Meet Our Guest:

Meet Mike Cobb:
Mike Cobb is a visionary and results-oriented educational leader with a track record of successfully steering schools towards organizational excellence. With over 34 years of experience, he has served in various roles, including accomplished classroom teacher, division head, admissions/enrollment leader, and Head of School. He is also an international speaker and has been a key education leader in the forward-looking NEOM project in Saudi Arabia.

Sound Bites to Ponder:

“The relationships between the teachers and the students were still the number one indicator for success.”

“We were doing some really cool things using again facial recognition, but we were also using things where we were looking at biometric feedback to look at engagement for students in class.”

“We blew up the traditional 45-minute class schedule and created a dynamic schedule that allowed for authentic learning and student agency.”

“Relationships are still the most important thing in education. AI can free up time for teachers to focus on building relationships.”

“The Neom Community School’s spaces were designed to be flexible, bringing in natural light and blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor learning.”

Follow on Mike Cobb on Social Media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmcobb1/

Website: https://www.neom.com/

Watch on YouTube:

Takeaways:

• NEOM is a futuristic city project in Saudi Arabia that aims to reimagine education and create personalized pathways for students.
• Teacher-student relationships are still the most important factor for success in education, even with the use of innovative technologies.
• NEOM utilizes facial recognition, biometric feedback, AI robotics, and social robots to enhance the learning experience.
• Mike Cobb’s experience in NEOM has shaped his perspective on the future of education and his role as a futurist in residence at Forsyth Country Day School. The Neom Community School in Saudi Arabia was designed to support the employees and families of Neom, starting from infants to the 12th grade.

The Host:

While students may only be 20%-25% of our population today, they are 100% of our future. That is why education is one of the most important investments a country can make and the sole purpose for the existence of the Better Learning Podcast.

The Better Learning Podcast brings on valued guests that talk about ways we can improve education for our kids. Because after all, they are 100% of our future!

Kevin Stoller:
Kevin Stoller is the host of the Better Learning Podcast and Co-Founder of Kay-Twelve, a national leader for educational furniture. Learn more about creating better learning environments at www.Kay-Twelve.com.

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If you are interested in being on the show or know someone who would be a great guest, please visit the Better Learning Podcast website.

Our Partners:

Who made this episode possible?
Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) – https://www.a4le.org/
Education Leaders’ Organization – https://www.ed-leaders.org/
Second Class Foundation – https://secondclassfoundation.org/