Game On!

Join Adam as he speaks with the incredible Elana Leoni. Elana has dedicated the majority of her career to improving K-12 education. Prior to founding LCG, she spent eight years leading the marketing and community strategy for the George Lucas Educational Foundation where she grew Edutopia’s social media presence exponentially to reach over 20 million education change-makers every month. Connect with Elana online at her personal Twitter / LCG Twitter Check out the LCG podcast, All Things Marketing and Education You can learn more about Leoni Consulting Group here

Join Adam as he speaks with the father of video games, Nolan Bushnell! In 1972 Nolan 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. In the process, he pioneered many of the workplace innovations that have made Silicon Valley a long-standing magnet for creative talent. 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 currently 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. Additionally, he sits on several Boards, focusing on games, gaming and robotics. A true icon of the digital revolution, Bushnell 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. Connect with Nolan online at Twitter / Moxy / ExoDexa

Join Adam as he speaks with Adam Phyall. Dr. Phyall focuses on how teachers can keep students engaged in rigorous learning by putting technology in the hands of students. Adam works directly with teachers showing them fun and easy methods of incorporating technology into instruction by “Putting the Pieces Together.” Throughout his professional career, Dr. Phyall worked extensively with Title I and Urban schools to improve technology integration with economically disadvantaged students. He has planned and developed Mobile Learning plans for school districts in Georgia and Missouri that have led to 1:1 device initiatives. His philosophy on teaching is “if you’re having fun teaching it, then your students will have fun learning it.” Connect with Adam Phyall online at Twitter / Website / Instagram

Join host Adam Bellow as he interviews Steve Isaacs. Steve is the Education Program Manager at Epic Games. His mission in this role is to support educators and students in exploring career opportunities that leverage interactive 3D skills. Prior to his role at Epic, Steve was a public school teacher for 28 years, teaching game design and development as well as other courses related to creative uses of technology. Steve enjoys spending time with family and friends. His hobbies include video games, biking, snorkeling, hiking and live music. Connect with Steve online at Twitter / LinkedIn Links Mentioned - Unreal Educator Accelerator

In this episode of Game ON!, host Adam Bellow chats with Jesse Lubinsky, Education Evangelist at Adobe, about his journey from tech consultant to educator to edtech leader. Jesse shares insights on the power of creativity in education, the impact of technology on learning, and how gaming can transform the classroom experience. He dives into the importance of finding joy in work, taking risks, and building strong connections. Plus, they explore AI’s role in creativity and how educators can empower students with innovative, accessible tools.

In this episode of GAME ON, host Adam Bellow chats with Ann Brucker, Director of Games at Breakout EDU, about her journey from 4th/5th grade teacher to game developer. Ann talks about creating Breakout+ educational point-and-click adventure games. She shares about the challenges, triumphs (1M game plays and counting!), and lessons learned along the way. She also offers advice on embracing adventure, learning from failure, and staying curious.

In this episode of GAME ON, host Adam Bellow speaks with innovative educator Dan Ryder about his journey in education, the evolution of customized learning, and the importance of creativity and design thinking in the classroom. They discuss the impact Dan’s teachers have had on his life and the role of games in learning. Dan shares valuable advice for both new and seasoned teachers, emphasizing the need to lean into joy and create engaging experiences for students.

In this episode of GAME ON, host Adam Bellow sits down with Jed Dearybury, an Educator, Author, Illustrator, and PLAYOLOGIST! They discuss favorite childhood games and drawing inspiration from Peter H. Reynolds, the beloved author and illustrator of “The Dot”. Jed talks about the power of play in his own life, overcoming obstacles and finding his true self, and the joy of sharing fun with others. Jed’s passion for teaching and his desire to equip, encourage, and empower others using creativity, laughter, and hands-on fun shines through in this conversation. About Jed Dearbury Jed Dearybury began his education career in 2001. During his 13 year early childhood classroom tenure, Jed received numerous awards. He was featured in GQ Magazine as Male Leader of the Year, met President Obama as the South Carolina honoree of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, and was named as a top 5 finalist for South Carolina Teacher of the Year because of his passion, love, and success in education. In 2016, he was also named the first ever Milken Fellow for the state of South Carolina. Since leaving the 2nd grade classroom in 2015 he has been leading professional development across the country, as well as training the next generation of educators through his work and teaching in Higher Ed. His courses include Children’s Literature, Creativity and Play for Early Childhood, Fine Arts in the Elementary Classroom, and Arts for Educational Advance. In August 2019, he started his own education consulting business, mrdearybury.com LLC, where he is the Director of Creativity. He published his first book, The Playful Classroom: The Power of Play for All Ages in June of 2020. His second book, Courageous Classroom, written with Dr. Janet Taylor was released in July 2021. Book number three, The Playful Life: The Power of Play in Our Everyday, released in October 2022. His mission: Equip, Encourage, Empower, and Engage the teaching profession using creativity, laughter, and hands-on fun!

In this episode of GAME ON, Host Adam Bellow interviews Jennifer Gonzalez, the brilliant mind behind Cult of Pedagogy. Jennifer, a former middle school English teacher, has transformed the educational landscape with her influential online platform. She shares her remarkable journey from the classroom to creating a vital resource for educators, highlighting the importance of building a supportive, growth-minded teaching community. Tune in to hear her inspiring story and practical advice for teachers!

In this episode of GAME ON, host Adam Bellow interviews Al Lowe, who is a pioneer in the PC gaming space. Al Lowe created numerous games that were beloved by many including the educational classic, Donald Duck's Playground, as well as the Leisure Suit Larry game series, amongst others. Al began his career in education and has had a unique and amazing journey to learning new things and finding success along the way.

In this episode of GAME ON, Adam Bellow interviews Dr. Kari Stubbs, who has had a diverse career in education - transitioning from classroom teaching to general ed tech and ultimately to special education. Dr. Stubbs shares her passion for supporting neurodiverse children, particularly those with autism, and offers valuable advice for educators looking to make a difference in the field.

In this episode of GAME ON, Adam Bellow interviews Matthew Farber, an expert in gaming and educational games. The two discuss the importance of play and his work on social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies in games. Farber describes his Gaming SEL Lab, which studies and develops curriculum around games that enhance SEL skills such as empathy, compassion, and perspective-taking. He also discusses his favorite childhood games, including board games, Choose Your Own Adventure books, and Commodore 64 computer games, as well as his recent gaming experiences with Life is Strange 2 and Before Your Eyes, a game in which players relive and redo moments in their life every time they blink. Farber explains that his path to studying games and learning began with the educational game iCivics, which he used as a social studies teacher, and led to his interest in project-based learning and writing for Edutopia.

Join Adam as he sits down to talk with Kathy Schrock. Kathy has been a school district Director of Technology, an instructional technology specialist, and a middle school, academic, museum, and public library librarian. She is currently an online adjunct graduate-level professor for Wilkes University (PA) and an independent educational technologist. Kathy is known for her practical presentations dealing with pedagogically-sound practices for the infusing of technology seamlessly into teaching and learning. Her passions are online tools to enhance classroom instruction, the role of emerging technologies in the classroom, infographics, tablets in the classroom, assessment and rubrics, copyright and intellectual property, and gadgets of any type! Connect with Kathy online at Twitter / Blog / LinkedIn / Website / Guide to Everything / Mastodon

We're excited to be launching our new podcast shortly! We're testing it all out. Here's a sneak preview of the intro...