The CanadianEd Leadership Show: Episode 122 with Alan Levine

Dean records an on-the-road podcast in Moose Jaw with his friend Alan Levine.. They discuss what’s still good about the internet in 2026, emphasizing curiosity, surprises, creativity, and niche communities that share knowledge, alongside the shift of social media from creation to consumption and parasocial influence. Alan describes teaching curiosity through hands-on activities and the value of low-stakes connection and storytelling. He explains his work at Open Education Global, the roots of open education and OpenCourseWare, its worldwide reach, and how openness supports quality through adaptation, educator involvement, and open pedagogy with students co-creating resources. They also cover Alan’s storytelling tools (Five Card Flickr Stories and PechaFlickr), mixed feelings about AI, and brief personal topics including his Canadian citizenship, reading about AI and photography, favorite shows, and Moose Jaw highlights. 00:00 Internet Still Surprises 01:27 Why This Interview Exists 03:47 Coffee Shop Setup 04:19 Family Archives and Voices 05:11 What’s Good Online 07:09 Teaching Internet Curiosity 08:31 Social Media Then Now 11:11 Micro Communities and Fixes 13:23 Becoming Canadian 16:14 Open Education Explained 21:00 Quality and Open Pedagogy 23:36 Digital Storytelling Today 26:55 Beyond Video Storytelling 28:02 Five Card Flickr Stories 30:10 PechaFlickr Improv Talks 33:41 Why These Tools Work 34:41 AI Thoughts and Tradeoffs 37:39 Practical AI Use Cases 42:32 Reading on AI Photography 47:50 Binge Watch Favorites 48:55 Moose Jaw Hidden Gems 50:46 Wrap Up and Thanks