What if AI isn't trying to fit into your classroom — but to rebuild it entirely?

Erin Mote, CEO and founder of InnovateEDU, explores what it means to navigate an arrival technology, one that doesn't fit into existing systems but fundamentally reorders them. Erin leads national and international work on AI literacy, including National AI Literacy Day (March 27th), and she's not here to hype or fear-monger. She's a scout: someone managing both the promise and the peril.

What You'll Learn:

1. The difference between arrival technologies (AI, electricity, internet) and adoption technologies (crypto, VR)
2. Why AI literacy is as critical in English and science as it is in computer science
3. Real examples of AI reducing bias, optimizing bus routes, and screening for dyslexia
4. How National AI Literacy Day (March 27) is calling in parents, students, and communities
5. Why "do something" is the only response that matters
6. Erin's two-word challenge: Do something
7. Her song choice: Happy (balancing promise and peril)

Can Your AI Guidance Actually Guide — Or Does It Just Add Cognitive Load?

Thirty-five states have issued AI guidance for schools. But how many of those documents reduce workload instead of compounding it? How many build judgment muscles instead of issuing checkbox mandates? And how many actually get used in real classrooms?

Julia Fallon, Executive Director of SETDA, has spent 25 years working with state education technology leaders to design systems that prioritize coherence over compliance. In this conversation, she reveals why effective guidance must anchor values in context, design for agency, and trust educators by default, or it will live on a shelf, ignored.

What You'll Learn:

1. Why AI is infrastructure, not a program, and what that means for funding and strategy
2. The three divides from the 2024 National Ed Tech Plan: access, design, and use
3. How No Child Left Behind's compliance trap offers lessons for AI adoption today
4. Why reducing cognitive load is the design principle most guidance ignores
5. What DJing on Twitch teaches about learning publicly and modeling transparency
6. The three-word challenge: Coherence. Agency. Trust.

Julia also shares her leadership signature song — "The Music Sounds Better with You" by Stardust — and why collective rhythm, not solo performance, defines systems-level change.

What does leadership look like when education is evolving faster than ever?

In this powerful episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket — President of the Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals, nationally recognised keynote speaker, and two-time bestselling author.

Together, they explore:

• Why people must come before programs

• How relational intelligence strengthens teacher retention

• Building trust as the foundation for school transformation

• Ethical AI integration and protecting student privacy

• Preparing Generation Alpha and Beta for a radically different workforce

Dr. Edoho-Eket shares practical leadership insights grounded in service, high expectations, and culture-building. She challenges leaders to think beyond policy and focus on recommendations, adaptability, and human-centred innovation.

The conversation closes with three anchoring principles for educational leadership today: hope, service, and love.

If you are a principal, superintendent, educator, or system leader navigating change, this episode offers clarity and direction.

Listen now and join the conversation.