The Constructing Modern Knowledge Podcast

Episode 29 - Crosspost from eSchool News: AI in Education: Beyond the Hype Cycle

GARY STAGER ON THE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS AND COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS. April 25, 2025 – eSchool News: [https://www.eschoolnews.com/innovation-insights/2025/04/25/ai-in-education-beyond-the-hype-cycle/]We just can’t get away from it. AI continues to take the oxygen out of every edtech conversation. Even the Trump administration, while actively destroying federal involvement in public education, jumped on the bandwagon [https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/04/white-house-releases-new-policies-on-federal-agency-ai-use-and-procurement/] this week. Who better to puncture this overused acronym than edtech legend Gary Stager. In this conversation, he offers a pragmatic perspective on AI in education, cutting through both fear and hype. Gary argues that educators should view AI as simply another useful technology rather than something to either fear or blindly embrace. He criticizes the rush to create AI policies and curricula by administrators with limited understanding of the technology, suggesting instead that schools adopt minimal, flexible policies while encouraging hands-on experimentation. So what does AI think about Gary’s POV? In the spirit of the topic, here is what Claude [https://claude.ai/new] took away from our talk: KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM GARY STAGER’S INTERVIEW ON AI IN EDUCATION 1. The AI hype cycle has moved quickly from fear to excessive enthusiasm, with many people suddenly claiming expertise without substantial background. 2. Educators should approach AI pragmatically – it’s “just software” that will gradually make everything better, not something to catastrophize or glorify. 3. School policies on AI should be minimally invasive and flexible, allowing for adaptation as the technology rapidly evolves. 4. Hands-on experimentation with AI tools is more valuable than theoretical discussions – “the difference between nothing and expert is about 15 minutes” of actual usage. 5. AI should primarily benefit learners, not just teachers or administrative systems. 6. Creating formal “AI literacy” curricula and standards is premature and likely counterproductive – the curriculum is already “morbidly obese” and can’t handle additional requirements. 7. AI tools can serve as valuable “prosthetics” that enhance human capabilities, similar to how we use glasses without being accused of “cheating.” 8. Educational technology policies are often created by people who lack understanding of the tools, resulting in restrictive measures that limit learning potential. 9. AI can function as an effective copy editor, potentially improving student writing beyond what many currently produce in settings like AP English classes. 10. Technology restrictions in schools (like phone bans) often fail to recognize how these tools can enhance the learning process through curation, recording, and access to information. 11. The rapid pace of technological change means any fixed K-12 AI curriculum would be outdated before students complete it. 12. AI presents an opportunity to rethink assignments and raise standards by making “simple things easy to do” and thereby “making complexity possible.” ---------------------------------------- Many thanks to Kevin Hogan [https://www.eschoolnews.com/author/kevinhogan/] for the interview! Kevin is a forward-thinking media executive with more than 25 years of experience building brands and audiences online, in print, and face to face. He is an acclaimed writer, editor, and commentator covering the intersection of society and technology, especially education technology. You can reach Kevin at KevinHogan@eschoolnews.com [KevinHogan@eschoolnews.com] The post Episode 29 – Crosspost from eSchool News: AI in Education: Beyond the Hype Cycle [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/episode-29-crosspost-from-eschool-news-ai-in-education-beyond-the-hype-cycle] appeared first on Constructing Modern Knowledge Online [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com].

Episode 28 - Crosspost from Dan Kearney's What's the Big Idea Podcast

Video of our podcast hijinx Dan Kearney chats with Dr. Gary Stager, teacher, professor, author, and consultant (among other things) and a true constructivist. Gary is the founder of the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute for educators and the co-author of Invent To Learn – Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. Dan and Gary talk about Gary’s dear friend, the late Seymour Papert, and the meaning of a computer in a classroom, phones in schools, Gary’s experience teaching in a prison in Maine, and why reading from actual books is so vital. As always I welcome comments and questions on BlueSky @dankearney and on Instagram @BigIdeaEd Subscribe to Dan Kearney’s What’s the Big Idea Podcast [https://bigideaed.buzzsprout.com/220519/episodes/16913647-constructing-learning-with-dr-gary-stager] The post Episode 28 – Crosspost from Dan Kearney’s What’s the Big Idea Podcast [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/episode-28-crosspost-from-dan-kearneys-whats-the-big-idea-podcast] appeared first on Constructing Modern Knowledge Online [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com].

Episode 27 - Seymour Papert Keynote at RIMA 2004

[https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Gary-Seymour-kids-2004-1024x562.jpg]Seymour Papert and Gary Stager visit a classroom in 2004 Here is a recently discovered recording of a provocative late career keynote address by Dr. Seymour Papert delivered at the (March) 2004 RIMA ICEM Conference in Quebec City, Canada. Papert spoke of “learning environmentalism” and shared the “Land of Suet” parable that many of us heard several times, but is barely documented until this recording. There is a Q&A after Papert’s remarks. ---------------------------------------- Did you know that the legendary Constructing Modern Knowledge institute for educators will be held in Melbourne, Australia this August [http://australia.constructingmodernknowledge.com]? Please join educators from around the world at CMK Australia, August 12-15th, 2025. Learn more at constructingmodernknowledge.com [http://constructingmodernknowledge.com]. This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is space-australia-t-shirt-logo-text-circle-293x300.png [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/space-australia-t-shirt-logo-text-circle-293x300.png]australia.constructingmodernknowledge.com The post Episode 27 – Seymour Papert Keynote at RIMA 2004 [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/episode-27-seymour-papert-keynote-at-rima-2004] appeared first on Constructing Modern Knowledge Online [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com].

Episode 26 - Carla Rinaldi, Edith Ackermann, and Gary Stager in Conversation

[https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/carla-edith-me-1024x576.jpg]Edith Ackermann, Carla Rinaldi, Gary Stager This episode is a very special one. It features two of my sheroes, Dr. Edith Ackermann and Carla Rinaldi [http://reggio.constructingmodernknowledge.com/carla] in conversation at the 2016 Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute. I completely forgot about this event until I found the file sitting on a hard drive. Edith Ackermann was a Swiss epistemologist, designer, professor, and visionary who always had just the right and most profound thing to say at any moment. In a more just world, Edith would be a household name. After all, she worked with three of the greatest learning theorists of the 20th century – Jean Piaget, Ernst von Glasersfeld, AND Seymour Papert [https://dailypapert.com]. She also supervised close to 90 PhD dissertations at M.I.T. We lost Edith in 2016 and our mutual friend, Carla Rinaldi [http://reggio.constructingmodernknowledge.com/carla], passed sadly just a few weeks ago, in April 2025. Carla Rinaldi was the leading light of the Reggio Emilia Approach. She was the direct link to Loris Malaguzzi, the father of the Reggio Emilia Approach who served as a teacher, pedagogista, President of Reggio Children, and Fondazione Reggio Children. Carla’s playful brilliance touched and inspired educators, parents, and policy makers across the globe. She was a warrior on behalf children, their rights, and the health of their communities. (Learn more about Carla in her own words and video here [http://reggio.constructingmodernknowlerladge.com/carla].) The world will never again see the likes of giants like Edith Ackermann and Carla Rinaldi. Therefore, it is with great pride that I share this recorded discussion from Constructing Modern Knowledge 2016. ---------------------------------------- Speaking of Constructing Modern Knowledge [http://constructingmodernknowledge.com]… Did you know that the legendary Constructing Modern Knowledge institute for educators will be held in Melbourne, Australia this August [http://australia.constructingmodernknowledge.com]? Please join educators from around the world at CMK Australia, August 12-15th, 2025. Learn more at constructingmodernknowledge.com [http://constructingmodernknowledge.com]. [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/space-australia-t-shirt-logo-text-circle-293x300.png]australia.constructingmodernknowledge.com The post Episode 26 – Carla Rinaldi, Edith Ackermann, and Gary Stager in Conversation [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/lost-conversation-between-carla-rinaldi-and-edith-ackermann-found] appeared first on Constructing Modern Knowledge Online [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com].

Episode 25 - Will Richardson in Conversation with Gary Stager

[https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_7650-4.jpg] This episode is a cross-post from Will Richardson’s Future Serious podcast [https://futureserious.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-gary-stager]. Will is an old friend, educator, author, and speaker. We often arrive at big ideas while cracking each other up. I hope you’ll enjoy this short conversation about education, politics, and the state of the world. Check out Will’s podcast at futureserious.substack.com [http://futureserious.substack.com] and be sure to subscribe to the Constructing Modern Knowledge podcast at live.constructingmodernknowledge.com [http://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com]. ---------------------------------------- Speaking of Constructing Modern Knowledge [http://constructingmodernknowledge.com]… Did you know that the legendary Constructing Modern Knowledge institute for educators will be held in Melbourne, Australia this August [http://australia.constructingmodernknowledge.com]? Please join educators from around the world at CMK Australia, August 12-15th, 2025. Learn more at constructingmodernknowledge.com [http://constructingmodernknowledge.com]. [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/space-australia-t-shirt-logo-text-circle-293x300.png]http://australia.constructingmodernknowledge.com The post Episode 25 – Will Richardson in Conversation with Gary Stager [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com/episode-25-will-richardson-in-conversation-with-gary-stager] appeared first on Constructing Modern Knowledge Online [https://live.constructingmodernknowledge.com].