What happens when we put the human side of learning first and use technology with purpose?

In this episode of Integrate This!, Jeremy and David are joined by Zareen Levien, Principal Educator at Padlet, for a conversation about student voice, collaboration, AI, and what better EdTech should actually look like.

Zareen shares her journey from the tech world at Yahoo to the classroom, instructional coaching, district leadership, and eventually Padlet. Along the way, the conversation explores why technology should augment—not replace—the relationships and interactions that make learning meaningful.

They discuss avoiding EdTech tool fatigue, creating safe and welcoming digital learning spaces, giving every student meaningful ways to participate, and challenging the “myth of the independent learner.” Zareen also shares her perspective on AI in education, including why students need adults talking with them about AI rather than simply restricting access to it.

The conversation wraps up with practical Padlet ideas for classroom community, peer feedback, younger learners, multimedia creation, and more—plus the Integrate This! lightning round.

Resources: Padlet: https://padlet.com

Padlet Learning Resources: https://padlet.tv

Zareen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zareen-poonen-levien-m-ed-786817/

Megan Diede and Kara Rigsby, co-founders of Integrated Edu, join the podcast for a deep dive into their framework for student engagement. They share how a casual "let's start running together" turned into a business partnership, and break down their core philosophy that engagement is an outcome, not a strategy, built through purposeful design, consistency, and connection (their "3 C's"). Megan and Kara walk through the seven pathways to learning (from movement to visual arts to storytelling), why they push back on traditional small-group centers and worksheet-heavy instruction, and how teachers can start with small, 1% shifts instead of overhauling everything at once. They also talk about their book, Elevated Educator, their podcast, and where their "Integrated" name really comes from.

Checkout their work: integratedk12.com

Get the book: https://a.co/d/0bZMy2kP

Jeremiah Frink spent 20 years in public education, from elementary teacher to district administrator, before moving to Dell as an education strategist. He joins the podcast to talk about Data Dunkers, Dell's program that teaches data and AI literacy through basketball stats from the WNBA and NBA, and the ISTE + ASCD Innovator Challenge, where student teams use AI to tackle real problems in their communities. Jeremiah breaks down why data literacy keeps getting treated as a one-off unit instead of something woven through every subject, what "classroom-ready AI" actually looks like beyond just prompting, and how brainstorming and design thinking can be taught as real, learnable skills. He also shares candid conversations with his own five kids about AI, screen time, and what it means to stay a lifelong learner. Stick around for the lightning round, including his walk-up song and this-or-that round.

Connect with Jeremiah Frink, Dell Technologies K-12 Education Strategist, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremiahfrink/

Dell Data Dunkers: A hands-on educational program that combines basketball, coding, and data analytics to help students build foundational AI and data literacy skills. http://datadunkers.ca/

Girls Who Game: An extracurricular initiative designed to empower young women and underserved students to build critical STEM, leadership, and collaboration skills through esports and Minecraft Education design challenges. http://dell.com/en-us/lp/dt/girls-who-game

Dell Student TechCrew: A student-led IT help desk program that promotes career readiness by empowering students to earn industry-recognized technology certifications while supporting their district's daily tech needs. http://dell.com/en-us/lp/dt/student-techcrew