The Learnit Podcast Learnit

With 4,000 students on campus and 180,000 online, President of Southern New Hampshire University, Paul LeBlanc aims to transform lives at scale by putting students at the centre of the education experience.In this episode, we talk a lot about the power of love, the difference between belonging and mattering, and why competency based education is finally taking off.

Show notes:
More about Southern New Hampshire University, https://www.snhu.edu/More about Gregory Elliot’s work at Brown University:, https://www.brown.edu/academics/sociology/people/gregory-elliottMore about David Graeber’s work: https://davidgraeber.org/Favourite book about learning: ‘Death at an Early Age’, Jonathan KozolFavourite book: ‘Anna Karenina’, Leo Tolstoy

As Co-founders of Class Dojo, Sam Chaudhary and Liam Don have built a community of 51 million teachers, parents and students, to share kids’ learning moments. They’re now building a virtual sandbox for kids who already know each other, to hang out, create and play. We discuss their recent funding, privacy and data and how they continue to make progress on the mission they defined in 2011: to give every kid on the planet an education they love.

Show notes:
Class Dojo: https://www.classdojo.com/
Previous successes: https://qz.com/791388/meet-mojo-a-monster-stanford-helped-create-to-teach-your-kids-that-effort-matters-more-than-iq
Favourite books about learning: ‘Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching’, Jo Boaler and ‘Theory of Fun for Game Design’, Ralph Koster
Favourite books: ‘A Mathematical Theory of Communication’, Claude E. Shannon and ‘The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World’, David Deutsch

As co-founder and CEO of tiney, a venture capital backed social enterprise, Brett Wigdortz is looking to fix the very broken child care market. We discuss the exodus from the profession, the needed changes to government policy and how his tech platform provides support and a community for those caring for society’s smallest and most vulnerable.

Show notes:
- tiney’s website: https://www.tiney.co/
- Early years framework: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2
- Favourite book about learning: ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’, Daniel Kahneman
- Favourite book: ‘Never Let Me Go’, Kazuo Ishiguro

As Founder and CEO of Apna, an Indian jobs and networking platform, Nirmit Parikh believes employment is the tool to addressing poverty and accelerating education. In this episode we discuss how Apna matches their 25 million job seekers with employers, how they raised $190 million, and how Nirmit balances being both a pirate and a navy captain.

Show notes:
More about Apna: https://apna.co/
Favourite book about learning: 'High Output Management', Andrew S. Grove & 'Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World', Timothy Ferriss
Favourite book not about learning: 'When Breath Becomes Air', Paul Kalanithi

With a career spanning education minister and employment minister, to digital technology executive, the Rt Hon Lord Jim Knight of Weymouth is advocating for greater climate education. We discuss a number of models of sustainable citizenship, changes to national funding formulas, the new British natural history GCSE and the role of legislation to make sustainable citizenship more equitable.

Show notes:
- Suklaa Education: https://www.suklaa.org/
- Teach the Future: https://www.teachthefuture.uk/
- Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education: https://www.eauc.org.uk/home
- Lorenzo Fioramonti’s work: https://lorenzofioramonti.org/the-author/
- The Eden Project’s teaching resources: https://www.edenproject.com/learn/schools/teaching-resources
- Aim Hi Earth: https://www.aimhi.earth/
- David Dixon, ‘Leadership for Sustainability: Saving the Planet One School at a Time’: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59205119-leadership-for-sustainability
- Stephen Heppell’s Learnometer: https://gratnellslearnometer.com/
- Favourite book about learning: Ken Robinson, ‘Finding Your Element’
- Favourite book not about learning: Vikram Seth ‘A Suitable Boy’

Building on our last episode, this week we talk to Sbusisiwe Myeni, Co-founder and CEO of Imbeleko Foundation, a South African charity based in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, running after-school programmes for children with academic promise but who face challenges getting an education. We discuss creative ways non-profits like hers can partner with platforms like UCT Online (a digital high school in partnership with the University of Cape Town) to fill critically important gaps, the difficulties of bringing online education to poor, rural communities, and what works (and what doesn’t) for vulnerable children.

Show Notes:
More about Imbeleko Foundation: https://www.imbeleko.org/?mkt_tok=MzQ0LUFFWi04OTEAAAGFMDF0s6bpP9aVLVVJ9l8dTG6ds4GGE9Yki9RhPReSqxaprZwpZKbGFWFG4dfoCRRYIegh8MKdEaDeNO8odpA
More about UCT Online High School: https://www.uctonlinehighschool.com/
Our previous episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/48-robert-paddock-valenture-institute-addressing-the/id1518322612?i=1000565743400