BROADCASTS.com

b'

Dr. Ai Addyson-Zhang is an educator and entrepreneur. She received her MA and Ph.D. in Communication from Syracuse University and the University of Maryland in the U.S. Ai is the founder of Classroom Without Walls, an independent and progressive school that helps young adults become future-ready. She is also an Adobe Education Leader, HubSpot Academy Instructor, and SEMrush webinar host. Ai\\u2019s work has been featured in Forbes, Inside Higher Education, Pearson Education, and Mark Schaefer\\u2019s book, among others. Ai hosts two weekly live streaming shows, in which she interviews thought leaders in social media and education, such as Seth Godin, Mark Schaefer, and Neil Patel. She frequently speaks at academic and industry conferences including VidCon, Global Marketing Day, Global Digital Marketing Summit, Social Media Week Lima (the largest social media marketing conference in the Midwest), and others.

Most passionate about

• For 10 years, I was a professor of communication and public relations at a few universities. Later, when social media became more popular, I started to teach more social media and personal branding classes.
• In May 2019, I resigned from my associate professor position to build my own school. That\\u2019s what I\\u2019m working on now.
• After teaching in higher education for so many years, I started to notice that our educational system is not really preparing children for the future. In that educational system, we are using a very old model to prepare our children. That hurts me as an educator. I love learning. I love reading.
• I feel like I can better prepare the next generation based on what I have learned from my personal experience as an educator, from the books I\\u2019ve read, the conferences I\\u2019ve attended, and the people I\\u2019ve worked with.
• There are many important missing links that aren\\u2019t being emphasized in the traditional model. Like, for example, digital storytelling\\u2014our ability to talk to the camera, talk to a computer, engage in a podcast interview, clearly articulate ourselves in the digital age.
• To me, that\\u2019s as important as reading, as writing, as sport. Our students are using technology at only a very superficial level. That\\u2019s how I started and was inspired to build a better school.

School Without Walls

• The best education takes place outside the classroom. If we think about our students \\u2026 they feel so lost. That\\u2019s something I hear a lot from parents, who are my target audience. They tell me that their children have no idea what to do, even though they spent a lot of money on their kids\\u2019 education.
• Students are learning facts and information but that\\u2019s not where transformation is going to happen. Transformation happens through applications. And most of the time, in real life, applications happen outside of the class room.
• We believe\\u2014the coaches and I\\u2014that the best education happens outside the classroom. A big part of Classroom Without Walls is utilizing technology and digital devices to break down the learning barriers.
• My official starting date was last year. I brought Google students to Singapore for an immersion program. It was a life-changing experience for the students, for the parents who came, and for the speakers. We cried every single day\\u2014tears of joy, tears of pride. Seeing the transformation in the children, in front of our eyes \\u2026 it was a very emotional experience for me.
• I\\u2019m an advocate of taking action. I think that planning is important but how much can you plan? I had the idea of making the immersion into my school. From ideation to implementation, it took only four months.
• The next program will be a three-month program, including the immersion in Singapore.

Dr Ai\\u2019s best advice for entrepreneurs

• I love this question! My piece of advice is to really get to know your customers. I made so many...'