FutureMakers' mission is to spark playful hands-on learning focused on educators confidently integrating engineering, tinkering, making, and play in their lessons. In this conversation, Matt describes how he was inspired to found FutureMakers and recognizes that tangible creative experiences, project-based learning, and play are essential tools for learning.

Throughout this conversation, Matt shares his thoughts on effective professional learning, active listening, confronting yourself when you say “I never will…”, and learning to let learners lead. He encourages educators to spend time thinking about why am I doing this in the first place? What’s the joy? And where’s the play that got me involved? When reflecting on the future of EdTech, Matt discusses the role of AI and stresses the importance of critical thinking and focusing on how we’re solving critical thinking problems and helping learners develop their own solutions that work and feel the most natural and human.

“How are we applying our brilliance and our genius and our joy? Make the experience happen. Make it tangible. Make it project-based. They will always remember it. You’re going to be the person that allows them to explore and tinker and play and they’ll remember you and they’ll first and most importantly remember their joy.” - Matt Barinholtz

About Our Guest

Matt is a maker-educator who builds experiences that connect young makers, educators and youth workers to traditional skills, creative technologies, and serious play. For the past 20 years, Matt has sparked playful hands-on learning in community and educational settings, serving employment readiness initiatives and initiating groundbreaking juvenile justice work. In 2012, Matt founded FutureMakers to increase access to hands-on learning in disinvested PK-8 classrooms in greater Washington, DC. Matt is a Chicagoland native and long-time Baltimore resident and believes small hands with big ideas deserve real tools, opportunities to explore, and coaches who care - in their neighborhoods and schools.

Sheryl shares how she became interested in education and design research and discusses her work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation using design thinking and equity-centered design to inform investment strategies. She discusses some of the key principles to follow when practicing equity-centered design. Her book, Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers, explores these concepts with examples from her work in education. In conclusion, Sheryl shares her thoughts on how equity-centered design could impact the future of EdTech and her advice for exploring equity-centered design. She encourages involving students in the design and development process, saying

“Engage your students. Empower them to help you design what they’re going to be learning.” 

- Sheryl Cababa

Recommended Resources from the Interview

Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers

About Our Guest

Sheryl Cababa is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Insights, Design + Development Studio, Substantial, and a multi-disciplinary design strategist with more than two decades of experience. Her recent work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation includes leading student voice research to inform the K-12 Balance The Equation Grand Challenge. Her book, Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers, was released in early 2023.

Recommended Resources from the Interview

HMH's 2023 Educator Confidence Report

Writable

About Our Guest

Francie Alexander is the SVP of Research at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, also known as HMH, where she works closely with districts across the country to lead HMH's efficacy efforts and provide inspirational and informative leadership on topics from early and adolescent learning to brain development and its influence on childhood and teenage learning. Prior to her time at HMH, Francie served as Chief Academic Officer at Scholastic, member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees what’s widely known as "The Nation's Report Card," and in key positions in both state and federal education agencies. Francie's work is grounded in the classroom, having taught students from kindergarten to college.

Kunda Kids is an award-winning, Black-owned children's publishing, EdTech, and media company whose mission is to expose children to diverse and inclusive stories that make them feel represented and teach them about other people and places. In this conversation, Louisa describes how she was inspired to found Kunda Kids and recognizes that stories open windows to the world's vibrant cultures. In particular, it’s how children learn about things, places, and people outside of their everyday lives.

Storytelling is at the heart of Kunda Kids, which has evolved beyond Kunda Kids Children’s Books to also include the Kunda Kids App and Kunda & Friends Animated Series. Louisa shares the learning that people want to be able to experience stories on the go and at home and at school and also recognizes how important storytelling is in terms of passing down stories about our culture and ourselves. Louisa recalls the impactful message of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in the TED talk The danger of a single story | TED. Throughout this conversation, Louisa discusses strategies for expanding representation and shares her advice for increasing multifaceted representation in education and EdTech.

Recommended Resources from the Interview

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED

Kunda Kids

About Our Guest

Louisa Kiwana Olafuyi is an award-winning storyteller and Co-Founder of Kunda Kids, a children's EdTech and Media company on a mission to inspire children around the world with inclusive stories that teach them about African culture and heritage.

Play is a powerful force for learning and unstructured play is a type of play that gives players a system of tools that they can use to create their own experiences. Tanner sees play as research and describes some of the key factors that make a successful unstructured play experience including exploration, surprise, and social negotiation. The key aspects of unstructured play are freedom and choice, and more specifically non-trivial choice where the choice a player is given impacts the play in very significant ways and allows for opportunities to restructure the very play experience itself.

Throughout this conversation, Tanner shares examples of unstructured play in EdTech and media platforms, his thoughts on how unstructured play could impact the future of EdTech, and his advice for incorporating unstructured play saying:

“I think that's what we have to strive for when we're doing unstructured play in learning environments is giving students the feeling that they're making a play experience their own, and that it can evolve democratically, right? That there is a freedom of choice that is either determined by yourself alone or with a group of people you're playing with. That to me is really the ultimate essence of it.”

Recommended Resources from the Interview

Metamorphabet

Little Alchemy

TinyBop

Walden, a game

About Our Guest

Tanner Higgin has nearly 20 years of experience in education, first as a teacher and researcher and later as a learning designer and editorial director. At GameDesk, he helped to create the PlayMaker School and its curriculum; at Common Sense Media, he led the editorial team that rated and reviewed over 4,000 EdTech products. He’s now the Principal Consultant at Dune Shift, where he helps EdTech startups and companies make more meaningful and effective content and learning experiences.

Naomi describes her excitement about STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, and views STEM as an integrated thematic unit that empowers creativity. She describes how she became passionate about encouraging women in STEM education and STEM careers because of experiences collaborating with a team of strong women leaders from diverse backgrounds. She discusses the qualities that make women strong leaders like being organized, detailed, intuitive, empathetic, and collaborative. She elaborates that everyone leads differently but shares a purpose and vision that’s collaborative. Furthermore, Naomi expresses her thoughts on diversity as a critical component and that celebrating diversity and having a more diversified team unlocks more possibilities for solving the world's global problems.

When discussing the importance of representation in STEM and the impact of having more women in STEM, Naomi shares some strategies for encouraging girls and women to explore STEM subjects and STEM careers. Throughout this conversation, Naomi emphasizes the importance of role models and mentorship, saying

“So more girls need to see that women are strong leaders. But what we as women need to give back is that we need to mentor and offer more role modeling for our younger girls so no one is locked behind. That’s a must.” - Naomi Harm

Recommended Resources from the Interview

Her-Story Global Project

Million Women Mentors

Women in STEM Leadership

Discover the Unique Individual You

About Our Guest

Naomi Harm is a women in leadership STEM strategist, an EdTech influencer, entrepreneur, educator, and published author. She has a passion and drive for instigating playful STEM innovation and future proofing educational leadership into all of her professional learning and technology literacy effective practices with K-20 students and educational leaders worldwide.

How did the idea for Bop It evolve? As is the case with many inventions, success can come from failure. It all began when Dan pitched the idea for a new type of interactive tv remote for kids. When other ideas were pursued instead, Dan explored turning it into a game and behold - the Bop It…Twist It…Pull It phenomenon was created! When discussing his journey as an inventor and entrepreneur, Dan shares his thoughts that an idea won't succeed until everything is RITE, that is, the four pillars relationship, innovation, timing, and execution are all equally strong.

Bop It‘s unique popularity and accessibility is due to its tactile design - the twist knob looks and feels like a twist knob. The pull knob looks and feels like a pull knob. The bop it…you want to bop it! With tactile design, the product's job is to animate the user. The tactile design of Bop It enables it to be an inclusive game and led to a partnership between Bop It For Good and LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Players who are blind or have low vision can rely on sound and their sense of touch to succeed in the game and play equally with others. When two people are playing Bop It, you can’t tell who’s blind. Throughout this conversation, Dan shares his thoughts on how we can use tactile products in the world of education and his advice for those interested in invention, saying

“Really learn to listen when someone throws an idea out there because later, I was like, maybe it isn't a remote…maybe it's a game. And that's eventually, you know, what turned into Bop It.” - Dan Klitsner

Recommended Resources from the Interview

KublaCon Game Convention

LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Bop It For Good

About Our Guest

Dan Klitsner is an award winning Industrial Designer specializing in concept ideation focused primarily on toy invention. He has created and licensed hundreds of concepts including the mega-hits Bop It, Perplexus and Simon Air. Before specializing in toys, Dan designed many well known bottles such as Woodford Reserve, Hornitos Tequila, and the Clorox Toilet Cleaner bottle. Recently Dan and his wife Alicia have founded Bop It For Good to support organizations that can benefit the most from Bop It‘s unique popularity and accessibility.

In this episode, two very special guests from CodeCombat’s Live Online Classes, Ami and Luka, share their coding adventures together as instructor and student. These two have been coding together for years and have an inspiring teacher-student relationship.

Luka describes his early experiences in coding and shares his thoughts on the most challenging parts of learning how to code. He reflects on how he’s seen himself grow in his coding skills and Ami chimes in with her thoughts on Luka’s growth in coding. She then discusses bringing creativity to coding and the need for persistence from both the student and the teacher.

When sharing advice, Luka mentions accepting that failure is part of the process and that coding is all about failing and learning from your mistakes. Ami shares her advice for becoming a coding instructor and contributing to CS education and discusses how a student-centered learning approach is possible with online learning. It’s clear from the conversation that Ami and Luka inspire each other and have enjoyed embarking on coding adventures together.

Recommended Resources

Schedule a Free Live Online Class: https://codecombat.com/parents

Play In The CodeCombat AI League: https://codecombat.com/league

About Our Guests

Luka Korbelin is 12 years old and resides in Malibu California. Luka attends Malibu Middle school grade 7. He plays AA Hockey on a traveling team and is a leading hitter on his Major’s baseball team. He’s a black diamond skier and enjoys swimming and diving. He loves math and science and hopes to be a particle scientist when he grows up. He also plays the trumpet and is learning to play the saxophone. He loves to play chess and backgammon and is a self-professed Marvel and Star Wars geek.

Ami Dave-Patel is a founding educator for online classes at CodeCombat and serves as the Online Instruction Manager overseeing online classes including hiring and training instructors. Ami is a mom, wife, and entrepreneur. She is originally from India and has called America her home for the past 22 years. Ami is also a south asian community leader who is connecting youth with ancient cultures and encourages learning through human connection and various languages, arts, and yoga. She holds Masters in business administration along with sustainability and computer science. Ami has worked in various industries including: Health Care, Advertising and Marketing, Information Technology, and EdTech over the course of the past two decades.

Digital learning includes a wide range of educational resources and activities and offers advantages like increased convenience and flexibility as well as the opportunity for personalized learning. Joel describes his role at Learning A-Z as the goal to deliver technology that makes teaching easier and sets educators up for success. Joel shares his advice to those interested in exploring the world of product development and Edtech along with his thoughts on ways to employ technology to help teachers, saying

“Whether it's a mechanic or a carpenter or a doctor, everybody's got tools that enable them to be more successful at the job they do. And you know, I'm proud to be a person who's tried to provide those tools for teachers for quite a long time now.” - Joel Kupperstein

About Our Guest

Joel Kupperstein is the Senior Vice President of Product Strategy at Learning A-Z, a company delivering digital learning resources to teachers and students across the globe. Prior to Learning A-Z, Joel was Senior Vice President of Curriculum at ABCmouse and Director of Product Management for McGraw-Hill School Education Group.

An important part of data equity is making sure that you have the data that you need to make equity-based decisions and to think about the design of the learning experience from a universal design standpoint at the very beginning of a project. Furthermore, formative evaluation and the inclusion of diverse audiences during development is essential. In this episode, Christine Reich discusses the evaluation strategies she’s used and how they’ve helped her bring more equity to data science.

Christine shares strategies and learnings from years of developing universally designed exhibits. One of her recent projects while at the Museum of Science was “Mission: Mars,” a Roblox gaming experience based on real NASA data that tasks students with designing and building a rover to explore and survive on Mars. The development team wanted the game to be inclusive of people with disabilities and partnered with AbleGamers for expert feedback on ways to make the game better for gamers with disabilities. Christine also discusses how formative evaluation and the inclusion of diverse audiences in development is essential in order to achieve end results like greater participation in STEM. Furthermore, she shares the importance of culturally responsive evaluation practices around data equity and recommends resources like those from the American Evaluation Association.

Today, Christine serves as Chief Executive Officer and Senior Research Officer at Knology, a non-profit research organization whose mission is to produce practical social science for a better world. She also teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she leads a course in which students evaluate real-world projects and collaborate with for-profit and non-profit organizations to improve educational programs and products.

“It's not just about who's included in the data set but how we actually think about the collection of data and making sure that those practices are ones that are honoring and respecting the diversity of lived experiences that exist in our society.” - Christine Reich

Recommended Resources from the Interview

Museum of Science

Mission: Mars

AbleGamers

American Evaluation Association

Knology

About Our Guest

Christine Reich is an educator, social science researcher, and former museum executive who has moved fluidly between research and practice throughout her career. As Knology’s CEO and Senior Research Officer, she is responsible for directing the organization’s research agenda and the transdisciplinary team of researchers who work collaboratively to develop new insights into the complex social challenges of our times. Prior to Knology, Christine worked at the Boston Museum of Science for over 25 years, serving in a variety of leadership positions, including the Founding Director of the Museum’s Research and Evaluation department (one of the largest of its kind in the world), and most recently, as the Jane and Payson Swaffield Chief Learning Officer. In addition, Dr. Reich is an Adjunct Lecturer for Education in the learning design, innovation, and technology program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Please note that about 5 minutes into this conversation, Joshua describes his childhood experiences which includes mention of a friend’s death.

Whether you're 12 years old or a high school student, it’s never too early to start preparing for college. In this episode, Joshua Samuel, CEO & Founder of Coins For College, shares how he’s found a way to convert a student’s day-to-day school activities into scholarship incentives.

Coins For College empowers education through community, helping prepare students for college academically, financially, and most importantly, mentally. Joshua was inspired to found Coins For College (CFC) because of his childhood experiences seeking a pathway to college and the barriers he faced. The CFC platform is a new way for K-12 parents to access college funding by partnering with local businesses that purchase sponsorships on the platform. One of the core aspects of the platform is the student financial dashboard, which tells a story of a student’s achievements from kindergarten to 12th grade, helping colleges award scholarships more effectively. Students using the CFC platform earn rewards by maintaining daily attendance and completing assessments for example. The platform was created with four key pillars in mind: attendance, assessments, educational resources, and extracurricular activities. Joshua believes that by adhering to these four activities consistently and diligently, a student can get into any college of their choice, saying:

“That's what the Coins For College platform does. We expose you beyond the limitations of your demographics and give you a trajectory to get into any college of your choice.” - Joshua Samuel

About Our Guest

Joshua Samuel is the innovative CEO and Founder of Coins For College and Intuition Exchange. Leveraging his expertise in blockchain technology and his passion for education, Joshua has crafted unique platforms that reward academic achievement and foster community engagement. His vision and commitment to driving educational growth and accessibility continue to shape his journey, establishing him as a transformative figure in the realm of EdTech.

As a seasoned Online Instruction Manager for CodeCombat Live Online Classes, Ami is driven by a passion for inspiring young minds to explore the world of programming through a gamified approach. She leads a dedicated team of instructors from around the globe, fostering a collaborative environment to deliver best-in-class learning experiences. As part of training teachers to teach online, Ami encourages instructors to build a connection and establish trust with their students. She discusses the importance of empathy and the 5 C's: connection, critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, and collaboration. She recognizes that her team of global instructors bring a wealth of culture to online classes and their diverse perspectives empower students to think differently and expand their horizons. Furthermore, Ami shares her thoughts on how online learning can be integrated into formal school programs and how it could transform EdTech and the field of education. Ami firmly believes in the power of imagination, education, and the transformative impact of technology. With a genuine enthusiasm for teaching and an unwavering commitment to student success, Ami strives to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment where young learners can flourish and unleash their full potential.

“To inspire children/students around the globe to be more than they thought they could be.” - Ami Dave-Patel

Recommended Resources from the Interview

Schedule a Free Live Online Class: https://codecombat.com/parents

About Our Guest

Ami Dave-Patel is a mom, wife, and entrepreneur. She is originally from India and has called America her home for the past 22 years. Ami is also a south asian community leader who is connecting youth with ancient cultures and encourages learning through human connection and various languages, arts, and yoga. She holds Masters in business administration along with sustainability and computer science. Ami has worked in various industries including: Health Care, Advertising and Marketing, Information Technology, and EdTech over the course of the past two decades. Ami is a founding educator for online classes at CodeCombat. Currently she serves as an Online Instruction Manager at CodeCombat and oversees online classes, which includes hiring and training instructors.

In this conversation, Pat discusses his definition of CTE and its significance in preparing students for their future careers. Through a hands-on approach to education, CTE programs provide hands-on learning for real-world success, enabling students to gain valuable experience that goes beyond the classroom. For example, career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) like SkillsUSA and Future Farmers of America (FFA) provide experiences that allow students to practice what they're learning in the classroom. Beyond technical skills, CTE emphasizes the development of soft skills like communication and collaboration, which are essential to success in professional environments. Furthermore, there are CTE programs to support a variety of interests, preparing students to be lifelong learners. By tailoring programs to passions, students are more likely to find success in their chosen careers. Pat also discusses some of the common misconceptions about CTE and how CTE could impact the future of EdTech.

“Career education is, it's really the sum of all of the experiences that contribute to you being of value in the workplace and to you creating a workplace that's of value to you.” - Pat Keeney

Recommended Resources from the Interview

McGraw Hill’s CTE Curriculum

SkillsUSA

Future Farmers of America (FFA)

Alyse understands first-hand the impact that private education can have on a child’s life and the barriers that can prevent students from seeking these opportunities. She created RedefinED Advisors as a way to give back to schools by helping them unlock financial support for students and have an impact in their communities. In this conversation, Alyse shares her thoughts on the importance of equity in education and recommends this report by the NCEA. She discusses how technology can support equity in education and how educational experiences can have a life-changing impact, saying

“We always say that's what my company was founded on…the belief that a simple act of kindness from a stranger can really transcend generations, changing the course for entire families across multiple decades. And that's what that teacher did for me.” - Alyse Maslonik

Recommended Resources from the Interview

The Catholic School Choice: Understanding the Perspectives of Parents and Opportunities for More Engagement

About Our Guest

Alyse’s underprivileged childhood inspired her path to improve the educational system for children in need. She understands the significance education has in the ability to stop cycles of generational poverty – and has eliminated the gap between less fortunate children and accessible education. RedefinED Advisors offers strategic development for non-public and private schools to help schools grow funding for financial aid, scholarships, and enrollments. RedefinED Advisors is in the top 3% of women-owned businesses in revenue and has gone from $1,500 in monthly revenue to more than $1 million in less than 1 year.

As an educator, entrepreneur, and executive, Matthew Mugo Fields is committed to improving learning through technology and innovation and has devoted his career to transforming education to ensure that academic success is attainable for students of all backgrounds. In this conversation, Matthew addresses some of the key friction points for students when they’re learning how to read and the benefits of technology in a students’ reading journey and in the classroom. He discusses the current landscape of literacy and how it’s impacted initiatives at Heinemann, like the Heinemann Flight platform and the release of the new Units of Study. Additionally, he shares his thoughts on the future of literacy and technology and his advice for someone interested in exploring literacy and technology.

Recommended Resources from the Interview

Heinemann

Heinemann Flight

Units of Study

Jump Rope Readers

Innovation For Equity (IFE)

About Our Guest

Matthew Mugo Fields is President of Heinemann. Prior to Heinemann, Matthew founded education startups – Redbird Advanced Learning, a personalized learning company (later acquired by McGraw-Hill) that developed AI-driven curriculum and professional learning programs; and Rocket Learning, a national provider of in-school tutoring services. He holds dual master’s degrees in business and education from Harvard University and is an honors graduate of Morehouse College. Matthew is the founder and board chair of Innovation For Equity, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving outcomes for Black learners of all ages.

In this episode, Rebecca Ralston, Senior Director of Early Childhood and Preventive Health at Special Olympics International, discusses her role and how Special Olympics is supporting individuals with IDD and their families. One initiative is the creation of the Young Athletes Mobile app, a digital developmental tool to support the needs of children with IDD and their families through home-based developmental play. In this conversation, Ms. Ralston describes some of the features of the app and its benefits for children with IDD and their families. In conclusion, Ms. Ralston shares her advice for supporting the IDD community and Special Olympics, saying:

“I'd really encourage everyone to think about the ways that you can be more inclusive in your own life and that you can connect with people who are different and learn from them.” - Rebecca Ralston

Recommended Resources from the Interview

Find your Local Special Olympics Program: https://www.specialolympics.org/programs?locale=en

Special Olympics Young Athletes: https://www.specialolympics.org/what-we-do/inclusive-health/young-athletes?locale=en

Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools: https://www.specialolympics.org/what-we-do/youth-and-schools/unified-champion-schools?locale=en

Matthew and Carson share how they first began working together in online classes and some of the challenges and growth since then. Matthew describes competing in the CodeCombat AI League, which is a uniquely competitive AI battle simulator and game engine for learning to code in Python and JavaScript. Matthew was one of the winners of the AI League's 6th season with the Lava Lake Clash arena. He shares his process of visually drawing his ideas for competitive coding strategies and iterating on them, adding:

“My favorite part of learning how to code on CodeCombat was basically being able to learn in the levels and then show my skills in the tournaments, in the AI Leagues.” - Matthew

In conclusion, Matthew shares his advice for someone who wants to learn how to code and Carson discusses what he would say to someone who’s interested in being a coding instructor. They both acknowledge the ways in which they have taught each other, whether about coding or about life!

Recommended Resources

Schedule a Free Live Online Class: https://codecombat.com/parents

Play In The CodeCombat AI League: https://codecombat.com/league

In this episode, Kofi Oduro (Illestpreacha) describes his experiences as a creative coder, merging artistic expression with programming. Learning about musical coding and audio visual coding inspired Illestpreacha to challenge himself by making abstract short films and asking the question: “Can you let the code tell a story?” In this conversation, Illestpreacha shares some examples of what creative coding could look like in a classroom and also relevant events like the Abstract Art in Motion world event Punto Y Raya Festival. Live coding is a form of creative coding as performance art in which a coder programs in real-time, using sound, imagery, and lights, for example, to create an experience. Illestpreacha created Dip in Code: Kitchen of Hues, an audiovisual experience that explores the concept of “Hearing Colour, Seeing Sound” and allows the audience the opportunity to take part in an immersive culinary experience. Coding with food, coding, with poetry, incorporating indigenous languages into a programming language…these are all examples of ways that we can be creative with code!

Recommended Resources from the Interview

Programming in Cree: Interview with Jon Corbett (2021-03-30)

Create Your Own Coding Language: https://www.zompist.com/gen.html

Abstract Art Festival: https://www.puntoyrayafestival.com/en/fest/editions

Junior Art Festival: https://www.puntoyrayafestival.com/en/fest/editions

Color Coding: https://colorscape.illestpreacha.com/colorscape

Public Domain Day: https://creativecommons.org/2023/01/09/celebrate-public-domain-day-2023-with-us-the-best-things-in-life-are-free/#:~:text=Artists%20of%20all%20levels%20are,ENTRY%20OR%20FIND%20OUT%20MORE!

Code is Poetry & Data is Poetry: https://blog.illestpreacha.com/

About Our Guest

Kofi Oduro (Illestpreacha) is an Experiential Storyteller who transforms data, words, and code into experiences that nurture discussion, reflection, and interaction. With a decade plus of performance, event, and audiovisual production, he takes inspiration from endeavors that are not normally connected to create a harmonic experience for audiences.

In this episode, David Hurwitt discusses how he was motivated to found Troove after experiencing the college search process with his children and recognizing the need for technological innovation. David built upon his expertise in the college admissions process to create the Troove platform, which begins with a simple premise: alumni are the largest part of a school community and are the model for success in the culture, so it would be beneficial to use data about alumni as a predictor of who should enroll at each school. 

David Hurwitt shares his definition of artificial intelligence and observes that social data is nowhere to be found in today’s enrollment process, but it's well more than half of the college experience. Can academic and social culture be digitalized so that it can be used as a filter in the search and enrollment process? Troove focuses on academic and social culture and provides a Learning Culture fit and a Social Culture fit score for each school. In conclusion, David shares advice for someone interested in the college admission process and his thoughts on what students should focus on when considering where to go to college and how AI could impact the future of EdTech and academic success.

About Our Guest

David Hurwitt, CEO and Founder of Troove, believes the best way to meaningfully improve college graduation rates is by using technology to improve how students and colleges match with each other in Admissions. He and his team are using predictive AI to do this, helping students discover their perfect college matches based on real experiences of recent alumni and current students. David has spent his career developing new products and services that have generated over a billion dollars in revenue across a range of different industries. David has three grown children and came up with the idea for Troove after going through the college admissions process with them.

In this conversation, Jen also dives into the strategies that bad actors and social engineers can use and the importance of empowering students to know what to do next if they experience a cyber attack. Jen describes how you can use games and authentic conversations to teach cybersecurity concepts like data privacy. For example, the cybersecurity-themed game Amanita Whitehat and the Curious Case of the Compromised Computers is based on the booklet included in the NCF’s Outsmart Cyberthreats Collection and uses real-world scenarios to help others and fight against cyber attacks. Ultimately, Jen encourages listeners wanting to get started in data privacy education to educate themselves on the variety of topics by listening to a podcast, playing a cybersecurity-themed game, taking a class in computer security and penetration testing, and attending a cyber conference.

Recommended Resources from the Interview

#CyberChats Podcast: https://cryptologicfoundation.org/students/cyberchats/podcast/

Amanita Computer Game (Original): https://cryptologicfoundation.org/students/games/original-game.html

Amanita Computer Game Sequel (Currently in Beta): https://cryptologicfoundation.org/students/games/amanita-whithat-mayhem-at-mallory-middle-game-2.html

"Outsmart Cyberthreats" Collection: https://cryptologicfoundation.org/educators/outsmart-cyberthreats-collection.html

Security BSides Conferences: http://www.securitybsides.com/w/page/12194156/FrontPage

About Our Guest

Jen Langdon is a former 6-year middle school science teacher with a Master’s of Arts in Curriculum and Educational Technology. While listening to a podcast, she heard about cybersecurity and decided to pursue an Associate’s degree in Information Assurance. Now, she works for the National Cryptologic Foundation and hosts the #CyberChats Podcast to spread data and cyber career awareness to youth.

“I think self-discovery is honestly the most important piece of anything in learning, like having that confidence and that identity of the things you value, the interests you have, the inherent strengths you have and talents that you carry…” - Nick Gross

About Our Guest

Nick Gross is the Founder and Chairman of Gross Labs, a multi-dimensional entertainment and media holding company and the active CEO of Find Your Grind, a Gen Z focused learning and self discovery platform. In 2019, Find Your Grind started hosting nation-wide speaking tours in high schools and major college campuses with partners that include Amazon, TikTok, Twitch and so much more. Most recently, Nick partnered with Tiger Woods to rebuild after-school facilities in Southern California that also use the Find Your Grind curriculum.

In this conversation, Elizabeth explains some of the strategies for developing effective professional development including relying on a balance of content and pedagogy. She discusses the importance of forging connections in community and the pros and cons of in-person versus online and on-demand professional development. For example, being in-person allows participants the chance to immerse themselves in a way that they’re not going to be able to do virtually. Furthermore, she discusses the importance of leveraging strengths and understanding the diversity of needs. In conclusion, Elizabeth shares her advice for developing professional development for computer science educators. She emphasizes the importance of using standards like the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)’s Standards for CS Teachers, reaching out to local communities, and identifying learning objectives.

“The coolest thing ever is programming. And, you know, what's even cooler than programming is showing other people how cool it is to program.” - Elizabeth Bacon

Recommended Resources from the Interview

Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing by Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher

Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race, and Computing by Jane Margolis et al.

The Big Book of Computing Pedagogy by the Raspberry Pi Foundation

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)’s Standards for CS Teachers

CSTA Annual Conference

CSTA PD Opportunities

CSforALL

About Our Guest

Elizabeth Bacon is the Director of Pedagogy at CoderZ. Previously, she served as Curriculum Development Manager for Code.org’s CS Discoveries course. A former classroom teacher and school administrator, she has designed computer science courses for students from 5 to 18 years old and developed blended learning systems for students preparing to study in the United States. She is active in the computer science education community, volunteering directly with students in local schools and community centers, serving on advisory panels for computer science pathways in Seattle area school districts, and presenting workshops on various topics around teaching and learning computer science.

About Our Guest

Bob Martin is a Tech Integration Specialist with The Missouri Research and Education Network (MOREnet), part of the University of Missouri System. He has over 20 years of experience teaching adults (and children) how to use technology in education spaces. In his current position, he helped create and run a technology forward makerspace for teachers and students in Missouri to visit, explore, and learn about technology. Bob is currently traveling the state of Missouri, teaching teachers how to blend existing STEM tech they have in the classroom with the state’s new Computer Science standards.

In this conversation, Laura discusses the need to treat data as you would your personal health and to think of cyber safety as “data care,” similar to health care. Furthermore, she shares that even if students don’t pursue careers in cyber, all students need to be cyber aware. From the time kids have electronic devices and access to computers, they should begin learning about cyber safety and cryptology, topics that should become fundamental for all students.

NCF is a leading expert in K-12 cyber education, creating resources like the Outsmart Cyberthreats Collection that provides teachers and students with tangible materials about the importance of taking care of data. The goal of this work is to expose students to the concepts of cybersecurity and to build the pipeline of students considering careers in cybersecurity, cryptology, and cyber related fields of study. NCF is investing in several ways to introduce cryptology and cyber safety to young kids, including Cyber Chats, a podcast launching in February.

Recommended Resources from the Interview

National Cryptologic Foundation

NCF’s Outsmart Cyberthreats Collection

NCF’s Cyber Chats

National Cryptologic Museum

Teach Cyber

CyberSeek

“So [the] more we can make our students active in the learning process, especially in the formal learning environments in the classroom and elsewhere, the better off we are.”

Recommended Resources from the Interview:

Yellowdig

Learner Engagement Summit 2023

In this episode, JD Calvelli discusses his work at RISC, a small nonprofit social innovation lab generating and implementing creative solutions to tough social problems. A significant initiative at RISC is the Data Science 4 Everyone (DS4E) initiative, a national effort to incorporate data science and data literacy into K-12 math and other subjects, emphasizing that it's important for students of all ages to be learning some fundamental lessons about data, analyzing data, and understanding data. Additionally, Calvelli describes his work developing the game Algo-Rhythm, an interactive game that uses music to introduce kids to the world of data science.

“I think all students should have some exposure to data science, because I think that, you know, it's really empowering, especially in the modern world where there's so much data around us at all times. Right? And being able to parse through that and really develop meaningful understandings of the world and that which you care about from it, I think is super important.”

Recommended Resources from the Interview:

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt

The Center for RISC - The University of Chicago

Data Science for Everyone (DS4E)

Algo-Rhythm

RStudio

Microsoft Excel

Kaggle

Google's BigQuery

The Concord Consortium’s CODAP platform

The key to positive efficacy reports is to first identify the learner outcomes that matter most to the student before developing educational materials. The three key stakeholders when determining learner outcomes include teachers, students, and industry leaders. The efficacy process is an opportunity to learn and to identify ways to improve products. Molnar discusses the semester-long Ozaria efficacy study, which showed Ozaria to have a positive impact on the student learning outcomes that matter most to both students and educators. Before concluding the conversation, Molnar shares her advice for a career in EdTech and education, saying “question everything,” “take ownership,” and “listen to yourself.”

Recommended Resources from the Interview:

Ozaria Efficacy Study

Esports or “electronic sports,” is gaming on a competitive level. With Esports, there is competition, risk, and reward, and an official tournament has a financial prize available to be won. Playing an Esports experience promotes many of the same values as in traditional sports, such as communication, patience, strategy, and collaboration and also encourages group activity where a player depends on another player's success. Marcus Howard describes how he first became interested in Esports and the process of writing his most recent book INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports, which celebrates innovation in gaming and Esports through a collection of innovation stories.

During the course of the conversation, Howard also talks about Esports when it comes to brand engagement and the opportunity to leverage mobile devices when developing new games. Howard shares his advice for those interested in developing Esports and gaming experiences for education, emphasizing that there is opportunity for Esports to impact the future of EdTech so that a student playing a video game can be fully immersed in that educational experience. He says: 

“97% of kids 12 to 17 are playing video games. So why not meet them where they are and leverage something they have an innate interest in, and then that way they stay more engaged, and it's more meaningful and hopefully more memorable to them.” 

Recommended Resources from the Interview:

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

MetArena

Vessel

“Good coaching is good teaching and good teaching is good coaching. So you want to put your players in a position to win. So really for me, I would try to position my players where their strengths are, and we build on those strengths.”

In this conversation, Selgrat explains that with flipping the classroom, students have on-demand resources and information at their fingertips. Students have the freedom to work at their own pace, taking ownership and their learning into their own hands. Selgrat describes how with this approach, he is able to let students work towards their strengths, and in doing so, students are able to be more engaged in learning. Some of the strategies for flipping the classroom include leveraging videos for instruction and also screen recording for student reflection. Selgrat discusses some of the tools and technologies that made it easier for him to make the transformation into a flipped classroom and his advice for educators hoping to do the same. Selgrat discusses some of the challenging parts of flipping the classroom and encourages teachers to be authentic, be yourself, and to trust your students. It can be intimidating for some, and he encourages teachers to jump in feet first rather than waiting for perfection. This approach is about giving up some control, opening up your classroom, and becoming a different kind of teacher.

Recommended Resources from the Interview:

Flipgrid

Schoology

Story Maker

G Suite/Google Workspace

“It is an integrated part, just like it is in your work and mine. And you won't find anyone who will say technology is not an important part of every child's future in how they're going to learn and how they're going to live. So if they're learning using these tools, they're more future ready, and that becomes another important part of what teachers do.”

Technology is an important tool that teachers have and it’s going to make teachers more effective in their work. The survey points to three significant ways that teachers are using technology - to be connected, to build community, and to customize. Furthermore, Alexander mentions that there were four major ways that teachers use technology: for productivity tools, data insights, social networking, and instructionally. 

In conclusion, Alexander shares her advice for making a positive impact in EdTech. She encourages asking experts and examining the evidence. A guiding acronym that she uses is TOO - Think Of Others. Alexander adds that she wants to encourage people to keep learning.

“You're gonna make mistakes because we all do. But if you are doing it from the perspective of thinking of others, then you're gonna fix it.” - Francie Alexander

Recommended Resources from the Interview:

HMH's 2022 Educator Confidence Report

A Fourth Industrial Revolution is underway, characterized by a fusion of technologies that blur the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. Tatenda discusses what the Fourth Industrial Revolution means to him and how it impacts the work of Brighter Futures. He emphasizes the importance of adapting. The world is changing and it’s important to be able to learn different technologies and to adapt to new software programs and programming languages, for example. Tatenda describes the approach of Brighter Futures as teaching students to have an understanding of strategies, like the design thinking process, and to apply these concepts to different kinds of problems. Furthermore, Tatenda discusses replicating work experiences in the learning experiences for kids. For example, utilizing hands-on projects, encouraging students to learn how to collaborate in teams, and exposing students to different careers.

Tatenda shares a favorite fable of his - the story of the Chicken and the Eagle. This tale emphasizes the importance of exposing kids to different experiences, so that their understanding of their own potential is expanded. Part of future readiness is knowing what’s out there in the world. When asked about how he envisions the future of EdTech for students in South Africa, Tatenda believes we should focus more on the integration of technology into classrooms and training personnel how to adapt with different technologies. Tatenda shares his advice for parents who want to make sure their children are future ready and emphasizes the importance of exposing kids to different kinds of technologies.

In conclusion, Tatenda shares a favorite quote of his:

“We can't build the future for our children, but what we can do is build our children for the future." 

And the way to do that is to make learning experiences interactive and engaging. Furthermore, we need to make sure kids are exposed to different technologies, so that they can adapt to the necessities of future careers.

In this episode, Natalie Lao, Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation, shares how she's fostered computational action with kids from around the world and integrated this mindset into schools and classrooms. The App Inventor Foundation is a nonprofit established by the creators of App Inventor, a free and open-source web platform that empowers learners, hobbyists, and inventors across the globe to create mobile apps for real, effective change in their communities.

Through the course of the conversation, Lao shares her advice for students and teachers wanting to integrate computational action into their own lives. She emphasizes the importance of engaging with a problem in your community that you really care about and addressing that problem using computer science.

In this conversation, our guests discuss the distinction between game-based learning and educational games and the importance of various perspectives when designing. “Every game is educational, but we can put more intention in that goal” Briukhanov says.

What does chocolate covered broccoli have to do with game design?! Lockhart explains that when the game mechanics and the learning concept don't match up, you have chocolate covered broccoli. Broccoli is nice on its own and chocolate is nice on its own, and if you combine them, it's no good at all. An engaging learning experience thoughtfully integrates the game mechanics and learning concepts.

Concluding the conversation, Lockhart and Briukhanov discuss how game design can make an impact on the future of education and share their advice for those interested in game design for the EdTech space.

Recommended Resources from the Interview:

Books:

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Gee

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Level Up! The Guide to Great Video GameDesign by Scott Rogers

The Children's Machine by Seymour Papert

Some of our guests' personal favorite games:

Codemancer

while True: learn()

Assassin's Creed

Civilization

League of Legends

Dota

Today, he balances many roles. Haggag served as an ambassador for the World Literacy Foundation, an intern at CodeCombat, and founder of Next Coders' Society, a program teaching tech literacy to young people as it aims to create equity and inclusion in technology throughout his country. 

Through the course of the conversation, Haggag shares the strategies he is using in Next Coders’ Society to engage young people to learn about technology and become community tech leaders. He emphasizes the importance of individuals learning information and then engaging and teaching that information to others, noting that the scope of information that one can pass on to someone else is inconsequential.   

Starting at the beginning — Freyermuth’s entry into the gaming world would begin as one would imagine: as a child. He explains how a simulation game set in the Caribbean sparked his interest in programming. By senior year, Freyermuth had decided to make games for a living. On a college campus, his quest to create games would begin with learning to program objects because game design courses didn’t exist. 

Throughout the conversation, Freyermuth shares how a handful of fortuitous events ushered him into the world of game design. From a serendipitous conversation with a teacher and a few buddies after class to a casual chat with a gentleman at a party to failing an interview with a guy named Alan, it’s clear that Freyermuth’s lucky breaks stemmed from infectious passion.

Now much further along in his career, Freyermuth talks about navigating the game design process by using pillars to establish “the why” of a project and explains how storytelling is integral to building a world.   

At CodeCombat, Freyermuth expresses how he used his background in the entertainment industry, creating games like Fallout, Star Trek, Starfleet Academy, and so on, to make engaging learning games for kids. 

Prottsman expresses how a single question drove her into her career. She wondered, “why don’t people realize how expressive computer science is?” She became convinced that if people knew how fun and creative coding is then there would be wider interest in it. This revelation led her to build a groundbreaking curriculum to teach kids how to code at Code.org. Yet, the road to bringing a CS curriculum to kids was not easy. She talks about the challenges and the pushback she received when telling others about her initiative to bring the curriculum to young kids. 

As part of the process, Kiki used the four pillars of computational thinking to showcase how the skills we learn from coding can be used to solve everyday problems.

Be prepared to be inspired as Prottsman shares how she persisted through naysayers, explains computational thinking, and expresses her initial fear of becoming an author of CS books.

For more information, transcripts, and resources, check out our website at: https://codecombat.com/podcast

In this episode, Darri Stephens discusses how she has used and built SEL measures in the classroom, in subsequent roles at Common Sense and Wonder Workshop, and now as a consultant. 

At Common Sense, she describes how SEL was woven into the company’s digital literacy and digital citizenship curriculum. At Wonder Workshop, Stephens reflects on how SEL was infused in the company’s worldwide robotics competition, where students spent months in teams, problem-solving, embracing challenges, and “failing forward”. 

Today, Stephens serves as a consultant for organizations like Classroom Champions. Stephens tells how Olympians and other elite world-class athletes are teaching kids SEL skills through the Classroom Champions’ curriculum. She shares how the organization gives kids an incredible VIP access to the athletes so that they can form a mentor-mentee relationship through live chats, video updates, and monthly challenges.

For more information, transcripts, and resources, check out our website at: https://codecombat.com/podcast