EdTechnical

Owen Henkel & Libby Hills

Join two former teachers - Libby Hills from the Jacobs Foundation and AI researcher Owen Henkel - for the EdTechnical podcast series about AI in education. Each episode, Libby and Owen will ask experts to help educators sift the useful insights from the AI hype. They’ll be asking questions like - how does this actually help students and teachers? What do we actually know about this technology, and what’s just speculation? And (importantly!) when we say AI, what are we actually talking about? 

  1. 21시간 전

    Are Roboteachers Coming? (Probably Not)

    In this episode of EdTechnical, Libby and Owen speak with Kristyn Sommer, a developmental psychologist and child robot interaction researcher. Together, they explore how young children learn through imitation, why physical presence matters for learning, and what the so-called robot deficit reveals about engagement, psychological safety, and learning outcomes. Kristyn explains where robots can support learning, where they fall short, and why many assumptions about roboteachers are far ahead of the evidence. They also discuss the practical realities and the ethics of educational robotics, and why robots are more likely to support teachers than replace them anytime soon. Links: Can a robot teach me that? Children’s ability to imitate robotsPreschool children overimitate robots, but do so less than they overimitate humansWhen is it right for a robot to be wrong? Children trust a robot over a human in a selective trust taskBio Kristyn Sommer is a developmental psychologist and child-robot interaction researcher whose work explores how young children learn from and with social robots. She is a postdoctoral research fellow at Griffith University’s School of Applied Psychology, where she investigates how children’s social, emotional and behavioural engagement with robotic teachers affects learning and development. Her research also examines individual differences in how children relate to and trust robots, and how these insights might inform more supportive, evidence-based uses of educational technology. She is also a Jacobs Foundation Research Fellow focused on foundational work in children’s learning with robot companions. Join us on social media: BOLD (@BOLD_insights), Libby Hills (@Libbylhhills) and Owen Henkel (@owen_henkel) Listen to all episodes of Ed-Technical here: https://bold.expert/ed-technical Subscribe to BOLD’s newsletter: https://bold.expert/newsletter Stay up to date with all the latest research on child development and learning: https://bold.expert Credits: Sarah Myles for production support; Josie Hills for graphic design; Anabel Altenburg for content production.

    36분
  2. 2025. 12. 11.

    Adding It Up: Dan Meyer on Math, Tech & AI Scepticism

    In this episode of EdTechnical, Libby and Owen sit down with Dan Meyer: math educator, EdTech innovator, and self-proclaimed “token AI sceptic”. Dan’s rare mix of classroom experience and product design insight gives him a unique perspective on how technology intersects with real classrooms. He shares what the classroom teaches him about student engagement, the challenges teachers face, and why motivation is deeply social - which EdTech can overlook. They dig into how AI can support creativity and connection, why great math teaching starts with inviting and developing, and where “AI guy” might be missing the point. Plus, Dan reveals the AI project he’s excited about and what it means for teachers.  Links: TeacherTapp survey on teacher AI use EdTechnical’s forecasting competition - deadline 16 DecemberBio Dan Meyer taught secondary maths to students who didn't like secondary maths. He has advocated for better maths instruction on CNN, Good Morning America, Everyday With Rachel Ray, and TED.com. He earned his doctorate from Stanford University in maths education and is the Vice President of Teacher Growth at Amplify where he explores the future of maths, technology, and learning. He has worked with teachers around the world, calls Oakland home, and taught eighth graders there yesterday. Join us on social media: BOLD (@BOLD_insights), Libby Hills (@Libbylhhills) and Owen Henkel (@owen_henkel) Listen to all episodes of Ed-Technical here: https://bold.expert/ed-technical Subscribe to BOLD’s newsletter: https://bold.expert/newsletter Stay up to date with all the latest research on child development and learning: https://bold.expert Credits: Sarah Myles for production support; Josie Hills for graphic design; Anabel Altenburg for content production.

    36분
  3. 2025. 10. 16.

    Is social media really destroying teen mental health?

    In this episode of EdTechnical, Libby and Owen speak with Candice Odgers, a psychologist and researcher studying how online experiences influence children's mental health. They revisit the debate around social media and teen wellbeing, questioning the claims that social media use  has caused rising rates of depression and anxiety. Candice calls for a more careful reading of the evidence and cautions against rushing into restrictive policies that may have unintended consequences or divert attention from more effective interventions. Candice also shares early findings from her recent research into AI in education. She finds surprisingly limited use of AI among young people, and mixed perceptions around what counts as cheating, which shapes how these tools are received. Notably, she found no clear socioeconomic divide in AI engagement, raising questions about how these tools might be designed to support more equitable learning. They discuss the challenge of designing rigorous studies in this space and the need for thoughtful, evidence-informed approaches to both social media and AI. Links: Adaptlab - Adaptation, Development and Positive Transitions Lab NYT Article: Panicking About Your Kids’ Phones? New Research Says Don’t Bio Candice Odgers is the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Professor of Psychological Science at the University of California Irvine. She also co-directs the Child & Brain Development Program at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and the CERES Network funded by the Jacobs Foundation. Her team has been capturing the daily lives and health of adolescents using mobile phones and sensors over the past decade. More recently, she has been working to leverage digital technologies to better support the needs of children and adolescents as they come of age in an increasingly unequal and digital world. Join us on social media: BOLD (@BOLD_insights), Libby Hills (@Libbylhhills) and Owen Henkel (@owen_henkel) Listen to all episodes of Ed-Technical here: https://bold.expert/ed-technical Subscribe to BOLD’s newsletter: https://bold.expert/newsletter Stay up to date with all the latest research on child development and learning: https://bold.expert Credits: Sarah Myles for production support; Josie Hills for graphic design; Anabel Altenburg for content production.

    39분
  4. 2025. 09. 18.

    Rewiring the Brain: Reading, AI and the Science of Literacy

    In this first episode of EdTechnical Season 3, Libby and Owen speak with Dr. Jason Yeatman from Stanford University about how the brain learns to read, the power of better assessment, and a broader look at how AI is beginning to reshape our relationship with reading itself. They touch on the science behind reading as a learned skill, the surprising overlap between visual and auditory processing, and the challenges schools face in teaching it well. ROAR (Rapid Online Assessment of Reading), a free online reading assessment tool developed by Dr. Yeatman’s lab, comes up as a practical way schools are identifying literacy gaps and supporting students at scale across the US. They reflect on what reading looks like in an AI-driven world in which technology can surface information instantly, reflecting that literacy remains essential for engaging with complexity, understanding detail, and maintaining equal access to opportunity and participation in society.  Links ROAR (Rapid Online Reading Assessment) – Welcome to ROAR!Journal Article: The Virtuous Cycle between Education and Neuroscience, by Jason D. Yeatman and Maya Yablonski, published in Mind, Brain and Education (August 2025)Bio Dr. Jason Yeatman is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education and Department of Psychology and the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Stanford University. He earned his PhD in Psychology, focusing on the neurobiology of literacy and brain imaging methods to study learning and plasticity. As director of the Brain Development and Education Lab, his research aims to uncover how children learn to read, how this process differs in those with dyslexia, and how to design effective literacy interventions using structural and functional neuroimaging to explore how reading instruction shapes brain development. Join us on social media: BOLD (@BOLD_insights), Libby Hills (@Libbylhhills) and Owen Henkel (@owen_henkel) Listen to all episodes of Ed-Technical here: https://bold.expert/ed-technical Subscribe to BOLD’s newsletter: https://bold.expert/newsletter Stay up to date with all the latest research on child development and learning: https://bold.expert Credits: Sarah Myles for production support; Josie Hills for graphic design; Anabel Altenburg for content production.

    38분

소개

Join two former teachers - Libby Hills from the Jacobs Foundation and AI researcher Owen Henkel - for the EdTechnical podcast series about AI in education. Each episode, Libby and Owen will ask experts to help educators sift the useful insights from the AI hype. They’ll be asking questions like - how does this actually help students and teachers? What do we actually know about this technology, and what’s just speculation? And (importantly!) when we say AI, what are we actually talking about? 

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