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No Such Thing: Education in the Digital AgeA podcast about the promise and reality of learning with technology Author: Marc Lesser
The show is about learning with technology, the realities and exciting potential.Enjoying the show? Please take a moment to rate us, and leave a review wherever you've accessed the podcast. Find our listener survey at facebook.com/nosuchthingpodcast drop a like on the page while you're there.The music in this podcast was produced by Leroy Tindy, a guest in episode zero. You can find him on SoundCloud at AirTindi Beats.The podcast is produced by Marc Lesser. Marc is a specialist in the fields of digital learning and youth development with broad experience designing programming and learning environments in local and national contexts. Marc recently served as Youth Studies Practitioner Fellow at City University of New York, and leads a team of researchers and technologists for NAF (National Academy Foundation).Marc is the co-founder of Emoti-Con NYC, New York's biggest youth digital media and technology festival, and in 2012 was named a National School Boards Association 20-to-Watch among national leaders in education and technology. Connect with Marc on BlueSky @malesser, or LinkedIn.What's with the ice cream truck in the logo? In the 80's, Richard E. Clark at University of Southern California set off a pretty epic debate based on his statement that "media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in nutrition." * So, the ice cream truck, it's a nod to Richard Clark, who frequently rings in my ear when I'm tempted to take things at face value. "Is it the method, or the medium?" I wonder.The title, No Such Thing, has a few meanings. Mostly, it emphasizes the importance of hard questions as we develop and document the narrative of "education" in the US. For Richard E. Clark, the question is whether there's such a thing as learning from new technologies. For others, it might be whether there's a panacea for the challenges we face in t Language: en Genres: Education, Kids & Family Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Decoding Language of Grief and Joy in Digital Life
Episode 148
Friday, 6 February, 2026
Desmond Patton is the 31st PIK University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, with joint appointments in the School of Social Policy & Practice and the Annenberg School for Communication, where he is the Waldo E Johnson Jr. Professor of Communication. He also holds secondary appointments in the Department of Psychiatry at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia & Perelman School of Medicine. He is founding director of SAFElab, founding faculty director of the Penn Center for Inclusive Innovation & Technology, and Chief Strategy Officer for the School of Social Policy & Practice.Professor Patton’s groundbreaking research examines the relationship between social media and gun violence, grief, and loss, focusing on how online communities influence offline behavior. His work has made him the most cited and widely recognized scholar in this critical area of social science. Early research focused on detecting trauma and preventing violence on social media has evolved into broader investigations of language analysis and algorithmic bias in artificial intelligence. He currently serves as a member of Spotify’s Safety Advisory Council, the Ethics and Equity Advisory Council (EEAC) at Axon, TikTok’s U.S. Content Advisory Council, and is a trusted advisor to several AI startups.As a social work scientist, Patton identified that traditional data science methods often fail to capture the cultural and linguistic nuances of predominantly Black and Hispanic youth. In response, he developed the Contextual Analysis of Social Media (CASM) framework, which integrates culture, context, and inclusion into machine learning and computer vision analysis. He is also pioneering a new research agenda on joy, developing a practical and theoretical framework for integrating joy into AI model development as a tool for equity, imagination, and human connection.Dr. Patton is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, an Obama Foundation USA Leader, a Mozilla Rise 25 Change Agent, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and one of RockHealth’s Top 50 in Digital Health.Links:https://sp2.upenn.edu/person/desmond-upton-patton/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dxheqqkccc6z5kqgw34shta7https://www.linkedin.com/in/desmond-patton-49a7b59/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
