upskilled
Amy Baron
Subscribe
Join education expert Amy Baron of Convergent Learning as she talks with leaders in education and industry about innovative ideas and solutions that catalyze positive change in education. Amy and her guests explore best practices and applications for schools, businesses, and other organizations in the learning ecosystem, highlighting products and perspectives that have a meaningful impact on learning, workforce training, and the student experience.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
Sep 19, 2021
16. Solving the Guidance Gap: College and Career Counseling
*GUEST: JON CARSON, CEO, COLLEGE GUIDANCE NETWORK.* Public high school counselors are overwhelmed, with caseloads of up to 700 students in the most extreme cases. At the same time, the college and career landscape is rapidly evolving, with new offerings such as bootcamps and certificate programs, and with rising costs making college seem less affordable each year. What's a high school senior to do? Amy talks with Jon Carson about College Guidance Network, a new content company that is helping to bridge the guidance gap.
playlist_add
Jul 21, 2021
15. Life Currencies for the Learning Economy
GUEST: STEPHANIE MALIA KRAUSS, AUTHOR, Making It: What Today's Kids Need for Tomorrow's World. Today's young people have had a childhood defined by "a relentless rotation" of economic stress and other risks to their safety and stability, such as school shootings, climate change, and the Covid-19 crisis. Technology is an ever present force in their lives, and the on-demand world they inhabit forces them to constantly operate at maximum cognitive capacity. To move forward in the world, they will need four key "life currencies": Competencies, Credentials, Connections and Cash. Stephanie describes these currencies and how they are critical as we transition into a learning economy.
Find Stephanie on Twitter @stephanie_malia or Instagram @wonder_and_wayfinding.
playlist_add
May 31, 2021
14. Building Community with a Virtual Campus
*GUEST: CARRIE PURCELL, CEO, TECH-ADAPTIKA* The pandemic has been a catalyst for change in higher education, forcing us to look at how little the brick-and-mortar experience has evolved over time. As the cost of attending college increases, new models are emerging, like free online courses, boot camps, and microcredentials. In order to survive, residential colleges will have to explore different approaches for how to reduce infrastructure costs and reach a broader audience. One new model is the virtual campus experience, which can facilitate the ability to interact spontaneously with peers, promote a sense of community, and incorporate online learning.
playlist_add
Apr 28, 2021
13. Bringing Data to Action with an Early Literacy Screener
GUEST: CARLA SMALL, CEO, EARLYBIRD EDUCATION. Research shows that 70% of children who were not reading on grade level in first grade continue to not be reading on grade level in eighth grade. Catching reading difficulties early is the key to intervening with reading support to get learners back on track. EarlyBird is technology platform based on brain research that identifies whether a child is at risk for reading struggles like dyslexia, even before they learn to read. Amy talks with Carla Small about the development of this game-based tool and how it has been used effectively to help early readers.
playlist_add
Mar 19, 2021
12. Experiential Learning, Experiential Hiring: A Win-Win
GUEST: JORDAN LEVY, FOUNDER, CAPSOURCE. Many students complete undergraduate and graduate degree programs without experiencing a career path or a company culture to determine whether it is right for them. Companies, in turn, hire young professionals without really knowing their potential fit or likelihood of success once they're on the job. CapSource is one of a number of new companies that provides not only experiential learning for students, but also experiential hiring for industry, promising both partners the essential ingredient for success- experience.
playlist_add
Feb 10, 2021
11. Upskilling with Strategic Enterprise Education
*GUEST: MICHELLE WESTFORT, CHIEF UNIVERSITY OFFICER, INSTRIDE.* When corporate leaders map the skills they need on their teams and provide pathways for employees and potential employees to cultivate those skills, it's a win-win. Managers are more successful at delivering against their goals, and workers feel actively supported and motivated to educate themselves and learn new skills. Amy talks with Michelle Westfort about the business value and social impact of Instride's strategic enterprise education, and how creating customized education that addresses specific organizational needs can have a meaningful impact.
playlist_add
Jan 13, 2021
10. Enabling New Americans in the Workforce
*GUEST: KATIE NIELSON, PHD, CEO, VOXY ENGEN.* By 2024, as baby boomers reach retirement age, 97% of net workforce growth will come from immigrants and their children. Join Amy and her guest Katie Nielson, PhD, Founder and Chief Education Officer of Voxy EnGen, as they talk about enabling these new Americans in the workforce. With access to meaningful and effective language training, immigrants and refugees can get better jobs and more educational opportunities. At the same time, companies that want to build their talent pipeline can make language learning part of a bigger body of skills-based training, drawing upon their existing pool of workers to fill open positions. By upskilling incumbent employees, companies can save on recruiting costs and provide their employees with opportunities for economic mobility.
playlist_add
Dec 13, 2020
9. Affirming Emergent Bilinguals in the K12 Classroom
*GUEST: KRISTIE SHELLEY, CO-CREATOR, ROSETTA STONE ENGLISH. *Over 10% of America's school children speak a language other than English at home. In states like California and Texas, that number is closer to 20%. Yet instead of affirming these students for the diverse abilities and knowledge they bring to the classroom, schools often marginalize them. Join Amy and her guest Kristie Shelley, Co-Creator of Rosetta Stone English, as they talk about celebrating emergent bilinguals and approaches that work toward their academic success and integration.
playlist_add
Nov 12, 2020
8. Maximizing Engagement With Remote Gen Z Learners
*GUESTS: KELVIN BENTLEY, LEARNING STRATEGIST AND NIKKI NAVTA, ENTREPRENEUR. *Between social media and gaming, Gen Z learners are always one click away from distraction. In an era of remote learning, how can educators and ed tech product developers engage this generation of students? Join Amy as she talks with ed tech entrepreneur Nikki Navta and learning strategist Dr. Kelvin Bentley about the pedagogical trends and technologies that focus on maximizing engagement.
playlist_add
Oct 29, 2020
7. Culturally Responsive Content for Equity and Engagement
*GUEST: BEAU MCCOY, FOUNDER, SOLCADEMY*. As COVID-19 exacerbates issues of equity and access in K12 education, how can teachers and schools respond? One approach is to find compelling virtual content that is relatable to students and motivates them to learn. Listen as Amy talks with ed-trepreneur Beau McCoy, founder of SOLcademy (SOL= Simple Online Learning). SOLcademy is an education technology platform that aims to ensure that no student gets left behind in the era of distance learning by helping to reduce teacher burnout, bridging the achievement gap, and supporting continuity of learning.
playlist_add
Sep 16, 2020
6. COVID Learning Loss: How Adaptive Technology Can Help
*GUEST: LYNELLE MORGENTHALER, VP, LEARNING DESIGN, EDMENTUM. *Students are returning to school this fall having achieved less than the typical learning gains for the past academic year. Amy and her guest, Lynelle Morgenthaler, VP of Learning Design at online learning provider Edmentum, discuss the use of adaptive diagnostic assessments to address the “Covid Slide,” and technologies that can engage and motivate students during what is likely to be a difficult school year.
playlist_add
Aug 3, 2020
5. COVID-19 and a Shift Toward Agile Talent Development
*GUEST: JEANINE DELAY, AVP, GLOBAL TALENT, SUN LIFE.* With COVID-19, all eyes are on safety and security—at the individual level, in our work lives, and in our public institutions. How does a financial services company like Sun Life Financial respond to the demand for products and services that protect personal health and wellbeing? How do they prepare employees to meet customer needs quickly and efficiently?
Amy interviews Jeanine Delay, Assistant VP of Global Talent at Sun Life Financial about innovations in learning and development that have helped Sun Life Financial respond to the crisis. This episode is a recording of a Cantina Coffee Chat covering:
* The impact of COVID-19 on leadership and employee development
* Learning on-demand and the transition to Agile teams
* Innovative approaches to employee engagement
playlist_add
Jul 27, 2020
4. Higher Education and the Public Good, Engines for Community and Economic Development
*GUEST: JIM WOODELL, PHD, CONSULTANT. *Higher education institutions contribute to community and economic development through a wide array of activities—talent and workforce development, innovation and entrepreneurship, and through social and cultural assets. So how do institutions evaluate, support and catalyze these contributions? How do they become economic and community development engines? Join Amy as she talks to consultant Jim Woodell about higher education and societal impact.
playlist_add
Jul 17, 2020
3. Closing the Workforce Development Gap: Northeastern’s Co-op Program
*GUEST: MICHELLE SCHLESINGER ZAFF, ASSOCIATE COOP FACULTY, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY. *According to a study by Lumina Foundation and Gallup, “96% of Chief Academic Officers believe that their students are ready for the workforce, but only 11% of business leaders feel the same.” In this episode, Amy talks with Michelle Schlesinger Zaff about career planning and skill development, and how the two are connected through the undergraduate experience. Together, Amy and Michelle discuss the skills that are in high demand among employers, the role of the university in preparing college students for the workplace, and some of the results Michelle has seen through Northeastern's Co-op program.
playlist_add
Jul 8, 2020
2. Creating a Culture of Learning at Boston Children's Hospital
*GUEST:* *DAN SCHWARTZ, DIRECTOR, EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY, BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL. *Dan talks with Amy about the challenges of designing learning experiences that map to the diverse needs of medical professionals at BCH, a teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School. Dan describes some of the innovative technologies he and his group are implementing at the hospital, and how to bring learning to the "point of need." Together they discuss how to embed learning in the environment to develop a mindset of learning and growth as part of the everyday hospital culture.
playlist_add
Jul 1, 2020
1. Introducing upskilled with Amy Baron
Education technology leader and podcast host Amy Baron talks about her background in education and industry, and the reasons that led her to create upskilled: solutions in the learning universe.
playlist_add