EdTech Startup Series

About EdTech Startup Series

PrincipalPLN was started by Jessica Johnson, Spike Cook, and Theresa Stager in 2014. It features amazing guests talking about all things connected school leadership.

Publisher

BE Podcast Network

Category

education · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 Aug 2014

Latest episode

14 May 2026

Latest episodes

32 of 193 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   14 May 2026

   De Facto Leaders: Using Recess to Build Social Skills and Help Students Discover their Leadership Potential with Elizabeth Cushing of Playworks

   Recess is often thought of as an “extra” activity in the school day. Sometimes it’s even taken away from students as a punishment. In this episode recorded for De Facto Leaders (https://defactoleaders.com/), host Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan talks to Elizabeth Cushing, CEO of Playworks, to understand why recess is actually an integral part of the school day. In fact, it can help students feel connected and reduce chronic absenteeism. The conversation covers: Simple ways educators can set expectations and rules to create structure and a sense of safety around recess How to use play as a reset and a preventative measure, instead of something that’s taken away from kids as a punishment How training kids as peer coaches can help decrease disruptive behaviors and help kids discover their own leadership potential Learn more about Playworks on their website at: https://www.playworks.org/ Resources mentioned in this interview include: Comprehensive Game Guide that Outlines Games Across Grade Levels: https://www.playworks.org/indiana/game-guide/ The sister website for Playworks with tools for assessing the health of your school’s recess: https://www.recesslab.org/

2. 

   24 Mar 2026

   The Learning Experience: What Utah is Building with AI & Why it Matters

   This week, we're sharing a special episode from The Learning Experience powered by CAST (https://www.cast.org/connect/learning-experience-podcast), part of the Be Podcast Network. You'll hear from Matt Winters, a leader from the Utah State Board of Education, discussing how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of teaching and learning. The conversation explores Utah’s statewide approach to AI, what it means for educators and students, and how schools can balance innovation with responsibility. The episode offers practical insights and big-picture thinking for anyone curious about the role of AI in education. This episode is brought to you by ReadSpeaker (https://www.readspeaker.com/). Learn more about how ReadSpeaker aligns with UDL. (https://www.readspeaker.com/request-more-readspeaker-info-1/) Transcript (https://castudl.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/aemnextgen/IQBMNOWHtK7IR7J28w99Cnb8AaSKC2-cqEw2SXzvOSdPNyc?e=IAafzA) Resources: USBE Artificial Intelligence (https://schools.utah.gov/informationtechnology/artificialintelligence/index) ReadSpeaker and UDL (https://www.readspeaker.com/request-more-readspeaker-info-1/) Listen and subscribe to The Learning Experience powered by CAST: https://www.cast.org/connect/learning-experience-podcast

3. 

   10 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT

   The Learning Bridge: Insights on Supporting Gen Z and Gen A in Complex Times with Chloe Combi and Richard Gerver

   Host Richard Gerver interviews author Chloe Combi about supporting Gen Z and Gen A in complex times, offering insights from her extensive research.

Inside a recent episode

The Learning Bridge: Insights on Supporting Gen Z and Gen A in Complex Times with Chloe Combi and Richard Gerver

Published 10 Mar 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Now I would actually argue that the focus of kind of on, it's coming from lots of people that they follow or like school doesn't teach you anything of value. And I would argue that nobody's ever known where we're going. So actually being taught to be a great thinker and a great communicator and a great problem solver, those are the things that we should be focusing on, actually much more than thinking about making every kid a coder, because that's absolute nonsense. And actually when you talk to employers, loads of them are sort of saying, we're maxed out in coders and tech type people. And we need kind of linguists and problem solvers and psychologists and team players and all those things. […]

Who has been a guest on EdTech Startup Series

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

• Chloe Combi
• Will Parker
• Mike Cronley
• Joel Lavin
• Dr Jayne Lammers

Podcast Authority Score: 54 / 100

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

Quality

89

Social presence

94

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

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Guest appearances

Books guests

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

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