EdTech Café

In our final episode of the first season, we do a quick recap of how we think the season went, what we liked about the guest interviews and Treat of the Day, how to improve both segments (including the possibility of adding games with guests), how we can interact more directly with our listeners, and other ideas for the upcoming season.

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In the penultimate episode of our first season, we invite Shanna Polley — artist, musician, sound designer, music teacher, and an honorary member of Stanford EdTech, especially given that she’s the newly engaged fiancée of our very own William Bottini — to the café where we discuss her creative process, her auspicious start to songwriting at 13 years old, her artistic inspirations (both famous and non-famous), the fulfilling and challenging aspects of her musical success, and her advice to aspiring young musicians. We also talk about some of her weirdest sound designs, opening up rat brains for research, something about William that we didn't know, and Spongebob the Musical... again!

For our Treat of the Day, we review the snowmen that William photographed in Fort Tryon Park on the first day of snow, which leads to a chat about upcoming Christmas plans and our favorite Christmas traditions. We also catch up on other things about Shanna that we didn't get to, and we even get an update on Jessica's feral cats adjusting to the presence of a dog.

Check out https://snakeskinmusic.bandcamp.com/ to learn more about Shanna & her work. Her newest album, Heart Orb Bone, will be released early 2021.

In this episode, we welcome Bindu Madhava, formerly of AV Tech at Stanford Medicine and currently a senior digital media specialist at Stanford EdTech. We discuss his upbringing in Bangalore, India when 16mm and video cameras first arrived, the cinematographer who became his first mentor, the Bollywood and Hollywood films that have inspired him, and the "Hollywood Dream." We also talk about his reasons for emigrating to the United states, his professional career leading up to Stanford, the projects he has been recently working on, and his process for incorporating storytelling into everything he does.

Our Treat of the Day concerns the Facebook group, Every Spongebob Frame in Order, and the joy that it provides William while quarantining. This leads to a discussion about the online communities that have sustained us, from virtual theatre to TV-show-related memes to online film blogs, not just during shelter-in-place, but throughout our lives.

In this episode, we invite George Mauro, formerly of AV Tech at Stanford Medicine, to the café where we discuss birds, Piggly Wiggly, his experience in theatre, including those with Jessica, and his decades-long career in video production from college to Stanford Medicine. We also talk about the circumstances that led to his semi-retirement, along with how he's adjusting to the new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For our Treat of the Day, we break down the poem "A Bird came down the Walk" by Emily Dickinson, where we allegorize the relationship between human and bird to the one between instructor and learner. We also dive into the show "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," Dolly Parton, and the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy by Liu Cixin.

On a final note, as this is the last show before Election Day, we encourage our listeners to go vote! Check out http://www.vote.org to learn more on how to register and where to vote.

In this episode, we welcome Stanford EdTech's first instructional designer, Deila Bumgardner, to the café where we discuss her journey from media production to instructional design, including a brief stint as a wine bartender, and her experience working as a contractor at Apple. We also talk about what makes good (or bad) instructional design, and how working in academia has allowed her to think outside the box in the pursuit of meaningful outcomes.

Our Treat of the Day concerns the phrase "emotional content," popularized by Bruce Lee in his 1973 film Enter the Dragon, and written about by Kellen Manning in a 2014 blog article titled "Emotional Content: What Bruce Lee Taught Me About Digital Media." This emphasis on emotions and feelings, rather than ideas and thought, leads to a wide-ranging discussion about some of our favorite films and shows, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Distant Voices, Still Lives, and even a random movie on Prime Video called The Exigency.

In this episode, we invite Jon Jamieson, the Director of Media & Design at Stanford Graduate School of Business, to the café where we discuss his band's new EP, his upbringing with punk music in Santa Cruz, the transition from music to video in college, and his journey from journalism to higher education. We also talk about how his team at Stanford GSB is adapting to COVID-19, along with his new role in the Media & Design team.

Our Treat of the Day concerns 17776, the interactive, multimedia serial published online by Jon Bois through SB Nation. This speculative fiction leads to a meta-discussion about how we speculate about the future in either utopian or dystopian ways.

Check out http://www.jonjamieson.com to learn more about Jon & his work, and go to https://timespentdriving.com to listen to Jon's band's new EP.

In this episode, we welcome artist Kat Cao, who also happens to be the newest member of our Stanford EdTech team. We discuss how a childhood of cartoons & animes influenced her artistic style, the thrill of being a part of online art communities, her experience at a research-based art program, her journey to educational technology, and what has changed (or not changed) for her during the COVID pandemic.

Our Treat of the Day concerns Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey and how the film's unique, analog production designs starkly contrast with the new Bill & Ted film's bland CGI sets. Ultimately this leads to a discussion about the value of specific, personalized, and, most importantly, analog sets within our own lives, whether it be the classroom or our own homes.

In this episode, we invite actor, instructional designer, and voiceover artist Maria Marquis to the show. We discuss the August heat, Jeff Goldblum, the power of improv's "Yes, and..." thinking, being present in the moment, the pros & cons of perfectionism, the necessity of narratives, and how all this applies to acting & instructional design. We also talk about Maria's new vocal booth, how fur babies can conquer that space, and the myriad skills that comprise voice artistry.

Our Treat of the Day concerns the Architecture of Serendipity, as seen in a 2008 article from the Harvard Crimson, and how we see it all over Club Cardinal, a project borne out of the Stanford Women in Computer Science (WiCS) Innovation Challenge to reproduce the campus as an interactive space online.

Check out http://www.mariagmarquis.com/ to learn more about Maria & her work.

In our second episode, we welcome Stanford EdTech's resident cat-lady, Lauren Watley. We discuss updates on William's finger, pesky computers, cats & dogs (of course), Lauren's personal website that she coded herself, how Lauren is adjusting to the "new normal" of working from home, and her career path before arriving at educational technology.

Our Treat of the Day concerns Wikipedia, its vast information database, biases & other flaws within the system, and even a fun game that you can try out with your friends!

Check out http://www.laurenwatley.com to learn more about Lauren & her work.

In our first official episode, we invite guests Semay Johnston & Carlos Sanchez from Stanford Digital MEdIC. We discuss how they are adjusting to the “new normal” during shelter-in-place, how they arrived at Stanford to be a part of Digital MEdIC, and the projects that the group is currently working on.

Our Treat of the Day concerns the July 6 directive by the Trump administration that would have required international students to enroll in at least one, in-person course in order to stay in the United States. The federal order has since been retracted, but when this episode was recorded, the issue was still timely, urgent, and concerning.

Check out http://digitalmedic.stanford.edu to learn more about Stanford Digital MEdIC.