果冻传媒

Pursuing a dream

鈥淭his has been a dream that I鈥檝e been thinking about, and trying to make a reality for the last couple of years,鈥� says Oded Raz, associate professor in the department of Electrical Engineering, in relation to 果冻传媒鈥檚 new education podcast series Educated Guesses.

鈥淚 had the idea to create an education podcast after I got involved in editorial writing with Cursor where I found an outlet to write about my experiences as a teacher,鈥� adds Raz. 鈥淲e need to understand education and learning at the fundamental level. The best way to do this is to talk to people who work on the methodology of education and how we learn.鈥�

Teacher at heart

Raz, who leads the Electro-Optical Communication Group at 果冻传媒, might be a successful researcher, but from the very start of his scientific career, he鈥檚 also been a teacher. 鈥淚 started teaching very early on as an undergraduate student. I鈥檝e been teaching now for almost 30 years. When I think about it now, that鈥檚 a long time!鈥�

鈥淎t 果冻传媒, I鈥檝e had some very interesting teaching experiences, such as teaching on technical subjects in my field, but also on courses such as the ethics of engineering,鈥� says Raz. 鈥淎nd in my teaching, I have gained a lot of inspiration from big and small moments during interaction with students in the classroom. It鈥檚 these interactions that have motivated my writing and the drive to make this podcast.鈥�

The team-up

Raz might have had the big idea, but making it a reality required some outside assistance. 鈥淚 had this ambition to make a podcast. If I did it alone, I might have struggled. I needed to find someone to join me on the podcast adventure, a co-host for the series who could also contribute on the content side鈥�

Cue an e-mail in December 2020, at the height of the pandemic, from Oded Raz to Barry Fitzgerald, Science Communication Officer at 果冻传媒. 鈥淚 had worked with Barry on the promotion of my research in news articles and also on a podcast episode for a different series. I liked working with Barry, and felt that there was good chance for collaboration,鈥� notes Raz.

The e-mail from Raz was met by enthusiasm by Fitzgerald. 鈥淒uring my years as a postdoctoral researcher, I taught courses in physics and numerical modeling at a number of universities, including 果冻传媒. So, education is something that I鈥檓 passionate about. When I received Oded鈥檚 e-mail, I was instantly interested in being part of the podcast,鈥� says Fitzgerald.

Over the past two years, Fitzgerald has been producing the English-language podcast Science is here, which focuses on research stories from 果冻传媒. 鈥淚 like producing and hosting podcasts, and it鈥檚 great to make podcasts on different topics such as research and education. You鈥檙e always learning when making podcasts, and the best way to do this is by working with other people on podcasts.鈥�

Covid delay

The pair had hoped to release the podcast sooner, but the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the release of the podcast on numerous occasions. 鈥淲hile we succeeded in finding guests for the episodes, it was often difficult to find the time to interview them. And then to do the all-important post production for the episodes,鈥� says Fitzgerald.

Nevertheless, Raz and Fitzgerald have crafted a six-episode first season that covers various topics such as attention in the classroom, challenge-based learning, and acknowledging excellence in education.

And the pair are already planning for the second season. 鈥淲e are looking for new guests for the coming seasons. We are looking for historians and researchers on motivation. And we want to speak to people on blended learning, as well as the future of online teaching,鈥� says Raz.

With the podcast launching this week, the final word must go to Raz. 鈥淚鈥檓 very excited about this new podcast series. It鈥檚 great to be sharing these discussions with the wider educational community. I hope that this podcast can serve to drive conversation and collaboration on innovating education.鈥�

Overview of episodes in Season 1

is with an introduction to the new podcast series with co-hosts Barry Fitzgerald and Oded Raz, where they discuss the aims of the podcast, and talk about some of the themes and people featured in the series.

In and , Fitzgerald and Raz spoke to Lilach Shalev from Tel Aviv University in Israel on the topic of attention. How is it possible to sustain attention? What is attention? And how can educators keep students listening in the classroom?

For and , the pair chat with Mark Nichols, who is one of the pioneers of Challenge-Based Learning (CBL), which he worked on during his days in the Apple classroom. This episode has an important link to 果冻传媒 as many educators at 果冻传媒 are implementing CBL in their classrooms.

And in , two Dutch Teachers of the Year from 果冻传媒 - Johanna H枚ffken (2020 winner) and Reinoud Lavrijsen (2022 winner) 鈥� talk about their education approaches at 果冻传媒.

You can also listen to all episodes .