, is named after Dr. Wimberly and there are murals of her in schools throughout Tulsa.

After posting selfies in her Sunday best for fifty-two consecutive weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Wimberly became a viral sensation for her hats, her smile, and most of all, her joy. Her book, My Sunday Best beautifully displays her wisdom, warmth, and wit. She reminds us, loving God, loving people, and having fun are the hallmarks of a life well lived.

Links:

https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=La+Verne+Ford+Wimberly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5KQ1DsTcLE

To learn more about the Innovating Education Podcast and work of the Brock Institute, click here.

In this episode, Ed and Jentre visit with Danish Kurani, architect and chief designer at Kurani, an architecture studio which designs education centers, public places, and community spaces to help people connect, learn, and feel a sense of belonging

Danish’s philosophy, Baaham, treats architecture as an active participant in our daily lives, and he has been cultivating this approach over the past 20 years. He has taught at Harvard and Stanford, designed for Google and Khan Academy, and advised Fortune 100 companies and governments who seek out his expertise in designing spaces that drive progress and improve well-being.

Danish has been honored by a number of prestigious organizations, including the US Department of State, the World Cities Summit, and the OECD. In 2021, Fast Company named Danish one of the most innovative architects in the world.

Links: https://kurani.us/

https://baaham.design/

To learn more about the Innovating Education Podcast and work of the Brock Institute, click here.

In this episode, Ed and John Brock visit with Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, a nonprofit organization with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone anywhere. Khan Academy’s content and mastery learning platform has more than 145 million registered users from around the world and has been translated into more than 50 languages. The organization partners with school districts across the country that serve students who are historically under-resourced.

Sal is also the founder of Khan Lab School, a nonprofit laboratory school in Mountain View, California, a cofounder of Schoolhouse.world, a nonprofit that offers free tutoring over Zoom, and cofounder of Khan World School, a new nonprofit online high school.

Sal holds three degrees from MIT and an MBA from Harvard. He has been profiled by 60 Minutes and was recognized as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He is also the recipient of the 2023 Brock Prize for Education Innovation.

Links:

https://www.khanacademy.org/

https://www.khanacademy.org/khan-labs

To learn more about the Innovating Education Podcast and work of the Brock Institute, click here.

In this episode, Ed and Jentre visit with Lee Gordon. Lee is the co-founder of Hand in Hand, an Israeli non-profit organization that has created a network of integrated public schools serving Arab and Jewish children. Starting with just 50 students in 1998, Hand in Hand now has six campuses serving over 2,000 Jewish and Arab students and is making a significant impact in Israel for Jewish-Arab partnership, coexistence and shared society. Beyond the classroom, Hand in Hand engages over 3,000 Jewish and Arab adults in its joint community programs.

Lee lived in Israel for 20 years and earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Hebrew University and graduated from the Mandel Institute’s School for Educational Leadership. He also founded American Friends of Hand in Hand, a US-based non-profit supporting Hand in Hand’s work in Israel. To learn more about Hand in Hand and to take a virtual tour of a few of their schools, check out the links below.

Links:

https://www.handinhandk12.org/

https://www.handinhandk12.org/tour-our-galilee-school/

https://www.handinhandk12.org/hand-in-hand-beit-berl-aleph-bet-school/

https://www.handinhandk12.org/meet-duaa-and-guy-co-teachers-haifas-7th-grade/

To learn more about the Innovating Education Podcast and work of the Brock Institute, click here.

In this episode, Jentre and Ed visit with Sanjeev Arora, the director and founder of Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Health Outcomes). He is a distinguished professor in internal medicine at the University of New Mexico and the recipient of the Heinz Award for Public Policy, Rosenthal Award, and American Telemedicine Association President’s Award. Dr. Arora was also the 2021 Laureate of the Brock Prize for Education Innovation.

Dr. Arora developed Project ECHO, which uses technology to connect underserved communities with experts in their fields of interest, creating networks for knowledge sharing, mentoring, and best practices. Started in New Mexico for one disease, Hepatitis C, ECHO now has 205 partners in 28 countries addressing over 100 key problems affecting lives and livelihoods.

Through Project ECHO, Arora has expanded his focus into other sectors, including education, in order to realize his goal of improving the lives of 1 billion people by 2025. Oklahoma State University has been key in bringing Project ECHO to Oklahoma, with ECHO lines in healthcare, mental health, and education. To learn more about how you can get involved visit the links below.

Links:

https://hsc.unm.edu/echo/

https://medicine.okstate.edu/echo/

To learn more about the Innovating Education Podcast and work of the Brock Institute, click here.

“We can’t do 1960’s industrialized factory-model education with 21st century learners.”

In this episode, Ed and Jentre visit with April Grace, Superintendent of Shawnee Pawnee Schools. With over 35 years of experience working in public education, April brings with her a wealth of knowledge and proven leadership experience.

Dr. Grace has won a plethora of awards for her excellence and innovation in leadership, namely she was awarded the 2021 Oklahoma Superintendent of the Year, which is the highest state-level honor an Oklahoma superintendent can earn. She has been a model leader through many challenges, including the historic 2018 teacher walkout, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a devastating natural disaster in the Spring of 2023.

While Dr. Grace has announced her retirement at the end of this school year, she will continue to be a valued advocate for education throughout Oklahoma. We hope this episode leaves you feeling elevated, empowered, and encouraged to change your world!

To learn more about the Innovating Education Podcast and work of the Brock Institute, click here.