Enhancing Accessibility in Higher Education with AI
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
Release Date: 09/16/2024
Will AI change the future of the Super Bowl?
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
How is artificial intelligence being used in the NFL today? In this solo episode of Shifting Schools, Tricia Friedman explores how AI is already shaping professional football, with a special focus on Super Bowl Sunday. Rather than speculation, this episode looks at concrete, current examples of how AI is influencing advertising, predictions, player safety, and fan experience. This episode is designed as a conversation resource for educators, families, and anyone gathering around the Super Bowl, offering five clear lenses for discussing AI’s role in sports and society. What role does AI play...
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How Puzzles Build Confidence, Community, and Curiosity
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
What do puzzles teach us about being human. In this episode, Tricia talks with Allison Kane, Head of Puzzle Innovation at Highlights, about why puzzling matters far beyond entertainment. From Hidden Pictures and Wordle to classroom design and family learning, this conversation explores how puzzles build confidence, perseverance, and joyful learning across ages. Learn more: Allison shares her origin story as a lifelong puzzler, explains the idea of the satisfaction of the solve, and offers practical advice for educators and families who want to integrate puzzles into learning spaces....
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What to Do When Teachers Are at Very Different Places With AI
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
How do you move forward with AI in schools when staff confidence is all over the place? Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman address one of the most persistent leadership challenges in AI literacy implementation. Within the same faculty, some educators are experimenting confidently with tools and workflows while others feel intimidated, skeptical, or frustrated by rapid change. Jeff and Tricia frame the issue through a mindset-first lens and introduce practical leadership moves grounded in BAKE: balance, adaptability, knowledge sharing, and empathy. The conversation begins with a simple leadership...
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What Skills Matter Most for AI Literacy?
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
AI literacy in the classroom looks like students practicing judgment, sense-making, and self-awareness while working alongside AI, not replacing thinking with tools. It emphasizes mindset before mechanics. In this episode of Shifting Schools, Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman frame AI literacy through the BAKE Mindset: Balance – Knowing when AI helps and when it doesn’t Adaptability – Updating learning practices as tools change Knowledge Sharing – Making thinking visible and collective Empathy – Designing learning with student experience in mind How Does AI Change...
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The Mindset Shift You Need for AI Literacy in 2026
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
In this episode of Shifting Schools, hosts Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman discuss their personal experiences over the holidays, leading into a broader conversation about the importance of mindset in education, particularly in relation to AI literacy. They introduce the as a tool for educators to navigate AI discussions, emphasizing the need for adaptability, empathy, and open communication. The conversation highlights the challenges and opportunities presented by AI in educational settings, encouraging educators to embrace change and foster a culture of experimentation and learning. ...
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How do we help students be more critical of health advice?
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
In this episode, host Tricia Friedman sits down with Dr. Michael Greger, bestselling author and founder of NutritionFacts.org, to explore why non-commercial, evidence-based health guidance matters more than ever. They discuss lifestyle medicine, plant-based nutrition, scientific integrity, cannabis research, and how small, testable behavior changes can dramatically improve long-term health. What This Conversation Is Really About Health advice is everywhere — but trustworthy guidance is not. This conversation slows things down and examines how to make informed choices in a noisy,...
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Why Millions of Students Are Creating Together: Inside Crayola Creativity Week
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
What does it look like when creativity becomes a global learning movement—not an add-on, but a connector across every subject? In this episode of Shifting Schools, Tricia Friedman is joined by Cheri Sterman to explore Crayola Creativity Week, a free, cross-curricular program designed to help educators spark collaboration, confidence, and creative thinking in classrooms around the world. Together, they unpack how Creativity Week connects creativity to every subject and career, why celebrity partners—from the Property Brothers to NASA astronauts—volunteer their time to inspire students,...
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Holiday Gifting for Teachers: Tools for Wellness, Creativity, and Reflection
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
This special Shifting Schools holiday episode isn’t about trendy gadgets or generic gift lists. Instead, Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman share seven thoughtfully chosen gifts for educators—each matched to a specific kind of person and a specific kind of need. Some gifts are playful. Some are reflective. Some are deeply practical. All of them offer a meaningful boost during a season when educators are often running on empty. This episode asks a practical question: “What might actually support someone through their days?” Whether you’re shopping for a colleague, a school leader, a...
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What Makes a Family? Scott & Mark Hoying on Representation, Creativity, and Love
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
You know Pentatonix – the multi-platinum selling acapella group is the number one most listened to musical acct of the holiday season. Co-founder and Grammy winner Scott Hoying is currently starring in Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars. Scott Hoying and his husband Mark are now also authors of an innovative picture book which features text that doubles as lyrics to . FA LA LA FAMILY celebrates the spirit of Christmas with a look at nontraditional families. The reviews are loving their new book: "A fun and festive dive into...
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Why Interdisciplinary Learning Fuels Creativity: A Conversation with Alan Gratz
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
In this episode of Shifting Schools, bestselling author Alan Gratz joins Tricia Friedman to explore the craft of storytelling, the role of creativity in education, and why curiosity is the engine behind both great writing and great learning. Gratz shares how baseball has quietly shaped the structure of many of his novels, how he approaches character development with authenticity, and why understanding a character’s background is essential for emotional truth. The conversation also digs into the need for interdisciplinary learning in today’s classrooms and the value of teacher...
info_outlineDr. Laura Dumin obtained her PhD in English from Oklahoma State University in 2010. She is a professor in English and Technical Writing at the University of Central Oklahoma who has been exploring the impact of generative AI on writing classrooms. Laura has been experimenting with transformative learning (TL) tools and scholarship of teaching and learning methods (SoTL) in the classroom for over 7 years. She finds that when students are engaged in the lessons, learning can happen organically, leading to more interesting class periods and longer-term gains in understanding concepts.
Laura mixes her background in technical writing into all her courses, bringing ideas of audience and clear communication into assignments. When she is not teaching, she works as a co-managing editor for the Journal of Transformative Learning, was a campus SoTL mentor, and directs the Technical Writing BA and advises the Composition and Rhetoric MA program. She runs a Facebook learning community to allow instructors to learn from each other. https://www.facebook.com/groups/632930835501841
Big bold ideas explored this week:
Allowing students to use AI in their rough drafts and final drafts of papers can be a valuable learning experience.
Reflecting on the effectiveness of AI tools and using the right tool for the job is crucial.
Preserving individuality and voice in writing is important in the age of AI.
Having conversations with students about AI, including discussions on bias and prompt engineering, is essential.
AI can enhance accessibility in education and make learning more inclusive.
Connect with our guest:
www.linkedin.com/in/laura-dumin157
ldumin157.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/632930835501841
Thank you to our show sponsor Lebra
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