EdTech Startup Showcase BE Podcast Network

Today, we have a great conversation about career-connected learning and career exploration with Matt Chaussee, founder and CEO of Be More Colorful, and middle school principal Hebat Abdelbaki. 

Hear about:
The future-focused definition of Career & Technical EducationThe in-demand and growing career fields How Hebat engaged her community to find out what careers they wanted to learn aboutDetermining short- and long-term success of CTE programsMaking things relevant to students and educatorsContinuous learning into adulthoodMeaningful uses of technologyAbout today’s guests
Matt Chaussee is co-founder and CEO of award-winning immersive media and virtual reality production studio Be More Colorful, which is revolutionizing career exploration for students with the groundbreaking product, CareerViewXR.

Hebat Abdelbaki is the principal of Stout Middle School with the Dearborn Public Schools in Dearborn, Michigan. She is a 2024 Excellence in Equity Award winner through the American Consortium for Equity in Education.

About today’s host
Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn. 

Listen to his other shows:
The Authority — deep-dive interviews with the leading minds in leadership, management, education, and personal development.Sideline Sessions — conversations with successful coaches and performance experts from professional, collegiate, and youth sports. 

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Mat Barnett, Director of TK-12 Programs Beaumont Unified School District (CA). Mat began his career as a teacher in Anaheim, CA, and also held roles including junior high principal and director of education services in the Fullerton School District.

Mat describes his interesting journey to the education field, his approach to coaching and professional development, fostering student ownership of learning, and more. Hear about:
Professional learning focused on the entire classroom experienceHelping teachers focus on the things that are most valuableHow Classroom Mosaic enables data-driven coaching in the districtClear communication around the purpose of walkthroughsFeedback from administrators and teachers about purposeful shifts in coachingTechniques to improve relationships between coaches and teachers“You have to have that implementation-level data collecting tool.” Why this is critical for districts and how a tool like Classroom Mosaic supports educators. About today’s host
Tanya Sheckley is the Founder and President of UP Academy, a progressive elementary lab school in San Mateo, California. UP Academy is reinventing education by customizing learning for each student, integrating project-based learning throughout its curriculum, and supporting students with disabilities to attend alongside able-bodied students in mixed-age classrooms.

Tanya hosts the Rebel Educator podcast, speaks across the country on the future of education, and leads professional development programs for school administrators and educators. Listen to Rebel Educator here: https://re.bepodcast.network/ 

About Classroom Mosaic:
We help K-12 leaders support, develop, and retain their teachers. For over a decade, we've worked with educators worldwide from districts large (100k students) and small (150 students) to transform instructional practice, guide professional development, and impact student learning.
We believe every student deserves a great education. And a great education starts with great teachers supported by great leaders. Learn more: 
classroommosaic.comtwitter.com/ClassroomMosaic linkedin.com/company/classroommosaic/

In this exciting and idea-packed episode, we catch up with Priten Shah and Aatash Parikh, two of our edtech founders who are also innovative thinkers on artificial intelligence and its potential for schools. 

Hear about:
How do we understand what technologies are truly “AI?”What we’re still waiting to learn about what AI technologies can and will becomeWhat it means to become “AI literate”Helping to solve persistent problems in educationAppropriately embracing new technologies in schoolsHow are students responding to new AI tools in their classrooms?The most important advances schools should make with their use of AI in the next yearAbout today’s guests
Aatash Parikh, founder of Inkwire, is an educator and an engineer. Aatash has worked as a software engineer at companies like Google & Khan Academy and as a middle school teacher in Oakland Unified School District. Connect on Twitter or LinkedIn. 

Priten Shah is the CEO of Pedagogy.Cloud, which provides innovative technology solutions to help educators navigate global challenges in a rapidly evolving world. He is also the author of Wiley’s Jossey-Bass publication, AI & The Future of Education: Teaching in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. He and his team are currently focused on helping educational organizations adapt to the ever growing capabilities of AI. Connect with Priten on Twitter or LinkedIn. 

About today’s host
Ross Romano is a co-founder of the BE Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossromano 

Listen to his other shows:
The Authority — deep-dive interviews with the leading minds in leadership, management, education, and personal development.Sideline Sessions — conversations with successful coaches and performance experts from professional, collegiate, and youth sports. 

Christel Reaves, founder and CEO of Connected Class, returns to the show to talk us through strategies for summer learning success. 

Hear about:
The significant challenges posed by the “Summer Slide”Why math and reading are the most critical subject areas for summer learningHow the opportunity cost of time spent re-learning material holds the whole class backSummer learning resources offered by Connected Class that make learning fun for families (Learn more: https://bit.ly/3QSDbyE) How parents support summer learningWhat schools can do to prioritize better summer learning About today’s guest
Christel Reaves, founder and CEO of Connected Class, is an enthusiastic educator dedicated to improving learning and equipping educators to succeed.  Her passion for ensuring family engagement throughout the learning process is evident and at the core of every product and service provided by Connected Class. She oversees a team of Instructional Specialists to support schools, focusing on helping educators analyze data, develop action plans, implement instructional strategies, and enhance family engagement for improved student achievement. 

Before Christel was the founder of Connected Class, she was a classroom teacher, county resource educator and district administrator. She worked closely with the state to remove low-performing Title I schools from Intervene status. Over the past 25 years, she has helped many schools improve their student performance and engage families. Learn more: www.connectedclass.com

About today’s host
Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossromano 

Listen to his other shows:
The Authority — deep-dive interviews with the leading minds in leadership, management, education, and personal development.Sideline Sessions — conversations with successful coaches and performance experts from professional, collegiate, and youth sports. 

In this episode, we’re joined by special guest Wayde Sick, State Director of the North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education. Wayde was previously Director of Workforce Development for the ND Dept. of Commerce and also worked as a school director. 

Hear about:
Using innovative technology to enhance career explorationExploring in-demand occupations in rural areasVirtual reality to provide tangible experiencesHow North Dakota began using CareerView XR statewide. What happens when students are introduced to careers they didn’t know existedGetting employers involvedAbout today’s host
Tanya Sheckley is the Founder and President of UP Academy, a progressive elementary lab school in San Mateo, California. UP Academy is reinventing education by customizing learning for each student, integrating project-based learning throughout its curriculum, and supporting students with disabilities to attend alongside able-bodied students in mixed-age classrooms.

Tanya hosts the Rebel Educator podcast, speaks across the country on the future of education, and leads professional development programs for school administrators and educators. Listen to Rebel Educator here: https://re.bepodcast.network/ 

About Be More Colorful
Be More Colorful, based in Fargo, North Dakota specializes in immersive technology solutions for solving workforce development problems. Co-founded by husband-and-wife team Matt and Katie Chaussee, the company has been at the forefront of creating immersive media solutions that help people make better decisions about where they choose to live, learn, work and play. Learn more:
https://www.bemorecolorful.com https://www.facebook.com/careerviewxr  https://www.facebook.com/bemorecolorful  https://www.linkedin.com/company/careerviewxr  https://www.linkedin.com/company/be-more-colorful  https://www.instagram.com/bemorecolorful https://twitter.com/bemorecolorful  https://www.tiktok.com/@bemorecolorful 

In this episode, Aidan Kestigian, a visiting fellow in the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University and the Vice President of Operations and Curriculum for ThinkerAnalytix, shares her insights on using AI to help students critically evaluate information and form better arguments. 

Hear about:
Pedagog.ai’s connection to philosophyHow AI can have a role in moderating disagreements and creating productive discussionGiving students targeted practice in making an argumentUsing AI to make content and exercises grade- and skill-appropriateGiving students the tools to critically evaluate what they’re reading and hearingPersuasive arguments in a disagreementAbout today’s host
Tanya Sheckley is the Founder and President of UP Academy, a progressive elementary lab school in San Mateo, California. UP Academy is reinventing education by customizing learning for each student, integrating project-based learning throughout its curriculum, and supporting students with disabilities to attend alongside able-bodied students in mixed-age classrooms.

Tanya hosts the Rebel Educator podcast, speaks across the country on the future of education, and leads professional development programs for school administrators and educators. Listen to Rebel Educator here: https://re.bepodcast.network/ 

About Pedagog.ai
Pedagog.ai is focused on supporting educators in adapting to the age of artificial intelligence in education. The company offers a variety of professional development options, including books, online courses, webinars, and in-person workshops, to help teachers learn about the latest advancements in AI and education. Their suite of tools is designed with educators in mind, aiming to enhance curriculum development and workflow efficiency through AI technology. They also provide tools tailored for student use, enabling them to engage in assignments that leverage AI capabilities in a classroom setting. Learn more:
http://pedagog.ai https://twitter.com/pedagogycloud https://www.instagram.com/pedagogycloud https://facebook.com/pedagogycloud