University of the People

Shai Reshef is the President of University of the People (UoPeople). Shai has over 25 years of experience in the international education market and has been awarded the 2023 Yidan Prize for Educational Development, referred to as the Nobel Prize for Education and, amongst many other awards, he was selected by The Huffington Post as the Ultimate Game Changer in Education.

An expert on the intersection of education and technology, Shai has spoken internationally at conferences, including DLD, TED, World Economic Forum, EG5 Conference, and Google’s Higher Education Summit. He has also lectured at Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford, among others. Shai holds an M.A. in Chinese Politics from the University of Michigan.

University of the People (UoPeople) is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited, online university dedicated to opening access to higher education globally.

The Education Innovators Podcast is a set of conversations between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.

Links:

Shai Reshef:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaireshef/

The University of the People:

http://www.uopeople.edu/

The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742

The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3

The Human Intelligence movement:

https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/

This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.

You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

Jobs of the Future

This is a solo episode from Eric Byron as he rants about the threat of AI replacing humans in the workforce/classroom and makes a case that we are still in control and our greatest weapon is education that advances human intelligence.

The Education Innovators Podcast is a set of conversations between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.

Links:

The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742

The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3

The Human Intelligence movement:

https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/

This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.

You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

Playing for the Planet – Inspiring Action through Gaming

Lisa Pak is the Head of Operations at Playing for the Planet - an initiative facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme - that unites the global video games industry around a bold mission: to reduce its environmental impact and harness the power of games to inspire meaningful environmental action.

With over 3.3 billion people worldwide playing games, this entertainment medium holds a unique power to shift hearts and minds on themes like nature, climate, and the environment. Her work is driven by one clear goal: to meet people where they are - at play and at work - and help turn the industry into a force for good.

She brings over a decade of experience across the gaming and advertising sectors, with expertise in strategic partnerships, monetization, and project management. Lisa is passionate about empowering people and teams to align purpose with play - creating impact through collaboration, innovation, and creativity.

The Education Innovators Podcast is a set of conversations between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.

Links:

Lisa Pak:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paklisa/

Playing for the Planet:

https://www.playing4theplanet.org/

The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742

The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3

The Human Intelligence movement:

https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/

This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.

You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

Teaching Game Design

This short solo episode is a follow up to last week’s episode with Jussi Holopainen. Eric shares his thoughts on the impact of teaching game design and the transferable skills that students can gain from the learning experience.

The Education Innovators Podcast is a set of conversations between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.

Links:

The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742

The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3

The Human Intelligence movement:

https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/

This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.

You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

Game Design and Symbolic Thinking

In this episode we explore how playing games is foundation for developing higher order thinking skills and Dr Holopainen shares insights into the many transferable skills that can come from studying game design.

Dr Jussi Holopainen holds a PhD in Digital Game Development from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden. He has been researching game design and gameplay experiences since 1998, having authored or co-authored scores of academic publications and patents. His PhD thesis, Foundations of Gameplay, focused on understanding how to construct conceptual frameworks to aid game design. One of these frameworks is the influential gameplay design patterns approach, which he has developed together with Prof. Staffan Björk. Jussi is a member of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) executive board and has served as a member of several program committees such as Games and Culture, Game Studies, CHI PLAY, and the DiGRA annual conference.

Before joining City University of Hong Kong in 2021, he was a senior lecturer of Games Computing at University of Lincoln, UK, in the School of Computer Science. Before Lincoln he worked at Centre for Game Design Research, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology as an associate researcher. He has also served in senior research management positions at the Nokia Research Center (NRC) and has been involved in coordinating several industry and academia collaboration projects. His latest research has focused on principles of game design, playful design, and aesthetics of gameplay.

The Education Innovators Podcast is a set of conversations between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.

Links:

Jussi Holopainen:

https://www.scm.cityu.edu.hk/people/holopainen-jussi-pekka

Centre for Game Design Research:

https://gamedesignresearch.net/

The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742

The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3

The Human Intelligence movement:

https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/

This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.

You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

Google LearnLM

This short solo episode with Eric Byron takes us through his test drive of Google’s LearnLM platform. See how he navigates learning with this AI-powered learning coach.

The Education Innovators Podcast is a set of conversations between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.

Links:

Google LearnLM:

https://cloud.google.com/solutions/learnlm

The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742

The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3

The Human Intelligence movement:

https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/

This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.

You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

Game-Based Financial Literacy Education

Priscilla Cheung is currently helping to lead AI and digital innovation at CoCoon Foundation, an NGO that teaches entrepreneurial thinking as a life skill to youths in Hong Kong. She brings a unique blend of experiences to her work - her journey into educational game design began years ago with her Computer Science master's thesis at MIT, where she developed an augmented reality game for high school science students called "Charles River City", a project that sparked her passion for applying innovative technology to real-world problems. After a decade-long career as an equity derivatives trader, Priscilla felt a calling for a more meaningful path, one where she could use her creative and technical skills to make a greater impact. Her latest project is a perfect example of this. As a key designer on the team behind the “Marketplace Money Dash” game, part of an initiative of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Financial Education Program, she helped create an engaging, experiential learning game for primary 4-6 students, teaching financial literacy in a practical, fun way. Aligned with a 10-lessons long curriculum, the game allows a safe space for students to practice making good decisions, develop the right attitudes, and build financially responsible behaviors, all while learning about budgeting, saving, and resisting external pressures.

The Education Innovators Podcast is a set of conversations between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.

Links:

Priscilla Cheung:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/priscilla-cheung-98110210/

Hong Kong Jockey Club Financial Education Program:

https://www.hkjcfep.com/

Cocoon Foundation Financial Education:

https://foundation.hkcocoon.org/fe.html

The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742

The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3

The Human Intelligence movement:

https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/

This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.

You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com

Privacy Pirates

Born a patriot, Dr. Leslie Gruis spent 30 years as a mathematician and intelligence officer at the National Security Agency, where she helped develop technology solutions that balanced national security with civil rights. She later served at U.S. Cyber Command and the National Intelligence Council. Now retired, she writes and speaks on privacy, surveillance, and democracy—making complex topics accessible for everyday Americans. Dr. Gruis is the author of Privacy: Past, Present, and Future; The Privacy Pirates, and a forthcoming third book. She also mentors K–12 STEM students, with a special focus on middle school girls.

The Education Innovators Podcast is a set of conversations between Eric Byron and guests from all aspects of education around the world. We look for innovative ideas and practical examples of things happening in schools and learning environments that are of interest to teachers, corporate trainers, school administrators, EdTech providers, students, parents, and anyone else interested in education.

Links:

Dr Leslie Gruis:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-gruis-b8060b141/

https://lngruis.ag-sites.net/index.htm

The Privacy Pirates:

https://www.amazon.com/Privacy-Pirates-Being-Stolen-About/dp/168053825X

The Education Innovators Podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551034804742

The Education Innovators Podcast YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4kYugzLerU1S8mQu2Jo2-jX6H_3kd3

The Human Intelligence movement:

https://www.humanintelligencemovement.org/

This podcast is produced entirely by Eric Byron.

You can contact Eric at eric@edinnovationpod.com