AI and the Human Side of Learning

Season 2, Episode 14 — with Craig Smith

AI is a topic that can divide a room pretty quickly.

For some, it represents exciting possibilities for the way we learn, work and support one another. For others, there are important questions around safety, privacy, creativity, critical thinking, the environment and what we might lose as these technologies become a bigger part of our lives.

In this episode, Josh sits down with Craig Smith, Manager of Technology and Innovation at Positive Partnerships, educator, author and international speaker, and creator of The Universal Sandpit.

Rather than trying to find all the answers, this conversation explores some of the questions.

Josh and Craig talk about:

• How AI might support executive functioning, including planning, organisation, task initiation and managing thoughts.
• Craig's idea of the “administration team of the brain” and what this might help us understand about the challenges some students experience.
• Using AI as a tool for reflection, conversation and scaffolding, rather than simply outsourcing our thinking.
• Neurodiversity and AI, and why different people may experience and use technology in very different ways.
• The idea of double empathy and how it might change the way we think about AI, social interaction and what we consider “normal”.
• How we can support children to understand what AI actually is, rather than treating it as a magical black box.
• Finding the balance between safety and experimentation when children and young people are learning about new technologies.
• Craig's “mountain” analogy and the importance of allowing children to develop their own thinking rather than using AI as a shortcut.
• How AI can support creativity and play, including Craig's experience of creating a video game with his son.
• The Universal Sandpit and the practical AI tools Craig has developed to support inclusive education.
• The potential for AI to help educators connect students' strengths and interests with classroom learning.
• The ethical questions surrounding AI — including the potential environmental, social and workplace impacts — alongside the possible benefits for inclusion and accessibility.

One of the ideas we keep coming back to is that two things can be true at the same time: AI can create significant challenges, while also offering opportunities that may genuinely benefit some students and educators.

And perhaps that's the point of this conversation. We don't have all the answers yet — but there is value in asking the questions, exploring what is possible and trying to understand how different people experience these technologies.

Where to find out more about Craig

The Universal Sandpit — Craig's collection of AI-powered tools and resources for inclusive education. The site currently includes tools for educators and students covering areas such as executive functioning, lesson planning, differentiation, visual supports, task analysis and more.

The Universal Sandpit

Craig Smith on LinkedIn — Craig regularly shares his experiments, ideas and work around AI, education, neurodiversity and technology.

Craig Smith on LinkedIn

Find out more about Craig

Music Credits

🎵 “Ember” — The Lakes
🎵 “Green Leaves” — The Lakes

Music sourced from Uppbeat.

What happens when the person responsible for helping children regulate is struggling to regulate themselves?

In this episode, I sit down with Danica See from Little Bloom Consultancy for a conversation about one of the parts of education we don't always talk about enough — the emotional weight carried by the educators doing the work.

Danica shares her journey through early childhood education, from a difficult first year of teaching to discovering behaviour guidance and eventually creating Little Bloom Consultancy, where she supports educators to bridge the gap between what we know about children and what that can actually look like in practice.

We talk about educator burnout, emotional regulation, the pressure to be the “perfect” teacher, and why creating safe spaces for children also means creating safe spaces for the adults who care for them.

Little Bloom Consultancy
A space supporting early childhood educators and leaders with children's behaviour, big feelings, emotional development and educator wellbeing.

Little Bloom Consultancy

📱 Instagram — @littlebloom.consultancy
Follow Little Bloom Consultancy on Instagram

🎙️ The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast
Danica's podcast exploring behaviour, emotions, relationships and the realities of working with young children.

Listen to The Bloom Room on Apple Podcasts

Music

“Ember” — The Lakes
“Green Leaves” — The Lakes

Music sourced from Uppbeat - https://uppbeat.io/

Connect with the Parent Teacher Interview Podcast

🎙️ Parent Teacher Interview Podcast

📱 Instagram: @parent_teacher_interview_pod

If you've enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to follow the podcast, share it with another educator or parent who might find it useful, and leave us a review wherever you listen.

For the first time on Parent Teacher Interview, Joshua is stepping out from behind the questions and sitting down for a solo episode.

In this episode, Joshua shares a little about his own journey as both an educator and a parent, and the questions that led him to start Parent Teacher Interview in the first place.

After years of teaching and navigating the highs, challenges and mistakes that come with parenting, Joshua reflects on why he has never felt like having all the answers was the point. Instead, the podcast began as a way to ask questions, learn from others and hopefully become a little better along the way.

Joshua also shares a key takeaway from the previous episode with Jacinta and Alicia from Little Potion Co. — a reminder to slow down, look for the little moments, and find opportunities for connection, curiosity and a little bit of magic in everyday life.

This episode is a little different. It's just Joshua, the microphone, and a chance to share some of the experiences and reflections that sit behind Parent Teacher Interview.

If there are topics you'd like us to explore, people you think we should speak to, or if you'd like to hear more solo reflections like this one, we'd love to hear from you.

Music Credits

“Ember” — The Lakes
“Green Leaves” — The Lakes