April 29, 2026 Have you ever felt like a bad parent, even when you were doing everything you could? I know that feeling. In the fall of 2018, a doctor told me, “I would have operated on your daughter six months ago.” Hearing that was devastating. My oldest daughter had been complaining about knee pain for several months. We took her to a specialist in Fairbanks and he said there was nothing wrong. But I knew there was. Eventually, we found a specialist in Anchorage, and he saw her, but he...
23 days ago • 3 min read
April 29, 2026 The BE Podcast Network is thrilled to welcome The Learning Experience from CAST. This successful, high-impact series aligns closely with our mission to support transformative change in learning environments for all educators and learners. Check out the latest episode:Ergonomics Meets UDL: Designing Classrooms That Work for Every Body (S5 E5) Occupational therapist Elisa Wern is this week’s guest. Elisa supports students with complex communication and physical needs to explore...
3 months ago • 2 min read
April 29, 2026 I’ve been interested for a long time in the idea of soft skills. I even helped produce a podcast focused on this called Skilled by Design. Tom Bay has done a lot of work in this arena. As has Seth Godin. I recently found Dr. Marvin Berkowitz’s book PRIMED for Character Education: Six Design Principles for School Improvement to have the best definition, and one that I will adopt and use frequently. I only wish I had come up with it. I use the notions of organic vs. mechanical...
4 months ago • 5 min read
April 29, 2026 Hi Reader, I’ve got some exciting news — and a quick favor to ask. If you know any school leaders, teachers, or staff who need continuing education hours, would you please pass this along? LinkedLeaders just launched Book Study Workshops — a brand-new, university-accredited way for K–12 educators to earn 30 Continuing Education Hours (or 2 University Credits) through Boise State University while engaging in meaningful, practical learning. Each workshop blends real-world...
6 months ago • 5 min read
April 29, 2026 Hi , I felt like an idiot. I’ve been using AI for years, but this week I took an assessment on how well I can use AI. It was humbling to say the least. The challenges were very technical, included word games, outputting things just right, and process/flow charts. Man, it was tough. It was a timed test, and I never got the first question right. I had to skip it and come back later, which I did, and I’m glad I did because I still couldn’t figure out how to get it to format it...
11 months ago • 5 min read
April 29, 2026 Hi Reader, I'm excited to announce we have two new podcasts on the BE Podcast Network. Improving Education Today: The Deep Dive You've probably heard of AI tools to create content. The eternal problem will always be, garbage in-garbage out, which means if you start with something low quality, you'll get low quality out the other side. Dr. Howie Knoff has been doing just the opposite, creating high quality articles and turning those into meaningful podcasts with AI Educators...
11 months ago • 2 min read
April 29, 2026 Hi Reader, We know you've been eagerly awaiting information on the next awards program from the American Consortium for Excellence in Equity. Over the past three years, the Excellence in Equity Awards have recognized over 100 education and edtech companies, products, leaders, and educators. Today, we're excited to share some big news. The awards will return soon and the BE Podcast Network is the new home of the awards program!What this means for you: the same great awards...
12 months ago • 2 min read
April 29, 2026 I'm doing two live events this month, and I invite you to join one or both of them. AI Leader Office Hours Come join us for special office hours with Lisa Parry from South Dakota. She's got some great stuff to share, and of course, we will take your questions and comments. Plus, I've got a cool tool to share with you that just blew my mind when I discovered it the other day. So many AI tools are either basic chat interfaces or highly complex developer environments. I don't like...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, It’s that time again! Time for AILeader Office Hours. This session is designed for you to come get the help you need to figure out whatever problem is vexing you! And then we will work together to figure out how to solve it using AI. In the past, we used Webinar Ninja for this, but my account got closed down and I’ve been working to find a new way to make it so we can do this is a way that makes sense, and the a couple weeks ago, Apple released iCloud Invites. So, we are going to...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read