Welcome to Students Incorporated. I'm your host, Mr. Jason. Join me weekly as my team
and I produce content that's informative, positive, fun and uplifting. This podcast
is created and produced with the help of students from the International Community School of
Bangkok. This episode kicks off the start of season three, and I'm super excited to start
introducing you to some of our new season three team members. I'm joined by my brand
new student co-host, Mia and Frank. Don't worry, you'll meet them in just a moment.
We start this first episode of season three by introducing a few of our new podcast team
members. Then we'll follow that up by having a conversation with the headmaster, Mr. Luke,
about some of the hot new trends in the education sector this year. But first, Frank will share
our quote of the day, followed by our headline news report read to you by Mia.
Hey everyone, I'm Frank, and our quote of the day comes from Anthony J. D. Angelo. He's
quoted as saying, develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. This
quote highlights the power of developing a passion for learning. When you love to learn,
you're always growing and evolving, no matter where life takes you. Whether you're exploring
new hobbies, gaining new skills, or simply satisfying your curiosity, a love for learning
keeps life interesting and full of opportunities. Embracing this mindset ensures that you continue
to grow and improve throughout your life. And that's our quote of the day. Now onto some
headline news with Mia. Hey everyone, I'm Mia, and I'll be bringing
some headline news from around the world. Our first news piece comes from an article published
by UTeach, which focuses on the topic of NanoLearning. The Digital Learning Institute explores NanoLearning,
a new educational trend that delivers information in brief, focused segments, sometimes only
three minutes long. This method aims to improve engagement and retention by breaking down
content into manageable, small, bite sizes, which is usually delivered to the user as
video or through an interactive e-learning platform. This learning structure and form
caters to today's fast-paced digital world. And let's face it, we live in a world full
of distractions and our attention spans are not what they used to be.
Moving on to our next news items, which comes from Forbes. Forbes published an article about
how AI has been impacting the classroom. A quote from the article states, in October
2023, Forbes advisors surveyed 500 practicing educators from around the US about their experiences
with AI in the classroom. With respondents representing the teachers at all career stages,
the results reveal a snapshot of how artificial intelligence is impacting education. This
survey examines the increasing integration of artificial intelligence in schools, emphasizing
its potential to transform education through personalized learning and administrative efficiencies.
The report outlines various functions of AI in education, such as adaptive learning platforms,
AI powered learning games, automatic grading and feedback systems, intelligent tutoring
and chat bots that can help enhance student engagement and teacher productivity. As AI
technology keeps advancing, its role in shaping the future of education becomes even more
important and prominent. And finally, our last piece of news comes
from a Fox Business article that was published earlier this year. The article emphasized
the rising significance of soft skills in today's job market. Employers are placing
greater value on interpersonal abilities such as communication, teamwork and problem solving,
recognizing that these skills are vital for navigating the complexities of the modern
workplace. The report highlights that while technical
expertise remains important, it's no longer enough to guarantee success. In fact, many
employers are prioritizing candidates who demonstrate strong soft skills as these qualities
foster collaboration, adaptability and leadership. As the job market continues to evolve, developing
and refining these interpersonal skills is becoming increasingly essential for both career
growth and long term professional success. And that ends our headline news for this episode.
Thank you for the quote in the headline news. As we kick off this new season with our new
team, I wanted to take the next few episodes and have our new team members introduce themselves
and answer a few get to know you questions. After a question and answer time, we'll share
a top 10 list before we break for our PSA and then on to segment two with Mr. Luke.
Now to begin with, I wanted to officially welcome Mia, Frank, highlight and Abe to the
studio for a little meet and greet with our audience. So let's just go around the room,
introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about the role you have this season.
Hi guys, I'm Mia and I'm a senior this year. I'm also one of the co-hosts on this podcast.
So please don't get bored of my voice just yet because you'll be hearing it a lot this
year. Good evening or good morning. Depending on
the time you are listening to this. My name is Frank and I'm a junior. I was an exchange
student last year and I'm currently a co-host in marketing.
Hi students in community. I'm highlights a junior student at ICS and the producer of
the students incorporated podcasts. I genuinely look forward to working alongside the amazing
team of creative minds this year. Hey guys, my name is Abe. I am a junior and
my job is the booking agent. Okay. Thank you everyone. Let's move on to
our next question. I know we have just started, but how has your experience been so far with
being part of the new season three team? I absolutely adore this team and honestly,
my experience with them has so far been really great. I love working with everyone except
Frank. Just kidding. I'm beyond honored to work alongside him as co-hosts on this podcast.
And I'm also extending my thanks to Mr. Jason and the production and marketing team for
making these past three weeks absolutely incredible. Wow. Thanks Mia. Honestly, my current experience
has been great. I'm enjoying working with my team. It would be a lie if I were to say
this is not one of my favorite classes in this school because we get to work on what
we want, but at the same time, work diligently with a guideline.
I truly feel like this is one of my favorite classes because I get to strengthen my skills
of marketing, management, and so many more. To briefly give an example, while I was walking
back from the art the other day, an idea of a prospective students incorporated guest
conjured up my mind. So I quickly dropped by at Mr. Jason's class the next day and
shared my idea with him. Intro to marketing class allows me to independently and collaboratively
express my passions in marketing by allowing all somewhat random ideas to run wild. Essentially
one of my major conduits for creative expression. So far, this is my favorite class because
it feels almost like a job. We each have our own roles and also we have deadlines and also
due dates and tests we have to complete within a timeframe. Okay. Thank you so much everyone.
With the start of a new school year, what are some of your favorite classes so far?
And it's okay if you don't say intro to marketing.
Oh man, this makes it even harder to pick. Well, I would say guided studies, but that's
not a really good answer. So I'll say personal finance. I enjoy how Mr. Brian teaches this
class and especially how I can apply the skills that he teaches in class to everyday life,
such as noting down your expenses every day, learning how our personal decisions affect
our financial choices and et cetera.
That is a really hard question, but if I had to choose the top two, it would be economics
or marketing. This is because in marketing, well, I enjoy actively engaging in these subjects
and either way, I find people I work with really interesting, especially Abe. And in
economics, we are currently working on a group project to fundraise for seniors. And I have
to say it's been great so far.
I have to say that it's in fact intro to marketing and AP psychology. Personally, I enjoy finding
the interconnectedness between the two classes. Even though I just started both classes, there
are already some concepts that's cross transferable. For example, I recently recognized how correlation
need not mean causation when reaching out to guests. Just because they left you on red,
which is like might be considered a causation, doesn't exactly mean that they're rejecting
your request or disregarding your message, which might be a correlation. These two actions
may relate to each other, but it might not always have a cause and effect relationship.
For me, probably teacher aid. I think it's just fun to like hang out with Mr. Manny and
also and also Mr. Jason and just like do tasks with them because it just gives me a sense
of peace and I like to also talk with them.
Okay. Thank you again, everybody. And my last question for all of you before we move on
to our top 10 list is what's one fun memory experience or fun fact you have from your
summer break?
All right. What a question. This summer I went to Shanghai, China and there have been
one too many times where me and my friends would get lost on the streets of Shanghai
at night and I would be forced to use my very mediocre Chinese skills to get us safely back
to our dorms.
Summer break. It's one of the best thing ever from sleepless night to more than well
rested evenings, you know, just waking up at like, let's say 12pm. I mean, I was waking
up at three. I've had my share of that. But one thing that stood out the most for me was
my time in the US enjoying some of the best night with my exchange friends, Panao and
Kiara. We drove around the city's restaurant in Walmart, did drive through prank in McDonald
and lastly laughed a lot.
Wow. Frank's summer really sounds like a teenage dream life kind of summer. One fun
yet boomer sounding memory from the summer was creating a spreadsheet with a list of
various Facebook groups with target customers for the upcoming Dragonfly 360 summit, unlike
what Frank did and having lunch outings with my so-called co-workers. In short, it was
like reliving my childhood experiences in the adult kidsania realm instead of the kidsania
for kiddos.
One thing I did over break was I went tubing and also water skiing at our lake house and
pretty much I just spent all day out there tubing and just having fun with friends and
also family. So yeah.
All right. Thanks again, everybody. It sounds like you had very unique and different types
of summers, but it sounded like you all enjoyed yourself. Okay. With that said, we're going
to now move on to our top 10 list. The top 10 list is called the top 10 educational trends
are trending in 2024. We'll start off with number 10 and then count our way down to number
one. And Mia is going to start us off with number 10.
All right. Thank you, Mr. Jason. So starting with number 10, global and cultural competency,
we're learning more about different cultures and global issues in our classes. And it's
really important because it prepares us to understand and work with people from all over
the world. Going on with number nine is sustainable and green education. I heard that school are
starting to teach more about the environment and how to be eco-friendly. It's cool because
it helps us learn about sustainability and how to make differences. On to number eight,
personalized learning paths. Personalized learning allows students to go at our own pace
and focus on what we need to improve. It makes learning feel more personalized and adapted
to us. Number seven is a focus on 21st century skills.
This is a focus more on skills, just like critical thinking and also creativity, not
just memorizing facts. These skills are also important for future jobs and also being taught
in all of our subjects. Okay. Now we're on to number six. Number six
is data driven instruction. Teachers are using data to figure out what we need help with
and how we're doing. It helps them to maximize a student's skill to allow them to have better
learning experience. Up next with number five is social emotional
learning or SEL. SEL programs help us with our emotions and our social skills, like understanding
others and managing stress. Honestly, it's really great because it makes the school environment
very supportive. And now we've got number four, at tech innovations,
technology and education is advancing with virtual reality and gamification. These tools
make learning more fun and immersive and keep students engaged.
On to number three, micro learning and nano learning. Micro learning gives us small quick
lessons that are easy to handle. And nano learning is even shorter than micro learning.
It helps us learn new materials in manageable chunks.
Next is hybrid and also blended learning models. Hybrid learning mixes online classes with
in-person classes. It's flexible and also fits better into busy schedules.
And last but not least, the number one trend in education this year is artificial intelligence
integration. AI is becoming a big part of education, helping produce personalized learning,
feedback and support many other benefits for students. All right, that's our top 10 list.
We'll be right back with Mr. Luke after this short PSA.
That time of the year is coming and nope, it's not Christmas. It's carnival. Our senior
council and seniors have worked really hard to bring this together for the ICS community.
And we hope to see you there on Saturday, August 31st. Each booth will be set to different
time periods where the past, present and future collide. There will be raffles for big prizes
such as toys, electronics, home decor and more. There will be lots of games such as
classic carnival games, escape rooms and even a dunk tank with your favorite teacher or
not so favorite teacher. Again, that's Saturday, August 31st, senior carnival and we hope to
see you there.
And we are back with our second segment and we welcome Mr. Luke who serves as a headmaster
of our school. I'm also joined by student co-host Mia and Frank. Welcome back to the
show, Mr. Luke. I know we've had you on a few other times in season one and also season
two. So thanks for helping us kick off our first episode of season three with the topic
of current and hot trends in education. Let me start off with our first discussion question
as we'd love to hear your thoughts about this as it relates to the field of education.
So here's our question. With the rapid advancements in AI and technology, many people are curious
about how these innovations are being applied in an educational setting. At ICS, for example,
what are some ways educational technology is being utilized?
Yeah, thanks, Mr. Jason. Thanks for having me back. Always an honor to be on this podcast.
I think you guys do a fantastic job and I'm one of your subscribers that listens all the
time. Good question about technology. I think it's been really cool to actually see what's
been happening with AI in the last couple of years especially. And it's been really
awesome to see what's been happening specifically in education. I think most researchers would
agree that the AI boom that kind of started with the launch of chat GBT really has the
potential to impact education across the world more significantly than anything else with
the exception of possibly the internet itself kind of being implemented into education.
I think a lot of researchers and educational thinkers would say that yeah, AI is the biggest
thing ever. I do think it's safe to say that that's probably true in many ways. As we've
seen, it's impacted things significantly already in such a short amount of time and people
are really just trying to figure that out. So at ICS, we've been using it a lot of ways.
We're kind of on the front end of things when it comes to really integrating fully AI, trying
to figure out policies and procedures and things like that before just releasing all
the technology itself, right? We don't want to get the wagon before the horse, I think
is the saying. So we're moving, I don't want to say slowly, but I would say that we're
moving very intentionally and methodically to adopt AI as a tool that can enhance education
of students at ICS. We're really kind of accepting it as something that we have to embrace and
not something that we need to ignore.
All right, Mr. Luke, actually now that you've mentioned it about those policies that you
said, a lot of my teachers in most of my classes have also been embracing technology in a lot
of ways, especially my personal finance class. So yeah, I'm personally like super glad
that the teachers are utilizing AI to its full potential. So now that we've talked
about technology inside the classroom, we'll be stepping back and we'll be viewing ICS
as a whole. So many of our listeners have been interested in knowing about any technological
upgrades to our school's infrastructure. So Mr. Luke, have there been any significant
changes recently?
No, good question. I would say technology is one of those things that we're always upgrading
on campus, always looking at kind of what's new, what's better. We have more users, we
need more speed, we need more data, we need all of that, right? So we're constantly upgrading
everything from hardware to software to increasing Wi-Fi access, increasing the speed, all of
these things. I don't know that there's been a huge change regarding the kind of infrastructure
side of things with specific to AI. I do think that we kind of last year, we opened up chat
GBT to students for student use when kind of generated for teacher specific activities.
We have developed policies and procedures for generative AI technologies and how those
can be used by students. But as far as like the infrastructure goes, there wasn't a lot
that was actually required, at least for what we're seeing so far, right? As the AI technology
develops, obviously we may need more needs that we don't have and we would be willing
to do that. But right now, I think we're pretty good.
I actually didn't know that we could use chat CPT. I mean, I wasn't here last year, but
anyways, how do you envision technology evolving in both teaching and learning? What trends
should we be looking out for? I think some of the big areas that will see
AI impact education is in the realm of adaptive learning. These are programs that adjust to
the learner kind of on the fly based on the skills and knowledge that they demonstrate
in the moment. I think this is really cool technology actually to see some of this adaptive
learning taking place. I grew up in, when I grew up, it was kind of like the beginning
of the video game age when we got out of like very, very basic video games and into video
games that were adaptive actually in some ways, meaning that, you know, in order to
complete level one, you had to be able to do certain skills or whatever and to get to
level two, those had to increase. So it was pretty cool. And I kind of see that adaptive
learning model as obviously a super advanced version of that. As, you know, as a learner
in adaptive learning, as a learner demonstrates competency, the content can change and get
more difficult or get less difficult as needed. This is already being used for like personalized
learning already. And I think it's something that schools are looking to kind of adopt
wholesale. Another big area would be in the realm of individualized tutoring systems.
I don't know if many students are actually using these already, but there are a ton of
really cool apps and websites and things that you can use that have this adaptive individualized
tutoring for all sorts of subjects. So you could save your parents money, you could save
time traveling back and forth to tutors and things like that. You could also learn about
things that you might not be able to learn about in school because we don't offer it
in school. So it's pretty cool to see that. As far as teachers, I think AI has the potential
to really help teachers in many ways. We've spent a lot of time talking with teachers
and kind of having teachers meet together and discuss a lot of that stuff from planning
and integrating engaging activities in classes. And I know right now there's been a ton of
development being poured into the area of grading right now too, which I think a lot
of teachers would love to see. Obviously that's something that's pretty sensitive and requires
a high level of complexity, but it's happening. It's happening fast. So it'll be interesting
to see how that develops over time. I really do think AI has the potential to help lots
of students from a creative standpoint too, which is really cool. For someone like me,
I'm not very creative by nature. And I've always, anytime I've been working on projects,
I've always had to get people to help me with the creative side of things. Now I find myself
going to people less for ideas and things and just pulling up AI tools and being like,
hey, give me 200 ideas on this. And you know, maybe 80% of them aren't that good, but the
20% are a whole lot better than what I could think of on my own. So I think the kind of
the creative process is something that's really exciting as well.
All right. Thank you for your insight, Mr. Luke. And just a follow up question on my
end, which trend will ICS most likely adopt? I really think these personalized tutoring
systems have a ton of potential to not only help students in the classes they're in, but
to open up kind of a whole new realm of learning in an area that may not be offered in school.
And I've actually seen there are colleges already that are using these things to kind
of fill in gaps. So if a student wants to go into engineering or something and is missing
a course that they really want their student to have, then they're giving them these kind
of personalized learning systems. We live in this day and age where, you know,
there are lots of older and younger generations. So, you know, there will obviously be people
who are aware of AI, and there are others who aren't so much aware of AI. So how would
you describe what technology and AI is to someone that's never heard of it?
I would try to keep it simple, because I think it could get very complicated and very overwhelming
very quickly to someone who was in that situation. I guess I would say using AI in the educational
setting is kind of like having a personal assistant to help you do many of the tasks
that take up a lot of time and kind of do things that maybe we see as like mindless
tasks. I would also say it's a great opportunity to enhance students' and teachers' creativity.
I think that's a really cool thing to highlight to someone who didn't know what they were
using. I guess I would encourage them that it's actually not that difficult. People
that haven't used it I think often times feel kind of overwhelmed by the, oh, this
seems like futuristic or whatever, but it's actually very user-friendly.
I think that's a really good take on it. Now, here's a quote that predicts the outcome
and the impact of AI on employment by technology expert Dr. Trace. He says, you may not have
your job replaced by AI, but you will likely have it replaced by someone who can use AI.
So what are your thoughts on this quote, and what are the steps you believe you should
take in response?
Yeah, thanks, Frank. That's a good quote. I've seen that before as well, and that's
one that actually we on the admin team kind of toss around sometimes, which is fun to
hear that you have that in your question. I honestly think there's a lot of truth to
it. I know that's probably a reality that a lot of people don't actually want to face,
especially people like my age and older, but there's a lot of reality to the fact that
it's slowly happening already, all right? And I think that colleges and universities
are going to have to prepare kind of you guys and your generation for jobs that we, A, don't
even know exist, but also B, being jobs where you're able to effectively use the tools that
you have in order to kind of complete the jobs that you're going to have to have. However,
at the end of the day, I think people are still going to be required to think critically.
People are still going to be required to solve problems. People are still going to be required
to work in teams in order to be successful. I do think AI will be a huge part of life
in the future, but that's for everyone. Everyone will have access to that. But I think really
what will kind of separate kind of the mediocre from the excellent or the successful from
the highly successful is the ability to utilize those soft skills and kind of develop those.
The same thing happens now, right? We've got access to a lot of things, and one of the
differences that kind of separates people is the ability to do those things, to work
together, to communicate effectively, to kind of build relationships with each other. I
think soft skills allow for that. Soft skills allow for effective communication, teamwork,
adaptability when things don't go as planned. Soft skills allow humans to interact with
each other effectively. They allow us to build relationships with each other and be in community
together. Everyone has access to AI, but not everyone has those soft skills. So that's
something that will be a difference maker, I think.
Alright, thank you for that. I personally really agreed with what you said about the
soft skills, because I think that's something that, you know, people moving forward will
definitely have to embrace a lot more than AI. So yeah, thank you for that. Alright,
now that we're on the topic of AI, I wanted to introduce a new type of learning to you,
Mr. Luke. It's called nano learning. So it's basically a design trend that's created to
educate learners on a topic through short and informal learning particles, usually less
than two minutes. So there are no interactions with the instructor as it's carried out via
electronic media. Do you have any experience with nano learning despite it being implemented
about two, three years ago?
Yeah, it's an interesting concept. I don't know that the idea educationally is actually
all that new. It's something that's been around for a long time, right? Like we talk
about kids, especially younger kids, maybe not as much in high school, but kids not,
no one wants to sit there and listen to their first grade teacher talk for 15 minutes straight,
right? And no one's doing that. Well, I shouldn't say no one. ICS teachers certainly aren't
doing that. And it's not happening because we know the kids do better, they're kind of
learning in these bite sized chunks, right? It's different than nano learning in the way
that you're explaining it in the sense that they're still a teacher, right? But I do,
I do totally get it. I understand the fact that we kind of live in this time of YouTube
shorts and TikTok and Instagram reels, and it makes us all feel like maybe we can't focus
for more than that short amount of time. So hey, let's kind of shift education to be that.
I'm not saying there's not value in it. I do think that there is value. And I think,
I mean, even myself personally, right? I've learned lots of things from a two to three
minute video on YouTube or whatever. I really have. I do think that there's value in it.
However, I don't think that concept kind of encapsulates all that is required of learning
in education. It's an aspect of learning that can be highly effective for people. But then
I think there's also people out there that love nothing more than sitting and listening
to a teacher kind of pontificate about history or whatever for 40 minutes, you know, like
there are those people out there. So I think it can be used as a tool, but it's just like
we've seen for well over 100 years. There's no silver bullet when it comes to the perfect
way to learn. I actually agree with that, with about, you know, having to learn in bite
sized chunks because you can't expect someone to just learn immediately. You know, let's
say I'm learning how to golf, you know, you can't just learn it immediately. Like even
if you have the best coach, the best teachers, it's better to learn it in bite sized chunks.
Now to end us off with our final segment, we'd love to hear about your advice about
device usages. Could you share some, you know, best practices with us?
Well, I am not an expert by any means, and I use my device way more than I probably should.
I think in my mind, philosophically, I think I won't speak for all of us, but I think most
of us are on our devices too much. I think it's something that we fool ourselves into
believing that it fosters human connection, but it actually does the opposite in the end.
And because of that, I would say ideally we shouldn't be like so addicted to our phones
and iPads and computers or whatever it may be. I'm not saying that there's not value
in them. I'm not saying that they can't be used for good things because they can. I'm
not saying that it should only be used for good things or work or whatever. I think it's
totally fine to be used for entertainment and fun as well. I guess very practically
speaking, you know, some things that we do as a family is we kind of agree that no phones
or devices at the table, like when we're eating dinner, that's something that we always try
to do. Honestly, there are some nights we even sit down and kind of watch TV as a family
while we're eating dinner, but then we still kind of acknowledge that we're not going to
touch our phones because that's not doing what the family is doing. That's been really
good for our family. I think no devices at night kind of in bed is really good because
I think it's very hard for us as human beings to ignore that ding or that vibrate that happens
in the middle of the night, no matter what time it is, right? And you wake up and check
it and then your brain starts like firing on all cylinders and you're having a hard
time sleeping, right? I think if you've read any of the science and research recently about
sleep, device usage at nighttime in general is really bad for sleep. And then to further
push that down the road, like sleep is so integral to all of our health, right? So I
don't know. Maybe I'm old school, but I feel like we're all on our devices too much and
I'm guilty of that as well. And it's constantly something where I'm like, man, I shouldn't
be doing that as much.
As we end this episode, we'd like to thank Mr. Luke for coming on the show again and
sharing some of his insights about new and hot trends in education this year. He's also
given some great advice about technology and its usage. Stay tuned for our next episode
as my team and I have put the gears in motion to bring you 32 new episodes this season.
And as always, this podcast would not be possible without the hard work and support of our international
student production team. All music and sound effects are courtesy of Pixabay.com, a vibrant
community of creatives sharing copyright free images, videos, and music. And we are signing
off until next time. We are Students Incorporated, because your voice matters.