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Silver Lining for Learning

Silver Lining for Learning

Written by: Punya Mishra | Chris Dede | Curt Bonk | Yong Zhao
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Silver Lining for Learning (https://silverliningforlearning.org) is an ongoing conversation on the future of learning with educators and education leaders from across the globe. Hosted by Chris Dede, Curt Bonk, Punya Mishra & Yong Zhao, these conversations began under the “dark cloud” of the COVID19 crisis and continue today. We see these conversations as space to discuss the creation of equitable, humanistic and sustainable learning ecosystems that meet the needs of all learners. These conversations are hosted live on YouTube every Saturday (typically 5:30 PM Eastern US time).2020-2022 Silver Lining for Learning
Episodes
  • Stewarding Digital Youth-Led Movements

    Stewarding Digital Youth-Led Movements
    May 23 2026

    Explore how shifting the role of students from passive beneficiaries to active agents of change is transforming Peru’s educational landscape through a vibrant, self-sustaining ecosystem of over 6,000 young leaders.

    In a world often focused on individual achievement and competitive rankings, a new paradigm is emerging from Peru: one rooted in solidarity, intergenerational leadership, and “social movement learning.” This episode dives into the journey of moving beyond traditional school boundaries to create an ecosystem where adolescents (ages 13–17) lead initiatives ranging from mental health advocacy and financial education to STEM and public policy.

    By treating youth not as “tokens” but as legitimate stewards of their communities, this movement has seen 60% of its participants remain active agents of change years later and then become adult allies for the next generations. We discuss the unique challenges of supporting these leaders as they transition into adulthood and how the educational system can adapt to nurture human flourishing. This isn’t just about “student voice”—it’s about a loosely interconnected infrastructure of +300 youth organizations reimagining citizenship for the next decades.

    About our guests:

    Astrid Albujar

    Astrid Albujar’s mission is to aid Latin American development by ensuring all students receive quality education and leadership training so they can drive change in their lives and their communities. She is an Enseña Peru alumna, and has since collaborated with them on research and consulting for leadership programs. She also works with the Latin American Leadership Academy on its leadership bootcamps and is currently a University Programs Analyst at Abroad Peru, a Peruvian NGO that aims to reduce brain drain and reinsert talented Peruvians into key roles in Peru. She is currently pursuing the International and Public Affairs and Economics – Applied Mathematics degree at Brown University.

    • https://www.linkedin.com/in/astrid-albujar/

    Fiorella Chuquihuanga

    Fiorella seeks to ensure that every person has equal opportunities to become the best version of themselves and, in this way, lead a flourishing life. She is an alumni of Enseña Perú (student leadership program – second cohort) and a third-year student of History and Cultural Management. She has led leadership campaigns in rural schools and is also a volunteer with T’ikary, a youth organization that combines ancestral knowledge and biodiversity, where she applies the knowledge and skills she has gained in her field of study. She is from Peru and is currently residing in Piura, Peru.

    Franco Mosso Cobián

    Franco stewards youth movements, so each young person becomes a changemaker without sacrificing their wellbeing or identity. He is a Harvard alumnus, and the co-founder and former CEO of Enseña Perú (2014–2024) from the Teach for All Network, where he co-founded a movement that has impacted thousands. Franco’s work emphasizes “stewardship” of informal and non-formal educational spaces where solidarity replaces competition, and purpose replaces prestige. As a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, he also researches how youth lead and reimagine activism, learning and politics. He is from Peru, currently residing in Toronto, Canada.

    • https://www.linkedin.com/in/franco-mosso-cobian/

    Join the conversation at silverliningforlearning.org

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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • From Episodes to Insights: Analyzing Silver Lining for Learning

    From Episodes to Insights: Analyzing Silver Lining for Learning
    May 17 2026
    Over six years, Silver Lining for Learning (SLL) has explored powerful ideas about learning, technology, and educational change. In this episode, faculty and graduate students from the University of Houston share a collaborative inquiry project in which they mined the SLL podcast archive for recurring themes emerging across diverse educational contexts worldwide. The project was collaboratively developed by Dr. Susie Gronseth, Clinical Professor at the University of Houston (UH), and Kelly Davis, a doctoral candidate in Learning, Design, and Technology at UH, in collaboration with Dr. Curt Bonk of Indiana University. Using Dr. Punya Mishra’s Analyzing Silver Lining for Learning AI exploration tool (https://punyamishra.com/sll/), small groups of students analyzed clusters of episodes connected to major topics in online and digital learning, including AI and emerging technologies, equity and access, student voice, social-emotional learning and wellbeing, technology as an enabler, and the reimagining of educational systems. Across the groups, themes emerged regarding learner-centered design, technology as both an opportunity and a risk, global collaboration, human connection, inclusive instructional design, student agency, teacher empowerment, and the continuing importance of pedagogy over technology itself. In this conversation, the guests and hosts reflect on both the findings that emerged from the podcast analysis and the learning process itself, in which examining conversations within the podcast illuminates larger questions about the future of learning. About our guests: Dr. Susie Gronseth Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiegronseth/Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=408 Dr. Susie L. Gronseth is a Clinical Professor in the Learning, Design, and Technology (LDT) program at the University of Houston (UH), where she has taught since 2012. She is affiliate faculty in UH Population Health, the Human Centered AI Institute of the C.T. Bauer College of Business, and the Humana Integrated Health Systems Science Institute in the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine. She will be joining the faculty of Texas A&M University as Associate Professor in the Learning Technology Performance Systems program in fall 2026. With a PhD in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University, she focuses her research on the intersection of artificial intelligence and instructional design, exploring how AI/ML can support personalized learning, address health disparities, and enhance STEM education. She co-directs the Laboratory for Innovative Technology in Education and has secured funding from the NIH, NSF, and Department of Education. Beyond research, she has developed over 20 courses, served as President of the UH Faculty Senate, led graduate programs in the LDT program area, and contributed to major initiatives, including UH's pandemic-era shift to online teaching and the health coaching certificate program. Her scholarly impact is reflected in publications in top journals like the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education and Computers & Education, over 200 conference presentations, and a co-edited book on universal design for learning—one of the first internationally focused texts on the topic. She serves as Deputy Editor of the International Journal on Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning, a member of the Development section editorial board of Educational Technology Research and Development, and co-chair of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Education Quality in Morocco. Her work has earned numerous honors, including the ISTE Online Learning Network Award, multiple UH President's and teaching excellence awards, the Indiana University Distinguished Alumni Award, and induction into Phi Kappa Phi in 2023. Paola Esquivel Paola Esquivel-Gallegos is an M.Ed. student in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Houston, specializing in Learning, Design, and Technology. Her work explores the development of a UX-based curriculum for high school students, focusing on how human-centered design can support more engaging learning experiences. With a background in architecture and UX design, she brings a systems perspective to her work, creating interactive and student-centered learning experiences. She is particularly interested in how practices like user research and iteration can inform instructional design. Garrett Ward Garrett Ward is an educational game designer working in virtual production and a recent graduate of the University of Houston’s M.Ed. LDT program. During his studies, he served as the founding Studio Director of Coog Interactive—UH’s game development club—and was a graduate research assistant for the CougAR Lab, UH’s internationally recognized AR/VR research and development lab. In addition, he is a certified Scrum Master, Product Owner, Project Manager, and Permaculture Designer. ...
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Democratic Schools and Learning Environments: A Global Perspective

    Democratic Schools and Learning Environments: A Global Perspective
    May 9 2026
    Episode 271: Democratic Schools and learning environments: A global perspective Linda Nathan, Jonathan Mendonca, Gus Rojas Ayala are the co-editors of the book “Designing Democratic Schools and Learning Environments”. Through the book they study 38 schools from 14 countries and have developed a framework to study and create schools that develop a deep sense of participation, compassion, and civic responsibility in our future generations. Linda, Jonathan and Gustavo met in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Linda was their professor with many years of experience designing and establishing democratic schools. Jonathan had extensive experience in India working at the grassroots with over 100,000 schools and Gustavo from Mexico led one of the country's most influential education policy think-tanks. Seeing the need and the potential of democratic across their contexts they decided to embark on the journey to produce a book about democratic education initiatives across the world. This book is structured on a framework that emerged through the study of practice across many schools and the co-editors first hand experiences. The framework helps study and design democratic education, which comprises four pillars: Democratic education emphasizes the open flow of ideas, choices, and perspectives, regardless of their popularityDemocratic education holds students and all educators to high expectations while respecting students’ and educators’intersectional identities and varied cultural values and beliefs.Democratic education supports and interrogates the “common good” through critical and compassionate dialogue, active listening, and critical reflection to arrive at consensus and compromise.Democratic education is built upon collective decision-making structures with students, families, educators, and community members in order to solve theirs and society’s most urgent challenges.There is now a 5th pillar: Democratic resilience which includes four intertwined dimensions: a shared purpose and analysis of power that explains why democratic education matters and whom it serves;relationships of trust that act as the cement between the other pillars;the resilience and renewal of educators, without whom no democratic practice can endure; andstructural supports—networks, legitimacy, and alliances—that connect individual schools to something larger than themselves. About our guests: Linda F. Nathan, Ed.D. Linda F. Nathan is a Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Cambridge College, Puerto Rico, where she teaches courses on designing democratic schools and organizational change. With decades of experience in education, Linda brings deep expertise in founding and leading schools and nonprofits to her teaching and leadership coaching, supporting educators both nationally and internationally. She was the founding principal of Boston Arts Academy—the city’s first public high school for the visual and performing arts—as well as the co-director of Fenway High School and founder of the Tobin Bilingual Middle School for the Arts. Linda has also established three nonprofits focused on arts advocacy, youth development, education reform, and creativity. As the co-founder and co-director of the Perrone Sizer Institute for Creative Leadership, she has helped prepare hundreds of educators for leadership roles in schools and nonprofits. Linda is the author of The Hardest Questions Aren’t on the Test and When Grit Isn’t Enough, and co-editor of Designing Democratic Schools and Democratic Learning Environments: A Global Perspective. Her forthcoming book Democratic Schools Matter will be published in October 2026. She regularly shares reflections and resources on her blog. Linda holds a Doctor of Education degree from Harvard University, Master’s degrees from Emerson College and Antioch University, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley. Jonathan F. Mendonca is the Co-founder of Human Studios is a global consultancy that helps schools and education organizations rethink learning and practically integrate technology in meaningful, responsible ways. He is also the Co-founder of The Unifly Collective, a non-profit that builds school leadership for the twenty-first century across over 130,000 schools in India. He has served as an educator, author, institute builder and policy advocate. Jonathan designed Rehnuma, the world's first incubator for school principals, helping them rapidly increase the pace of school improvement and amplify their impact to influence implementation across their region. From grassroots implementation to policy, he brings a human-centred and systems-driven approach to complex school challenges. Jonathan holds a degree in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was awarded the New World Social Innovation Fellowship by the Harvard Kennedy School for his efforts toward systemic social change. He ...
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    1 hr
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