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ChatEDU – The AI & Education Podcast

ChatEDU – The AI & Education Podcast

By: Matt Mervis and Dr. Elizabeth Radday
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 Welcome to ChatEDU – The AI & Education Podcast , your go-to podcast for insightful discussions on the intersection of AI and education! Hosted by Matt Mervis, Director of Skills21 and AI Strategy at EdAdvance, and Dr. Elizabeth Radday, Director of Research & Innovation, this podcast explores the dynamic landscape of education technology.Matt Mervis and Dr. Elizabeth Radday
Episodes
  • Beyond the Vision: Building a Policy Infrastructure to Meet the AI Moment | Ep. 88

    Beyond the Vision: Building a Policy Infrastructure to Meet the AI Moment | Ep. 88
    Dec 12 2025
    In this episode of ChatEDU (Beyond the Vision: Building a Policy Infrastructure to Meet the AI Moment), Matt and Jonathan demo ChatGPT’s new voice mode, dig into AI labor-market news, tackle school chatbot safety, outline a four-point AI policy plan, and share a geothermal bright byte.Story #1: The Iceberg Index and the Clickbait ProblemA new MIT study maps AI’s impact across 151M workers and 32K skills, but headlines distort the findings. Matt and Jonathan unpack what the research really shows, why the hype misleads, and what Microsoft’s agentic AI struggles and Google’s hard-drive wipe say about how far autonomous agents still have to go.Story #2: Will My Job Survive AI? I Asked Gemini and ChatGPTMatt uploads his job context to ChatGPT and Gemini to see how each predicts his future. ChatGPT delivers sharp, personalized coaching, while Gemini stays vague under stricter privacy rules. Jonathan argues that “evolving, weird” jobs may actually be the safest and that both tools can drive real insight when used strategically.Story #3: AI Chatbots in Schools: A Practical Guide to Safety, Liability, and Mandated ReportingA new EDSAFE AI Alliance guide asks whether school chatbots should act as mandated reporters. As tools like Character.ai and MagicSchool spur more student disclosures, the guide lays out a four-part framework to flag, notify, assess, and act. Matt and Jonathan break it down and argue that child-protection protocols must extend into virtual spaces.Beneath the Surface: Jonathan’s Four Policy Shifts to Meet the MomentJonathan highlights four policy shifts for Connecticut:1. A Shared Vision of the Graduate: Replace 169 local skill frameworks with one statewide model.2. Lean Out the Curriculum: Use AI to refocus on power standards and durable skills.3. Accountability Beyond the Basics: Measure the competencies that matter in an AI-driven world, not just literacy and math.4. Policy Alignment with Practice: Bring state and local policies in reporting, AI-use rubrics, and more into sync with these instructional shifts.Matt says this may be the most consequential chapter of Jonathan’s career and possibly for education as a whole.Bright Byte: AI Uncovers Hidden Geothermal EnergyZanskar Geothermal used AI modeling to uncover a viable energy system in western Nevada, a site long thought tapped out. It’s the first breakthrough in 30 years and a clear reminder of AI’s power to tackle tough environmental challenges when used well.Links and ReferencesChatGPT’s voice mode no longer separate interfacehttps://tinyurl.com/4m3dtmcu‘6-7’ viral phrase may have a meaninghttps://tinyurl.com/4m3dtmcuMeasuring Skills-Centered Exposure in AI Economyhttps://tinyurl.com/2w8p6es7AI Agents Disasterhttps://tinyurl.com/2s3u3tb5Google’s AI Deletes User’s Hard Drivehttps://tinyurl.com/3n284ehtAI on Jobs in Five Yearshttps://tinyurl.com/42vtyvusAI Chatbots in Schoolshttps://tinyurl.com/yvntwfr6Professors using AI in course designhttps://tinyurl.com/yevrmbetDropout Hired at OpenAI After Learning PhD-Level AI with ChatGPThttps://tinyurl.com/ym7tt62tPoll: Americans Doubt Degree Valuehttps://tinyurl.com/3cvccufrNewCollege Major: A.I.https://tinyurl.com/35d32zhuGeothermal company makes big discovery using AIhttps://tinyurl.com/3fenuej7AnnouncementsThe Winter Micro-Credential cohort launches this January. Join educators from around the world for a six-week dive into AI literacy, pedagogy, assessment, and ethics.EdAdvance is now offering a Middle and High School Student AI Literacy course — email chatedu@edadvance.org to bring it to your district.Interested in Skills21’s free social media literacy course? Check it out here - https://www.skills21.org/social-balance SponsorThis episode is brought to you by the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, helping educators and students build workforce-ready skills through innovation. Learn more at nextgenmfg.org.
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Vibe Coding from New Zealand | Ep. 87

    Vibe Coding from New Zealand | Ep. 87
    Dec 5 2025

    In this episode of ChatEDU (Vibe Coding from New Zealand) while Liz continues her adventure, Matt is joined by Yaron Overeem, a school principal from New Zealand and ChatEDU listener. He shares his experience with AI literacy, cultural preservation, and the rise of vibe coding. But first, a recent Futurism article details how an AI-powered teddy bear was pulled from shelves after giving dangerous instructions to kids. Matt and Yaron reflect on the risks of generative AI, especially when it comes to younger users.



    Story #1: AI in Career Pathways

    New CTE pilots in the U.S. are preparing high schoolers for AI-infused careers in agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing. Matt highlights a story out of South Carolina and asks how schools can support students in learning to build AI. Yaron shares how his students are beginning to explore how AI connects to broader industries and why it’s critical to go beyond job titles and explore industry ecosystems.


    Story #2: AI and Academic Integrity

    After analyzing 85 episodes of ChatEDU transcripts in NotebookLM, Matt reveals that AI cheating and academic integrity rank among the top three most frequently discussed topics on the show, alongside bias and AI literacy. Yaron shares his own reflections from the faculty lounge and the classroom, including what happens when students and teachers start using AI to write communications. His solution: pick up the phone and talk.


    Story #3: Māori Language, Bias, and Data Sovereignty

    As AI tools become widespread in education, cultural representation and linguistic accuracy are under scrutiny. Yaron unpacks a growing national conversation about how tools like ChatGPT and Gemini often misrepresent Māori culture and language, including his own example of an AI-generated image of Tangaroa that looked suspiciously like Jason Momoa. Teachers are concerned about misinterpretations, omissions, and inaccuracies when using AI in bilingual classrooms. Locally developed tools like Te Hiku Media’s Māori speech recognition system are offering promising alternatives, and the government is being pushed to consider Te Tiriti o Waitangi and data sovereignty in its AI policies.



    Beneath the Surface: Vibe Coding

    Inspired by a past episode, Yaron began using Gemini AI Studio and Firebase to create custom classroom tools using only natural language prompts. From timers and reward systems to student scheduling, he has built tailored apps that meet his school’s needs without traditional coding. It’s a compelling example of what happens when educators apply creativity and curiosity to AI in practice.



    Bright Byte: AI Saving New Zealand’s Birds

    Matt and Yaron look at how AI vision and genetic analysis are helping preserve endangered species like the flightless kākāpō. AI-enabled traps use computer vision to detect predators like rats and possums without harming native wildlife.



    Links & References


    AI-Powered Stuffed Animal Pulled From Market After Disturbing Interactions With Children

    https://tinyurl.com/5fn6uf8h


    AI Tutors in Early Reading Instruction

    https://tinyurl.com/3mdvj4zu


    Businesses Want Employees With AI Skills

    https://tinyurl.com/wasm78jn


    Māori Culture, Language, and Data Sovereignty

    https://tinyurl.com/3yhb7xkf


    Images made with AI recycle colonial stereotypes and bias

    https://tinyurl.com/mvmnta5x


    New Zealand is turning to AI and genetic research to save rare birds

    https://tinyurl.com/4ck3zn4e



    Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth Radday


    ASCD: https://tinyurl.com/bde652nn

    Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77

    Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/bdckf6zw



    Announcements & Sponsors


    Check out the new Student AI Course for middle and high school. Email Matt and Liz at ⁠chatedu@edadvance.org⁠


    The Winter Micro-Credential is now open. Join us for the educator and school leader course starting in January - ⁠ ⁠⁠skills21.org/ai/micro⁠


    The National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing. ⁠www.nextgenmfg.org⁠
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • The AI-Ready District - Inside a Superintendent’s Strategic Plan | Ep. 86

    The AI-Ready District - Inside a Superintendent’s Strategic Plan | Ep. 86
    Nov 28 2025

    In this episode of ChatEDU (The AI-Ready District - Inside a Superintendent’s Strategic Plan), Matt is joined by Westport, CT Superintendent Tom Scarice, stepping in while Liz is away in Costa Rica. They open with a quick hit about an AI app that creates avatars of deceased loved ones, raising questions about ethics, grief, and whether some tools should even be built. From there, Matt and Tom dig into the biggest stories of the week and then take a deep dive into Westport’s bold new plan for AI in public education.




    Story 1: Gemini’s Vibe Coding

    Matt tests Google’s new vibe coding features in Gemini 3 to build a real-time tracker for Westport’s strategic plan and an app that recognizes facial emotion. Both tools are built in under five minutes. Tom reflects on how this lowers the barrier to coding and brings creative problem solving into the hands of every student and teacher.


    Story 2: The Teacher Training Gap

    A new EdWeek report finds that half of U.S. teachers have now received some AI training, but most sessions are still short and surface level. Matt and Tom compare experiences from Connecticut and beyond, highlighting the importance of embedded professional learning and why leadership modeling matters more than one-off exposure.


    Story 3: Google’s Personalized Textbooks

    Google’s Learn Your Way platform tailors textbook content to student interest and reading level. Matt and Tom explore whether this boosts student agency or simply repackages old formats. They discuss how AI can support personalization while still protecting instructional coherence and equity.


    Story 4: Smarter AI Powered Reading Assessments

    AI tools like Amira now provide real-time reading feedback using natural language processing. Tom explains why formative assessment matters and how systems that reveal student thinking can improve instruction. They also flag risks of outsourcing too much teacher judgment to automation.




    Beneath the Surface: A Strategic Plan for the AI Era

    Tom walks through Westport’s 92-page strategic plan, which integrates AI across ethics, personalization, instruction, leadership, and even drama class. With sections on algorithm audits, professional learning, and operational efficiency, the plan offers a blueprint for leading through complexity. Matt and Tom break down how the plan was built, what it prioritizes, and what other districts might take away.




    Bright Byte

    Google DeepMind’s SynthID now embeds invisible watermarks into AI-generated images, audio, video, and text. Matt calls this a seatbelt moment for AI safety and a promising tool for combating deepfakes and supporting academic integrity.




    Links & References


    AI App Creates Avatars Of Dead Relatives Sparks Backlash

    https://tinyurl.com/mpjrm57c


    Teacher AI Training Has a Long Way to Go

    https://tinyurl.com/2att7m9s


    Google Reinvents The School Textbook With AI

    https://tinyurl.com/4uttcv74


    AI-Powered Assessment

    https://tinyurl.com/48yyc3ms


    Meta is about to start grading workers on their AI skills

    https://tinyurl.com/24sycbt4


    SynthID: A Tool to Watermark and Identify Content Generated Through AI

    https://deepmind.google/models/synthid/




    Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth Radday


    ASCD (use code RADDAY30 for 30% off until December 5th): https://tinyurl.com/bde652nn


    Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77


    Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/bdckf6zw




    Announcements & Sponsors


    Check out the new Student AI Course for middle and high school. Email Matt and Liz at ⁠chatedu@edadvance.org⁠


    The Winter Micro-Credential is now open. Join us for the educator and school leader course starting in January - ⁠ ⁠⁠skills21.org/ai/micro⁠


    The National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing. ⁠www.nextgenmfg.org⁠
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 12 mins
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