Episode 297: The Human Intelligence Movement

Episode 297: Building a Human-Centered Future

 [00:00:30] Fonz: Hello, everybody. And welcome to another great episode of my tech life. Thank you so much for joining us on this wonderful day and wherever it is that you're joining us from around the world.

Thank you as always for all of your support. We appreciate all the likes, the shares, the follows. Thank you so much to all our new YouTube subscribers. We really appreciate it. And thank you as always for making the show what it is. So I'm really excited to be here with you all today, as you know, our goal and our mission here.

At my ed tech life is to bring you some amazing conversations, amazing guests that will continue to help us grow together within this education space. And today I am excited about today's show. If you notice my, my screen is almost full, of members here from the Human Intelligence Movement

so we're going to dive in deep. to see what the movement is about, what we can expect from the movement as it continues to grow. And just to hear and amplify the voices of all of these members, because I am excited not only to get to know them, but I definitely want you to get to know them as well. So I am excited.

let's go ahead and get started. So I would love to welcome to the show. Michelle Brooke, Stacey and Rachel, who are joining us. we'll start off with a couple of, a little bit of a introduction and the context in the education space. So we'll go ahead and start with you, Michelle.

How are you doing this evening?

[00:01:55] Michelle: Thanks Fonz. It's so great to be here. I'm excited to tell you all about the Human Intelligence Movement my name is Michelle Ement. And I serve as the co president of the human intelligence movement and also the interim executive director. So I'm working with this team on the day to day operations and making this movement really come alive.

I also am the chief academic officer of pro solve and I am really focused on building a learning experience. different ways to bring about learning for students that builds human intelligence. And a little bit about my background. I have been in education for just about 30 years, I think 27 to be exact, which Just blows my mind.

all throughout my career, I've been an educator. I've been a district administrator and throughout all of my journey, I felt like learning needed to change for students. the education system has felt so stuck. with the human intelligence movement, I'm able to bring about the reform needed for education as we shape the future for an AI world.

So I'm excited that you're having us on. We are eager to tell you all about what the movement's about and how we see it. We've been talking a lot about the need to shape and, um, shape education for an AI world. So I'll toss it over to Brooke.

[00:03:17] Brooke: Hey, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

My name is Brooke Moorhead and I am the Internal Membership Engagement Director for the Human Intelligence Division. movement. So that means that I make sure that once you join the human intelligence movement, we bring something of value to you and make being a member worth your while. I have 17 years in public education.

I was a kindergarten through fifth grade teacher. A lot of that time I spent as the school librarian. And so, Digital literacy, information literacy has just been part of my life and part of what I brought not only to the kids that entered my classroom, but to school communities. I spent a couple of years traveling throughout my state, giving professional development on digital learning, digital best practices, and just trying to help teachers post COVID survive in a very overwhelmed.

Environment where students are disengaged now we're all 1 to 1 and what do we do how do we do it trying to bring back the center of everything focused on the student. Every tool we use every standard. We have to bring it back to that human piece. What are the students name? What are the students?

Learn, but where are they emotionally? Where is their emotional intelligence? Because it's not just hard. It wasn't just hard on adults. It also wreak havoc on children. I have 2 children of my own and, They're just different. I have a COVID baby. Actually, that's what people call her because she was born in 2020, and she is definitely a different bird.

All right. Well, that's a little bit about me and I will pass it on to Stacy.

[00:05:01] Stacy: Hey, y'all I'm Stacy and I am a teacher by nature. That's my primary role, but I'm also a technology gal from my school site. Doing some work for the district. similar to Brooke, I also have some little ones and a COVID child as well in that crazy time.

bringing that perspective as well as seeing what kids need, in this challenging time. I don't know if we say post COVID or we're still recovering from this madness. So, just the focus on the, the, the Those emotional skills, the critical thinking skills like needs to be amplified even more than we were doing before COVID.

It's just so much more important now. and yeah, I've really enjoyed being part of the Human Intelligence Movement in the last few months, I stumbled upon it on LinkedIn. went to the website and clicked on a button that said, join the movement and was like, okay, let's see what this is about.

And lo and behold, I found my people. I feel like there's tons of like minded educators that are part of this movement that have a clear vision for what education could be and are actually taking steps to make it So it's really exciting to see this work progress and connect with other folks, like everyone on this call.

[00:06:17] Fonz: Awesome. Thank you, Stacey. Rachel, how about yourself?

[00:06:21] Rachel: Thank you Fonz. Great to be here. I am Rachel Wood, Director of Research and Content with the Human Intelligence Movement, and I am actually a PhD candidate. So right now I am in my dissertation. What I'm studying is the Human Intelligence Movement

thank you. effect of artificial intelligence, the impact really of artificial intelligence on the workplace and education. I love bringing the perspective of what we need in the workforce right now? And therefore, how are we preparing our students to be the best? Career ready

I'm looking at the skills needed, the different overarching dispositions, you know, the very tangible things that we are going to need and how we can implement those into education. that's where I'm coming from.

[00:07:11] Fonz: Awesome. Well, great introductions, ladies. I'm like I said, I'm really excited and I am really awestruck by just your wonderful, uh, introduction.

Just your story and your backstory. I know we didn't get to touch on a lot of that because it's an episode about the human intelligence movement, but based on your experience and what I've heard, we can definitely do, and I would love to welcome y'all back, like on solo shows and stuff like that.

So we can continue the conversation, but let's dive right in into the Human Intelligence Movement so I'm coming back to you, Michelle. I know that. You know, you have been on the show before and we talked about learning experiences. We talked about really just that connection from teacher to students and so on.

And then of course now with, AI in the picture, since 2022 we're starting to see more changes within the classrooms and so on. I want to ask you the human intelligence movement, where did that idea originate? And if you can just tell us a little bit more of that global vision, and then we'll pass it along to the rest of the ladies so they can continue to add, from their background and experience within the movement as well.

[00:08:22] Michelle: Yeah, great question. So the Human intelligence movement was really Travis Allen's idea. He has been talking about human intelligence for a number of years. Travis and I worked together through our work with ProSolve, we started to really And so we really need to put our heads together and think about, okay, what does it mean to amplify human intelligence?

And why is this so urgent right now as we start to think about our AI world? And so, you know, many conversations, hours of thinking about how, how can we push on the education system? How can we reform education? And it really came to be that we needed to start this movement because he and I are only two people that can only Make a dent in what really needs to happen with our education system.

And there was this urgency to get something going as AI became more and more present. it was really last April. We were at the air show and at ASU GVS, that conference, talking to people and, started to get some momentum with this idea, which is. So crazy to me to think about in just a few short months, we have over 400 founding members, thousands of people following us on social media.

the reason for that is right now, whether you love AI, and use it every day, you understand. the importance of the human aspect with AI. And then if you're maybe have a little fear of AI, a little uncertainty, or you're kind of like, I don't like this whole, all the work with AI, you really are then devoted to how do we.

Bring more human intelligence into the conversation. So what we're finding is that all perspectives are embracing this idea that We need more human centered learning and we really need to figure out what skills are learners are going to need that cannot be replicated by AI. So there's just this real, very strong following of people devoted to working together to figure this out.

I think the biggest thing that we see is that in our, in our world today, students no longer deem to be measured by what they know. standardized tests. I think everyone on this call would echo are outdated. They don't measure what's who kids really are, and they need to be put to the side.

what we need to do is elevate the focus on measuring human intelligence. that's the big goal of the human intelligence movement is identifying what's out there. What what skills can't be replicated by A. I. And then figuring out how to really increase the priority around, around really measuring and holding schools accountable to teaching our students these human intelligences.

So, I'll toss it over to to Stacy. I'm curious what your thoughts are.

[00:11:19] Stacy: Yeah, I mean, we have so many skills that we want our students to learn in the reality of our content area, but it transcends content area when you think about, what they really need to be a good human and to be a good person when they leave school.

schooling and go beyond academics. And when we think about what they need to be in the workforce or, to continue their education and do other things, it's those core skills that are those human intelligence skills that we're talking about. they just really need to practice those more and get more opportunities in school to be prepared for life outside of school, like real authentic, relatable learning.

Like you said, with standardized testing. Like we need to go away from just rote memorization and just traditional grading scales which is hard. That's hard systemic change. But getting people together in a movement like this brings power in numbers and collective activism to inspire change in the world.

pockets throughout the country that can then continue to grow and grow and grow. Um, I think getting our kids to be more empathetic and better communicators and be able to challenge assumptions and things that they're seeing online, right? Like we don't want them to just take information at face value.

We want them to be able to think critically and debate and have discussions and be articulate thinkers. the more they can listen to opposing viewpoints and gain perspective, the more they are developing that empathy and those skills they're going to need after schooling, carrying them throughout their lifetime.

[00:13:07] Rachel: And I'll just jump in here and add to that. Stacey and Michelle, what you both have said. I have the delight and the pleasure of working with a group of researchers who are all involved in the Human Intelligence Movement we are working to, build a body of literature that is original, qualitative and quantitative research that truly addresses.

Identifying and defining what it means to be human right now. What does it mean? in the era of AI, we want to very clearly lay out how we are defining human intelligence that is the work of the research committee that I am a part of and heading up to dive into some of these skills and even, you know, Kind of gleaned from my own research in this area right now, we have basic digital literacy skills.

We know that we're all needing and working on. However, there is a set of core adaptive skills that we must all learn ourselves and implement with our students. Things like flexibility, growth mindset, grit. If you've kind of read some research on that is the number one predictor of success. And also curiosity to truly tap into curiosity right now.

So those four skills that I just mentioned. Grit, flexibility, growth mindset, curiosity are really core for us to adapt to the quick pace of the change of AI. we can't really put a stake in the ground and say, well, I know AI because it's going to be different next month. And it's gonna be different when our students graduate in two years, five years, 10 years.

So if we can teach them to be. Adaptive to this environment. We have taught them quite a bit.

[00:15:01] Fonz: Excellent. And you know, that's one of the main things that I want to highlight with everything that you all have shared the big thing that always comes to my head is adapt, adapt, adapt.

my favorite three words that have helped me be successful in education have always been improvise, adapt, and overcome. knowing that we need to adapt as far as right now, the way that education is, I, I, I like to say slowly changing, but it's not, you know, it's rapidly changing, I love what you all are sharing because I'm also not a big fan of state testing as you know, to me, it's a unimodal test for multimodal learners.

And to me, that just really doesn't make any sense where you're just saying, okay, it's just going to be either a, b, c, d or e But there has to be a different way to assess, like you mentioned, multiple human intelligences and the learning experience too.

The way that you mentioned curiosity, you know, adaptability, that grit, you know, I think oftentimes too, due to certain curriculum or the speed of our curriculum, we have to meet certain deadlines by certain weeks and be here at this semester, you know, at the end of the semester. Okay. Makes it very difficult for teachers to be able to feel they can give time to really open up those learning experiences to students.

I remember when Michelle was here previously, the way that she described that one day, she, you know, pretty much just changed the whole layout of her classroom. For a specific lesson. So the students can really dive in deep into those lessons and immerse themselves into the learning experiences. And I think that's something that is very important that as we are able to implement those learning experiences within the classroom, the students will.

Adapt to the kind of skills that they will need, or they'll have a nice background or formative background into how they can transition and adapt to the world that is coming as far as this digital age that we are seeing with, of course, a lot of the A. I. Platforms that are coming to fruition and are already in schools and being used on the day to day.

So I really like that you're sharing. It really stands out to me a lot. And I think that's a great message that everybody needs to hear, especially, with student agencies. So Brooke, I don't want to leave you out here, but I want to ask you, what are your thoughts as, the movement continues to grow.

we're talking a lot about adaptability, grit. and being able to grow and dive into learning experiences as students and provide those learning experiences also as teachers.

[00:17:41] Brooke: One of the things that really appealed to me about the human intelligence movement and made me want to join, was the fact that I've been in so many classrooms especially with my own child. She's in 5th grade and I see that we're still memorizing history facts and she's going back and putting them down.

On a test, I'm like, do we really need to memorize them? I mean, you're carrying those around in your pocket. student agency, became something super important to me, like, giving students a voice and choice, how can we teach them to be adaptable when they have no choices and no voice and what they're learning what they're recalling and.

And then when they don't have a choice and how they can convey that information back to the teacher. So, I think Stacy was the one that said, we need assessment reform and of course, state assessments are not giving students choices, maybe in the writing, but still there's a prompt. And then there's like, these are the rubric steps and they practice writing like that.

I just think in order to really. Home in on these human intelligences in the classroom, we're going to have to start adapting curriculums to include student agency and then providing professional development to teachers so that they understand how to teach or how to use agency in their classrooms, a lot of the curriculums I've seen and worked with, the teacher says this, the student does this, which is important also, it's a huge paradigm shift in order to teach grit, adaptability, curiosity, all of these human intelligences that are going to be so important for our students to go out into the workforce and be adaptable to, even 2 years ago, the work I was doing 2 years ago is completely different than the work I'm doing now, even though I'm in the same career.

[00:19:24] Fonz: No, and you're absolutely right, even our students right now in the classroom, somebody listening may be thinking, they're really thinking that far ahead, but as teachers, we have always thought that far ahead, especially myself, when I first came into Education, I was always like everything that I do here today is going to have a profound effect on my students.

And I may not see it right now at this time, because I always say, you know, teaching, it's like when you're teaching, it's your, you're planting that little seed you, won't see that fruit till many years. If you ever get to see your students again, as far as them visiting and telling you Hey, this is what I'm doing now.

We always want the best for our students. I think that is very important that we have these crucial conversations. having a wonderful group such as the human intelligence movement to be able to bring out these, These talking points that are very important for us to start thinking about because again, you know AI We see it and we're seeing it more and more and more.

It's not gonna go anywhere anytime soon and by the time we know it It's gonna be very well blended into a lot of the things that we are doing So I want to ask now, how do we envision an ideal classroom of the future, where AI and human intelligence are balanced to create wonderful learning experiences?

So we'll go with Michelle.

[00:20:47] Michelle: I love this question because I'm always, thinking ahead and visioning out what the future of education could look like. for me, Fonz, it really starts with building curiosity, you know, as Rachel said, that core mindset of being curious. as an educator, it's shifting to be really that facilitator of curiosity and discovery.

And I think about how teachers really start to think about questions that can't be answered by googling or searching A. I. But really quite questions that really are deep thought provoking that evoke that sense of curiosity and wonder. and that way it opens up doors for students to really start to synthesize their thinking and put ideas together.

I think in an ideal classroom, it would have, a I used throughout the day, along with technology, it wouldn't be like technology time we would stop seeing cell phones being locked away at the door. instead, we would teach students the effective way to use. Use devices and use their technology, which I think, I think we're already we would all probably agree with.

I think the other thing that I just want to mention is that the type of learning experiences you mentioned this a little bit already Fonz, but they would really mirror the real world or the workforce. So we would have, students working in cooperative groups. as a team, having that effective communication we use on a day to day basis in our work,

simulating what work looks like in the classroom in a real world way. I think the other thing I would change if I could is, stop giving homework that isn't kind of meaningless and instead have students go out and apply their learning in a real world way. So what that could look like is you've learned something, you've practiced something at school and now go home and apply it in the evening or on the weekend and really show how using that new learning can make you a better person, make those around you a better person.

So I think those are some of the things that I would think about building curiosity, simulating what the real world looks like in the classroom, and then having authentic application of the learning instead of measuring through exams or through homework, but real authentic application moments.

[00:23:13] Rachel: I would love to amplify again what Michelle has said when we look at the workforce is heading right now, we are seeing that as AI is able to take over some of our mundane routine tasks that we're doing, we are freed up to be more relational and enter into a relational economy.

So as Michelle is saying, how do we mirror that in the classroom? What does that look like for us to do? And teachers, educators are facilitators. I see them as psychological overseers of our students. they are able to truly enter into the emotional and embodied physical world of the student, which is not something AI can replicate.

Right now. the embodied experience that we have in the classroom, so many of the lessons we learn are not from the academics, but they are from the social interactions that we have as we rub shoulders with other students and other individuals. So to create classrooms that are project based and heavily collaborative teaching things like not just problem solving, but prior to that, Problem precision.

So before we can solve the problem, how can we get precise with describing what the problem is? Things like this that we can do in collaborative groups and really, be relationally focused is part of an ideal classroom, I think. .

[00:24:43] Fonz: You know, one of the things you hit on is that relationship component.

And I think that is so important, I love the way that you, you described, you know, the teacher is a psychological overseer. I always call teachers to like learning engineers, as well. because that's really what they're doing. Also, too. I mean, they're building their, their I mean, they were so many multiple hats.

We all wear multiple hats as educators. And I think that's something that is very important there as far as having those true authentic relationships. Also having the teacher, you know, just have enough knowledge of their students to be able to, again, going back to modeling as a teacher, being able to adapt and seeing a student, you know, or a student seeing like, wow, I saw my teacher being able to adapt to.

Maybe this lesson or maybe it didn't go too well and they said, okay, we're going to try this a different way building that level of trust and community within the classroom and building, working on that collaboration, communication skills and so on. I think that's something that is very powerful that I love because everything comes back to simplifying things building relationships and really getting to know each other.

 So, Brooke, how about yourself?

What are some of your thoughts as far as, you know, what Michelle and Rachel have, shared?

[00:25:59] Brooke: I really love what they're saying. And I agree with all of the things 100%. and that's 1 of the things that we're really trying to do with the human intelligence movement, with the members. we're trying to, create this community experience build relationships and prioritize networking.

we're offering ways for members to connect share insights and learn from each other. We've got workshops, we've got member mingles, we've got slack channels galore. So, we're really just trying to create this space where educators and professionals can come together in a like minded space and challenge that status quo and then go back into their classrooms and really push student growth or go back into their business and push their employees.

If you're an administrator, to really light that fire. Hey, I heard from so and so and the member mingle and I want. You know, I want to bring that to our school, to our district. that's one of the things Michelle and Travis are passionate about and as membership director, creating relationships and bringing people together, not just, in the nation, but globally as well.

We have lots of international members. And so it's really been great to make. Those connections and to see, education in a wider lens because I don't know about you guys, but sometime, you know, as a teacher, I saw my classroom and, you know, I got stuck there, but it's been great to just open those doors and flooded in with all the ideas and really push the limits.

[00:27:26] Fonz: And that's something that is wonderful too. I went into a zoom session one day and it was a packed house. It was amazing. The amount of people there, people that I, follow on my socials and I'm like, Oh my gosh, they're here in this room. it was just something amazing.

there's definitely a huge benefit in finding that larger community. To help one continue to grow and be like minded individuals together in hopes of making a difference in education. So I absolutely love that. So going into that, Stacy, I want to ask you, hearing about the human intelligence movement, how did it pique your interest?

And now that you are a part of it, what have been some of the highlights for you? In being involved with the movement and of course networking with some amazing people,

[00:28:13] Stacy: I think It's just exciting to meet other people that have the same vision as you it is very isolating sometimes as a teacher to be in your bubble Especially with technology not progressing As quickly as you want it to, or not seeing change happen quickly, but then to connect with other people that feel the same urgency and have similar values around technology, and prioritizing human skills that are not related to technology so that we can have the best of both worlds together.

It's been really inspiring to connect with people through the human intelligence movement and it's awesome that Michelle and others have created a space where we can get together and have these meaningful conversations through podcasts and through the Slack channel and social media.

And, you know, I've had, other people reach out in, the DMs and it's branched off into other projects and it just keeps me inspired. As a teacher to continue to do this type of work because we can get so drained in the day to day and dealing with students that are lacking some of these skills, right?

I'm out here connecting globally with other educators, and then there's kids that don't want to talk to the person next to them. it's really challenging sometimes to be pulling teeth to get kids to collaborate trying to get kids to come out of their shell and experience life.

To counterbalance that, I think I go the other way to connect with other adults and then bring that back to the classroom and find new ways to get kids collaborating and doing some of those things.

[00:29:45] Fonz: That's wonderful. it's just a wonderful community of practice that I love. getting to learn from others.

like you said, to me, one of the most important things is if I'm going to go out there and I'm going to learn something, it's something that I definitely want to bring back into the classroom and try it out and learn from that different perspective and have my students also enjoy a wonderful lesson.

That's a little bit different, but that also builds up on the skills, you know, like we talked about adaptability, curiosity, grit and so on. And I think that's something that's important. So I love that now, Michelle, coming back to the human intelligence movement as a whole, as far as the mission and vision and the planning.

Although it is a young movement, it is very strong and it is very deep as far as the knowledge. I mean, look at the, the boots on the ground that are not just here in the United States, but globally. But I want to ask you, you know, obviously with, AI and bringing it into this conversation too, and finding that balance.

how are you and the rest of the movement adapting initiatives as AI continues to develop exponentially, you know, what are some of the things that you see forward as part of the mission to continue just that human element piece that is so important?

[00:31:01] Michelle: Well, the mission of the human intelligence movement is to ensure that all students have the skills They need to thrive and succeed in an AI world. we do that in three ways. by creating awareness, like speaking today on your podcast, through social media, through conferences, just generating, pushing people's thoughts.

Thinking both outside the movement, but internally as well. I learned something every time I talked to someone from the human intelligence movement, like today, tonight, writing ideas down on a sticky note that I'm picking up from other people because that, you know, it's just creating awareness of my own thinking.

Second, we are really focused on building that community. Like Brooke talked about, I think of it as a think tank of people coming together to. problems in education. I for all of my life. And i about it, talking about i it. And instead we're now together that is making c than just talking. And like Rachel talked about research that is really g on, on our school sys and then the last area is we focus on policymaking and shifting policy to ensure that at the federal, state or local level, we are prioritizing, the measurement of human intelligence.

when I think about your questions, Fonz, I don't know. that we would adapt any of these initiatives. sometimes I say that, you know, human intelligence, like the human intelligence movement is all about a I while at the same time, it has nothing to do with a I because as a I evolves and continues to expand.

Span. What that's just gonna mean for us is we're gonna have to double down on making sure human-centered learning is at the center of our classrooms and that we are really focused on building those human intelligences. we will adapt, we will grow, we will find creative ways to get at that. But I don't think at the core what we are about will change, even though AI continues to evolve at a rapid pace.

I'm really curious what others are thinking. how might the initiative, how might our movement need to adapt and change with AI?

[00:33:17] Brooke: Well, I think, you know, it goes along right with what you were saying is we've got to keep those human intelligences right at the core those Aren't going to change, but hopefully they're going to become more elevated.

And part of our role at the human intelligence movement is going to be, to be that innovative driven community that's pushing the initiatives, changing policy or writing policy to propose, to be changed. And really just providing that professional development opportunity for people in the workforce, people in education to continue to highlight those things and To adapt what they're currently doing to bring human intelligence to the forefront or alongside AI, because AI is going to continue to do whatever it does, but I think as long as we are working alongside it, maintaining that focus of human intelligence, and then also providing trainings for people to maintain, and to stay knowledgeable of what's happening and how to approach it, then that's going to set our movement apart.

[00:34:21] Fonz: Rachel, anything you'd like to add to that?

[00:34:23] Rachel: I, yeah, you know, AI is truly a catalyst for the change here that we are all wanting in education. I mean, we, we, then we will have quantum computing. We will have maybe metaverse. We will have all of these new technologies that come. And so. This isn't really about the specific technology as much as it is about how we are going to utilize it to bring in the change that we are all speaking about, that we want to see for our students to be ready for the world we don't even know yet.

[00:34:58] Fonz: I love that, you know, and it's interesting. I love that you said that as far as being a catalyst, I mean, whether you are on either side. Or maybe in the middle, like, you know, that cautious advocate like myself, I mean, every day it's like I find my foot like, okay, I'm leaning more to this side. And now I'm leaning more to this side.

And so I just always, I'm just one of those that I just love to be in the middle. And I just love to see and hear both sides. you're absolutely right. As far as the conversation from November 2022. it's been a catalyst for the things in education that now we see, like, wow, these, there's some deficiencies within our education system, what can we do to change, what can we do to better that, and the fact that because of that, like you mentioned, it has helped Become a springboard for this movement the wonderful work you ladies are doing right along with everybody in the movement to just have these conversations that have not been had

and it's about time. I'm really excited about this and your passion and what you're bringing to the educator community through the live webinars, building that network and bringing more people in.

And like you mentioned, one of the things that's very unique that you mentioned, Michelle, was that it's all about AI, but at the same time, not about AI. And we do see that. And at the end, it just, it becomes more to me like that human, that human being. Connection and building relationships, but at the same time preparing our students for that future that they will have, you know, and so this is really exciting.

I'm so thankful for all of you to be here with me this evening. And to share a little bit about the work you're doing. I know that we can Continue going on. But I promise you, this is probably not going to be the last time I do have members of the human intelligence movement on here that we can continue the conversation and continue to push forward.

Cause this is, these are some exciting times, but I thank you all for the work that you are doing. So thank you so much. But before we wrap up. I always love to end with the last three questions. I know I put those in the calendar invite. So hopefully you guys had an opportunity to kind of check those out because you know, these are some of the fun questions I love to ask my guests ending on a lighter note and getting to know a bit more about you all.

So let's go ahead and this time we'll go ahead and start with Rachel and the first question. as we know, Every superhero has a weakness or a pain point. for Superman kryptonite was his pain point. Rachel, in the current state of education, what would you say is your current EduKryptonite?

[00:37:44] Rachel: I think the biggest weakness here that we're seeing is that we are going to be preparing students that will feel irrelevant once they get into The career field, if we don't have a change come about, there will be an irrelevancy for our students. And that's a massive disservice to them.

[00:38:05] Stacy: All right. Thank you. Good answer. All right. We'll go over to Stacey. Stacey, what would you say is your current EduKryptonite? think my current kryptonite is the ed tech tools being marketed as time saving machines. I think we really have a greater opportunity to use technology to improve our quality of life and our quality of education, not just produce, produce, produce, produce.

[00:38:32] Fonz: Wow, Stacey, that was fire. Like, that was going to be a great soundbite right there for sure. Alright, Brooke, you're next. In the current state of education, what would you say is your current EduKryptonite?

[00:38:46] Brooke: I'm going to say my kryptonite is teachers being used for free marketing. A lot of ed tech companies, you know, are saying, I'll give you a free shirt if you do this or that.

And teachers aren't being reimbursed for that. And I think there's an initial excitement that comes with it. And then afterwards you're like, Hey, I did a lot of work. For what? So, yeah.

[00:39:10] Fonz: Oh, don't even get me started on that conversation, because that is one of my biggest kryptonites there too as well.

Michelle, I know you've been on the show before, so I hope a lot has changed from then till now. So I'm going to ask you again, in the current state of education, what is your current EduKryptonite?

[00:39:29] Michelle: Do I just get to pick one, Fonz? I'll let, we can go with two. Let's do two. In all seriousness, I, you know, it, it rises to the top.

really the lack of our schools being culturally inclusive and culturally responsive to learners. I think that our learning isn't relevant. It isn't engaging to today's learner. as much as our educators want. to build relationships with students. That's why we all went into education is to be in relationship.

We have the bureaucracy of the system has just is crushing teachers in their ability to really get to know their students, get to know their families. I think our kryptonite is that we we just are not, um, We're not embracing the human connection, day to day. Excellent. Great answer,

[00:40:19] Fonz: Michelle. All right, now we're going to start off with you for this second question, Michelle.

I want to ask you, who would you like to trade places with for a day and why?

[00:40:31] Michelle: I would trade places with Brene Brown because, she is my favorite researcher, my favorite author, and I would love to be in her head and hear all the things she thinks about and all the people she talks to.

[00:40:45] Fonz: That would be powerful. that's a great one. All right, Brooke, over to you. it that you'd love to switch places with for a day and why?

[00:40:53] Brooke: Okay. does it have to be a person?

[00:40:56] Fonz: Well, actually

[00:40:57] Brooke: I really just love to be a house cat because all I have to do is take naps and eat.

[00:41:05] Fonz: I love, Brooke, I'm going to let you know this, that is probably the most unique answer that I've had to that question, because usually somebody will always say a person, but here in the show, like we said, whatever the guest feels like. Sharing they can go ahead and share. So that is a great answer.

I love that All right, Stacey over to you. What would be your answer?

[00:41:29] Stacy: Wow. I would want to be my dog Brooke, but I actually would want to trade places with one of my children because I think that I Already am doing so much work and like just constantly working where you're working. I want to just be myself Show up and be and have someone take care of me and love me and not have to, um, always be putting out so much energy.

I want to be the receiver of energy for a day.

[00:41:53] Fonz: Oh, I love that. That is so cute. you're only the second guest that has ever said something similar to that. That they would love to be their child and, you know, just to see the world through their eyes. So that's wonderful. That is a great answer.

Stacy, Rachel, now onto you, who is it that you'd love to trade places with for a day?

[00:42:12] Rachel: I would be a professional comedian because I love laughter. I love being around people laughing and it's so therapeutic that I would love to stand on a stage with an arena full of people just laughing. laughing. It sounds really fun.

[00:42:32] Fonz: Oh, I love it. That is a great one. But is there, is there any possibly any particular comedian maybe that you can think of though?

[00:42:40] Rachel: So this summer I had a chance to go see Nate Bargatze live. He's a wonderful, clean comedian who is just. Fantastic. So I guess maybe him, but any comedian will do, you know,

[00:42:53] Fonz: That's wonderful. I love it. All right. And the last question. So Rachel, we'll go ahead and lead off with you. If you could have a billboard with anything on it. What would it be and why?

[00:43:06] Rachel: it would say, Honk if you love peace and quiet.

[00:43:14] Fonz: I love that. That is very unique. I love that, Rachel. I must say that, yeah, that really got a laugh out of me. I can tell about that comedian part now. That is wonderful. I love it. There you go. Alright, Stacy, over to you. What would your billboard say?

[00:43:33] Stacy: I think I would put, some really thought provoking image and no words at all to leave it open to perspective, like some really intriguing art piece.

[00:43:41] Fonz: Okay. I like that, you know, and oftentimes on those drives, just something to think about and just analyzing in your head. I love that. That's really good. All right, Brooke, over to you. What would you say?

[00:43:53] Brooke: I'm sorry. Mine would say find the missing piece because every time I learn something new or I meet somebody new and it changes me, I'm like, Oh, that was the missing piece.

I love that.

[00:44:03] Fonz: That is great. I've never heard that before. I like that. That's wonderful, Brooke. All right, Michelle, over to you. What would your billboard say?

[00:44:12] Michelle: Mine would say human connection begins with a hi join the movement.

[00:44:20] Fonz: I love that. And it's so true. I love that. It's, it's powerful. It sends a great message.

And I love it. Human intelligence. That's what it's all about. I love it. All right, ladies. Well, thank you so much. before we close off the show, we want to share, you know, how, if anybody and all our listeners here that are tuning in, whether they're tuning in on LinkedIn or whether they're listening to the replay of the episode, Michelle, can you let us know how, if anybody's interested in joining and being part of this movement, how can they do that?

[00:44:55] Michelle: It's really simple Fonz. You go to the humanintelligencemovement.org and you can join to be a founding member there. You can also find us on social media platforms. Search for the Human Intelligence Movement so again, the human intelligence movement dot org. We have a virtual summit on November 8th and 9th.

it's a two day event where we are bringing all of these amazing people together. People from outside of our community who are curious about the Human Intelligence Movement we have three featured keynote speakers, lots of thought leaders, and it's going to be a dynamic two days of learning from one another, being in community and really building that human connections.

So we'd love to have all of your listeners join us at this virtual summit. And again, you can find more information at the humanintelligencemovement. org.

[00:45:48] Fonz: Perfect. we will link all of that information in the show notes. you can go ahead and get that information there just by simply clicking that link.

It'll take you over to that website and you'll see a bunch of. Beautiful, beautiful button there that says, join the movement. Please make sure you click on that. Be part of this, connect with them on all socials. Trust me, you do not want to miss out on the connections that you will make on the learning that will take place and the support that you will feel.

I promise you it is one of the best communities that is out there right now, and it's only going to get better. So, thank you so much ladies for joining me here on this show. Thank you so much for your wonderful shares, your passion, and the work that you're doing. With the movement. And this is just really exciting because I know that this is only the beginning.

as always, like I mentioned, anytime you are a guest of the show, you all always have an open invite. So again, anytime that you'd ever like to do a follow up or if you're ever interested in just doing like a one, a solo episode, Hey, just send me an invite or a DM or whatever, and. We'll make it happen.

So thank you so much. And for all our audience members, thank you so much for your support. Thank you so much too, for tuning into this episode We've got some amazing episodes on our website. So make sure that you visit us at www dot my ed tech dot life, my ed tech dot life, or you can check out.

This amazing episode and the other 296 episodes, guys, we're almost at 300. It has been amazing. It has been an amazing four years, but I promise you that you will find a little bit of something just for you. We've got educators, creators, founders. We've got a little bit of everything that you can take some knowledge nuggets from and sprinkle onto what you are already doing great.

And again, if you're not following us on all socials, we're Please make sure you follow us on all socials at my tech life and jump over to YouTube. Give us a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel. That way this content reaches out to more and more people. We definitely would appreciate that. And as always, my friends, until next time, don't forget, stay techie.