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    220 – RMS Workshop Reflections: Presenting Results

    December 19, 2025

    Lucie and David discuss their recent workshops in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, focusing on teaching effective research visualizations to diverse stakeholders within the Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems. They highlight the importance of visual storytelling, the challenges faced,…

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    219 – Factors in Statistics

    December 16, 2025

    How can we transform complex data into understandable information? In this episode, Lily and David discuss the concept of factors in data analysis. They consider the historical context of factors, their importance in grouping data, and how they revolutionise statistical…

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    218 – SmileyCoin

    December 12, 2025

    How can we incentivise student learning? Santiago and David discuss various educational technologies and innovations, focusing particularly on SmileyCoin and the SmileyTutor system from Iceland. David shares insights from his collaboration with Gunnar Stefánsson, who developed a unique system that…

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    217 – A Dive into PreTeXt

    December 9, 2025

    Santiago and David provide an in-depth look at PreTeXt, an open-source authoring tool designed to separate the roles of authors and publishers. David recounts his early interactions with PreTeXt founder Rob Beezer and discusses the evolution and principles behind the…

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    216 – The Five Quiz Framework for Electronic Assessment

    December 5, 2025

    Santiago and David discuss the innovative “five quiz” model – an educational framework designed to improve student learning outcomes. Conceived during the pandemic, this model includes five types of quizzes: prerequisites, instructional, mastery, testing, and extension quizzes. Santiago and David…

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    215 – The History of Computer Assisted Statistics Textbooks

    December 2, 2025

    Lily and David Stern discuss the history and impact of Computer Assisted Statistics Textbooks (CAST), developed by New Zealand lecturer Doug Sterling. The discussion highlights the interactive and assessment-driven nature of CAST, recounting how its use in Kenyan classrooms led…

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    214 – Teaching Statistics from the Data Up

    November 28, 2025

    What happens if statistics teaching starts from data rather than methods? In this episode, Lily and David explore the idea that statistics education should prioritise data analysis over traditional methods-first approaches, discussing the benefits and challenges of this paradigm shift….

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    213 – STACK in Africa

    November 25, 2025

    For those unfamiliar with STACK, consider searching the podcast backlog for previous episodes on the subject. In this episode, Santiago and David discuss the latest developments with STACK in Africa. They highlight various recent developments, including: tailored data course trainings…

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    212 – Personalised AI-Driven Textbooks

    November 21, 2025

    Michele Pancera and David Stern critically discuss a recent Google paper on AI-augmented textbooks. They consider the paper's proposal of AI-generated personalised learning materials and how it compares to existing deterministic tools like STACK. The conversation highlights the differences between…

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    Impact Area
    IDEMS Domain
    Sociotechnical Innovation

    211 – Open vs Open Source

    Lily and David discuss the often misunderstood concepts of “open” and “open source.” They discuss the origins of these terms within the programming community and how they have expanded into areas such as open data, open science, and educational resources. The conversation focuses on the various types of licenses, including Creative Commons, and their implications for use and reuse.

    210 – Two Years of The IDEMS Podcast: The IDEMS Collaboratories and CommonTech

    In this special two-year anniversary episode David and Kate reflect on their journey, from improving audio quality to hosting more expert guests. They explore the essence of IDEMS’ work, emphasizing the combination between the IDEMS Collaboratory and CommonTech, as a breakthrough in IDEMS’ narrative, highlighting the challenge of communicating a complex, collaborative vision.

    209 – Individual Initiative and Collective Responsibility

    In this episode, Santiago and David delve into the two of IDEMS’ staffing principles: Individual Initiative and Collective Responsibility. They discuss how these principles support a culture where team members can take initiative while sharing responsibility collectively. Highlighting real examples, they introduce a recent breakthrough in implementation of these principles in the form of a tool designed to visualise and manage these principles effectively.

    208 – The Significance of the Turing Test

    Michele and David discuss the Turing test, and its relevance today. They explore various philosophical questions about intelligence, the limitations of the Turing test, and the ethical dilemmas posed by AI, particularly in the context of self-driving cars. David emphasises the vital role of human observation in the Turing test and expresses skepticism about society’s ability to make responsible choices regarding AI regulation.

    207 – AI in Low Resource Environments

    Michele and David discuss the impact of AI in low resource environments. They discuss the complexities surrounding AI technology, the hype versus the actual value, and the potential for AI to either widen or reduce global inequalities. They consider the need for robust infrastructural and social frameworks, the promise of small language models, and the importance of local ownership in AI development.

    206 – Explore, Describe, Present: a Statistical Analysis Framework

    Lily and David explore a powerful framework for data analysis: Explore, Describe, Present. They discuss the importance of exploring data to understand its structure, describing data in the context of specific objectives, and effectively presenting insights to various audiences. Highlighting the challenges of modern data analysis, including the role of AI and the influence of tools like the tidyverse and R-Instat, they emphasise the need for structured approaches to make sense of complex datasets.

    205 – An Interview with Rikin Gandhi from Digital Green

    David talks to Rikin Gandhi from Digital Green to discuss the organisation’s innovative approach to integrating AI with farmer support systems. They discuss Digital Green’s approach to working with AI, including the importance of human-in-the-loop systems, the benefits of using multimodal inputs like voice, text, and images, and the advantage of open-source data for tuning AI models to meet local agricultural needs. They also explore the potential and challenges of leveraging small language models to provide tailored support to farming communities and the critical role of local expertise in enhancing AI’s effectiveness.

    204 – What does responsible AI really mean?

    David and Kate delve into the ongoing AI boom, questioning whether it’s mere hype or has real substance. They explore the ethical and responsible use of AI, emphasizing the importance of making technology accessible and beneficial to low-resource communities. They argue that small language models could provide specific, efficient solutions. The conversation also touches on the societal impacts of AI, the need for regulatory frameworks, and the potential for AI to democratize technology, moving away from its current gatekept state.

    203 – Developing Pan-African Digital Maths Textbooks and its Challenges

    David and Mike discuss Kenya’s new competency-based curriculum and a UK-backed campaign to create innovative digital textbooks. They delve into the challenges and potential solutions, highlighting the role of PreText and STACK technologies in revolutionizing education across Africa. https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/open-digital-textbooks

    202 – Building Custom AI Assistants

    In this episode, Michele and David discuss the development and impact of an AI tool for authoring STACK questions. They explore the potential of AI to enhance educational resources, make technology development more accessible, and address inequalities in low-resource environments. The conversation highlights both the opportunities and challenges presented by rapid advancements in AI.

    201 – Reflections on the World Statistics Congress

    Recently back from the World Statistics Congress, David and James reflect on the significance of this event, which brings together statisticians and the broader statistics community to share knowledge, foster collaborations, and advance the field. They discuss the evolving relationship between statistics and data science, highlighting the importance of both fields in the era of big data. They also explore the role of the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) and the International Statistics Institute (ISI) in enhancing statistical education and integrating data science into curricula.

    200 – Behind the Scenes of The IDEMS Podcast

    In this special 200th episode, Santiago and Johnny discuss how the podcast gets made. They consider the inspiration that led to its creation, the team members involved, and the evolution in production quality over the past 100 weeks. They also highlight the technical aspects, including the software and tools used, the editing process, and the role of AI in simplifying their workflow.
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