In this episode, host Dr. Erin Bailey sits down with Shannon Live, founder of Bat City Comics, at Comic-Con to explore how comics and graphic novels can transform literacy education. Shannon shares her journey from reluctant educator to comics advocate, explains the research behind why graphic novels boost vocabulary and lower the "affective filter" that blocks learning, and offers practical advice for parents and teachers on nurturing young readers through comics. The conversation covers the history of anti-comics stigma, using comics to teach history and identity, book recommendations for every age, and how finding your voice through reading builds lifelong confidence.RIF's Graphic Novel collection: Graphic Novel Collection | RIF.orgAbout Shannon Live:A life-long adventurer of imaginary worlds, Shannon Live knew her path would someday include advocating for creativity. After working as a Reading and Writing Specialist creating pop culture curriculum for Title I schools, Live went on to co-found Bat City Comic Professionals, a 501(c)(3) non-profit comic bookstore that focuses on cultivating reading, writing, art, and imagination skills for young people. As President of Bat City, Live works to develop programming that inspires creative learning using comic books as the primary resource. Through workshops, content, and resource development, Live is hoping to inspire a new generation to find their voice.Shopping for Superman documentary by Wes Eastin: Shopping for Superman Homepage : Shopping for SupermanShannon's TedTalk: Your voice as a superpower | Shannon Live | TEDxBradentonYouTube channel Wine Down Your Weekend: https://www.youtube.com/@batcitycomicbooksShannon's comic recommendations for families: Dog Man - because it inspires every young reader to jump in to reading AND creating The Cartoonists Club - because you get Reina Telgemeier's coming of age story mixed with Scott McCloud's teaching comics. Great for using to teach comics and for kids who find themselves in making art. And maybe it will encourage them to start a club!  March - A great way to showcase history and inspire readers to take action themselves. Great for the older readers and history teachers. 

Principals don’t need more information—they need space to think, reflect, and actually implement what matters most. In this bonus episode, I share why group coaching is so powerful for school leaders and how learning alongside other principals can help you feel less alone, gain clarity, and create real change.If you’re ready to stop adding more to your plate and start focusing on what matters most, join me inside Leadership by Subtraction. You’ll get coaching, accountability, and a community of principals who understand the work.Click here to join Leadership by Subtraction.

In this special episode of Why Distance Learning, hosts Seth Fleischauer, Allyson Mitchell, and Tami Moehring skip the guest interview and trade hot takes drawn from their recent run of research conversations — with Michael Barbour, Bobbi Sandberg, Jered Borup, and Kristen DeBruler. Each host came in with their own list, then picked which ones to dig into together. What surfaces is a set of specific, evidence-backed reframes: where parents' instincts to help go wrong, why remote isolation is a design failure rather than an inherent cost of distance learning, and what's actually breaking down when students sense their teachers are using AI on their feedback.Together, the hosts work through the Academic Communities of Engagement framework's head/heart/hands distinction, and why the "heart" and "hands" work — trust, executive-functioning support — protects kids more than parents jumping in on academic content. They connect a CBS News piece on remote-worker isolation to Michael Barbour's finding that logging into school was, for some students, the most normal part of their pandemic day, arguing that isolation is what happens when culture isn't designed on purpose, not something baked into the medium. And they spend the back half of the episode on AI: not the cheating problem schools have mostly focused on, but the mirror-image trust break when students catch teachers using it on feedback without saying so — and why an honest, disclosed, assignment-by-assignment AI policy beats a blanket ban nobody actually follows.Key topics:Head, heart, hands: the Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE) frameworkWhy parental "head" support (re-teaching content) can do more harm than goodRemote work isolation as a design failure, not a modality problemMichael Barbour's finding on pandemic remote learning and student mental healthTeacher-student trust and AI-generated feedbackAssignment-by-assignment AI disclosure as an alternative to blanket bans"Improved" vs. "more" parental involvementLinks & ResourcesPrior Why Distance Learning episodes referenced: Michael Barbour (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3), Helaine Marshall, Bobbi Sandberg, Jered Borup (Part 1 & Part 2), Kristen DeBrulerAcademic Communities of Engagement (ACE) framework: https://edtechbooks.org/encyclopedia/academic_communities_of_engagement_ace_frameworkBehind the Screen: Exploring Parental Roles in K-12 Online Education (Sandberg & Borup, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 2025): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15391523.2024.2447729Cuccolo, K. & DeBruler, K. (2024). A Look Back At 3 Years of Michigan Virtual Research. Michigan Virtual. https://michiganvirtual.org/research/publications/a-look-back-at-3-years-of-michigan-virtual-research/Make It Mindful episode with Katherine Heavers on the biology of trust (referenced by Seth): https://mim.bepodcast.network/episodes/85-katherine-heaversCBS News piece on remote work and isolation (referenced by Tami): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remote-work-job-isolation-mental-health/Derek Thompson, "A World Without Work," The Atlantic (July/August 2015): https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/07/world-without-work/395294/Ikigai (Japanese concept referenced by Allyson): https://www.japan.go.jp/kizuna/2022/03/ikigai_japanese_secret_to_a_joyful_life.htmlNote: this is a hosts-only episode, so there's no guest bio or guest-provided links to confirm — just the items above referenced on air.About the Hosts: Seth Fleischauer is the founder of Banyan Global Learning and host of Why Distance Learning. Through Banyan, he designs live virtual programs that connect K-12 classrooms to global peers and expert facilitators — building the kind of structured, human-centered distance learning the podcast explores. See https://banyangloballearning.com/Tami Moehring and Allyson Mitchell work with CILC, the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration, to help educators implement high-quality live virtual learning experiences across grade levels. Discover more at CILC.org.

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast, Zach sits down with Dr. Paul LeBlanc, former president of Southern New Hampshire University and current visiting scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, for a conversation about what higher education must become—not just what it must improve—as AI reshapes the future.Drawing on decades of leadership and his work alongside disruptive innovation pioneer Clayton Christensen, Paul argues that most institutions are focused on using AI to do existing work more efficiently, when the greater opportunity is to fundamentally redesign how education is delivered. Through powerful analogies and real-world examples, he challenges colleges and universities to rethink outdated systems, embrace experimentation, and create cultures capable of meaningful transformation.The conversation also explores the growing importance of human-centered skills in an AI-driven world. From ambient AI that frees advisors to focus on relationships, to the ethical questions surrounding increasingly human-like AI agents, Paul makes the case that higher education has a unique responsibility to lead—not follow—the conversation around the future of AI.For educators, institutional leaders, and anyone thinking about the future of learning, this episode is a compelling vision for what it will take to move beyond simply adopting AI and toward truly reinventing education.

Are you feeling stuck in a career that looks successful on paper but no longer fulfills you?Meet Kay Kayaian!Kate is an Author, Speaker, Career Strategist, and Grammy Award-winning former Cellist. She shares her powerful journey of walking away from a high-profile classical music career to help others rethink their own definitions of success, identity, and "what's next."If you are struggling with career transitions, imposter syndrome, or the heavy guilt of letting down your mentors and family, this episode is your ultimate guide to turning the page and writing your next chapter.Key Takeaways:the internal guilt of quittingbattling imposter syndrome.chasing benchmarks without defining successturning points from listening to your bodyhow fear of failure holds us backwhy waiting for confidence is a trapovercoming the story of betrayal how to rewrite your excuses and reignite your goals...and so much more!Additional ResourcesGet Kate's Book: Beyond Potential: A Guide for Creatives Who Want to Reassess, Redefine, and Reignite Their CareersVisit Kate's Website: KateKayaian.com (For coaching, speaking inquiries, and her podcast Tales from the Lane)Connect on Instagram: @kkayaianListen to the Podcast, subscribe, leave a rating and a review:Apple: Spotify: YouTube: https://youtu.be/V_juzuOq_XE