EdTech Connect

About EdTech Connect

With more than 570,000 downloads, The Signal is the podcast for higher education’s innovative leaders. Hosted by Jeff Dillon, The Signal cuts through the noise to bring you the strategic indights needed to reshape how institutions recruit, support, and retain students. Every Friday, we sit down with the practitioners and technology builders who are actively defining the next decade of campus life. Why Higher Ed Leaders Listen: In one of the most consequential periods for academia, we move past the hype to focus on Human-Centered Innovation. Our episodes feature deep-dive interviews with guest experts focusing on the "real work" of institutional evolution. Core Topics & AI Strategy: * Artificial Intelligence: Practical AI adoption, governance, and the "Human in the Loop" mindset. * Enrollment Marketing: Modern recruitment strategies and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). * Student Success: Data-driven retention, mental health, and digital engagement. * Institutional Transformation: Navigating digital transformation with a focus on workforce readiness and AVPs reimagining student care. Whether you are a C-suite leader, IT Director, or Faculty member, join our community of 100,000+ professionals and subscribe to The Signal Newsletter at EdTechConnect.com to stay ahead of the curve.

Publisher

Jeff Dillon

Category

education · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Sept 2024

Latest episode

2 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 107 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   2 Oct 2026

   Ep. 107 - Si Elliott: Change Your Shoes, Not Your Software

   What if the biggest problem in higher ed marketing isn't technology, budget, or even strategy—but the fact that we assume students make rational decisions when they're actually driven by emotion, bias, and the simple need to feel like they belong? In this episode, host Jeff Dillon welcomes Si Elliott, founder of Fabrics, a customer experience consultancy that applies behavioral science to how organizations design experiences and relationships. Si also runs Diversity, a creative agency in Nottingham, England, and guest lectures at three universities—including the Communication University of China. He brings a rare outside perspective to higher ed, challenging institutions to stop designing around the needs of the organization and start designing around the experience of the person. He explains why the technology amplifies whatever process is already there—good or bad—and why "marketing is better with psychology." He also breaks down three behavioral biases that could change how enrollment teams communicate: the curse of knowledge, social proof, and peak-end rule. And he offers a simple but powerful challenge to any president or CIO: put on a pair of trainers and a hoodie, walk around campus anonymously, and just observe. Change your shoes. Key Takeaways Psychology Is Better Marketing: Marketing isn't just persuasion—it's understanding people so you can serve them better. The goal isn't to trick people into converting; it's to make it easier for them to make the best decision for themselves. Assume Emotional Decisions, Not Rational Ones: A 17-year-old choosing a university isn't just weighing league tables and employment outcomes. They're asking: "Can I see myself fitting in here? Does this feel like a place for me?" That's hard to track in a CRM, but it's the real question. Three Biases That Matter Most: The curse of knowledge (you know your institution too well to explain it clearly to others), social proof (students need evidence they'll belong), and peak-end rule (people judge an experience by its emotional peak and its final moment). Use these to redesign open days, communications, and touchpoints. Technology Amplifies What's Already There: If the underlying process is broken, technology will make it broken faster. Before buying a new platform, ask: are we fixing a process problem, an ownership problem, or a human understanding problem? Don't Confuse Efficiency with Experience: AI and automation can streamline operations, but they can also strip the warmth out of a relationship. If an airline's automated messages leave a stranded passenger with no human contact for 72 hours, the technology is working against the brand. The Value of Toil: Learning happens when you work through a problem yourself. AI shortcuts can rob students of the struggle that leads to true understanding. The future of education isn't competing with AI on processing—it's competing on context, nuance, creativity, and the human touch. Map the Journey, Find the Friction: A customer experience audit starts with mapping the full journey—exploration, open days, offers, registration, student life—and identifying moments of high emotion or high friction. That's where you focus your attention. Change Your Shoes: If you're a president, CIO, or marketing leader, put on a pair of trainers, jeans, and a hoodie. Walk around campus anonymously. Attend an open day. Buy a student a coffee and just listen. Observe body...

2. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Ep. 106 - Jeffrey Stepakoff: Content Is What You Put in a Sofa

   What happens when a veteran TV writer—whose credits include The Wonder Years, Dawson's Creek, and Disney's Tarzan—decides to build a film school inside North America's largest soundstage complex? You get a model that challenges nearly every assumption higher ed has about where learning happens, who should teach it, and what students actually need to succeed. In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Jeffrey Stepakoff, founder of the Georgia Film Academy and now President and co-founder of the Trilith Institute. Jeffrey has spent 40 years in entertainment, has over 1 million books in print, and has built two groundbreaking programs that bridge the gap between academia and industry. The Georgia Film Academy grew to serve 2,500 students a year across 30 institutions, helping grow Georgia's film production spending from $2 billion to $4.4 billion during his tenure. Now at Trilith, Jeffrey is taking the model further—launching "Semester at Trilith," a 15-week, 15-credit immersive program that drops students into a working studio environment. He argues that in an era of AI abundance, the most valuable thing we can teach isn't craft—it's taste, critical thinking, and the ability to discern what stories actually deserve to be told. For anyone in higher ed wrestling with questions of workforce relevance, industry partnerships, or the future of experiential learning, this episode offers a bold, practical, and deeply human vision. Key Takeaways Partnership Is the Engine of Success: The Georgia Film Academy succeeded because it brought together labor unions, state leadership, production studios, and 30 higher education institutions—including universities, technical colleges, and private schools—all aligned around a shared goal. Credit Portability Is a Political Problem, Not a Technical One: The mechanics of transferring credits are doable. The challenge is institutional anxiety about losing students and resources. The solution is a consortium model with an R1 institution (like Clemson) serving as the accrediting body—similar to a semester-at-sea model. Own Less, Access More: Institutions shouldn't be building their own soundstages or buying equipment that will be obsolete in 18 months. The future is about buying access to industry infrastructure, not owning it. Trilith partners with a 34-soundstage complex so students train on professional equipment in a professional environment. In an Age of Abundance, Taste and Curation Are the Valuable Skills: AI can generate endless content. The scarce skill is knowing what deserves to be made—developing taste, critical thinking, and the ability to discern what stories matter and why. What Do You Have to Say? Craft can be taught in a weekend. The deeper question is: who are you as a person? What stories are only you equipped to tell? That's what educators should be spending their time on. The Goal Is to Build a New Creative Hub, Not Just a Factory: Georgia grew its production infrastructure to serve Hollywood. But the real opportunity is to build a self-sustaining industry based on original intellectual property—where writers, directors, and creators live, work, and tell stories that originate in the region. Economic Impact Requires Measurable Metrics: To convince legislators and policymakers, programs must track outcomes—credit hours, job placements, industry spend. Accountability builds credibility and long-term investment. The Future of Higher Ed Is About Partnership, Not Replacement...

3. 

   18 Sept 2026

   Ep. 105 -Michael Leggs: The Essay Was Never Evidence of Thinking

   Host Jeff Dillon interviews English professor Michael Leggs about how AI exposes flaws in higher education assessment, advocating for revision as evidence of thinking over surveillance.

Inside a recent episode

Ep. 95 - Jeff Meade: Why Paul Quinn College Made Entrepreneurship a Graduation Requirement

Published 10 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And so we spent a bunch of time on that. And then they started coming up with ideas. And so at the end of the six weeks, the goal is, can you pitch an idea to some investors that we bring in to their peers and really sell people that you actually have a solution? And then in the fall and the spring semester, they go into a course where we actually start to build out some of these ideas. We're in year two of it now. The thinking now is how do we get some of these ideas that can actually scale? The ideas run the gamut, right? There's a company or a group of students who are launching a podcast. There's some other folks that want to start clothing brands. […]

Who has been a guest on EdTech Connect

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Michael Leggs
• Raffi DerSimonian
• Jenny Petty
• John Fees
• Jeff Wilser

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

1,848

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 71 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

84

Social presence

0

YouTube

68

Engagement

81

Contact EdTech Connect

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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