How can schools take advantage of powerful technology without adding more noise to an already crowded instructional landscape?

In this episode of Integrate This!, Jeremy and David sit down with Dr. Gene Kerns, Chief Academic Officer at Renaissance, to explore what effective educational technology should really accomplish.

Gene shares his journey from the classroom to more than 20 years with Renaissance and explains a principle that continues to shape his thinking about EdTech: technology should support teachers, not supplant them.

The conversation dives into instructional coherence—making sure assessments, curriculum, intervention, instructional resources, and technology actually work together rather than becoming disconnected pieces teachers have to assemble themselves. Gene also discusses personalized learning, using assessment data to determine “what’s next,” the growing role of AI behind the scenes, and why teachers must remain the ones making the final instructional decisions.

They also tackle the ongoing debate around student screen time and why the conversation should focus not simply on the amount of technology students use, but on the quality and purpose of that use.

And, of course, Gene faces the Integrate This! lightning round, where things wander from school leadership to television, becoming an ordained minister, 80s music, and whether he’d rather head to the mountains or the beach.

In this episode: • Keeping teachers at the center of educational technology • “Supporting, not supplanting” teachers • Personalized learning vs. learning that is more personalized • Instructional coherence across curriculum, assessment, and intervention • Turning assessment data into meaningful next steps • Connecting supplemental resources to what teachers are actually teaching • AI as a “24/7 digital teaching assistant” • Quality vs. quantity when thinking about student screen time • The future of Renaissance Intelligence

Resources & Links

🔗 Renaissance: https://www.renaissance.com/ 🔗 Renaissance Intelligence: https://www.renaissance.com/renaissance-intelligence/ 🔗 Renaissance Webinars: https://www.renaissance.com/resources/webinars/ 🔗 Renaissance Blog: https://www.renaissance.com/resources/blog/ 🔗 Dr. Gene Kerns on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gene-kerns-8bbb8014/

🎧 Integrate This! is a podcast exploring educational technology, effective instruction, and the ideas shaping teaching and learning.

What does it really mean to prepare every student for a future we cannot fully predict?

Jeremy and David are joined by sisters and Innovageous co-founders Shira Woolf Cohen and Alicia Woolf for a conversation about moving beyond career days, isolated programs, and technology that only gives the appearance of innovation.

Shira and Alicia explain why future-focused education is not about directing students toward one predetermined pathway. Instead, it means helping every learner develop transferable skills such as communication, adaptability, perseverance, self-awareness, leadership, and agency. They also explore why true inclusion goes beyond providing access—and what all educators can learn from the transition-planning practices long used in special education.

The conversation includes practical ways teachers can connect existing lessons to students’ futures without adding another program to their plates, thoughtful uses of AI and educational technology, strategies for building sustainable community and employer partnerships, and creative ways rural schools can expand career exploration through virtual connections.

The episode concludes with a round of “Future Focused or Future Flavored” and a sister-themed lightning round featuring cheesesteaks, Old Bay, Bravo, and keynote walk-up songs.

Learn more about Innovageous and explore their resources: https://www.innovageous.com/

Connect with Shira Woolf Cohen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirawoolfcohen/

Connect with Shira Woolf Cohen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-woolf-91366362/

Find Leading Future-Focused Schools: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9VWS8Z7

Dr. Sheldon Eakins, host of the Leading Equity podcast and founder of Purposeful Teaching Academy, joins the podcast to share his journey from history teacher to school administrator to equity consultant. He talks about what sparked his work in culturally responsive teaching after moving from the Virgin Islands to Idaho, where he served as a special education director for the Shoshone and Bannock tribes. Sheldon breaks down how cultural assumptions show up in everyday classroom moments, using a memorable refrigerator analogy to explain the difference between individualist and collectivist mindsets in group work, and previews a new tool he's building to help teachers create more balanced, engaging collaborative learning experiences. He also talks about what purposeful, intentional teaching looks like heading into a new school year. Stick around for the lightning round, including his go-to potluck dish and his walk-up song.

Check out the Purposeful Teaching Academy: https://purposeful247.com/

Follow Sheldon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheldoneakins/

Check out Sheldon's Books: Amazon.com: Sheldon L. Eakins: books, biography, latest update

In this episode of Integrate This!, Jeremy Mikla and David Berner sit down with Dr. Jenny Pieratt, PBL expert, author, curriculum designer, and founder of Crafted Curriculum, to talk about project-based learning that is real, rigorous, and student-centered.

Jenny shares her journey into PBL through High Tech High, explains the difference between doing a project and designing true project-based learning, and offers practical advice for teachers working across grade levels and subject areas. The conversation covers real-world learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, assessment, rubrics, durable skills, student agency, and how educators can start small with “PBL light.”

The episode also explores how AI can support teachers in the PBL design process by helping with brainstorming, rubric creation, project planning, and reflection. Jenny emphasizes that AI can make PBL more manageable, but only when paired with strong instructional design and teacher expertise.

Jeremy and David also challenge Jenny with a fun round of “Project or Not a Project?” featuring classic classroom activities like volcanoes, state reports, school gardens, AI-generated slideshows, lunch waste challenges, choice boards, and playground design.

Resources shared by Jenny:

AI Tools for Lesson Planning with PBL: https://craftedcurriculum.com/ai-tools-for-lesson-planning-with-pbl/

PBL + AI Certification Course: https://www.coursesbycrafted.com/pbl-ai-certification-course

Instructional Leader Course: https://www.coursesbycrafted.com/offers/o2EVgD2T/checkout

Aman Sahota, co-founder of Factors Education, joins David Berner and Jeremy Mikla to talk about building an AI platform that personalizes learning around a district's Portrait of a Graduate. He shares his path from studying sustainability to founding Factors Education, the mentor who pushed him into K-12, and how the platform uses student learner profiles to personalize resources by Lexile level, language, and interests while staying aligned with district priorities. The conversation digs into AI bias in education, why reflection-based data collection beats once-a-year surveys, and how Factors is building an open-source benchmark for equitable AI modeling with the University of Toronto. Aman also talks through the Portrait of a Graduate movement, New York's 2029 legislative mandate, using esports to teach durable skills, and the unglamorous reality of building an ed-tech startup on the road. Stick around for the lightning round, including his walk-up song and go-to vegetarian spots across the country.

Minneota Public Schools, a small rural district in Minnesota, partnered with SWWC (Southwest West Central Service Cooperative) to build a comprehensive AI guidance plan from the ground up. In this episode, Superintendent Scott Monson shares how the district pulled together a task force of board members, administrators, and teachers to work through the process together, tackling policy gaps, ethical use, and staff rollout as a team. It's a look at how a regional cooperative model helps small districts do work they couldn't tackle alone, and why getting people from every level of the district in the room made the plan stronger. Scott also touches on what it means to lead a small district in 2026, where everyone wears multiple hats to get the job done.

Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket joins Integrate This! for a conversation about joyful leadership, relational intelligence, and what it means to lead schools with heart.

Rachel shares her journey from kindergarten teacher to principal, including the mentorship that helped her see school leadership differently. She talks with Jeremy and David about the relationships new leaders should prioritize, why slowing down matters, and how leaders can respond to today’s challenges with creativity instead of exhaustion.

The conversation also explores Rachel’s TEDx message around “The Joyful Rebellion,” her book Relational Intelligence, and the role of AI in school leadership. Rather than replacing human connection, Rachel sees AI as a tool that can give educators time back for students, staff, families, and the relationships that make schools work.

Rachel also discusses The Principal’s Journey, Principal Pals, and her podcast Strong Start Sundays.

Links:

Rachel’s Official Website: https://www.racheledohoeket.com/

Rachel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rachel-edoho-eket-2b0ab7221/

What if the reason some students are struggling isn't a student problem — it's a design problem? In this episode of Integrate This EdTech, David Berner and Jeremy Mikla sit down with Dr. Katie Novak, author of 17 books and one of the leading voices on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), to unpack what it really means to design learning that works for ALL students.

📌 In this conversation you'll hear:

✅ What UDL actually is — and the misconceptions that are holding teachers back

✅ The lasagna dinner party analogy that reframes everything about lesson design

✅ How AI tools fit into a UDL framework (and where they fall dangerously short)

✅ The connection between UDL and MTSS — explained in a way that finally makes sense

✅ What learner agency really looks like in a K-12 classroom

✅ Katie's personal writing process — and how she uses AI without letting it write for her

📚 Books mentioned: UDL Shift, Elevating Educational Design with AI (with Dr. Catlin Tucker)

🌐 Learn more about Katie: novakeducation.com

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