Tech Talk and Personal Asks: AI, Advice, and Desert Island Picks From Our Hosts
This unique "Ask Us Anything" episode offers a blend of professional insights and personal revelations as technology leaders from independent schools answer questions about everything from AI literacy and data analysis to favorite mammals and dream barbershop quartets. Listen in for valuable advice on navigating challenges like burnout and technology integration, alongside lighthearted moments that reveal the personalities behind the podcast.
Resources
- South by Southwest EDU (SXSW EDU)
- CES - Consumer Electronics Show
- ATLIS (Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools)
- TLIS Certification (ATLIS)
- Educational Collaborators
- NJS - New Jersey Schools Cooperative Technology Group (assumed similar group)
- Flint AI (AI for students in a walled garden)
- Napkin.ai – Turn text into visuals
- EdWeek: Four Developmental Stages of Teaching AI
- SAMR Model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition)
- TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge)
- OneRoster (IMS Global Standard)
- The Last of Us (HBO Series)
- Suits (TV Show)
- ER (TV Show)
- CHiPs (TV Show)
- Emergency! (TV Show)
- Magnum, P.I.
- Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
- Six the Musical
- Hamilton the Musical
- Harmony, Incorporated
- Legacy Quartet on YouTube (suggested based on mention)
- Origin of the term "computer crash" (related to early hard drive platters)
- Office Space Printer Scene (YouTube) [NSFW]
- Honey Badger Video (YouTube) [NSFW]
Transcript
Peter Frank:
Phil, welcome to Talking Technology with ATLIS,
Peter Frank:
the show that plugs you into the important topics and trends for
Peter Frank:
technology leaders all through a unique Independent School lens.
Peter Frank:
We'll hear stories from technology directors and other
Peter Frank:
special guests from the Independent School community,
Peter Frank:
and provide you with focused learning and deep dive topics.
Peter Frank:
And now please welcome your host. Kristina Lewellen,
Christina Lewellen:
Hello everyone, and welcome back to
Christina Lewellen:
talking technology with Atlas. I'm Kristina Lewellen, the
Christina Lewellen:
President and CEO of the Association of Technology
Christina Lewellen:
Leaders in Independent Schools. And
Bill Stites:
I'm Bill Stites, the Director of Technology at
Bill Stites:
Montclair Kimberly Academy in Montclair, New Jersey,
Hiram Cuevas:
and I'm Hiram Cuevas, Director of Information
Hiram Cuevas:
Systems and Academic Technology at St Christopher school in
Hiram Cuevas:
Richmond, Virginia.
Christina Lewellen:
Hey guys, how's everything today going?
Christina Lewellen:
Well? Yeah, that's all good. I am joining you from Austin,
Christina Lewellen:
Texas, where I am currently attending South by Southwest
Christina Lewellen:
edu. I think I've mentioned before that I try to attend at
Christina Lewellen:
least one educational event per year, given that I'm not an
Christina Lewellen:
educator, and it really helps me, I really try to focus in on
Christina Lewellen:
the topics that are relevant to Atlas membership, and I learn a
Christina Lewellen:
ton, and I meet cool people. We get great ideas for our
Christina Lewellen:
conference. And so I'm wandering around among a bunch of
Christina Lewellen:
educators, feeling a little out of my depth, if I'm honest, but
Christina Lewellen:
I have been really enjoying it, and I'm only on day two, so I am
Christina Lewellen:
hyped up and ready for this conversation today. This will
Unknown:
be a fun one. I'm excited. Yeah,
Bill Stites:
I wanted to go down there before I told you, right
Bill Stites:
before we got on getting down to South by Southwest, the
Bill Stites:
education track, I think, is something I've had on my bucket
Bill Stites:
list for quite a while. I
Christina Lewellen:
can't wait to tell you about it. I mean,
Christina Lewellen:
I'm taking some notes, and I'll save materials for you that I'll
Christina Lewellen:
share with you afterwards, because AI is just everywhere.
Christina Lewellen:
It permeates every track, every session. But there's also just a
Christina Lewellen:
lot of really cool topics that are more education specific,
Christina Lewellen:
that maybe don't necessarily cross over into the technology
Christina Lewellen:
realm. So if I had no technology affiliation, I would have a
Christina Lewellen:
really difficult time figuring out where to go. But because of
Christina Lewellen:
our connection with tech, I try to stay in that space. But
Christina Lewellen:
there's just so much cool stuff down here. I just I love it.
Hiram Cuevas:
Now, either of you attended CES, that's the
Hiram Cuevas:
Consumer Electronic Show in Vegas, which is usually in
Hiram Cuevas:
January. No So South by Southwest is one that I've
Hiram Cuevas:
always wanted to go to, but I did manage to go to CES a few
Hiram Cuevas:
years ago, and it's unreal, because it's all hardware and
Hiram Cuevas:
different products that are either on the verge of going
Hiram Cuevas:
live to the public or their prototypes. It's just fantastic.
Christina Lewellen:
I can imagine you being on the show
Christina Lewellen:
floor with no sunlight for days. Is that kind of how that show
Christina Lewellen:
went?
Unknown:
Absolutely. It was fabulous.
Bill Stites:
It's in Vegas, so it could go in a lot of
Bill Stites:
different directions. With Hiram there, I'm sure. Yeah, we stayed
Unknown:
Planet Hollywood. There you go. I love it. Well,
Christina Lewellen:
today, guys, we have no guest. Well, I guess
Christina Lewellen:
we kind of have a guest because we are welcoming back to the
Christina Lewellen:
podcast. Our producer, Peter Frank, Hello, Peter. How are
Christina Lewellen:
you?
Peter Frank:
Hey everybody. I'm well, good to be here. I mean,
Peter Frank:
I'm here all the time, but you know, I'm actually talking this
Peter Frank:
time. So
Christina Lewellen:
once in a while, we take him off mute.
Christina Lewellen:
Peter, we've asked to come join us today, because we have been
Christina Lewellen:
promoting for a while, and ask us anything episode. And so I
Christina Lewellen:
guess Peter, you've been the keeper of the questions. Have we
Christina Lewellen:
received some good ones. Are people excited about this idea?
Peter Frank:
Absolutely, yes. We have several questions here,
Peter Frank:
from long time listeners, I assume that, yeah, some of them
Peter Frank:
are techie. Some of them are less techie, but still
Peter Frank:
interesting. They took the anything of the Ask Me Anything
Peter Frank:
concept very seriously.
Christina Lewellen:
I mean, I can expect nothing less of the
Christina Lewellen:
Atlas community, our folks, if we say anything, they're like
Christina Lewellen:
anything. All right, well, I'll turn it over to you. Then. Now
Christina Lewellen:
you're in charge. All right. Let's start
Peter Frank:
with something related to work and technology
Peter Frank:
and why we're here. Dan McGee, who is Tila certified, by the
Peter Frank:
way, Dan asks, What advice might you have for mid career
Peter Frank:
technology leaders who still feel challenged in their career,
Peter Frank:
but maybe looking for new challenges or ways to not become
Peter Frank:
stagnant? That's one for anybody. I think what
Bill Stites:
I have found is getting involved both, I'll say,
Bill Stites:
inside, but also outside of your school, I think really helps,
Bill Stites:
because speaking as someone who's got a very long tenure at
Bill Stites:
a school, you get in certain routines. There's certain things
Bill Stites:
that are consistent from year to year. There's certain things
Bill Stites:
that change, but you've got almost blinders on as you're
Bill Stites:
going through things, and it's it's only when I think you get
Bill Stites:
out. Whether it's attending other conferences. I started
Bill Stites:
going to NJ meetings, which is a New Jersey based educational
Bill Stites:
cooperative thing here, and it was public schools and
Bill Stites:
independent schools and the like, and starting there and
Bill Stites:
attending those meetings and coming back with information,
Bill Stites:
because again, you only see what you see when you're at your
Bill Stites:
school. And that opened up the door to volunteering to helping
Bill Stites:
to put together the conference again at the state level, then
Bill Stites:
doing more with NJS, and then doing more with other people
Bill Stites:
that you meet at these pieces, and then going from there.
Bill Stites:
Because if you're not getting out of the building, you are
Bill Stites:
going to become stagnant, because you don't know what else
Bill Stites:
is out there and is possible. Hiram and I have gotten out
Bill Stites:
there through educational collaborators and done some
Bill Stites:
consulting work, if you can get in with that. That's some of the
Bill Stites:
best PD, that I've done is the consulting work that I've done,
Bill Stites:
but it also lets you hear from other people and experience
Bill Stites:
different things that you don't get when you're just stuck in
Bill Stites:
your your space.
Hiram Cuevas:
One, I agree completely with everything Bill
Hiram Cuevas:
said, but this is a position where you have the opportunity
Hiram Cuevas:
to regularly reinvent yourself, because so much of what we do
Hiram Cuevas:
changes on a regular basis. I mean, five years ago, who was
Hiram Cuevas:
even engaging in conversations about AI who is actually
Hiram Cuevas:
engaging in serious conversations about data,
Hiram Cuevas:
information and institutional research. Now we're having some
Hiram Cuevas:
really thoughtful conversations, and it's the kind of challenge
Hiram Cuevas:
that you have to take on personally to grow. And
Hiram Cuevas:
hopefully, if you have that growth mindset, it's very
Hiram Cuevas:
natural. Otherwise, you do run the risk of becoming stagnant in
Hiram Cuevas:
your environment, because it is pretty routine. And every year
Hiram Cuevas:
the academic calendar is start of school, Christmas break, re
Hiram Cuevas:
enrollment season, etc, and it kind of rinse and repeat. And so
Hiram Cuevas:
I would say, make sure you get out like Bill mentioned, but
Hiram Cuevas:
reinvent yourself with a new skill set, and that T list is
Hiram Cuevas:
definitely a way to go.
Christina Lewellen:
I'll just add that it's hard sometimes
Christina Lewellen:
when you're at that midpoint in your career to see where to go
Christina Lewellen:
next. Either you have too many options or you feel fairly
Christina Lewellen:
limited by your options, but the trajectory is sometimes messy,
Christina Lewellen:
like it doesn't always go in a straight line from A to B, and I
Christina Lewellen:
think that most folks look back on their careers and say, Well,
Christina Lewellen:
it all kind of made sense how I got here, but it sure didn't
Christina Lewellen:
feel like that in the moment. So wherever you are in the moment,
Christina Lewellen:
just know that this growth mindset definitely will take you
Christina Lewellen:
to that next place, and there are different ways to get there.
Christina Lewellen:
Just because Bill got there, or I got there or Hiram got there
Christina Lewellen:
in a certain way doesn't mean that that's what's going to work
Christina Lewellen:
for the person coming up behind us. So I think that there's a
Christina Lewellen:
lot of ways and a lot of paths to walk to get to where you want
Christina Lewellen:
to
Peter Frank:
be. Indeed, that's great advice. We got serious
Peter Frank:
real fast. That's good, because some of these questions are
Peter Frank:
nonsense, but that's okay. That's gonna be fun. Speaking of
Peter Frank:
silly, Hiram, we've got a question here for you, the
Peter Frank:
person asking wish to remain anonymous, okay, oh, that's not
Peter Frank:
good, but I'll tell you, when we get together in Atlanta at the
Peter Frank:
conference, you can pull me aside. We'll have a beverage,
Peter Frank:
and I'll tell you, okay, so Hiram, you are running a 5k
Peter Frank:
which three people would you like to run the 5k with dead or
Peter Frank:
alive, real or fictional? This
Hiram Cuevas:
actually a pretty easy question. One would be
Hiram Cuevas:
Louis Zamperini from the movie unforgiven. He was an Olympic
Hiram Cuevas:
medalist in the 5k Billy Mills running brave, because when I
Hiram Cuevas:
used to wear a flat top in college, a lot of people thought
Hiram Cuevas:
I looked like Billy Mills. So that'd be pretty cool to run,
Hiram Cuevas:
run with him, and then Sebastian co would be my third. Sebastian
Hiram Cuevas:
CO was the British 1500 meter Olympic champion at 815 100
Hiram Cuevas:
meters.
Christina Lewellen:
So you're stacking your team like you got
Christina Lewellen:
competitive. You didn't pick like people that you love. You
Christina Lewellen:
didn't pick me. And Bill, no,
Unknown:
I'm not gonna win. Trust me, I'm not gonna win this
Unknown:
one.
Hiram Cuevas:
This is Who would I want to run a 5k with, and
Hiram Cuevas:
this is going to be a very pedestrian jog,
Unknown:
or Yog, all right,
Unknown:
all right, here's the problem. I'm
Hiram Cuevas:
also 60 pounds heavier than I used to be in
Hiram Cuevas:
college, so I was a buck 25 back in the day. All
Peter Frank:
those people are too. You'd be fine. All right,
Peter Frank:
let's talk about burnout. This is a question from shonder
Peter Frank:
shondur Simon, how do you deal with burnout? How do you avoid
Peter Frank:
it, recognize it, recover from it. All aspects
Christina Lewellen:
we talk a lot about burnout and mental
Christina Lewellen:
health, more than we ever have, and I think that there's some
Christina Lewellen:
benefit in that, because at least we're talking about it and
Christina Lewellen:
being vulnerable about it, and bringing our full picture to
Christina Lewellen:
whether it's the workplace or our volunteer roles, but it's.
Christina Lewellen:
Are because things have gotten more layered and complicated.
Christina Lewellen:
Things are moving faster than they ever have. The best piece
Christina Lewellen:
of advice I got not too long ago from my executive coach is to
Christina Lewellen:
vacation in the small moments, meaning I can't always turn
Christina Lewellen:
everything off and go on a two week vacation. Last year, I
Christina Lewellen:
famously tried to go up to my parents lake house, and it was
Christina Lewellen:
failcation 2024 that lasted for about three days, and then I was
Christina Lewellen:
working. And I don't take pride in that, by the way, I say it
Christina Lewellen:
out loud, because it's kind of embarrassing that I couldn't
Christina Lewellen:
even manage to stay unplugged for a couple of weeks. So
Christina Lewellen:
instead, this year, I'm giving myself some grace, and part of
Christina Lewellen:
how I'm mitigating burnout is to find vacation in small moments.
Christina Lewellen:
I will just say, without getting too overly sentimental, that
Christina Lewellen:
works for me, because mentally, I believe a marriage is built in
Christina Lewellen:
the small moments, not in the grand gestures. My husband and I
Christina Lewellen:
tend to like overlook things like our anniversary or
Christina Lewellen:
birthdays. We don't do big showy things, but we really try to
Christina Lewellen:
work on our relationship and our connection in these very, very
Christina Lewellen:
small moments that we have amidst a really busy life. So to
Christina Lewellen:
me, the idea of vacationing in small moments. So I also think
Christina Lewellen:
fighting the burnout in small moments might be the way we all
Christina Lewellen:
have to do it. Like, who has time to, like, stop in the
Christina Lewellen:
middle of a busy day and do some of these techniques, meditate or
Christina Lewellen:
go to a yoga class every five minutes, like, whatever those
Christina Lewellen:
traditional measures are, get a massage or go on vacation. I
Christina Lewellen:
mean, even getting ready for vacation can be really
Christina Lewellen:
stressful. Coming back from vacation can be really
Christina Lewellen:
stressful. So I think just finding smaller definitions of
Christina Lewellen:
peace or comfort or things that refill your cup, I
Bill Stites:
mean, I think to that end when you can find the
Bill Stites:
time to truly unplug. Because I think that's the hardest thing
Bill Stites:
being in this type of position in a school to do, because the
Bill Stites:
only time where I know that I get that time, and Hiram
Bill Stites:
mentioned it earlier, is during our winter breaks, because
Bill Stites:
that's the only time where the school is actually shut down.
Bill Stites:
When you have those opportunities to truly unplug
Bill Stites:
because no one's working, that's really important to prioritize
Bill Stites:
those so that's something I always do on an annual basis,
Bill Stites:
because it allows me to really not open the laptop, not open
Bill Stites:
email, because I know there's no one else that's really sending
Bill Stites:
me anything during those times. But Kristina, to your point
Bill Stites:
about finding those smaller moments, or those individual
Bill Stites:
times where you can step away, and if you can do that, I'm
Bill Stites:
literally just getting back from a long weekend up in Vermont,
Bill Stites:
getting out and getting that time, and I think that's one of
Bill Stites:
the things, because of my schedule here, I can actually
Bill Stites:
afford to do that. But the one biggest thing, I would say with
Bill Stites:
avoiding burnout is recognizing that it's something that we can
Bill Stites:
now talk about a little bit more openly than we might have
Bill Stites:
before, and then reaching out and asking for help, whether
Bill Stites:
that's amongst the people at your school, or whether it's out
Bill Stites:
to the community as a whole. I think where when I found myself
Bill Stites:
in that burnout position is where I was frustrated with
Bill Stites:
something I didn't have answers for. And I think once you've
Bill Stites:
expanded out your circle, you can mitigate that burnout a lot
Bill Stites:
easier, because you can share about that and get answers, and
Bill Stites:
maybe not get answers, but just that, this is a problem that
Bill Stites:
we're all dealing with, and we're still dealing with it. And
Bill Stites:
if I'm feeling particularly weighed down by it, maybe I
Bill Stites:
shouldn't, because it's something that everyone is
Bill Stites:
trying to figure out as well, and it's not just me.
Hiram Cuevas:
I've had to retrain myself, because I think
Hiram Cuevas:
there are times where you feel in our roles, you just got to
Hiram Cuevas:
keep pushing. There's always something to do. Your
Hiram Cuevas:
notifications are going off, and you're seeing the detriment that
Hiram Cuevas:
it's done to our youth, but it's been doing it to our generation
Hiram Cuevas:
for quite some time now. Even pre smartphone, it's really easy
Hiram Cuevas:
to get caught up on that treadmill and not have an escape
Hiram Cuevas:
route. So it has to be very intentional to retrain yourself
Hiram Cuevas:
to say, You know what? We're going to turn this off. We're
Hiram Cuevas:
not going to worry about it. I'm going to spend some quality time
Hiram Cuevas:
with family, friends, the outdoors, whatever it is that's
Hiram Cuevas:
cathartic to you, such that you can come back to the workforce
Hiram Cuevas:
rejuvenated. Because if you come back and you're exhausted,
Hiram Cuevas:
nobody's really winning, and all you're doing is jumping one step
Hiram Cuevas:
up and then falling back too, because your overall wellness is
Hiram Cuevas:
in the hopper. I've had to be really cognizant of it, and it
Hiram Cuevas:
reminded me, back when I was competing, we would do a lot of
Hiram Cuevas:
visualization prior to races, and it's actually a. Very good
Hiram Cuevas:
technique to use to kind of anticipate what you're going to
Hiram Cuevas:
go through during a particular event, and you can easily
Hiram Cuevas:
connect that to the workplace. So by the same token, it's all
Hiram Cuevas:
right now I've got to visualize what it's like to relax and
Hiram Cuevas:
Bill. I don't know if Brooke does this to you, but when I
Hiram Cuevas:
have nothing to do. My wife looks at me. She goes, You don't
Hiram Cuevas:
know how to relax anymore. And I'm like, I'm trying. I'm trying
Hiram Cuevas:
really, really hard, especially the first few days of a
Hiram Cuevas:
vacation. You're kind of like, I just don't know what to do. And
Hiram Cuevas:
this happened in Arizona. We were sitting out by the pool.
Hiram Cuevas:
She's like, it's okay to relax. It's okay to relax. I was like,
Hiram Cuevas:
All right, I got this. It's all good.
Unknown:
I don't
Bill Stites:
have that problem. Surprise, surprise. Now it's
Bill Stites:
like, there are times where, you know, it's just like, on the
Bill Stites:
weekends in particular, Brooke will be grading papers. She'll
Bill Stites:
be doing different things. I will have gone to the gym, run a
Bill Stites:
couple hands, and then I'm taking a nap. Both my parents
Bill Stites:
were teachers. My father would come home at the end of the day,
Bill Stites:
almost every day, and go upstairs and take a nap at the
Bill Stites:
end of the day. And I would always look at them. I'm like,
Bill Stites:
What are you doing? Like, I mean, seriously, like, how tough
Bill Stites:
can it be? Like, what are you doing? And I remember teaching
Bill Stites:
the first year or two I had my teaching job, I would come home
Bill Stites:
and I would pass out. I would take that nap. I remember
Bill Stites:
talking to my father, and I'm like, I get it. So it's
Bill Stites:
definitely one of those things, where, as Christina said, You
Bill Stites:
got to find the time in the moments. Yeah,
Peter Frank:
I'm with you there, Bill, I think, like Christina
Peter Frank:
said, it's so personal. It is something that you need to
Peter Frank:
figure out for yourself, but it helps to talk to others and hear
Peter Frank:
how they do it. And maybe you find an idea that works for you,
Peter Frank:
but it is such a personal thing put on with Bill, if I need a
Peter Frank:
nap, I can take a nap. I app. We thank you Chandra for that
Peter Frank:
question. That's a good question. We got heavy there.
Peter Frank:
That's really good. Lot of substance. We'll ruin that for a
Peter Frank:
second here, and we'll go off to another one of the sillier
Peter Frank:
questions here in our Ask Me Anything episode. So this is for
Peter Frank:
Bill, but others could chime in if you were living in the world
Peter Frank:
of The Last of Us television adaptation for how many episodes
Peter Frank:
would you actually survive? Well,
Bill Stites:
I'm only going to be worth my medal if I say I
Bill Stites:
think I can make it to the end. I think I could get to the fort
Bill Stites:
at the end. I've got to believe that the research that I've done
Bill Stites:
up into this point has led me to that. However, I think it's
Bill Stites:
eight episodes. There's one in the sixth where I think I might
Bill Stites:
not make it, which is where zombies are literally coming up
Bill Stites:
from the underground and going out. And it's a total free for
Bill Stites:
all. So if I was going to bite it in any one place, it would be
Bill Stites:
there, probably due to somebody else causing my untimely demise.
Bill Stites:
And I'd probably blame Hiram running past me, because he'd be
Bill Stites:
running faster, and he would just simply push me into the
Bill Stites:
pile and keep running straight ahead. I'd never do that. I'm
Bill Stites:
slow man. You'd be pushing me out of my way, you old man, and
Bill Stites:
you'd re push me, and I'd be in the pile, then I'd be gone.
Peter Frank:
You'd be cursing hiram's name. I would be
Peter Frank:
goodness. So the last of us, just to help our listeners out,
Peter Frank:
that's a TV show based on a video game, right? Yep, and
Bill Stites:
it's funny, because just to prove how committed we
Bill Stites:
are in the state's household, my young son Craig, has a tattoo of
Bill Stites:
part of The Last of Us on his shoulder. It's his only tattoo.
Bill Stites:
It is his favorite show, and he's got a firefly tattooed on
Bill Stites:
his shoulder because he was so enamored with all that.
Unknown:
Well done, Craig, I haven't seen that yet. Yeah, it
Bill Stites:
was hard to say no, because Dad's got two. Sean has
Bill Stites:
one, and now Craig has one. So yeah. So Brooke is the clean
Bill Stites:
canvas she is. She talks about it, but just can't bring herself
Bill Stites:
to do it. She hates needles.
Peter Frank:
A TV show you would like to live in, Hiram and
Peter Frank:
Christina. Is there a TV show that you I would love to live in
Peter Frank:
that show? Whether you survive or not, well you probably will.
Peter Frank:
Suits Excellent.
Christina Lewellen:
That was another path in my life. So I
Christina Lewellen:
feel like I love suits, I love the puzzle, and I feel like the
Christina Lewellen:
outfits and the heels are fabulous, and I feel like I
Christina Lewellen:
could be a pretty killer lawyer.
Unknown:
There you go. Hiram. Er, wow. Er, why? Er, I always
Unknown:
wanted
Unknown:
to be a doctor.
Bill Stites:
You're both wrong. It's Lifestyles of the Rich and
Bill Stites:
fast.
Peter Frank:
Wow, because that's going to
Bill Stites:
put me at a certain level. Now, you got to be at a
Bill Stites:
certain level to be on that show, and that just puts you at
Bill Stites:
that level.
Unknown:
All right, let me take the clock back a little
Unknown:
bit. Chips. Ooh, wow. Chips, yep. All right,
Bill Stites:
the younger audience is not gonna know any
Bill Stites:
of these things. No,
Peter Frank:
there's so many links going in the show notes at
Peter Frank:
this point.
Christina Lewellen:
Do you think that young girls listen to this?
Christina Lewellen:
I'm pretty sure everyone who listens knows what chips is.
Christina Lewellen:
Guys. Sorry, you think?
Unknown:
Yes, I don't know. How about Louis too low? You think
Unknown:
Louis too low knows what chips is. I bet
Unknown:
he does. Chips
Bill Stites:
from the late 70s, early 80s. Chips, yes. Why would
Bill Stites:
they know what this is?
Christina Lewellen:
Because they were raised by a bunch of dudes.
Christina Lewellen:
Louis too low, please drop a comment. I'm betting money right
Christina Lewellen:
now. Do not let me down, sir, we're reaching out. We'll find
Christina Lewellen:
out. Somebody text him right now.
Peter Frank:
Louis probably knows.
Hiram Cuevas:
I'll be Eric Estrada and Bill could be Larry
Hiram Cuevas:
Wilcox.
Peter Frank:
I'm gonna get AI on that right now, generating that
Peter Frank:
video. Or Bill and
Unknown:
I could be the firefighters in emergency.
Unknown:
Wow. Kristina could be Dixie. Oh,
Bill Stites:
my god, stop next question, please. Next question.
Peter Frank:
I'll be Magnum PI great. There you go. Back to
Peter Frank:
technology. This is talking technology with
Christina Lewellen:
Atlas, not today. It's not Oh, my Lord.
Christina Lewellen:
We're gonna
Peter Frank:
bring it back for our listeners that are about to
Peter Frank:
get off the treadmill or whatever they're doing. I'll ask
Peter Frank:
this specific question. Then I'll introduce some of these
Peter Frank:
other notes that our listener, Lizzie has provided for us. So
Peter Frank:
the question is about supporting developmentally appropriate AI
Peter Frank:
literacy skills for those student groups who are too young
Peter Frank:
to actually use the AI. So for example, Lizzie is mentioning,
Peter Frank:
it seems like there's a void of conversation around the K
Peter Frank:
through eight setting, where, obviously these students may be
Peter Frank:
too young for most user agreements to use the technology
Peter Frank:
at all. But shouldn't we still be developing AI literacy in
Peter Frank:
these age groups, even if they can't use it yet. So thoughts
Peter Frank:
about that this, ask me anything episode might turn into a ideas
Peter Frank:
for future episodes, because that might be something we could
Peter Frank:
talk about for an entire hour
Hiram Cuevas:
there. Well, there are plenty of applications in
Hiram Cuevas:
which it's that walled garden for the younger groups. So there
Hiram Cuevas:
is availability. And one that comes to mind is Flint AI. You
Hiram Cuevas:
can actually create these safe havens, essentially for your
Hiram Cuevas:
students, and the output can be based on grade level as well. So
Hiram Cuevas:
you actually are catering the prompt to what you want your
Hiram Cuevas:
outcome to be for a specific group of students, which also
Hiram Cuevas:
then lends itself to differentiation as well. You can
Hiram Cuevas:
actually see what kind of work your students are doing in terms
Hiram Cuevas:
of developing their own tutorials. There are some tools
Hiram Cuevas:
out there that enable you the capacity to use them in a safe
Hiram Cuevas:
way and appropriate way. I
Bill Stites:
would go to first wanting to define what we're
Bill Stites:
talking about when we're talking about AI usage, because it's
Bill Stites:
been around in various forms for quite a while. Are we talking
Bill Stites:
about it in the 2024, 2025, school year iteration of the
Bill Stites:
conversations around AI? Are we talking about it in the AI
Bill Stites:
pieces that are built into some of the tools that we're using?
Bill Stites:
So wanting to understand where that is. But to Hiram, was point
Bill Stites:
about finding those walled gardens, finding those areas
Bill Stites:
that I think are safe for use at those younger years. The other
Bill Stites:
thing that you mentioned Hiram, that I would want to build on is
Bill Stites:
you talked about what the prompt is, and a lot of the ways in
Bill Stites:
which I talk about how you want to think about technology
Bill Stites:
integration, for me, centers around the research cycle,
Bill Stites:
because that can go across multiple areas, English, foreign
Bill Stites:
language. It can go anywhere, you know, when you're talking
Bill Stites:
about research, and when it comes to research, the prompt or
Bill Stites:
the question, what is it that I'm asking? I think if you can
Bill Stites:
think about developing those skills, I think that is part of
Bill Stites:
what can lead into the later uses of AI. I forget who said
Bill Stites:
it. It may have been on the podcast we were talking about
Bill Stites:
it, or something I had heard elsewhere in this age, where you
Bill Stites:
can get your answers out of AI, it's about how meaningful Your
Bill Stites:
questions are, that you can pose that in a lot of ways
Bill Stites:
demonstrate your understanding and your knowledge of a
Bill Stites:
particular area, if you could Ask that deeper level of
Bill Stites:
question. And I think if we can work with our youngest students,
Bill Stites:
and our students of all ages but our youngest students, to
Bill Stites:
develop that mindset, that research mindset, in that area,
Bill Stites:
where and when appropriate, I think that's where I would
Bill Stites:
focus. Because again, put my third grade school teacher at on
Bill Stites:
we would be working in the analog before we move to the
Bill Stites:
digital that, I think is the same corollary I'd make between,
Bill Stites:
you know, jumping into a full AI based prompt engineering type
Bill Stites:
thing. You need to know how to ask a good question first. And
Bill Stites:
let's start there.
Hiram Cuevas:
What's interesting there is our librarians
Hiram Cuevas:
typically do a fantastic job peer here. Um. Helping students
Hiram Cuevas:
develop those questions, because we're not asking our kids to go
Hiram Cuevas:
to Google to do searches when it comes to research, we're asking
Hiram Cuevas:
to use vetted tools, vetted database systems that are
Hiram Cuevas:
present within our libraries. And they have been doing this
Hiram Cuevas:
for years, and it's built a wonderful foundation, and it's
Hiram Cuevas:
actually a natural extension to using AI in the classroom. It's
Hiram Cuevas:
something that I have held our librarians in high esteem for
Hiram Cuevas:
the work that they have been doing over the years, because
Hiram Cuevas:
our kids talk about the validity of the information that they're
Hiram Cuevas:
getting, the veracity of the information that they're
Hiram Cuevas:
acquiring online, and that's because of the work that all of
Hiram Cuevas:
our librarians have been doing over the years to improve their
Hiram Cuevas:
research skills. So I think 100% you're nailing it right on the
Hiram Cuevas:
head with timing, with your research cycles. Yeah, Bill,
Christina Lewellen:
I'm pretty sure that was Richard gullata
Christina Lewellen:
That was pointing out on the podcast the importance of asking
Christina Lewellen:
questions. So I think that's where that came from. And I'll
Christina Lewellen:
just say that what I've been seeing Lizzie as I've been
Christina Lewellen:
traveling around, is that the scaffolding we're talking about
Christina Lewellen:
is important that where we can't necessarily hook a third grader
Christina Lewellen:
up with Chat GPT, that's not appropriate, but what we can
Christina Lewellen:
hook a third grader up with is understanding how to be a
Christina Lewellen:
discerning consumer of the information that they get from
Christina Lewellen:
these various sources. You have to be a questioner, and you have
Christina Lewellen:
to make sure that you know how these platforms are working. And
Christina Lewellen:
so there is an opportunity for us down the path of digital
Christina Lewellen:
citizenship that we can maybe ramp that up a little bit to
Christina Lewellen:
prepare kids, once they are eligible, to use more public
Christina Lewellen:
facing AI bots and things like that, generative AI.
Unknown:
I'll also
Peter Frank:
mention, Lizzie included a link to an article
Peter Frank:
that she liked from Ed week.org about four developmental stages
Peter Frank:
for teaching AI, age appropriate use of AI. So we will include
Peter Frank:
that in the show notes. All right, we have a question that
Peter Frank:
is both relevant and fun, and it's for Christina. There's been
Peter Frank:
plenty for the guys. We'll give Christina a question here. So as
Peter Frank:
someone who joined an organization full of tech folks
Peter Frank:
and educators who like their acronyms and jargon, it says
Peter Frank:
like but it's love, isn't it? They love their acronyms and
Peter Frank:
jargon. Of all these acronyms and jargon, Kristina, which do
Peter Frank:
you find the most nonsensical or notable, or which acronyms and
Peter Frank:
jargon to really stand out to you? Gosh, that's
Christina Lewellen:
a really good question. I can't even name
Christina Lewellen:
them, but I think it's educator stuff that still baffles me,
Peter Frank:
like the framework, like T pack. Yes, T pack, that's
Peter Frank:
fun. It's fun to say T pack.
Christina Lewellen:
There's certain like pedagogical
Christina Lewellen:
approaches to how to deliver something that still baffles me,
Christina Lewellen:
because I definitely have not done a deep dive in that space,
Christina Lewellen:
but for the most part, the tech stuff I kind of can keep up
Christina Lewellen:
with. I thought I was going to be lost in the API conversation
Christina Lewellen:
or the one roster conversation, but I can generally find a way
Christina Lewellen:
to connect that to, like, normal, you know, I love a good
Christina Lewellen:
metaphor. I love a good analogy. So generally speaking, I can
Christina Lewellen:
keep up, but I think that the teaching stuff still kind of
Christina Lewellen:
baffles me a little bit. Samer, yeah. Samer, I mean, what is
Christina Lewellen:
SAMR like now that I've said that word out loud, I'm sure
Christina Lewellen:
that my phone is going to deliver me some Sam or
Christina Lewellen:
materials, but, like, I still don't even know what that
Bill Stites:
is, a good RACI chart. You know Christine is
Bill Stites:
like, I'm just shaking my head. I have no idea what these people
Bill Stites:
are talking about.
Peter Frank:
What are acronyms that we've lost over the years?
Peter Frank:
Like, are there acronyms that, man, no one. We don't use that
Peter Frank:
anymore because the technology's gotten none
Bill Stites:
that I can use on the podcast I know right,
Christina Lewellen:
probably something to do with like wires
Christina Lewellen:
or switches or servers on prem type stuff. There's got to be
Christina Lewellen:
something in there that we don't use quite as often, maybe, well,
Hiram Cuevas:
they're terms that we don't use very often, like
Hiram Cuevas:
floppy floppy disk.
Christina Lewellen:
Don't say that ever again on this. No. But
Christina Lewellen:
you know what
Bill Stites:
the funny thing is, is some people, I remember
Bill Stites:
seeing this or hitting this somewhere, is that in some of
Bill Stites:
the Microsoft products that the two of you, Kristina and Peter,
Bill Stites:
love so much, the save icon is still a disc, right? And like,
Bill Stites:
people like, what is that? Why is what is that?
Christina Lewellen:
They don't know what that is. Kids don't
Christina Lewellen:
know what that is. They
Unknown:
know what means save, but they don't know why.
Hiram Cuevas:
Now, Kristina, do you know the origin of the
Hiram Cuevas:
phrase my computer crashed? No. So the old computers had these
Hiram Cuevas:
massive platters for hard drives, and when that armature
Hiram Cuevas:
fell, it made this horrendous sound. Hence the crash. Oh
Christina Lewellen:
my gosh. If that were to happen to me while
Christina Lewellen:
I was working on a computer, I would probably be traumatized,
Christina Lewellen:
like I would be just waiting for that noise. Do you still hear it
Christina Lewellen:
in the back of your head? Hiram,
Hiram Cuevas:
well, I've never had a platter that large that
Hiram Cuevas:
even predates me my first computer. Was a Commodore 64
Hiram Cuevas:
which had a five and a quarter inch drive.
Bill Stites:
And people are asked, What does that mean in
Bill Stites:
terms of like the Commodore, right? Well, no, the five and a
Bill Stites:
half the size of the discs, that's how you talked about
Bill Stites:
them, right?
Unknown:
Yeah, and it truly was floppy. It bent, right? I've
Unknown:
been around
Peter Frank:
those platters. My father worked at General
Peter Frank:
Electric, and he was in Computer Services, and I remember as a
Peter Frank:
kid walking through kid walking through those rooms, and I could
Peter Frank:
imagine one crashing. That's my favorite thing I've ever learned
Peter Frank:
on this podcast. I think ever that's why we say computers
Peter Frank:
crash. I had no idea, Bill, did you know that? I did not. Well
Peter Frank:
done. Hiram. Point to Hiram.
Christina Lewellen:
Hiram wins. He wins the show. Very well
Christina Lewellen:
done, sir. You won the 5k and now you've won the show. It's
Christina Lewellen:
all fine.
Hiram Cuevas:
Now, Bill, have you ever notched the other side
Hiram Cuevas:
of a floppy disk? Oh,
Bill Stites:
yeah. Oh, 100% I was gonna say that when you were
Bill Stites:
mentioning that, I can remember notching them out. Yeah?
Bill Stites:
Remember putting tape on them so you could go back over it.
Unknown:
I've done that too. So you went
Hiram Cuevas:
from 360k to 720k and you're like, Oh, this is
Hiram Cuevas:
awesome.
Unknown:
Oh yeah, yep. All right,
Peter Frank:
so we'll bring it back to Atlas here. This is for
Peter Frank:
all three of you. What is your favorite Atlas, annual
Peter Frank:
conference tradition, steak. We're celebrating our 10th
Peter Frank:
anniversary this year of the annual conference. What's your
Peter Frank:
favorite annual tradition that you can speak freely about on
Peter Frank:
this public listening podcast, steak with Bill.
Christina Lewellen:
Nice. Do you guys always go for steaks? Why
Christina Lewellen:
was I never invited for steaks? Who's paying for these steaks?
Christina Lewellen:
They are gluten free. Oh, I'm aware. I'm very aware. I get a
Christina Lewellen:
little sentimental about the pillar awards because I really
Christina Lewellen:
just think it's very special that our members are being
Christina Lewellen:
recognized for a lifetime of work and contributions. I love
Christina Lewellen:
that we're expanding that this year to include the Atlas Aspire
Christina Lewellen:
award so that we can recognize even more people in our space
Christina Lewellen:
who are doing great work. I also find it really fun to just
Christina Lewellen:
wander around during the receptions. I think that when I
Christina Lewellen:
attend other industry events, the networking receptions are
Christina Lewellen:
always a little meh, and people leave no I mean, at Atlas, do
Christina Lewellen:
you know that Kelsea last year had to put closing time on a
Christina Lewellen:
speaker and walk through the vendor Hall to basically say,
Christina Lewellen:
could you guys go get dinner somewhere? Could you all leave?
Christina Lewellen:
No one leaves. And that also, it's kind of silly, and it's not
Christina Lewellen:
really a tradition, but it really touches me that we create
Christina Lewellen:
the kind of community that no one is rushing out the door.
Christina Lewellen:
It's not like they show up and do a loop and then leave. That's
Christina Lewellen:
pretty satisfying. I
Bill Stites:
would agree 100% this even honestly, predates
Bill Stites:
Atlas, and I'll just say Inman, because wherever Alex Inman ends
Bill Stites:
up, you're definitely in for a good time, and probably a show.
Bill Stites:
If you've never seen in men do the worm you haven't been to a
Bill Stites:
Atlas event. But for me, one of the things that I always try to
Bill Stites:
do is find time outside of the sessions to sit down. You know,
Bill Stites:
I will be up and out late downstairs, in like the lobbies,
Bill Stites:
where you can sit down and talk to people all hours of the
Bill Stites:
evening, you know, and have those pieces. And Kristina, I
Bill Stites:
think it speaks to what you said, is that when we're
Bill Stites:
together, we're together, you don't see people going out. I
Bill Stites:
mean, people are going out, don't get me wrong, but I mean,
Bill Stites:
like going out on their own and separating from the group, if
Bill Stites:
you're going out, you're going out in a pack, if it's a small
Bill Stites:
pack, or if it's a large pack, you're always cramming people
Bill Stites:
into a car that might be too small and going out for food, or
Bill Stites:
getting together at the end of the night, or going out to one
Bill Stites:
of the vendor receptions or the Atlas reception, and really
Bill Stites:
having those times. If
Christina Lewellen:
I could just say one quick thing about that,
Christina Lewellen:
one of the things that I want to just make known, if you're
Christina Lewellen:
fairly new to the Atlas community or this is not your
Christina Lewellen:
experience, like, if you haven't really found your crowd, one of
Christina Lewellen:
the things that my staff will often do if you let us know why
Christina Lewellen:
you're there, like, Why did you come to Atlas? Why did you pay
Christina Lewellen:
the money and take off a school and deal with the full inbox? If
Christina Lewellen:
you come tell my team why you are there. We will connect you
Christina Lewellen:
with people who can help you, and we will introduce you to
Christina Lewellen:
people, especially Kelsea Watson man. She is crazy like this. If
Christina Lewellen:
she knows what your vibe is, she will introduce you to 10 more
Christina Lewellen:
people just like you. And so if you tend to be a little
Christina Lewellen:
introverted, or if a bigger conference like this kind of
Christina Lewellen:
gets a little intimidating, at least. Just come find one of my
Christina Lewellen:
teammates, and we'll connect you with people. So if you don't
Christina Lewellen:
have your get a steak crowd, we will help you find your go get a
Christina Lewellen:
steak crowd.
Hiram Cuevas:
Kristina, were you present when we used to have the
Hiram Cuevas:
different dinners, and they were like 10 different restaurants
Hiram Cuevas:
that a bunch of us
Christina Lewellen:
would all go? Do, yeah, dine arounds.
Hiram Cuevas:
That was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed that back
Hiram Cuevas:
when we were doing that, met some really neat people that are
Hiram Cuevas:
doing that. Hey,
Christina Lewellen:
maybe we'll have to think about bringing
Christina Lewellen:
back the diner rounds. That's a little easier to do in some of
Christina Lewellen:
the smaller, walkable cities, and we have quite a few of those
Christina Lewellen:
on tap. So if you guys want dine arounds back, we can definitely
Christina Lewellen:
look into that. We can do that again.
Peter Frank:
Nice. All kinds of stuff happened on this podcast
Peter Frank:
episode here. This is great. We're getting stuff done. All
Peter Frank:
right.
Bill Stites:
You can't say that without laughing. You cannot say
Bill Stites:
that without laughing.
Peter Frank:
Fine. We're getting something done.
Hiram Cuevas:
The zombie VR was great last year. Oh,
Peter Frank:
my god, is that going to become a tradition,
Peter Frank:
though?
Bill Stites:
Well, there better be one in Atlanta. That's all I
Bill Stites:
know. I don't know there's
Peter Frank:
live band karaoke in Atlanta. I can tell you that
Peter Frank:
I've done that. That could be a fun tradition for everybody.
Christina Lewellen:
I'm not surprised that you know that
Christina Lewellen:
Peter Frank is a karaoke guy.
Peter Frank:
There's no way I'm singing. All right, we'll see.
Peter Frank:
So this question comes from Tracey, as we are currently in a
Peter Frank:
time where learning power, bi or Tableau is essential. Do you
Peter Frank:
believe uploading data files into AI can produce accurate
Peter Frank:
analytical results in moments for schools to make data driven
Peter Frank:
decisions, compared to hours of building dashboards
Unknown:
to Slippery slope. Yes,
Christina Lewellen:
I'll say this quick in situations where
Christina Lewellen:
my data is anonymized, I have tried to use generative AI to
Christina Lewellen:
give me some analysis, and it's hit or miss. Honestly, I feel
Christina Lewellen:
like it just depends on what you're doing, and I think it's
Christina Lewellen:
better with words, with open ended qualitative stuff, but
Christina Lewellen:
that's just me. I know it can do this stuff, and I've had some
Christina Lewellen:
success, but sometimes when you put in hard quantitative data,
Christina Lewellen:
it doesn't always necessarily jump you to the right
Christina Lewellen:
conclusion. Sometimes it sort of hops around a little bit in a
Christina Lewellen:
very annoying, AI kind of way. So maybe I'm wrong, but I'll
Christina Lewellen:
just say that we're still in the adolescent phase of the power of
Christina Lewellen:
these tools. I bet they'll get better, but I think that it's
Christina Lewellen:
hit or miss. What do you guys think?
Bill Stites:
I definitely think the anonymized piece of dumping
Bill Stites:
data in is really important, or you need to know what the
Bill Stites:
privacy standards are around the tool that you're using. Now I
Bill Stites:
will say that Hudson Harper, when I was working on The CIRIS
Bill Stites:
Guide with him, when we got together on that a couple years
Bill Stites:
ago, I saw him doing some really interesting stuff, with prompts,
Bill Stites:
with data, connecting on the back side of these things and
Bill Stites:
developing out a lot of different measures, a lot of
Bill Stites:
different tools for analyzing and visualizing the data, which
Bill Stites:
I thought was interesting. Again, like with anything, you
Bill Stites:
continually have to iterate on what you're asking it to get the
Bill Stites:
most out of it. And I think when you talk about how you're using
Bill Stites:
AI with students, one of those areas is using it as a thought
Bill Stites:
partner or something to help you develop ideas around trends that
Bill Stites:
you might have missed. That's where I might use it. I might
Bill Stites:
still want to get in and really look at the data, the way in
Bill Stites:
which I know the data, and do those final pieces with that but
Bill Stites:
from that thought partnership role, I think it could be a
Bill Stites:
helpful piece in the early stages of that work,
Unknown:
I would say we
Hiram Cuevas:
have yet To see some mainstream AI tools that
Hiram Cuevas:
are doing dashboarding in the sense that I think we would like
Hiram Cuevas:
to see dashboarding. I think they're probably coming, or they
Hiram Cuevas:
may be developed already at the corporate level, and are being
Hiram Cuevas:
used internal, because they have that walled garden. We do need
Hiram Cuevas:
to be cognizant of that, being able to anonymize the
Hiram Cuevas:
information that's in there. I'd love to pose this question to
Hiram Cuevas:
Vinnie Rodney, because they've got their AI tool built for
Hiram Cuevas:
Kincaid and to see if they're actually trying to develop that.
Hiram Cuevas:
But I think if we're looking at a large language model, it's not
Hiram Cuevas:
really designed for visualization, but it could
Hiram Cuevas:
develop the code, perhaps for like a tableau, or for Looker
Hiram Cuevas:
Studio. You can create the coding in there as well. My son
Hiram Cuevas:
just sent me a couple days ago, and I'd be curious what you all
Hiram Cuevas:
think the next few days. Napkin.ai, and essentially, it
Hiram Cuevas:
takes your text and it converts it into all these types of
Hiram Cuevas:
graphics that are visualizations.
Christina Lewellen:
I use it all the time. I love it. You do use
Christina Lewellen:
it,
Hiram Cuevas:
okay? It's fabulous. I was stunned by what
Hiram Cuevas:
it could do.
Christina Lewellen:
The graphics are somewhat limited right now,
Christina Lewellen:
like the output, it has a vibe almost like, you know, when
Christina Lewellen:
you're using, like PowerPoint or something, and you insert, you
Christina Lewellen:
know, there's only so many of them, and you know, they came
Christina Lewellen:
from PowerPoint, like they all kind of look alike. So.
Christina Lewellen:
Napkin.ai. Is similar right now. It only has a dozen or so
Christina Lewellen:
graphic kind of approaches, but yeah, you highlight your text
Christina Lewellen:
and you say, insert a graphic, and it creates a graphic based
Christina Lewellen:
on what that text is. It is cool. It's one of my favorite
Christina Lewellen:
tools to play with right now.
Hiram Cuevas:
To get back to Tracey's question, does she
Hiram Cuevas:
think we need to spend more time learning Tableau, and I do think
Hiram Cuevas:
learning Tableau, or Looker studio, it's important to have
Hiram Cuevas:
that foundation in order for you to develop a prompt that's
Hiram Cuevas:
appropriate for the AI, to generate the type of dashboard
Hiram Cuevas:
that you're looking for. It's what we were talking about
Hiram Cuevas:
earlier in terms of prompt engineering and developing the
Hiram Cuevas:
right questions. If you don't know the right questions, or if
Hiram Cuevas:
you don't have a foundation in some of the statistics, I think
Hiram Cuevas:
it's going to be really difficult to develop some of the
Hiram Cuevas:
dashboarding that starts to get more complex with multiple
Hiram Cuevas:
tables and multiple data sets. All
Peter Frank:
right? We got to start bringing this home. We got
Peter Frank:
a lot of questions here. We got to start going rapid fire here,
Peter Frank:
a little bit, because there's some really good questions that
Peter Frank:
we want to get to, and I know that all of our listeners are
Peter Frank:
dying to know the answers to some of these questions. So
Peter Frank:
first of all, Kristina, we'll let you pick between two.
Peter Frank:
Someone here believes you sing in quartets or something. I
Peter Frank:
don't know anything about that, but someone asks a liar. You can
Peter Frank:
answer this question or both, but the first question is, who
Peter Frank:
makes up your dream quartet? If you were to sing in a quartet
Peter Frank:
with anybody who would fill out that quartet, and or if you were
Peter Frank:
stranded on a desert island with one character from a musical,
Peter Frank:
who would it be? Man,
Christina Lewellen:
those are both really good. I do sing in a
Christina Lewellen:
barber shop quartet with my 19 year old daughter i They are my
Christina Lewellen:
dream quartet. I'm having so much fun with them. We sing with
Christina Lewellen:
another mother daughter duo. We are called Legacy quartet, and
Christina Lewellen:
we have some YouTube videos starting to leak out there, and
Christina Lewellen:
we have a really great time. So I think that in a lot of ways,
Christina Lewellen:
singing with my kid is really kind of a dream come true. She's
Christina Lewellen:
a third generation barber shopper, because my dad did this
Christina Lewellen:
too. As far as being stuck on a musical Island, I sort of feel
Christina Lewellen:
like maybe one of the queens from six kind of thing. That's a
Christina Lewellen:
great musical. And those women are they rock and roll. So I
Christina Lewellen:
feel like that could be cool. I also think that it would be neat
Christina Lewellen:
to be on an island with Lafayette from Hamilton, because
Christina Lewellen:
that's a cool character. Too.
Unknown:
Nice. All
Peter Frank:
right, rapid fire. If you could office space, any
Peter Frank:
piece of technology. So if you don't know the movie, office
Peter Frank:
space, there is a very notable scene in the film where everyone
Peter Frank:
is so upset with their copier that they take it out back and
Peter Frank:
in slow motion, just beat it until it's unusable with a
Peter Frank:
baseball bat. So if you could office space any piece of
Peter Frank:
technology, what would it be? Bill
Bill Stites:
switch? No one knows what it is, but it was the
Bill Stites:
bane of my existence. For years. There was a saying out there,
Bill Stites:
you can't go wrong if you buy you can go wrong if you buy it.
Unknown:
It was horrible
Christina Lewellen:
bill. We're gonna get sued.
Unknown:
Wow, we'll bleep it out.
Bill Stites:
No, horrible, I don't care come after me because
Bill Stites:
they couldn't make it work.
Unknown:
So they agree, yes,
Christina Lewellen:
we're gonna have to bleep that out, man.
Bill Stites:
Unbelievable, unbelievable. Didn't even have
Bill Stites:
to think twice about that.
Unknown:
Hire him anything. I've been pretty satisfied with
Unknown:
most of my equipment.
Bill Stites:
Then you're not a real tech hot stop. You're fine
Bill Stites:
turn in your tech card because you've lost. I'm
Unknown:
pretty pleased. I know how to make things work. Oh,
Unknown:
stop,
Unknown:
stop, stop. I
Peter Frank:
was gonna say, right, but you've never been
Peter Frank:
challenged by a piece of equipment. Hiram is what you're
Peter Frank:
saying. I see okay, that's
Bill Stites:
really funny. Oh, my God. Seriously. I mean,
Hiram Cuevas:
you know who can't handle the blue screen of death.
Hiram Cuevas:
Come on.
Christina Lewellen:
I think that mine might be a PC, computer,
Christina Lewellen:
Mac all the way baby like the minute I got rid of all that
Christina Lewellen:
virus nonsense, I was so happy.
Bill Stites:
Hiram drives around in a truck that has no heat. So
Bill Stites:
it's not that he has no problems with it. He just refuses to fix
Bill Stites:
the problems when he has them. So please don't everyone think
Bill Stites:
that Hiram is like, you know, at this different level of like,
Bill Stites:
tech stardom. No, no, no. He just ignores the problem. He
Bill Stites:
bundles up, he wears, like, three pairs of wool socks when
Bill Stites:
he gets in this truck. I drove in the truck once I came out
Bill Stites:
chattering Bill,
Unknown:
who fixed your Honda stop? I
Peter Frank:
All right, we'll bring down the last question
Peter Frank:
here for everybody. We'll give you a moment to think, but then
Peter Frank:
you gotta rattle it off, excluding humans and your pets,
Peter Frank:
what is your favorite mammal and why dolphin? But why do. They
Hiram Cuevas:
are extremely intelligent, and when we swam
Hiram Cuevas:
with the dolphins in Florida, it's just the most surreal
Hiram Cuevas:
experience one can have with an organism that large in a body of
Hiram Cuevas:
water. I'm
Bill Stites:
not just saying that. To say it, I would agree
Bill Stites:
with Hiram and mine was not from swimming with them. There was
Bill Stites:
one time down the Jersey Shore, mid September weekend, beautiful
Bill Stites:
weekend, I was surfing. I got up on a wave, and I looked in the
Bill Stites:
wave as I was riding the wave, and there was a dolphin in the
Bill Stites:
wave going with me as I was surfing the wave. So it wasn't
Bill Stites:
like I just saw them out, kind of going around. This dolphin
Bill Stites:
was in the wave with me as I was surfing, and I was screaming my
Bill Stites:
head off because it was the coolest thing I think I'd ever
Bill Stites:
experienced on a surfboard. It was fabulous. Top 10 memory.
Bill Stites:
That's excellent. I love that. I
Christina Lewellen:
feel like after that very sweet and
Christina Lewellen:
sentimental answer from the gents, I'm gonna just have to
Christina Lewellen:
buck this trend and go with the honey badger. And if you're not
Christina Lewellen:
familiar with the honey badger, go look up the YouTube video,
Christina Lewellen:
because most days, especially when I'm recording this podcast,
Christina Lewellen:
I feel like the honey badger, or at least the person who narrates
Christina Lewellen:
the honey badger video, I sometimes feel should be like a
Christina Lewellen:
narrator of my life. So whoever does that, if you're looking for
Christina Lewellen:
side gigs, I need you to come narrate my life. For me, I'm
Christina Lewellen:
going Honey Badger all the way
Peter Frank:
nice. That's really good. No one asked me when this
Peter Frank:
asked me anything, but I'll offer a sloth, because when a
Peter Frank:
sloth wants to take a nap. It just takes a nap, and that's
Peter Frank:
what I'm like too. So with or with you, Peter. So with that,
Peter Frank:
Kristina, I think we've exhausted our questions here.
Christina Lewellen:
Thank you, Peter for being the host today.
Christina Lewellen:
I really appreciate it. Now you, I think, understand if you need
Christina Lewellen:
a nap right now, my friend, it's how I feel most days when we are
Christina Lewellen:
trying to wrangle these cats, but as always, gentlemen, I
Christina Lewellen:
laughed hard. I had a great time, and this was a lot of fun,
Christina Lewellen:
so we'll have to do it again sometime soon.
Unknown:
Yeah, absolutely. See you in Atlanta. Take it easy,
Unknown:
Bill.
Christina Lewellen:
Just don't get upset about
Bill Stites:
okay, I'll calm down now. My blood pressure has
Bill Stites:
dropped.
Christina Lewellen:
Okay. Thank God see you soon.
Peter Frank:
See ya and hears my voice. This has been talking
Peter Frank:
technology with Atlas, produced by the Association of Technology
Peter Frank:
Leaders in Independent Schools. For more information about Atlas
Peter Frank:
and Atlas membership, please visit the atlas.org if you
Peter Frank:
enjoyed this discussion, please subscribe, leave a review and
Peter Frank:
share this podcast with your colleagues in the independent
Peter Frank:
school community. Thank you for listening. You.
