The Education Innovators Podcast

Eric Byron

The Education Innovators Podcast is hosted by Eric Byron. Our purpose is to provide a platform for folks to share their stories of innovation in education. Practical, inspirational tales of things they have tried or are doing that others may be able to learn from. We will not dwell on what is wrong but focus on what is good and improving.

  1. Oct 26

    Change the System

    Change the System   This solo episode is Eric Byron’s call to action. Innovation in education requires bravery because the system doesn’t want to change. We’ve been calling for change for decades and Eric speaks to why we cannot wait any longer to act.   As Ben Nelson, the founder of Minerva University, said in a recent episode, the time for philosophizing was 20 years ago. Now we must do something.   Our children are going to graduate into a world with superintelligent computers. Running schools the same way we did when our parents were children is not the answer. It’s time for us to fearlessly innovate and change the system.   EIP is now one of the top education podcasts in Asia and features conversations with educators, students, founders, and innovators from all over the world who are reimagining how we teach and learn. Host Eric Byron explores practical ideas and real-world examples from schools, startups, and learning environments — from AI in the classroom to project-based learning, student voice, and the future of assessment. If you care about where education is heading, this is your show.     Links:   OECD Survey of Social and Emotional Skills: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/beyond-academic-learning_92a11084-en.html   The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742   The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3   The Human Intelligence movement: https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/   This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron. You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

  2. Oct 26

    Ben Nelson - Reinventing Higher Education

    Reinventing Higher Education: Educated, not Certified   Ben Nelson is Founder and CEO of Minerva Project, Founder of Minerva University, and a visionary with a passion to reinvent higher education. Nelson started Minerva in 2011 with the goal of nurturing critical wisdom for the sake of the world through a systematic and evidence-based approach to learning. Nelson has since built Minerva University into the most selective, most effective, and most innovative university in the world (named #1 for five consecutive years according to WURI rankings).   Minerva Project was created to share Minerva's unique approach with other like-minded institutions and has since accelerated the creation of groundbreaking new programs, new colleges, and entirely new universities worldwide. In 2026, Nelson launched the Minerva University System, enabling governments, philanthropists, and leaders worldwide to found member institutions built on Minerva's proven model.   In this conversation with Ben Nelson:   Lecturing produces 90 – 95% learning loss within six months The difference between wisdom and memory Three levers: active learning, spaced practice and recontextualization, and changed incentives (cheating is just responding to incentives) Global rotation – why students study in 7 different cities across the globe Why the top universities target rich kids for admissions and how Minerva changes the model From 25 students to 50,000+ learners across partner institutions and why the Minerva System is the answer to reinventing education at scale Why AI makes the reinvention urgent   EIP is now one of the top education podcasts in Asia and features conversations with educators, students, founders, and innovators from all over the world who are reimagining how we teach and learn. Host Eric Byron explores practical ideas and real-world examples from schools, startups, and learning environments — from AI in the classroom to project-based learning, student voice, and the future of assessment. If you care about where education is heading, this is your show.   Links:   Ben Nelson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennelson3/   Minerva University: https://www.minerva.edu/   Minerva System: https://www.minervasystem.com/   World University Rankings of Innovation (WURI): https://www.wuri.world/     The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742   The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3   The Human Intelligence movement: https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/   This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron. You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

  3. Oct 12

    Student Voices - Part One

    Student Voices – Part One   This is the first part in a series of episodes featuring student voices. From their own mouths, we will hear what they think is working and what would make their learning experiences better. In this episode we focus on one question.   What do you like about school? Their answers matter, not just as individual opinions or preferences. Their answers teach us about what drives student engagement and what innovations move the needle.   This episode features the following students (in order of appearance):   Öykü Nur Kesek – HS student, homeschooled in Turkey Matthew Park – HS student, Illinois Math and Science Academy, USA Asmin Petekbasi – HS student, Zafer College Science High School, Turkey Ani Tovmasyan – Graduate, OTH Amberg-Weiden, Germany & Stanford entrepreneurship alumna, USA Muhammad Wasiq Salman – HS student, England Sai Narasimhan – HS student, Dwight Global Online School in New York, lives in Switzerland Michelle Oliva – Recent graduate, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Sathvik Vadlakunta – HS student, Davidson Academy, USA Kelly Cheng – College student, City University, Hong Kong   Part Two of the series will tackle the question: What would you do differently if you were in charge?  These students did not hold back.   EIP is now one of the top education podcasts in Asia and features conversations with educators, students, founders, and innovators from all over the world who are reimagining how we teach and learn. Host Eric Byron explores practical ideas and real-world examples from schools, startups, and learning environments — from AI in the classroom to project-based learning, student voice, and the future of assessment. If you care about where education is heading, this is your show.     Links:     The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742   The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3   This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron. You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

  4. Oct 5

    Poor Schools - Nikole Hannah-Jones

    Poor School - $58,000 per student and still failing   Ten years ago, Pulitzer-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones made a choice most families with means would never consider: she enrolled her daughter Najya in a struggling, low-income public school in Brooklyn, believing committed parents could help make it better for all children. Ten years later, she published a public reckoning — her daughter believes the choice cost her the education she deserved.   This episode is my answer to a different question that story raised: what exactly makes a school a "poor" school?   Most people would say money. But the elementary school Najya attended currently spends $58,000 per student, nearly double the New York City average, and teachers didn't check her math work or grade her assignments. Her middle school eliminated homework by policy. So, what was this school poor in?   EIP is now one of the top education podcasts in Asia and features conversations with educators, students, founders, and innovators from all over the world who are reimagining how we teach and learn. Host Eric Byron explores practical ideas and real-world examples from schools, startups, and learning environments — from AI in the classroom to project-based learning, student voice, and the future of assessment. If you care about where education is heading, this is your show.   Links:   "In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?" (NYT Magazine, Sept 20, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/magazine/ny-public-schools-black-students-segregation.html   "Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City" (NYT Magazine, June 12, 2016): https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/choosing-a-school-for-my-daughter-in-a-segregated-city.html   Smerconish segment "Do Mothers Know Best?" aired Sept 26, 2026: https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/smer/date/2026-09-26/segment/01   The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742   The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3   This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron. You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

  5. Sep 28

    Sonia Raheja - Learning From a Cartoon

    Learning from a Cartoon   Sonia Raheja is the daughter of Sanjay Raheja, who founded Appu Series, a children’s education company built around Appu, the Yogic Elephant. Their educational videos have garnered over 2 million subscribers on YouTube and nearly 2 billion views. Sonia takes us through the family story going back to 1994 and the evolution of their content from 2D to 3D and the production of a full-length feature film released in 2024. Sonia has two degrees in psychology and a focus on marketing, and she is all over the data. What works, what doesn’t and has big ideas for the future. Their content is immensely popular in India and now reaches families and classrooms all over the world. Sonia has a dream of making quality educational content accessible to all children and she and her family are committed to doing the work. They are open to new technology in order to stay relevant and impactful as the world and the needs of young learners evolve. EIP is now one of the top education podcasts in Asia and features conversations with educators, students, founders, and innovators from all over the world who are reimagining how we teach and learn. Host Eric Byron explores practical ideas and real-world examples from schools, startups, and learning environments — from AI in the classroom to project-based learning, student voice, and the future of assessment. If you care about where education is heading, this is your show.   Links:   Sonia Raheja: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonia-raheja/   Appu Series on YouTube Kids: https://www.youtubekids.com/channel/UCs7on9W7SIbyO4f-Pb7lgbg   APPU - Animated Movie Official Trailer: https://youtube.com/watch?v=X10oGrVu-7M   The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742   The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3   This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron. You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

  6. Sep 21

    TeachMeet

    I went to a TeachMeet in Hong Kong and brought a camera.   A TeachMeet is a simple idea that started in Scotland twenty years ago. Short timed talks, with no keynote, no sponsors, and no fee. Just colleagues sharing with colleagues. The format spread teacher to teacher, city to city, and for the past ten years, 21st Century Learning (21CL) has hosted the Hong Kong edition.   This episode is a snapshot of that evening: eight presenters, on everything from AI in the classroom to student agency to gender bias. My goal in sharing it is simple. I'd love to see more of these events happening in more communities.   In this episode:   Lainey Gangwani — MC of the evening, teacher at Hong Kong International School, and founder of Equity Rising shares her experience with TeachMeets, and on the gender bias that's everywhere once you start seeing it Justin Hardman — founder of 21st Century Learning talks about a decade of hosting TeachMeets in Hong Kong Matthew Parker — a student tells us how he actually got good grades Kail Yeung — Apple Distinguished Educator presents on using AI to innovate in the classroom right now David Wees — on the power of exemplars to expand what students believe they can do Tristan Ming — on using augmented reality to enhance Chinese language learning Kyle Wagner — on using Kanban boards to turn student project chaos into collaboration MJ Jimenez — on preparing learning environments for what's ahead   EIP is now one of the top education podcasts in Asia and features conversations with educators, students, founders, and innovators from all over the world who are reimagining how we teach and learn. Host Eric Byron explores practical ideas and real-world examples from schools, startups, and learning environments — from AI in the classroom to project-based learning, student voice, and the future of assessment. If you care about where education is heading, this is your show.       Links:   TeachMeet: http://teachmeet.pbworks.com/   The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742   The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3   The Human Intelligence movement: https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/   This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron. You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

  7. Sep 14

    Ellen Heyting - From Learning Consumers to Producers

    From Learning Consumers to Producers   What if the most important things schools teach, agency, collaboration, ethical judgment, are precisely the things we never measure? And what does it say about our priorities that we grade algebra to two decimal places but can't reliably say whether a student can collaborate?   My guest this week is Ellen Heyting, Senior Research Fellow at Melbourne Metrics within the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Ellen has spent over a decade teaching and leading in IB World Schools across Melbourne, Beijing, Singapore, and Helsinki, and holds a PhD in education from Monash University, where she studied belonging and its role in advancing learning for marginalized students. Today she works on one of education's hardest problems: building valid, reliable ways to measure the competencies that sit outside traditional exams.   In this conversation, we cover:   Why measurement is the lever: Ellen argues assessment reform returns "the biggest bang for the buck" in education transformation, even though it's the topic least likely to excite teachers Agency in learning: "the capacity to produce your own learning of value to yourself or community" — and why she calls it the queen of the competencies ("one ring to rule them all") The shift from consumers to producers: moving students from learning consumers to producing their own learning The confidence vs. competence trap: teachers are highly confident in judging skills like collaboration. The research says they get it wrong a lot How new assessment actually works: authentic situations, structured judgments, and the practical machinery Melbourne Metrics has built with schools worldwide The human side of change — the tough ask for educators who've succeeded in an exam-based system for 10, 20, or 30 years The groundwork is done — schools don't have to invent this alone; the University of Melbourne is actively partnering with schools to implement it   This conversation pairs well with my recent episode with Kasson Bratton, who introduced me to Ellen — listen to both for the full picture of what measuring the whole student looks like in practice.   EIP is now one of the top education podcasts in Asia and features conversations with educators, students, founders, and innovators from all over the world who are reimagining how we teach and learn. Host Eric Byron explores practical ideas and real-world examples from schools, startups, and learning environments — from AI in the classroom to project-based learning, student voice, and the future of assessment. If you care about where education is heading, this is your show.     Links:   Ellen Heyting: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellen-heyting-phd-ab558a280/   Melbourne Metrics: https://education.unimelb.edu.au/melbourne-metrics   The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742   The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3   This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron. You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

  8. Sep 7

    Agentic AI - Doing Without Asking

    Agentic AI – Doing Without Asking   Agentic AI goes beyond generative AI, it doesn't just respond to prompts, it acts independently, remembering context, executing tasks, and learning from feedback. In this solo episode, Eric breaks down what agentic AI actually is, how educators and students can benefit from it, and the risks that come with handing autonomy to an AI assistant. From reducing teacher admin burden to serving as an adaptive tutor, the potential is real — but so are the questions about data security, and whether dependence on AI comes at the cost of our own cognitive skills.   If you're working with agentic AI in education, Eric wants to hear from you.   EIP is now one of the top education podcasts in Asia and features conversations with educators, students, founders, and innovators from all over the world who are reimagining how we teach and learn. Host Eric Byron explores practical ideas and real-world examples from schools, startups, and learning environments — from AI in the classroom to project-based learning, student voice, and the future of assessment. If you care about where education is heading, this is your show.     Links:   The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742   The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3   The Human Intelligence movement: https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/   This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron. You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

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The Education Innovators Podcast is hosted by Eric Byron. Our purpose is to provide a platform for folks to share their stories of innovation in education. Practical, inspirational tales of things they have tried or are doing that others may be able to learn from. We will not dwell on what is wrong but focus on what is good and improving.

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