Dean interviews Dr. Steve Joordens about using AI to address long-standing challenges in education, especially assessment. Joordens argues education is in a paradigm shift and proposes AI-based oral assessments to move beyond multiple choice toward more holistic evaluation of knowledge and skills at scale, potentially supporting mastery learning (“try till you fly”) and reducing reliance on grades. He describes building conversational AI agents (including a “virtual Steve”) that provide 24/7 student support, personalize learning, assist teamwork by acting as a project manager in each group, and simulate scenarios like de-escalation and interview practice, with features such as full-duplex voice, personality, emotions, and reduced sycophancy. They discuss social anxiety, risks of unhealthy attachment to AI, and the need to help students transition to human connection, plus a call for a community of practice to pilot AI assessment across K–12 and beyond. 00:00 Assessment Drives Learning 01:10 Meet Dr Steve Joordens 03:30 How Steve Uses AI 04:35 Three Big Education Wins 05:01 AI Oral Assessments 07:43 Conversational Skills Crisis 09:42 Virtual Steve Office Hours 11:24 Teamwork and Beyond 12:42 Building the AI Platform 13:36 Humanlike Conversation Design 14:26 Personality and Simulations 16:05 Anti Sycophancy and Emotion 17:53 Student Support Beyond Class 21:22 Does It Sound Like Steve 24:06 AI Relationships and Anxiety 27:50 AI Wins in Class 28:32 Phones and Social Connection 31:30 AI Oral Assessment Workflow 33:27 Can AI Grade Fairly 37:24 Mastery Over Grades 40:27 Teachers as Coaches 42:10 Personalized Inclusive Testing 44:19 Advice for K12 Adoption 48:28 Rapid Fire Wrap Up

Dean welcomes Professor Christian Muise (Queen’s University computing science) to discuss how generative AI is disrupting education, ethics, assessment, and human interaction. They acknowledge the loss of traditional take-home assessments and the upheaval educators face, arguing excitement about AI should not gloss over real challenges. Christian explains why optimism or pessimism depends on context, how ethical issues have intensified with the recent scale of generative AI (including resource use), and why AI literacy matters differently for everyday users versus decision-makers deploying tools in schools. They explore misconceptions about AI as “truth,” the jagged capability landscape, and the rapid impact on higher-ed assessments, prompting shifts to in-person quizzes/exams and redesigned coursework. They also discuss risks like cognitive atrophy and changing social behavior, while highlighting ways to use AI that strengthen thinking, and Christian shares how he approaches AI with his grade-4 daughter to protect creativity. 00:00 Education Upheaval 00:54 Meet Christian Muise 03:35 Optimism Versus Pessimism 05:07 Ethics Goes Mainstream 07:15 Narrow AI And AGI 09:58 How Generative AI Works 11:58 AI Literacy For Everyone 16:00 Surprises In Education 17:59 Companionship And Psyche 21:47 Process Over Product 22:57 Using AI Without Atrophy 25:17 Course Assessment Redesign 29:27 Education Upheaval Reality 30:23 AI Misconceptions Truth 31:00 Token Generator Limits 32:23 Jagged Capability Curve 34:08 Workflow Atrophy Warning 35:22 K12 District Guidance 39:15 Curiosity Critical Community 41:12 Parenting AI Creativity 45:28 Multidisciplinary Conversations 47:50 Rapid Fire Wrap Up 51:12 Closing Thanks Farewell

Dean kicks off season six of the Canadian Ed Leadership Show with a nostalgic conversation about his hometown of Morden, Manitoba, and an interview with Western School Division superintendent Steven Jaddock. Jaddock shares his path from teaching and leadership in Dauphin/Mountain View School Division to his first year in Morden, describing the community’s unusual sustained rural growth, increasing diversity, and resulting pressure for new school capacity. They discuss Manitoba’s unique local school taxation, ongoing budget cycles and advocacy for improved provincial funding formulas, and a more open relationship with the current education ministry. Jaddock outlines supports for newcomers through EAL funding, settlement workers, and partnerships, acknowledges challenges of inclusion and limited rural capacity for specialized needs, and previews plans for AI guidelines, expanded technical-vocational learning, learning on the land, and relationship-centered culture. 00:00 Relationships First 00:39 Season Six Kickoff 01:06 Nostalgia for Morden 03:22 Meet Steven Jaddock 03:51 Why Move to Morden 05:13 Community Growth and Diversity 11:03 Leading Through Listening 14:46 Manitoba Education Dynamics 16:21 Funding and Local Taxation 19:24 Government Relations 22:15 Supporting Newcomers 25:25 Inclusion Capacity Challenges 30:47 Partnerships Solve Problems 34:38 AI in Schools 40:46 Five Year Vision 41:37 Tech Voc and Land Learning 44:57 Staff Culture and Purpose 46:51 Rapid Fire Questions 49:42 Hidden Gems of Morden

Dean interviews high school philosophy teacher Marcus Blair about how discovering a student had used ChatGPT shifted his initial curiosity into fear and urgency, prompting questions about AI’s impact on classrooms, education, and society. Blair explains how his philosophy background helps him ground AI decisions in critical thinking and ethics, drawing on thinkers like Descartes and approaches like utilitarianism and virtue ethics to move beyond policing toward student integrity. He describes practical classroom systems—AI integration “stamps,” a signed student AI agreement, and QR-code disclosure forms—plus strategic cognitive offloading so students can focus on intended learning outcomes. Blair shares examples including AI-supported reporting followed by in-class ethical judgment, emphasizing standards-based assessment, process-focused writing instruction, reduced homework, and district leadership supporting capacity-building and dialogue. 00:00 Caught Using ChatGPT 01:06 Meet Marcus Blair 03:25 First Encounter Fear 05:30 Existential Classroom Shift 07:23 Why Philosophy Matters 10:53 Integrity Over Policing 12:53 Student Win With AI 14:31 Classroom AI Guardrails 19:20 Cognitive Offloading Example 22:46 Standards Based Assessment 24:51 Process Over Product 27:17 Rethinking Homework 29:43 District Leadership Pride 32:35 Finding Common Ground 35:13 Gratitude And Rapid Fire 37:03 Books Shows Hidden Gems 40:59 Closing Thanks

Ryan Strang on the Evolution of School Communications: Strategy, Storytelling, Crisis, and Trust Dean interviews Ryan Strang, Senior Manager of Communications and Community Relations for Ontario’s Grand Erie District School Board and president/executive director of CASE, about how school communications has evolved beyond “just tweeting” into strategic advising, storytelling, brand ambassadorship, customer service, and crisis management. Ryan describes how social media shifted communications from one-way to fast, two-way engagement, increasing pressure for rapid response and amplifying challenges like polarization and misinformation. They discuss choosing channels based on metrics and audience (including stepping back from X, focusing on Facebook/Instagram, and monitoring/responding on Reddit), balancing playful brand voice with professionalism, and the emerging opportunities and risks of AI—especially around privacy and student images. Ryan shares a career highlight: quickly organizing a maple-syrup outdoor education experience for Syrian newcomer families in Peel, showing communications’ impact through relationship-building and storytelling. 00:00 Comms Role Defined 00:50 Why Comms Emerged 01:28 Meet Ryan Strang  04:28 Beyond Social Media  10:45 CASE Growth Post Pandemic 14:11 Storytelling Versus Risk  19:58 Finding Brand Voice 23:30 Playful Comms Examples 25:50 Snow Day Trust Building 28:40 Big District Complexity 30:06 Strategic Comms Value 30:52 Digital Customer Service 31:54 Choosing Social Channels 33:39 Metrics Over Hype 35:20 Facebook Instagram Reddit 38:44 New Platforms Playbook 40:37 AI Opportunities Risks 44:07 Authenticity Versus Automation 45:28 Career Success Story 47:10 Syrian Families Maple Trip 53:22 Hidden Gems Hamilton Brantford 55:13 Closing Reflections

Dean interviews Kate Arthur about what it means for a skill to become a “literacy” and why AI literacy must build on foundational reading, writing, and numeracy alongside access to networks, tools, and skills. Arthur shares her nontraditional education path, 25 years at the intersection of tech, communications, and education, and how classroom moments like students using Siri pushed her to connect literacy with AI’s growing presence. They discuss integrating AI learning across subjects rather than isolating it, the risk of focusing on tools over outcomes like critical thinking, and concerns about widening divides when basic literacy gaps persist. Arthur describes a shift from an attention economy to an attachment economy in generative AI, the ethics of human–machine relationships, and the need to democratize AI knowledge currently concentrated among a few leaders. She also recounts lobbying that secured $6M for youth skills education and emphasizes community-driven change.  00:00 What Makes Literacy  01:06 Meet Kate Arthur 03:06 Kate’s Education Journey 04:57 Stumbling Into AI 07:09 Defining AI Literacy 11:17 Frameworks And Gaps 14:35 Teaching Across Subjects 16:52 Tools Versus Skills 19:17 Best Case AI Future 22:25 Screens Bans And Balance 26:37 From Attention To Attachment 30:33 AI Relationship Guilt 31:39 Depth Versus Shallow 33:11 Humans Versus Chatbots 38:50 Innovation At Risk 40:41 Proudest Career Moments 42:00 Lobbying For Education 45:35 How Lobbying Works 48:45 Leadership And Mentors 54:37 Montreal Hidden Gem 

Dean records an on-the-road podcast in Moose Jaw with his friend Alan Levine.. They discuss what’s still good about the internet in 2026, emphasizing curiosity, surprises, creativity, and niche communities that share knowledge, alongside the shift of social media from creation to consumption and parasocial influence. Alan describes teaching curiosity through hands-on activities and the value of low-stakes connection and storytelling. He explains his work at Open Education Global, the roots of open education and OpenCourseWare, its worldwide reach, and how openness supports quality through adaptation, educator involvement, and open pedagogy with students co-creating resources. They also cover Alan’s storytelling tools (Five Card Flickr Stories and PechaFlickr), mixed feelings about AI, and brief personal topics including his Canadian citizenship, reading about AI and photography, favorite shows, and Moose Jaw highlights. 00:00 Internet Still Surprises 01:27 Why This Interview Exists 03:47 Coffee Shop Setup 04:19 Family Archives and Voices 05:11 What’s Good Online 07:09 Teaching Internet Curiosity 08:31 Social Media Then Now 11:11 Micro Communities and Fixes 13:23 Becoming Canadian 16:14 Open Education Explained 21:00 Quality and Open Pedagogy 23:36 Digital Storytelling Today 26:55 Beyond Video Storytelling 28:02 Five Card Flickr Stories 30:10 PechaFlickr Improv Talks 33:41 Why These Tools Work 34:41 AI Thoughts and Tradeoffs 37:39 Practical AI Use Cases 42:32 Reading on AI Photography 47:50 Binge Watch Favorites 48:55 Moose Jaw Hidden Gems 50:46 Wrap Up and Thanks

Dean interviews Tim Cavey, an elementary vice principal at an independent school in Vancouver and host of the Teachers on Fire podcast, discussing how growth mindset helped Tim persist in podcasting and why he committed to publishing at least 100 episodes—now reaching about 325. Tim shares his path into education (25 years), explains how BC independent schools receive about 50% per-student funding, and describes how his master’s program at Vancouver Island University and a thesis on podcasting’s influence on professional practice fueled his work. They explore podcasting as an accessible, underrated form of professional learning, the shift to video on YouTube, guest-driven impacts on Tim’s health and school practices, limited but meaningful listener feedback via metrics and LinkedIn, and a leadership misstep during COVID pushing Seesaw too soon without building trust. Tim offers advice to lead through service before title and start a master’s earlier, recommends The Digital Delusion, mentions Love is Blind, and shares the Lift Bar and Grill as a Vancouver hidden gem. 00:00 Growth Mindset to 100 Episodes 01:07 Why Podcasting Matters for Teachers 03:18 Meet Tim Cavey 03:57 Tim’s VP Role and Career 04:45 How BC Independent Schools Work 07:23 Why Tim Started Teachers on Fire 11:37 From Audio to Video Podcasting 13:57 Memorable Guests and Personal Impact 16:08 Feedback, Metrics, and LinkedIn 19:29 Master’s Thesis on Podcasting 20:38 Podcasting as Professional Learning 25:16 Lessons for School Leadership 27:47 Students Discover the Channel 28:57 Leadership Misstep During Covid 30:10 Trust Before Change 32:06 Advice for Aspiring Admins 35:38 Growth Mindset Breakthrough 38:35 Applying Mindset to AI 39:22 Gratitude Shoutout Mentor 40:30 Book Pick Digital Delusion 43:08 Guilty Pleasure TV Binge 44:10 Hidden Gem Coal Harbour 45:24 Closing Thanks and Wrap

Dean introduces a conversation on why online/virtual learning remains a vital, legitimate option in Canadian education, shaped by his early online teaching experience and accelerated by COVID. Guests Jennifer Bertsch, principal of Golden Hills Learning Academy (Alberta), and Robyn Percival, an online science teacher at Ontario’s Virtual Learning Center, compare asynchronous and synchronous models, tools like Moodle, Canvas, and Zoom, and deliberate efforts to build relationship, belonging, and integrity beyond transactional correspondence-style learning. They describe enrollment pathways, hybrid flexibility, rapid growth in participation, and student success stories tied to mental health support and inclusive participation. The discussion also addresses academic integrity in the AI era through transparent expectations, process-focused assessment, and follow-up conversations, and concludes with “queen for a day” changes emphasizing equity of access to resources and mandatory unplugged/physical-activity time for online students. 00:00 Grad Day Breakthroughs 01:10 Early Online Teaching Lessons 02:21 Why Online Learning Matters 03:49 Meet Jennifer and Robyn 05:30 Tech Shifts After COVID 07:54 Who Online School Serves 09:32 Enrollment and Hybrid Pathways 11:30 Synchronous Community Building 14:46 Belonging in Asynchronous Learning 18:53 Success Stories and Impact 24:35 Growth Numbers and Demand 26:15 Hybrid Enrollment Reality 27:38 Ontario Virtual School Growth 29:20 What Makes Online Teachers Thrive 33:38 Autonomy and Course Creation 36:08 AI Assessment in Virtual Classes 40:35 Academic Integrity Over Policing 45:13 Queen for a Day Fixes 46:07 Equity and Screen Breaks 50:08 Closing Thanks and Takeaways

Dean welcomes educator and author and friend, George Couros to discuss using technology only when it improves learning and opens doors for students, emphasizing authenticity, agency, and “going first” as educators. Couros shares how he accidentally entered tech-focused roles, grew through blogging and reflection, and learned to avoid shallow tech use that replaces thinking. They explore examples like student-created documentaries and digital portfolios to deepen understanding, literacy, and audience beyond the teacher, while resisting polarizing “all in/all out” arguments around tech, phones, and AI. Couros introduces his book, “Forward Together,” inspired by a community-building school video and focused on principles and perspectives for moving from conflict to community with humility, challenge, and shared goals. He closes with advice for young educators to consistently blog to find their voice. 00:00 Tech With Purpose 00:46 Meet George Couros 02:20 How We First Met 03:45 Accidental Tech Teacher 06:37 Going First With Social Media 09:15 Student Work That Sticks 12:59 Deep Learning Over Memorizing 14:20 Why Tech Still Matters 16:03 Portfolios And Literacy 19:50 Nuance Agency And Access 25:23 Stress Testing AI Tools 26:29 New Book Forward Together 29:15 Principles Perspectives And Conflict 31:06 A Blogging Blowup Story 31:44 Tone And Self Critique 32:47 Defusing AI Pushback 34:47 Diversity Toward Shared Goals 36:33 Invite Challenge In Room 37:26 Rusty And Tech Wisdom 40:28 Identity And Credibility 45:13 Advice Start A Blog 51:35 Consistency And Health Habits 53:11 Gratitude And Quickfire 57:36 Hidden Gem Windermere 59:49 Closing Thanks And Farewell

Dean interviews Dr. Tim Cusack, Dean of Education at Concordia University of Edmonton and a longtime Naval Reserve officer, about how “deck plate leadership” and naval frameworks (including the firefighting fire triangle) can help educators navigate difficult conversations and lead by being present with people. Cusack shares his 2006 Don Cherry impersonation that led to an appearance on Hockey Night in Canada and reflects on how military experiences shaped his views on trust, respect, distributive leadership, and “people first” mission. He discusses teacher retention, preparing early career teachers to thrive, and strengthening mentorship through research and books, including work on assistant principals’ professional identity and readiness for principalship. The conversation also compares education governance in Alberta and the Maritimes. 00:00 Deck Plate Leadership 01:19 Meet Dr Tim Cusack 03:52 Don Cherry Origin Story 07:56 Navy Service Beginnings 12:08 Military Purpose Pathways 16:19 Dean of Education Role 22:07 Mission Creep in Schools 23:58 Autonomy Versus Isolation 25:46 Governance Across Provinces 28:40 Trades Pathways Spotlight 32:33 Teaching As Adventure 34:15 Assistant Principal Shift 37:52 Research Into Leadership 43:01 Mentorship Toolkit Books 45:38 Gratitude For John Hattie 48:23 Quickfire Favorites 51:34 Edmonton Riverboat Gem 54:11 Closing Thanks

ALT: a hockey player with the number 44 on his jersey celebrates with another player