EdTech Empowerment: Innovating Education Together
Hosted by Juan Rodriguez, founder and Executive Director of NextGen Classrooms, EdTech Empowerment: Innovating Education Together dives into the power of technology to bridge the digital divide and revolutionize education. Each episode brings insights from guest speakers across the education spectrum, including educators, tech experts, policymakers, and community leaders, who share strategies to empower every student, regardless of background, with access to cutting-edge educational tools. Rooted in NextGen Classrooms’ mission to create globally connected, innovative learning spaces, this podcast covers topics like digital literacy, AI ethics, equitable access, and transformative practices in the classroom. Join us as we explore the latest trends and tools shaping the future of education and empower educators to create impactful, inclusive learning environments for all students.
EdTech Empowerment: Innovating Education Together
Building STEM Identity: How Hands-On Learning Transforms Classrooms
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What if every learner walked into school already believing they belong, can take on tough challenges, and that their ideas matter? That’s the spark we chase as Juan sits down with Dr. Jennifer Barry, CEO of Smart Lab, to unpack a practical, human-centered approach to STEM and STEAM that turns technology from a shiny object into a catalyst for real learning.
We dive into a clear definition of STEM identity—belonging, mastery, and impact—and why it must anchor every choice about tools, projects, and assessments. Jennifer shares how to build career-connected, project-based experiences that link classroom skills to industries like media, logistics, health, and advanced manufacturing, so students understand not just how to do something but where and why it matters. You’ll hear simple, replicable examples, like using a 3D pen to bring an archaeology unit to life, and a powerful reminder to choose one tool, one outcome, and a real problem to solve.
The conversation moves into AI literacy and agency: teaching students to direct AI, not be directed by it. We explore facilitator training that prioritizes productive struggle over perfection, the design of flexible learning environments, and the role of community partnerships—including a free, open STEM Identity Day—to widen exposure across zip codes. Equity runs through every topic as a commitment to time, access, and mentorship that levels opportunity for historically marginalized students.
If you’re a school leader, teacher, or parent looking for a blueprint that’s bold and doable, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more educators discover these strategies—and tell us one tool you’ll pilot next week.
EdTech Empowerment: Innovating Education Together is hosted by Juan Rodriguez, founder of NextGen Classrooms. Our mission? To empower every student with access to technology-rich education. Tune in each episode to hear from thought leaders, educators, and tech experts on transformative strategies in education, from digital literacy and AI ethics to building inclusive classrooms.
Let’s bridge the digital divide, together!
Visit our website at NextGen Classrooms to learn more about our mission and programs.
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Welcome back to EdTech Empowerment, Innovating Education Together, the podcast from Next Gen Classrooms, where we explore the tools, practices, and people shaping the future of learning. I'm your host, Juan Rodriguez, and we're kicking off the 2025-26 season with an inspiring conversation. Today we're joined by Dr. Jennifer Barry, CEO of Smart Lab. She's a leader who believes that STEM identity isn't something you're born with, it's something that you build. Through her work, Dr. Barry has helped transform classrooms into hands-on, project-based environments where students don't just consume knowledge, they create it. From robotics and coding to digital media production, her approach shows us technology can unlock curiosity, collaboration, and problem solving for all learners. We'll dive into the best practices for integrating technology in education, how to ensure equity stays at the center, and what the future holds for STEM learning. Let's get started. Hey Dr. Barry, how are you doing?
SPEAKER_01:Hey, I love it. You can call me Jennifer, by the way. I appreciate the respect. I appreciate it, but let's let's uh let's do the Jennifer and Juan thing. I really appreciate you.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, it takes a lot of work to receive that doctor. Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:I appreciate that. I appreciate that. But you know, uh, I feel like we're friends now, so you can call me Jennifer.
SPEAKER_00:Appreciate the humbleness. We'll appreciate that. So I mean, tell us, tell us a little bit about yourself so our audience could get to know you and anything that you want to share about Smart Lab.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you. Well, first of all, thank you for having me, Juan. I really appreciate you doing this for the students and the learners and the educators and the anybody that's willing to listen to putting the students at the forefront of what we do because they are our future, as you and I both agree on. Um and so thank you for having me. My name is, like you said, Dr. Jennifer Berry, and I'm the CEO of an organization called Smart Lab. Smart Lab is where we focus on an integrated ecosystem that sparks aha moments and builds STEM identity for learners. And I'm really proud of being part of that organization. I have an interesting past. Um, I started as a professional dancer, then moved into the retail space, and then now for the last couple of decades, have worked in the educational space, everything from uh supplemental tutoring, K through eight, to test prep to helping teachers become more effective in their craft, to the nonprofit space, uh focused on underserved youth across the country and really helping them get exposed to many different uh avenues of learning, uh, to the special education space. And now where I feel like all of those things have integrated together, I'm now um uh focused on the STEM learning space and getting and ensuring kids get their STEM identity. I'm also a mother of a beautiful 10-year-old about to be 11. I cannot believe it. Um, she's the last year of her elementary school journey, and I'm deep in the throes of trying to figure out uh which uh feeder public uh middle school she's gonna go to, right? We have a couple of choices in our in our in our world, and I'm I'm deep in the throes of figuring out what's gonna be the best environment for her.
SPEAKER_00:Nice. Thank you for sharing all of that, Jennifer. I mean, you sound super versatile. You went from dancer to not jumping into it. Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01:I get to bring that dance into my storytelling.
SPEAKER_00:All that energy, we feel it. We feel all that energy coming in. But one of the things that I did read about you is you talk a lot about STEM identity. Can you touch upon that real quick?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I love this. So we we have really spent a lot of time thinking about uh the learning environment that is uh optimized for kids to gain something. And what is that something, right? And so we have really taken this concept of STEM identity, and there's been a lot of research and definitions created around STEM identity. But we have coined a particular definition that number one, we're really proud of, but also that we believe goes and rises above the technology itself or the STEM fields itself. So the definition is a learner's self-belief that they belong, they can master rigorous challenges, and their ideas make and have an impact. And really the goal is that when they gain their STEM identity, they can say, I belong here, I can do this, I add value, and I'm future ready. So you mentioned earlier that I had said or believed that STEM identity isn't something somebody is born with. And I actually am going to twist that a little bit because I actually do believe STEM identity is what a student or any human is born with, right? Because when we're born into this world, you do feel like you belong, right? You do feel like you can master anything because you're learning and your brain is developing it rapid in rapid ways. Um and you do believe your ideas have an impact because you cry and somebody usually serves you, puts a bottle in your mouth, changes your diaper. So you do believe your ideas have an impact, right? At that, at that early stage of development. Um, so I do think all humans actually start with STEM identity as we've defined it. So they might not have been using, you're not born using technology necessarily or know how to uh navigate this world and all of the things that we need to do in order to drive the next career, but you definitely uh are born feeling you belong, right? Um, however, life circumstances andor uh structures around us can hinder or hamper that identity, right? And so I do believe you're born with it, but I do believe the structures around you and life circumstances can hamper, darken, um, and really deflate our own self-belief in ourselves. Uh so the this concept of STEM identity isn't you can get it, it's really drawing out what is your natural instinct to feel and and your natural uh right in this world to feel like you belong in it. So, what I believe is that when you create an optimized learning environment for students, or as we call it, an integrated ecosystem, uh, you are supporting, cultivating, and celebrating and motivating these self-beliefs in students. And I believe that's critical for those self-beliefs that maybe are laying dormant because of the structures around students, uh, and gives that learner the ability to thrive and really explore and be able to conquer and master rigorous challenges and to solve problems that that they maybe were told or or um convinced that they weren't capable or strong enough or smart enough or uh have the ability to solve.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and I think that's so right on, right? Is that what you mentioned is that the structures around us tend to hinder some of the students to reach their fullest potential. What sparked this actual belief in your journey?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you know, I I think a lot about my early sort of upbringing, right? I my parents were were those 70s um sort of innovators, right? And they wanted me to have play-based learning, right? So they put me in, you know, Montessori schools and play-based learning schools. They were definitely, sorry, mom and dad, but the hippies of the 70s, and they were really trying to, I don't know if I'm sorry, that's probably a good thing, but they were really trying to um kind of embrace a new learning model based on what they received when they were kids. Um, so I I really early on got to explore my own way in which I learned best, right? Um, and then from there I went into the public school system, which was really good for me. I was very social, I was very outgoing. Um, but I also, because I was an only child at the time, uh, needed to be around a lot of people and a lot of diversity and to really understand the world um outside of my four corners of the universe. And um I remember a moment in my life uh where that was sort of that moment in my life where my creative play was stifled a bit, right? Because I was asked to sit in my chair, I couldn't get up and move, I couldn't uh express myself when I needed to, um, because there were rules, there were structures, there were guidelines, um, you know, how to rate when to raise your hand, stay in your seat until the bell rings, right? Only be spoken to when asked. Um, and so I remember feeling like, wait, this is confusing. I'm I'm used to being able to speak my mind. I'm used to be able to um have an opinion or go get something to be creative. And then in this environment that I was put in, all of a sudden that changed for me. And I could remember that feeling of, oh, maybe I don't know the answer, or maybe I don't know, I don't feel confident in uh or I shouldn't express myself, or my confidence started to waver at those moments. And I it wasn't until my parents put me in dance program um that I uh got back. I and so I became a little bit more shy. I came, I became a little bit more um introverted when that wasn't my natural self. And and it was really confidence. I was losing confidence, I was losing the ability to feel like my ideas mattered. Um, and so when they put me in dance, I got to express myself through my body, I got to express myself through structure, because dance also has structure to it, but it also has this great storytelling element, right? And so I got kind of, hey, the world can be structured, your training can be organized, but also you get to be free, you get to tell stories, you get to move in in this, move in this world through uh through the space. And that I think would be some pivotal moments for me to realize that every child needs something different. And this this strong, this deep yearning in me to make sure that students were given as many opportunities as possible to contribute to this world based on how they learn best, how they think, how they need to express themselves. And um, yeah, I think that that's really where this came from, and this idea that um everyone belongs here and everybody should have the right to stand in their truth and stand in who they are and be able to express themselves is really critical. And I think STEM and STEM applications and careers that are, you know, going to be necessary for students when they get into the real world is a way to give students this kind of uh fluid learning environment that is conducive for careers of the future.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and you took the words right out of my mouth is having students be able to express themselves, that's such a key thing to do, right? And so especially inside of the classroom. And if you're okay with this, right, I'm not sure if you have this trademark, the STEM identity, the whole kind of that words, but if you're okay, can we for for the purposes of this uh conversation, can we use the phrase STEAE as T A S T E A M? Because I believe uh the arts is just as important as all the other ones, right? Because the arts is what allows the stories to express themselves.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah, I I have no problem. There's yeah, there's no there's no uh shame in throwing an A in the Steam in the STEM world, and um because especially for me, I mean I was a dancer, my dad's an actor, I've done theater my whole life, I choreograph, I direct. I'm directing my daughter's play in their school right now, and so um my daughter wants to be a media and and visual artist. So, art to me, the reason why I don't always put a in the STEM world word is because art is is me. So if you want to call it STEAM, I'm all about it. Like to me, I live and breathe the art landscape, and so I try to like remember that there's STEM applications in careers, and so therefore that's why we call it STEM identity. But I love making it STEAM, and I'm happy to call it that in this in this podcast.
SPEAKER_00:All right, so maybe we'll use both. Who knows? We'll probably play around with both work. Um, but for those teachers that are like really curious as to like how could we bring this into our classrooms, what would you say? What does STEM identity look like in practice when a student starts to see themselves as creators and as innovators?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I love that. Uh we want students to see themselves as creative and innovators, right? Every educator wants that. Every educator wants to get the most out of their students, whether they're teaching them a basic skill all the way up to complex skills. Um the the STEAM identity, I'm gonna I'm gonna throw your your your STEAM in there, that we're trying to capture here as we've defined it, is right, they're their belief that they belong, they can master regardress challenges and they add value. But it also has to be connected to potential careers, whether they already or industries that they might work in, right? Whether they those industries or those careers exist today or they haven't even been invented yet, right? Um, either way, there are going to be STEM applications in every career that you have. Media, even the theater, even right, obviously there's careers like advanced manufacturing and finance and health sciences and transportation, distribution, and logistics. There's so many industries out there that STEM applications are used in, right? Many times people think like STEM or even STEAM is very specific to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, right? But really, if you think about it, there's not an industry that you can think of that doesn't use some sort of STEM application or maybe arts application in that industry, right? And so when we're thinking about and designing uh exposing students to STEM applications, it's really important to connect those STEM applications to an industry so that they cannot just say, oh, I know how to do this thing, or I built a cool robot, right? Or I was able to use um clay and develop, you know, this this art project that I was asked to design, or I got to wear these cool VR glasses and get exposed to this cool technology, but to what end, right? For what purpose? What what did you what did you gain? You got the the the knowledge to use those VR glasses, the knowledge to play with some clay and build build something cool with your hands, or you get to build a robot to to solve a problem. But what problem and how does that problem connect to an industry, right? And so you think about if um I'll I'll go with what you and I talked about earlier that you were you had your early career in the in the media space, right? So if you if you think about the media space, how many STEM applications were put in a media space, right? It's not just, oh, you get to be an on-air guest or you get to be a movie star or you get to be a writer or journalist, right? It's also about, okay, how do you edit? How do you analyze that information? How do you know what your audience is looking for, right? Where, what kind of cameras you use, the mics you use, the technology, all of the things, right? Uh communication, the multimedia, data collection, analyzing, um, modeling and design, all of that is in media, right? In every industry, these STEM applications apply to. So this concept of exposing students to STEM applications while making sure there's a real connective tissue back to industries is where I think the rubber is gonna hit the road for educators and students because then they'll be able to be like, oh, I I now I know how to do that. And by the way, in most cases, AI knows how to do that too. So I know how to do it, AI is gonna do it for me, but how do how and where do I use that application? How can I use that in if I want to go into distribution and logistics? Where might that application be applicable? And that connective tissue, I think, is really key and I think really important for educators to think about and make sure that they're drawing those connections for students so that students aren't just learning something, but have a real-world application connected to it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and it's making sure that that um connective tissue and is adding value, right? But I feel whenever I talk to educators and they're considering um introducing a new technology or perhaps a STEAM or a STEM application into their classroom, they perhaps may feel overwhelmed with all the applications that are out there and trying to find out what's what would be the best one to bring into their classrooms for their students. So, kind of based on your experience, what makes the difference between technology that enhances learning and technology that just feels like another gadget?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Such a good question. You're so deep one. I love it. Um, you know, I see technology as the paintbrush, not the painting. And you you need a tool in order to create a painting. You need a paintbrush in order to create a painting, right? Every career needs something to drive that business forward, right? Needs some kind of paintbrush to drive that business forward, right? You running this podcast need a microphone, you need an editor, you need some headphones, you need a, you know, you need a system to record. Um, that's the technology, that's the paintbrush for ultimately your podcast finished product, right? And when teachers and educators are thinking about how how how do I not get overwhelmed by all this stuff, I just offer, keep it really simple. Think about what problem are you trying to solve, what industry are you trying to connect that to, or what learning and outcome are you trying to get with your students, and then pick one small piece of technology uh to use to drive that painting forward, right? And I know that sounds like, well, that could be overwhelming too, but just keep it really simple, right? You can use a uh a 3D printer or a 3D printing print pen for very simple uh tasks, right? You don't need to say, okay, how do I make this 3D printer thing really intricate and right? If you if you have access to a 3D print pen printer pen, you could say, okay, I'm trying to teach these students about um social studies unit, right? How can we maybe take this 3D pen and enhance that outcome that you're trying to get, right? And um, I my daughter school, the her, she's an incredible fifth grade teacher, and she um was trying to teach them how to um do some archaeological study, right? And so instead of just like reading in the book and asking a bunch of questions or taking a quiz, she laid on the floor uh a blue mat and then gave them the ability with their 3D pens to create a uh like they were gonna go diving, like to create some sort of um mask and uh uh tube so they could breathe. Yeah, uh scuba diving gear, right? And had them fake diving into this blue mat to go pick up our um archaeological finds that she had placed on this blue mat with little notes on them that they got to dive into the water with this thing that they got to create, grab this note or this archaeological find, and then read the note, right, about it, about the artifact that they found. And I just thought that was just an innovative, really simple way to bring technology into what she was trying to accomplish, right? A, the kids were having a blast because they were getting to create something, put it on their head, dive into this water, but she was also getting learning outcomes done, right? Because she was teaching them how to what what would actually happen in in a real archaeological dive, right? You have to use scuba gear, you have to dive into the water, you have to pull out the the artifact. And then, of course, she had a little note about the artifact so they could actually learn about the artifact that they found in the water. I thought this was really a very simple way to bring in a very um maybe seemingly complex technology piece of technology into a a unit that really has nothing to do with STEM. But she used STEM in order to drive the learning forward. And I thought that was a really powerful, simple way. So my my um answer to that question is keep it very simple and keep it connected to the career and the learning outcome that you're trying to get from your students.
SPEAKER_00:And I I I if you're okay with that, I'd also throw in there some AI, right? Let's try to use some AI to perhaps ask ChatGPT how can we use this tool to reach the learning outcomes that we want, right? And brainstorm with AI. Um, but I like that you shared.
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah. I agree. I agree.
SPEAKER_00:Go for it, go for it, Jennifer.
SPEAKER_01:Well, yeah, I was just gonna say, I love I love this this conversation right now in this educational um space of when to use AI, when not to use AI. Is it useful, is it not useful? And um AI is not going anywhere, it's moving at lat lightning speed. The students know more about it than most adults. Um, students are not afraid, um, but yet they need exposure. And some students aren't getting exposure based on maybe their their zip code, and they're not getting as much exposure to it. And my humble perspective is that we need to teach students and give students the ability to think how to be leaders in this AI-powered world. And because AI is gonna do most of these things, even most of these STEM applications that we're talking about, it's going to do it. Students don't even need to code anymore, or adults don't even need to code anymore because AI is coding for them. However, if you don't understand the basics of coding, if you don't understand how to when to use coding to solve a problem, AI is not gonna figure that out for us. It's not gonna know, oh, there's a problem I need to, I need to put these three STEM applications in to solve it. Somebody's gonna need to tell it, hey, can you code this? This is the problem we're trying to solve. These are the things that I'm trying to accomplish. This is what the the problem set is, and I need some answers to it, right? So teaching kids and exposing kids to to use AI to serve them instead of AI taking over, I think is really key because it can really be useful if we're using it to serve us rather than it it uh taking over.
SPEAKER_00:So AI is serving them and not controlling them. That's awesome, right? But what's also really important is that we train educators to use these technologies. Um how do you see or how do you train and support teachers to feel more confident using new tech tools so that they could feel so that they could become enablers instead of uh instead of obstacles?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So, you know, we firmly believe that our STEM environments are an ecosystem. I mentioned that earlier, an integrated ecosystem. And many times when individuals think about um STEM, they think about the stuff, right? STEM environments. They think about the the computers, they think about the technology, they think about the things, and then that, and then that's it. Like put the things in front of the students and hopefully magically they figure it out. Um and the reality is the ecosystem is really important. So the facilitators' ability to use a technology to drive learning, um, the environment itself, that it's conducive for for kids to move around, stand up, sit down, grab things, explore is really important. The technology itself is really important. Um, the partnership with the community, you know, adults outside of just even their facilitator really embracing the technology and embracing the learning is really important. And then, of course, the curriculum itself, right? The the career-connected project-based curriculum itself. These are the five components of Smart Lab's ecosystem. You talk about the facilitator, right? Uh the educator that's in front of the student, whether it's a stud an educator in a classroom or an educator in an actual STEM lab or an educator in an after-school program. Any of those educators need to have the confidence themselves and have their own aha moments. And and you get that through training. You get that through professional development, you get that from through through community, through others, and um to learn from their mistakes and their learnings. You get that from um up-leveling your own craft so that you're good. But the reality is STEM and STEAM learning is student should be student-led. We we intentionally call our uh educators facilitators in in our smart labs because they're guides, they're not the know-it-alls, right? Students lead their journey, students solve their problem, students get to fail and and figure out how to master that rigorous challenge. And the educator, what we call the facilitator, whether they're a STEM master's degree scientist or a librarian turned, right, uh, STEM teacher, we call them facilitators. And that training and um how to help students with productive struggle is more important than learning how to use the 3D printer or the laser cutter or the STEM application. It's more important to be able to ask the questions to get the student to keep pushing themselves through the failure versus, oh, I need to be the expert at how to use this 3D printer. I need to be the expert at how to teach kids how to do this lesson, right? It's it's less about that and more about like, can I be the one to not give the answer? Can I walk by students or having productive struggle and let them struggle instead of jumping in and fixing it for them or teaching thinking I'm teaching them something? Because the productive struggle is where these aha moments come from. You know, I mentioned Smart Lab. What is Smart Lab, right? We're an integrated ecosystem that sparks aha moments that build STEM identity for learners. Well, an aha moment is this sudden realization that occurs when a learner connects ideas in new and meaningful ways. And that's sparked by curiosity, it's sparked by hands-on engagement, and it's sparked by problem solving. And teaching an educator how to let the student be curious, let the student create with their hands, let the student solve their own problems is, I think, even more important than teaching them how to use a 3D printer. And so, yeah, yeah, and and and at Smart Lab, we've got training for that. You could be a high-stem educator or somebody that literally just is interested in it, a parent volunteer and interested in this, um, and we'll teach you how to focus on getting the kids to be their own director in the in their own journey versus um how to be the expert in the technology. Because again, I keep saying this over and over, AI is going to do these technologies for us. It's already there, right? So we don't actually have to be experts in this stuff anymore, right? What we have to be is um the facilitators of the students' learning journey. We have to be the facilitators of letting them solve their own problems. We have to be okay with them failing. And that's really hard for us as adults and especially as educators, is letting kids fail. And the reality is that's how you learn. I mean, your best learnings, my best learnings is when we had real hardship in our life, right? And where obstacles were in our faces. And those obstacles I look back at and know, oh yeah, that obstacle is what got me to my next journey, got me to my next thing, made me stronger, made me a better version of myself, made me realize that I don't have all the answers. You know, my mom, who's 79 years old, says to me all the time, the one thing I'm sure of is that I do not know anything. And I'm like, wow, that's really interesting, right? Because she's like, because every day things change. I learn something new every day. I get exposed to a new person, a new culture, a new language, a new experience, and realize, oh, that's another way of seeing the world. Right. And that's a beautiful gift to give students. And that training facilitators how to embrace letting the student kind of bump around and figure out and um get to their own aha moments is really key.
SPEAKER_00:So will you agree that education is transitioning more towards students having ownership of their learning as opposed to like teachers stepping into a space and like being the what do you say, kind of like the masters of the content that's teaching it to the students?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think that's the way we're going. I I think that actually excites me about the future, right? Because, you know, you watch little kids before they're even in school on a playground, right? And if you if you sit back and watch them on a playground, they're the masters of that universe, right? They're like, and they they collaps, they walk up to kids they don't even know, don't even know their name, and start playing, right? It doesn't matter who they are. They don't need to ask them their name, where they come from, what their background is, what their job is. They just say, Hey, you want to come build this castle with me? You want to come uh create a new world on this on this um great uh uh playground with me? And they run around and they're learning and growing and teaching. And a kid will come and kick over their sand castle and they might get upset for a moment and then they get back up and go right back and build it again. Right. So yeah, I I get excited about this new educational landscape because I see that if we just allow that natural instinct for kids to create their own destiny and then use the tools to drive the learning that is at their fingertips. Educators then become more facilitators in the student's journey and not the expert in the room. They're no longer the expert in the room, they become the facilitators in the student's journey. And what a beautiful gift for educators because it takes a bit of the load off when you feel like you have to be the expert. And because sometimes educators feel like, well, am I the expert or am I just the fraud in the room, right? Well, they're students, so I can I can figure this out. But educators are using AI now. Educators are making sure that they're um saving their precious time when they're at home for focusing on the students and their needs, right? When they're in the classroom. Because, you know, it's hard to be an educator right now because there's a lot of noise in this world, and students are coming in with a lot of baggage, right? And a lot of feelings and a lot of emotions based on where we are as a country and as a community and as communities. And so that can be really exhausting as educators. And so focusing on that versus trying to also be the experts in the room on the content, um, I think is gonna serve us much better. If they focus less on trying to be the experts at the content and more on how do I ensure that these students are safe, confident, um, and that they belong and that they have a place in this world beyond their circumstances, um, I think that's gonna be a beautiful gift uh for educators to give in the future.
SPEAKER_00:I agree. Making sure that every student has a safe space in this world where they feel like they belong is very important. And I think one of the things that you want to touch upon is equity. And you had mentioned before that is the structures that perhaps hinder us from reaching our full potential, right? So when it comes to equity, how do you ensure that equity stays at the center of technology integration, especially for these underserved students?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, um it's exposure. You have you have to care that all students, no matter their zip code, um are exposed, right? Because I mean, the truth is I'm gonna make sure my daughter gets exposure to things because I can, right? And and I am very privileged in the fact and know my privilege in being able to afford to expose my daughter to as many different technologies and as many different activities as possible. And I also am very aware that I have friends and colleagues and people that I don't even know that don't aren't that privileged and that don't have the ability to give their child um everything they could dream of because of potentially their financial circumstances or the systemic structures that are around that particular community. And I'm very well aware of that. And so for me, why does my student, why does my child win over those? That that that's not that's not um that that can't be how we as a society function. We have to care about all students to be successful in this world. It cannot just be the ones that are privileged. And so I am very aware that exposure to STEM applications, STEAM applications, um, this caring about ensuring that every student, regardless of their zip code zip code, feels like they belong, they can master rigorous challenges, and they add value in this world, I think is really key. And so I think about equity from the standpoint of like, it cannot just be my daughter because I can afford it. It has to be every student. And we have to actively take measures to ensure that it's every student. So businesses, corporations, philanthropists, those that care about this equity play are really thinking about how do I make sure every student gets a smart lab, for example, or every student gets STEA exposure in their schools? And how do I put my money against that charge, right? Because it isn't enough for us just to expect that community to figure it out, right? It has to be all of us collectively thinking about how do we be a part of the solution and not just observers of other people's pain and suffering. So that's just sort of my belief system is that all need to get involved and we can't just say the words. We have to make sure that those zip codes that wouldn't get this exposure get it through generous offerings. And you know, when I was in the nonspopit space, I was so impressed by um foundations and individuals and those grantmakers that were willing to say, you know what, these students and these zip codes and these underserved communities deserve the same as these students in these higher um resourced communities and uh and put their money against that. And that to me is really key. And you know, time and resource is everything. So if you have money, put your money against it. If you have time, go in and help serve, right? We have this day coming up, it's November 7th, it's in celebration of National Um STEM Day. There's a National STEM Day that's out there, and on November, that's on November 8th, it's a Saturday. But we've created what we call STEM identity day on November 7th. And it isn't just for smart lab schools, it's for any school to create what we call STEM identity day. And it's it's a day to invite adults into schools to talk about their own STEM identity as we've defined it, right? Their own self-belief that they belong, they can master rigorous challenges and they add value, talk about the STEM applications in the job that they have, and to tell the students about this, how their STEM applications they use in their particular career. And we have free resources on our website that people can go look at, and that's not something that costs money, that's time, right? An adult gets into a school and talk about this with students that maybe would never have been exposed to the career that you're in, or never have seen that kind of STEM application in real life applications. Um, so we really encourage all everybody to think about hey, how can I give my money and how can I give my time to helping students um get their STEM or STEAM identity.
SPEAKER_00:That's great. That's great. And I think what's great is that also that you you recognized um a privilege that you and your daughter had, um, and kind of going back to to supporting others that aren't as privileged, um, which is also important. And I think what you're trying to tell others is that hey, recognize what you do have and support others that don't have, probably the same. Um even off the playing field, let's make it even so that let's even it out so that everyone can reach their full potential, especially for students. But this is your personal life, right? Let's talk about Smart Lab. Can you share an example of how Smart Lab has bridged the gap between today's classroom and tomorrow's workforce for historically marginalized students?
SPEAKER_01:It's um important again to remember that if there's a lab that uses if there's a school that uses Smart Lab, that in and of itself is the exposure and the creation of an equity play, right? I think innately every human in this world wants to see um their fellow humans be successful in this world, right? I, you know, no matter what side of the aisle you were on or what place you live in in this world, you really innately care that every human um has their inalienable rights to live a healthy, safe life. I really believe that. I really believe every person believes that. Now, as I mentioned earlier, the structures around you can taint your view. Social media can taint your view of that, right? There's lots of news outlets, you know, whatever can taint your view of that, right? Because you only are fed a certain um piece of information that isn't the full picture, right? Um and at Smart Lab, we're about building these intentional uh integrated ecosystems that when placed in a school levels the playing field, right? If you put an integrated ecosystem, a smart lab integrated ecosystem in your school, it levels the playing field, right? Because there is no higher resource, lower resource uh reality in that. It's all the kids walk into that smart lab and get get a great facilitator that's trained, right, and certified by us. Uh, they get the amazing environment that's curated and intentionally customized by the school in partnership with us. They get this really deep problem-based, uh, career-connected problem um or project-based learning environment. They get really high-end uh hands-on tools and equipment, and they get lots of support and partnership from not only their community, but also our internal staff. So that doesn't change no matter what zip code you're in. You if if you have a smart lab in your school, you get all of that amazing ecosystem at your fingertips. So it it out of the gate takes takes away the the resource versus under-resourced uh view because when you walk into the room, it's resourced for you. And so you get to get all those learnings whoever you are. And um, my favorite thing to do is walk into one of our smart labs and see kids from all over the spectrum having moments, aha moments. And those aha moments to me, you know, we we have a uh an image of our aha moment with a student with their hands in the air. Um, and inevitably, every time I walk into a smart lab, whether it's um uh a school in the Upper West Side or a school in Brooklyn that um, you know, or a school in LA County or a school in Beverly Hills, no matter where I walk into, there's students with their hands in the air is having aha moments. And that to me is a beautiful thing because it takes out where you live, it takes out your circumstances and you get to zone into what you're you're getting exposed to and that internal belief system is building so that people can break out of their maybe their circumstances that they that they were handed.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and you can see the spark in the student's eyes when they say that. So beautiful. I love that. I love that. But hey Jennifer, let's look ahead, right? Let's think about what future what the education looks like in the future. What excites you the most about the future of STEM education and technology integration within the next five to ten years?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, um, I mentioned that earlier, that it's going to be student-led. I think that's so exciting. I'm actually really excited about this AI uh-powered world we're living in. And I'm excited to ensure that students um are leading that world, that they're, that these news, the students from kindergartners or you know, even early education all the way through are really empowering students to lead in that world and not let technology uh lead them, but they lead technology. And that that to me is really exciting. It's exciting, exciting for me to see. And it's exciting to see that there's there's real teeth in innovation and that the education system is getting rattled, you know, and it can be hard when things get rattled, but it's getting rattled. And I'm seeing uh folks like yourself, folks like others kind of stand up and say, Yeah, but we're not gonna leave these students behind. Like the noise on the outside is there, but these students aren't going anywhere, right? The changes and, you know, are we doing it this way, are we doing it that way? That that that's gonna happen probably till the end of time. But what isn't going to change is the students. And they all deserve all of us to care enough to say their future matters because they are the next generation that's gonna build this world to the beautiful place that we want it, we all want it to be. And so even when there's dark times, even when there's tough times, um, if we focus on the student and we focus on their learning and not necessarily focus on our own adult agendas, um, that's where we all win as a society. So I'm excited to see that there's a lot of pockets of educators out there, a lot of pockets of uh individuals that are trying to be a part of the solution and really focusing on the student at the center of everything we do. And that really excites me. And um I see a really bright future for kids. And even through, you know, I I get I get I get a lot of flack um from a lot of people that I'm this is eternal optimist, but I I just view the world from this perspective of even in darkness, even in times when we're getting rattled, that um that there is light, there's light at the end of that tunnel. And if we focus on what matters and we focus on students and we focus on what drives us and true core values of what each human is is designed to do, we all win. So I'm I'm excited about that. And maybe, maybe I'm maybe I'm fooling myself, but I'm really proud to know that um I think there's a bright future for students out there if we all just focus on them instead of all the noise on the outside.
SPEAKER_00:I agree. I agree with you all the way. Because if we focus on that light, that light shines a little bit brighter.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it does. It does.
SPEAKER_00:And we said a lot about for students, um, but what piece of advice would you give school leaders and educators about creating a lasting impact through technology integration? So what would that be?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, um, I'd say don't be afraid to try and fail yourselves. You know, we're we're we're teaching students that failure is a good thing. And that's really scary for adults. And it's really scary for educators to try something and worry that, oh my gosh, this might be my last dollar, or my budget is so tight, and so I'm worried that what if that fails? What if it doesn't work? And um I think I think just knowing that failure is a part of the process and trying something, be be innovative, break out of the norm. Don't be afraid to try something new with your dollars. Don't be so fearful right now that the dollars will run out. Um, and and because that's scary. Um, but just go for it because at the end of the day, it could open up a whole new avenue for learning for kids. It can open up a whole new avenue for yourself as an educator. It can open uh it can open up uh new innovative ways to become the best version of yourself as an adult and to help students become the best versions of theirs theirselves. So I I think that that um don't be afraid to fail would be be the advice because failure is just a step towards success.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. We should put that on a t-shirt.
SPEAKER_01:Failure is a step towards success. It probably already is. I don't know. I probably stole it from somebody. I never like to claim anything. I'm sure I've I've learned it from somebody or some ancestor along the way.
SPEAKER_00:Maybe, maybe. But hey Jennifer, we're gonna close it out with three questions. It's rapid fire, right? Three fun questions that we like to ask at the end of our podcast. Um, so you ready for it?
SPEAKER_01:I'm ready. Let's do it.
SPEAKER_00:All right. So, what would you say is your favorite? What was your favorite class in school?
SPEAKER_01:Class in school was math.
SPEAKER_00:All right, what's the ed tech tool that you cannot live without uh chat GPT right now?
SPEAKER_01:Right now, in this moment, in this moment.
SPEAKER_00:Um, and then the last question is if you could take a class from any teacher in history, who would it be and why?
SPEAKER_01:Ooh, take a class from any human in history or teacher in history?
SPEAKER_00:Any human, any teacher in history.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah. Well, this is gonna sound maybe cliche to some, but it's my grandmother. First of all, my grandmother was a um, and I know you history, you're probably thinking of like famous people, but I'm gonna go with my grandmother. She was an educator, she was a third-grade teacher, and um every and she lived in New York, she was in Long Island, and I was in California. I grew up in California, and so I got um, you know, Christmases with her, and I got to spend summers with her sometimes. And every time I was around her, I just would soak up what she had to offer. She really saw the world um uh from the space of uh let's look at people, people and the cultures and the differences and learn from that because um and she just always challenged the status quo. Uh she's passed since, but if I could take a class from her right now and sit and just soak up her wisdom, um, that would be who I'd um bring, bring, bring back and ensure I got like a full a full year, um, maybe a third grade class with her to become the best version of myself. In fact, my dad told me recently that there was a bunch of students that started talking about her on the internet um or on social media about how much they meant to her. And my grandmother's passed years and years and years ago. And she would be, I think, probably either in her 90s or maybe a hundreds now. Yeah, probably in her hundreds now if she was still alive. And and people are still talking about her. Students that were in her third grade class are still talking about her to this day. So, like, wow, that would be really cool if I would get to be able to sit in her class and learn from her.
SPEAKER_00:To sit in their classes on the door, she sounds like a very beautiful person. And to have students from her past come back and keep her legacy alive is amazing.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I agree. I agree.
SPEAKER_00:So that wraps up today's episode of EdTech Empowerment, Innovating Education Together. A huge thank you to Dr. Jennifer Barry for sharing her insights on building STEM identity and integrating technology in ways that truly transform learning. If you enjoyed today's episode, do not forget to subscribe, leave a review, or share it with colleagues or friends that cares about the future of education. You can learn more about NextGen Classrooms at NextgenClassrooms.org, where we're dedicated to empowering educators, families, and communities through technology integration. Thanks for tuning in, and until next time, keep innovating, keep empowering, and keep shaping the future of learning. Thanks again, Jennifer.
