For education to be meaningful to students, we need to evolve education from a schooling system to a learning system. That requires modernization and uncommon alliances.

In this episode, Erin Mote, the CEO of InnovateEDU who was also recently named District Administration Magazine's most influential and impactful leader and innovator in the K-12 Education Top 100, joins host Curt Merlau and co-host Mike Baur to discuss the transformative role of data and technology in education. Their conversation covers data interoperability, privacy, and inclusion, stressing the need for a holistic approach to leveraging technology in education.

Erin explains how InnovateEDU catalyzes large-scale change by fostering collaborations between industry, nonprofits, and the public sector. She also shares how technology has drastically changed her son’s education.

Creating modern infrastructure in education is more than a nice-to-have. It’s necessary to make students feel safe, known and loved. Data interoperability across state lines can make or break a student's school transition, especially for students who move frequently or require special accommodations.

Erin’s insights highlight the need for modern data infrastructure in education and inspire leaders of all types to collaborate on data-driven strategies for meaningful change.

Resources from this episode:

• Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol
• Assessing the Educational Data Movement by Philip J. Piety
• EdSafe AI Alliance
• Project Unicorn

In this episode, you will learn:

• How data interoperability enhances the effectiveness of the education system
• How uncommon alliances drive large-scale change
• How data can challenge bias and expand opportunities in education

How did the Children’s Hospital Association achieve a data transformation that saved them $2 million annually? They started with a strategic data assessment and got clear on strategy first.

Preparation makes all the difference to the smooth execution of such a large initiative.

In this episode replay, we’re taking it back with Resultant’s President, John Roach. He shares how to align your data strategy with your organizational mission, avoid the most common but least-mentioned pitfall in data, and find where data analytics can make the most impact on your organization.

Lori Hotzel, CIO of the Children's Hospital Association, serves as a real-life example of the lessons John shares. You’ll hear an excerpt from a webinar where she explains the importance of sound strategy for data transformation and how it enabled her team to gain executive buy-in, quickly show ROI, and save millions of dollars on their data processing.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How to think critically about data strategy and mechanisms
• How to quickly show ROI on data initiatives
• The importance of preparation for a successful data transformation

AI isn’t just for large corporations.

Small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) can—and should—leverage the power of AI, too.

Not sure how to start? Ben Schreiner, head of the Business Innovation team at AWS, is here to help.

Ben joins guest host Justin Bolles to dive into AI’s effects on SMBs and lay out practical steps for getting started with it. He explains what SMB leaders need to know about security and data privacy, shares examples of real-world applications of AI, and demystifies concepts like AI models and hallucinations.

Interested in learning more from AWS? You can find more information in this blog post.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to maximize AI’s impact on your business
• Why data infrastructure is crucial to successfully using AI
• How to leverage existing AI models for cost-effective solutions

Things to listen for:

• [00:00] An introduction to the episode
• [02:45] How to start leveraging AI
• [07:00] How to train AI models on your data
• [12:45] How to choose a cost-effective model
• [19:10] How to mitigate the risks of AI
• [22:35] The future impact of AI
• [26:35] Setting a foundation with data