Trending in ED AI
Trending in ED AI
Podcast Description
Join host Mike Palmer and his virtual CoHost, Nancy, as we draw from amazing conversations with AI experts, unpack what's new and emerging in AI, and keep it all connected to its impact on learning. Join us as we aim to learn as fast as the world is changing. And that's pretty fast!
Visit us at Trending in Ed - AI for more!
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers various themes related to the use of AI in education, including ethical considerations like algorithmic bias, practical applications such as personalized tutoring systems, and philosophical debates among AI leaders. Examples include the discussion of the 'canny centaur' and 'sycophantic drift,' with episodes diving into reports like Mary Meeker's on AI adoption and interviews exploring the future of AI instructional design.
Join host Mike Palmer and his virtual CoHost, Nancy, as we draw from amazing conversations with AI experts, unpack what’s new and emerging in AI, and keep it all connected to its impact on learning. Join us as we aim to learn as fast as the world is changing. And that’s pretty fast!
Visit us at Trending in Ed – AI for more!
In this episode of Trending in Ed AI, Mike Palmer welcomes Andrew Sliwinski, Global Head of Product Experience for LEGO Education, on the day of a major product launch. Together, they explore the intersection of physical play and artificial intelligence, revealing how LEGO is redefining AI literacy for the next generation.
Andrew shares his winding career path from tutoring in Detroit to directing Scratch at MIT and serving on the board of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The conversation dives into LEGO Education’s new Computer Science and AI curriculum, a hands-on, privacy-first platform designed for students from kindergarten through eighth grade. 🧱
They discuss moving beyond screen-based learning to collaborative, physical experiences—like building a dancing robot owl to understand machine learning. Andrew explains why we should stop teaching kids to just tread water with AI tools and start helping them understand the “black box” through first principles like data, probability, and bias. 🤖
Whether you are an educator or a parent, this episode offers a unique look at how “learning through play” prepares children to be the architects of the future. 🎓
Time Stamps:
0:00 – Introduction: A Big Day for LEGO Education 1:15 – Andrew’s Journey: From Detroit Classrooms to MIT Scratch 2:55 – The Legacy of Mindstorms and the Genesis of AI at LEGO 4:45 – Launching the New K-8 Computer Science & AI Curriculum 6:10 – Learning Through Play: Only the Best is Good Enough 9:15 – Shifting AI Literacy from “Use” to “Understanding” 11:40 – Collaboration vs. “Maze Solvers”: The Power of Hands-On Teams 14:30 – Children as Role Models: Learning from the Next Generation 17:30 – Vocational vs. Defensive Perspectives on AI Education 22:15 – Passing the “Substitute Teacher Test” 24:00 – Dancing Owls & Machine Learning: Cool Things You Can Build 25:50 – Screen-Free Tech: Starting AI Concepts in Kindergarten 29:20 – Solving the Privacy Puzzle: Local Data & No Accounts 36:30 – Durable Skills: Data, Statistics, and Probability 39:30 – Closing Thoughts: Handing Kids a Screwdriver for the Black Box
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