Welcome to the Digitize Fully Charged Podcast, where we energise listeners, spark inspiration, and top-up your tech-game. In this episode of the Digitize Fully Charged Podcast, hosts Niall and Pam sit down with their good friend and award-winning educator, Daren White! If you’re passionate about the intersection of tech and teaching, Daren is a name you need on your radar. With over 25 years in the classroom and 15+ years in senior leadership, he currently supports as the Academic Technologies Lead for a prominent UK Multi-Academy Trust. Daren has dedicated his career to a clear mission: blending sound pedagogy seamlessly with technology to remove learning barriers for every student. As a certified Canva Trainer and Google Champion, Daren travels the UK and international stage delivering energetic keynotes, practical workshops, and high-impact coaching. His contributions to digital innovation in education have earned major industry recognition—including a spot on the 2021 #EdTech50 list, the Skills Development Champion Award at the 2023 Edufuturists Awards, and a Silver Award for Digital Innovator of the Year at the 2023 National Teaching Awards. On top of all that, he’s the author of the hit book, What’s Their Why?: Exploring Motivation and Engagement in Learning. Hit play to hear Daren, Niall, and Pam dive deep into practical EdTech strategies and the future of digital learning!
Chapters 📚
00:00 – Welcome to the Digitize Fully Charged podcast
00:43 – Meet Patrick Hickey: Surviving a 107,000-Word PhD
03:55 – Lived Experience: Prosthetics and Teacher Identity
05:14 – Overcoming Invisible Disability Challenges in Schools
07:24 – Psychological Tricks to Finish the Journey
10:18 – Confessions of a Former "Non-Techy" Teacher
12:07 – The Golden Rule: Don't Use Tech for Tech's Sake
13:38 – Pandemic Pivot to the Google Inclusive Trainer Journey
16:44 – True Inclusion: Making Difference Completely Invisible
18:17 – The Stigma of Separate Assistive Technology Budgets
21:35 – How AI Reinvigorated Educational Technology
22:20 – Debunking the Myth of "Digital Natives"
24:12 – Personalising Learning and Cutting Planning Time
27:14 – Minimising Clicks: The Zero Learning Curve of AI
29:09 – Building Community at the Google Champion Symposium
30:30 – The Reality of Irish Teacher Career Breaks
33:13 – Driving and Thriving with Notebook LM
35:22 – Bypassing Traditional Search for AI Conversations
40:10 – Ditching 19th-Century Exams for 21st-Century Problems
Got a question for us? Drop us a message, or check out our dedicated podcast website at https://digitize-fully-charged.podcastpage.io/
We’re so excited to introduce you to our world via the Digitize Fully Charged Podcast. Each week, we’ll bring you top-tier guests, curate new and exciting tools for you to try, and answer your tech-fuelled questions so that you leave feeling fully charged and ready for action.
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Daren White: Instagram, LinkedIn, rangaedu.com, Daren’s Book - What’s Their Why?
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