Best Daisy Jacobs Podcasts (2025)

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Adding It Up: Dan Meyer on Math, Tech & AI Scepticism 36:29

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14d ago36:29

36:29

In this episode of EdTechnical, Libby and Owen sit down with Dan Meyer: math educator, EdTech innovator, and self-proclaimed “token AI sceptic”. Dan’s rare mix of classroom experience and product design insight gives him a unique perspective on how technology intersects with real classrooms. He shares what the classroom teaches him about student en…

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How Revolutionary is Alpha School? 16:35

29d ago16:35

16:35

In this episode of EdTechnical, Libby and Owen look at Alpha School, a model that started as a micro-school in Austin, Texas, and is now expanding. At its core, Alpha condenses academic learning into a morning block where students work largely independently using software, supported by guides rather than traditional teachers. Afternoons are reserve…

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Back to the Future: Two Years on with Daisy Christodoulou 32:31

1M ago32:31

32:31

In this episode Libby and Owen are joined by Daisy Christodoulou MBE, EdTechnical’s very first guest from two years ago. Daisy is Director of Education at No More Marking and a leading voice in assessment. Daisy, Owen and Libby reflect over what’s changed in the two years since that first episode, including Daisy’s own views about the opportunities…

1
Guardrails and Growth: California’s AI Safety Push 15:05

2M ago15:05

15:05

Millions of students now study with AI chatbots. There are growing concerns about what happens when vulnerable teens form emotional bonds with AI. Tragic teen deaths have sparked intense debate about how to protect young people from AI systems that blur the line between tool and companion. California just drew the first regulatory lines—but they're…

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Is social media really destroying teen mental health? 38:51

2M ago38:51

38:51

In this episode of EdTechnical, Libby and Owen speak with Candice Odgers, a psychologist and researcher studying how online experiences influence children's mental health. They revisit the debate around social media and teen wellbeing, questioning the claims that social media use has caused rising rates of depression and anxiety. Candice calls for …

1
Why AI Detectors Don't Work for Education 18:49

3M ago18:49

18:49

In this episode of Ed-Technical, Libby and Owen explore why traditional AI detection tools are struggling in academic settings. As students adopt increasingly sophisticated methods to evade AI detection - like paraphrasing tools, hybrid writing, and sequential model use - detection accuracy drops and false positives rise. Libby and Owen look at the…

1
Rewiring the Brain: Reading, AI and the Science of Literacy 37:39

3M ago37:39

37:39

In this first episode of EdTechnical Season 3, Libby and Owen speak with Dr. Jason Yeatman from Stanford University about how the brain learns to read, the power of better assessment, and a broader look at how AI is beginning to reshape our relationship with reading itself. They touch on the science behind reading as a learned skill, the surprising…

1
Assessment in Education: To AI or Not to AI? 37:10

5M ago37:10

37:10

In this episode of EdTechnical, Libby and Owen speak with assessment expert Dylan Wiliam, Emeritus Professor at UCL Institute of Education, about how formative assessment and AI are reshaping classroom practice. Dylan brings decades of experience in educational research and teacher development to a timely conversation about what works, what doesn’t…

1
Is ChatGPT Rotting Your Brain? 15:38

5M ago15:38

15:38

In this short, Libby and Owen digest a recent MIT study attracting a lot of attention, ‘Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt When Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing’. The study looked at how using tools like ChatGPT for writing essays affects people's brains and writing abilities compared to using search engines or just their …

1
Finding Their Voice: Voice AI for Literacy Support 33:43

6M ago33:43

33:43

Voice AI is having a moment in education. As schools grapple with declining literacy scores and stretched teaching resources, voice-enabled tools have the potential to help. But what's already working in real classrooms, and what challenges remain? In this episode, Libby and Owen speak with Kristen Huff from Curriculum Associates and Amelia Kelly f…

1
Coach or Crutch?: Using AI to hone self regulation (not outsource it) 30:43

8M ago30:43

30:43

In this episode, Libby and Owen talk to Sanna Järvelä and Inge Molenaar, two of the world’s leading scholars on self‑regulated learning (SRL). Together they cover SRL 101: what self-regulated learning is and why it is a valuable skill. Self-regulated learning is students setting their own goals and then monitoring their learning to achieve those go…

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A1 sauce for all: Reflections from SXSW and ASUGSV 14:54

8M ago14:54

14:54

This week Owen and Libby reflect on two recent EdTech conferences in the US: SXSW Edu in March and ASUGSV in April. They discuss how much things have shifted for US education over this short time period, and three themes that stood out to them both: AI literacy, transformation versus efficiency, and the disruptive potential of AI for education. Joi…

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Mimicry versus meaning: why context is important for AI tools 22:06

9M ago22:06

22:06

Another live Ed-Technical episode! In this short, Owen does a deep dive on AI and discourse analysis (the study of how meaning is constructed through language) with three experts. The conversation explores the intersection between AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), and the study of discourse. This is a topical conversation as LLM capabi…

1
Live from SXSW EDU: Evidence Eats AI for Breakfast 31:21

10M ago31:21

31:21

Everyone is talking about AI’s power to provide answers, but what about your lingering questions? What does the latest research actually tell us? Join Libby and Owen for this live session from SXSW EDU as they delve into the latest research to uncover where AI is truly adding value in the educational landscape — and where it falls short. They’re jo…

1
181 Papers Later: What We Know (and Don't) About GenAI in Schools 15:42

10M ago15:42

15:42

In this episode, Owen and Libby chat with Chris Agnew about Stanford's new generative AI hub for education. Chris leads this initiative within Stanford's SCALE program, which aims to be a trusted source for education system leaders on what works in AI and learning. Chris walks us through their research repository of 181 papers examining AI's impact…

1
Is two years of learning possible in six weeks with AI? 8:43

11M ago8:43

8:43

In this short, Owen and Libby discuss a recent World Bank blog post about a study in Nigeria that evaluated the impact of Microsoft Copilot (powered by ChatGPT) on student learning outcomes. In a six-week after school programme, students were supported to use Copilot. The full study hasn’t been published yet but the blog post reports “overwhelmingl…

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Babies & AI: what can AI tell us about how babies learn language? 35:00

11M ago35:00

35:00

In this episode, Libby and Owen interview Mike Frank, Professor at Stanford University and leading expert in child development. This episode has a different angle to the others, as it is more about AI as a scientific instrument rather than as a tool for learning. Libby and Owen have a fascinating discussion with Mike about language acquisition and …

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Teachers & ChatGPT: 25.3 extra minutes a week 10:55

12M ago10:55

10:55

In this short, Libby and Owen discuss a hot-off-the-press study that is one of the first to test how ChatGPT impacts the time science teachers spend on lesson preparation. The TLDR is that teachers who used ChatGPT, with a guide, spent 31% less time preparing lessons - that’s 25.3 minutes per week on average. This very promising result points to th…

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How & why did Google build an education specific LLM? (part 2/3) 38:22

1y ago38:22

38:22

This episode is the second in our three-part mini-series with Google, where we find out how one of the world’s largest tech companies developed a family of large language models specifically for education, called LearnLM. This instalment focuses on the technical and conceptual groundwork behind LearnLM. Libby and Owen speak to three expert guests f…

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AI tutoring part 2: How good can it get? 21:26

1y ago21:26

21:26

In this episode, Owen and Libby chat about AI tutoring with guests, Ben Kornell, Managing Partner at Common Sense Growth Fund, and Alex Sarlin, a veteran in the edtech industry. Both co-founded Edtech Insiders, a leading newsletter and podcast covering the growing Edtech industry. Ben and Alex differentiate between AI-powered search and true AI tut…

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Inside the black box: How Google is thinking about AI & education (part 1 of 3) 36:19

1y ago36:19

36:19

This episode is the first of a three part mini-series with Google. There is a lot of interest in how big tech companies are engaging in AI and education and what their future plans are - in this mini-series, hear the latest directly from Google. The genesis of this mini-series was a short Ed-Technical episode from earlier this year. Libby and Owen …

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Big data and algorithmic bias in education: what is it and why does it matter? 25:22

1y ago25:22

25:22

This episode, Owen and Libby speak to Ryan Baker, a leading expert in using big data to study learners and learning interactions with educational software. Ryan is a Professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and is Director of the Penn Center for Learning Analytics. Ryan provides an overview of educational dat…

1
Think aloud or think before you speak?: OpenAI’s new model for advanced reasoning 10:59

1y ago10:59

10:59

In this short episode, Libby and Owen discuss OpenAI’s new model for advanced reasoning, o1. They talk about its new capabilities and strengths, and what they think about its significance for education after an initial play around. They talk through the benefits of ‘think aloud’ versus ‘think before you speak’ approaches in education, and how this …

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Misconceptions about misconceptions: How AI can help teachers understand & tackle student misconceptions 34:16

1+ y ago34:16

34:16

In this episode, Libby and Owen are joined by Craig Barton, Head of Education at Eedi and host of the Mr Barton Maths and Tips for Teachers podcasts, along with Simon Woodhead, Director of Research at Eedi. Together, they explore the world of educational misconceptions—what they are, why they matter and how AI and data science can help tackle them.…

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Daisy chats about Protazoas, Customers and other animals 1:49:45

1+ y ago1:49:45

1:49:45

Daisy Lawless is production coordinator at Mukpuddy and multi-discipline filmmaker. We discuss her early love of watching movies with her Dad, working her way up from *ugh* customer service to various roles in the world of film to finally achieving her goal of working in animation and how the most well-planned 48hour challenge team ever devised can…

1
Why Language Models are suck ups and how this can be bad for learning 11:56

1+ y ago11:56

11:56

In this short, Libby and Owen discuss recent research from Anthropic looking at sycophancy – the tendency to agree with users – in large language models (LLMs), and key research from educational psychology about how important feedback is for learning. Libby and Owen connect the two papers and explore why sycophancy is especially a problem when it c…

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Return of the MukPod's Revenge: Revisited 1:47:14

1+ y ago1:47:14

1:47:14

Simon and Josh get reacquainted and chat about 'FURIOSA' and George Millers delightful indifference to continuity, Simon not being prepared to watch 'INSIDE OUT 2', why James Guns upcoming 'SUPERMAN: LEGACY' passes "the pants test" and Josh's 'CLONE HIGH' swan song project. Follow Josh @joshuamartian_art on Instagram and @joshuamartian on Twitter F…

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Passionate about planning (and Tim Walz): automated lesson planning tools 13:36

1+ y ago13:36

13:36

In this short, Libby and Owen discuss automated lesson planning tools (after Owen stops talking about his Tim Walz crush). There’s now a growing number of lesson planning tools out there for teachers who are using AI: Khanmigo, Magic School, Diffit and Oak National Academy (who will soon release a lesson planning tool) to name a few. Libby and Owen…

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Short: Generative AI Can Harm Learning - our quick takes 10:13

1+ y ago10:13

10:13

In this short, Libby and Owen discuss a recent paper that has generated interest and discussion called ‘Generative AI Can Harm Learning’. The paper presents the findings from a thought-provoking study of nearly 1,000 students in Turkey. The study tested the effects of giving students access to two different versions of GPT-4 while studying math: on…

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Tangerines & loquats: Building AI EdTech for low resource settings 29:44

1+ y ago29:44

29:44

This episode, Owen and Libby speak to Carmen Strigel, Senior Director of Education Technology at RTI, a non-profit global research organisation. Carmen has been the driving force behind a number of successful EdTech products built and used in low resource settings. Carmen tells Owen and Libby about Tangerine, data collection software used in more t…

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Short episode: What do teachers, parents, and students really think about AI chatbots? 9:48

1+ y ago9:48

9:48

In our second short episode of the season, Owen and Libby chat about the recently released results of a US poll (conducted on behalf of Walton Family Foundation and Renaissance Philanthropy) looking at the views of teachers, parents, and students on AI chatbots. There were some surprising findings: more than 8 in 10 participants think technology in…

1
From biscuits to AI: Teacher Tapp's surprising insights on teacher preferences 34:19

1+ y ago34:19

34:19

In this episode of Ed-Technical, Owen and Libby speak with Becky Allen, co-founder of Teacher Tapp, a survey tool that polls a representative sample of teachers about what's happening in their schools, classrooms, and lives at the end of every school day. The conversation covers a range of topics related to AI and education, including how teachers …

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Voice AI for teacher feedback: navigating noisy classrooms and building teachers' trust 28:37

1+ y ago28:37

28:37

In the second episode of season two Owen and Libby speak to Alyssa Van Camp, Head of Research at EdTech start-up TeachFX. TeachFX is an app for teachers that uses voice AI (a combination of automated speech recognition and natural language processing) to analyse classroom talk and then provide automated feedback to teachers. Owen and Libby talk to …

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Short episode: Google's newest research on genAI for education, and the problem with hypotenuses... 11:13

1+ y ago11:13

11:13

In the first short episode of season two, Owen and Libby share their warm takes on two big releases from OpenAI and Google. They reflect on the OpenAI demo video of Sal Khan’s (Khan Academy’s founder) son using their latest model (GPT-4o) as a maths tutor, and Google’s paper describing how they trained and evaluated a fine-tuned version of Gemini f…

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Daniel Zhang chats about Teaching, Travelling and Tango Dancing 1:39:13

1+ y ago1:39:13

1:39:13

Storyboard artist Daniel Zhang is leaving Mukpuddy and sat down to chat with us before his big move to Australia. We chat about his youth in China and early influences, transitioning from industry work to teaching animation, pursuing varied hobbies to keep active and social, plus Simon, Josh and Dan compare how they keep their lives in perspective …

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Season 2 : Three decades of AI in education: assessment to classroom collaboration 37:10

1+ y ago37:10

37:10

This season Libby Hills from the Jacobs Foundation and AI researcher Owen Henkel continue to speak with leading researchers, practitioners and educators on the Ed-Technical podcast series about the cutting edge of AI in education. They will break down complex AI concepts into non-technical insights to better understand what the research says and he…

1
BONUS EPISODE Simon and Josh Trek Talk 2:02:07

1+ y ago2:02:07

2:02:07

In case you didn't get enough last week, Simon and Josh recorded what ended up being a very long discussion about the new Star Trek they've been enjoying (Picard s3, Strange New Worlds s2, Lower Decks s4 and Prodigy s1), plus the classic series we've revisited and the new frontier: Books!

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Star Trek Special 2024 3:42:50

1+ y ago3:42:50

3:42:50

This year to celebrate First Contact Day, Simon and Josh sit down to chat with the Trekkies of Mukpuddy. 2:08 ~ Dane and Lannie talk about 'Next Generation' and imagining a future beyond consumerism. 39:19 ~ Ethan talks about 'Voyagers' highs and lows. 1:11:05 ~ Nix shares their unusual 'Next Generation' rarepair and we chat about our favourite cou…

1
Season 1 Highlights & Lingering Questions 37:09

1+ y ago37:09

37:09

In this final episode of season 1 Owen and Libby pull out highlights from each episode. They reflect on some of the common themes, and their lingering questions after season 1. They ask, if a model’s not perfect, how good does it have to be before it stops being useful at all? And they share their appreciation for their many guests who are ex-teach…

1
Official trailer for season 1 of the Daisy effect 1:29

1+ y ago1:29

1:29

This is the official trailer for the Daisy effect

1
Simon and Josh April Catchup 11:57

1+ y ago11:57

11:57

Simon and Josh have been busy this year but they're never to busy for a quick catchup to discuss all the great TV and movies they've been enjoying, such as the new Mr and Mrs. Smith series, Academy-Award winning oddball Frankenstein flick 'Poor Things', Nathan Fielder's 'The Curse', divisive darling 'Saltburn' and the middling return-to-romcom 'Any…

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Short 3: What out-there EdTech idea would you buy or sell? 7:20

2y ago7:20

7:20

This week we're doing our third short episode - a chat between Libby and Owen about the more speculative or out-there EdTech ideas they could get behind (or not). Listen to find out who’s into calculators and who’s into roboteachers…… Join us on social media: BOLD (@BOLD_insights), Libby Hills (@Libbylhhills) and Owen Henkel (@owen_henkel) Listen t…

1
Nix chats about Garfield, Hobbies and Astronomy 1:54:40

2y ago1:54:40

1:54:40

Nix is an animator at Mukpuddy and a multi-discipline artist. Nix chats with us about when animating clicked for them, mixing the macabre and the cartoony in their work, overcoming irony and embracing cringe and their many, many hobbies which includes but is not limited to painting, astronomy, fur-suiting and niche music genres.Follow Nix on their …

1
Behind the scenes of building AI EdTech for schools 38:42

2y ago38:42

38:42

Introduction: Join two former teachers - Libby Hills from the Jacobs Foundation and AI researcher Owen Henkel - for the Ed-Technical podcast series about AI in education. Each episode, Libby and Owen will ask experts to help educators sift the useful insights from the AI hype. They’ll be asking questions like - how does this actually help students …

1
(Short) Behind the scenes: How impactful can an AI tutor be? 10:04

2y ago10:04

10:04

This week we're doing our second short episode - a behind the scenes chat about a recent paper of Owen’s that has been generating some interest online. In the paper Owen and his co-authors present the impact of an AI tutor (Rori) on maths performance of around 1,000 students. Listen in for a summary of the study, what they found (TL;DR - the result…

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Teahi Maiau talks about Dolls, Cosplay and Dawn Chorus 1:48:24

2y ago1:48:24

1:48:24

Teahi Maiau is a character and effects animator at Mukpuddy, as well as comics artist behind the webcomic 'Dawn Chorus'' and in her spare time customizes dolls and creates cosplay! We chat with Tea about growing up in Tahiti, changing studies from graphic design to animation, moving countries with her partner and the demands of producing a webcomic…

1
Investing in the Future of Learning: Can AI Unlock New Learning Experiences? 35:13

2y ago35:13

35:13

In the seventh episode of this series, Libby and Owen talk to six EdTech investors about their views on AI in education. Guests join from Rethink Education, Educapital, Achieve Partners, Sparkmind, Brighteye Ventures and Reach Capital for a two part episode. In this first part, investors tell us what opportunities they see for AI potentially improv…

1
(Short) Owen's Spicy Take on Hallucinations and Libby's Strong Disagree 9:28

2y ago9:28

9:28

This week, we're trying something a bit different and doing a short episode. The gloves come off as Libby and Owen engage in a lively debate about the "hallucinations" in large language models (e.g. unexpected and hard to explain errors) and their impact on building educational products. They spar on the nuances of model hallucinations, discussing …

1
Zoe Roberts chats about Plum, Painting and Pokemon 1:31:00

2y ago1:31:00

1:31:00

We start the new year with an interview from last year with Background artist Zoe Roberts about working regular jobs while persuing a career in the arts, their love of digital painting, their beloved pet Plum the cat, watching The Wire for the first time and Simon and Josh piece together their vague recollections of one of Zoe’s favourite franchise…

1
Navigating Assessment in the Age of AI: What Counts as Cheating? 30:41

2y ago30:41

30:41

In the sixth episode of this series, Libby and Owen talk to Matt Glanville, Director of Assessment at the International Baccalaureate (IB). The IB works with over 5,000 schools worldwide in 160 countries to offer a range of curriculum programmes and qualifications. Early last year they shared their progressive stance on AI – rather than banning AI …