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In this "Best Of" episode, I speak with Nolan Bushnell — the “father of electronic gaming” who has founded 20+ companies, including Atari and Chuck E. Cheese’s — and Dr. Leah Hanes, CEO of the Two Bit Circus Foundation.
Nolan and Leah are currently working together on the gamified education company ExoDexa and have co-authored the book Shaping the Future of Education: The ExoDexa Manifesto, an Amazon best seller.
We discuss innovations that have the exciting potential to shape an all-new future of education. Our conversation includes:
- How Nolan got interested in tackling education
- A question from Steve Jobs: “What if you’re in a room and everybody thinks you’re wrong, but you think you’re right and you’ve thought more deeply about it than anybody?”
- The vision and goals of the school of the future
- What it really means to be designed around "students first"
- Artificial intelligence (AI) and why we should embrace it
- Entrepreneurship in the classroom
- “Competing” with video games vs. leaning into their organic ability to support learning
- Challenges and opportunities of using video games in the classroom
- “Games should be easy to learn but difficult to master.” Are schools focusing on mastery?
Shaping the Future of Education is available on Amazon. Learn more at https://www.exodexa.com.
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About today’s guests
In 1972, Nolan Bushnell created an industry when he founded Atari and gave the world Pong, the first blockbuster video game. Today his design credo―that games should be “easy to learn and difficult to master”―is inspiring a new generation of developers. A prolific entrepreneur, Bushnell has started more than 20 companies, including Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theater; Catalyst Technologies, the first Silicon Valley incubator; and Etak, the first in-car navigation system. Bushnell was the first and only person ever to hire Steve Jobs, which he details in his 2013 book, Finding the Next Steve Jobs.
He is chairman of ExoDexa, a gamified education company; CKO of Moxy, a “play to earn” game and token platform; and an advisor to companies in the gaming and eSports spaces. He was named one of “50 People Who Changed America” by Newsweek. A biopic about Bushnell, tentatively titled “Atari,” was acquired by Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company and is in pre-production.
Leah Hanes, PhD, is CEO of the Two Bit Circus Foundation (2BCF). During her tenure, 2BCF has developed a strong voice in the current STEAM education discourse. Bringing potent creative play allies like T4T.org, STEAM Carnival, Imagination.org, and LA Makerspace under the 2BCF big top helped increase both reach and impact in education.
Prior to joining 2BCF, Dr. Hanes held a variety of positions focused on children and education. Most recently, she taught courses on adult developmental theory and ethics at Antioch University Los Angeles. Her PhD included a study of ethical decision-making and gender at Antioch University’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change.
About the host
Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn.
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Join leadership coach, storytelling strategist, and edtech advisor Ross Romano as he interviews the prominent education authors you already admire, up-and-coming voices, and experts from the worlds of business, personal development, and beyond — including Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon bestsellers — to take a deep dive into their wealth of practical insights.