In this episode of Digital Dominos, which was recorded in early 2024, host Angeline Corvaglia chats with Molly Brealey about their shared passion for empowering youth and addressing skills gaps in education. Molly discusses FLOTa (Future Leaders of Tomorrow, Amplified), an initiative she co-founded to equip the next generation with entrepreneurial and essential life skills. They reflect on the success of a two-day entrepreneurial workshop that fostered innovation and human connection among students. The conversation delves into the importance of balancing digital fluency with authentic human interactions, the role of education in preparing students for the future, and the impact of technology on mental well-being and community building. They also address concerns about AI and its implications for youth, emphasizing the need for meaningful, in-person connections.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:44 Founding FLOTa: Empowering the Next Generation
01:17 Entrepreneurial Workshop Experience
02:11 Youth and Technology: Bridging the Skills Gap
03:30 Isolation and Lost Connections in the Next Gen
05:34 Authentic Human Connections in a Digital World
07:25 Balancing Digital and Offline Worlds
11:03 Educational System and Community Building
18:07 Final Thoughts on AI and Youth
20:31 Conclusion and Farewell
Special thanks to
Molly Brealey for taking time to be a part of this episode!
Follow Molly on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollybrealey/
Episode sponsored by Data Girl and Friends
They are on a mission to build awareness and foster critical thinking about AI, online safety, privacy, and digital citizenship. They inspire the next generation to navigate the digital world confidently and responsibly through fun, engaging, and informative content. They focus on empowering young digital citizens and their families through engaging and informative learning.
Find out more at: https://data-girl-and-friends.com/
List of Data Girl and Friends materials about some of the topics covered:
- Educational workbook, “Authenticity and Your Online Self” Authenticity and Your Online Self – 1
- Educational video, “The Great Online Perfection Illusion” https://vimeo.com/918240180
Contact us for any questions or comments: https://digi-dominoes.com/contact-us/
Transcript
The project, yeah, it was just a really, really great couple of days, and I think everyone really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it, so it was really, really great. Yeah, it was amazing and to see, and actually I've taken quite a bit of that, um, to Data Girl, the whole Data Girl concept, because one thing that I noticed very strongly with this group, uh, I was one of the mentors.
, [:e it. You need to maybe tell [:t we're going to talk about. [:d I think that was a massive [:The other thing was at the start of when they were sort of getting to know each other and it was, it was very awkward and the conversations and it was really great to be involved as a mentor to sort of see that unfold because by the end of day two, everyone was high fiving. There was a real like atmosphere, like a team atmosphere in there, which was really amazing to see.
But also. I think the [:as a quite a lot that needed [:And for them to speak to it. So it needed a lot of changing again on a second iteration when they decided, okay, who's going to speak to what part and things like that, and tried to make authentic with what they wanted to say and how they wanted to come across. So I think that was really interesting during the two day event, for sure.
ke person made it a bit more [:that everyone is presenting [:lly. He was talking about it [:ethink how your work culture [:pretty old by the time I had [:that they see that in terms [:together, all those sorts of [:gy and things like that. And [:e that I'd say there's a lot [:I think it seems [:erful was how simple it was. [:turally communicate outside, [:And I think it's all around so that the students come away. from school confident that they can forge like these meaningful connections whether it be online or offline because it can be done on both and it really is powerful but it's being able to do on both because it is, yeah, they're both essential in navigating the next steps of what they want to do and their purpose of where they're going to take After school, basically.
tly. I think just, just, uh, [:d resources, uh, and energy, [:you know, you, you set your [:there's a community feel to [:new skill, but doing it in a [:It comes a lot more naturally than in terms of building relationships because you're doing something you're all passionate around and it creates that common bond or like purpose or drive that you can all sort of. Yeah, it just, it makes it so much easier to, to develop those relationships. And so I think there's a lot of things that can be done around that.
aren't aware of other people [:that, yeah, it's the one for [:completely different weight. [:k it's, it's got a whole new [:To keeping, um, connected to, to the offline world and the world around them. Yeah, I definitely agree. I think, like you say, there's a whole new meaning to it. Seeing as so many people work remotely and from home and things like that, there's a whole new meaning in terms of using and doing the things that bring you joy and finding those things that are really good for your mental well being that are mixed with the human interaction.
Um, I know [:ou got sort of stuck in your [:y is unfair, like everything [:they want from their parents.[:Throw them into children's groups early. So, oh yeah, I think that's really great. Thank you. Um, is there anything else you think, especially in terms of AI as a kind of a final thought? Um, because you said they, they jumped right into, into ChatGPT and started using ChatGPT and also different social media.
e seen the older generations [:me people didn't touch it at [:So there was a real diverse, um, um, mix and I think that that came from as well from the students because a quarter of the students were tech students and a quarter were health and then a quarter was sport and a lot of the sports students because they're out there playing sport it's a very in person course um and engagement that they were all really happy to chat and just discuss it and to we're quite a lot of the time with the students that wanted to present the tech students just want to get on go straight away and just get it done.
And the sort of [:nk that's one reason why the [:narrative and we're going to [:The, the youth, the next gen. And I really am thankful for your insights. Um, Amazing. Thanks, Angee. Thanks so much for having me. I've really enjoyed our conversation today. Thank you. You, too.. Bye. Bye. Please let us know what you think about what we're talking about in this episode and the others. Check out more about us and subscribe at digi-dominoes.Com.
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